Scary Face Painting!

The boys wanted me to paint their faces. They have always been hesitant to get it done in public places like the zoo or fairs. So we got online and they got to pick out what they wanted. Of course Miles wanted to pick the scariest faces ever! Nana Toni says Miles picked the scary one because it is opposite of his personality. Take a look;)

Mojostock 2011

Here are just a few pictures from the 2011 Mojostock Festival held at Noblesville's Sleepy Bear Campground.

Marc and I trying to keep in the shade.

Someone was painting outside. I thought that was pretty brave.
I like to paint, but not in public in front of everyone.

There always has to be a VW van to officiate the festival.

The big cool barn:)

This guys name is "Space Boy". He was a very friendly guy in a kilt and enjoyed squirting everyone with his super soaker!

Pillow Case Dress

Look at my cute little creation:) I made these for some friends who were having girls. So cute! I tried to make one for myself but my booty was too big for the size of the pillowcase;)

Summer Veggies

We decided this year we were going to have an awesome garden! Here are some awesome things that have grown so far. It was really easy too! I couldn't find a picture of the entire garden with the raised bed style of growing, but here's what it produced.

Green Beans!

The corn isn't finished yet, but look at it!!! Corn growing in my backyard!

I think I should print this picture and sell it to a garden magazine;) I like the repetition of the long vertical shapes and the contrasting colors from the burnt red deck and the green zucchini. ;) (That's the art teacher talking there.)

Lettuce. This lettuce has a pretty string taste. It was black seeded lettuce.
I'm gonna look for something different. Looks pretty, tastes too healthy...

Zucchini still growing. I think they grow over night.
One day they aren't there, the next they are.

This is not our corn. But it is Indiana corn. I snapped a picture of it because it looked to cool on my hubby's mom's plate. She made me dinner after I mowed the grass down at Smith Ridge-there country place.

Excited about all this produce!!!
Now I just need to look up some more recipes for yellow squash, zucchini, and spaghetti squash. I also got some cilantro plants because I can't wait to make some salsa when the tomatoes come in.

Squash Casserole

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

Prep Time:

25 min

Inactive Prep Time:

--

Cook Time:

55 min

Level:

Easy

Serves:

6 servings

Ingredients

• 6 cups large diced yellow squash and zucchini
• Vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon House seasoning, recipe follows
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 cup crushed butter crackers (recommended: Ritz)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Saute the squash in a little vegetable oil over medium-low heat until it has completely broken down, about 15 to 20 minutes. Line a colander with a clean tea towel. Place the cooked squash in the lined colander. Squeeze excess moisture from the squash. Set aside.

In a medium size skillet, saute the onion in butter for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and mix all ingredients together except cracker crumbs. Pour mixture into a buttered casserole dish and top with cracker crumbs. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

House Seasoning:

• 1 cup salt
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Super Hero Birthday!

A few weeks ago I was pondering Miles' birthday...I didn't know if I was going to have a tiny little family party or if we should have a "big" birthday party. I decided on a "big" party. Miles has been talking about what he wants for his birthday for a few months. You know how kids are when you walk through a store and they say, "I want that toy!", and parents usually say, "Well, maybe for your birthday or Christmas, whichever is closer. So I have been asking him what he wants for his upcoming birthday and he kept saying, "I want Incredible Hulk stuff." The thing is, he doesn't have any Hulk stuff and I've never really seen his friends have any either...hummm?

So that's when I decided that we could have a superhero party since the Hulk is a superhero. I thought I could make a Hulk cake and that would just make Miles' day:) I could even buy him some Hulk stuff for his birthday (but they didn't have any Hulk stuff at Target or Toys R' Us so that didn't exactly work out.)

As I began my birthday party Bing image research. I found a ton of cute ideas and decided that I would make cupcakes. (I've been obsessed with cupcakes since I had my first cupcake shop experience when Marc and I took a trip to Chicago about a year or more ago). Hulk, Iron Man, Spider-man, Batman, and Captian America. This was a whole education to me-superheros:) Marc of course knew all of the super-heros.

I also found these super cute super-hero printouts to create Tootsie Pop Heros;)
Buildings and little superhero cut-outs that you can't see very well. I had about 6-7 superheros stuck up on the wall...then Marc came home and made about 10 more...he really knows his superheros and villains too. It must be a guy thing;)
Mom and Aunt Marty, partners in crime, were the first to arrive...duh...duh..duhhhhhh!

Little brother has to get a gift too!

Time for dinner...spaghetti!

Presents!!!
Look how excited he is!!!
Miles' new friends having fun with water balloons!!!Masks and capes were provided! Some even wanted to change characters a few times.

I Took His Hand and Followed

I Took His Hand and Followed

Mrs. Roy L. Peifer

My dishes went unwashed today,

I didn't make the bed,

I took his hand and followed

Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,

My little son and I...

Exploring all the great outdoors

Beneath the summer sky

We waded in a crystal stream,

We wandered through a wood...

My kitchen wasn't swept today

But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade

And now my small son knows

How Mother Bunny hides her nest,

Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,

We climbed a sunlit hill...

Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,

We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected,

That I didn't brush the stairs,

In twenty years, no one on earth

Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy

To noble manhood grow,

In twenty years, the whole wide world

May look and see and know.

4th of July Weekend

We started our weekend at the Pettigrew Family Reunion. When I first went up to the reunion I thought that we might just be reunion crashers because I didn't see anyone I knew...until we finally walked around the house and saw a familiar face. We had good food to eat, good company to talk to, and a nice pool to cool off in! Please excuse the funny looking pictures as I had to do a file recovery and it didn't get all of the images on some.

Miles resting after a swim;)

Aleyah swinging with her IPhone. :) I bet she's checking her Facebook. ;)

Mom, Leah, and Addy

Marc Cheesin'

Aunt Marty Telling a great story!

Sister Chris and Lorrin asking questions and
learning about the good 'ol days.

Sunday we went to Spring Mill. Our Friend Jeff accompanied us. He is a great friend of ours and one of Miles' God Fathers. I like to call him Nanny Jeff or my spare husband:)

Monday we decided to stay in a hotel and
enjoy the fireworks downtown.

Clay Workshop

Our neighbor Bill hooked up our kiln a few months back during the winter. He said we didn't owe him anything for doing it except for me to teach his kiddos how to work with clay. So we finally got together today. We made some pinch pots!

Why Cookies?

I've been thinking about quitting my job for about six months now. Marc and I had to slowly introduce the idea to his parents as they would have to help us with the more expensive health insurance option. This is all because of the fact that we wouldn't be on my much cheaper school group insurance and since Marc works for his dad's company. One day while introducing the idea of quitting my job to Ron, Marc's dad, he said something to the sort of, "Well, your just not the type to stay-at-home and bake cookies all day." He said,"You'll find something else to do eventually to help bring in some more money." "You're a creative person and you have been on lock down for a while now with the kids and your job." Those words just sort of stuck in my head and as I begin my life as a stay-at-home mom I realized that it is indeed not easy. I choose to name my blog "Staying Home to Make Cookies" because it is extremely sarcastic:)

I had to realize that staying at home wasn't going to be easy, but staying an art teacher and a mom was going to be even more difficult. Instead of having the challenges and stresses of the kids at school in the art room; I was going to trade the school kids for my kids and have my own challanges and stresses at home. Staying at home does have it's perks, but it does not make life super simple. Although, I have come to realize that I am a happier person "staying home to make cookies."

My desire to write this blog was also brought on by my cousin's wife's blog called Fur Lined Toilet Seats. She has given me a beautiful view to the world of being a wife and momma. Thanks Fatima! I hope my Blog inspires and tickles you as much as her's has for me:)

Country Club

Thinking about joining a country club! I've been trying to think of a good pool to take the kids to. Marc suggested that we join the Devon Country Club. He said it was right by our house. So we went to check it out today. I never thought of myself as a country club member!!!

Balloons and Meat

Today I awoke with a fair amount of sleep and started my daily routine. I put on some fresh coffee and began to start my day. The kids are beginning to find their toys and start their day of play. I will be on hand to help them sort out any disagreements and to kiss their boo-boos when they need it. It was a pretty calm morning.

10:30 struck and I realized that I had a dentist appointment at well, 10:30. So I called the office and they just told me to come ahead in. I really didn't want to take the kids so I called my dear sweet mother-in-law (she really is dear and sweet) and she said she would watch them.

I left the house alone and started realizing the 2 hours of freedom that I would be having as I took my vacation to the dentist. I felt like I was on top of the world. Like nothing could stop me or any dream I wanted to have. Like the world was perfect! It is an amazing feeling, feeling this way. I sat in the waiting room looking through all kinds of magazines. It was fun and at the same time disturbing to look at all that media. The dental appointment went just fine. There was a grocery store right beside the the dentist and we were out of a few essentials so I went ahead over there and got just what I needed.

I drove home with that same song in my heart. I decided to stop at the nearby CVS to get some water balloons for the boys to play with. They had a prior experience this morning with a water balloon type tool and asked about getting some actual water balloons before I left.

When I got home I immediately got out of the van and started to fill up the balloons. Miles and Max loved them! We made big balloons and small balloons. They popped some of them and horded some of them like little jewels. They had to practice sharing the hose since there was only one. And I was there to tie the balloons up. It was beautiful and summer-y. A good time for all.













































After having fun with the balloons, I decided that I should probably get to work with some of the over grown weeds in our flower beds. So I put the kids to nap and went outside to start picking. As I was picking, I realized that I had not put my groceries away!!! It had been an hour and a half and I had purchased 2 packages of chicken and a thing of bacon and LEFT THEM IN THE VAN!!! You should have seen my face as I scurried to the van to save my meat and other groceries!!! I was so upset with myself!!! I was just thinking about all the money I had wasted...disgusted! I tried to calm myself and realized that if I cooked the meat it would be ok. Being that my mother was raised during the great depression-she had taught me a few things about how long meat would stay fresh. Wish us luck in the next few days as we have our meals!!!

It's funny how things can be so blissful and then so extremely stressful so quickly all in one day!