30 Day Give – Day 7

30-Day Giving Challenge

Today was an AWESOME day! The Princess and I set off after church to do some shopping. Well, first we had to have some lunch.

Then, we hit the stores. And we shopped until we dropped. Boy oh boy did we shop! The best part is that we weren’t shopping for our family. We were shopping for others. We were shopping for our Operation Christmas Child boxes that we are packing for my birthday party. We spent HOURS looking for bargains and tossing stuff into the cart. This one for the LITTLE GIRL. This one for the BIG GIRL. This one for the BOY.

That’s right. We’re packing THREE boxes. I had planned on one each – boy and girl, but the Princess wanted to do one for a little girl too. So, she emptied her give box to pay for the stuff to go in that one. I was SO PROUD of her.

The BEST part was how excited she was to come home and sort everything out. She wanted to pack the boxes right away. Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen as not everything is here yet for the boxes, but she did get a great start on sorting everything.

As the Princess said while we were shopping, “Today is all about giving Mama!”

30 Day Give – Day 6

30-Day Giving Challenge

Today’s “give” was a really fun one because it gave to me too. The Princess and I went to the UGA game. There were two parts to this experience. First, we got to hang out with my BFF’s family before the game. I helped with the kids a bit and was just general navigational support. Oh, and I did the Chick-fil-a run. This excursion was extra special because our awesome friend V had managed to get them AMAZING seats down near the field and passes to get on the field before the game. This was HUGE because they are MAJOR Bulldog fans, especially Mr. B. I haven’t seen that man smile so much in probably a couple of years. With all that they’ve been going through, it was AWESOME to see them having such a great time as a family.

After we experienced the Dawg Walk together as a group, the B’s went to have their tour of the field, and the Princess and I spent the rest of the day together. Since he was getting awesome seats with the family, Mr. B gave us his season tickets to use. The Princess and I had great GIRL TIME together. First, we went shopping in the bookstore. Um, that was rather insane, but fun at the same time. We both enjoy crowds, so navigated it just fine. Then, we shared a cup of hot cocoa (it was FREEZING outside) before heading into the stadium.

Once inside, we cuddled up under our blanket (Thank God I had brought a blanket.) and watched the game. The ENTIRE game. She didn’t want to leave. We went and got snacks and had potty breaks, but for the majority of the time she was watching the game. This wasn’t her first Bulldog game, but it was the FIRST time she really paid attention. It was the FIRST time she asked questions and tried to understand the process. At one point, she asked “Mommy, why did the clock stop? The clock shouldn’t have stopped. They still have the ball.” I then had to explain about moving the chains on the first downs. I never pay attention to the clock. Do you?

By fourth quarter, we were up 55 to nothing. No, the Dawgs weren’t playing great. Idaho State was just not that good. I suggested leaving. The Princess said “No! I want to stay to the end!!” So, stay to the end we did. We stayed to the end, and enjoyed being together.

I love that the Princess and I enjoy being together. There of course are times when we fight, but right now we mostly get along. It is important that we spend times like these together. Just the two of us, enjoying one another. We’re building the foundation of a relationship that has to last through the teen years. It needs to be strong now so it can persevere later.

Today, I gave my daughter my time, which is probably the greatest gift I can give her.

 

30 Day Give – Day 5

30-Day Giving Challenge

Today’s give, was actually a preparation to give at a later time. I purchased the Groupon for Build-A-Bear for both my Princess and my niece. I plan on taking them one day during Christmas break. The two of them are really getting to be great friends and enjoy girl only days. This is a relationship I am so thankful my girl has in her life. Oh, and since it’s a short post, here’s a cute picture of the two of them from this fall.

Apple Picking

The Princess and I went apple picking yesterday. Yes, I know it’s October and time for pumpkins, but we wanted to go apple picking. Why? Because we’d never done it, and I wanted some apples for baking – and to eat of course.

So, earlier this week, I asked The Violet Fig and It’s Come To This where they thought I should go. I remembered them mentioning someplace previously on Twitter. They directed me to Mercier Orchards way up in North Georgia. It was going to be a bit of a drive for us, but they assured me it was worth it. And, they were right.

We got up to the orchard about 10:30, and I am SO glad we got there when we did. By the time we were leaving at around 12:45, it was REALLY busy. Like overwhelmingly so.

We purchased our bags for picking and got in line for the tractor. It took us up into the orchards with a guide giving us the history of the orchard and letting us know about the type of apples available for picking today. Who knew there were so many types of apples!?

They have each row of trees labeled with the type. Even though we were so late in the season, there were still plenty of apples left. We just had to go back a bit farther into the rows.

The Princess had a great time filling her bag that she was going to take to Grandma later in the day. She made sure that Grandma had quite the variety in her bag. I filled several bags with apples for us to eat and many to use for baking.

Once we finished picking our apples, we hopped back on the tractor ride and were taken back to the parking lot and store. Then, we went inside the country store to find just about anything you could ever need that has anything to do with apples. The Princess and I walked around for an hour investigating all the different areas of the store. We had a GREAT time playing the “Hey, look at this!” game – it’s one of our favorite games. We bought some more apples so that Grandma and I could both make applesauce and some small apple pies that look just oh so very yummy.

All in all, it was a FABULOUS time picking apples with the Princess. We’re both very glad we went, and I’m thinking that we will make it an annual event. (And, we discovered that they have U-pick strawberries in April. Those are the Princess’s FAVORITE. We will definitely be there for that.)

What will I do with all these apples you ask. Well, I’ll be investigating using some of these recipes for sure!

Life As Mom: Ultimate Recipe Swap – Apples

Once A Month Mom: Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Rolls (I actually made these yesterday. I’m going to make some for the freezer.)

Apple Cake (Actually, I don’t need to investigate this one. It’s one of my favorites, with some tweaks.)

Did you go apple picking this year? What are you doing with your apples?

 

Linked to Try New Adventures Thursday

WFMW: Chocolate Ice Cream..Also Known As Bribery

I’ve got MANY MANY MANY pictures just like this one. The Princess and a chocolate ice cream cone. She LOVES some chocolate ice cream, especially if it’s from Bruster’s. I mean LOVES it. Like she would do anything for it. She would even hold out her finger to get it pricked so the nurse could test her blood. So, when the nurse had to prick a second finger on Monday, I promised her ice cream. I promised her Bruster’s ice cream. Ya, I bribed her. Does that make me a bad Mommy? Na, I think it makes me smart and resourceful. I know what to do to get the results I need.

I’m sure you never bribe your kids – right?

Chocolate ice cream – it works for me – EVERY time.

Linked to Works for Me Wednesday.