Thoughtful Thursdays -- The Beauty of a Woman

I just came across this poem and I loved it.  I thought it was beautiful and touching and so true of the many women I have been privileged to know.

The Beauty Of A Woman

The beauty of a woman
isn't in the clothes she wears,
The figure that she carries,
or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman
must be seen from in her eyes;
Because that's the doorway to her heart,
the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman
isn't in a facial mole;
But true beauty in a woman,
is reflected by her soul.

It's the caring that she cares to give,
the passion that she shows;
And the beauty of a woman
with passing years only grows.

-Maya Angelou, Audrey Hepburn, Ralph Fenger and Sam Levenson

This poem is attributed to each of these authors depending on where you look.  I couldn't figure out which one actually said it, so they all get credit.  :)

Whatever Wednesday -- Locks of Love -- Before and After

Yesterday was E's birthday. She is 7 years old and I just can't believe it! She got to pick who said dinner prayer and she chose me. As I was thanking Heavenly Father for our family and for her I started crying. I'm just so amazed by her. She is strong willed (like me), but kind and loving. She doesn't see color or disability. Her best friend is a little boy from school who is in a wheel chair and has many physical challenges. She loves him and is so tender with him. How can a girl as young as her have such a big heart? E is special for many reasons, but most of all because she made my life-long dream come true. She made me a mother.

When she was in kindergarten she came home from school one day telling me all about Locks of Love. It is a not-for-profit organization that provides hair pieces to underprivileged children who have lost thier hair for some long-term medical reason. She decided that she was going to grow her hair out to give to the kids who need it more than she does. Every couple of months she would have me measure it and see how close she was getting. You have to have at least 10 inches to donate.

We measured it yesterday morning and she finally had 10 inches!! She was so excited and immediately said that she wanted to cut it on her birthday so she could give a special birthday present to someone. Last night after her party we cut it. She loved her long hair and isn't sure about how short it is. I think it looks absolutely adorable and I told her I was sure others did too. So lovies, if you think her hair is cute, would you please leave a comment and tell her? Thanks so much!!

p.s.  don't forget to check back on Friday to see the cake I made for her.  It turned out pretty amazing...even if I do say so myself!!

I also linked up the these sites.  Go check out what everyone else is up to.

Transform Tuesday -- How to make a Wedding Bouquet

Last Tuesday or Wednesday a friend called me and asked if I would be willing to make a wedding bouquet for her friend who got married yesterday.  The bride did not want something very big (more like a bridesmaid bouquet) and she wanted it to be soft pastel colors.  We were also on a very small budget.

Here is the before picture of the flowers.

I got the white hydrangeas from Costco for $8.99.  Then I went to Kroger and got the greenery and the pale pink carnations.  Normally I would choose roses for a Bride's bouquet, but the carnations were the right color AND the right price.  I got the greenery and carnations for $8.43.  I got the 2 in. pink satin ribbon at Wal-mart for $1.50.  That is a total of $18.92.  I already had floral tape, floral wire, and pearl headed corsage pins.

1.  Lay the flowers and greenery out so you can see what you are working with and remove all of the leaves (and thorns if using roses) on the flower stems.  Also remove all of the leaves on the greenery except for the top 3-4 inches.

2.  I had 4 stems of hydrangeas, and I only needed 2, so I picked the ones that "fit" together the best.  Hold them semi-loosely in your non-dominant hand.

3.  Carefully add in the carnations (or roses) making sure they are evenly distributed and maintain the dome shape of the bouquet.  Re-adjust as necessary.  With carnations you have to be extra careful because they have joints on the stem and the flower can be popped off if the stem gets bent too much at one of the joints.

4.  Add the greenery.  If you have long shoots, add them sparingly in the center.  If you have eucalyptus or any type of leaf, then add it to the sides.  Once you are done adding the greenery, take a 3 foot long piece of ribbon or twine and wrap it around the stems several times and tie off.  Do this just above your hand using your thumb to hold the ribbon in place.

5.  Trim the extra ribbon and starting just above your ribbon wrap the stems in floral tape.  Wrap all the way down and then wrap back up again.  (The rule of thumb is to wrap it about 1.5 hand lengths.)  Don't worry, this will be covered with ribbon and you won't see it.

6.  Next, take the edge of your ribbon (leaving it attached to the role of ribbon) and tuck it into the bouquet.  Wrap your ribbon around the stems going down far enough to cover your tape and then wrap it back up again.  Once you get back to the top, cut your ribbon leaving 2-3 inches extra.

7.  Fold the ribbon over and use your pearl headed corsage pins to secure in place.  Make sure to push the pins upward and into the stems of the flowers.  This will secure the ribbon and keep the pins from pricking the bride.

At this point, you need to trim the stems below your ribbon.  Cut them leaving 1-1.5 inches showing from the bottom of your ribbon.

You are done!!  If your bouquet won't be used immediately, place some paper towels into the bottom of a cup or vase with an inch or two of water.  Place your bouquet into the vase making sure that the ribbon does not get wet.

And here is the after.  Keep in mind that a normal Bride's bouquet would be about twice this size.  I used 2 hydrangea stems and would normally use 3-4.  I also only used 5 carnations and would normally use 8-10, and I would atleast double the greenery as well.

And here is the boutonniere that I made for the groom. Again she wanted it to match her bouquet and not be too big.

So, what have your transformed?!  Link it up!! Here are the rules:

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Messy Monday -- How to make Play Dough

I think every kid loves play dough. There is just something about the colorful squishiness of it that makes kids go crazy for it. At least my kids go crazy for it. When we have a play dough day, they will play with it for hours! Give them some cookie cutters and the rolling pin, and it becomes play dough heaven. Why buy it when you can make it for pennies?!

Play Dough (salt dough)

• 1 cup flour (white not wheat)
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 Tbsp. Cream of Tartar
• 1 Tbsp. Oil
• food coloring of your choice

1.  Put all ingredients in pan and stir while cooking over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until forms a ball on your spoon.

2.  Remove it from heat and scrape it out onto a cutting board and let it cool until you can touch it.

3  Knead it a few times until smooth.

4  Separate into as many smaller portions as you want and place in ziploc bag with several drops of food coloring.

5  Work food coloring into dough until color is even.  You can leave it in the bags or put it into small containers.

Now watch your kids think you are the coolest mom in the world!  Too bad it won't be this easy when they are teenagers.  :)

Have you done something for Messy Monday?  Link it up!!  Here are the rules:

If you are participating in Meessy Monday, please be sure to add your permalink below, and not your general blog address. To get your permalink, click on your post name, then just copy and paste the address that shows up in the address bar at the top, into the "url" box for the picture linky. You'll also need to put your e-mail address in, but don't worry, no one will see it.

Please copy and paste the Messy Monday logo button to your computer. Then you can upload it to your side bar and use it in your MM post so your visitors will know you are participating.




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Please link back to the host blog, The Pumpkin Patch. This is important because it helps those who are visiting your blog, find everyone else's "Messy Mondays" projects.

Please do not add your link below, until your Messy Monday post is actually published to your blog.

Can you PLEASE control your children!!

Someone said that to me yesterday!!  And the sad thing is, we totally deserved it.  AAAHHH!  We went to the library like we do every Friday.  I let each of the kids check out 1 movie and then we get a load of books.  I also decided to check out some books of my own. 

That's where it all started.  As soon as we got to the adult side of the library their dark sides took over.  You know...the side of them where they are always sternly called by their full names.  The side of them that makes you whisper through gritted teeth, "You better watch out or you are going to be in TROUBLE when we get home!"  It's not too bad if it only happens to one or two of them at a time, but on the rare occasion that it is all four of them, it is pure misery for me and for all of the people who are pretending like we aren't there.

I only wanted to get 3 books and a movie.  I even took the time to look up the call numbers on the books so I knew exactly where to go before we even got there.  Of course some of the numbers were out of order and it took me a couple of minutes to find them.  Meanwhile, my kids are getting louder by the second.  Then all of the sudden 3 of them are chasing each other up and down the aisles.  The fourth went to go see what was going on and bumped into/almost knocked over an old lady with white hair, bright red lipstick and a hearing aide.  I said I was sorry to her before tracking my kids down, but she was either so upset with me she couldn't say anything or she didn't hear me because she gave no response.

I corralled my kids while I found the last book and then we went to the movies.  I knew what I wanted so it should only have taken about 1 minute to grab it.  In that 1 minute, 2 of my kids started pulling cd's out of the books on cd cases.  AWESOME!  At that point a library worker came up and told the kids to stop (even though I had already told them to stop and was putting them all back thankyouverymuch!).  It was definitely time to go.

We skipped the movie and got in line.  My kids were restless, but I knew to expect it.  What I did not expect was for my 2 year old to take off out the FRONT DOOR of the library.  I dashed after him with the bag full of books and movies on my shoulder.  Then the alarms went off because I was trying to steel kids books from the library and BOOM..."Can you PLEASE control your children!"

I should have said, "Obviously not, would you like to try?"  But I wasn't that witty.  I just turned every shade of red (from anger and embarrassment) and mumbled an apology as I was dragging my screaming 2 year old back to the check-out line.  Then we got our books and left as quickly as possible.

What a day!  Has this ever happened to you?  (Please, please, please someone tell me it has.)

I'm sure it doesn't sound like it, but even after a day like this I still LOVE my job. For every crazy moment there are even more tender moments that touch my heart and help me know I am right where I need to be.

I'm linking this up to Home and Family Friday.