No More Pencils, No More Books!

Yesterday was the last day of school for Big Sis!  Here she is enjoying a celebratory mint chocolate chip cone at the coolest new ice cream shop in town.  I'm so glad she chose this place over Dairy Queen (though there's nothing wrong with a Blizzard!).  I want to make more of an effort to shop local businesses and this was a good first start!

Lil Sis chose superman ice cream which matched her outfit!  I had strawberry and hubby had buckeye blitz. All were delish!

This week started off (last Sat.) with soccer.  Although it was unusually cold for June (54 degrees!), it was a beautiful day for soccer and didn't feel as cold as it really was.  Lil Sis had a great last day of soccer and is thinking that she'd like to do it again sometime.  I'm glad she had fun with it.  It's a nice change of pace from dance and gave her the chance to interact with more kids that she'll be going to school with in another year.

Soccer is held at the former grounds of Big Sis's last elementary school.  Here you see that the school is now completely gone.  They just knocked it down about a week ago.  We're all very sad.  We had some great memories at that school.  While her new elementary school is awesome we miss the smaller size of her old school.  Her new school has about 800 kids in K through 4th grade.  Her old school had maybe 300 kids between K and 5th grade.  BIG difference!  But the school district is saving a lot of money through the consolidation of the elementary schools, so it does make sense to have the kids all in one building.

I did a little daydreaming this weekend.  I love the South and want so badly to move there!  The next best thing is flipping through a Southern Living magazine in the sun with some lemonade.

While trying to relax, Lil Sis tortured me by climbing up the slide a million times.  I'm always afraid she's going to fall off and break her neck.  But somehow she makes it to the top safely every time!

On Monday, I had an unexpected treat.  I was able to stay at home because my mom (my babysitter) was sick.  I love being able to hang out with the girls at the bus stop in the mornings.  Here they are playing some sort of game.

And of course the scooters come out every morning!

This week was the start of tumbling for Big Sis and Gymnastics for Lil Sis.

And a busy week for Hubby with graduation, a sports banquet and a student recognition dinner.

But now that school's out, we are all looking forward to a fun, relaxing summer...

a summer in which we will follow the inspiration on the June calendar in our kitchen, I hope!

Have a great week!  And check out InstaFriday over at Life Rearranged for more fun pictures from the past week.

My First InstaFriday

I'm so excited to be linking up to InstaFriday for the very first time! Here's a glance into my past week.

I thought I'd start today off with how I start my mornings.  Jillian has become a good friend of mine lately, as I get ready for our summer vacation.  Her workouts are pretty tough and yet quick at the same time.  I really hate spending more than 30 to 40 minutes working out in the mornings.  Thankfully her DVDs pretty much fit right into my schedule.  And when I'm not with her, you can find me here bright and early in the morning:

 

I really enjoy running on the treadmill.  Especially to the Workout Radio station on Pandora!

Once I'm done working out I'll grab some breakfast and surf online or work on a Bible study.  I started this one this week:

I just love Beth Moore's studies.  This is my third one this year.  

My memory verse for the week.  I think a lot of the stress in my life comes from my trying to win the approval of others.  This verse is a good reminder that when I put my focus on gaining the approval of those around me I am not focusing on Christ as I should be.

This has been my favorite Bath and Body Works scent for the past few years.  As you can see I'm running low so I ran to the mall to get more.  I was shocked to discover that they are no longer selling it!  They replaced it with a scent that smells way too much like limes and not enough like coconut.  I don't understand how they could do this to me!

So, these three scents will be working hard this summer to replace my lost love!  I cannot decide which one will be my favorite, though the girls are pulling for Rio Rumberry!

Speaking of the girls, I just love hearing the sound of them playing on the swingset in the backyard.  99.9% of the time they get along so well!  I can hear them through the window above the kitchen sink and it is music to my ears.

For our Memorial Day picnic, I introduced the girls to the joy of husking corn!  When I was a kid I remember having to do this with my cousin before family cookouts, so now it is time to pass the torch.  Big Sis says she'll never teach her kids how to do this because it is so much fun that she wants to keep the job to herself! Lil' Sis decided that she cannot wait to teach her kids so that she can just sit in the sun and relax.  It's funny how two girls from the same parents who spend so much time together can be so different!

So there it is, my first InstaFriday.  Tune in next week for more pics of our daily lives!

Chocolate Chip Pretzel Granola Bars

I did it.  I actually made a recipe I found on Pinterest.  Last Friday I took the day off work and spent it with Lil' Sis.  I love cooking with the girls and was really excited to have the opportunity to have this one-on-one time with her.

We made Chocolate Chip Pretzel Granola Bars.  A year ago we found out that Big Sis is allergic to cashews and pecans.  This means she cannot eat pretty much any store bought granola bars as they say they may have tree nuts in them.  Since discovering that, I've been on a mission to find yummy granola bars we can make ourselves.


Here's the recipe I used, which is slightly different than the one I found on Pinterest.

• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
• 4 ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup Rice Krispies
• 1/2 cup crushed pretzels
• butter to grease the pan
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Spread the oats on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes

2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas and then mix in the peanut butter and honey until smooth.

3. Mix the oats, Rice Krispies and pretzels into the banana mixture

4. Pour the mixture into a greased 8x12" baking pan.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes

5. When the granola bars have cooled, press the chocolate chips into the top of the bars. Wait until they're completely cool before you cut the bars.

These were easy enough to make. But I will say, if you do not like banana bread, you will probably not like these.  I didn't.  Neither did Big Sis.  Lil' Sis, on the other hand, loved them!  She cannot get enough of them.  So maybe they are good, but I will not make these again.  They are worth a try though if you do like banana bread as it is a great recipe to use up ripe bananas.  The pretzel, chocolate and peanut butter combination is pretty tempting, too!

While the recipe didn't turn out that well for me, the quality time with Lil' Sis was fabulous.  She is a hard worker and really interested in learning how to bake.  Hopefully in a few years she will be making goodies for the rest of us on a regular basis!  Trying a new recipe every week will be a great way to get the girls more interested in baking and cooking.

I cannot wait to see what we make next...!

This post is linked up with Works for Me Wednesday.  Go there for more great ideas!

More Moments Like This

Sunday was perfect.  After church in the morning, we ran to Lowes to get a few hanging pots - flowers for the front yard and a fern for the kitchen.  Had a great lunch and then I headed to the grocery store.

The fun began when I got home.  Hubby had set up the plastic wading pool and water table for the girls.  I had purchased a few tiny water guns.  We spent the afternoon getting wet, enjoying the beautiful weather.

It was the kind of day I want to have every day.  I was actually only out there with them for maybe two hours, but it was two hours filled with fun. No worrying about chores.  No iPhone or Facebook distractions.  No TV. Just me and the girls and a beautiful day.

I don't know why it is so hard for me to enjoy moments like this.  I don't know why I let stress get the best of me.  Instead I think of work responsibilities on a long weekend when (hopefully) no one else is thinking about their day jobs.  I focus on all of the chores around the house that aren't done.  I worry about money, calories, the future, grocery lists, laundry, and much, much more.

But life is too short for that.

Around the neighborhood we have a number of kids graduating from high school.  They were just starting 6th grade when we moved in the neighborhood.  It seems like that was just yesterday.  And here they are getting ready to go away to college in the fall.  I know it won't be long before my girls will be getting to that point in their lives.  Will I remember days like Sunday?  Or will I remember being stressed, overwhelmed, and anxious all of the time?

I know what I want to remember. And I will do my best starting now to create moments like this everyday.  Moments where I don't worry. Moments where I laugh along with my daughters.  Moments where messes are ok and smiles are abundant.  I know the everyday stresses still have to happen. But life is too short to let them take away from enjoying God's blessings.

Dancing with the Stars

Last weekend was the girls' big dance recital weekend.  While it gets pretty hectic now that both of them are dancing and add to that Big Sis doing a total of 6 dances (with costume changes) in two shows, I love this weekend.  Our dance studio is pretty awesome and some of the talent is unbelievable.  Watching these girls and guys dance is so much fun!  

It's funny as I never intended to raise dancers.  I always thought that my girls would play soccer (Lil' Sis is doing that this spring as a matter of fact) or maybe get into gymnastics.  But not dance.  I don't know why, but I didn't think it would be something our family would enjoy.  All the costumes and make-up and practicing the same routines over and over and over.  just didn't sound like something I'd invest our time and money into.  But boy was I wrong!  

This year the recital had a Hollywood theme.  All dances were done to songs from the movies.  Lil' Sis danced to I Saw the Light from Tangled.  Boy was that a hit with her preschool class!  Big Sis's tap routine was Tightrope from Happy Feet.  Her jazz dance was to Perfect Day from Legally Blonde.  And her ballet was to blue Danube from 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Her ballet routine was one of my favorite dances ever, it was so beautiful!   

Big Sis has been dancing for 3 years.  She now takes ballet, tap and jazz.  In addition to the Spring Recital, this year she was part of the studio's production of the Nutcracker as well as their spring ballet, La Boutique Fantasque.  She also had a few extra performances this year because she is part of a performance team.  I am so proud of her and how hard she has worked.  She has never complained about all of the extra rehearsals as well as all of the extra stretching and practicing at home.  In addition, her confidence amazes me.  As a 2nd grader, she showed no fear auditioning for both ballet productions.  Being one of the smallest dancers her age, she also is normally front and center onstage and has had no problem leading her groups in their dances.  I would have never been brave enough to do all she does in front of an audience!e!  


This was Lil' Sis's first year of dance.  She was in the standard first year preschool ballet/tap combo class. I  am so proud of how well she has absorbed all her teacher has shown her all year.  She quickly picked up many of the French terms for ballet and easily caught on to some tricky (for a preschooler) tap moves. Not too shabby for a four year old!  And on stage - watch out!  She's definitely the shy one out of the two girls, but you'd never guess that on stage.  She bravely looks right out at the audience with a huge smile on her face.  She was beaming after the performance and appears to have discovered that she loves being in the spotlight!  


So dance isn't so bad after all!  I love the confidence my daughters have developed from being in dance.  I also love the discipline that comes along with being in a class for an hour.  Ballet, especially, teaches the girls to focus and work hard.  And you cannot argue with the fact that dance is great exercise.  Just check out the dancers on So You Think you Can Dance.  They are in amazing shape!  

Another year of dance is done.  I'll miss our busy Wednesday nights at the studio as well as getting to see the new friends we made this year.  We'll be doing tumbling and gymnastics over the summer just to mix things up a bit, but we are already looking forward to the end of August and the beginning of another great year of dance!

Priorities

Don’t you love it when you stumble upon something that you know was just meant for you to read at that particular moment?  Today, I was randomly reading blogs during my lunch break (I forgot to bring a book to work) and I read something that really hit home for me today. 

You see, my four year old has been asking me pretty much every night lately if I’ll be able to stay home from work the next day.  She’s been pretty emotional and I can tell she’s frustrated about something.  She’s been crying more than usual and has been leaving her room at bedtime to come see me more and more.  Being a four year, she doesn’t really have the right words to say what she needs or wants, but I am pretty sure she is trying to tell me something important by the way she is acting.

It bothers me to see her upset as she is usually very easy going, happy child.  And she always loves spending the days with grandma while I work, so I could tell something was up when she started asking me to stay home from work.  Then I read this:  Are you're children acting crazy?  Maybe they need more of you.  It was just what I needed to read today!

To tell you the truth, this has been on my mind lately, but I’ve sort of been ignoring it.  I still haven’t figured out how to create 40 more hours in my week so that I can take care of my job and my home and then have quality time for my family.  So I spend 9 hours a day away from home and when I come home, I cook, help with homework, sort through mail, load the dishwasher, unload the dishwasher, plan grocery lists, pay bills, vacuum, do laundry (sometimes), clean up messes, give baths, say bedtime prayers with the girls, run errands and stress about the million other things that I’m not getting done.  The weekends aren’t much better with church, soccer, occasional dance or girl scout programs, visiting relatives, grocery shopping and playing catch up from the week.  I’m busy, busy, busy, but I’m not focusing my energies in the right places.  The problem is, I am neglecting my most important responsibility – being there for my daughters.

As a mom, I’ve been working outside of the home full-time for almost 8 years now, since my oldest was 4 months old.  You’d think with my experience I’d know a thing or two about balancing it all but I don’t.  I cannot figure it out no matter how hard I try.  But try I must, as time keeps moving faster.  Only 4 and 8 years old now, soon these girls will be teenagers.  

The challenges they face will keep getting harder.  And if I cannot give them the time they need now, will they learn to not come to me?  Will they find other, possibly dangerous, places to seek comfort and help?  What a terrifying thought.  Starting today, I will seek out opportunities to laugh and play with them.  I will stop what I’m doing to enjoy Dancing with the Stars with my budding ballerinas.  I will stop saying it is too late for a bedtime story and will enjoy every moment of even the longest of stories.  I will say yes to pedicures and Barbies and baking cookies.  I will pray daily that God gives me the wisdom to use my time wisely and invest it in what matters most.  The dirty dishes will always be there but these beautiful girls will soon be grown.  And what I do today may affect who they turn out to be as young women.

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. – Ephesians 5:15 - 17

Family Calendars

I'm sure I was late to join the Google calendar bandwagon, but in case anyone else has yet to hear, Google calendar rocks!  My husband has a crazy schedule that changes every season.  In addition to being a high school teacher, he coaches three sports: college football, high school wrestling, and high school track.

Even though he's been doing all of this forever, it still is hard for me to remember what each season is like schedule wise.  Enter Google calendar.  At the beginning of each season I can enter the schedule onto our calendar.  Then, when anything changes or is added, he can make updates right away from his phone.

This helps in so many ways.  Since the calendar works on our iPhones, we can make changes no matter where we are.  And, no matter where we are, we always have access to our calendar (as long as we don't forget our phones!).  I feel like this calendar has given us freedom as I can quickly decide whether or not we can add an event to our calendar.  Believe it or not, this makes it easier to add fun things to our schedules as I can quickly see when we are free and when we are not.

Of course, this is a major stress reducer, too.  As our girls get older, I'm sure they'll get busier.  In fact, they are already pretty busy.  Now my husband and I can better coordinate our schedules to make sure the girls can get to their activities.  There's less worry, as anything we might possibly forget is on the calendar.  The calendar also helps prevent forgetting important events, like Lil' Sis's first dance recital!

Since the girls don't have iPhones, at home we have a white board calendar on the kitchen wall.  It's right by the garage door, so we can all see it every time we leave the house.  Big Sis loves the calendar as it makes it easy for her to see what she has to do each day and can easily see what big events she has to look forward to each month.  I only wish Google calendar could update the white board calendar for me!

How do you organize your family schedule?


I'm linking up with Works For Me Wednesday.  Check out more great ideas there!