Macey's Big Day

For Macey's first birthday we didn't do anything too big... but we did have a special day! It was a school day for Sadie, so we dropped her off and then we head to get Macey's 1-year pictures taken. Pictures didn't go so well (LOTS of tears!) We got a couple cute ones, but I decided to try another shoot. After pics, I too Macey and Kinnick to the little playground at the mall. My kids LOVE this playground (nothing too fancy... but it's extra special in the winter since we don't get to go to the real playground!)

Kinnick loved taking Macey down the slide!

After playing, we had to get our favorite--a pretzel snack!

For Macey's birthday dinner I made one of her favorites--fish sticks and macaroni. We also picked up a little cake to celebrate her birthday at home.

(An after Valentine Special!)

1st taste of cake and frosting...

And she loves it!! All warmed up for her party on Sunday.

We let Macey open one present from Marc and I and also her presents from Sadie and Kinnick. She got a lot of help (okay--she didn't really do any opening by herself.)

A new bible from mom & dad, a play remote from Kinnick (which she has been dragging around the house ever since!), and The Very Hungry Caterpillar from Sadie. (Sadie saw this in Kohl's a month ago and loved it--she was so excited to get it for Macey!)

Sweetness

A Heart-Filled Day

I have always liked Valentine's Day, but I think I enjoy it even more being a mom! I love celebrating the love that our family has for one another and I also enjoy coming up with ways to make the day special. Here's a look at Valentine's 2011 for the Gorsch Family: The kids started the day by finding these balloons tied to their chairs. Sadie come up to my room to wake me up early (typical for her) and said "Mom! I love Macey's birthday balloons!" She was even more excited when I explained that they were for her and Kinnick. (We were at a surprise b-day party Saturday night and towards the end they started handing out balloons to all the kids. Sadie was so disappointed when she didn't get one... so when I saw these in the dollar tree the next day, I had to get them!)

We had big plans to head to Bloomington and meet friends, so I needed a quick a breakfast. I made the kids heart-shaped toast with pink sprinkles and pink milk/apple juice.

Our plans were to try a new place I'd heard about called "Make-A-Mess". We were meeting the Downings and the Humistons. When we got there, we were all having trouble finding it so I called only to find out they had recently went out of business. (Steph did find the building...) We were bummed, but we improvised. Chuck E. Cheese it was!

Me with my three little Valentines...

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but a week-day morning is a perfect time to go to Chuck E. Cheese with little kids! They were pretty much empty which gave our little ones more freedom to roam (and gave us a little more opportunity to visit--although not enough!)

The kids napped on the way home, so when we got home I loaded them right into the stroller and off we went delivering cookies to the neighbors.

Back home to read Valentine books and start on our special dinner...

We had a "fancy" dinner--china, candles, sparkling grape juice in a bucket of ice, toasting glasses (that Marc picked out), flowers (from Marc), and music playing. We made fettuccine Alfredo with grilled chicken and mushrooms, sauteed green beans, garlic bread, and salad with olive garden dressing! For dessert we had warm chocolate mini-cakes with cream cheese filling and a chocolate glaze (I will for sure be making those again!)

My best valentine... (I had some special surprises for him too!)

I had planned a scavenger hunt for the kids, but it got to be too late (and a school night) so we postponed it until the next evening. I remembered this idea from an episode of John & Kate (I used to love that show!) I picked up a few goodies from the dollar store and Target Dollar spot and also got a few candy treats. I hid all of the treats and let the kids listen to clues to find them. They loved it!

Clue #1

Finding Goodies

Their last stop--books in the freezer!

Showing off their Valentine loot!

Sadie loves her new socks!

It really was a perfect day--I continue to feel so blessed with this life God has given me!

On This Day...

*one year ago I was up at Midnight anxiously killing time until we needed to go to the hospital.

*On this day... one year ago Marc and I were walking the 3rd floor at St. Mary's and talking about meeting our 3rd child.

*On this day... one year ago I got the shocking surprise of finding out that Gorsch baby #3 is a girl.

*On this day... one year ago we debated about how to spell Macey's name (Macie, Macey or Macy).

*On this day... one year ago we made lots of phone calls to family and friends to introduce Macey Kay Gorsch.

*On this day... one year ago I called my Kindergarten class and listened to screams of delight when I announced a baby girl.

*On this day... one year ago I couldn't wait for Sadie and Kinnick to arrive at the hospital to meet their new baby sister.

*On this day... one year ago I enjoyed napping with Macey snuggled next to me.

*On this day... one year ago I watched with overwhelming joy as Sadie hugged and kissed our newest family member and I snuggled my little man who didn't feel good at the time and probably wondered why his mommy was not home when he woke up that morning.

*On this day... one year ago I enjoyed seeing family & friends who came to meet Macey Kay.

*On this day... one year ago I enjoyed a special dinner with Marc (complete with cheesecake and an ice cream sundae!)

*On this day... one year ago I drifted off to sleep after an exhausting day that I will never forget!

Cookies & Cards

We had so much fun getting ready for Valentine's day this year!

Making Cards:

The kids made home-made valentines for a few family and friends. For Sadie's school party, I decided to keep it simple. We bought valentine granola bars and I printed labels that said: "Happy Valentine's Day, Love Sadie". We sat on her bed together and put the stickers onto the granola bars and she loved it!

Making Cookies:

I've never had great luck with cut-out sugar cookies. I did a little on-line looking and found a new recipe to try. I thought it worked very well!

I also read this tip: Roll out your dough on the cookie sheet (use parchment for best results), cut out your cookies and then remove excess dough. It worked well!

I fixed the kids each a plate of cookies, bowl of frosting, and some sprinkles and they decorated their own. This gave me some time to work on my cookies without extra help.

I think Kinnick ate most of his bowl of frosting before putting any on his cookies!

Sadie did pretty well on her own!

I decided to do some experimenting with icing this year... I've never tried decorating with icing--I always use butter cream frosting and sprinkles to decorate. I used this website to learn some tips including the "10 second rule" that I found very helpful! I loved trying this and am so excited to keep learning and practicing. I need to invest in some more supplies, but I can't wait to try some Easter cookies this year!! (I can't do too much practicing because that means too much eating!)

Here is my first attempt at iced cookies:

(My red icing wasn't as good of a consistency as my white and pink and I didn't make enough icing for all my cookies. I also had too many interruptions during decorating and my icing started to get too hard.)

And my traditional frosting with sprinkles...

Book Reviews

One of the things that I have thoroughly enjoyed since I stopped working is reading! I have always been a reader but while working full time, I was usually too tired at night and any free time I had on weekends had to go to household duties. I also gave up all my "fun" reading in order to concentrate on educational reading (aka--parenting books!) Now I am able to balance the two.

I recently went through my book shelf and found that I have A LOT of books that I have purchased over the last few years that I have not yet read. I separated the books into categories (marriage, spiritual growth, parenting, & pleasure) and made a reading plan (yes--that's my OCD side coming out!) In the process of this I discovered that I was currently half-way into 7 different books! My first goal--finish those. (That list is now down to 1.) I thought I would share a few of my favorites with you in hopes that you can find some relevant to your life. (I'm only reviewing books that I enjoyed so these are all positive reviews!)

I LOVED this book! I can without a doubt say that this is the best parenting book I have read to date (and I have a pretty extensive list!) I was fortunate to see Susie Larson speak last year at Hearts at Home and she was amazing. I read this book over the course of about 6 months. Looking back I'm surprised I spaced it out that long b/c it's such a good read I didn't want to put it down; however, there's so much good stuff it takes some time to process and let it sink in. Larson gives so many practical ideas to incorporate into your daily life. One of her biggest lessons--It has to start with YOU! Her mantra--"You can't impart what you don't possess." It's hard to pick a favorite idea, there are so many to choose from, but I love her plan for family meetings--it's doable and their highly productive! It's written to women, but relevant to dads too. If you're a mom raising kids and you buy one new books this year, let it be this one!

This was a Christmas present and I was ready for any new ideas to help me with my strong-willed child. (I won't say this child's name, but most of you reading probably know!) One thing that I found very surprising as I read this book was that it gave me just as many practical types for raising my non-strong willed children as for my SWC. Dobson writes from many many years of experience and research and I know that he is such a sound source of parenting information. Although parts of this book make me scared for the future (specifically the teen years) it is very encouraging and filled with practical insights.

This was one of my unfinished books... I started (I believe) almost 2 years ago and read half of it. It really is a page-turner, it just got lost in my day-to-day somewhere along the way. This is a fiction read, but it really makes you think... it really helped me to look at what I know and believe about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and Heaven. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially if you are struggling with the topic of forgiveness or questioning why God allows bad things to happen.

My friends Jennifer and Stephanie recommended this book (we're all Duggar fans!) I've always enjoyed watching Michelle Duggar interact with her kids--she has such a calm, patient way about her that seems to bring out the best in them. I admire that so much because I feel like I'm constantly losing it with my kids. This book is written by Jim Bob and Michelle together and begins with their dating life. As I read I was constantly saying "Marc, I have to read this part to you--You're not going to believe this!" It was so refreshing to be encouraged by their solid faith in God and to see how he consistently blessed their family. A bonus--it's filled with practical tips and recipes!

I read this book this summer. My sister-in-law loaned it to me and I read it in two days. I literally could not put it down. I carried it with me everywhere and was reading any time I had a free minute! Angie Smith shares her family's story... the heart-wrenching yet inspiring story of their little girl Audrey who was diagnosed with a heart disease when Smith was 20 weeks pregnant. Smith shares her joy, grief, and anger with such an openness and honesty that you think you are her BFF. This is such an inspiring book! (Warning: Keep a box of Kleenex next to you at all times!)

Our small group read this book last spring. We met each week to watch video clips by Francis Chan and discuss. This was, in my opinion, the best small group study we've ever done (in 3 plus years!) Chan really takes everything directly back to what the Bible teaches and he challenges us to questions why we do what we do. This is a great book to read with your spouse.

And I saved the best for last... The Hunger Games is a fictional trilogy. My friend Lindsey loaned me the first book back in September I read it in less than a week and couldn't wait to get my hands on the next two. I got Catching Fire and Mocking Jay at the end of December. I read Catching Fire (my favorite) in less than a week, took a small break (so I made sure I was still talking with my husband on a regular basis) and then finished Mocking Jay in mid-January. I won't try to explain what these books are about because it doesn't really make them sound appealing it. I guess they can be classified as science-fiction, but I don't consider myself a sci-fi fan. You can't help but fall in love with the characters and Collins has a way of making the impossible happen. I love, love, LOVE these books!!!

In the future I will make it a point not to do so many at once so my posts are so ridiculously long!

Pee-Wee Cheerleading

Last weekend Sadie did a pee-wee cheer clinic with her favorite babysitter, Miss. Alyssa. Marc and I were out of town so we did not get to see her perform. Aunt Nee Nee went to watch and video tape for us. I got to drop Sadie off in the morning and she got to hang out with Miss. Alyssa in between their practice and their performance. She had a great time and has been asking when she gets to go again!