Tuesday, March 30, 2010

April showers bring May flowers

Well we have had A LOT of rain up here in New England this Spring! I just keep reminding myself that God sends the rain to help the flowers grow. I'm expecting a lot of flowers this year. Not that I've actually planted any. :) J and I decided to make paper flowers out of construction paper and pipe cleaners though. A little something to brighten up the refrigerator.
The weather man said this weekend is going to be sunny and 65 deg. I wanted to reach through the television and give him a hug. Everyone in New England will be outside this weekend. Hope you get to enjoy some nice weather with your family too!
                                                                                Pictures are from freestoclimages.net

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Bowling Cupcakes

So today was J's 3rd birthday party and we went bowling. I wanted to make some cute cupcakes that the kids would truly appreciate all the effort I put into them enjoy. One of J's little friends has some allergies to eggs and peanuts so I picked up a special box of cake mix and frosting. After making these special egg free treats they looked...well awful! Notice I did not even bother taking a picture of those.  So in a pinch I ran up to the bakery and asked what they had. Just my luck someone did not pick up their cupcakes the day before. Yay for me! :)Oh, and I saved one of the egg free cupcakes for his friend though.

To customize the cupcakes (so they did not look too store bought) I bought a bag of thin mint patties. I used a wooden poker to make three holes on the top of the candy. Ta da - instant bowling ball! Please ignore the smudge marks all over the "bowling ball". A certain three year old got to the cupcake before Mommy could take the picture.  See it's an easy treat to make...now you just need to throw your own bowling party.
J thinks the balls are suppose to go in the gutter. I think he got his impressive bowling skills from his Mommy!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Thankful Thursday

I decided that every Thursday I want to come up with a few things that I am thankful for. It's so easy to be negative and complain about life, but I want to change that. So here we go:

1. My two sweet little boys. They are healthy and happy...what more can I ask for. J is almost 3, and it's so easy for me to get caught up in the correcting so I'm really trying to praise the good behavior more.

2. My wonderful husband. He is a godly man who works hard and is always there for his family. We will be celebrating our sixth wedding anniversary in July.

3. I'm thankful for my parents. They are there for me when I need them, but don't push either. I'm also grateful for the times during my childhood that they said no. It's not easy when all the other parents are saying yes. What a great godly example!

4. I'm also thankful for my loving church "family" that has welcomed my husband, kids, and myself into the community when we moved up here almost five years ago. Without them I would have never survived up here in New England...okay that might be a bit dramatic, but you get my point.

The bible says: "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Birthday Party Goody Bags


Well my sons 3rd birthday is coming up this weekend, and we are going bowling! I wanted to come up with a fun goody bag for him to give out to all of his little friends at the end of the party. My only problem is that I can't stand junk! Let's face it most of the stuff that goes in those bags you end up throwing away soon after you get it. So I wanted to think of a few things that my son really loves...Play-dough and M&M's.

For the play-dough part I made two batches of play-dough and colored one batch red and the other blue. Then after each batch cooled I divided up the play-dough into ten small balls of dough. Then I put one of each color of dough into a plastic zip top bag. I wanted to add something to the bag so I folded a 4 inch long by 6 and 1/2 inch wide piece of card stock paper in half. I printed out the word "Play-dough" in font size 32 and the play-dough recipe on font size 9 on white printer paper. Then I cut out the words and recipe and glued the "play-dough" part onto one side of the card stock and the recipe to the other side. Then I put the folded card stock over the plastic bag to look like a store bought package. I also included in each goody bag a cookie cutter. I found a bag of six cookie cutters at the dollar store. yay!

For the little jars of M&M's I just used small canning jars and decorated the lids. I simply traced the lid onto a piece of bright green paper and then cut it out...not really brain surgery. :) Then I used a 1 and 1/2 inch paper punch to create little "bowling balls" out of blue paper. I drew three black little circles on the top of the circles to help them look like bowling balls.

I put everything together in these cute little paper lunch bags that I found in the dollar section of Target. I love that place!

Well I hope the children like their goody bags and they can actually use the items that they receive.

Monday, March 22, 2010

A little bit about me


Hey! Welcome to my blog. My name is Melissa, which means Honey Bee(hence the blog title). I live up in New England, but I'm originally from Virginia. I'm a Christian, and constantly trying to grow in my relationship with the Lord. I married to my best friend, and we have two sweet little boys. The oldest, J, is three and full of energy! The baby, N, is laid back and just happy to take it all in.

I love to cook! I needed to find a creative outlet to keep myself sane, but when you have two small children life is busy, and there is not much time for Mommy. So...at least with cooking I can create something fun and yummy, and take care of my family at the same time. Score!


I also like to clean and organize. I know sick right! Who likes that?! I really need to get out more. Now all this is new...just ask my Mom. :) When I was younger it like pulling teeth for my parents to get me to clean. These days though I even volunteer to help my friends clean their houses.


I think my favorite thing to do is to teach my children. I love to watch them experience new things. I think they teach me more than I teach them though! J has taught me to slow down and really look at things. Baby N has taught me how to be positive in everything. He is such a happy baby!


So come join me on this great adventure. I'm enjoying reading others blogs and learning from them. I hope someday I'll be a help to others as well. :)