A Baby Is Coming...

Did I tell you I am about to be an aunt again? Well, not until December, but I can't wait! My one and only little sister is having a baby.

Here she is with my kiddos.

We don't know yet if it is a little boy or girl, but are hoping to find out soon. That does not stop me from doing some baby shopping. I love shopping for little baby clothes! It seems many of my friends are having babies and I've found myself needing lots of sweet gifts. So I was happy to partner up with my new affliate Tea Collection. To me it has a down home, yet elegant feel. And the neat thing is it is unique.

Tea Collection has recently launched a new website and has taken their popular products typically found in specialty and department stores directly to consumers. Their clothing is inspired by cultures around the world and it's much more stylish and is always changing. Tea Collection designs clothes for babies up to eight years old. A great option for summer or back-to-school shopping.

So if you need to go shopping for some clothes for your kids or for gifts, please head over to Tea Collection and check them out. I think you will find some adorable clothing that anyone would be happy to receive!

Christmas Shopping In July

I say  it is never to early to start shopping for Christmas, especially if you have little ones on your list!  I wanted to share with you a neat online children’s toy store called Ebeanstalk, that will make your shopping easier.

I love shopping at Ebeanstalk because they have a feature that will list toys by age and  even gender.  They have tons of baby toys to choose from as well.  The website is easy to use, which is a plus for this busy mom.

Sometimes choosing kids toys can be difficult, but they make it a snap.  They have a panel of experts that help test the toys and place them in age appropriate categories according to the development that is occurring during that stage.

If you have a special someone that you’d like to give a gift too, check out their Grow and Learn series.  A gift will be sent out every 3 months, appropriate to the development at that stage.  I think this is a really neat feature that I haven’t found at other online toy stores. 

So remember it is never too early to shop for Christmas!  Have you shopped at Ebeanstalk?  I’d love to hear about it if you have, if not head over and see what neat toys you can find.

Mulberries In The Park

Sometimes it takes me awhile to process things.  I’d like to think that I have so many thoughts going around in my head at one time that I overlook simple things. Like the names of streets and the fact that some actually mean something.  Recently, we were at the park by our house and my husband discovered the big tree we like to swing from is a Mulberry Tree.  Hmmm, just so happens the streets that runs by it is called Mulberry.  Maybe I should have recognized that tree 3 years ago when we first moved in, after all the hint is right there on the street sign.

Anyway, all is good because now we know.  And of course the pioneering spirit of my girls would not let all those wonderful mulberries go to waste.  So off we went to the park with step ladder and pails. The tree is huge and most of the mulberries are up high.  My girls helped each other out grabbing the branches and bringing them down closer.  Little One held the pail for gathering.

It was a lot of fun, but hard work too we discovered.  We picked a lot of little mulberries to fill our pail.

Our purple hands told the story of what we’d been up to that day.

We also learned that these berries are clusters of fruit and little tiny bugs like to live inside of them.  Not to be deterred by such talk we consulted the internet and found you just need to cover them with water and let them sit for a bit. Sure enough, after about 30 minutes all the little bugs floated to the top.

Then Em went to making her pie

Didn’t she do a beautiful job?  The taste was very sweet and yummy.

And my girls were so happy to find yet another thing that grows wild here in the Panhandle that they could put to good use. 

 

Emma’s Healthy Breakfast Sandwiches

My ten year old is on her way to culinary school.  Okay, not quite yet, but it’s where she wants to go someday.  She cooks for us constantly and is thinking up new twists on everyday recipes.  This breakfast sandwich recipe was derived from a sandwich she had at a little restaurant in Galveston, The Lunch Box cafe.

For bread she likes to use baguette, but we use whatever bread we have around. This morning mine was on English Muffin. First toast the bread.  Spread honey over both slices and natural peanut butter on one slice.  Top the peanut butter side with blueberries. Top the other slice with sliced strawberries and walnuts.  You could use pecans, but we had walnuts today. Put the two slices together and enjoy.  It really is very yummy and nutritious, not to mention easy!

I’ve linked this post to Beauty and Bedlam.  Head over there for more Tasty Tuesday recipes!

Art on the Go – BusPainting

I was so excited when my mother-in-law Pat introduced me over the internet to artist Kathleen McElwaine from Leander Texas.  Kathleen does beautiful watercolors and on the bus! 

She commutes on the bus into Austin twice a day and began a series of watercolors entitled BusPaintings.  She says, “Early on when I began taking the bus, I did do some character studies of people riding the # 983 Express. But then I became hesitant, thinking that perhaps I might be imposing on a near stranger's personal space -- one's mobile sanctum. As a representational artist I constantly look for character … What are the distinguishing characteristics of people … plants and animals… skies or, landscapes?"

She now has an Etsy store and besides selling her beautiful artwork, she will create a watercolor profile picture for you to use on Facebook.  She did my profile and I love it. Better yet my husband loves it.  He thinks she captured my friendliness in the painting.  That was sweet of him to say, I’ll have to bake him some brownies.  Anyway, I want to share my picture with you.

I love it!  The picture I sent her was one of me with no make-up, wearing the John Deere sweatshirt my father-in-law gave me.  I think she captured my spirit wonderfully.

Please stop by her Etsy store or her website to look at her work.  I’m already thinking of some Christmas gifts and maybe a few profile surprises for a couple of friends.

Thanks Kathleen!

Would You Dress Up Like A Cow For A Free Meal?

YES! The answer is yes.  Now would you? If the answer is yes then head over to your local Chick-Fil-A for free meal this Friday.

Check out the Chick-Fil-A website to get more details.

Last year my oldest opted out of the dress-up. Something about her mother being totally embarrassing and what wouldn’t you do for some free food comments.  But at the restaurant she realized she was among cows. Big cows, medium sized cows, and little bitty cows.  This year she says she will participate. So maybe it is cool to dress like a cow, if you get a yummy Chick-Fil-A meal.

Here’s my herd.  Hubby and I wore some cow signs we printed off their website, but I guess I didn’t get pics of that.

So don’t be a chicken, dress up as a cow and then eat some chicken!