In spite of everyone but Austin getting sick this past week we had a great time visiting with the family. We hung out at Nanny's house and swam with the cousins. We went blueberry picking and the kids helped pick a bunch of berries for us to freeze. ( btw, I found a recipe for a sauce to eat with the blueberries which was a huge hit.) Plain or vanilla yogurt, heavy whipping cream, and brown sugar, mix it all together and pour over the berries, just don't make it too soupy.
The boys have missed 2 weeks of swimming due to thunderstorms in the late afternoon the first week and then sickness last week. The final meet was Saturday but Luey was down for the count.
My friend M and I gave ourselves the challenge of not saying anything negative or critical at all. We realized that both of us have the tendency to get this way, so we determined not to say anything negative or critical for the week. Well the very first night I failed. I saw a woman on a talent show with the sides of her dress cut out and her love handles were hanging out of those cutouts. I mentioned to Nate "doesn't she have any friends or at least a mirror to see how unflattering that is on her." I was amazed about how many negative, judgemental things I think about in any given time. I am determined to keep the challenge going, it has made me so much more aware of the thoughts racing through my mind that I need to take captive. Having a critical spirit is one of the most life draining character traits I can think of. You poison yourself with all the negativity and you certainly don't edify those around you.
In shopping news, I found the cutest quilts at JC Penney online for the girls room. It is definitely more little girl than a 15 year old will like, but Dania will love it. I will just have to let Amanda decorate her half of the room a little more grown up. I was in a quandary of trying to find the perfect sheets, I wanted a higher thread count than 250, but they had to match the quilts. I found the perfect sheets yesterday at my second favorite store TJ Maxx. They were 310 thread count, full size for $30. Yea! One set was white with little pale pink polka dots and the other set was white with little sky blue polka dots. I was seriously overjoyed at my find, it became even more joyous when I was opening the packs to put them on the beds and discovered that the fitted sheet was the color of the polka dots on the flat sheet and had white dots on them. The sky blue fitted sheet with white dots matched the shy blue in the quilt perfectly, and the pink fitted sheet was an exact match of the pink in the quilts. I was so happy and actually still am. hehe! I will post a picture of the room when I am finished.
Amanda, (my 15yr old) will arrive August 8th.
6 comments:
Catrina,
Go out, get yourself some almond extract, and then try this recipe (works with your frozen berries too). Everyone who tries this recipe loves it!!
Blueberry Cake (MN State Fair winner)
Cream 3/4 c. sugar with 1/4 c. butter.
Add 1/2 c. buttermilk (I've used milk too), 1 egg, and 1/2 t. almond extract (must have this to give the cake the flavor)
Sift in: 2 c. flour, 2 t. baking powder & 1/2 t. salt
Stir all together. Fold in 2 cups blueberries. Sprinkle on topping. Bake in greased spring form pan (10 inches) at 375 for 45 minutes.
Here's the topping:
Mix together till crumbly:
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. flour
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 c. butter
You can see why it tastes so good; with all the rich ingredients, but it is such a treat. I have also made these as muffins; works great either way.
Is Amanda going to live with you permanently then? Are you officially adopting her (I wondered, the way you called her "my 15 year old". You'll have to post all your new stories about adding a girl to the family. I know it has been interesting for us, to say the least, and she started off as a baby. Can't wait to read more about how it all goes; I'm sure it will be great!
Crista,
No, we are not adopting her. She has a loving father who just needs some help with a girl. We are looking at this as a continuous situation not just a few months. I say "my" because that is how I feel, it helps me be able to do this if I see her as mine. Her father still has legal rights to her and can end this whenever he chooses, but he is totally on board with her moving in with us.
I will have to try the recipe it looks yummy and I have a boat load of berriers.
Looks like everything is starting to come together with the girl's room. I can't wait to see a picture : ) I am going to join you in a ONE WEEK WITHOUT NEGATIVE COMMENTS : ) I tend to think of myself as a pretty positive person, but am often surprised at how often I make critical comments too. I will tell you how it went. What a great challenge : ) Tell M I said hi by the way.
Ash
great to hear that your house is filling up! One more to get home!
love the no-neg week...I don't know of anyone that couldn't use this challenge.
glad everyone is feeling better.
interesting challenge. does it include thoughts? i don't think alot comes out of my mouth. i feel like i've always had negativity radar- a gift from my mother.haha (that's my perception anyway :) but i know what's in my head at times. it's gotten better when i try to actually replace the bad/judgemental thought, with an more understanding and loving one about the person or situation.
i will definitly use this to work on my attitude and tone of voice towards my kids. lately, we've not had a super summer schedule,and I'm stressed about the new school year, so it's beginning to show in my comments towards them.
thanks for the inspiration once again. i appreciate your honesty.
so excited things are coming together for the girls. :)
Have fun getting ready for both your girls. You guys will do great! :)
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