Touching Momma's Heart

Chris and I have an entrance out our bedroom back door that steps out to a backyard porch. Dakotah was outside playing with chalk today and this is what he showed me:


He drew this right outside our bedroom back door. He said, "Momma, I drew a picture for you and Daddy to see right outside your door. It says love because you and Daddy love each other and it has a truck for Daddy and a beautiful flower for you..come see..."

This is what it's all about, right? I went from having flat emotions today, to having my emotions soar to heights that only a child's true love can bring. I need that little 6 year old boy! What brings you joy...What makes your emotions move with pure bliss?

Titus' Dinosaur Birthday

We had great fun today at the Dinosaur Journey Museum in Fruita.

Click HERE to see the DINO CAKE

and HERE to see more party prep!

For food, we had dino eggs (Eater Egg Whoppers), Fossils, (stick pretzels), and lava juice (Hawaiian Punch).

For games, we did a dinosaur egg hunt using Easter eggs. Hidden inside were dino fruit snacks. We also did the foam art project that I talked about the other day, we had a coloring contest and each child got to take home one of those inflatable dinosaurs. And the "real" dino egg project was lots of fun! Chris was our paleontologist and he cracked the eggs to reveal the baby dinosaurs.

The kids also got to enjoy playing at the museum.

Titus loved his special day.

More Party Prep & the Cute Cake!

Here is the dinosaur cake I made today, he has a smiley face too, however it is hard to see in this photo. He is a cute little dino, who would want to eat him? :(




The boys helped put together these treat bags for the party. Each child will have their name on it followed by "saurus", like Titusaurus...or Dakotahsaurus.



This is one of the crafts we are going to do: draw a landscape picture and glue on the foam dinosaurs.

Spring?

Looks like it may be getting warmer...

Party Prep

Titus is having his dinosaur party soon and I wanted to share his invitation and a fun party idea that we're doing. For his invitation, everyone gets to color the dinosaur pictures and bring them to the party for a coloring contest. It is sort of hard to read, so I will post the wording below...they turned out too cute!

Dinosaurs spotted in Fruita! Come join Titus and his crew for a
DINO-mite fun time!
It’s a party…hurry…Titus isn’t prehistoric yet!

Stomp on over to explore and celebrate at the
Dinosaur Journey Museum in Fruita at 550 Jurassic Court.


This is one expedition you won’t want to miss, don’t be extinct!
PLEASE RSVP soon. Call Lisa 000-0000.

*color this picture and bring it to the party for our coloring contest!




For one activity, we are giving out dinosaur eggs. I made a pasty clay and snuggled plastic dinosaurs in the wet clay, then I wrapped them up in the shape of an egg...(well they ended up looking more like potatoes, but you get the idea). They should dry in a few days. At the party each child can crack open their egg and find their baby dinosaur!

Coffee's Perfect Accessory

Everyone loves a sweet coffee cake on a lazy Sunday morning. I was browsing recipes to find something quick and I found this one on RecipeZaar.com that used Bisquick baking mix to speed the process along. The caramel sauce was like perfect candy (I loved the idea of using vanilla pudding mix in the sauce...I will have to remember that!). However, the cake itself was dry. I wouldn't recommend this recipe, but I would try the sauce on a favorite breakfast bread of yours, apple cobbler, or even over vanilla ice cream!

A YouTube Must See

Oh my goodness!!! This is soooo funny! :)

No More Toddlers in the House

Titus got to open a present this morning and here they all are playing with it right before we leave for school. Titus is having a dinosaur party later in the month.
Happy Birthday Titus




Today Titus turns 5 years old.

We already said goodbye to soft little baby bundles wrapped up like burritos, as we welcomed the new joys of crawling infants that explored everything! Then, we watched with pleasure as they walked sloppily across the room, babbling aloud, and pointing at every fascinating wonder they saw. Messes were made as the tupperware from kitchen cabinets got thrown over their heads onto the floor, and as toilet paper was rolled out from the bathroom into the living room. We looked on with smiles as each toddler said "momma!" or "daddy!" for the first time as they wrapped their little arms around our legs.

Each discovery caused delight in their precious faces:

when they flattened their hands out and whacked the water in the bathtub, watching it splash high,

or the first time they felt their feet sink into the mud,

or finding out that baby powder looks like soft snow if they sprinkled it over their toys.

Then suddenly, and almost without warning, they evolved from toddlers into little boys. Our boys drew pictures to grace our walls, and they began sounding out words in books which turned into sentences. Every sound they formed with their little mouths, brows furrowed in concentration, was an accomplishment! Their sweet voices sounded bigger, and the questions they asked made us stop and wonder how on earth they thought of such complex thoughts! Each one took his place as a 100% boy, outgrowing the cherished moments of toddlerhood. And today, our last one steps up to join his brothers as a "big boy". So, we have no more toddlers in the house.
In place of milk bottles we have Dasani water bottles. In place of soft foot patters down the hall, we have loud thumps as they run. In place of little squeak toys, we have lego kingdoms.
However, some things remain the same. They still blow us kisses each night, they still think momma and daddy are the best people on earth, and they still bring that unexplainable joy to our hearts as we watch them grow.

And I suppose that is why each birthday is a celebration...

Super Moist Banana Bread

This Banana Bread from Recipe Zaar was mmMM,delish! I am a big fan of getting recipes online. I have religiously used allrecipes.com for a few years, but recently my mom told me about RecipeZaar.com and it has some great stuff too! There are a couple things I enjoy about online "cookbooks":

1) If I have an ingredient at home that I need to use up, I can easily go online and do an ingredient search on the site. This brings up many recipes to choose from.

and,

2) Most recipes are rated by other users who leave feedback. I absolutely LOVE this feature and I rely heavily on it.

This banana bread recipe turned out lovely and very moist. I changed a couple of things. I only had half of the bananas that I needed, so I used applesauce for the other half. I added a 1/2 teaspoon vanilla too. Also, I sprinkled some cinnamon sugar in the bottom of the bunt pans to add some extra sweetness and sparkle to the bread!

I HAD four loaves, but this one never made it to the tray...

Dave Ramsey Adventure

I have been fascinated with Dave Ramsey for over a year now, and frankly, too chicken to try his recommendations...until NOW. Dave Ramsey is an incredible motivational speaker who gives regular people, sensible advice on their finances. It's not rocket science, but it does require a lifestyle change....err, ummm, quite a painful lifestyle change! I'm not sure I can hang with Dave or his crowd, but I am determined to try! His advice moves me.

Last year, I read over 30 books on finances. I will probably be reviewing some of them on my blog in the future. One of those books was Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. He also does a 13 week class called Financial Peace University that I am taking right now. I am in week 2, so I will document my progress here!

If you're American and you have any sort of debt, read this book! It's a quick read and I highly recommend it!