Saturday, September 27, 2014

Catching Up

 This sweet little girl begged me for my old doll. 
I gave in and took her out for her.
This is Michelle.  I've had her since I was in 1st grade.
(I'm 45 folks)
I love her still.
I even kiss her when I take her out of the box I have her in.
Over the years, I've let each girl play with her for a while
(until I find her on the floor, then she goes back in my box)
 She promised me she would take really good care of Michelle.
And so far, she has.
I don't have much from my childhood, 
 Just her and 2 other dolls that my 10 year old claimed,
a little white stuffed kitty, with patched/stitched eyes,
and a few yearbooks.

 I do remember my very first doll though, 
it was Mrs Beasley.
I have no idea why they called a doll "Mrs"
or why I had her or why I even liked her.
She'd not that cute.
I remember her though. 

 My mom and dad's birthdays were this week!
My mom's is the 24th and dad's is the 27th
 They are 66 and 68 now!


 My mom photo copied this picture for me, it is of my great grandma.
My dad's grandma.
She's my grandma's mother.
They were not clear on her name, 
it was either:
Susan Eleanor
or
Eleanor Susan
Either way, she was called "Nora"
My mom asked me who I thought looked like her,
and I knew instantly.
 This daughter has the exact same expressions as my great grandma!!
We tried to re-enact the picture, but could not do it.
Oh, well, really, though, she does have that same expression, those same cheeks
and eyes.  
Kind of fun and amazing how God works, isn't it?
That a person can actually look like their great-great grandmother, on their mother's father's mother's side. 
Follow me?
For my 45th birthday, we had smoothies and popcorn for supper and watched this:
 Awesome movie!!!
They left it pretty open for another one, and I can't wait!

 A few weeks ago, my husband and I watched this movie, 
and liked it so much, we let our oldest daughter watch it too.
I cried through the whole dang thing, but really, it was so good.
It has a happy ending of course and has several stars in it.
I'm not going to give anything away, just trust me, it's a great movie.
And if you watch any of those extras,  you'll get to see the real-life people
that the movie was based on.
(I love it when they do that)
 This has always been one of my favorite books!
After baking 4 loaves of pumpkin bread and giving away 3 this week, 
and hearing the kids beg to keep one for ourselves, 
I realized I am not like the Little Red Hen.
 And that the story actually has 2 morals
You know how the story goes, right?
She asks for help at every step of baking bread
and not one animal helps her!
 But when she asks who will help her EAT the bread, well, they all come running!
 And this is what she says.
 And she goes to bed alone. Like a sad old chicken. 
SO, I think the first moral is:
Be helpful!
and the 2nd moral is:
Share everything you have!

Pumpkin Bread
(the best ever, I promise)

2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1tsp soda
2 tsp baking powder
4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup canola oil
1 can pumpkin
4 eggs

I put the wet ingredients in the mixing bowl first, then the dry and mix.
Grease and flour 2 loaf pans
Bake 350 degrees for 55 minutes

 Oh, I love these kids!
Look how the littles hug each other!  
They love each other so much!
I read a great article on strengthening your relationship with your children
It's always a struggle to make sure I have time for each child.
I want them to all feel loved and cherished.
I don't want them to get lost in the family.

What do you do?



Well, I've done movie reviews and book reviews, given you my 
favorite fall recipe and reminisced about old dolls and old people!
(sorry mom and dad!)
Time to Shake it all Off!!
Gosh, I love this song, and this video,
 I think Taylor Swift is sweet as can be!
(except for the rap, I don't care for the rap part)

Hoping to catch up more soon...
Have a great weekend!


18 comments:

  1. I love seeing so much of them in you!!!

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  2. Gorgeous, per the norm.

    Thank you for calling back: I'm sorry I've been so lame and haven't called YOU back! Phone tag . .

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  3. I see a lot of your mom in you! And I completely see your great-grandma in your daughter. Yes, it's amazing how God works!

    I want to try your pumpkin bread. I failed on the pizza. :-( I obviously did something wrong. You're probably wondering how I could fail on the pizza, it was only two ingredients!

    I love Taylor Swift too! I could do without the wiggling butts though. They remind me of my 4 year old.

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    1. Yay! The kids were calling her "Grandma Nora" til I put the gustoppo on that!!!

      Well, with that dough, you need to knead it for 5 minutes, that is KEY and use much more flour than is listed. (keep putting it on the counter while kneading)

      (do you think that is it?)

      Oh, yes, no butt shaking...but I think she was looking at it like, "How do you do that?"

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  4. I remember Mrs. Beasley too! (I am a bit older than you, but she was under my Christmas tree one year) She was the doll and confidant of a character in a popular show at the time. It's funny- I always tell my boys that I am tired of being the little red hen! I get pretty grumpy when my helpers disappear until the bread is baked (or the car is packed for the beach). :) I like your perspective on sharing though.

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    1. It is easy to feel like the Little Red Hen, isn't it? It's just stuff. It feels good to give it away and to have that attitude..but packing the van, yep, they cold help. Would be kind of funny to leave without them wouldn't it? But that wouldn't probably be as fun, right? So we do it for the fun (in the end)

      TV show...was it some butler show? Thinking Brian Keith...is that the name? My mom must have watched it to have given me that doll though, right? I remember putting her in my mom's bottom drawer to keep away from my little brother. We were like 2 and 3 years old!

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  5. Great pictures of your family. I inherited boxes of old family photos when my dad died and it's amazing the family resemblances that we found! The pumpkin bread looks yummy!

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    1. I gave my mom some pumpkin bread Jan and she said she's tried to make my recipe but it just doesn't taste the same and there's something about my bread...(I think she just wants me to bake it for her! Ha!)

      What a treasure to inherit old photos, I'd love that!!

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  6. I luv seeing old pictures and family resemblances...what a treasure!

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    1. It is fun, isn't it? Our family doesn't have many...so I make up for it and take a ton, for future generations you know!

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  7. Your parents looks great!! Especially your mother.
    I love the way you spent your 45th birthday. It would be just the way I would spend it also. Easy food and a movie with my family.
    Brian's sister Nancy looks just like her aunt. It is crazy how much they look like each other.
    Thanks for sharing that video. I hear the song but it is fun to see her dancing and prancing.
    My first dolly was a little black baby...interesting!!

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  8. Yes, and no cake!! (we had cake for the 3 birthdays right before mine!

    Isn't that funny how certain people get the gene to look like someone else? My friend Amanda's little girl looks just like her auntie...

    Do you still have your first dolly?

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  9. Yes I do~!! ..and my first lunch box..and my first plate and cup...and my 1yr old dress...and my shoes I walked in(bronzed)...we keep too much stuff! I have my moms first teething toy...it is really cute.

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  10. Throwback here when I saw the picture of Mrs. Beasley!!! Isn't the mind a funny thing. Hadn't thought of that doll since...forever? and the minute you put the photo up, I knew exactly who she was. Crazy!

    Ummm...so you look just like your mama! Beautiful! I love when someone sees our kids in a great grandparent or some great, great relative's photo. Love those moments. it's a great connection.

    BTW, I have some of my dollies. They are up in the attic. I let the girl play with my old Barbie dolls though. And Ken! Woo Hoo!

    I just saw Winter Soldier Sunday evening. AWESOME! David didn't like it, but I did. Looking forward to the next. But one must watch all the super hero movies to make the little connections throughout. Don't you think?

    Adorable pics of your kids. Always are adorable :) Have a great week up there!

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    Replies
    1. Maybe I should post a picture on Facebook of Mrs Beasley for Throwback Thursday!!?

      Funny...Did you have that doll too?

      Oh, your old Barbies are really really old!! (hee hee)
      How fun, I'd love to see them too!

      I agree you need to kind of see all the videos to get those connections...I even have the help of a comic book reader (TOM) to help me with things in the movies. Hasn't David seen all of them?

      You have a great rest of the week too!

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  11. Nice little collection of thoughts. The kid thing. I am so struggling with that right now. It's really strange. After all, they are all home with me. We spend a lot of time together so when we have "free" time I have a huge urge to be all quiet and "go play" kind of attitude. Then I feel guilty and start thinking that I'm not spending real time with them since most of the day was spent in the teacher/student relationship and not the mom/kid relationship. Ok... I'll stop there. It's weighing heavy on me.

    The Little Red Hen book... I'm easily the you don't help, you don't get kind of person. It's a daily struggle to give of myself. Daily. I see the bitter, old people in my family and I recognize the same disposition in me. You probably don't believe me but it's true. I fight it.

    By the way, that doll is a little freaky. Though why in the world does the name Mrs. Beasley sound so familiar?

    God bless.

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Thank you so much for stopping and commenting!