Simplicity at its finest

Sometimes the most rewarding crafts are the simplest.

When mr is gone for work, my mom IL likes to send little care boxes - things to keep us busy while he's away and surprises for the kids (and me).  In one box she placed all the tools for pinecone bird feeders - including the giant pinecones (which was good, since the ones that fall in our backyard are kind of puny).

It struck me that I had never done this simple craft with my kids before.  And fall is really the best time for it.

We made our bird feeders the way they've been made for... decades?  Centuries?  I'm really not sure, but surely for a VERY LONG TIME, anyway.  

We smeared peanut butter all over the pinecone.

We rolled the pinecone in birdseed.

We let them sit for a little while to kind of harden.

I cut some twine and tied the twine to the stem of the pinecone in a pretty little bow.

 You really can't get a whole lot easier than that.  The kids especially liked smearing the peanut butter - of course.  And, not surprisingly I suppose, but disappointingly, I can't find my photos of them hanging on our porch.
I thought they made very sweet little decorations on into winter last year.  The kids would wake up and check the feeders - to see if any seed was gone or if perhaps they could catch a bird in the act.

We only saw a few birds try them out, but it was fun, and the kids were pretty proud of their creations.

Which only serves as yet another reminder to me that sometimes it's really best to go back to basics.

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Yea! Food!

Boo!  Cooking!

Let's face it.  I'm nearly as big as a house and twice as hot as Hades.  When I cook, my belly is so near the flame compared to the rest of my body, the baby has hot flashes.  I worry about burning a hole in my shirt right over my belly button - or what USED to be my belly button.

What I'm trying to say is... there hasn't been a true "Yummy Monday" in this house for a while now.  I have a few recipes to share still, even though the pictures that go along with them are far from ideal.  But I haven't gotten up the energy to edit them all.

(Actually, I'm wondering where my energy is at all lately, what with the napping AT LEAST once a day thing... apparently "nesting" is a symptom that lessens with each pregnancy, until you hit number three and it goes away completely.  No one warned me about that...)

And so.  For Yummy Monday today, I provide you with a list.  A list of reasons why I have a love/hate relationship with food right now:

Things That Give Me Heartburn by: Kimberly Mueller, 38.5 weeks preggy
Pizza - of any kind
Ketchup
Mustard
Bologna
Anything remotely resembling something that could be construed as even slightly spicy
Apples
Pineapple
Apple juice
Don't even get me started on oranges
Maybe we should just say "all fruit"
Salt
Garlic
Avocados - the most bland veggie on the planet
Tomatoes
Bananas
Any kind of pasta with any kind of pasta sauce
Potatoes - unless I don't put anything on them, not even butter, and even then it's iffy
Mint gum - which is really unfortunate as this helps me not throw up
Laying down
Sitting up
Walking
Running - HAHAHAHA!!!!  Oh my gosh, I'm so funny.  As if that's happening.
Eating too much
Not eating
Water

Yes, water.  

I'm on a strict 300 mg of Zantac a day regimen.  

Also food related, I posted this on instagram today with the caption:
"You know the old adage "never go to the grocery store when you're hungry" ??  This can be directly translated to: "never go to the grocery store when you're pregnant."  Because THIS is what happens:

(But in my defense, I've only gained 10 pounds.  10 POUNDS.  So I'm still ok.)

Come on, baby!  Any day now!!

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It's fall.

Hi!  I'm over guest posting at Hi! It's Jilly.  today.  She's having a series right now called "Fall in Love With Fall" and so far there are yummy recipes and a great decor idea already up.  Go see my contribution today!

(and if you've popped over from there, welcome!  Hello!  Stay awhile!)

*Be sure to check the right sidebar for all the fun parties I link to!

A shoot. Or two.

I wanted to post this series of photos before things got hectic and I totally forgot.  Last year right before school started, we went to my favorite backdrop for photos - a boat landing/lighthouse off the lake near my house - and took a bunch of photos of the kids.  I realized that I am horrible at shooting my kids because... well... it makes me want to strangle them.  I'm no good at helping them be at ease in front of the camera and I'm REALLY no good at getting them to do what I'd like them to do (but such is life, right?)  All in all, they turned out so cute, I decided to do it again this year in the same spot at the same time of year so I could compare.  Fair warning: there are a lot of photos.

Right now, my two munchkins are 5 1/2 and 3 1/2.  mini likes to be just like her brother... MOST of the time.

This is them in the same spot last year... 4 1/2 and 2 1/2.  

I love the way she looks up to him.  I don't know if he realizes it, but he's pretty much the bees knees in her eyes.

She's a fan of a little smooch here and there.  But I'm pretty sure he's starting to think girls are gross.

It makes me glad I've gotten shots like this of them... like there's photographic evidence that they actually LIKE each other sometimes.  Which is a nice break from all the arguing and screaming at each other - and there is PLENTY of that, unfortunately.


























Apparently, he had a really important secret to share with her here.

And... last year, in the same place:

mini looks like a chubby baby to me!  And it's only been a year!  

THIS YEAR

LAST YEAR

Sometimes, when I look at them now, I still think they are so very little... and then I compare photos like this and I can't understand where the time went...

I think this one might be my favorite.

Though I like this one too.

It seems bizarre to me to have a kid in public school.  Like that makes me OLD now, or something.  But there it is.  He's started kindergarten.

This expression?  Pretty much a standard around here.

I didn't even tell him to pose like this.  I just told him to sit or kneel or something... and suddenly he's all "hey, I'm getting my senior pics done."

Being way too serious, I might add. 

Fortunately, sister was waiting with a joke in her pocket.

And she saves the day!

I suppose a good joke can only go so far, though... because he was at the end of his rope with all these pics.

THEN

NOW

And this cheeky little monkey?  She's begun her illustrious school career in 3K.  

What is she doing here?  Anyone?  Anyone?  My guess is "hair model."

But it could be that she is just a big goof.

Yep.  Big goof it is.

AND THEN.

NOW

This one?  Typical Zoe face.  Like, all the time.

It's hard to tell which of them changed the most... they both look so much older to me.  What do you think?

This last set is my favorite little series.  There's a story here.

They were really done by this point.  And I was kind of too.  But I really wanted some "on the dock" photos.  I told them to sit.  And smile, darn it.

But bug was having none of it.

Zoe attempted to rescue the situation...  but I grabbed Ezra and started tickling him.  He managed some giggles, but I guess I went to far when I told him to smile or I would tickle him till he fell in the water.

"No!" Yelled Zoe.  "I like Ezra!  I will save him!"  At which point, she grabbed at him, and this made everything better, I guess, because he hugged her.   

A REAL, LIVE MOMENT CAUGHT ON CAMERA

 And told her, "I would save you, too, Zoe."

Which leads me to the conclusion that hey.  They really DO love each other.  It's not just when I tell them to hold hands and smile.  They genuinely do have some sibling-type warm fuzzies.

 Thank goodness.

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