Betty Crocker in the Making!

Hiee! Momma thinks I am napping... little does she know I snuck into the computer room and found my way to write this post!! Hehee:)
I love helping my mom out in the kitchen...especially getting into the bread drawer(I see she already told you about that in another post) oh and pulling all the pot holders out, and when I can,  rearrange her spice rack(dad put a lock on that draw too so when mom opens it...BAMM! I right there to help her pick out a spice or two!!) 

Now that I am a "big" girl she lets me help her when she bakes yummy food:) The other day she let me help make Rice Krispy Treats!! Who knew they were so easy to make!! Here are a few pictures of me making Rice Krispy Treats with her!! I am such a big helper...

First we measured out the Rice Krispies

                              Then you dump the marshmallows in...

momma says every good cook tastes what they are making...so I had to test out a marshmallow or two!

no worries, momma didn't turn the stove on, she was lettin' me practice stirring!!

CHEEEEESE!

The best part....Lickin' the spoon(can't let any of those krispy treats go to waste)

The Bread Drawer

"The path to becoming a better parent-like most every road to personal growth and mastery begins with self-examination." -Dr. John Gottman

A valuable lesson was learned today at my MOPS meeting this morning with me and my bread drawer! I know this sounds crazy but stick with me here...This drawer between 4pm and 5pm is my daughter and I's nemisis. It is during these hours that I am either trying to get dinner ready, tidy up the kitchen so I can start on dinner, or she is getting hungry, and or we are waiting for dad to get home. Little ms. Addison knows that she is not suppose to get into this drawer and will at times shake her head saying "no,no, no, no" while opening the bread drawer up(as I am doing any of the above in the kitchen). Why can't she get into the bread drawer??? you ask, well she likes the take the bread out, squezze it and hug it and bite into it...DRIVES ME BONKERS!!!! I don't know why, but right around the same time everyday, we seem to arrive upon this stressful moment almost daily in our house. My frustration levels rise and I feel like pulling my hair out at times. I try to discpline and teach her NO, then feel like the worst parent in the world for yelling at my child, for what...playing in the bread drawer! 
What did I learn...To let go of the situation, what is the real issue with the bread drawer? Is it because she is in harms way, no, is it because she is trying to rebell against me, no, it's because mom doesn't have control over the situation and I let myself get so frustrated that I allow it to be pointed towards her.. I need to remember that I don't have to be in control of this bread drawer...its bread for crying out loud!! so we have smushed bread, all I am doing is creating a negative environment for me and her and is not healthy for our relationship. Yes, my child needs to learn discipline and boundaries, but I need to learn to not be so controlling over something so little...OK...I admit...I tend to be a control freak as some would say.  I also learned to remember that after correcting my child I need to follow with a connection! That discipline or teaching boundaries with your kids should not just be about correcting, correcting, correcting, we need to make whatever the situation is a teaching moment and a moment to build on your relationship, that after you have lost it or "trying" to correct your little one by simpling hugging them and telling them, "mommy loves you, but at times I will say no and you might not understand right now, but just know that I still love you and always will!! "

Blanket(s) are FUN!!

Here is a fun little video of Addison playing with one of her many blankets:) our little girl sure does keep us laughing:)

Watch "Fun with a blanket!" on YouTube
(Click on the above link to see video...I'm still learning all this video upload stuff:) )

waiting.....

As I was doing my quiet time today with God, sharing all my doubts and fears, this song started going through my head
I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You Lord And I am Hopeful, I'm waiting on You Lord Though it is painful, But patiently I will wait
And I will move ahead bold and confident Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting I will serve You While I'm waiting I will worship While I'm waiting I will not faint I'll be running the race even while I wait
I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You Lord and I am peaceful, I'm waiting on You Lord Though it's not easy no, but faithfully I will wait Yes, I will wait
And I will move ahead bold and confident Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting I will serve You While I'm waiting I will worship While I'm waiting I will not faint
And I will serve You while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting I will serve You while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting I will serve You while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting on You Lord
I will serve You while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting I will serve You while I'm waiting I will worship while I'm waiting
Song by John Waller

Over the Lakes, & Thru the Woods...

To Grandma and Grandpa Ver Strate's we go(with a pit stop in Janesville, WI to play with great granma Brown)!!!

Addison enjoyed her new found freedom in having her seat turned around. She loved playing peek a boo with daddy and mommy, watching movies, reading her books and playing with her toys.

We made a pit stop to visit GG for a bit in WI. Addison quickly made herself at home in GG's house, pulling cans out of the cubbards to stack them, dragging cases of pop across the floor, reading books to GG, playing with GG's fun toys,taunting Great Aunt Linda in pulling ornaments off the tree, and her favorite...climbing on all the furniture:)

After GG's we ventured on over to MI to spend Christmas with the ENTIRE Ver Strate clan. It snowed enough to cover the grown and take the kids out for a few 4 wheelin' sleigh rides. The kids loved to pile up on Rich and ride along:)

Addison got lots of play time with grandma VerStrate and her cousin Isabelle.

We all went out for dinner at Tres Amigos to celebrate my birthday!! With this big of a family there is sure a good time to be had:)

                       

We had such a great year, and so much to be thankful for. We look forward to seeing

you all in the new year and pray that your New Year be filled with the love of Jesus!!             

super woman vs abiding

Say Whaaat?!!?

such a fun stage we are in with our little girl:) she is starting to sound more words out and has added a few more words to her vocabulary!! When it comes to names she can only get out the end part...so for her friend Summer is "merr" and Elmo is "mo" :-) oh and everything seems to be "ought" for hot, and you will find her blowing on whatever is "ought" to cool it down:)  Here are a few of her recent favorites:


"AT" for hat

"Coookie"

Merry Christmas!!

Addison (with the help of mom) hosted her first Christmas Party! It was quite the party. She made ornaments for her baby friends(she is very talented at 1) and mom made a yummy French Vanilla scrub for all her mommy friends. All the babies dressed for the occasion, they chased each other around, ate lots of snacks(gold fish are the "in" thing) and took lots of fun pictures. Here are a few pics from her party!!

All Grown Up!???!!

Addison and I were out shopping the other day and stopped to get pizza for lunch. We sat down to eat our pizza and as usual I will cut the pizza up into small bites for her so she can pick them up with her hand or try to stab the pieces with her fork. To my dismay she started to throw a fit and swiping her arms across her tray like she did not want them(keep in mind pizza is one of her favs) and she kept pointing to the plate on the table(where the rest of the pizza was) I soon realized she wanted to eat like mom and hold the entire slice of pizza in her own two hands!!! Or in her words..."enough with the baby bites mom...I want the whole slice!!!"

Here's to My Girlfriends!!

Girlfriend Motto
Girlfriends honor us and our choices ~although they may not agree~ Girlfriends live without judgment. Girlfriends live without jealousy. Girlfriends honor confidences. Girlfriends lift us up without rescuing us. Girlfriends always live in truth ~and that truth being spoken in love~ Girlfriends Celebrate our differences. Girlfriends know how to listen. Just listen. Girlfriends know how to love themselves and so then are able to love us ~unconditionally~ Girlfriends Celebrate! ~Rachel

I am not sure why we don't celebrate our girlfriends more often!!(me especially) I was talking with one of my girlfriends recently and she felt bad for bringing up a touchy subject with me. I then realized that, that is why God gave us girlfriends, to talk about our "touchy" subjects in life. To go through life as we call it together. I am not sure about you but I tend to put walls up around certain areas of my life becuase I don't want to "burden" others with it. But He uses our life lessons to help and even encourage others. I have also learned that if I do open up with what is going on with me, it is bound to happen that one of my girlfriends are going through the same thing!! I am so blessed to be surrounded by a great group of women who are there to cheer me on, cry with me, and laugh with me. Thank you ladies!!

Top 5 Pumpkin Ideas

Now what do we do with you Mr. Pumpkin?!!!?

5.

So lets start with the pie that is a must have at every Thanksgiving dinner...I have to admit I am not a pumpkin pie fan...I know I know, what world did I come from right!! well, I have just never really ever been a fan of it, but now maybe this year I will search for a good recipe and see if I can master the art of pumpkin pie making:) (side note if I were to make pumpkin pie it would not look anything like the picture above, I am almost sure of this, my pie would probably be burnt, and a little lopsided...who knows)

4.

Oh no no...DO NOT I repeat DO NOT let those pumpkin seeds go to waste!! It is kinda gross but get  your hands dirty and separate the seeds from the slimy innards!! Put the seeds in the collandar and rinse them off. After rinsing lay the seeds out on your baking sheet to dry. After the seeds dry place them in a bowl and coat them with olive oil and creole seasoning(or whatever seasoning fancys you) Turn the oven to 350 and bake for 40minutes! Then wa la!! the best tasting pumpkin seeds EVER!!!

3.

Make Pumpkin Gingerbread !! I found this recipe online at allrecipes.com. This recipe is actually what inspired me to figure out ideas on how to get the best use out of our halloween pumpkin. This bread warm out of the over with your favorite cup of jo is mmmm delish!!

2.

Pumpkin Ice Cream!???! who would've thought!! well, whoever did, GENIUS!! I will have to go and search for a good recipe for this, but I am sure it wont be hard:) Since ice cream is a favorite around here I thought I would try my hand at making homemade pumpkin ice cream!!

AND the #1 idea IS....

1.

Well, you gotta puree the pumpkin to get to any of the above... right!! :-) I found way to puree my pumpkin...I scraped out the innards and cut the pumpkin up into 1/4 sections, put some water in the bottom of my baking pans and placed the sections in the pan. Then I turned the oven on to 450 and let them bake for 45minutes. After letting them cool I scraped the pumpkin off of the skin and placed in my food processor for pureeing. I am not good at guessing how big our pumpkin was but I got 8 16oz jars of pumkin puree!! If you are in the giving mood you could can the puree and put some ribbon around the jar and give the pumpkin puree as a gift:)

Happy Pumpkining!!

Happy BZZZZaloween!!

October was filled with lots of fun activities for the VerStrate clan. This year we dressed Addison up as a BumbleBee. We got lots of good use out of the costume. She went to her first baby costume party, got to go trick or treat at the zoo and make crafts, and story time at the library had a costume party read along.

 We also took her to her first pumpkin patch to pick out her very own pumpkin. As you can see she found the perfect one.  I found a "Mr. Skeleton Potato Head" from target to dress her pumpkin up(we weren't quite ready for her to dig into the pumpkin and be wearing the entire pumkin on her. Knowing our daughter we would be have pumpkin findings all over our house and her for days!)

I thought I would leave you with this classic picture from her costume party, it was for sure a hallmark moment, all of us moms are still giggling about the entire ordeal, but the moment was for sure a precious one! We hope everyone is enjoying their fall!!

Happy Bzzzzaloween,

love the VerStrate's

Cards by Me!

Well ever since my daughter has gone to one LONG nap in the afternoons, I have found that I have way more time on my hands to do things I want to do!! So I dusted off my craft box, sharpeded up my scissors, found some cute paper and stamps and this is what I came up with:

I call this collection "just cause"

Quote of the Day

I am not sure who came up with this quote or motto, but I found it through a google feed I was scrolling through and thought how funny, but true it is!

I LOVE my Husband!!

I have noticed recently that I blog more about my daughter and random things than I do about how great my husband is. Which I am sure he is thankful I don't post pictures of him and all he does every other week:) and get all mushy mushy on him to the world, but this post is dedicated to how wonderful he is***WARNING*** this could get really mushy, cause you to gag mushy mushy, and maybe even get you to blog about your husband mushy mushy ;-)


Where do I even begin, lets start with...
**I love that on Saturdays he will play with Addison and let me sleep in and have coffee and breakfast ready for us as I mozy on about the morning
**I love how diligent of a worker he is around the house and at his job
**I love that he will clean up after dinner and let me relax on the couch so I can watch my fav shows
**I love that he takes time from work to stay home with Addison so I can go to MOPS and relax
**I love that I can call on a whim to see if he will pick up dinner on his way home from work
**I love his Integrity
**I love how he cares and provides for Addison and I
**I love when he looks at me acroos the room and gives me his smile and winks ;-)
**I love how we can talk about anything and overcome obstacles together
**I love that no matter how busy he is with work he is never to busy for me
**I love his love for God and his desire to follow him daily
**I love my husband!!!

I could go on and on but lets just end with how much I do appreciate my husband and all that he does for my daughter and I! He is the best!! love you mister:)

Apple Pickin'

Well we rounded up the gang over the weekend and headed out to Minnesota Harvest in Jordan, MN to go roam around the orchard and pick apples. Addison had a blast with her cousins running around and picking up the apples off the ground. She even got to pick her first apple from the tree(with the help of mom) and she was so excited she developed a new expression  :-o "ooooh" it is the cutest expression! She even took a few bites and carried it around like it was her prize possession.

Moments Like This...

I love sharing moments like this with my daughter!! I will make toast with grandma's homemade strawberry jam in the morning and she will come find me and look at me to share with her. So we sit on the kitchen floor and I take a bite then she gets a bite:) As we take our bites of toast she chit chats with  me and we giggle and eat the toast all up! yummy:)

Footprints on our Hearts

I was given this poem by my aunt way back in the day that hangs on my wall. There are a few verses that always stick out to me and as I read them I sit and reflect on the journeys I go thru in life with my family, friends, and the random people I meet in the store or on the street. It is the last verse that I seem to dwell on the most lately as I have been going through this new chapter in my life...

“Some People” By Flavia Weedn

Some people come into our lives and quickly go… Some stay for awhile and embrace our silent dreams.

They help us become aware of the delicate winds of hope… and we discover within every human spirit there are wings yearning to fly.

They help our hearts to see that the only stairway to the stars is woven with dreams… and we find ourselves unafraid to reach high.

They celebrate the true essence of who we are… and have faith in all that we may become.

Some people awaken us to new and deeper realizations… for we gain insight from the passing whisper of their wisdom

Throughout our lives we are sent precious souls… meant to shareourjourney however brief or lasting their stay they remind us why we are here.

To learn… to teach… to nurture… to love

Some people come into our lives to cast a steady light upon our path and guide our every step their shining belief in us helps us to believein ourselves.

Some people come into our lives to teach us about love… The love that rests within ourselves.

Let us reach out to others and feel the bliss of giving for love is far richer in action that it ever is in words.

Some people come into our lives and they move our souls to sing and make our spirits dance.

They help us to see that everything on earth is part of the incredibility of life… and that it is always there for us to take of its joy.

Some people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same.

Bears, Moose, Deer, OH MY!!!

We took our first family camping trip this past week up to Twin Lakes State Park in the upper peninsula of MI. We met Rich's family up there and had a great time exploring, feeding ducks, seeing wild life, and collecting rocks...lots of rocks!! Addison loved playing with her cousins and chasing them around the camp ground. Grandpa loved to take Addison and Daisy for a morning walk in the wagon around camp before breakfast. The weather was perfect all week and surprisingly the mosiqitos stayed away!! A couple of days we went out to Lake Superior and played along the beach to find pretty rocks and ended up in the water a few times. It was actually really nice water to swim in. Addison had a fun time trying to eat every rock she picked up and running out into the water. Needless to say she kept mommy and daddy on their toes!

And She's Off!!

Our little baby is girl is walking at 10 months!! It was a process for her to get to this milestone but with her daddy's mindset she was bound and determined to make it!! Around 4 or months she decided she was done sitting and just wanted to stand on her own feet! So we picked up a walker for her because mommy and daddy's arms could only handle so much of holding this little one up:) She figured out fast how to tool around the kitchen in that thing, in no time was she cruising around our center island and under the table and back around again:) At 6 months she realized, hey if I grab onto mommy or daddy's fingers and pull myself up they will help me walk around. And so began her walking fetish. She new how to find your thumbs and pull them up and if you weren't quick to your feet she was more than happy to help you up!! She was getting braver and braver by the day and soon was scaling the furniture on her own and was down to a one thumb helper. On July 19th she took her first couple steps on her very own by walking from daddy to mommy! After a few tumbles she reverted back to the crawling deal. I am pretty sure she was inspired by a few of her baby friends that are now walking that she decided within the last few weeks shee too can walk all by herself and she did!! Yay!!!