The Crafts

Before a friend moved away, before little girls grew up and had to start school, before life became increasingly busy I used to get together weekly with two great friends, LeAnn and Lisa. All three of us have kids. All of our kids are girls. Combined we have seven little, giggly girls. I am, of course, expecting a third of unknown gender. LeAnn is expecting her fourth which to no one's surprise is yet another girl. And Lisa has called it quits on kids and instead collects cats. :) About 18 months ago our little girls looked like this... We were fortunate enough to have LeAnn back in town last week and after a rowdy lunch we parked our girls for a steamy picture where they all, unfortunately, were looking directly into the sun. 18 short months and their legs are longer, their faces have matured and I think they may have gotten louder...at least I know mine have. Oh, how I hope we can get together again soon after these babies arrive and look at the changes yet

Last week the girls excitedly cut, pasted and hung two countdown chains. One chain counts the days til school begins (Kindergarten for one and preschool for the other) and the second chain marks the remaining days until CJ's birthday. While they busied themselves with their creations I was making my own mental countdown. Baby #3 is set to arrive in approximately 9 weeks and 4 days. That means 60 more days until we meet him or her or 86,400 minutes until I can walk stairs without panting. It shall be a glorious day in so very many ways. Sweat, sweat, sweat These long hot days don't just affect me. Everyone is suffering in their own way. I've pretty much kept the girls indoors unless the pool is open. The time and temperature sign hanging from the fire station in town told us it is 101 degrees today. Am I wrong or have we moved to Arizona? Slip and slide with Grandpa... I am continually reminding myself to enjoy these two girls now because soon it w

I've become a little obsessed with iced coffee this summer. Have I mentioned that? Oh yes, I said that just yesterday. Then I guess it is pretty obvious. Iced coffee and I think about each other a lot. But iced coffee from Starbucks or whatever local hippie brew shoppe is not exactly in the everyday budget. I've attempted to pour cooled coffee over ice but it tastes like old, bitter coffee disguised with sugar. Yesterday, however, while my girls were away playing at grandma's and grandpa's I got the crazy notion to attempt making Pioneer Woman iced coffee. I've heard it tastes great but the time and effort put into it will cause you to go gray. I decided to try it anyway and I'm so glad I did. Despite the rumors, it was actually quite simple. You can find  her recipe here  if you want to try it for yourself. She makes a month's supply at a time. I cut it down significantly. I also used paper towels instead of cheesecloth because who has cheesecloth l

Why hello there. What is new with you? The blog world and I have been slightly estranged so far this summer. I can't say it is due to extreme productivity or selfless acts of giving to charities. Rather we've been selfishly soaking up every ounce of summer fun and sun. And that is about all we've done.  When dreaming of the day I might give up a career to raise children I knew it would be hard work. But I also knew what kind of mom I would be in the summer months; a pool rat mama. And that is totally what we are...pool rats. It sounds derogatory but it just simply means we almost literally live at the pool. Our mornings are filled with swimming lessons while the afternoons are for playing in the pool or sprinkler. And some days we even return for a bonus dunk in the evenings. We're chlorine logged and loving it. CJ has taught herself back flips in the deep end and how to belly flop off the diving board. Kate completes goofy tricks off the high dive and s

About 12 days ago the family and I piled into our swagger wagon bulging with golf clubs, swim suits, coolers and suitcases and hit the road for a vacation like never before. Well, plenty of families have taken extended road trips but not us. No sir, I fear the 15 minute commute to the grocery store so a round trip of Iowa with a jaunt in Omaha made me a wee bit apprehensive. It's not that I'm afraid of driving, I fear the uncontrollable outbursts from children strapped into car seats. But, my friends, I am overjoyed to share that it was a fabulous trip...including the car rides. (Psst...this is a very long post but there is a prize at the end for everyone who reads the entire entry.) First up: Lawton, Iowa Lawton is my birthplace and home to many relatives. While staying with my grandparents we visited cattle, climbed a few trees, rolled down a grassy hill or two, watched a ball game and ate like kings. We left exhausted but ready for our next adventure.