Treehouses

http://enderbynest.blogspot.com/2009/11/treehouses.html
jewelry

http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/
prepara.com

herb savor pod

babybooties

http://mamanetbebe.blogspot.com/2008/12/handcrafted-baby-booties.html

family tree



http://www.livingcrafts.com/

Turning Twenty Quilt Pattern

http://hubpages.com/hub/Quick-Easy-Quilt-Patterns

Sailing Nursery




Quilts


desks




Broccoli Soup

6-8 cups broccoli, chopped
4 medium sized potatoes, cut into chunks
1-2 leeks, sliced
1 onion (red), peeled and cut into chunks
1/3 cup heavy cream
water or stock
1 teaspoon salt
ground pepper

Place broccoli, potatoes, leeks, salt and onion in a soup pot. Fill with water (or stock) until everything is just barely covered. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, until broccoli is very tender.

Puree until smooth. Add desired amount of cream. Add pepper. Adjust salt, if necessary.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

Sweating the Big Stuff

* By Jacey Reynolds
* Published 09/18/2009
* Little Lessons from Everyday Life
*

I'm coming up on a one year anniversary. One year since I made a HUGE leap of faith and moved to a new state. The move came on the heels of a life-changing event: divorce.

Looking back on it now, I wonder sometimes where I found the courage to do it. And I also wonder if I was slightly--well--CRAZY at the time. I came here only knowing where I WANTED to work, but not knowing if I would actually get that job. I did. I came here knowing I was moving into a nice house with even nicer landlords, but I didn't know if I'd like where I live. I do. I came here not knowing how in the world I would ever manage to work nearly full time (after having always been home caring for my kids) and raise four kids mostly on my own and do all that comes under that umbrella. I have. Have I excelled at it? Probably not. Most nights, when my head hits the pillow, I feel like I've done just barely enough to scrape by and keep my kids out of the foster care system.

Hitting a one year mark like this causes a mom to do a little reflecting. I've been thinking about what this year has taught me. I'm sure I could fill a novel with all the lessons I've learned---some of them very reluctantly and some of them still in progress---in the last twelve months. But the one thing that seems to stand out is that I've learned to let go of a good many things. My house is no longer the cleanest on the block. My car gets washed once a year...whether it needs it or not. My clean laundry might sit in the basket for a couple of days before it gets put away (wrinkled) in the drawers. My girls don't always leave the house with perfectly combed hair complete with rubberbands and barrettes. My floors can go unswept for days and days and days and I'm ok with it. Well, sometimes the ants force action on my part, but mostly I'm just ok with it. I even leave dirty dishes in the sink for a whole day and night sometimes!

I've learned that much of the stress in my life was manufactured in my head. I've found that it can be liberating to let go of those things that simply don't matter. So what DOES matter? Are my kids safe and healthy? Do they leave the house every day knowing mommy loves them? Do they know how happy I am to see them when I pick them up from the sitter or when they get home from school? Am I making time for them, collectively and individually, so that all of these changes that have shaken their little foundations will be easier for them to absorb? Are we having fun together as a family? Am I the best teacher they have? Those are the every day things that truly count.

I admit there's a big learning curve here. It's only been one year. Not nearly long enough for me to get this whole parenting thing right. But maybe I can almost put a big fat check mark in the "letting go" box. There are one or two things I'm still gripping pretty tightly, but I'll get there. I'm still under construction.