Spring is upon us!  My "to do" list gets longer, and I'm lagging behind on my blog writing due to the demands of being a stay-at-home mom.   As I take a few more days to write, I wanted to share with you some quick snapshots that I've captured in our house lately, and also tell you about a healthy recipe contest in conjunction with National Nutrition Month.

I'm so blessed to have two healthy children who play hard and eat well.



Apparently, I was told this was a sleeping car on a train in my closet.   All of daddy's shoes were in the way! My neat husband is not a huge fan of his shoes being dumped all over the floor, but sometimes you've got to let them be creative, and give yourself a moment to put on some mascara.




My son had some creative name for this little get-up that I certainly can't remember now.   I got called away from writing, and was told, "to take a picture, and put it on my blog."  Guess he doesn't mind being in the spotlight!





Wait, it seems like she was just born!  How is she old enough to play Candy Land?




And sometimes, we sneak chocolate into our days when we are cooking together.    It's not the healthiest eating, but it sure is yummy in moderation.  Later this week, I'm going to share a sweet sixteen cupcake recipe, but today, I have a treat to share with you from Destination Hotels and Resorts .

Courtesy of Destination Hotels and Resorts

The luxury hotel brand launched a  "Kids Healthy Recipe" contest this month in conjunction with National Nutrition Month.  They want to hear about your favorite healthy recipe that your kids love and eat.

The grand prize winner will receive a trip for four including airfare to a full-service Destination Hotels & Resorts property and see their recipe featured on the company's Kid's Café Menu for a year.

Additionally, the winner will receive dinner for four featuring your winning recipe prepared by the chef.  Two runners-up will have their recipes featured on the company's Kid's Café webpage as well as a visit from one of Destination's executive chefs to the winner's school for a class room cooking lesson.  All three winners will receive a Destination Hotels & Resorts kids chef coat.

So put on your chef's hats and let Destination Resorts know what's cooking in your kitchen.   You may enter and vote for the recipes already entered at this link.   Even if you don't enter, you may be inspired to make some of dishes already submitted.   You can submit recipes up to March 31, and vote on your favorites through April 7th.

Until next time, I'm grabbing a cup of tea and plan some kid-friendly meals courtesy of parents like you. . 

A lot has changed in thirty years.  I'm now a busy wife and mom, full-time blogger, and some would even say I've approached middle age.   I certainly don't think I act middle aged, in fact, some would say I'm acting more like a teenager lately.  You see,  I'm guilty of wasting valuable minutes of my day not to mention taking time away from my precious children by reading about Catherine Middleton.  I guess you could say that "I've been pulled right back into the royal watching hoopla AGAIN".

The royal wedding is in 42 days, but who's counting, right?   I've actually gone way beyond reading about wedding preps though.   I now like to see what the future princess is wearing on her public engagements.   I guess if I wore something besides jeans and a slim fitting long-sleeved tee then maybe I would dress similiar.  I like her classic, simple style.

I've lost something! It's just one hour, but apparently, the loss wrecks havoc on me for a week. I run around saying, "New Time, Old Time, I don't have enough time!"

I heard the alarm at 6:20 am (New time, that is. Old time would be 5:20 am), and I was so (insert curse word of choice here) comfortable. My covers were just right. Pure perfection. I ignored the alarm, and dozed back off to sleep. You know how it is, right? It's some of the very best sleep of your lives. You wish you could have sleep like this all night long.

At 7:15 am, my husband comes into our bedroom. He wakes me.

I yell, "I can't. I can't get out of bed. I need my tea water. Please turn on my tea water!"

I finally roll out of bed at 7:20 am, and stroll down the steps. I rush my tea water, and have to heat the Twinings tea in the microwave. Go ahead, true tea lovers, GASP!

The kids are still asleep so I waste even more time by checking my blog, my facebook accounts, a new social networking site for moms called "MomnBaby" plus the Southern blogging network, "Southern Mommas".

Can I waste any more time? Sure! A really good mom would have showered and got ready. Instead, I made a second cup of tea. I would have had a third, but I seriously ran out of time.

My son gets up.  We get him ready for school, and he ate breakfast while I woke sleepyhead.  I fed her quickly, and off to school we go at 9:15 am, a good five minutes after we should have left to be on-time.

My son's pre-school teachers laughed at me. They've always seen me with wet hair in a clip, and at least some make-up on my face. Not today! They got bedhead crazy.

Enjoy! Get a good laugh. My hair stylist will NOW know why I have to wash my hair daily.



As for baby girl, she must be like her mommy. She'll adjust eventually, and she'll soon start loving the early evening hours where she can swing in daylight and have dinners on the screened porch. Spring is almost here!

Hope you're adjusting to the new time!

Until next time, I'm off to shower, and drink some more tea.

I'm so not a craft mom, and I certainly don't pretend to be one in my blog, but occasionally, my hormones go in overdrive, and I feel guilty for not doing more artistic activities with my children.  So once in a blue moon, we get creative with our hands.  Today, my children present  to you a musical tube made simply from your recyclable TP roll.   So, let the good times roll, Baby!  Get that toilet paper or paper towel roll our of your recycling bin, and "Shake up" an activity to keep everyone busy in your house.  This is so simple, and my motto is, "if I can do it then anyone can do it!"

The really good news is that my son does a lot of crafts and art in pre-school, and since crafts are not my forte, I gladly send him to school, and pay for others to work with my child.   He has  fabulous teachers, and they like to do "Free Art" in his classroom.

They collect toilet paper rolls, food boxes, and any other items that I would normally put in the recycling bin and create artistic masterpiece with them that end up on my kitchen counters for weeks.  Each Friday, I take a bunch of things to his teacher, and feel elated that I'm doing my part to help boost my child's creativity. 

However on a very rare day, I will put some of this "free art" to use in my own home.  The last time, I let my son work with free art in my home, he made the most savvy pirate ship ever out of an old TAMPAX box that I stupidly gave him, and it sat in my living room for weeks because he wanted to play with it and was so proud of his creation.  Every day, I kicked myself for taking the Nabisco box to school and only be left with what I could find on a whim in my bathroom.  With no Tampax boxes in sight this time, I got out the free art bag with things waiting to go to school, and decided to help my son make a Musical Percussion Tube from the Crayola website.   For once in our lives, we had everything needed to do a simple craft, and if we didn't, we could make adjustments as needed.  I'll go ahead and tell you that Crayola suggests making the tube with a paper towel roll, but our roll was still being used in the kitchen, so we resorted to a toilet paper roll as a substitute.  It worked!

I drew two circles on a piece of paper, and my son cut out the pattern.  The circles need to big enough to cover both ends of the tube.  He did need the help with this part of craft.  So, I ended up cutting out two circles while he complained.





Next came the really easy and fun part.  Your kids can decorate the toilet paper roll.  We had stamps so my son used those for decoration.  He had the most fun with this part, and if I had done this craft during my daughter's naptime then I could have read a magazine during this easy part.  Instead, I waited until my daughter was up so I was busy keeping her out of the craft area.




My son then used Crayola "Washable" markers to further decorate his tube.  You can use anything you have in the house for decoration.   We did not have stickers or any metallic markers to use like the original directions suggested.




Once the tube is decorated, rub a glue stick on one end of the cardboard tube.  Cover the end with a circle, fold the edges over, and secure with a rubber band.  Carefully pour a handful of rice, beads, or small buttons into the tube.


And he overpoured!  Once you get the rice in your tube, and clean up the MESS, place the second circle on the other end of the tube, glue, fold over, and secure with another rubber band.   Tie a colorful ribbon over each rubber band. 




I'm sure a really good craft mom would have the most beautiful musical percussion instrument ever, but my son is happy with his creation, and hopefully, we created some special memories along the way, too.

Until next time, I'm off to grab a cup of tea, and feel good that I, at least, tried to be creative with my kids.   The musical tube is still sitting on our countertops!

The skies are so blue in Chapel Hill, NC

My college town, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, has the honor of being named as one of a dozen distinctive destinations in the US by the National Trust for Historic Preservation this year.  Now, through March 15, 2011, the voting is up to us, and we can make this North Carolina town, a favorite Distinctive Destination.  Since 2000, the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Dozen Distinctive Destination program has recognized cities and towns that offer an authentic visitor experience by combining dynamic downtowns, cultural diversity, attractive architecture, cultural landscapes and a strong commitment to historic preservation, sustainability and revitalization.  

I live about 40 minutes away from this beautiful, scenic college town and it is one of my favorite places to visit.  The quaint town in Orange County of North Carolina has the nickname of "A Southern Part of Heaven" following the publication of a book by William Meade Prince in 1950.  In fact, my husband and I have only been away overnight from our children five times in the past five years, and Chapel Hill, NC actually accounts for two of those trips.   It was heavenly!  We chose it because it's a quick drive for us, the town is adorned with some of the best restaurants in both NC and the US, and it just exudes such Southern, charm.  It's no secret that I find any excuse to go there.  You should, too!

Today, we're going to take a quick tour of Chapel Hill and go over some fun facts so that you are well-educated before you place your vote.

Chapel Hill is the only place where I know you can find fire trucks that are Carolina Blue.  Fires may be red hot, but fireman will arrive on scene driving these cool, blue trucks that supports the University town's athletic teams.

The Town of Chapel Hill's Fire Department

Chapel Hill derives its name from the highest point where a Church (of England) was located in the 1700s.  Originally called New Hope Chapel Hill, the name was later and wisely shortened to Chapel Hill.  The historic and elegant Carolina Inn, established in 1924  is located on the old church's property today.

The Carolina Inn

I have had the great fortune to attend weddings and other functions here throughout the years, and it is one of my favorite places to have afternoon tea.  My son had his first "official" high tea at The Carolina Inn shortly after my daughter's birth as a little royal treat.


Tea at the Carolina Inn was Divine!



Franklin Street, the main street throughout Chapel Hill, was named after Benjamin Franklin.   I lived off of Franklin Street in college, and one of my favorite places to go was the charming, Carolina Coffee Shop.

Carolina Coffee Shop

The Carolina Coffee Shop was established in 1922 as the Carolina Confectionery, making it one of the oldest original restaurants in the town.

Courtesy of the Carolina Coffee Shop

Of course, being in college means being on a pauper's budget, but occasionally, my friends and I would splurge and have dinner at Spanky's which is located on Franklin Street.  There was always a wait, but it was worth it.  This was the days before reservations were big, or maybe we were just all too impromptu to make them.

Spanky's Restaurant and Bar, est. 1977

Or we would walk down the west side of Franklin Street which when we were in college from 1988-1991, it wasn't as built up as it today.  We would have dinner at our Italian favorite, 411 West.

411 West Italian Cafe

There are so many wonderful dining options in Chapel Hill now that the town is truly a gastronomic delight.  It's also home to the the nationally known gourmet store, A Southern Season.  I love to eat at their restaurant, The Weathervane, and then walk down their store aisles an "Ooh and Aah" at the delicacies.  Their coffee, tea, wine, and chocolate sections are absolutley amazing.

The Best of NC Section highlights products made in NC. Photo Courtesy of A Southern Season. .

When you stroll down Franklin Street, you will find cute and eclectic boutiques.  During my college days, we primarily shopped at Johnny T-Shirt since it was the days long before the "Sex and the City" fashion craze.  T-shirts, Tarheel sweats, and tennis shoes were in place of designer jeans and Manolo Blaniks.

Johhny T-Shirt Store

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill provides the backdrop for this distinctive college town.  UNC-Chapel Hill is the oldest public university in the US, founded in 1793.  UNC was the only public university in the U.S. to award degrees to students in the 18th Century. Today students at UNC come from every one of North Carolina’s 100 counties, all of the other 49 states and more than 100 countries worldwide.  I know I may be partial, but it is truly a beautiful campus, and during every season, it's picture perfect. 

The Old Well

The Old Well was the primary source of campus water for more than a century. In 1897, President Edwin A. Alderman had the ramshackle shelter over the well rebuilt in Greek Revival style, and it became the unofficial symbol of the University.  This well is one of the University's most photographed landmarks, but my husband who graduated from the rival university, NC State, tells me that someone would be very foolish to drink from it.  Oh, those fraternities!!!

As I've stated before, I'm proud to be a North Carolinian, and am so glad that Chapel Hill, NC has been a part of my life. And as the song says, "I'm a Tarheel Born, I'm a Tarheel Bred, and When I die, I'll be a Tarheel dead".   I think this lovely, historic town should be everyone's favorite destination so please vote today!

UNC's Mascot Ramses and Me in Spring of 1990

Click here to vote for Chapel Hill as the 2011 Favorite Distinctive Destination.  You will have to register with the National Trust for Historic Preservation's website to vote.  You can vote once a day til March 15th.

Until next time, I am going to grab a cup of tea, and perhaps call my friend who never left the college town for a visit.