Last Night's Dinner

Everything on the plate, with the exception of the roast and spices, was grown in our garden. Somehow, that makes me feel pretty cool. :-)

I grew this!

And this...

And all of this - kids included! :-)
I promise I didn't put them up to this... Avery did!!!

Take a Tip Thursday

Beauty tips... Hmmm... Well, I'll be the first to admit that I don't know much about this particular topic. But I've made it the subject of today's Take a Tip Thursday blog for 2 reasons. The first reason is that I was recently shocked that 2 people in my life (2 very close people in my life) hadn't read a previous blog entry of mine (HORROR!), where I confessed to using a specific baby product in my hair on a regular basis. The second reason is that I am honestly hoping all of you can give me a few tips. So, here are my beauty tips for today's...

Take a Tip Thursday!

I sprinkle baby powder in my hair to remove excess oily build-up. It works! Really!!! I hate washing my hair every day. But if I don't, about halfway through the second day my hair starts to look really bad. One of my aunts shared this little tip with me not that long ago, and it has set me free! All you do is sprinkle a little baby powder in your hair, then comb through it like you normally would brush your hair. Doing this takes the excess oil out of your hair and gives it a "just washed" look. I use this little tip to save myself the time and hassle of having to wash, dry and style my hair every single day.

And after sharing that little tip, I bet you are sitting on the edge of your chair right now, waiting anxiously for my second beauty tip. Well here it is! A couple of years ago, I was out of town for a family wedding. When I was putting on my make-up for the wedding, I realized that my mascara was completely dried out. Out of desperation, I added a couple of drops of water to the mascara tube. And it worked... In the past, whenever my mascara would start to get dry and clumpy, I would buy a new tube and throw the old one out. No more, I tell you! These days, whenever my mascara starts to get dry and clumpy, instead of buying a new tube immediately, I simply add 1 or 2 drops of water to the tube, shake it up a little, and it's good to go, just like new! I extend the life of my mascara by at least 3 more months this way.

Aren't you just overwhelmed with my wealth of knowledge on this subject? Well hang onto your chair again, because I have one more tip! I was recently told by a friend of mine that Visine will take the red out of... nope, not your eyes... your blemishes! My friend swears by this little beauty tip. She mistakenly stumbled upon this little tip one day while putting Visine in her eyes. She missed her eye, but hit the pimple on her cheek instead. Within a few minutes, she noticed that the pimple was barely noticeable. Personally speaking, I can't wait to go to the store this weekend to buy some Visine.

By any chance has anyone tried this product?

Garnier Nutrisse Skin Renew Anti-Puff Eye Roller

From their website: Roll away under-eye puffiness and dark circles for brighter, more radiant eyes. While you sleep, circulation slows down and causes fluid to collect in your lower eye area. Dark circles and puffiness appear. Skin Renew anti-puff eye roller is right for you if you gently want to stimulate micro-circulation around skin's delicate eye area to decongest excess fluid for diminished dark circles and puffiness.

Sounds great! But I'm wondering if it really works. I'll have to get back to you all on that one...

And now it's time for you to leave your own beauty tip. Does anyone out there have a "tried and true" beauty tip they'd like to share? Hope so!!!

Scenes from a birthday party

When I asked Avery what she wanted for her 6th birthday party, she told me that she wanted a tea party with pink tea, a cake shaped like a tea pot and another cake shaped like a tea cup to go with the tea pot, tiny turkey sandwiches, some of that chicken salad that I make that has the mayonnaise in it, dip, watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, chocolate candy, and sugar cookies. She also wanted to play a couple of games, and she wanted a pink My Little Pony she'd seen in the store when she was there with her Daddy a couple of weeks ago.

When I asked Samuel what he wanted for his 8th birthday party, he told me that he wanted to go see a movie at the theater, and then maybe get some Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets on his way home from the movie. That's all. :-)

Wishes Granted!

Playing pin the princess in the castle window.

And for something just a bit more masculine, we also played pin the tail on the donkey. Samuel got really close!

So Avery, how do you REALLY feel about getting the My Little Pony you wanted?

Batmobile cake, complete with chocolate chip cookie tires.

Tea pot AND tea cup cakes. I ran out of foil, so I couldn't cover Avery's cardboard bottom. Oh well... I think that was just about the only thing that went "wrong" though.

Samuel, are you enjoying your cake? Because I can't really tell...

Isaac fell asleep right when the tea party was getting started, but he woke up just in time for cake!

And that's just about the time when Hector and Avery fell asleep...

A great time was had by all. To quote Avery, "It was the best day ever!" And with those 6 simple words, it became the best day ever for me too. :-)

Take a Tip Thursday/The Last Day of School!

This morning, as I woke up Samuel and Avery for their last day of school, Samuel told me that he had good news and bad news. The good news was that it was the last day of school. The bad news was that he was sad about it. I told him that I knew exactly how he felt. Today's Take a Tip Thursday blog has been difficult for me to type, mainly because I keep bursting into tears. The words I'm trying to put down here just seem to keep hitting me really hard. I think it's because I simply can not believe another school year is over. Another school year being over = my kids are getting older. They are just growing up so fast! I wish they would just stop growing... Can someone make that happen for me, please?

Well, we have a little tradition in our home, started by "Yours Truly" about 4 years ago. I love taking pictures of the kids, so it seemed only fitting for me to make it a tradition to take pictures of the kids on their first and last day of school every year. I originally thought it simply would be a cute way of documenting these momentous occasions in their lives. And while it has been a fun tradition, it has turned out to be a really neat way of visually documenting just how much the kids grow over the course of a year. Not to mention the fact that it is truly amazing for me to look back at just how little Samuel and Avery were when they started going to "school," and just how fast the years have gone by.

So, come with me now as I take you for a little walk down memory lane...

First day of Preschool, August 2006.

Last day of Preschool, May 2007. Oh look! There's a new little critter!

Samuel's first day of Kindergarten, August 2007.

Avery's first day of Pre-K, August 2007.

Last day of Kindergarten for Samuel, and last day of Pre-K for Avery, June 2008. Scroll up 3 pictures, and then scroll back down to this one. Other than the fact that Samuel was in desperate need of a haircut, notice how much taller both Samuel and Avery were in this picture. Their heads were both over the top of the bar! And that's just in 1 year. Now that's what I call a growth spurt!

Avery's first day of Kindergarten and Samuel's first day of 1st grade, August 2008.

Last day of 1st grade for Samuel, and last day of Kindergarten for Avery, June 2009.

Look at how much my babies have grown! Yes, I'm still crying...

Trust me when I say that I could blog my heart away right now, typing several paragraphs about all of the many highs and lows we've experienced this past school year. But instead, I've decided not to do that. And by the way, you're welcome. :-) Instead, I will leave you all this "tip"... Cherish each day you have with your children as the gift it truly is.

And now, I've got this slide show for you all to enjoy, full of pictures from the past school year. Happy Summer, Everyone!

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