Our little O'Keefe

Our sweet children have wonderful artistic talent. DH & I are not artistic, though we certainly appreciate pretty things. My father has artistic talent, and his father painted some, but DH & I have never excelled in crafts or art! In fact, when I tried to make turkey rice krispie treats one year, they looked like a big blog of regurgitated mess! YUCK.


The triplets have been studying Georgia O'Keefe so each student designed their own O'Keefe. Our D's work was chosen for the school newsletter! I can't wait to see the work of the other 2 when it comes home!

Lilly Eau De Parfum

Sweet DH brought home a wonderful treat for me after his trip for a friend's birthday! It was Lilly's new WINK perfume!


It smells wonderfully clean, a little bit sweet, and very beachy! The description from Bloomingdale's is below!

Lilly Pulitzer Wink Eau De Parfum
We see the world in pink and green! Enjoy any day with this delightfully pink, pretty and flirty celebration of feminine style and gusto. The fragrance unfolds with notes of sparkling pear nectar, watery pink freesia and lush gardens. At the heart is a bouquet of rose, lily blossom and sun-drenched violets. The party wraps up with warm amber and sensual musk. This wet floral captivates every Lilly Lover™ whether shopping, lounging, or entertaining. Wear pink and make the boys wink!

We love you, Jerry!!

My DH is so sweet. He knew that by late February, we would be in great need of a fun night out. So... he bought tickets for Jerry Seinfeld!!! He bought these tickets in November for our date night last night. What wonderful foresight!! We had a perfect night! The show was in St. Petersburg, Fl which is the most beautiful city on the water. A delicious dinner was shared while overlooking the bay. Then, we walked to the Mahaffey Theatre where we joined Jerry's fans for an evening of laughter. He was great!! It was fun to enjoy some good laughs together!



We walked back to our car and then went to the Vinoy and sat on the front veranda! We shared the most delicious dessert and re-hydrated ourselves with Pelegrino and tap water! What a wonderful end to a perfect evening! It was nice to be home before 11pm too!

Asparagus, please!

It's difficult to come up with an interesting menu for your family night after night. While it is fun to try new dishes, it can be a big job to cook all of the meals for your family! Publix has asparagus on sale this week. It is delicious! For a quick way to add some green to your meal, all you need is fresh asparagus and Makoto ginger dressing. You can find the dressing in the refrigerated section of dressings near Marie's salad dressing. You will love it! I first had this dish at a baby shower for my friend, V. My friend, R, who is also V's sister, made the most delicious asparagus. When she shared the 'recipe', I couldn't believe how easy it was!

Steam your asparagus until it is crisp tender. I have a calphalon steamer. I fill the bottom with water & bring it to a boil. Then, I put the fresh asparagus in the steamer pot on top (it has holes in the bottom). Put on your lid and let it steam until the asparagus is cooked, but not too tender. You may have to turn the heat down so that the water does not boil over. Don't forget to use your vent fan! Drain & cool the asparagus. You can put it in ice cold water or just run cold water over it in the sink. Let it drain. R served her asparagus cold on a platter with the dressing as an optional side. She had it in a beautiful glass bowl. It looked like a homemade sauce. For dinner tonight, I put the dressing on the asparagus and refrigerated the dish while I made our stir fry. Enjoy! I made an Asian dinner tonight, but you could also use this dish with chicken salad for a ladies' luncheon. It is quite versatile, delicious, and healthy!

Moe's

I don't know if it's a Tampa thing or a Moe's thing, but they have a great new burrito called the Joey Junior. It is the perfect lunch for a mama! I think it's the size the children's burritos USED to be before they made them tiny. Anyway, at our Moe's you can earn a free Joey Jr. just for filling out an internet survey at home. I did it & plan to use it on our next trip there. K LOVES Moe's. We don't go often, but when we do, our bill will be a little bit cheaper!

Repentant vs. Non-repentant

I thought you'd enjoy a glimpse of how discipline is going at our house.

Over the weekend, the big 4 wanted to take little H out to play in the driveway. I saw a car backing out, so I ran outside and asked, "Where is H?" None of them knew. I punished them by making them come inside and sit on their beds. I was sitting at my computer when they walked in the room and D handed me the note she had written on behalf of all 4 of them. I will try to use her punctuation and spelling. It read:


Mommy i'm sorry we might don't be the best children in the world. I'm praying Lord i'm SORRY what we did. Pless help us.
love,
your children

What a treasure. I will keep it forever!

On the other hand, our son was in trouble, along with his sisters, for not obeying at another time over the weekend. I had asked them to go to their rooms and sit on their beds (is this a common theme or something?) while I came around & kissed them good night. Before I could get upstairs, all 4 were wrestling and tumbling just as they had been when I had sent them upstairs in the first place. Since this was their 2nd time to disobey on this issue, I told them I would have to spank each of them. I was calm, not the least bit angry, and planned to barely touch them when I spanked. A began to sob. "I DIDN"T GET A COOKIE!", he screamed. "They all had a cookie earlier today, and I didn't have one!!" And this pertains to your disobedience how?? I replied, "A, you refused a cookie when it was offered to you. Now you have disobeyed and you all are going to bed. You are not going to have a cookie. I'm sorry you didn't have one earlier. Now let me give everyone their spanking. I'll see you in a minute." Loud sobs roared from his room. I barely tapped K. I barely tapped the 2 big girls. It was A's turn. "Come here, buddy." "I WANT A COOKIE!!!! WAHHHHHHH", he screamed as he finally came over to me. I have been convicted about not disciplining them calmly and correctly. I sat with A and explained that he has to obey when I tell him not to do something. I told him how much I love him. I did all of the things you're supposed to do. I tried my best to shepherd his heart. Then, it was his turn. I couldn't wait to hear him confess his wrongdoing and to ask for my forgiveness. That sweet boy opened his mouth and said, "I want a cookie". I replied, "I just talked to you about your disobedience, and it is your turn to ask for forgiveness and all you can say is that you want a cookie??? You weren't listening to me at all. You were just thinking over and over in your head that you want a cookie." So, in one weekend, our children admitted their disobedience and begged to be forgiven, and then, one of those same children just wanted a cookie. We are all a work in progress!

I will CUT you!

As Bon Qui Qui says, "I will CUT you!" My friend, C, is such a smart lady. She handles her four children AND a job with ease. Each night she manages to make wonderful, healthy meals for her family. One night our family joined their family for pizza. C & F were brave enough to add our 5 to their 4 and have us to their home. As we were passing out pizza, I noticed C & F were using kitchen shears to cut the pizza. What a brilliant idea!!! The pizza was quickly cut into bite-sized pieces. I stole their idea. C said they use their scissors for everything from pizza to hot dogs. I can't tell you how much easier it is to slice a hot dog lengthwise when using kitchen shears!! Tonight I cut chicken patties up for our 2 youngest. It was so quick & easy! Enjoy the tip...