So. Have you done anything new lately? I have. Well, they aren’t super exciting like jumping out of an airplane or anything. But I thought they deserve at least a little bit of attention.

Ready? Are you salivating at this topic? I know you are.

TOP TEN NEW THINGS I’VE DONE LATELY (AND IF THEY AREN’T NEW I HAVEN’T DONE THEM IN SO LONG THEY FEEL NEW)

1. I made English Muffins. From scratch. Like I didn’t open up a package and open them with a fork. I actually made them. Did you know you just make the dough and then basically fry them in a pan? They were super yummy. I used them for Eggs Benedict. Which is probably the greatest food known to man.

2. I bought an exercise DVD. It was under $4 on Amazon. It’s a pilates DVD which I like because of the stretching and the lack of running and complicated gyrations and steps.

3. I actually DID said exercise DVD. OK, not all of it and I was wearing jeans which made it a little difficult to do all the stretching and toe pointing. But still. I think my abs might be sore tomorrow. (Which, clearly, wouldn’t take much.)

4. I made whole wheat biscuits. You know I grind my own wheat, right? Well, since I’ve been doing that (probably over a year!), I have not been very adventurous. I make the same bread over and over. Once or twice I made cinnamon raisin bread but it came out like a brick. I’ve made drop biscuits before. And even tried to do a Red Lobster cheese-garlic thing to them. But they weren’t so yummy. But these whole wheat biscuits? Awesomesauce.

5. I joined Amazon Prime. Seriously. I am totally head-over-heels with this. It’s $79 for the a year. Which seems like a scam, doesn’t it? But I get free 2 day shipping. Which means if I need to order oatmeal, or books or pencils, I don’t have to load up the kids in the car and go shopping in a crazy store. I can sit on my couch and just CLICK it. Then it will show up on my doorestep in two days. It’s like having a little genie in a bottle.

6. Watching Hurley. You know, Hurley from LOST? Well, he’s not Hurley anymore. He’s just Jorge Garcia playing a new character on Alcatraz. We’ve only watched 2 episodes but I think I like it. Anyone else watching it?

7. Speaking of Lost, are you watching Once Upon a Time? It’s got a LOST feel to it with all the back stories and present day stories in the same episodes. It’s a little bit cheesy with the bad green screens and the modern conversations coming out of the storybook characters. But I like it. And also, they show Apollo bars like every episode. Anyone noticed that?

8. I Drank Aloe Vera Juice. My husband was sick all last week–like 103 fever for two days. The doctor thinks he probably has diverticulitis. Which is a really yucky colon infection thingie. Anyway, Aloe Vera Juice is supposed to be calming and healing. Of course, he wouldn’t drink it unless I tried it. So, I did. And it kinda tastes like electricity. If electricity had a taste.

9. I Made Butter. I know we made little bitty butters at Lydia’s Little House Party, but I bought some heavy cream from a farmer, poured it in my food processor, turned it on and voila! Ten minutes later I had a huge chunk of butter! YUM.

10. OK, so none of them are life-altering or earth-shattering. What new things have you done lately?

:: :: ::

Link up your Top Ten list and join in the Top Ten {Tuesday} fun! All you have to do is WRITE a top ten list, PASTE it below, LINK back to me in your post & then start LOVIN’ on the rest of the participants with facebook likes, pins, stumbles, comments and tweets (#toptentues)! For better and more succinct guidelines see my Top Ten {Tuesday} page!

New Things: Top Ten {Tuesday} is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
:: :: ::

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1. My Kindle

Did I tell you I got a Kindle for Christmas? I’ve been using the Kindle app on Les’ iPad (which is awesome and free!!) but having my own little e-reader to carry around wherever I want? I kinda likey. Plus, look at the cute cover I got.

2. The Hunger Games

For some unknown reason I decided to download this book. And it took me like 3/4 of the book to realize it was YA fiction. I loved it. In fact, I loved it so much, I bought book two…

3. Catching Fire

…in about .4 seconds after finishing the first one. And book 3…

4. Mockingjay

…about .4 seconds after finishing the 2nd one. I’m 27% of the way through this one and honestly, don’t want to write this post so I can finish reading. This is what my Kindle has done to me. And Young Adult fiction. And Peeta.

5. Lydia’s Christmas and Birthday Presents

Lydia got about 400 crafts as gifts this year. We made friendship bracelets today. And painted rocks. And made foam mosaics and made our own headbands. And I think there’s something else, but I’d have to wade through the glue and ribbon to remember.

6. Moustache App

7. My Church
We just got a new room and stage for our 3 and 4 year old large group (which I’m in charge of) and it was SO fun on Sunday to see all the kids bright eyes and excited faces when they walked in. Not to mention all the storytellers and worship leaders who seemed extra on their ball with a big stage and lights in their eyes!

8. My Growing Children
Asa can suddenly put on his pajamas and brush his teeth by himself. I’m like a kept woman!

9. Nehemiah
Remember my post on incourage about Nehemiah? Well, guess what my pastor spoke on the very next Sunday? Nehemiah. And guess what he spoke on this Sunday? Nehemiah? and guess what they gave us after church this week? Window clings to put in prominent places that say:

So far I put one on the iPad, my laptop and bathroom mirror. Maybe I should put one on my Kindle?

10. Leftover Christmas Chocolate
Do I really need to explain?

Tell me, what have YOU been enjoying lately? (Especially if it involves your Kindle…)

:: :: ::

Link up your Top Ten list and join in the Top Ten {Tuesday} fun! All you have to do is WRITE a top ten list, PASTE it  below, LINK back to me in your post & then start LOVIN’ on the rest of the participants with facebook likes, stumbles, pins, comments and tweets (#toptentues)! For better and more succinct guidelines see my Top Ten {Tuesday} page!

Things I’ve Been Enjoying Lately is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
:: :: ::

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I have to admit, I was a little worried about Lydia’s 6th birthday party. Little House on the Prairie parties work well outside, in a barn or at a farm. But inside my house? I just hoped it wouldn’t be boring. Well, with 18 kids and even more adults than that, we had an absolute blast!

Here’s some of the highlights in no particular order and with probably more words than necessary…

Pin It

Top Ten Ideas for a  Little House on the Prairie Party for Kids

 1. Costumes

It’s fair to say that I passed my love of costumes to my children. And oh my. Lydia was the cutest thing I’ve ever SEEN in her Laura-and-Mary costume. My mom made the dress and apron to go with her bonnet. Asa wore his coon skin cap, Woody and Buzz light-up boots and toted his shot gun around.

But the best part is my parents dressed up, too:

Oh, I wish Lydia had her boots on in this picture! Anyway, that’s my mom and dad. When Daddy walked in the house with his costume he said, “I look like PawPaw!” (His grandfather!) He looked awesome. They went to Goodwill and got their costumes for $4 total. Not bad. Plus, as Daddy said when he left, “I was a good decoration!”

2. Gifts

And just in case someone didn’t come in costume, we had bonnets and bandanas for all the kids. My mom made those, too. (Isn’t that awesome?!) It was so cute to see all the girls wear them during the party. And they loved taking them home, too! We also sent them home with a teeny tiny loaf of bread that Lydia baked herself. (I found mini loaf pans at Michael’s for 30 cents each!)

3. Lydia’s Mercantile

I love pretend play at parties. So, I set up a little Mercantile for the kids to play in. We had a few jars of old fashioned candy (or at least as old fashioned as I could get at Wal-Mart), scraps of material and spools of yarn (which was really just a clothespin with yarn wrapped around it) with labels.

Then we gave every kid a little bag (left over from Asa’s ACE Party!) with 10 pennies inside. And they went shopping!

{HEY. What’s baby Woody doing there?! Asa must have snuck him in. It was supposed to be American Girl’s Kirsten holding down the Mercantile!}

4. The Food

I ordered the The Little House Cookbook from my library. So, I didn’t really think about the food until I got the cookbook. I assumed I’d just pick a few things and make them. However. The food in the cookbook was authentic frontier food: chicken and dumplings, ribs, sun-dried blackberry pie and venison stew. Not exactly party food.

So, at the last minute I decided to do ham. I called Les at work and said, “Will you please stop and buy a Honey Baked Ham?!” And from there, it got EASY. We had ham, cheese, bread, pickles, apples and applesauce. Then everyone could choose between ham, cheese, ham-cheese sandwich, cheese sandwich, ham sandwich or bread with jam!

Oh yeah, I also had those fat pretzel sticks because they look like logs for a cabin. Kinda. And don’t you like the quilt as a tablecloth?

5. POPCORN

In Farmer Boy, Almanzo’s family would sit around the fire in the evenings eating popcorn and apples. We are big popcorn fans in our house so it was a perfect food for us. I stole this AWESOME idea from Pen N’Paper Flowers’ Rustic Popcorn Bar. We had a big container of popcorn, some paper cones & paper bags, then a few different popcorn seasonings to add to it. I don’t know about anyone else, but I loved it.

6. The Cake

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for: THE CAKE. A few weeks before the party, I was on Skype and bemoaning that I didn’t have Lydia’s party planned yet. Staci was there and I said, “So, you wanna make a covered wagon cake?” I was, of course, joking because who makes a COVERED WAGON CAKE?

Well, Staci does apparently. Look how ADORABLE this thing is! She even made those wagon wheels. I’m tellin’ you, she outdoes herself every year!

7. Clothes Washing

After scouring Pinterest for Little House parties, the one activity that stuck Lydia more than anything: clothes washing. I don’t know if it was the bucket, the washboard, the clothes or the clothesline or what. But this was THE best part of the whole party. I cut out little shapes of clothes from left-over bonnet fabric and let the kids have at it.

It was so crowded out there, I finally had to take all the clothes down so they could wash them again!

8. Games

We had 2 other games. One was the old clothespin-milkbottle game. Basically you just stand with a milk bottle at your feet and try to drop a clothespin into it. Harder than it looks.

The second game I will not be able to explain but let’s try it anyway. You take a big aluminum can with one end open and the other end with a hole punched in the top. Then attach a string to the hole so you can lift the can up off the ground. While you are holding onto the string and the can is on the ground, place 3 balls around the can. Then lift it up and try to get the 3 balls into the can.

SO HARD.

And fun. Here’s my brother and Mandi‘s husband trying to play. Not sure if they succeeded.

9. Crafts

I thought there’d be lots of crafts at a Little House party. But everything was just a bit too crafty for us. So, we did button necklaces like the one Laura and Mary made for Carrie in On the Banks of Plum Creek. I just bought a bag of buttons from Michael’s (with a 40% off coupon, of course) and cut lengths of embroidery thread.

10. Butter

About halfway through the party I rang a bell (ok, it was a spoon on a tin can) and called all the kids into the kitchen. I gave them each a small baby food jar and filled it halfway with heavy cream. It was time to make butter!

After all the lids had been securely fastened, we began to shake. Not just a timid little shake. But a full-don’t-get-near-me-or-I-might-poke-your-eye-out shaking. I read online it takes about 20 minutes to make butter. I was hoping it was less.

When it got to 3 minutes and the kids looked like they were wondering if it was a joke, I called upon my likes-to-be-the-center-of-attention brother. He led the kids around the house in a butter-shaking march. Which they loved. And by the end of it, almost all of them had a little ball of butter in their jar. It kinda felt like a miracle!

*Bonus* 11. Asa

Asa had so much fun. I don’t think I saw him the entire party. Here he is chasing my brother (who is apparently a bandit) around the back yard. Later on, Asa had on the bandana and kept saying to me, “Fix my beard, Mommy.”

*Bonus* 12. Laura and Ma

Happy Birthday, sweet girl! I love you!

:: :: ::

Link up your Top Ten list and join in the Top Ten {Tuesday} fun! All you have to do is WRITE a top ten list, PASTE it  below, LINK back to me in your post & then start LOVIN’ on the rest of the participants with facebook likes, stumbles, comments, pins and tweets (#toptentues)! For better and more succinct guidelines see my Top Ten {Tuesday} page!

A Little House on the Prairie Party: Top Ten {Tuesday} is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
:: :: ::

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Remember my new iPhone? Well, I love it. Yes, I can talk to Siri (which my or may not be the subject of a Top Ten post soon. She is quite entertaining.) and I can actually get online and answer email while sitting somewhere boring. I’m kinda in love with it.

But the main thing that has changed since my iPhone is that it has given me a new Mommy Blog. What?! A new blog? Well, kinda. I have fallen in love with Instagram. I know you’ve seen it before. It’s the photo sharing site where you can kinda retro-fy your photos. And I have taken to uploading pics of my adorable kids for the world to see.

And by world I mean, the 179 people that follow me. Instagram is quiet, pretty and simple. It’s like a little secret place on my phone. It’s my new crush. (It’s actually not that quiet–they’ve grown from 1 million to 15 million users in one year! Isn’t that amazing?!)

So, in case you’re not on Instagram, here’s a few of my faves from the last, oh, 7 days…

1. Asa playing with a belt. On Christmas. Yes, it’s around his neck.

2. Asa playing with is favorite Christmas present: a viking costume. (Which also may be the subject of a Top Ten list!)

3. Day after Christmas (aka All Day Pajama Day)

4. Cute Lalaloopsy dolls. Another Christmas present.

5. Asa playing at Juliet’s Doctor birthday party.

6. Sleeping in the carseat. After the Doctor birthday party.

7. Alabama playpen. (Please laugh at that. I love it.)

8. My pretty Lyddie.

9. Papa teaching Lydia to play solitaire. On the iPad.

10. Lydia’s final fitting for her Laura Ingalls dress. Which is for her Little House on the Prairie Party. Which is on Saturday! (Aaaaaack! I have so much to do!!)

So. Do you instagram? If you don’t, don’t you want to now? And if you’re wondering, my favorite filter is Earlybird. I’m a sucker for rounded corners.

:: :: ::

Link up your Top Ten list and join in the Top Ten {Tuesday} fun! All you have to do is WRITE a top ten list, PASTE it  below, LINK back to me in your post & then start LOVIN’ on the rest of the participants with facebook likes, stumbles, pins, comments and tweet s (#TopTenTues)! For better and more succinct guidelines see my Top Ten {Tuesday} page!

My New Mommy Blog: Top Ten {Tuesday} is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
:: :: ::

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I’m sleeping off Christmas and trying to eek out every bit of our Christmas tree before I take it down for Lydia’s birthday on the 5th. It’s kind of a bummer when you put up Christmas decorations halfway through December. But kinda worth it when that first half of December was spent at Disney World!

Anywhoo. I don’t have a list for you today. But if you’ve got a TOP TEN BEST GIFTS or TOP TEN WORST GIFTS or TOP TEN PICTURES FROM CHRISTMAS or BEST FOODS YOU ATE ON CHRISTMAS or TOP TEN THINGS YOU WANNA DO IN THE NEW YEAR or really any list, I can’t wait to see ‘em!

Happy last week of 2011!

:: :: ::

Link up your Top Ten list and join in the Top Ten {Tuesday} fun! All you have to do is WRITE a top ten list, PASTE it  below, LINK back to me in your post & then start LOVIN’ on the rest of the participants with facebook likes, stumbles, comments, pins and tweets (#TopTenTues)! For better and more succinct guidelines see my Top Ten {Tuesday} page!

The Last Top Ten {Tuesday} of 2011 is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
:: :: ::

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When I got home from Disney World, there was a lovely box from Lands End on my front porch. In it was a lovely winter vest. I’ve always wanted a vest for those almost-winter days. And I am officially in love with this one. I have essentially not taken it off since we’ve been home. But yesterday? I really didn’t take it off. Check it:

Top Ten Places I Wore My New Lands End Vest Yesterday

1. My Car

Every single time we get in the car, we have a big discussion about how it’s hard to buckle the car-seats because of the kids’ winter coats. And when I say discussion, I mean, “DONOTSAYITAGAIN. YOU ARE WEARING YOUR SEATBELT AND COAT.” I’m glad I don’t have that problem.

2. Target

Yes, the big red cart. And this picture makes you wonder. Did I pose like that? Or did I really just click the button and hope it would take a picture of me? Let’s just look at the vest instead, shall we? Grey wool and down! Lovely!

3. Waffle House

Yes, I took the kids to the Waffle House after shopping. Because it wasn’t just Target. There was also TJMaxx, Bed Bath & Beyond and Kohl’s. And besides, you can get whole food at Waffle House. *shrugs* (Don’t you like how my vest looks, tho’? It’s the perfect length!)

4. The Post Office
Oh, I didn’t get a picture here because I was trying to figure out why sending two of the exact same books (one to Washington State and one to Tennessee) would cost $5 more. I mean, I get it, it’s going across the country. But the book didn’t even cost $10 bucks. And it cost $10 to mail. Lame.

Oh, I was also mailing packages with a 3 year old who claimed, “I have to go potty, I have to go potty.” the entire time. (He didn’t.)

5. My Living Room

Because it’s a vest, I basically don’t like to take it off ever. I’m always a little cold in the house, so I just kinda wear it around. Plus, there is a secret lipstick-iPhone pocket (at least that’s what I call it). So, it’s nice to have on at all times.

6. Outside

It’s sunny and high-50′s today. If you’re in the sun, it’s lovely. In the shade you need a coat. And maybe a furry hood. We all succumbed to the furry hoods this year. I likey.

7. Post Office

Oh, I’ve already been here once, you say? You’d be right. I forgot an address and when I sent a tweet out to someone to send it to me, she sent me an email address. (Not naming any names, aryMay). Also: do you know how hard it is to inconspicuously take a picture of yourself in the middle of a line of 5 people in the Post Office? Hard.

8. Chick-Fil-A

What?! Eating out TWO meals in one day? Don’t throw stones, people! At least my dishwasher is empty.

9. Gas Station

Ah! The suffocating smells of unleaded!

10. LandsEnd.com
Y’all. This vest is like $130. It’s on sale for $50. That’s like a Christmas present. For yourself. You’re welcome.
:: :: ::

Link up your Top Ten list and join in the Top Ten {Tuesday} fun! All you have to do is WRITE a top ten list, PASTE it  below, LINK back to me in your post & then start LOVIN’ on the rest of the participants with facebook likes, stumbles, comments and tweets! For better and more succinct guidelines see my Top Ten {Tuesday} page!

disclosure: Lands End sent me this vest. Words, insane pictures and gushing mine.

Lands End & Me: Top Ten {Tuesday} is a post from: ohamanda.com
Happy New Year! Here are some of my favorite resources to help you make the most of 2012! One Bite At A Time: 52 Projects for Making Life Simpler, an ebook by Simple Mom!
Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule, finally get your house under control!
E-Mealz, online meal-planning with shopping lists! {20% off with code SKINNY when you choose one of their healthy menus}
:: :: ::

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