Summer Workouts

// Summer is here which means Daddy spends at least 10 hours a day at school working on the football field.  This little guy watches Daddy's every move and loves every second he can spend with him at practice.  In fact, I think it's safe to say he already loves football as much as his Daddy does. //

Bathing Beauties

Now that it is summer, my priority is to just be their Mama.  Not crazy-working Mama, not I-have-to-finish-this-load-of-laundry-before-bedtime Mama, or let's-quickly-get-in-the-bathtub-before-dinnertime Mama.... but the I-will-spend-every-moment-with-you Mama.  Everything else can wait.  So we will stay up a few extra minutes past bedtime to play in the bathtub, and spoil our dinner by eating ice cream at 5:00.  We can now breathe and relax, and savor the sweet moments that these summer months bring.

And I am bubbling with excitement...

Unconditional Love

// My sweet baby Yates.  The way he loves me is breathtaking and unconditional.  The days when I am not at my best, I feel exhausted and as if I have reached my limit, he reminds me that love has no boundaries.  He doesn't ever know my bad days, he only sees me as his mother and I can do no wrong.  I feel unworthy of this love but yet it empowers me and gives me strength.  Thank you my sweet boy, for loving me the way that you do. //

C is for Chloe

Chloe and I have been working on identifying the letters in her name, and then learning to write them.  She loves learning, and she especially loves when she knows she is doing well at something.

Yates felt left out, so I let him match the letters up to the ones in his name as well.  While he loved being a part of "Mommy's school," he quickly lost interest and went back to playing with his cars.  I'm going to have to get more creative to teach Mr. I-just-want-to-play-with-my-cars-and-trucks the letters of the alphabet.

I'm so excited about being home for the summer in just 7 short days, and I can't wait to spend more time devoted to my children and their learning.  Watching their creativity grow touches a place in my heart that is so incredibly exciting and rewarding.

Thirty-Something

// I am no longer just thirty years old, I have now entered the thirty-something club. //

Today started with hubby bringing me my favorite breakfast in bed- eggs over easy with a side of toast, red juicy strawberries, coffee and a pink daisy.  Yates was already awake and helped Daddy sing "Happy Birthday" to me.

My mom and dad brought Chloe and Yates over to eat lunch with me at school, and my third grade students wrote handmade birthday cards to wish me a happy birthday.  This afternoon we went on a walk, Chloe and Yates each gave me a birthday balloon and we are eating cupcakes for dinner.  I have so many loving friends and family who have made my birthday a special one ... and I am one very lucky princess.

While I notice everyone else around me getting older it's hard to accept that I, myself am also getting older.  I will believe, however, that a few things have changed about myself, for the better... and for that I am proud of.

//  It's okay to sometimes appreciate the planning more than the executing, and the fantasy more than the reality. (Reading novels at night, such as the latest bestseller of Zelda Fitzgerald's biography usually fulfills this.)

// Enjoy trends while they're in, and then onto the next.  What's fun about staying the same?  So what I am a thirty-something wearing a jumpsuit?  In good taste, you only live once.

// But... do invest in nice furniture and curtains. Your home decor should remain a classic.  (Still working on this.)

// Listen to others.  Be a good ear, and don't speak over people. (Also, still working on this).

// Work hard.  Be that person people say, "How does she have time for it all?"  Because there isn't enough time on this Earth... and we need to make the most of it.

// Pray more.  Pray when you don't need something, but rather when you are thankful for something.

// Be grateful for what you have, not what you want.  There is always something or someone bigger or better.  Don't sell yourself short, but be modest in what you do and good will follow.

// Usually things don't turn out as you planned.  Trust in God that He has a plan... it is better than you ever could have imaged.  And that's the most exciting thing in the world.

// Don't be afraid to try new things.  Be ready for the future and what it brings.  Being anxious about everything will take away from the joy that life brings.  Worry less.  Be childlike in what you do and it will bring you much joy.

Strawberry Fields

// Spring football practice started Monday afternoon, which means Daddy won't have much free time from now until December.  We made the most of this last weekend together, spending lots of quality time together as a family.  Saturday afternoon we went strawberry picking, and spent the rest of Memorial Day weekend eating strawberries until our fingers were stained red.  These strawberries are the ripe, run- down- your- chin juicy type that are best when shared with blonde- haired, rosy- cheeked, sun- kissed skined, sticky- fingered children. //

Strawberry Lemon Buttermilk Icebox Pie

// Recipe from Southern Living //

Crumb Crust

1 1/2 cups crushed vanilla wafers

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. kosher salt

6 tbsp. butter, melted

vegetable cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325.  Process crushed wafers, sugar and salt in a food processor until finely crushed and well combined.  Add melted butter, and process until thoroughly combined.  Press on bottom, up sides, and onto lip of a lightly greased (with cooking spray) 9-inch regular pie plate (or deep dish pie plate).  Bake crust 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Strawberry-Lemon-Buttermilk Icebox Pie

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 tbsp. loosely packed lemon zest

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

3 large egg yolks

1/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup strawberry jam

3 tbsp. strawberry jam

16 oz. fresh sliced strawberries

vegetable cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 325.  Whisk together first 3 ingredients in a bowl.

2. Beat egg yolks with a handheld mixer in a medium bowl at high speed 4 to 5 minutes or until yolks become pale and ribbons form on surface of mixture when beater is lifted.  Gradually whisk in sweetened condensed milk mixture, and whisk until thoroughly combined.  Whisk in buttermilk.  Whisk in 1/2 cup strawberry jam.  Pour mixture into prepared crust.

3. Bake at 325 for 20 to 25 minutes or until set around edges.  (Pie will be slightly jiggly.)  Cool on a wire rack 1 hour.  Cover pie with lightly greased (with cooking spray) plastic wrap, and freeze 4 to 6 hours.

4. Microwave 3 tbsp. strawberry jam in a medium size microwave safe bowl at high for 20 seconds.  Stir 16 oz. fresh strawberries into jam.

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Beat 2 cups heavy cream and 1 tsp. vanilla extract at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until foamy; gradually add 1/4 cup powdered sugar, beating until soft peaks form.

Top pie with strawberry mixture and whipped cream just before serving.

// This pie is ah-mazing.  It's not the easiest thing to make, but definitely worth all the time and effort.  I have subscribed to Southern Living ever since I had an address of my own.  Growing up I remember my mother having (and still has) a subscription to Southern Living- and how she would slowly savor every page, soaking in all the articles about the "best of the south" and the recipes each issue included.  I now find myself doing the same, and after going strawberry picking this weekend I didn't find it a coincidence that the June issue which had just come in the mail included a strawberry pie recipe.   It was as if this pie was calling my name and I HAD to bake it.  It did not disappoint and we (Chloe and I) were even more excited to make an extra one for a friend.

I experimented and changed a few variations of the basic lemon buttermilk icebox pie to include a vanilla wafer crust and sweet strawberries in the filling.  A fresh strawberry glaze and homemade whipped cream topped it all off! //