First 5 Goals: I am too busy mopping the floor to turn off the faucet

How am I going to live today in order to create the tomorrow I'm committed to? ~Anthony Robbins


Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. ~Henry Ford


Goals are dreams with deadlines. ~Diana Scharf Hunt

1. Declutter House
This has been a main goal for me for awhile. "Less chaos and confusion = more time and money for the things that really matter such as....spirituality, emotional well-being, physical health and loving relationships." I am really good about reading "How To Declutter" from various sites, but have yet to put into practice. So, I better get off my little toosh and DE-clutterrr! Remove, sort and purge!!!

2. Read More
UPDATE: Yeah, I have started to read again. And it is WONDERFUL. You should try it, really! I am going to the library today to get some books on my list to read. I will write later about some of the books I am reading, etc.
UPDATE II: READING<>
I just put a list of books I want to read on the side of my blog. Though, I have not watched too much TV lately (good thing), I have on the other-hand have been spending too much time on the computer (not a good thing). So, I have decided to shut down the laptop for a little while and put forth some written words unto my face.


3. Decorate Girls Room
UPDATE: I bought a border for the girl's room and picked out paint chips to decide what paint color to get. I got the box out of "goodies" we have collected over the years to decorate the room to sort through. I am hoping to paint sometime next weekend. (July 15)
I have wanted to do this for awhile. I need to finish Goal #1 first before getting myself boiled over with paint and fabric. But, I can let you know that my idea for decorating the room is still "The Secret Garden". This has been the theme since/before Sophia was born in 2002. I have been collecting and dreaming of it all for many years. Hopefully, we can get it done before baby # 3 comes.


4. Create a more effective office space
UPDATE: I have started removing, sorting, and purging items in our office. Woo hoo! I am almost done. I will show you pics when I am all done with it. I bought an desktop organizer at Target to help me with organizing my stuff!
UPDATE II: (July 15) I put the desktop organizer together and my office space is coming together.....sooon! I think I may wait awhile to completely "decorate" it. Right now I am just making it functional.
My Darling Hubby and I currently sharing an office. My side of the office is however....Disasterous! (If that were a word). Hubby is doing a pretty good job at keeping his side tidy. Me, well...I could use a little help. Okay...ALOT of help. But, I am eager to do it. Go here to see another fellow bloggers way of keeping her office organized. I think I may use a few of her tips!


5. Set-up Homeschool "Classroom" and prep for September
UPDATE: We bought the table/desk for the girls. The girls and I went out and bought the paint , supplies and some stencils. We discussed how we wanted to paint and decorate it! It should look really cute!
UPDATE II: I have started painting the desk and chairs. I still need to stencil them. The school area is almost finished. It is really starting look like a little classroom area. Sophia is wanting to start school tomorrow! Ha ha! I am not quite ready yet.
Sophia is going to be starting Kindergarten this coming school year and we have planned to homeschool. Papa is planning on picking up a desk (small table & chairs) at IKEA for me. I am going to paint it white and stencil in the girls names in the chairs. I just need to set up where we will homeschool with the desk, bookshelf of supplies, etc.
I already have my curriculum of which I really like! All that I need to do with that is get all the supplies ready to go. Woo hoo!

A contest with fireworks!

Check out the new fun contests at 5 minutes for mom! You don't even have to have a BLOG to enter in....

Monday Menu June 25th

MONDAY
BREAKFAST:
Eye Opener Spread w/ Whole Wheat English Muffins
Seasonal Fruit
Orange Juice

DINNER:
Grilled Fruit & Cheese Sandwich
Homemade French Fries
Coleslaw

TUESDAY
BREAKFAST:
Jumbo Peanut Butter Scones
Orange Sections topped/ w vanilla yogurt


DINNER:
Mushroom-tofu pockets
Garden Greens w/ walnuts

WEDNESDAY
BREAKFAST:
Cinnamon Snails
Sliced Cantaloupe
Orange Juice

DINNER:
Sesame Stir-Fry
Steamed Brown Rice
Edamame
Gyoza


THURSDAY
BREAKFAST:
Apple Crisp (see recipe below)
Toast
Soymilk

DINNER:
Crockpot: Vegetarian Posole
Whole Wheat Tortillas
Cantaloupe & Avocado Salad w/ chili dressing

FRIDAY--SUNDAY (CAMPING) ! :-)
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Apple Crisp
	3 cups Apples, sliced and cut 1 cup Rolled Oats 1 cup Raisins 1/2 cup Sunflower Seeds, raw, hulled 1/2 cup Nuts (Walnuts, Cashews, or Almonds), shelled, raw 1-2 tsp Cinnamon (to taste) 1 Tbsp honey or brown sugar (to taste) 1 Wash and clean the apples. Cut into eighths from top to bottom. Remove the core portion of the apple from each slice and cut each slice into 1/4 inch pieces. Add the other ingredients and mix well. 2 Cook in a microwave oven on "high" for 10 minutes (mix again after 5 minutes). Or, bake in a preheated (350º F.) oven for 20 minutes. 3 Serve and enjoy!

Fresh from Our Garden...

Our 1st tomato

Our first corn on the cob too!



And, it was yummy!

Monday Menu June 18th

This week is simple (mainly food I had made earlier and froze for later date---which is now)
We are recovering from a big weekend of birthdays and Father's Day.

MONDAY
From the Freezer:
White Beans & Rice
Steamed Corn
Fruit Salad

TUESDAY
Nachos
Fruit Salad


WEDNESDAY
From the Freezer:
Lentil & Rice
Homemade Bisquits
Garden Salad

THURSDAY
From the Freezer:
Dream Dinners Dijon & Herb Marinated Shrimp
w/ Angel Hair Pasta
Steamed Broccoli

FRIDAY
Out of town....

Happy Father's Day

We love you Papa! We think you are the most remarkable Daddy ever! We are so blessed that you are ours!

Papa & Lydia

Papa & Sophia

Papa's Girls

More Sweet Lydia Photos....on her "birth day"!

Little Lydia

Today she let me hold her for a very long time. She was all cuddled up in my arms and she would just stare at my face. Every once in awhile she would rub her hand on my cheek. We didn't have to say much. Every once in awhile we would say, "I love you". Ah, I just wanted to capture the moment and wrap it up safely in my heart forever!
My sweet Lydia is so precious. She was born on this day 2 years ago. She is my second child also born c-section. This birth was very easy, relaxed, and wonderful!
I was able to hold her right after giving birth. The first thing that I saw was her tiny perfect little nose and pucker lips singing the sweetest "coo" that melted my heart right then and there. I knew she was something special.
Now, two years later, through bumps and bruises, calls to poison control, tantrums, strong will power...Lydia at special times still melts my heart. I am so thankful today that she let me just hold her for awhile. That was so precious to me and just what Mama needed (and what she needed too).
My sweet dear Lydia....I love you and I am so blessed that God created you for me to take care of this little while. I will cherish every day I have to be with you!

Happy Birthday Lydia

Sweet Cousins...

Cousin to cousin we'll always be,
Special friends from the same family tree.

Cousins are different beautiful flowers in the same garden.

A cousin is a ready-made friend for life.

In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter and sharing of pleasure.

Training Day

This year Lydia has successfully made it from her crib to her big girl bed...and did very well.
This week Lydia has been without her Nuk for about 3 days...and it has been hard. We had a farewell party for her Nuks. I cut the nips and when she placed them in her mouth, she knew something wasn't right. So, I said, "Uh oh. The Nuk is broken Lydia" So we put them all in a baggy and she placed them in the garbage can. Sophia, Lydia, and I said "Bye Bye Nuks!" We gave her hugs and comfort. She was very sad. But, not too sad to enjoy a popsicle! Naptimes and Nighttimes have been the toughest, but she seems to be making it through moment by moment.

Tomorrow, Lydia will begin the next big step in her life career. Potty Training! It is Training Day! Mama has her battle gear ready! Just imagine me looking like Denzel Washington ready to help my darling princess conquer the toilet! I have booked two days at home where we will not be going anywhere. We will have cute panties to wear, lots and lots of juice and water and milk to drink, books to read, movies to watch and a fun little potty to sit and do business!
I have an empty clothes washer ready to be used, lots of towels and spray to clean up any accidents!
Now....it just mental prep time and plenty of rest for Mama! Training Day is a BIG day ya know!

Monday Menu June 11th

So, I had fun planning this week. I had done an inventory of my pantry, freezer, and refrigerator. Phew! That way I can use up a lot of the "stuff" we have before it all expires! Surprisingly, my grocery list for this week is small! Woo hoo! I am saving some money!

MONDAY:
(Make Banana Muffins)
Lunch:

• Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
• Trader Joes Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup
• Sliced Peaches

Dinner:

• Tofu & Rice Stuffed Peppers
• Spinach, Pear, & Gorgonzola Salad
• Crusty Bread

Dessert:

• Banana Smoothies

TUESDAY:
Lunch:

• Vegetable Wraps
• Chips
• Sliced Oranges

Dinner:

• Almost Instant Mushroom Sauce with Tortellini (see recipe below)
• Steamed Broccoli and Cauliflower
• Crusty Bread

Dessert:

• Watermelon

WEDNESDAY:
Lunch:

• Veggie Beanie Weanies
• Toast

Dinner:

• Easy Tilapia with Wine and Tomatoes
• Creamy Polenta with Roasted Corn and Fresh Sage
• Beets

Dessert:

• Sherbert & Gingersnaps

THURSDAY:
Lunch:

• PB & J
• Chips
• Fruit

Dinner:

• Crockpot --Lentil Rice Soup
• Bread

Dessert:

• Brownies

FRIDAY:
Dinner:

• Homemade Pizza
• Fruit Salad

FEATURED RECIPE:

Almost Instant Mushroom Sauce with Fettuccine

8 oz Tortellini 2 Tbs olive oil 1 lb fresh white mushrooms or a mix of mushrooms(crimini, portabello, oyster, etc), sliced (about 5 cups) 1/2 cup sliced green onions (scallions) 1 tsp minced garlic 1 cup diced tomato 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil or 1 tablespoon dried basil, crushed 1 tsp salt 1/2 cup lowfat ricotta cheese 1 Cook pasta according to package directions; drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid; return pasta to pot. Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat oil until hot. Add mushrooms, green onions and garlic; cook, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are tender, 5 to 6 minutes. 2 Stir in tomato, basil and salt; cook until tomato is just warm, about 1 minute. To pasta in pot stir in ricotta cheese and enough cooking liquid to make a creamy sauce. Add mushroom mixture; toss. Servings: 4

These are a few of my favorite things..

Here are some things that I lovin' at the end of Spring heading into Summer:

Daisies & Lavender in my front yard! They are so perrrty! I will post a picture soon.

Ice-cream sandwiches -- I bought some for a party for the kids and I have been savoring and enjoying the leftovers. This has been my new craving and treat! Yummo!

Cooking with my girls: I found a recipe to make ice-cream sandwiches in Family Magazine that I get every month in the mail. I also like to let Sophia pick a recipe from one of her cookbooks and we get the ingredients to make it!

Sandals -- it is all I wear in the spring and summer.... these sandals are comfortable and these sandals are cute...I want to get them!

Lotion -- I love the smell of this one in the summer!

Sophia

Most likely my entries will be random for awhile. I have been traveling quite a bit lately and I am very tired taboot! So, when I even think about blogging, my pillow out wins every time! Hope you will still stop by every so often and check in...

I want to share a little bit about my darling doodlebug Sophia today.

I love words. I love to listen to my creative mind daughter pretend playing in the car as we drive. Today she brought a pet bear with her in the car. For awhile, she was making a conversation with herself (or rather her pretend friends) by speaking aloud all the voices of her friends. She was all parts of a play.
Then suddenly, she said to me, "Mama, the bear is sick"
Mama: Oh, no! What are you going to do?
Sophia: Oh, don't worry mom, I brought eighty-nine one hundred fifty bags with me. They have blankets, medicine, First-Aid Kat (yes, "Kat"), and Boo-Boo bags too!

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Sophia had her last day of Preschool last week. She loved preschool and I think it was hard for her to say goodbye. But, she went around to every person there and gave hugs and told them Bye. She was so sweet. She loved her teacher Ms. Theresa too! Ms. Theresa did a tremendous job with welcoming her mid-year after a big change with her other preschool. So, below are some sweet pics of Sophia and some of her preschool days.

Sophia, Ms. Theresa, Ethan

Sophia & Friend Ethan

Sophia (on the end in light yellow) as a "little skeeter"
This was her preschool skit night.

Sophia playing Duck,Duck, Goose!

Sophia on the run.....

Sophia cutting across the middle. What a clever sneek.
She was the only to do this...

Monday Menu June 4th

Very simple this week. It seems my schedule is super crazy and I just want easy simple meals to pull me through the week without too much work or thinking required. It is all my wee brain can handle.
Sorry no recipes attached this week.

Monday:
Tacos

Tuesday:
Veggie Soup
w/ crusty garlic bread

Wednesday:
Mexican Potluck

Thursday:
Spaghetti
Green Beans
Fruit Salad

Friday:
Kids--corn dog bites & tater tots & fruit
Parents out