The Cottage Around the Corner

My children are so very happy that I stumbled upon a new blog. It is called http://wwwbunnysovencom.blogspot.com/ . Bunny's warm oven. Oh my!! She has some of the tastiest recipes EVER!! This morning I made my kids her donut muffins. A picture of their supreme yumminess is to the left, above or wherever it ended up posting.... . I even managed to save one for my husband. His eyes got all wide. Yup, he liked 'em. If you search for muffins on her site, you can find the recipe. I am not sure how to link. I was trying, but it seems to evade me right now.

I have a sore throat. My glands are swollen and my nose is plugged up. The bad part is that I can't take any medicine for it since I am nursing. Boy is he lucky I am so in love with him.... I know he has a pink cup. They only come in twos and one is always a boys color and a girls color. He doesn't need more than two, so when he does require more, I will get him some.





Later today we are planning on painting a small chalkboard. It is so plain and it drives me nuts as boring as it is. We will do red today and then maybe add white for a checkerboard pattern.

Since we are not feeling so well right now, we decided to make some super chocolatey chocolate Ghiradelli brownies. I can't bake bread on cold wet days, so brownies will do. Here is a picture of my main helper...



He couldn't wait to lick the bowl. Then his little brother came over and started begging for some. Then they were both battling over who got the last of the brownie batter. It was really cute.






This is just the batter, but it sure does look good. The chocolate chips are flatter so they melt better. I am sure the kids will enjoy these later. Maybe with some vanilla ice cream over them while they are still warm...



I hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!! We should be doing at least the first half of the chalkboard makeover. I think we will also recover the footstool today. It is a plaid right now, but will soon be red with white polka dots. I have such a thing for polka dots....

TTFN

Well, we are supposed to have some terrible weather tonight. I had to go over all the "what if's" for the kids. I hate doing that. It generally just scares them. One night here, it got so bad I had to wake all of them up and hide in our little bathroom. I think #4 was still small then, so I grabbed her out of her crib and we all huddled in the bathroom. It sounded like the roof was going to collapse.
I think wind damage will be our worst enemy tonight. Just when I was getting going on my front porch. Mr. Hunny had to pull down all our hanging plants and anything else that might break a window. Luckily, I hadn't pulled a lot out yet. We were supposed to paint tomorrow. At least one bathroom and I was hoping to get some gardening in. I guess God decided we needed to practice MORE patience. Aurgh!!
I am all "patienced" out. I mean, really. It takes forever to get a project planned out. With 5 kids, there is always the possibility of illness or some other random event that can occur at any moment. We are finally cleared of illness. Then Gabe got his bad allergies. We got that under control. Than Mr. Babyface decided to pop a few teeth through. Poor guy.
It really must hurt. The first night, I only slept 30 minutes. We got better after that, but he hasn't taken any naps lately. It is just terrible how I have to snuzzle so much with him now....;).
I am just going to make sure I spend time in prayer tonight for all the families that will be dealing with this "weather event". I know my kids are scared of thunder (musta got that from their Dad...) and if it gets real loud our bed will get mighty crowded. Then there are the people in North Dakota. That is even scarier. Knowing all your possessions are about to be under water. And a horrible blizzard predicted on top of that! Wow! There is some crazy weather in the U.S. now. I know spring is always a wee bit confused, but it seems moreso this year.
I am sure we will all be fine and if there is any damage in the area I will post it tomorrow. Somedays, I think I should have been a tornado chaser. Bad weather used to be so cool. It doesn't scare me at all, for the most part. The scary part for me is that I have 5 kids to keep safe and only 2 hands. There is a great comfort in knowing that God will be with us regardless of the weather and will keep His hand of protection on us. There is such peace in knowing that... :)

CraigsList has got to be one of the best resources... EVER!! I love it!! I have been trying to organize our garage a little bit. However, with 5 kids, there is no way I would attempt a yard sale. So I have been CraigsListing items. I already sold an old lawnmower that was too comfortable in my shed. Now we are going for pots and pans, a wine rack and other odds and ends I can't fit into my kitchen.
Honestly, if I had a place to put them I probably would have kept them. But that wouldn't be very cottage minded on me, would it? Isn't the mantra: keep nothing that you do not know to be beautiful and useful. I try to go by that, but then I think..."Maybe it will work in my next house".
Yes, I am bad. But I am trying to be a reformed pack rat. I am fighting the battle with clutter and will eventually win. Making money off these items is also a bit more of a motivator than just donating them. So when I find that next item I just can't live without, I know I have to sell something (or donate) first. Although I think I need to get rid of a whole bunch before I add to it... but I really do need those dishes from Big Lots.... like my 6 or 7 sets isn't enough already. I actually bought a chipped china set for when we go outside... that way if they break I won't get upset.
Seriously though, I think I need counseling. And a bigger house. With a butler's pantry. And an enormous amounts of cabinets. And....

We finally got our Easter tree up, and thanks to Cathy at Cobblestone Farms it looks great!! The kids were so excited about all the handmade ornaments. My oldest daughter Faith was right there with me telling me where to hang the ornaments. She is really great at those sorts of things... :)
We are really enjoying this tree this year. We have never done an Easter tree this year, and I think my husband thought I was a looney toons to want to put one up. I had heard of them before, but knew I would want something other than plastic eggs hanging off the branches. When I found Cathy's site that day, I had plans to make some with the kids myself. Thankfully I won the contest because there is no way mine would have looked anywhere near as beautiful as Cathy's do. And my children would have been very honest about how bad mine would have looked....
We have also had a lot of issues with allergies this week. Something is in the air and it is really torturing my oldest son, Gabriel. Poor guy. His eyes start to swell shut and they water uncontrollably. We are going to have to go to an allergist, this week hopefully. Look how sad this little guy looks:













I feel so bad for my guy this time of year. It seems to be getting worse so I think there might be allergy shots in the future. :( I am sure I will have to bribe him with untold amounts of ice cream to encourage him to let them do a blood draw. He is my first child and he is so wonderfully thoughtful and sweet. He is the most concerned of the other's welfare. I think what they say about birth order is true. He loves it when I tell him that he was his daddy's and my first love. So, I think I will need to sign off and go cuddle with this handsome boy. Maybe I will make some of Kim's at Daisy Cottage delicious blonde brownie recipe. I think my little guy will like that.... :)

I just love watching a baby or child experience something for the first time. This one was a little messy... which makes it more fun to watch. Here is my youngest, Mikey our 6 month old, eating his very first biter biscuit... I think he likes it!! Of course, he kept dropping it... then he would look at me and wait for me to put it back in his mouth. I had to keep taking his little chubby hand and wrap it around the cookie. I think he was a bit offended initially, but then realized he could get it faster if he did it himself.


Here is where he was unappreciative of my unwillingness to sit there and hold the cookie in his mouth. I think this is one of the cutest expressions I have caught of him. After making him cranky, he let me know how he really feels here:




Oh the terror!! The way his Mommy just sat there and took pictures instead of holding his cookie for him!! The audacity of the woman!! He is planning on contacting his Gramma later today and let her know that the service provided here is substandard to a level he has never before witnessed. Gramma would sit here and joyfully hunch over holding my cookie. I think he would have fired me there if he could have.... :) He is napping now so once again all is good in the world. I am sure he will be filing a report with the Department of Baby Affairs. If this happens again, his Mommy could face dire consequences....

We went to visit my parents in Russellville yesterday. One of my secret joys of visiting them is going to the junk shop on Alabama 20. Oh how my heart leaps at the thought of going there!! It is very rare for me to not find something, and since it is a junk shop it is always very inexpensive. Here is my best find from yesterday:

I can't believe I found this! And I managed to talk the guy down to $10!!! There are no dents or scratches. I need to polish it, but other than that it is perfect condition. I was so excited!! I could not believe how heavy this is either. The tray has little feet as well... too cute!! My oldest daughter was so happy we found it. She has been wanting one and I couldn't find one at a reasonable price. Well, I finally found one!! Here's another find:

Here is Faith looking so very proud!! Mommy's little helper and thrifter in training!! :) Faith loved this and reminded me that we needed a larger one for when we make biscuits and gravy. She is a thrifter after my own heart.... :)

We were also able to find a little white pitcher and a little bunny. A little cleaning and they are in a new loving home. :) I love to collect pitchers. They are so useful and can serve so many purposes while looking beautiful. What more can a girl ask for? Have you found any special treasures while thrifting lately?

It is officially the first day of spring. I am so excited!! I am tired of the cold. I am going to enjoy spring as much as I can, for here in Alabama it gets REALLY hot and humid during the summer. Then I will be praying for the coolness of fall....
So many gardening projects. When we bought our house, the only landscape there was were weeds. Lots and lots of weeds. Mostly weeds for grass (which when cut looks pretty good...). We recently cut down the last tree in the front yard. It was leaning towards our house and it was one of those nasty, messy sugar gum trees. When my Grandmother tripped and fell on one of the little fruit balls they drop, I knew it had to be done. I hate cutting trees down, but I do have a whole lot of almost free mulch for the yard now.
There is so much to do for the front of our house. When we replaced the windows, they pulled some of the red paint off the shutters. That needs to be touched up. And look at all the weeds (my current mulch). They will all be pulled and replaced with mulch from the giant pile of mulch in the front yard. And I get to do it all by myself!! Yeah me!! :) Lookee here:
You can see the peeled paint on the shutters. There is some green in the bed, but not near enough. I want to add blackeyed susans and purple coneflower. I have 2 roses over there. One is a red climbing rose. I have to add a trellis for it to climb. I want that to be something we all make. Trellises are way too expensive. I just don't see where they are worth it. Maybe after we move to our forever house... but this one is not it. I surely need boxwood and maybe azaleas. I just need color. I want it to look overflowing. I love to garden... but I am not too experienced at it yet. And I am a bit lazy. Not really lazy, but pressed for time.
See how sad my front porch is? It makes me sad. I want it colorful and happy. I want it to make people smile as they drive by or come for a visit. I am trying to use found objects and either cast-offs or garage sale items. The odds are it will get damaged since the overhang is so small. So, I really don't want to put a lot of money into it. It has potential.... it has potential.... if I keep telling myself that then it will be true. I love the power of positive thinking!! Now I have to start telling myself what a fabulous gardener I am!! :)
I planted a lot of those plants a couple years ago. They still aren't doing a whole lot. So what is a girl to do? Well, I am going to have to pull all of them out, add compost and soil to bring up the bed and then replant. My back aches just thinking about it. Happy thought: I don't have to buy mulch. There must always be a silver lining. Plus, I have 5 kids. The oldest 4 WILL HELP. With a big fat smile on their face. Hahahaha!! My Mama always said if you are gonna dream, dream big!! :)
I am getting tired just thinking about it. Well, I am a wee bit tired anyway. See, the baby loves me so very much, he wanted to smile at me in my arms all night. It was sweet... for the first three hours... I think he didn't feel good because he got some shots yesterday. Poor guy. Lucky me got him to bed at 0515 this morning. My girls woke me up at 0545. That is OK. The promise of going to TARGET and getting those birdie salt and pepper shakers is keeping me going. I can't promise what will happen after I pick them up though.... ;)
Have a fantabulous first day of spring!!!

My mother liked to offer me THE CURSE. You know... the one where they wish you as a child on yourself. Well, this is my fourth child. She is JUST LIKE ME. Oh my!!
As a small child in preschool, I actually led a revolt and convinced all the kids we should climb the fence and run away. And we did. Luckily they caught up with all of us, but I marked my mother right then. She was the woman with the child everyone wanted to kick out of school. Ha!
It was a preschool at the college my Mom was attending. She had to go through several meeting with the school board to get them to let me stay. My poor Mother. Well, she got her wish.
This is Chloe. We got new carpet installed last year. I was so very happy. So excited. Always making sure it stayed clean and vacuumed. You can see where I am going, can't you??? Yep. Red lipstick in two rooms. Big spots. Mind you, we are planning on selling in the next year or two. I have to now figure out how to get red lipstick out of beige carpet. Oh joy.
We have had to install locks on any and all doors. Even in the bathrooms for the linen closet. She has discovered that you can paint on the walls with toothpaste. Yesterday, she used my toothbrush to clean the toilet. Thankfully I realized it before I used it. She can damage more stuff than any other child I have ever encountered. She has the worst temper.... but in all of this, she reminds me of me. It is not that she is totally destructive (remember that, Mommy...) it is just that she is so curious. She wants to see what would happen. And her temper comes from her passion for life. As horrible as she can be sometimes, she can be so angelic and loving at others. I think she just gets so overwhelmed with her feelings. I am the same way.
I remember when I was little, my Mom would always want it quiet because she couldn't think. I thought that she must be very old. Now, I prefer the quiet. Outdoor time is the best. Before, I would have a walkman attached to my head at all times, but now I find myself wanting to listen to nature CD's or nothing at all. You know, the ones with the sounds of the Loons. Yes, I am only 33. But I am already VERY OLD to my kids. They asked me if I had a pet dinosaur when I was little. Oh my.
That's ok. I don't mind. I remember when I though that you died when you hit 40 and 30 was middle aged. Suddenly my 82 year old Grandma is sounding young. ;)
Somedays I feel like I could lose my mind. Sometimes Mommy needs a time out. But I wouldn't give it up for anything. For as frustrating as kids can be, they are a life given to us by God. We are to mold them into creatures for Him. What a huge responsibility. Kinda scary. Yet, it is also awesome to know that God has entrusted me with 5 beautiful souls. Sometimes I think He has more faith in me than I do. When I think about it, that motivates me to be a better Mother than I could be otherwise. I thank God daily for making me a mother. Even though what I do has very little value to our society, I wouldn't give it up for anything. :)

Rhoda over at Southern Hospitality is having a spring fluff day. I thought it might be a great learning experience to at least try.... thank you Rhoda!!




I think I am a wee bit late in joining, but I thought I would give it a try anyway. This is my first try. so please be kind... Since I have 5 kids (and one, who shall remain nameless that occasionally eats flower petals), I chose some floral napkins to act as a flower arrangement.












Here are a few bunnies that we have pulled out to remind us that Easter is on it's way!! Even though we don't do "the Bunny thing" we still love to collect them...







We did a bit of bunny love on top pf the TV armoire. It is always easier to decorate where the kids can't reach... or at least haven't figured out how to get to it yet.










I haven't found the perfect faux cake yet (the best since I can't gain weight from them...) and I wouldn't have to worry about the kids sneaking some... so I put some faux fruit in a bowl underneath. So far my 3 year old hasn't tried to eat them.... but there are still more hours in the day.. :)

That is about all we have gotten to do so far. Of course, I will post a picture of our Easter tree as soon as those beautiful handmade ornaments I won from Cathy arrive!! I am still a bit giddy over those... :)

I have enjoyed others posts today immensely and have found great inspiration!! Happy Fluff Day!!

I love this holiday!! No required gifts to exchange... nothing you have to specifically do. Just have fun!! And maybe drink a little green beer. The only goal I have today... have some delicious Irish food, have a little Irish beer and maybe watch "The Quiet Man". Yep. Sounds like a perfect day. Now if only I could get the kids to go along with me....

I could not believe my luck when I went into one of our thrift stores last month. It was half price day and I went over to where they keep all the dishes and bowls and kitchen goods (my favorite spot!!). I could not believe my eyes when I saw this:

Mary Engelbreit plates!! 7 dinner plates, saucers, 5 coffee cups, 7 bowls, 1 large serving platter and 1 large serving bowl. I may never score that well again!! None of them have any cracks or chips. There is normal wear from use and that is it!! And I got it for..... $12!! Oh my!! I am in love!! They are such a fun and colorful pattern: Afternoon Tea.
Now I just have to find the perfect tablecloth. I can't decide what color. I think black with white polka dots would be so fun... maybe red... what do you think??

Wow!! I am so excited!! I won a giveaway from Cobblestone Farms!! Cathy is one of the most creative people!! Absolutely beautiful stuff!! And her ornaments are like a work of art!! Take a peek over at http://cobblestonefarms.blogspot.com/ . You won't be disappointed!! And yes, I think I fixed the e-mail issue. And the posting a comment issue. So many issues for a new blogger.... but we are planning on taking some pictures of some thrifted treasures we recently acquired. Including some Mary Engelbreit tableware we got on half priced day!! Talk about luck!! It must be the Irish in me coming out!! I must be off for now. It is a bit of a task to type while holding a drooling 6 month old..!!
TTFN!! :)

I am still trying to figure out how to make a lovely blog, so this may just be sad.... but I am determined to at least try.
Right now my house is a mess. Inside and out. We bought this house and knew it would be a lot of work. I don't mind work. In fact, I enjoy it. It makes me feel productive. I especially enjoy outdoor work. You see, when I make the interior look really nice, it is a rather fleeting feeling of joy. I do, after all, have 5 kids. Sometimes I think they walk behind me and undo anything that I can manage to get done. Still, I think I can recruit them to help me with this. My 7 year old loves to take pictures and my husband is a professional photographer. My 9 year old son likes to help set up shots, so this could end up being a great family project. I think the 3 year old will be the most difficult, but if we do an Elmo picture from time to time, or at least one of her, she should be OK with it. :)
So, on I will go. I will work on taking pictures of my kitchen. I am rather schizophrenic about that room. I really want it to look happy. I may be begging for input as for kitchen cabinet colors and such. But that will be for another day. Hopefully I can get some more pictures up a bit later. :)

I am totally new at this. Actually, I try to avoid computer stuff at all costs. That is normally what my husband does, but since I am following so many blogs... I figure I should just give in and join. Please forgive my slowness initially. I have 5 kids, 9 down to 6 months, so time is at a premium. Did I mention I also homeschool? So, I will keep this one short, since I have so many things to learn. I am hoping to spend time on topics such as decorating, thrifty living, homeschooling and gardening. Please don't think I am an expert. One of my favorite quotes is about how you learn nothing from succeding, it in only in failure that we truly learn. Yes, it is rom a Disney movie. I did mention I have 5 kids, right? I have successfully come up with a life plan based on Mary Poppins, Sleeping Beauty and Meet the Robinson's. And you thought you were bad....???? Hahahahaha!!! ;)