emma.

Yesterday was wear-your-costume-to-ballet-day.

Emma was a cloud.

Yes.

A cloud.

It was all Emma's idea.  A few weeks ago she got some clothes out of storage.  A gray shirt and some tan pants.  She said, "I look like a cloud!  I'm going to be a cloud for Halloween."

So we made a crown out of cotton balls and white glitter.  We cut clouds out of cardboard and painted them white.  We dumped an entire bottle of white glitter on the fluffy clouds.  We connected them with blue ribbon and put them over Emma's head on her shoulders.

Emma went to ballet.

I love Emma.  She sees the world in an beautiful, fun, thrilling and yet matter of fact way.  She laughs loud and with lots of energy.  She teases.  She's extremely sensitive and nurturing.  She loves to read and is fabulously smart.  She is thoughtful and full of kisses.  She loves a quiet moment and will sit for a very long time enjoying a project.  She'll also be the loudest person in the house.  Emma watches out for the underdog and is a true and dear friend.  She's a dreamer and an artist.  She sings with her whole heart...and loves that way, too.  She thinks of things like being a cloud for Halloween.  Who thinks of that? 

Emma does.

beautiful. LIFE.

Note:  If you are looking for a ballet school in the Charlotte, NC area, we are loving The Belmont School of Ballet...

Oh baby.

Ever since we went apple and pumpkin picking in hopes of getting to have some apple cider donuts...and being disappointed...I have been craving some of them!

I got online and found this recipe randomly posted by a person on a forum that found it somewhere.  My family and I tested and tasted this recipe for you.  It was a difficult job but some one needed to do it...

These were delicious and even more fun to make.  The dough is totally gooey and the kids could hardly move their fingers as they tried to cut the donuts out.  We made some with powered sugar sprinkled on the top and some tossed in cinnamon and sugar. 

You have to try them...they are the perfect gloomy, rainy, fall morning treat...or right before everyone goes to bed when everyone is in their pjs (that's what we did...pjs all around).  The house smells warm and cozy and there is just nothing like an apple cider donut.

Have fun!

Apple Cider Donuts

2/3 c. packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
6 Tbsp. butter, melted and cooled
1 c. apple cider
3 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Oil for deep-fat frying
Confectioners' sugar or cinnamon-sugar, optional


In a mixing bowl, beat the first six ingredients until thick, about 5 minutes. Gradually beat in butter, then cider. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add to batter; beat just until blended. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Divide dough in half. Turn onto a lightly (we found out that this was more like super heavily...not lightly at all) floured surface; pat to 1/2" thickness. Cut with a floured 2 1/2" doughnut cutter (totally wish we would have had this). Repeat with remaining dough. In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375 degrees. Fry doughnuts, a few at a time, for 2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired or shake in cinnamon-sugar. Makes about 1 1/2 dozen.

tasty. LIFE.

Happy Monday.

*tell a friend*

365 days.

Just as a reminder to everyone...back in April after being inspired by Stephanie Roberts, a wise and soulful woman that was feature in the Women and Business feature, I decided to try and do the 365 day project.  Well...I've taken pictures a lot of days...not every day.  And I'm super behind in posting them up on my blog...or anywhere else for that manner.  I'm going to attempt to be better...

I don't typically leave any text with these 365 posts.  Occasionally I may...

simply. LIFE.

*tell a friend*

chores.

I don't know about you but I believe in chores.  Kids need to do them.  They need to learn how a house runs and that everyone in the family does their part to keep the house clean, neat, picked up, and that their parents are not their personal slaves.  Or that there are clean up fairies that come out at night while everyone is asleep...(that's something I know I'd love...can you order those somewhere?)

We have nothing fancy for our chore chart.  It's extremely homemade.  Not professional at all.  I didn't make it.  Well...I sort of did and I sort of didn't.  I made that graph thing and wrote the chores in.  The kids drew a picture that represented them.  There's just tape on the back of each person and we move each child every week in a rotating fashion.  Person on the far right moves to the far left and everyone moves to the right one column. 

Nothing fancy.  The chores aren't fancy either.  The chores (in bigger writing) are the chores that each child does everyday (except the person that folds the clothes...they do that once a week...and they don't really fold them...they throw them in a basket for each person and take them to the person's room....they get off easy for that week).  The smaller writing is weekly chores...Saturday cleaning chores...things like the bathroom, mop the floor, etc.

Our kids don't get paid for their daily chores.  Daily chores are expected.  That's what we do as members of a family.  Everyone does their part.  It's the way it is.

They do get commission for their weekly chores.  We want our kids, at a young age to learn what it's like to get paid for a job well done, how to save money, how to tithe, and the value of money to spend. 

Giving our kids a chance to earn money is a gift to them, and to us, when they're pleading for something at the store (or begging) and we ask them, "Did you bring your money?"  Most of the time they didn't.  Sometimes, they know we're going to the store and they grab their little purses or make sure they have their wallet.  It eliminates the begging.  It also makes them think about whether or not they really want to buy that candy.  If they are saving up for something big like a build-a-bear, they will forego a lot of candy and other little things they want to buy.  It helps them to decide what is worth spending money on and what isn't.

Here's the breakdown of our chore chart:

Chore one:

Daily: trash and sweep floor after dinner

Weekly:  Kids bathroom and vacuum and dust guest room and hallway

Chore two:

Daily: Dishes with Mom or Dad

Weekly:  Master Bath and vacuum and dust art room and Emmett's room

Chore three: 

Daily:Fold clothes (divide and put into rooms)

Weekly: Small bath, mop kitchen floor and mop and dust studio

Chore four:

Daily:  Set the table

Weekly:  Master Bath and vacuum and dust mom and dad's room and girls' room

With chores it's very important to train children how to do them and to be extremely patient with their best efforts.  Finding anything you can to encourage and compliment them on.  Mike and I are always going around to all of the jobs on a Saturday morning (or one of us if only one of us is here...which happens a lot) and we just check up on the kids, find out if they need help, encourage, or make suggestions.  We also have a little bit of work to do, too...we vacuum and dust the family room and help the kids.  Our goal on a Saturday morning is to start by 10am and be done by noon.  I'd like to get done faster and hopefully over time...it will get faster.

I always comment for the rest of the day about how awesome the house looks.  That I love the clean smell every time I walk in and how fantastic things look.  If I walk into the bathroom, I say how great it looks.  I want everyone to feel good about their chore...whether it's during the week or on the weekend.

Once we're done we spend the afternoon doing something that's more along the lines of entertainment. It always feels like we accomplished a lot by getting chores done first thing. Our house is clean, everyone has completed a project, and we've worked together.  Working as a family brings a family together. 

clean. LIFE.