Birthday Girl

I don’t post about my older children as often as I do the younger crowd.  I’m not sure why.  I guess part of it is because I’m a rookie at parenting teenagers, while the little ones don’t intimidate me.  Part of it is a desire to leave them free to establish their own identity in our community unhindered by anything that I might say about them on this blog.  I don’t want to embarrass them, or post something that could erode their trust in me.  Really, though, they’re great kids and I should say more about how much I love and appreciate them.


This beautiful girl, my oldest daughter, is now twelve years old.  She is fun to be around, generally cheerful, and manages a lot of activities with great calm.  Her two year old sister worships her, and for good cause.  She’s kind and helpful and patient with the little ones.  She does her own laundry.   She usually has something going on almost every day of the week, but she handles everything with grace and enjoys it all.  She’s quick, witty and intelligent.  She gets a lot of exercise, takes good care of herself, and grows prettier every day.  I enjoy being around her.  We love her so much.

On a whim, I turned her lunch into a gift.  (Please excuse the late-night lighting, but I really wanted to remember this idea.)


I individually wrapped every item that went in her lunch.  I picked up a couple of favorite things to surprise her when she opens it at school.


I realize it’s possible that she will be totally embarrassed by it, but I think that she will enjoy having a bunch of small gifts to unwrap during lunch hour.  I added a little note to remind her that I’m thinking of her.


Because I am.  She’s our beautiful birthday girl.

HH P.S.  It’s been a crazy couple of days, but I’ll be back later today with more pumpkin posts!  I’m trying to make up for lost time…

Polka Dot Napkins

How is it that polka dots up the cute factor of everything by about five hundred percent?


How could I leave them in the store?   They were just begging to come home with me and I had no objections.
They’re a cheery addition to my small stash of paper napkins, kept on hand for making life happier.


I love pattern, especially in textiles, and I think that polka dots might be my all-time favorite.
What’s yours?

HH

Parchment Paper Giveaway!

Baking with parchment paper was a luxury right up until the day I purchased one of these packages.


It’s been on my gratitude list ever since.  I bake almost everything on parchment paper now.  When I roll out cookie dough, I roll it out on parchment paper, which means no more transferring dough to the pans!  Just pick up the paper and you’re done.  Getting things out of pans is equally simple.  Seriously, I love this stuff and I promise you will, too.

It’s high quality, used in commercial kitchens, and is pre-cut to the size of a large cookie sheet.  Each package contains 100 sheets.

Because it’s the holidays and because I’d love to make someone’s life simpler, I’m giving away two packages of parchment paper.  I’ll randomly draw two names, and each will win one package of parchment paper.  To enter, please leave a comment telling me what you’re most grateful for TODAY.  Right now, at this moment.  It can be big or small, profound or simple.  I just want to read about what YOU are thankful for.

Here’s mine.  At the moment I’m typing this, I’m most grateful for second chances.  Specifically, I’m thankful for the chance to open my heart and get UN- stuck .

Comments will close the night of Friday, November 20th.  I’ll announce the winner on Saturday.  One comment per person, please!  Good luck!

Hopeful Homemaker

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