Scheduling time with yourself

Thru these past few months, I have realized something very important- scheduling time with myself and for myself.  It seems so cliche', but it is something that we should all try and do.  I schedule appointments for Samantha, Kevin, Georgie and myself - Dr's appointments, haircuts, etc.- and they are never broken.  I feel like those appointments are important and then it hit me-I need to schedule an appointment with ME! I have found a time (for me it is 8:30am to about 10 am) that I have a standing appointment with myself everyday.  I know that everyday is not realistic for most people, but even if it was 3 times a week you make a standing appointment with yourself- it is your time to make yourself better.  I have done yoga and Pilates, I have walked on a treadmill, listened to beautiful, soothing music and prayed the Novenas that I have been wanting to pray for so long.  This is my special appointment and I make sure to not break it just like I would not break a Dr's appointment or even a hair appointment.  Our time is valuable- to others yes, but to ourselves, it is precious.

I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend!      

~Casey

I LOVE TO MOP!!

I know- what is wrong with that girl??  Seriously, who enjoys mopping?  ME- I do!  I especially love how it makes my house smell after I finish.. it kind of reminds me of a song I once heard  'So fresh and so clean, clean'....  Ok, I am done with the silly humor.

I was mopping yesterday and I tried out a new mixture to see how it actually cleaned and smelled.  To go back a couple of years, a friend of mine turned me on to mopping with vinegar.  This is the cleanest that my floors have EVER been- the only problem is, that now my house smells like a pickle after I mop.  Yes, the vinegar smell evaporates- eventually, but I like my house to smell fabulous after I finish mopping.  So this is what I did-  I filled up a regular mop bucket 2/3 of the way with warm tap water.  I then added 1 cup of white vinegar, 3 - 4 drops of dish soap (I use Meyers) and 10 - 15 drops of essential oil (I used lavender).  My floors are CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN and my house smells so good!

The 3 products that I used to mop with.... oh yeah and my ice cream in the back ground-  of course it is Blue Bell's Homemade in the Shade- this is my treat for working so hard today!  ;-)

Mason Jar Soap Dispenser

I was on Pinterest yesterday and I saw this idea and thought, "How cute is that?!?!"  It was a mason jar turned into a soap dispenser.  If you don't already know, I am obsessed with mason jars!  I love them- I have made cake in them; I store homemade sauces and jams in them- they are just GREAT- in my opinion, at least!  So, I got right up, went outside to my husbands tool box and borrowed a hammer and a long phillips head screwdriver - oh yeah, and I grabbed the kitchen soap and a mason jar on the way out!  I measured how large the hole had to be  (for the soap pump to fit through the top of the jar) and then I took the hammer to the top of the screwdriver and lightly tapped a hole into the top.  After the pump was set in place, I filled the jar with the hand soap, trimmed the 'straw' that comes from the pump and screwed on the top of the mason jar.  Next, I used a craft glue and adhered the top (part that would typically screw on to the soap bottle) to the flat surface of the mason jar. And voila`!  I now have the cutest soap dispenser at my kitchen sink!

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful weekend!  I also hope that you have all enjoyed some ice cream this weekend- I know that we have!

~Casey

Lunch box notes

Everyday (except for 1 day) last school year I sent a note in Samantha's lunchbox- and she looked forward to them everyday! Eventually her friends looked forward to them, too and her teacher even read them!

Getting ready for the new school year, I wanted to do something special with her notes and not just throw them into a box. So, I used ModPodge and adhered them to a canvas. I am going to hang it in her bathroom so every morning she knows how much she is loved and how proud we are of her!

I will be writing lunch notes again this year and will hang them year after year next to one another to remember the year past and all of her accomplishments!
 

It is so important for our children to know, everyday, how important they are to their family! Enjoy!

This is it finished, but still wet.  I will post another pic after it is dry and hung!

Party Cups

I love party cups! When I was in my sorority, I loved making these cups for anyone and everyone and guess what?? I still love making them & I make them for most holidays, birthdays, etc!

The 'rattle' that paint pen makes is music to my ears- I love to decorate the whole cup and add a little gift to the inside of the cups - pencils or crayons; candy; mini wine bottles or even better a scoop of ice cream for an ice cream social! Here are a few of the cups that I have made in the last year. Enjoy!

NAIL POLISH!

Girl's night in and Samantha and I were discussing what we should do over a plate of mac n cheese (best girl's night food ever!).  Recently, I saw where you can make your own nail polish by using eye shadow and clear polish- and what do you know..... I had everything here to do this project!

We took a small fork and broke small pieces out of the eye shadow and mixed 2 or three colors for each polish on a paper plate.  Next we made a funnel out of paper and added about 1/2 a tsp at a time into the clear polish until we reached the desired color.  *note: as you add the powder, tap the bottle on a counter to get the powder to fall so you can add more.  This was really fun and VERY simple!

Now, we are off to have some ice cream and watch a movie in bed!  I hope that you all have a great Monday evening! 

OH and P.S. The polish looks great on, too!  Nails and toes are done! :-)

To be a kid again!

This last week has been full of good news- my sister in law's surgery was successful, I had a good Dr's appt and last, but certainly not least, Samantha's appt at TX Children's went great- we met Samantha's new EP Dr and we all really liked him!

What a great ending to happy, yet very rainy week! We were able to go to the park and have fun- at least until the mosquitoes came out!

Since the rain started again, we took the party inside and decided to have an indoor 'camp out'.  Samantha had S' mores Mix and enjoyed a movie!  I love evenings like this!  I hope that everyone had a great Friday and has an even better weekend!

Monkey Bars!!

Enjoying her movie!

A few of my favorite things...

 I love the Christmas season for many reasons- but one of my favorite things to do is decorate Christmas trees!  I love making bows and filling a tree with all of the pretty fabrics and ribbon.  I felt this post would be appropriate right now, because I just saw Blue Bell's latest ice cream flavor- Christmas Cookies in July!  I can not wait to taste it!  :-)

Here are some pictures of the trees that I have decorated and bows that I have made in the past years.  I hope that you all enjoy!

What a great day!

I love to visit the local farmer's market when I am at home!  There is always such fun things to look at and of course cute things to buy- esp. for Samantha!  The best part of the farmer's market is the splash pad for the children!  The fountains were shooting the water straight into the air and the kiddos were having a ball running though the water and playing with each other.  It's funny how our children could really teach us so much about life- they play so hard together; they can argue and get over it in a split second... or two; they are intrigued by the simplest things and can make an entire morning out of it; they are quick to smile at the other children joining the group to play.  Children don't have an agenda, they are simply there (wherever that might be) to play, get along and have fun!  I wish that as an adult that I could, just once, 'let go' and have fun like my child!

So, with that, I am going to finish my ice cream and go to bed early!  I hope that you all have  wonderful, childlike fun at some point this weekend!  Smiles and hugs to all!

S'mores Mix

This is one of Samantha's favorite snacks and the best part, she gets to make it!  It is very simple and quick!  The ingredients are- Honey flavored Teddy Grahams, Kraft mini marshmallows and white chocolate chips (Guittard's- made in a peanut free facility!).  We take 2 cups of Teddy Grahams, 1 1/2 cups of marshmallows and 1 cup of chocolate chips dump into a bowl and let your child mix it up with their clean hands.  These ingredients are also peanut/ tree nut free, so it is perfect for a child's party!

After nap, we are going to make some, so I will post pics later!  Enjoy your wonderful Friday!!

Update:
OK- I have been to 4 different supermarkets in town and not one has  'nut free' white chocolate chips available!  I guess we will have to make this when we get home next week!

Ingredients!

Mixing it up!

Now time to go and enjoy with her bear!

It's been a while...

Sorry for not updating in a while!  We have been with out internet and a home phone for a few days and boy was that a weird feeling!  Although, we have cell phones and 3 or 4G to get us thru this hard time...  It was kind of nice to accept it as a temporary change and focus on my family with out interruption.


Well, I hope that everyone had a terrific 4th of July!  What a great day to celebrate our country, our freedom and our men and women who serve our country to keep us FREE!


Tonight, I am writing from the home that I grew up in!  We are home for a few short days and are going to enjoy some quality time with family- especially GG and Pop!


Family- That is what this post is going to be about.  Family by definition is: A group consisting of parents and children living together in a household.  So, as we grow up and start our own families, I think that we should keep in mind all of the things that our parents taught us- treat others as you would like to be treated; always use your good manners; remember the 'magic word' (please and thank you). We need to make sure, that as parents, we instill these rules and other important lessons that we have learned along the way to our own families.  We all have our crosses to bear, some greater than other's, but no matter the weight of the cross, we should learn to carry it with grace and dignity for our spouses, children, siblings, parents, grandparents, etc.  Sometimes we fall, but we all get back up- Lead by example- Remember that there is always Someone watching!  Hug, kiss, and hold your family tight- none of us are promised tomorrow.  And to my family- I love you all with all of my heart! 


I hope that you all have a great week! 

My family at the 4th of July Parade!