You know it is time to get a new iron when...

Tonight I ironed. I am not one who enjoys ironing nor do iron often. I feel very accomplished after ironing my pillowcases, shams and my duvet cover. I rarely iron my pillow cases and this was the first time ironing my duvet cover. The pillow cases and shams were done. The duvet was close to done and didn't look perfect, but better than it before. I heard a pop, smelled something burning, looked down, and saw the cord on fire where the cord meets the iron. Now you may ask, "How old is your iron?" Hard to say. I know that we didn't get it when we got married (8 1/2 years ago), but we did get it when we were newlyweds. The iron has suffered much abuse, not from use, but from falling off the ironing board. I'm sure the lineolum in our laundry room in VA could count the number of times. I can't remember the last time I could use the steam setting. The outer plastic casing had cracks in multiple places from the nose dives off the board. Farewell little iron, you served us well.

Xander's Top Eleven Favorite Words

1. Ble-lah
2. Mom
3. Play
5. Ju (aka juice)
6. Baby (aka luvy)
7. Cookie (aka If You Give a Mouse a Cookie)
8. Moo (Mr. Brown Can Moo)
9. Poo Poo (aka potty)
10. Done
11. TT (aka TV)

Spring is Almost Here

Today it is a beautiful 65 degrees with a slight breeze. I weeded my flower beds, and turned the dirt in my compost pile for the first time in months. An older couple walking by commented that they could use me at their house. I told them that this is the best my beds will look all summer. I am not a gardener by any means. I am motivated to do gardening projects in the spring after being cooped up in the house all winter; however, by the time summer comes, my drive is lacking and the work becomes tedious. For now my beds look taken care of and ready to recieve flowers when the time comes. My dead mums from the fall (I had two) which I was going to throw in the woods behind our house, but though all the dead stuff I could see some green. Sure enough once I cut it all down, there was the new green growth. A real sign of spring.

What Will She Come Up With Next?

"Mama, can you fix my bow please?" Charlotte asked. "It doesn't feel good. I feel good, but my bow doesn't feel so good." It's times like these that I am glad that I have a blog to record things like this. Prior to having a blog I would tell myself that I need to write the cute things that my kids say down and then never would.

Have You Ever Said...

Look what your son is doing. I had one of those moments last night after bathtime. Xander was running around without his clothes on in the bathroom then he stopped. He thought it was a good idea to pee into the back of the small space heater we have in the bathroom (our bathroom being over the garage is freezing in the winter). Not good. However, nothing happened.

Baking Day

So Thursday's are my baking day. Today I made wheat rolls and maple-oat scones. Both of which were yummy and turned out great. Last Thursday I made the same scones for my Tuesday ladies group and they all loved them. I also made cinnamon rolls. Let me preface this with saying that I am a pretty good baker, and this was not my first time making them nor was it a new recipe. Something went seriously wrong with the dough this time. What? I really can't say. The yeast was new, the flour was new; however, maybe the dough rose to long. Whatever the case, the end product was YUCKY! I have had the occasional ugly looking batch of cinnamon rolls that tasted fine, but these were ugly and yucky. If I posted a pictures of them you would be truly frightened, so I will spare you from having nightmares.

In case your are interested in making these scones, go to the Food Network website and look under scones. The recipe is from Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa). The title is Maple-Oat scones. Please read the reviews to get ideas to enhance them. I didn't make any changes to the recipe, but I do intend to get some cooking grade syrup for a more intense flavor, and to use maple flavoring. Even though the flavor is not very intense without these elements, the texture is perfect.

Here we go...

Well, I am officially the next MOPS coordinator for my group. Some of my friends from VA might be a little surprised considering that I wasn't very invovlved in MOPS there. I have been happy doing the newletter for my group the last 2 years, but God has called me to be the next coordinator. In early January I began thinking about what I am going to do when Xander goes to Kindergarten. I know that 3 years seems quite far off in the future, but nonetheless I couldn't stop thinking about it. When I did think about what I would do, I couldn't come up with anything specific. I have lots of hobbies, but none that I would consider going to school for to be marketable. I was driving home after our steering meeting in earlyFeburary and, I felt that this position as coordinator would somehow prepare me for what I will be doing down the road. This is not the position I would have choosen for myself; however, if this is where God wants me, then He will help me get the job done. I will continue to do the newsletter too because I love doing it. The theme for next fall is: Momology: The Art and Science of Mothering. Let the planning begin.

Birthday Parties in the Works

I have been online researching themes for Charlotte's birthday party. Bella chose her theme about a month ago. You are probably thinking, it's only March. I know I am crazy, but I have to be. I have May, June, and July birthdays. If I am not on top of it, I would be one stressed out mama. I like to go all out on a modest budget. Charlotte's Alice in Wonderland: Mad Hatter's Tea Party was a huge success last year. She even looked liked Alice. May I have a drum roll please... Bella wants a Hello Kitty party and Charlotte's will be Madeline...12 little girls in 2 straight lines, the youngest being Madeline. What about Xander? Well, I am still thinking about his theme, since it will be a playgroup party. There are no little boys his age to invite to an actual party. We have always had friend parties for the kids, since we don't have family where we live or have lived. My biggest dilemna is that he doesn't like cake. He's more of a cookie guy, I will have to get creative in the cake department. Any suggestions? I would love to hear them.