waving wheat

we do not live in the country, but this is what's currently behind our property.

gorgeous, golden tall grass, maybe its wheat, i'm not a grass aficionado so i have no clue.  i do know the sound of it blowing in the wind needs to be bottled up and played on a sound machine. so relaxing.

just last month the grass looked like this.  a hideaway for a huge grasshopper.  

big fella. 

(all pics sooc)

my favorite flowers

they're blooming.

pics from last summers hydrangeas

the days of their lives {our robins}

the robin's nest in our boxwood.  we check it daily.  here's what we've seen the past week.  baby #1 & #2 were born on April 27th

days 3 & 4 appear out of order, but they aren't.  day 4 was snapped w/ my camera phone, so the color is a bit off.  I feel like you could literally watch them grow, it's amazing.  

momma bird waiting for her landlords to get off the porch so she can feed her babies.  she's probably pretty annoyed that I want to take pictures of her babies constantly.  she'll get over it, I let her stay there rent free, and I keep the dog in the backyard too.

35/365

kinda, sorta getting the hang of this sitting thing.

also dangerously close to crawling.  right now he has the moving backwards thing mastered.  starting to get up on his knees.  yikes! it's time to baby-proof the house, which basically means making sure mason keeps his legos off the floor.

the problem w/ being able to move in reverse is that sometimes you get stuck.  help momma!

something i really wish he'd master before crawling, sleeping through the night.  he's 6 months, that's not to much to ask, right?

34/365

all smiles for big brother. 

33/365

my girl smelling spring. our grass may still be dead and nasty but she smells spring. she had a hay day this weekend when Ben moved the garden. tons of new smells to smell.

32/365 {my new toy}

lookie, lookie!! i got a new toy. thanks mom and dad. now is the hard part, mastering it :)

31/365 {i heart faces}

lincoln's first time to the park. awesome sun flair. taken with my EVO. 

30/365

getting some much needed vitamin d

those eyes.

that face. (but don't let her fool you, she's all kinds of ornery)

29/365

brothers. <3

28/365

huge thing of cheese left on cutting board, up for the taking apparently. 

27/365

26/365 {poptart recipe}

mmmm, homemade poptarts! i first read about these on heavenlyhomemaker.com.  i instantly knew i had to make them. my kids love poptarts (even though we never buy them, they are a special treat at gma's). 

i used my own recipe for the crust, a variation of one in my busy woman's cookbook.

and even made our own powdered sugar icing with homemade powdered sugar. i just threw some regular sugar in my coffee grinder and went to town. (i put a bit too much pink food coloring in it and ended up with this weird, neon bright pink icing-oh well.)

these were so yummy and flaky! you must make them!

(sorry the focus was a bit off, more on my super long nails that need some tlc, than on the scrumptious poptart goodness)

Poptart Recipe:

1 c. flour

3 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 c. butter, softened

2 Tbsp. milk

Mix until dough forms. Turn out on floured surface, knead a few times.  Roll out.  Use cookie cutters and cut even amount for tops and bottoms of poptarts.  Or just cut simple rectangle shapes like classic poptarts.  Fill with jelly of your choice, I did strawberry, a friend on facebook did apple butter-YUM.  Top and finger press or use a fork to crimp edges together.  Bake 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden.  Optional: Top with powdered sugar icing (powdered sugar and milk to desired consistency).

25/365

our shrubs covered with mounds of snow.

24/365

one of his first naps in his crib.

23/365

my noel. she's 13 years old, pretty much deaf now, and sometimes blind too i think. my friends got her for me in high school. i'm shocked she's made it this long, but she's still got some spunk in her. 

i love her.

22/365

21/365

(manual)

do you love him as much as i do?  (manual)

20/365

what our dishwasher looks like after homegroup. (manual)

yeah, that's the bottom rack cause the top was full too.  i think we have four or five more city mugs from sbux.  since ben travels so much he brings me back mugs from his trips.  i'm sad though cause they no longer make them, at least that's what i hear.  see the one towards the top, with more of a brown label? that one's from london, my bro and his wife got it for us since they live across the pond now. 

19/365

sleepy time in some mama made babylegs

18/365

rockin' some righteous bedhead

*i'm gonna change up post titles from here on out.  obviously i'm a slacker updating the blog.  but i'm just gonna keep numerical count of pics, not dates i took them (that would require too much thinking)*

1/17

finger painting on her birthday

1/16

1/15

celebrated my girls 3rd birthday on Saturday

she didn't like that momma had used her ponies to decorate her cake, it's my party and i'll fuss if i want to.

1/14

playing is rough stuff

1/13

i make drool look cute. (manual)

(manual)

1/12

oops. wish i would have got a real before pic cause "mason's" head was also off

(shot in manual, one day i'll start posting all stats of each shot, today is not that day)

1/11

this totally works for her.

1/10

we love qt!  just wish there was one closer than an hour away.  (taken in manual)

i like to put my kids to work, and for some odd reason they think its fun to do dishes.  its a win-win.  they currently have 273 silly bands each, ok maybe only like 50 but they have alot.