Thoughtfulness

Good Monday morning, friend!

This past weekend, when questioned (ever so nicely, of course) by her grandma, why little Mackenzie had to go to bed so early (6:30pm), my husband replied "It's 8 o'clock somewhere!"...and that is now our new theme song. :) Thank you, Jimmy Buffet and Alan Jackson for your inspiration and permission to recall that yes, it's our kind of 'happy' hour somewhere in the world! (and our little daredevil plays hard and then crashes hard. Early. And that suits me just fine!)

There are an abundance of thoughtful people in my life...it's amazing. I could list SO many...but since I only have a few moments (and even less corresponding photographs), I'll just share a tiny morsel of some of the thoughtfulness sent my way lately.

First off is this merry little felt bucket filled with all things 'gingerbread men/ladies'...including several blank slate cookies for the children to decorate with..."just in case you need to keep the children preoccupied before Curt gets home from work", said the giver, Tara--a longtime family friend who comes from a long line of thoughtful givers. It's in her blood!

Pictured below is Tara (in the brown) herself and her lovely sister-in-law, who also happens to be my second cousin, Krista. Speaking of thoughtful...she (Krista) has a degree in education, but has chosen to be at home 'educating' her children instead of an entire classroom at this time. However, she has GENEROUSLY offered her time and expertise to take my two eldest little ones to her home on Thursdays to join hers for a 'preschool' time....AMAZING!!!! I am thrilled beyond words. So is my little girl who has a new 'best friend' in 'Auw-ie" (her daughter who is the same age).Next is a big brown box I received in the mail from out of state friends, who I was fortunate enough to acquire when I married Curt. Rick (my step son) is named after the male half of the couple...and the female half...Darlene...is ever so thoughtful! She sent not only the twins adorable baby outfits, but each of our children crafts (and Rick a McDonald's gift card!) that were easy to assemble and fun to make...and that's what we are doing below....

It is so lovely, but certainly not neccessary or expected, when the other children are given a little something when the baby gifts come through the mail. Finally, I feel like being a tad bit thoughtful and leaving you with my mom's baked oatmeal recipe. I never foray into this aspect of domestic life, mostly because there is little to 'foray into' with my basic cooking and baking skills...and then because there is another blog that is worlds more resourceful than mine could ever dream of being...you'll find it here.

This Baked Oatmeal is SO easy, SO delish and delivers the smells of cinnamon, brown sugar and butter to waft through the rafters.

Enjoy!

Baked Oatmeal

1/2 cup melted butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 cups quick oats oatmeal

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 cup milk

Stir it all up. Pour in a greased casserole and bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Towards 30 minutes, inhale deeply and maybe think of how you can pass the thoughtfulness of this recipe onto someone else!

:)

So long for now...stop in again! (I plan to be in the audience of Regis and Kelly this Thursday, thanks to the extreme thoughtfulness of my cousins...I'll report back later!)


(Here's a little snipet of my children hysterically laughing at Tara's daughter..who could not resist her own fantastic funnyness...so she joined right in!)

!