Lemonade Cookies

I just found out from a mother friend who has kids in school that summer is down to it's final 3 weeks.

I can't believe that it's almost over!

Not that it really means anything for me.

Needless to say when I think of things that remind me of summer, lemonade is right up there with flip flops and sunshine!

So what better way to combine my love of summer with my cookie desires than to whip up some yummy lemonade sugar cookies!

Here Is What You'll Need:

-1 cup butter softened

-1 cup granulated sugar

-3 eggs

-3 cups all purpose flour

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-2/3 cup thawed frozen lemonade concentrate.

Mix the butter and sugar.

Add each egg individually and mix until thoroughly blended.

Combine flour and baking soda.

Add 1/2 of the dry mix to the butter blend.

Add 1/3 of the lemonade to the butter blend.

Continue alternating the flour and lemonade until all added.

Mix WELL!

Refrigerate for about an hour.

This will help!

The mix is super sticky and only gets stickier the warmer it gets...so keep it cool.

Place 1" sized balls equally spaced (leave room because they spread while baking) on a baking sheet.

Bake at 400º for 8-10 minutes until they are just golden on the edges.

Allow them to cool thoroughly and then enjoy!

These cookies are soft and sweet and just the right amount of lemony!

I just whipped these up for a pool party at our neighbors and they were a big hit!

Let me know what you whip yours up for.

A pool party?

A yard sale treat?

A kids lemonade stand?

Yourself!!!

Enjoy!

I hope you have a Blessed Tuesday!

Heads Up 7-Up Chicken

Summer time equals finding any excuse to grill if you ask me.

There is something about grilled chicken that makes it better than baked or fried.

It HAS to be healthier too right?!?!

Today I have a yummy recipe that is only 4 ingredients.

That's right 4 ingredients!

Here Is What You'll Need:

-1/2 cup of soy sauce

-12 oz of 7-up (if you can get your hands on a can awesome! I couldn't and ended up with an entire 2 liter)

-1/4 cup vegetable oil

-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast

In a zip lock bag mix your soy sauce, oil, and 7-Up.

Place the 4 chicken breast, frozen or not in and allow to marinate 24 hours.

When you remove the chicken from the bag the next day it'll look like this...

 Now fire up your grill and get to grillin'!

Or in my case, get your hubby to grill it.

 Oh.My.Goodness!!!
This is making my mouth salivate just looking at it...

 & I already had it!
Now serve it up with a side of pasta salad and enjoy.

 Nothing says summer like chicken from the grill and cold pasta salad!

**Each serving of this chicken is approximately 370 calories**

I hope you have a Blessed Monday!

Bible Verse Friday-

"Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!

Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived incomplete honesty!

When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long.

Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.  My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.

Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt.  I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the LORD."  And you forgave me!  All my guilt is gone.

Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgement.

For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble.  You surround me with songs of victory.

The LORD says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.  I will advise you and watch over you.  

Do not be like senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control."

Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the LORD.

So rejoice in the LORD and be glad, all you who obey him!  Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!"

~Psalm 32

My NLT Life Application Study Bible Says the following:

Here David expressed the joy of forgiveness.
God wants to forgive sinners.  Forgiveness has always been part of his loving nature.
He forgives disobedience, puts sin out of sight, and clears our record of guilt.
What is confession?
To confess our sin is to agree with God, acknowledging that he is right to declare what we have done is sinful and that we are wrong to desire or to do it.  It means affirming our intention of forsaking that sin in order to follow God more faithfully.
God describes some people as being like horses or mules that have to be controlled by bits and bridles.  Rather than letting God guide them step by step, they stubbornly leave God only one option.  If God wants to keep them useful for him, he must use discipline and punishment.  God longs to guide us with love and wisdom rather than punishment.  He offers to teach us the best way to go.  Accept the advice written in God's Word and don't let your stubbornness keep you from obeying God.

I think we have all heard the phrase:
"We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God".
Have you ever stopped to think about how judgmental we can all be.
We judge people's sins as though some are worse than others.
While in our eyes it may seem that way in God's eyes all sin is equal.
We need to work on adjusting our hearts to remember this, because if we can remember this than we will know that we are no better than anyone else.

Our sins are the same as theirs.
The only thing that all of us can do is confess them to God and ask his forgiveness.
I think far to often we trick ourselves into believing that if we ignore this 'little' sin it'll go away.
But we can not hide it from God.
God knows and sees all.
We are open books to him and he is just asking us to confess what's been written so that we can turn the page.

Do you have something that is lingering in you today?
Have you said something hurtful?
Have you thought something lustful?
Have your been dishonest or deceitful?
Take a moment right now.
Get on your knees and put a name on what you have done.
Rebuke it.
Dispel  Satan from his handle and ask GOD to forgive you.
Do not be stubborn.
Stubbornness only increases your struggle.
Let go and let God lead you, gracefully and gently down the path he has planned for you.

I hope you read this today and make peace with something that is troubling you.
Not a day goes by when God doesn't want to forgive you and shower you with grace and love.

I hope you have a Blessed Friday!

P.S. Next week there will be no Bible Verse Friday as it's the 27th of the month and thus time for a Baby Diary entry.  On another note, starting in August I would like to put a little spin on Bible Verse Friday and spend some time focusing on actual Bible Study.  More specifically Women of the Bible.  If you would care to join me I am starting off with Bad Girls of the Bible feel free to get a copy 2nd hand for less here.  I will also be getting the workbook, but you don't have to get that if you don't want to.  I am thinking that each week we will cover one chapter/one woman and I will select some questions to discuss here.  I would love feedback if you have read or have insight!  I look forward to this new journey!

Exclusive Pumping Weaning

**I normally show y'all a craft of some type on Thursdays, but for this month I'd like to share my breastfeeding experience in hopes that I might help someone else out there**

***ALSO, please note that I am not in any way trying to put down those who formula feed.  Every mother must do what is best for her and her baby.  I know there are many reasons for why each mother chooses how and for how long she does her chosen method.  This is a place to support each other and help each other, thank you***

The past few weeks I've been telling you all about my experiences with being an exclusive pumper.

Well there comes a time in each Mommy's life when she decides for many different reasons that it's time to wean.

It is not an easy process.

Some Mommy's opt for medication from the doctor, and if that is what you choose to do no worries.

If you are looking for a more natural way to wean this is the story of how I transitioned from pumping 3x a day to 2, then 1 and then eventually to every other day until I felt I didn't need to pump at all.

Here is what you'll need:

No More Milk Tea- I swear it works!

I purchased 2 boxes, drank it for 2 weeks, and based on other peoples experiences with weaning mine was drastically less complicated.

Source

Honestly, that is all you will need.

It helps to have a husband who understands that there will be a few days of discomfort.

It helps if you warn him ahead of time that you will do your very best not to be grumpy AND if you actually try to keep your attitude in check!

I helps if you choose to do this in a block of time when you don't have a lot going on.

You don't want any added stress if you can help it.

My reasons for weaning were simple.

Bud and I want to have our babies close together.

That meant that I needed to get back on cycle before we could start trying again.

I decided to wean when Bitsy was about to turn 8 months old.

This meant that with our freezer stock pile I could provide for her until she was 10-1/2 to 11 months old.

Whatever your reasons for weaning, they are yours and yours alone, don't let anyone else pressure you one way or the other.

When I decided to begin weaning I transitioned to pumping 2x a day for 1 whole week.

I couldn't believe how knocking out that one session gave me what felt like hours of my day back!

I pumped until I could pump no more at each session and still quickly noticed that my supply was dropping, by nearly 10 oz a day already!

The next week I went to pumping 1x a day, in the evenings and again pumped until I could pump no more.

Again I noticed a drop in supply the first few days, by about 10 oz.

It was then that I started drinking my tea.

I had it twice a day, two bags per cup.

Before my week of pumping 1x a day was up I was already down to only 15 oz a day.

The worst transition for me was the day that I first waited to pump for a full 24 hours.

That was when I was the most uncomfortable.

I did feel a couple of blocked ducts that were just forming so during my sessions and especially during showers, I was sure to massage those spots to break it up and avoid any complications.

When I talk about massaging those hard nodules, I don't mean a relaxing gently massage, I mean you really need to consider a deep tissue massage.

Being that I suffered from Mastitis in my early days I didn't want to encounter anything remotely close again!

The next 24 hour day was more tolerable, and after that I was fine.

The next hard transition was when I decided to go to pumping every other day.  

I pumped late Saturday evening and then waited until Monday to pump again.

I was pretty uncomfortable so I did allow myself a reprieve.

I pumped for 5 minutes mid-day Monday to take the edge off.

That night I pumped until I could pump no more and then I was done.

I had thought I would continue to pump every other day, but honestly I waited and waited and decided to let my body tell me what to do next.

Wednesday came and went and it would have been the next time I was scheduled to pump, but I didn't feel I needed to.

I manually expressed some in the shower, but not much.

Friday would have been the next day and by that point in the week I was only dealing with a little leaking...you may need those pads a little longer after you finish just until you know you aren't leaking anymore.

I'd hate for you to have an embarrassing situation.

So, as you can see I went down to 1x a day for a whole week, then I waited 2 days to pump and I did that only once.

Then I was done.

Wouldn't you know it....a week after I last pumped my cycle returned.

I'm not saying that this will be a fail proof way to wean and it may not work the same for everyone, but this is just a guideline of how I did it and I figure if it can help even one weaning Mama it'll will have done it's job.

I hope that this post has helped answer some questions about exclusive pumping, what it is, who we are and how it can be done.

If you have any questions or if you think I've forgotten to cover a particular area (which I may or might have)...please leave a comment or shoot me a message!

I want to make sure this is a thorough and helpful guide for anyone who is struggling with breastfeeding and thinks that the only other option is formula, there are other options.


I hope you all have a Blessed Thursday!

additional sources:
http://pumpingrules.blogspot.com/
Exclusively Pumping

What We Did Wednesday- Resting and Recovery.

Hey Everyone!

Would you believe me if I told you that since last Wednesday we had 5 days of nothing!

5 days of letting Bud recover from his LASIK?

The first 4 hours were the hardest as his eyes hurt pretty badly.

But after those 4 hours and especially the next day Bud felt a million times better!

Here is a final picture of Bud wearing glasses...while dancing with our baby girl in the kitchen!

The day of surgery we were able to relax all morning.

Bud went under the knife around 2pm and we were headed home by 2:45pm.

"They are going to do WHAT to Daddy's eyes"?

After we got home I got both Bud and Baby down for naps and...

I went about my regular routine.

Cleaning the house.

Making dinner.

Getting Bitsy up from her nap and entertaining her quietly so Daddy could rest more.

She LOVES the vacuum.

 The next few days the blinds were drawn and we kept a lot of our lights turned off.

Bud's eyes were very sensitive.

We watched tv and movies to pass the time indoors.

You can kinda see Bud's eye in this picture.

It's bloodshot from the suction they used on his eye.

I won't lie...it's kinda creepy.

They said it could take up to 3 weeks for it to go away...I really hope not.

 Bitsy decided that she should suck on her toe...and let me tell you it was so loud we couldn't hear the television!

 Bud had 5 days off of work so he graciously helped out with Bitsy as much as he could.

This meant laying on the floor and playing with her or watching 'Shaun the Sheep' with her.

Don't you love these 2?

Bud would wear his glasses even when we were inside, the first few days, because his eyes were so sensitive.

It drove me bonkers, because I didn't know where he was looking or if he was even awake sometimes!!

With all the help of Bud watching Bitsy I was able to piece the top of my quilt. 

 Size the backing and batting.

 Trace my quilt lines.

QUILT!!!! 

 Square up and trim up my edges...

 ...begin binding....

...and FINISH binding the quilt!

It's in the wash now and then I'll send it off to my youngest cousin who turned 6 months this past week.

I also spent a TON of time in the garage refinishing another dresser!

Pictures of that to come soon!

I actually have 2 weeks where I will show you 2 different dressers I have refinished!

Without Bud I would never have been able to accomplish so much in the past week.

I am so thankful that he was willing to help.

I am also so thankful that he was able to get his LASIK for free!

He has worn glasses the majority of his life, I didn't get mine until I was a junior in Highschool.

I can't wait until the day when I can get my eyes fixed....probably 5 years from now, when we have all our debt paid off and I am done having babies!

Anyways after a busy 5 days inside we finished up the weekend at our neighbors house in the pool.

Bud couldn't get in yet, didn't want to risk getting pool water in his eyes...but he was able to socialize.

Bitsy LOVED the pool, but was not so keen on all the people trying to hold her.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to get anywhere new and exciting this weekend, but we were able to enjoy some R&R at home.

I encourage all of you to find a weekend or even just 1 day to try and enjoy being home with no plans!

I promise you'll thank me!

I hope you have a Blessed Wednesday!