Rainbow Party

Since the kids are finally catching up on their sleep (they will probably wake up now since I just typed this) I decided to share some pictures from R's rainbow party. It was a blast, and I actually tried to not "work" the whole time, but enjoy myself. I am reading this book, "Smart Martha's Guide." Relating to the story in Luke 10: 38-42. Trying to be like Mary instead of Martha while getting stuff done around the house.

This was the first party where we actually invited several kids that are Ruth's friends. They consisted of kids who's parents happen to be my friends, but that's how it is when you are 3.

So here are some pictures from the event....

Mackenzie made the cupcake cake. And it was so easy to serve, no plates, no forks, just grab and go. And check out the inside....

We got the idea online you should check out some of the awesome rainbow cakes  here.

Everyone was invited to wear their favorite rainbow color. Pink and purple were popular among the little girls.

I made Ruth's skirt. It had been awhile since I have completed a sewing project, but I was determined to make her a birthday outfit. This skirt was SO easy to make, I can't wait to make more, maybe even one for me, not rainbow of course.

Here are some tutorials for this style of skirt....

Chico and Jo

Kuky Ideas

I honestly just kinda winged the whole thing and it turned out lookin good, so it would probably look great had I followed some directions.

Anyways everyone had a blast. I even made everyone try to line up in rainbow order to take a picture, the people at the bottom are a cloud.

Breastfeeding anytime, anywhere....

As Marie's 1st birthday has come and gone, weaning seems to come up in conversation and in my mind. Ruth nursed till about 14 months or so. A month later we found out we were expecting Marie. Some say the milk changes taste. I was ready to continue nursing while pregnant, but she led the weaning and I was left wimpering at the time we got to spend so close together.

So now here we are again, Marie is 1. We want to start planning for baby 3 (this may seem crazy to some, but we are so excited to have more children. Ruth and Marie are 22 months apart and it is working very well for us. Every family is different) Anyways we have introduced whole milk, mostly because Marie always wants what Ruth has. I was doing some reading up on the subject, just breastfeeding in general and I came across something I found very fun to read.

ALERT: it was fun to read because a) I am a mom b) I love breastfeeding c) I breastfeed anywhere I need to and d) I love reading stuff about women who breastfeed. So if you are say a man with no children and a fear of breast, this might not be all that "fun" to read.

50 Reasons for Breastfeeding Anywhere. Anytime.

I like number 38 - I hope the women in my life are more likely to try breastfeeding because of years of observing me.

Number 41 - My girls are growing up knowing boobies are for feeding babies. I love to watch R imitate this with her dolls.


And my favorite of the 50 reasons...
46. Because an awful lot of women show more breast when they are not breastfeeding than breastfeeding mothers show when they are breastfeeding.

Happy Breastfeeding Mommies!

Ladybug Party

So the fall is full of birthdays for us. M's is at the end of August and T's is at the beginning of September. And them R's is just a few weeks later in October. So we kicked the birthday season off with a Ladybug party. Here are some pictures of the day.

First let me just say the Birthday Girl looked like this about half way through the party. She's 1, I think this is common....

Ok but she was awake for some of the party.

I spent some time on decorations to help with the Ladybug theme, but not much. She's one and I wasn't going to go all out. The biggest time spended, making cake balls. Which sounds really easy, but it's not. I think they are suppose to look a bit cleaner and smoother. Oh well. It was my first try.

The birthday girl took a power nap and woke up to do cake and presents. You can tell she still looks so tired in these pictures. Both girls needed naps that day, and neither one got it. R pretty much cried about everything for the first hour. And then decided it was fun to get to open our sister's presents.

And here's one of R and A playing in the yard. So much fun.

So now we start planning for someone's 3rd birthday, and there has been a request for rainbows....

Oh and this man had a birthday last week too. We love him, he had a cake and we sang him happy birthday. He is a great daddy and husband, who thinks he is getting old. You are hun, that is what happens.

Day 1... so good so far....

They advise you to change cloth diapers every 1-2 hours.

Also when we went to the YMCA I put her in a disposable.

But they have been easy peasy to use.

Uh oh, I think I'm hippie'ish

So we have decided to invest in something.....

No not diapers.com..... and we already had diapers (some of the time).... But a newer better diaper.

These are called gDiapers.

They are clothe.

Gasp! What?

Yes, we are trying out clothe diapers. The ones you have to wash the poop out of.

Yes, poop. I am aware that this will happen.

But look how precious they are. Marie is not home right now, but I bet her bottom is going to look adorable in this. And this is the back so the velcro is in the back, which will stop her from taking off her own diaper.

Now we did not decide to do this just because they are cute (but it was a bonus.) Though a more expensive investment in the beginning, clothe diapers still save money. And they are better for the enviornment. And yes we care about our Earth. I was raised in a recycling center...hehe. No but really I think my mom brought recycling to Needville. But anyways, we are going to try it out during the day while at home first, and see how we progress.

If you are interested check out these sites for more information on gDiapers...
A First Mom - About gDiapers
gDiapers Website
See Kate Sew - Handmade gDiaper Liners - and next I want to make some of these~

Aren't these adorable! Oh I am so in love. Ok now to get the babe and put them on her. Oh can't wait.

Have any of you used clothe diapers before?

Cauliflower

So in our attempt to eat more fruits and vegtables, I decided to try my hand at a cauliflower recipe. But trust me I am sure with butter and cheese cauliflower can take a walk on the wild side and become not so healthy. First let's look at some yummy pictures of other recipes!

Mashed Cauliflower Travis said he would be able to tell the difference right away, but I am thinking maybe a 50/50 might be a good idea the first go around. Half potatoes, half cauliflower.

Simple Cauliflower Recipe -  This website also has some yummy recipes for eating healthy and using more natural and raw foods.

Cauliflower Dal - This is from the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen. Looks good for the cold weather, not so much during some Texas heat.

And then here is my cheesy goodness. I used a recipe from Jamie Oliver. Heres a link to his Website.
It was delicous, Travis ate 3 servings, and in the end there were no leftovers.

I even used the corning ware I got from my Papa after he died. Use it all the time.

So go ahead try cauliflower. Get creative.



Vacation

My husband is a workaholic, he works anywhere from 60-150 hours a week. I understand he works for the family business and really takes pride in the work he does. He also get frustrated when he is sitting in Louisiana just to sit at a site "on call". How he racks up so many hours amazes me. Because even when he works 80 hours a week he still seems to be home with us and the kids. Anyways, this is what he looked like for a week...

So we planned a vacation to go see this Laura. Kansas and Texas girl, met in New Hampshire while coaching volleyball at a summer camp for girls. God knew we needed each other. We have been together (though thousands of miles apart) through our good times and bad the past 7 years! So we planned to go up to Omaha to see her.

I love this one of us sliding down the huge slides, Laura beat me down. We had a good time, Ruth adores Laura, and it was great to spend some face time with my best friend. I love you Laura.

So we went through 6 states during our vacation... Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and New Mexico.