Death becomes Her

Okay, I love how when you do a workout video, the trainer and the other people showing you what to do look fabulous even after they've finished but I look like death...completely whipped, dripping with sweat, and my face looks like a tomato. I guess that would be because what they say is making them "burn" really isn't because it's easy for them. Anyway, Day 2 of Jillian's 30 Day Shred was not as "shredful" has yesterday, even though at the beginning I thought my leg muscles were going to just explode. I got past it and felt good...especially knowing I had already spent 30 minutes on the treadclimber. Hopefully in 28 days there will be less of me to love. Lesson of the Day: Just ignore those workout people when they try to sympathise in your workout pain/exhaustion and keep going!

Meet the Egg Babies

Meet Z's egg babies (from L to R): Charity, Lulu, Lollipop, and Mimi.

I saw someone selling these on Etsy for $7 a piece and had my usual thought, "Why pay $7 when I can make a bunch of those with scraps?" and that's exactly what I did. The kids were playing in the living room while I whipped up almost a half dozen egg babies (I have a few boy babies cut-out but not sewn.) Z couldn't be happier with her rolly polly little group. She's says, "Dare Buu-a-ful (they're beautiful)!" Lesson of the Day: A little girl smile can be the best motivation!

Yes, I like my mac and ham. Yes, I like them Sam I Am!

On our menu this week:
Fresh baked ham with honey-mustard glaze
Homemade mac and cheese (complete with bread crumbs sprinkled on top)
Steamed green beans

YUM-O!!!

Cookies and Tea for Three

Christmas may be over but I'm still feeling fairly crafty...I think it may be sheer boredom from the post Christmas blues and what seems like weeks of pneumonia, colds, strep throat, etc. Anyway, today I made Z her very own felt cookies. Now, she can satisfy her sweet tooth whenever she wants. I also made her a small cookie sheet made custom fit to her oven by gluing foil to a piece of cardboard. It turned out pretty good and my customer is pretty happy. She immediately sat Ariel and Elmo down for a cookies and tea. She and Ariel, of course since they are both princesses, picked pink cookies. Lesson of the day: Proverbs 19:15 "...Idle hands lead to hunger." and Z's Lesson of the day: Don't try to eat felt cookies, they are not as yummy as they look!

Triplets and a Mermaid

Here's the latest craftiness from the Ater house. First, are the triplets made for my littlest nieces (and Z). Z named them Elephant-Daisy, Butter Bean, and Ladybug. Then, we have Melody Mermaid made (this morning) for my other niece Melody. Z wants her cousins not to worry, she has been taking very good care of the babies since they were "born." They have slept at the end of her bed, all tucked in, and have been given lots of love. I'm sure Melody Mermaid will enjoy a few tea parties with Ariel (our resident mermaid) before she goes to her new home at Christmas. Lesson of the day: Girliness is not learned...it is innate behavior.

Snow...snow...snow...snow...snooow!

Snow! What a FANTASTIC winter day! The entire atmosphere was charged with excitement. Kids were let out of school early to enjoy the winter wonderland (at least a South Texas version of it). One couldn't help but smile as one elementary schooler after another walked to the front office, looked out the window and exclaimed in the most excited of voices, "It's SNOWING!" They would then proceed to leave the building scoop up a mound of the soft snow, pack it into a ball, and pelt whoever (and I mean whoever...kid they didn't know, someone elses mom, etc) was closest. For so many of them this was their first time to see snow. For a lot of adults that have always lived in this area, this was a rare occurance...to see a snowfall like that with big fluffy flakes that stick to everything.

My kids had a blast! They had a snowball fight with our neighbors. They tasted the snow. They made snow angels. They even built tiny snowmen until the snowmen were taken apart to use as large snowballs. They hated to come inside even though they were both soaked to the bone and shivering. Of course they warmed up quick with a mug of hot cocoa complete with marshmellows. What a great day!

It wasn't long before the snow started to melt, but J was able to gather a few more snowballs this morning to put in the freezer...a fun reminder of such a wonderful and rare Christmas treat!

Oh, Christmas Tree...Ohhhhhhh Christmas Tree

Last year, my beautiful (not cheap) Christmas tree (that had all sorts of guarantees about lights staying on, even if one burned out) started having complete strands go out in strange patterns. So, in an effort to save money this year, I spent two days this week unlighting my non working prelit tree....BIG pain in the booty. This picture does not do the amount of lights in my recycle bin justice because it's a huge amount. They were wrapped around and around and around..... Anyway, since we saved money, we were able to buy the really nice, bigger-bulbed, electricity-saving LED lights. So after rewrapping our tree with the new lights, it looks fantastic. Special thanks to Erica, J, and Alan for their help in the unlighting process. Lesson of the Day: Do not buy a prelit tree in the first place.