Just around the river bend

Please tell me you heard the same thing in your head that I did! If not, then you need to go back and sing it just like Pocahontas!

This is really going to be a post with random things in it, but I always dislike using that term "random". I much prefer "a loose gathering of thoughts"!

I got all the fabulous pictures back from my daughter's slumber party! And while I can't show you most of them, I bet the ones I can show you will help you understand what the rest look like.

Our craft center


Our glamour center


The fashion runway


Our game (or a great shot of my ivy plant!)



Not my daughter, but another cutie whose face is not showing. But a mother always knows! ;)



Story time

And just so my little man won't feel left out.....

Last month, he was so proud of himself for finishing this puzzle all by himself!

And Mommy was so proud that he can write his name! Looks like a "K" to me!

I forgot to mention in my "green" story yesterday about my precursor two weeks ago today. I did my first 7-day detox cleansing. If you know what I mean! I tried Arbonne's new one and was very pleased with the results. It made thinking about green smoothies seem like a really good next step. Now I just need to convince my husband how good it would be for him. Maybe I should relate it to making sure the oil in our cars is changed regularly!

Last, and least enjoyable, I am going to disappear for awhile. For sure all next week and maybe even the next one as well. Next week, I won't even be visiting anyone. WHICH WILL BE VERY VERY HARD! You guys probably don't even know how much you mean to me and to miss out for that long will be difficult. I may trickle back to my Google Reader week after next, but the road will no doubt be a long one!

So here is the deal. I am not really going to talk about it right now, but I will say this. Starting tomorrow, the next couple of weeks will be quite emotionally challenging for me and I will need your prayers. So you won't worry, please know, nothing of tragic proportions is occurring. However it is of difficult life-changing proportions. To me at least. And while we are on the subject of me, I have several people in my life that are going through some very difficult times themselves. So just know that a prayer for me is likely a prayer for them too. I like to think God works that way when you can't really share the details!

I am forever grateful!

Now, just where is that river bend, anyway?! ;)

Stacey

In the words of the great Kermit the Frog,

"It ain't easy being green.".

I read a couple of articles in the last two weeks that peaked my curiosity. Then yesterday, I watched a couple of the Green Smoothie Girl's how-to videos.

Then, as you can see, I got a wild hair.



Yes, while picking up a few things from the store, I grabbed a couple of bunches of both kale and collard greens. And let me be perfectly clear, I have NEVER purchased that stuff before in my life! Once home, I washed everything. And then I stared at this huge pile on my counter. Then I called my friend and questioned my sanity.

So, here is the honest truth. It has potential. Now, what I made (and what you are looking at!) does indeed look a little frightening, but it really was not that bad. I basically made it up as I went along....a few leaves of each, juice, milk, protein powder, strawberries, banana, vitamin shot.

It only mildly tasted like grass! ;)

And my kids looked at me like I was speaking in tongues (which I don't!) when I offered them a taste!

Since I can't fork over $400 for a juicer/ultimate blender right now, I will just have to continue to play with the recipes. She shows you a cool Hot Pink Smoothie that I might be able to pass off on my kids! She also talks about going heavier on the fruits as you work on increasing the greens. We already do fruit smoothies and my son loves to sneak sips of my protein shakes, so I think we can do this! And of course, they will never learn of all my other sneaky ways!

At the end of the day though, the green smoothie still is not this!


Seriously, have you tried this stuff?! It is like chocolate mousse!

Grab a spoon!

Stacey

Losing & Winning-part 3

Our Spring Weight-Loss Warriors Challenge (at church) ended on April 27th and I thought I would wrap up our time together. Actually, 5 of us did decide to continue through May, so I will let you know how that goes later!

I have to brag on the girls! Together, the six of us lost 43 pounds in 13 weeks! Five of us had continued on from the Fall (taking a break in December & January), and together, we lost 68 pounds in those 2, 13-week periods!

I don't really have many tips for this edition-sorry! Maybe you can share some in the comments and I will pass them along! If you missed my first two editions, check here and here for lots of great tips and more encouraging scriptures!

Tip of the Week:
My friend sent me a link to Hungry Girl. Go check it out and see what you think! I signed up for the daily emails and enjoy getting the food/product recommendations, as well as the recipes!

Scripture of the Week:
Though he stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hands. Psalm 37:24

Scripture of the Week:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Thought of the Week:
Relying on God has to begin all over again every day as if nothing had yet been done. -C.S. Lewis

Scripture of the Week:
In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has. Proverbs 21:20

Stacey

At your service!

Look at this neat little place online that comes highly recommended!

Speedy Frogs

You can get parts & service, plus you can buy or sell one!

I just might hafta get me one of those little electronic thingies afterall!

Go check them out!

Stacey

A Warm Biscuit is the Best!

A Warm Biscuit Bedding Company giveaway that is!

My friend Megan has a great post about the company and is giving away a $50 gift certificate!

Just in the nick of time~ the kids are getting new bedding this summer!

Go check out the website and then join the fun over at Megan's to sign up and hopefully win!

Oh darn, you can't win because I am going to win! ;)

Stacey

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Since I can't share actual action shots of the big party, I thought I would at least try to create some visual images of the evening. It would be more effective if I could add the audio like I wanted, but our video camera wires are being troublesome as well.

For various reasons, I really wanted my daughter to have a special way to end Kindergarten, as well as celebrate with all her girlfriends. I totally realize that most of these early friendships will fade over time, but for now, they are real. And really important! And on top of that, I feel very strongly about my girlfriends and want to instill in my daughter the importance of those relationships.

Sooooooooo, we decided on a slumber party. For 8 little girls! Then I decided to add the 2 first grade girls because all of these girls are together so much at school. Sadly, 1 little girl could not even make the party and then most of the girls could not spend the night. As it turns out, 99% of the fun stuff took place between 6:30 and 10:00 PM, so no one had to miss out! And this momma only had 3 sweet girls (mine plus 2) to manage overnight and the next morning!

I had a great time planning it and I also had some wonderful helpers! My friend's 11and 13-year old daughters, along with one of the moms stayed for the evening.

Ready?

6:30- Girls arrive. Screaming starts! Most of the girls were there by 6:45 and we started out with a preview of the evening's events.

6:45 until 10:00- Lots of screaming! OK, OK, we ( I mean "they") did more than that. Just imagine a lot of screaming mixed in!

We started by letting the girls serve themselves little sausages and cheese cubes with fancy toothpicks just like grown ups do. (Scream) They also enjoyed making their own fruit kabobs which they could decorate with various toppings available. (Scream) They took great pleasure in the food as they sipped pink lemonade and listened to fun Christian music.

Next on the agenda was glamour and craft! I had set up various stations, including hair, make-up, nails, and stick-on body jewelry. (Scream) The other station was where they could decorate their own visor with tons of cute stick on shapes. (Scream) The girls did really well working their way through the stations and demonstrating great patience as they waited on us to finish up with each friend before them. We took lots of pictures and even let them do an impromptu fashion runway walk! (Scream) They all looked marvelous, darling!

One of the funniest (and not so funny) episodes during this part was their insistence on having their noses "pierced". Oh dear! I just knew I would be blacklisted if this got back to the moms! Luckily, the other mom and I made a BIG deal about how real nose piercing HURTS BAD AND THEY USE BIG NEEDLES! Hopefully, they will settle for the little purple stick on dots for a long time to come!

Next, we played a fun game of Pin the Purse on Polly! (Scream) All the girls did great!

As the sun started setting, all the girls put on pj's (if they had them) and grabbed their pillows and blankets to settle down for a good chick flick~ Barbie, Island Princess. Of course!

Most of the girls left around 10:00 PM, leaving 2 little darlings to spend the night with my dtr. They quickly brushed their teeth and jumped into her full size bed to read and talk. I did all the loud clean up while they were still awake! I would have waited and just rested, but I had family coming in around 2 the next day! And besides, I had to take advantage of my son being out of the house to get it all done!

A couple of side stories~

As I was sweeping, I kept my ears open to listen in on the girls. At one point, it was a little quieter and I found them all snuggled in the bed together talking. As I walked back around the corner to continue sweeping, I heard one of them say, "Ok, now I am going to tell you some things about first grade that you might be interested in. I mean, you might not be interested, but in case you are.".

Well, I was interested, so I plopped down on the stairs next to her room to learn me some first grade 411! My dtr did say, "Oh, I am interested." Her friend proceeded to say, "Well, in first grade, we studied a real frog and saw the inside of it." My dtr quickly jumped in with, "Oh, I don't think I am interested."! However it was too late, as the other little girl continued on with how they saw the stomach and heart and brain. Followed by lots of ewww's and yuck's from the kindergarten girls! They continued on with comments like, "I didn't know frogs had brains."

See ladies, maybe that is the problem once we kiss them and they turn into a prince!

Amazingly, all three slept soundly throughout the night.

My son is another story!

My poor friend had to call me at 4:00 AM so he could talk to me through sniffles. Apparently, he went right back to bed after that and we found out later that a "dinosaur opened the door and scared him". Which makes sense-the boys he spent the night with have 2 huge dinosaurs painted on their walls! Otherwise, he had a great time at his own first sleepover!

The next morning, the girls enjoyed sausage and waffles before they played and were picked up.

The word on the playground is that all the girls really enjoyed the party! I am so glad! I love doing that kind of stuff and I hope that it allows my dtr and I to create some really fun memories together!

Stacey

p.s. Here was the poem that was part of the invitation!

Can you believe,
We're almost done?
This year went fast!
Boy, it was fun!

We learned so much.
We're rockin' smart!
Reading, Math,
Spanish, and Art!

Before the year comes to a close,
It's time for a party, I do suppose!
The sleep-over kind with all my girls.
We'll eat & giggle & sing & twirl!

And when the night comes to an end,
We'll rest our heads next to a friend.
Whispering wishes and little prayers,
Thanking God for the blessings of our past year.

She came before the fame!

My niece celebrated turning 6 last month and we got to enjoy the festivities!


See that huge balloon? It sings-over and over-whether you touch it or the wind blows it! And it was windy that day!



There is a whole lot of punch packed in those two little pigtail popouts! She is sassy and smart and full of creativity just like her cousin! Can you tell?!!




This was the excitement of the party! The spinning tire at the park. And, oh how they spun and spun and spun! My dtr probably did it 15 times!





I loved capturing this amazing boy hard at work!


She is hiding and I am seeking!



His seal of approval for the tire swing!




The boys! It has been fun to watch them grow and change together!



The girls! They love to be together!


And this is what happens on round 16 of the spinning tire swing. See that pitiful looking creature in the back? She skipped the cake and presents because she was white as a ghost and on the verge of puking! She recovered and still loves to spin to this day!

And for fun, I will throw in the good news! We are getting a new cousin in September! Yea! A sweet baby girl! Everyone, but especially the girls, is excited!

Stacey