Our Spa Day at Home

Last week, Hailey had the bright idea to have a Spa Day.  We waited to do when the boys had ball practice.

I dug out the paraffin wax, facial mask and lotion.  The cucumbers were her idea.

As she was letting the mask dry,  I rubbed lotion all over her legs and arms and then massaged her feet.

The deal was, that whatever I did for her, she had to do for me when her spa treatment was over.

I was so looking forward to having my feet massaged.  My massage didn't last quite as long as hers did.

But, that is ok.  I wasn't expecting it to.

After her massage was over, her mask still wasn't dry.  So, she decided to eat the left over cucumbers,
 not the ones that were on her face though.  I just wanted to make that clear.

A two weeks before this spa day,

she smashed her finger with the bathroom stall door during a basketball practice.

She picked the color purple for her nails to try and cover her black fingernail.  It didn't completely cover it, but made it not as noticeable.

I love her little piggies.  I also love the shape of her fingernails.

I have short stubby nails.  Even when they are long, they still look short compared to most.

Next it was my turn.  She really gooped the mask on my face.  I had it on my lips and up my nose.  She was having a blast though.

I think she enjoyed doing my spa treatment more than receiving it.

This is our freshly cleaned face.  I swear this little girl is so fun to be around.

She is a spitting image of her daddy with her momma's personality.

Oh and this happened right after our spa day.  Yes, that is paraffin wax all over my couch and carpet. 

Needless to say, I won't be getting that out again.  I panicked at first, but luckily it all came out.

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Scrap Pages

I haven't posted my scrap pages for a while, so I thought I would catch you up.

It is easier to scrap Hailey than the boys for two different reasons. 

1. She loves having her picure taken, so I have more pictures of her. 

2. Scrap pages tend to be more girly, unless you have little boys.

  There are a lot of little boy kits out there.  But, scrapping teen boys, is hard for me.  There just aren't a lot of kits for teen boys. 

When I designed digital kits, I always had a hard time including elements that fit teen boys as well,

so I can understand why there aren't many out there.

If you read this blog regulary, you'll notice this picture was taken during New Year's eve at home.

I used Shabby Miss Jenn's Fresh Start kit.

 This was also a New Year's eve photo that I took, but I don't think I posted it here. 

They were posing in front of the TV during the count down of the ball dropping.

I used Shabby Miss Jenn's Bee Mine kit.  The "U" is from CD Muckosky's alpha, Suzy Q.

Last page is probably one of my favorite pages that I've created recently.

These pictures were taken on our beach trip this past summer.

I used Shabby Miss Jenn's Early Morning kit for this page. I also used CD Muckosky's Stand Tall alpha.

I LOVE her alphas. I love everything she creates, actually.

I'm going to try to create a valentine element pack soon and share with everyone on here.  Hopefully next week.

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A Quest to Find More Time

My children consume all of my attention most days all of the time.

I am so focused on being a good mother that I lack in other areas.

I wish I knew how to manage my time more efficiently

 so that I could be a great mother as well as be a good wife,

 sister, friend, daughter, granddaughter, cook and housekeeper.

  I don't know how to balance it all.

My house is always a disaster and I never have time to cook,

 which is why my husband does most of the cooking. 

By the time I get off of work and get home,

I have to leave again to chauffer my children around to basketball, soccer or cheer.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE chauffering them around. 

I enjoy watching them as much as they enjoy doing. 

But, it leaves me not having much time for anything or anyone else.

I find myself calling texting my mother, siblings or friends

 only when I need to ask them or tell them something. 

I find myself listening to voice messages from my grandparents,

but only calling them back when I have "time".

I hardly ever make time for my husband, which he desperately needs and so do I.

This past Saturday, we spent 8 hours at the basketball gym.

We were also there on Friday and Sunday for a total of 17.5 hours this past weekend.

I'm not complaining that I am there because I love being there,

I just wish I could make more time for everyone else.

I'm afraid that I'll grow old and gray, my parents will have passed,

my children grown and in the same postion that I'm in and I'll be alone with no friends. 

Hopefully, my husband will be sitting on the porch next to me in our rocking chairs

 so I won't be completely alone; that is, if we don't grow apart.

These pictures were taken July 2006

How do you balance it all?  Or am I not alone in this quest?

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Insta-Friday

I am linking up with Jeanette at Life Rearranged.  I think this might be my regular Friday post.  It is a glimpse into my week though my phone pictures.  Btw, if you would like to follow me on Instagram, my username is @branhumphr.

From Left to Right, Top to Bottom.

1. Hailey and I had a "Spa Day".  It was great!  I'll post more about it next week.

2. During our "Spa Day", this happened.  Wax everywhere.

3. Relaxing in the bath.  My favorite time of the day.

4. A letter Hailey wrote me at school.

5. Hailey snuggled up with our dog, Lucy.

6. Joseph was one of the WESTEST Masters.  So proud of him.

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Strawberries and Strawberry Recipes

I bought a full flat of strawberries yesterday. They came straight from Florida on a truck and delivered all over town. There were people lined up buying them. They are so good!





She delivers them every Monday. We LOVE strawberries, so I pinned some recipes. I'm drooling just looking at them.

Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries {recipe}

Strawberry Trifle {recipe}

No Bake Strawberry and Vanilla Cheesecake {recipe}

Strawberry Smoothie {recipe}

Strawberry Preserves {recipe}

Strawberry Spinach Salad {recipe}

Strawberry Lemonade {recipe}

I hope to make some of these real soon! Especially the desserts. YUMMM!!

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Homemade Banana Bread Recipe

I had some bananas that were getting too ripe to eat, so instead of throwing them away, I decided to put them to good use and make homemade banana bread.  I called my grandma and asked her for her recipe.  It was soooo good and so easy to make.  Prep time was probably 5-10 minutes.

Take 4 very ripe bananas, cut the bruises out of them and then slice them in chunks.



Smash them with a fork and mix in melted butter.



Mix in sugar, egg and vanilla.  Then sprinkle baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.



Add flour mixing in between every 1/2 cup.



Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 loaf pan and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees.  Cool on rack.  Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Banana Bread

Ingredients:

4 ripe bananas, smashed

1/3 cup melted butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 small pinches of salt

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Chop ripe bananas in the mixing bowl and smash with fork.  Mix butter into the mashed bananas with a wooden spoon.  Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla.  Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.  Add the flour last, mixing between each 1/2 cup.  Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loap pan.  Bake for 1 hour.  Cool on a rack.  Remove from pan and slice to serve.

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