Meet My Husband!

It's been 5 years since I met my husband Peter.We often laugh about how we met online and argue about who contacted who first. But it was definitely God who brought us together and God who keeps us together.

Peter is a kind, loyal man who would do anything for me. That's a lot of power and responsibility. I always try to use wisdom when expressing myself so as not to make the wrong impression and have him take a step in the wrong direction because of my words.

In our few years together we have faced the difficult task of trying to blend our families together. He had a son, I had a daughter and the Brad Bunch we are not. But unlike me, my husband has kept calm during the whole process. Not to say mistakes have not been made but he always seems to stay cool.

Since then we have have our two little ones together thinking our family was complete. But we are pretty sure there are more children to be added to the Stevens Household. He takes it all in stride.

We balance each other out and that's a good thing!

Balance is a big thing in our household. So much so that we have made that our business name. You see, Peter is also a 2nd Dan (degree) Black Belt in Hapkido and Taekwondo. He teaches 2 classes a week at our home. He is a fantastic teacher. I would know. I am one of his students!

His calm, cool, kindness shines through in his teaching. And even though he's 6'5" he is extremely graceful and to watch him work his art is something of beauty.

I love that man.

Circus on the Beach

For the last few years VA Beach has stepped up it's game and now provides tons of free entertainment throughout the summer.

There are street performers such as musicians, dancers, balloon animal artists and face painters. And there there are big productions going on at every stage and park. Also, every Sunday and Wednesday night (weather permitting) there are fireworks. And all of this is FREE!

The first thing we went to see this year was The Circus in the Park on 17th Street. It's unbelievable to think that these people are just regular, ordinary people who have regular, ordinary jobs but for one month in the summer they put on a circus at night!

                                                           This is Ringmaster Chad

                                             He was a hoot and reminded us of our pastor!

                                                                  This is Karen

Sorry about the fuzzy picture but she was spinning so quickly on that hoop that the camera couldn't even focus!

                                                          This is Zena "the clown"

Now, I am scared of clowns and she doesn't look like any clown I have ever seen. She did one trick... with a banana and a handkerchief. Enough said.

                                                     The star of the show was John

                                          He spun fire poi. Now I have to make Haddie poi.

                                                                    Juggled fire.

                                                Balanced a ladder on his chin (while talking)

                                          Then balanced himself on said ladder! (straddling)
                                             Did a little juggling while riding a unicycle,

  THEN accompanied Karen in an aerial silk duet.

                                                       I have always wanted to do this!

The strength, skill and talent of these 4 people amazed me. If you can get to the beach to take in some of the talent our there please do so. They work hard in the heat and do a fantastic job!

Here's the link to Beach Street USA to see a calendar of upcoming events:
www.beechstreetusa.com

At The Zoo

As I mentioned before, recently we went to the Norfolk Zoo. I took all 3 girls with me and we met our friends Christine and Olivia (Who we lovingly refer to as Ms. O) and we had lots of fun with the animals.

Juliet (9 months at the time) has never been to the zoo. Haddie (2 years old) went when she just a couple months old so she doesn't remember anything. She had a blast! She was so excited she didn't want to sit in the stroller. She wanted to run around and get the full experience! She's my free spirit child.

                                                           Haddie at the fountains

Take a look at what we saw!

                                                  Momma moneky and her baby playing!

                                                        An elephant having lunch.

                                                       Baby Kellen tahing it all in!

                                                  Giraffes are Ms. O's favorite. Mine too!

                                    Toucan Sam, although I don't think that's his real name.

                                                                   Big black bear

                                                  Red Panda... always sleeping in the tree.

If you like what you see and you'd like more information on the Norfolk Zoo please click the link below.
www.virginiazoo.org

This Place is a Zoo!

What a great week!

It began a bit early... Friday of the week before to be exact. My 3 girls and I met friends at the Norfolk Zoo and had a couple hours of fun with the animals. We saw monkeys, bears, birds, zebras, giraffes and more.

My 2 year old loved it and didn't want to sit in the stroller. She wanted the full experience!
It was a great way to kick off zoo week.

Books we read:
At the Zoo - Kingfisher books
Elmo at the Zoo- Sesame Street Books
Zoo Girl by Rebecca Elliott
Monkey and ME by Emily Gravett
Zoodles by Bernard Most
1 Zany Zoo by Lori Degman

Crafts we made:

Paper Plate Lions - to get a glimpse at where I got my inspiration click the link below!http://www.firstpalette.com/Craft_themes/Animals/paperplateanimals/paperplateanimals.html

                                                              Hand print Giraffes

                                                                 Monkey sticker fun

New ASL signs learned   NEW!
Monkey, elephant, giraffe, lion and zebra

Ponies

Last week our learning theme was ponies.

We had a great weekend in Chincoteague, VA. It was the week they have The Pony Swim and the island was buzzing with excitement. While we were there we went to the Blueberry Festival where Haddie got a new dress and rode a pony. We also visited The Pony Center where we got a couple of toy ponies that look like my mom's horses, Otis and Bella and a shirt and saw the cutest brand new baby pony!

 We usually rent a house when we go to Chincoteague but this time we stayed at a hotel. That's where I found out my little girls are water babies. They loved the pool!

                                                      Statue of Misty of Chincoteague

                                        Haddie at the Blueberry Festival with Sam and Dixie.
                                                             She rode Dixie!

                                                   Juliet with the her new toy ponies
For more pictures and information on the pony swim go here: http://www.chincoteague.com/pony_swim_guide.html

For books we read:
Barnyard Dance by Sandra Boynton
Disney Royal Horses
Runaway Ponies by Catherine Hopkins
and
Noisy Barn by Harriet Zeifert and Simms Taback

Our crafts for the week were:
Making a pony farm on the art wall w/ crayons and stickers
Decorating pony cut outs

We also watched a couple of cute episodes of My Little Pony.

4 More Years!

Last night my husband and I celebrated our 4th anniversary. We actually got married on the 4th of July but schedules did not allow us to celebrate on the exact day this year.

In an attempt to be romantic we decided to re-enact our perfect first date! As luck would have it, it rained and all the things we did 5 years ago were cancelled.

The evening was a great illustration of marriage. Sometimes there are disappointments but you get through them together.

Instead of recreating something that had already happened we had tons of fun doing new things together. And that made all the difference!

                                                                                            Here's to another 4 years!

On Safari

Just because it's summer and we are travelling doesn't mean we've stopped learning. Each new day can be an adventure and each adventure can be a learning tool. The world is our classroom and I love it that way.

In June we went back to Tennessee. On the way back we stopped at the Virginia Safari Park, a 180 acre drive thru safari adventure. Let me tell you, we had the best time! Well, most of us did. I think my 2 year old may still have nightmares of emus staring her in the face.

                         Take a look at the animals we saw and what we learned about them.

The infamous Emu is the 2nd largest flightless bird. This particular emu scared my little girl so bad she stayed in the back of the van the rest of the park. With strides covering 9 feet they can reach speeds of 30 mph.

               This cute little guy is an Fallow Deer. His antlers are flat and feel like velvet.

The Dromedary Camel can consume up to 30 gallons of water at once. And this one (strategically placed at the front of the park) took all the feed we bought, including the bucket. But I fought back and got the bucket back!
                                     Have you ever stuck your hand inside a camels mouth?

The Bactrian Camel has 2 humps leaving it's back looking like the letter "B". It can actually close it's nostrils to keep blowing sand out of it.

My favorite, the Giraffe, is the tallest animal in the world. It's neck has 7 vertebrae, like most mammals, but they are elongated. It has a 22 inch "grasping" tongue to pull food from trees.
And this momma loved playing with her baby!

The Eland looked like a cross between a deer and a horse to me. Very different. It's the largest antelope in the world!

 

 

 

Bison are the largest mammals in North America. And even though it looks enormous and clumsy it has amazing speed and agility. It can get up to 30 mph!

The Watusi is not just a dance. It's also the African "cattle of the kings". When they found out we didn't have anything for them to eat the proceeded to walkaway, dragging those huge horns down the side of the van. Nice.

This beautiful Zebra is the sweetest animal I have ever met. Each zebra has it's own unique stripe pattern and they sleep in turns so someone is always awake.

                                                                My Safari Girls!



Like I said before, we had a great time. If you ever get the chance to go to a drive thru zoo or safari you should load the family up and go! You'll have tons of fun, lots of laughs and learn things you never thought you would!

Menu Planning and Freebie Hunt 6/27/13

This week's menu plan is cut short again because we are going on vacation... again!
I'm so happy it's summer and we can get fresh, clean food at the Farmer's Markets. And I always tell people about our local butcher Central Meats. Again, good, clean and fresh product. You can taste the difference.

Menu for June 30- July 4th

Sunday
Breakfast: waffles, fruit and eggs
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: French dip sandwiches, pasta salad, corn on the cob

Monday
Breakfast: cereal and toast
Lunch: egg salad and fruit
Dinner: crock pot chicken enchiladas

Tuesday
Breakfast: biscuits, eggs and hashbrowns
Lunch: chicken salad, fruit and cheese
Dinner: penne alfredo with pesto, salad and garlic bread

Wednesday
Breakfast: cereal and toast
Lunch: Euro lunch (cheese, fruit and crackers)
Dinner: pork stir fry with rice

Thursday (4th of July and our 4th wedding anniversary)
 Breakfast: eggs, hashbrowns, muffins and fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: cheesy tuna bake

Grocery Sales @ Food Lion

Blueberries 2/ $4
Cantaloupe 2/ $3
Sunshine Crackers Buy 1 Get 1 Free
Ragu Pasta Sauce Buy 1 Get 1 Free
Velveeta Shells and Cheese 2/ $4
Navel Oranges 2/ 88 cents

Freebie Finds!

1 free roll of Scott toilet paper
Amla Legen Haircare Product Sample
Biore Deep Cleaning Pore Strip sample
Dentek Product sample
Sample bag of Chex Mix
Sample box of Lance Crackers

Giveaway entered:
Smashbox Cosmetics

Back from Vacation Meal Emergency!

The girls and I just got back from spending time in the Tennessee mountains. Wouldn't you know it, I was sick the entire time.

I am still sick.

So what is a wife and mom to when you've been gone, the fridge is almost empty, you're too sick to shop and everyone wants to eat? Well, I'll tell you what I do. I call on my culinary skills, go on a hunt for food in the kitchen and get to work!

My hunt led me to find a Hillshire Farms smoked sausage I bought buy 1 get 1 free a couple weeks ago. Also some broccoli that was not eaten while I was gone (Surprise!). And that baby food applesauce works just as well for those who chew.

Tonight the Stevens family will be enjoying sausages with steamed vegetables and applesauce!

Here's how I will prepare our sausage tonight:

Makes 4 Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1 Hillshire Farms smoked sausage
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• Hot dog buns

Brown sausages about 6-8 minutes on each side.

     2. In the same pan, add onion, bell peppers and garlic and cook until slightly tender, about 5 minutes.

 

     3. Place sausage, peppers and onions mixture in buns

Rainbow Birthday Week

Last week was a terrific week for learning! For some reason we have been getting a lot of rain which is good for Rainbow Week. Unfortunately, we didn't see a rainbow but on the up side we averted tornadoes.

Here's what we did!

Books:

Rainbow Fish ABC's by Marcus Pfister
Rainbow Fish 123's by Marcus Pfister
and
It's My Birthday by Helen Oxenbury
Big Girls Go Potty by Marianne Richmond

DVD

Rainbow Fish:The Three Fishkateers
 We've also continued to add to our American Sign Language (ASL) vocabulary with Baby Signing Time and Signing Time: Everyday Signs.

Craft

We made "rainbow rays" out of construction paper.

 Friday was Wear Your Wings Day at the VA Beach Aquarium so we put on our butterfly fairy wings and enjoyed 1/2 off admission.

What an amazing day!

We saw seals, tons of fish, sharks, snakes, sea turtles (my favorite there) and much, much more.

And speaking of butterflies, our 4th butterfly, Sadie emerged from her chrysalis and said hello to the world on Tuesday, June 11th...
My 40th birthday!
Isn't she beautiful?

This week we our theme is The Farm as we are packing up and taking this show on the road back to my mom's farm in Tennessee. Can't wait!

Easy Menu Planning this Week

MENU

This week is an easy menu planning week because the girls and I are going out on a girls only vacation!
I'm going to be a good wife and stock up on manly food stuffs for my husband and stepson. But They get to choose what they want to eat when. And I'm not going to give my husband a hard time for it. How awesome am I?

Sunday is Father's Day so we're doing some special things!
Breakfast: Homemade waffles, eggs, bacon, fruit
Lunch: picnic in the park (Weather permitting) fried chicken, potato salad, watermelon
Dinner: Steak, Corn on the cob, pasta salad and a special dessert

Monday
Breakfast: cereal, toast, fruit
Lunch: grilled cheese
Dinner: chicken caesar salad

Then I am on vacation!

Freebies

It's also not a good week for freebies.  I only order things or clip coupons for things that we would normally use. I don't go crazy over these things.

Recipe

Strawberry Brownie Sundae
I admit I cheated on this wonderfully delicious dessert but sometimes it has to be done. Especially when it's a last minute decision!
1 Betty Crocker Chewy Fudge Brownie Mix
12 Large strawberries
Vanilla Ice Cream
1 cupcake pan

Prepare brownies as directed on box.
Cut strawberries into quarters.
Fill cupcake pan rounds 1/2way, add cut strawberries and fill the rest of the way.
Bake as directed on brownie box.
When done add one scoop of ice cream on top and finish with whole strawberry.
Enjoy!
Fill

 

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Here we are at another day of rest. We aren't going to church this morning since the girls have been sick all week. We have to go tonight to finish up our seminar to become members and I just don't think they would be able to make it through both.

So I suppose we are living our day of rest backwards today.

This morning my awesome husband made me a special birthday breakfast. I just love, love, love funfetti cake.and he made me funfetti crepes stuffed with strawberry jelly and cream cheese, mmmm!

                                                      A great way to start the day!

Our afternoon will consist of watching the kids play in the yard, gardening, napping and, of course, lunch.
I will be fighting the urge to do laundry because has really piled up since the girls got sick. Remember, thou shalt not do laundry on the day of rest! That's my rule.

I will, however, be getting our lessons and schedule ready for the coming week. Then we will all head to church, have dinner with the pastor and become official members of New Life Providence Church.

We hope everyone has a peaceful Sunday!

Freebie Hunt

Let me start out by saying a bit about freebies.

THEY ARE WONDERFUL!

I am a bit picky about what I order but you can get a lot of good things. A lot of the beauty products I get I use when travelling, make gift baskets with or donate. Food samples are awesome, especially coffee!

Sources I Use

Money Saving Mom  www.moneysavingmom.com
Womanfreebies.com  www.womanfreebies.com
Free Mania     www.freemania.net
Freeflys    www.freeflys.com

Make a List

A lot of times there will be lots of repeats so it's good to keep track what you have already requested. This saves precious time.

Make an E-mail Address

I also keep a separate e-mail account for this. No one wants all that SPAM and tons of e-mails from companies trying to get you to try their products mixed in with important personal and business e-mails.
I try to check my e-mail every 2- 3 days just in case there may be something I want that has a time limit to it.

Like the Page

 Another good trick for the limited time type of situation is to "Like" the Facebook page. This way you will see it, hopefully, as soon as it's available.

Rewards

Several restaurants and stores have rewards programs that will give you freebie and coupons. Some that I belong to are Big Lots, IHOP, Chili's, TGIFriday's and Outback Steakhouse.

Check out the freebies I signed up for today:

-Redbox free movie rental
- Centrum Flavor Bursts
- Always/ Tampax Sample Pack
- Redkin Diamond Oil

And things I get because it's my birthday this month! (So far)
-Outback Steakhouse- free dessert
-Red Robin- free burger
-McDonald's Nursery- $5 off $10 purchase
-Chili's- free brownie sundae
-Cinnabon- free mocha latta chill
- Coldstone Creamery- Buy 1 Get 1 creation
- Michael's Arts and Crafts- 20% off regular priced item
-Sephora- free mascara and highlighter pack
-Moe's Southwest Grill- free entree with purchase of a drink
- IHOP- free rooty tooty fresh and fruity breakfast
How awesome is that?

So now you see what you can do go try for yourself. What are you waiting for? GO!
And Like my Facebook to tell me how you love it!
www.facebook.com/homeisanart