Air Zoo

The boys and i decided to take an impromptu field trip to the Kalamazoo Air Zoo with Sarah (my sister) and Amy! Admission is free, they have alot of hands-on activities, flight simulators, and rides. This is Ethan walking in...He LOVED IT. Levi didn't really know what to think. (I didn't have time to mess with my camera's lighting settings so they are a little blurry.) Helicopter ride

Guns....Ethan magnet!

Turbo Jet engine.

This one's for daddy!

The Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" (The fastest man made aircraft ever made)

My cleaning neccesities

Micro-fiber rags Baking soda is a nice abrasive for cleaning the sinks and shower, and it's CHEAP, pure and natural! (I also use it to get scuff marks off of walls and doors)

I bought this Simple green concentrate at Sam's for like 8 bucks and it lasts FOVEVER.

This stuff is awesome because its CHEAP, smells really good and safe to use around kids! We use it to clean pretty much everything...I have 3 squirt bottles that i keep around the house to clean everything from the kitchen counters to the shower, floors, furnature and whatever else i feel like! (it only takes less than an inch of concentrate and the rest of the bottle is water!) Side note: When Bill was in the marines they used this stuff to clean their rifles! Like i said. Safe and effective! As you can see i dropped this bottle and broke the nozzle off. Oh well i have like 5 more! hehe
This little guy is also pretty handy. I think i paid under 10 dollars for it and it came with 2 washable pads. I get the pad wet with warm water, wring it out and spray my cleaner (simple green) right on the pad, and i'm good to go!

Hope you enjoyed my favorite cleaning products, what are yours? Happy cleaning!

*SNOW* Cones!

Here's a fun winter treat that is fun to make and VERY yummy! (it tastes like ice cream and probably a lot less calories!)
Ingredients:
Pure white sparkling CLEAN snow (roughly 8 cups- Use a LARGE bowl!
Mix following ingredients together in a separate bowl and add to the snow:

1/4 cup milk (we added a little more)
1/2 cup sugar
A few drops of food coloring-ethan chose blue of course!
1 tsp. flavoring. (we used vanilla and LOVED it!)

Next time i am going to try strawberry or watermelon and Red food coloring for valentines day....Ethan (and his friend Jonah) LOVED it!
We finished it off with some SPRINKLES!

Rubber band gun & spiderman

Here's a typical day, shooting each other with guns! Levi chasing Ethan (spiderman) with ethan's rubber-band gun. He just looked so dang cute!

Tuesday

Weather:
Cold and slushy.
Things that make me happy:
Taking care of my family, seeing my boys play together nicely, family dinners, and coffee. kids afternoon nap time and a quiet house.
Books I'm reading:
Having a Mary heart in a martha world by Joanna Weaver, Same kind of different as me by Ron hall and denver moore-(which i highly recommend) my bible.
What's on my TV today:
Nada.
On the Menu for dinner:
Leftover Chile, bread and probably some kind of salad
On my to-do list:
menu plan, grocery shop, and spend some quality time as a family tonight.
Recipe i want to try soon:
Vienna bread.
Dinners i make on a regular basis...maybe a little too regular...
Fajitas, pizza, enchilada's, parmesan chicken, Chicken cordon bleu. sandwiches.
Tip:
Static hair? grab a dryer sheet and wipe your hair down, works PERFECT for me after using my straightener.
My new blog discovery:

http://mealplanningmommies.blogspot.com/

Things

It's a new year. Here are a few things i am going to try really hard to do in this new chapter of my life.

1. Spending money carefully. and only using cash to do it. (this one is hard for me!)

2. Spend quality time with God daily and digging into the word.

3. Letting the holy spirit lead me in every aspect of my life.

4. Letting go of the things in my life that i cannot change. ( my past, my body, my family etc.) and working on the things i can change....also hard for me.

5. Being very careful what comes out of my mouth. (Is it edifying and uplifting? does it have the power to heal or to destroy?)

6. Spending more time with my man. Encouraging and praying for him.

7. I want to try to be more strategic with grocery shopping and meal planning.

8. Contentment... This is where God has me RIGHT NOW. This season of my life. poopy diapers and long days at home. I need to love it and embrace it. I am so blessed.