You really should , be thankful #3

Well... day 3 and I am 3 for 3 ... I have actually posted everyday so far , all 3 of them lol .


November 3

Today's thing I am thankful for might seems a little non conventional . Something most people would loathe , well maybe not loathe but not be thankful for. Today I am thankful for rainy, cold fall days. I am thankful for these days becuase my boy and I cuddled on the couch watching cartoons all morning. I am thankful for rainy days because we staying in our pajamas all day . the boys took a 2 hour nap , at the same time while I just relaxed. Cleaned my kitchen and started on the de-cluttering I need to do in there to prepare to pain it . Once A come home from school D was awake and G was still sleeping. We all just hung out around the house. Topped a lazy day off with ordering pizza for dinner , then making Magic Cookie Bars for desert.

after posting on Facebook about the cookie bars , I thought I would share the recipe here , although I did not make it up ,Nor am I the first person to blog about them I'm sure.. here they are :)

First you mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together until all are moist and it's moldable

You then press the mixture into a baking dish about 1/4-1/2 inch thick

poor one can of condensed milk over the top of the mixture

cover that with coconut flakes

cover that with chocolate chips

bake on about 300 degree's until lightly browned , cool , cut, and eat

there they are  nothing super special , nor are my pictures.... but like I said before I am thankful for rainy cold days , cause no other day would have motivated me to make a batch of these , and spend the day laying around enjoying my boys company

Is it really that hard?

So as I have mentioned before , I have 3 fantastic children . 3 busy , very active , sometimes loud , usually pretty quick , or atleast quicker than I feel like moving at the moment , children.. 3 children I can never seem to get in one place long enough to take a decent picture. Well while outside today , I thought " Hey, no one is fighting, crying ,disgustisnly filthy, they are all dressed...Im gonna take a picture" sounds simple enough , I asked the older 2 to join the youngest in the fort on the swingset , simply becuase .. if you have a 2 year old that is happy somewhere.. dont change anything. So they joined him, and I snapped a couple pictures .. of seriously 14 pictures of the 3 of them there was not a SINGLE picture that all 3 were looking at me :(... but I thought I would share a couple of what I did take , just because.

I would have to say this last one is my favorite cause you can at least see all of their faces and they arent making goofy faces , or in mid word lol

So , I was on a roll

I was posting daily , although not about anything of any particular interest . I have to admit if felt therapeutic to just ramble on in hopes someone was reading . With my husband often at one job or another , that leaves my days with the kids .As much as I love them I can only talk about Mario Brothers, iCarly and play Hot wheels so many times in a day before I just need to vent . My husband is often bombarded at Midnight by a phone call from me just telling him the adult related parts of my day, and that generally pertains to : what someone said on facebook , or some drama that's going on in a forum I belong to ,what deal I was able to snag at the grocery store or CVS . But nothing that's all that interesting to him ,but I have to give him credit , he listens ,laughs and asks questions and offers his input when he thinks im asking for it.. But how much , I'm not sure becuase he rarely remembers any of it the next time I bring it up .. but I love him anyway .

I do have some exciting news to share . My store is completed , well the graphic work is . You can see it here : www.hyenacart.com/deckydoodle .I am very excited about it .. I am planning to have a grand opening stocking mid September , I will be doing some collaborations with some other WAHM friends . So i hope that it is a successful stocking. The stores design work and layout was made by a friend at www.hyeanacart.com/dragonflygraphics  , she was wonderful to work with and I am very pleased . If you are ever needing any graphics work you should totally check her out .

you really should , make lunch fun

So I have a third grader... say it again . I have a third grader , yea it was just as weird the 2nd time as it was the first . I feel older now than I did while adjusting to have a kinder gardener, lol . But we will survive , its when my now 4 year old and 2 year old start school I may really freak out .

We have had some issues with A , we'll just say "tummy issues". There are some issues that run in our family , on my mainly my fathers side, And as much help knowing family history can ease your mind it  can cause an equal amount stress. So , knowing what we know and researching what we didnt .My husband and I have decieded to start switching A's diet to a more gluten reduced  diet.All  while doing that towards the goal of a gluten free diet for her and hopefully a significantly reduced diet for everyone else. I am not a doctor by anymeans , but like i said before , knowing what I know this wont hurt anything. 

In an effort to make her transition more fun and not like a punishment ( lots of yummy foods are NOT gluten free ). I have chosen to pack her lunches for school "bento style"..Bento originates in Japan and roughly translates to "conveinant" or " conveinance ". A traditional bento consists of , rice ,meat and veggies .. but when packing a bento lunch for a child , at our house anyway , typically means . Fun shaped cut sandwiches ,fruit pieces , a sweet snack  , some crackers and cheese slices . A favorite of my kids is Cucumber sandwiches  , and being that they are so easy ... well lets just say we eat them often  in the summer :). 

There are many many blogs around with tips,tricks and other information on bentos.. hear are a few of my personal favorite : another lunch (making lunch fun with bento ) , 360 Lunch boxes on facebook . They have some great information. Be sure to check them out . Tonight I just made pizza pockets from the "another lunch" and they were delicious , Maybe once I get more confident with my bento making skills I will post some pictures also.

So bento style or not , whats a fun lunch recipe for children? something easy to prepare but fun to eat .. If you have something , please share :)

one can of SPAM

I know I said I am a stay at home mom , and I am . For now, I would love to have a job , a job outside of the home that is actually worth my time... but that's a whole nother post for another day. But I do have a "side gig" if you would on the side. It all started with wanting things mainly clothes for my kids that no one else had. Well, best way to do that is make it yourself.... and that's when Decky Doodle was created.

Decky Doodle specializes in tye dyed ,shirts and play silks and hand screen printed shirts .You should check it out if you have a few minutes. You can also follow Decky Doodle on Facebook and see examples of my past work.

and just because, here is my little model (as enthusiastic as the next 2 year old boy being made to stand still outside while everyone else is playing ) my little Decky Doodle