wishes

cuteness

thank God it's Friday, or a new day for that matter! :)

 Brighten turned 5 earlier this month....

here's some pics.

 And this is the recipe for the cake i made! it's the EASIEST cake ever, it's called DUMP cake because you only use 1 bowl and dump it all in! 

easy.

and very very delicious.

throw-back thursday!

oh how time flies.....

Cara-box!

 This month I participated in an online event called Cara-Box!

It was so much fun. :)

It involves signing up on this website and committing to send another Cara-box member a package in the mail, a theme for that month's box is given, along with some other guidelines.

It was great fun and I loved it so much!

I loved getting to sneak around Kaitlin's blog to see what her life is like and what she is into,

you can check out the box I sent to her over at this site!

This is the box that I received from a very thoughtful woman named Anna K:

 The box smelled heavenly when I opened it :)

 I just love Burt's Bees.  

I also am looking forward to trying nail polish strips for the first time ever!

 I am a huge fan of brads....how did she know??

 This was the good smell culprit....I'm stoked to try this!

 How cool are these little candles!!??

 Love, love, love the TEA!

She was right that I will sip and RELAX!

 Again! more Burt's....:)

A huge blessing too was these crafty items; stickers and a mini album to fill!

Anna K. was very thoughtful and wanted me to just retreat and enjoy some "me-time".  she was very thoughtful and I appreciate all her thoughts and the package!

Thank you Anna!!!!

I am blessed and excited to receive these,....I really do enjoy creating and being crafty!

Thank you Cara-Box!!
If any of you want to be involved in next month's Cara box exchange head over to this site and check out what is involved,
you don't have to be a blogger to participate!

happy April!

The weather up here in NY is so moody.

seriously, we were out romping in the mud one day, and now it's snowing today!

My kids have had it with the snow.

I'm actually thankful for bursts of warm sunshine, then we get to huddle back inside.

So happy April everyone!

some pics for the weekend

 I'm excited! i've finally done something with a pinterest idea!!

yes, and it's homemade laundry detergent. 

super easy.

you just add all these products together! 

(and grate the soap bars with a cheese grater...and you're done!)

smells amazing.

 one of my children hijacked my phone....as usual.

and took this gem.

had to post it! 

ha :)

 i love these goofy girls,

and their goofy faces.

ok! time for a FLASHBACK photo!

i've been in my mom's archives...

so much fun (and a little sad) to see all the pics from 2008....only 5 years ago???

crazy how time flies.

march madness

 here's a video i took of brighten, what a cutie....

we celebrated ember's 9th birthday! whaaaat?

9 years?!?

crazy. 

please stop growing.

please.

finally friday!

 i love this picture of Ivory and Olivia!!

These two get along very well and play so nicely.

this photo does no justice to what i saw, but i'll post it anyways. i really loved the deep pink color by the sun. :)

Winter Activities

 one of my favorite rainbows done by Adia (age 6)

 We visited oswego this past weekend, and jenn made delicious lasagna! kids love eating the left over noodles...those noodle-monsters!

 spring wants to be here so badly!!

so do we :)

This is my favorite part of this season. Brighten has a new friend- Everett!! It is so much fun to watch these boys get along!  

What a blessing a friend is. I'm truly blessed as well by the momma of this cute little boy...new friends is a definite theme and we are blessed indeed!

look closely

aren't they beautiful!!?!?

Wordless Wednesday!

thankful thursday!

winter!

 Boy it sure is cold up here in the North!

we didn't expect to be up in NY this season, so this is quite an adjustment for the kids!

Brighten keeps wondering and hoping to go swimming again.....:)

 A great blessing we received is a membership to the museum of play!

We have been up there at least once a week, the kids love it, especially Brighten.

 Another project that kept us busy this past month was for Ivory's class--we had to design and make a costume based on the water cycle. She was Precipitation.  

 Olivia keeps warm for sure! Cappucinos (steamed milk) and lots of different coats keep her toasty warm~!

easy shortbread

Hey people! 

This is another post on an easy-peasy cookie/bar

recipe with only 4 ingredients...(and my husband loves them!)

super simple.

shortbread!

1 cup butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

and that's it!

you can always add an ingredient at the end to make it different...

like i added 1/2 choc chips to spice it up!

or some lemon zest....

easy.

 kids love to help!

 Cream together the butter and sugar

 Add the flour and salt and mix till it looks uniform and crumbly.

pat it in an Ungreased (i love how easy that is!)

 8X8 pan

poke a fork all over it

and cook! 

325 for 25 min

happy baking!

enjoy the winter! 

Adia

 These two pictures are of Adia's Kindergarten class....

they have been using these shots for just about every book they make and send home..

of course this was the day when she decided because her big sisters had PJ day, so did she!!

how funny. she wasn't mortified, she just laughed it off when she came home that day. 

we couldn't be prouder of our little girl!

Homemade Soft Pretzels

I made these!!

Let me tell you, they weren't very hard to make at all!

Thanks to Alton Brown, i found his soft pretzel recipe online and followed the steps...and 

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm delicious soft pretzels that taste exactly like store bought ones, or the ones you get in the mall!! seriously!!

go to this link for the recipe!