You Make Me Smile Like the Sun <3

So, I am sadly without my camera for the time being, I left it at my Granny & Grandiddy's house on Saturday when we were there for the family Dec/Jan birthday dinner. I guess I was just overwhelmed by the amazing food ;) My uncle should cook for his own birthday more often! I was expecting Granny's divine lasagna, which I was already super excited about, but when we got there, it smelled like steak. hmm. Well, my uncle works for a catering company and had scored some filet mignon at an amazing price. Oh yeah, filet mignon...with...crabcakes. Divine crabcakes at that. Aaand twice baked potatoes. Not to mention, my Granny's salad "bar" - she goes all out with toppings, I always look forward to salad at her place :)
Anyway, I say all of this not just to make you drool but because I wish you could've seen a picture of Cadence at the park today - - she rode on the big girl swing for the first time! Ah, I was misty eyed.
We had so much fun!!! I'm glad I "forced" her to go to the park...and I know she was too :D


We started the terrible twos about a week ago so her response to most anything is "no". Too bad it's the freakin cutest no you've ever heard/seen and I can't help but smile to myself every time she says it.


She was sleepy this afternoon but wouldn't nap so I kept asking her if she wanted to go play outside - "no". Do you wanna take a nap? - "no". Okaaay...would you rather go outside or take a nap? - "no". Hahahaha. well, do you wanna ride on the swing and go down the slide? She nods yes with twinkling eyes. Okay then, we have to put your pants back on so we can go outside. She's compliant. There's the little girl I know - I was truly shocked when she turned down an offer to go outdoors. I guess saying no is just that much fun! haha. Anyway, we had a total blast!
There are side-by-side slides we went down together so many times (wo, tu, phreeee!) and she even braved the big tunnel slide - head first on her tummy :D it was hilarious! she was crackin me up all afternoon, just so giddy! She is absolutely my little nature girl and would so much rather be outside, year round, so getting back to the playground, without a coat, sun on her face, must've been heaven for her!
The very first thing we did was hit the swings. I hoisted her up into one of the kiddie swings, per usual, and we were holding hands at first. When I let go of her hands she was cracking up at the rush but then about two minutes in it turned to tears. I'm not quite sure but I guess it startled her or she expected me to grab her hands again or maybe she got nausiated because she was sort of leaned forward watching the ground under her. Anyway, that's when we switched to the slides...until...two little boys showed up and C saw their Mommy pushing the older one on a big kid swing. I should've seen it coming. She wanted to swing on the big kid swing. Of course. It never crossed my mind to actually put her on it by herself. So, for a while, she was content to swing on my lap, giggling and giggling and I was loving every moment of it. Then the little boy jumped off of the swing and for some reason that inspired Cadence to want to sit in the swing herself. It was like she'd been doing it forever. At 19 1/2 months old this little girl just grabbed onto the covered chains and laughed with delight while Mommy pushed her :'-)
I am so blessed to have her and she is so happy and so darling <3 She makes my heart smile :D

It's the Little Things :)

It truly is the little things in life that make it grand...like waking up to Nathan's arms wrapped around me or laughing at Cadence lobbying us about something extremely important that we only wish we could understand.

 Here are a few little things that have added some extra sunshine to my days lately:

Cadence let me put a bow in her hair for the first time!!!

I'm lovin the sweet curl :)

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SOCKS!!! I finally got new socks :) So, I'm (plainly) a sucker for knee-high socks since I really only wear them in the winter time or in place of tights (which I pretty much hate) but every single pair I have has worn through this winter...until now! I'm sad to finally say goodbye to my favorite patterns of old but my toes are not, they were sick of poking through ;) Thanks for the Target gift card Auntie Holly!

*notice that half of them are plain - I'm trying to be prepared for the working world ;)

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I helped serve at an agriculture banquet last night (catered by A Sharper Palate). The Virginia Green Industry Council had provided about a bagillion plants as centerpieces and decoration, which guests were allowed to take with them with they left. Even though there were over 800 guests and many people left with 2 plus in their arms, there were more than even the staff could take home at the end of the night! My aunt and I stumbled across an entire row of them that we don't think anyone even noticed on their way out and that's where these beauties came from! There was a much fuller version of the one in center that I had my eye on all night (which of course was taken home by a guest because it was b-e-a-u-tiful) so now I'm extra motivated to make sure I give these lil darlings the right amount of love so they can grow to be just as big :)

The Calla Lillies were decorating the stage so I think they were pretty much all adopted by staff since we were there breaking everything down and the owner of the nursery they came from was giving them away while he loaded up the bigger bushes and trees.

I snagged one for my Mom (her birthday is Monday!!!), one for my best friend Katie (who has the greenest thumb I've seen outside my family! - me excluded :P), one for my best friend Cat (who recently found out she's pregnant!), and one for

Cadence and I cut one stem to put in a vase, which then had to go in her playroom ;)

* * *

Cadence and I made rice crispy treats this afternoon, it was a first for both of us :P

I decided to use fruity marshmallows instead of the plain ones because I thought it would be yummy and it would be fun to see the different colors...like tye-dyed rice crispy treats! I didn't realize that you melt them all down into a sauce first...

So, we followed this meticulous review posted to the recipe I looked up, since I'd never done this before. The woman was very adamant about melting the butter sllooooowwly bc if any of it turned brown you'd have dry treats (I've never seen butter turn brown but I went with the lowest heat setting anyway). After all, she said she was the designated rice crispy treat maker bc no one else could do it like her :P

And then you were supposed to melt the marshmallows "just as slowly"...there were a lot of marshmallows! But Cadence only wanted to add them one at a time anyway ;) After she got the thrill of throwing a few in and stirring a bit and throwing a few more in and stirring a bit more she was reassigned to the uber-important stirrer-of-the-cereal position :P

Everyone knows that patience is my strongest virtue, so the super slow melting part was definitely my favorite. It was smashing great fun and I was not at all tempted to turn the heat up to 5...or 8...to speed up the process a lil bit.

The colors swirling together did amuse me for a while but what I feared would happen also came with that - they fused into one color - brown. Which would've been just fine except that I was set on color-ful.

so I added a little Wilton Rose Gel Icing Color to the mix and voila - got the fruity look back :)

Then came the truly messy part!

I ended up using my hands - I wish you could've seen them! Recommendation: if you decide to dig in, you should probably grease your hands somehow - dip them in butter? bahah - unless you want to feed your garbage disposal a snack like I did. Not that he seemed to mind.

 The bowl could barely hold all the gooey deliciousness.

TA-DA!

We didn't even let them finish setting before we "tested" our finished product.

Pretty good!

Now if only they made all-natural marshmallows!

lol.

What tiny moments have blessed your life lately?

Finding Peace

Jeremiah 29: 11-13
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
These words ring true time and time again and the first verse has brought many of us comfort. And today, I felt that God was revealing to me that it also applies to his plans for Cadence, currently through his design for the lives of her parents. So, whatever the outcome of this job conundrum may be, I know that it is what He deems best for all of us. That he holds her life even more precious than we do. There are pros to both options so I am trying not to get my heart set on either one prematurely (which is very, very hard for me to do!) and either one will put us in a better position than we are currently in. All I can (and should) do at this point is turn it over to God and trust Him to do his thang.  

The Scripture continues:
"I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity."
This passage gives me hope for another situation I came face to face with today - the unfortunate condition of an estranged loved one. He is facing many trials, admittedly they are self-induced (though alcohol has been a drowning part of that self for a while now), and does not feel strong enough to overcome them. I don't feel comfortable writing more in a public forum, for his personal protection, but am fervently praying that he finds strength in the Lord. It's hard for me to not be able to DO anything to help someone and it feels like my mother is taking over my brain as all I can think is "just pray about it. just pray about it". It will do me no good to pace back and forth fretting over how to get in touch with him, as that is not currently an option, he has no means of communication; and I struggle with knowing that the past few times we've talked, he's lied to me about the state of his life anyway. But just knowing that someone cares, wants to listen to whatever it is you have to say, can be so reassuring. And yet, I cannot listen if he cannot talk. "Just pray about it. Just pray about it."
Dear God,
You know the burden of the heart of my family right now. You know the past and you know the future. You know the struggles and you know the triumphs. God, please, help there to be a triumph ahead for _____. Please help him to know that he is loved and that he is not alone. That out is not the only option for his life. That his life is precious. That his life has meaning. That we are here to see him through. That You are here to see him through. Help him to put his faith in you, the God who made the universe, to find your strength, through which he can do all things, to find your peace, that passes all understanding. God, I don't know how else to pray for him. But I pray that if there is anything I can do to help him, that you would open my eyes and heart to it.

Debbie Myer's Green Bags really WORK!!!

I am here to tell you, it is a sound $10 investment. I was not convinced at first but today I took out some Romaine I had tucked into a greenbag...I don't even want to think about how long ago (2 weeks? 3?)...and it was still fresh and crispy! I highly recommend them :) Apparently they even work for fresh flowers! You can either put the arrangement in a green bag or place a bag over the vase at night and remove it in the mornings. I even saw at Wegman's a week or two ago that she now has bread bags as well! And, upon checking the link above: green boxes, cheese bags, and coldcuts bags! I can't attest to any of these other products but will probably try the bread bags at some point in the near future (the once-I-have-a-job future).
The bags are reusable so I just labeled them with what produce is inside (wouldn't want to put tomatoes into a bag that use to hold onions!) and then if you want to keep track, you can just tick off how many times it's been used each time you reuse it.
So, first I have to show you the carrots pre-washing because while I had them in my cart at Wegman's I was browsing the pasta isle and this guy walked by, talking to his wife about what they still had to find before they could leave and he goes "and then we have to get some of those cool carrots because I keep seeing them in other people's carts and I want to have them in our cart" hahahahaha. When we have our own house we will grow our own "cool carrots" in our gigantic veggie garden :)

So, I decided to go ahead and prewash most of the produce before putting it in the bags - more convenient later :)

 

and, of course, Cadence was my super helper ;) (in addition to the hedgehog veggie brush :P )

She was sitting IN the sink by the time I was done with the grapes...she had to be close enough to reach in and try them one or ten times ;)

So - does anyone know if taking the grapes off of the vine makes them spoil faster? I wasn't sure about this but I figured if I was already washing them and picking out the bad ones, I might as well go all the way and pull them all now rather than later...hopefully the green bag will help me out here if this was the wrong choice ;)

VOILA!

I just put the onions and potatoes straight in, keeping them in their original bags since they were breathable and I'll have to prep them directly before use anyway.

Even our back-up banana bunch got a bag! (We go through a lot of bananas around here - thank God they're cheap! - we usually get 2 to 3 bunches at a time).

Also, as I was washing up the grapes, I decided it was time to look up a recipe for a homemade fruit & veggie wash.

Here's what I got:

DIY Veggie Wash

1 tbs organic lemon juice

10 drops grapefruit seed extract

2 tbs baking soda

1 cup filtered water

3/4 cup white vinegar

1. Mix well in a sprayer bottle.

2. Shake before use.

3. Spray produce (except mushrooms, because they absorb and retain water) and let sit for 5-10 minutes.

4. Rinse well

I haven't tried it yet bc I don't have grapefruit seed extract but it seems easy enough. As long as it has lemon juice and vinegar, I'd go with it!

I also read "Mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar, and 1 cup cold tap water in a spray bottle, shake well, and apply to your produce. Rinse with tap water before cooking or serving." and "in a clean sink or bowl put 4 Tablesp' of salt, fill bowl with cold water & when salt has dissolved add juice of half of a large lemon [ or all of 1 smaller size] soak fruit or vegs for 20 min' then rinse REALLY well, berries need only 10 min' soak" if you'd like some other options :)

Happy Fruiting!

First Post!

Last night I wasn't really sure what to post on a blog. I got all excited that google finally worked with me and  I was able to make one and then when it was here I just stared at the blank screen with sleepy eyes.
This morning I am full of anxiety over upcoming life changes. So I thought - what a great place to put down my thoughts! Genius, right?
Most of you know that Nathan will be deploying to Iraq at the end of the month {though somehow half of my family didn't find out until Christmas - maybe if I had a blog then it would've helped? ;)}. Anyway, I think that's going to be really hard for C. She struggled with his last two week TDY. She's old enough to remember things like that and when he came home she did not want to let either of us out of her sight for the longest time. Fortunately, this is something we've been planning for for a while. What we have not been planning for, however, is Mommy going back to work, potentially full time.
I knew that when I graduated I would need to go to work part time. I'd been treating my "extra" student loan money as a source of income but it was only budgeted through graduation. I didn't plan on Spotsylvania County Schools being SO slow in getting me back on the sub list and intended to be working again mid December. However, since then I have thoroughly enjoyed not having a job and getting to spend every day with my precious daughter (even the days full of trials!).
I had an epiphane while I was waiting (and waiting and waiting) to hear back from the School Board that I should just work at Huntington Learning Center as a tutor. Better hours, technically better pay, right up the street rather than all over the county...only, when I went to pick up my application last week, I spoke with the owner for a bit and she seemed really interested in me looking into a full time position there. At the time I brushed it off as something I would be willing to consider after Nathan got back from Iraq. I even wrote my cover letter to that tune. However, when I turned in my packet last night, there she was again...and we talked about it again...I still wasn't biting. But after I left I got to thinking - what if this position isn't still available when I'm "ready" to take it? what if I don't get a full time teaching job in the fall? what if our tenant stops paying rent? what if? what if? what if? Is this opportunity being presented multiple times God trying to give me a gentle push? Or is it something I'm suppose to be resisting? Nathan and I have a history of jumping into things, and they don't always end up being the least stressful option when they finally play out. How much thought is required for a decision like this to be well considered?
So, I am anxiously awaiting a phone call from the director sometime this week, with a list of questions about both the part time and full time positions that will hopefully help us to make the wisest decision - with lots and lots of prayer!
My biggest concern is the adjustment for Cadence - is it better for me to wait until Nathan gets home, let her readjust to the whole family being here and then go to work? Or does that drag it out? Should I just sort of do it all in the same time frame so things can only get better for her? I know that "children are resilient" for I think that they are only as resilient as we force them to be and that while they may seem to "get over" things relatively quickly, that doesn't mean that they aren't affected by their circumstances.  I by no means intend to shelter my daughter from the world, I just want to make a conscious effort not to inflict any hardship that can be avoided...
I would really appreciate any input you have! How do you know when you're hearing from God? Did you struggle with something similar? How did your little one(s) handle it?
For now, C is up from her [cat] nap and we are off to Border's for some books to help Cadence with Daddy's Deployment  (and a 2010 day planner for Mommy!).