Mulberries (Pinterest Poser Challenge Fail)

Me and berry picking? Yeah, we hate each other.  Last year, I took my kids on a lovely, peaceful outing to pick strawberries and my kid breaks his arm.

In happier times, minutes before the broken arm incident
last summer.

This year, we discovered a lovely mulberry tree in our backyard and it has ended up being the bane of our existence.  I didn't think this was going to be another berry picking sucks story, but well....

Last year, after the arm breaking incident, I was able to make the best of it.  Well actually I made jam.  And it was good.  Sure, JT had to wear a cast all summer long, but he had homemade strawberry jam on his gluten free toast.  And I felt less guilty and my relationship with strawberries wasn't ruined forever.

"Do you want to go strawberry picking?," I asked the kids a few weeks ago.

"I never want to pick berries ever again, ever," JT said firmly.  "Not blueberries, strawberries or any berries."

Mmmm-kay.  Got it no berry picking.  In a cruel twist of fate, enter the mulberries in our backyard.  For a kid that didn't want to be reminded of berries it's just not a good thing.  Those f#&ing berries are everywhere.  Don't worry about picking because they fall like rain all day long.  But no worries, I thought, I will show my little guy how to turn this berry situation into a good thing (again). 

Once I discovered what the berries were (thank you Google and Pinterest), I was going to write a post about making mulberry jam and giving it away to my neighbors just like Bree on Desperate Housewives. 

I was going to write a post about how to be inspired by a mulberry tree and use it for my art, just like Vincent Van Gogh.  But sadly, I am no Bree or  Van Gogh.  I am an overwhelmed, overtired mom of four who is just trying to make this whole summertime season fabulous and make sure no one is afraid of berries.

Van Gogh's Mulberry Tree: Source

Right now, our backyard is like a sad urban park that has been deserted.  The bases are overgrown, the pitcher's mound is covered in berries, mulberries.  Bats and balls lay around where they were dropped before the berry invasion.

When the kids do venture into the backyard they come back with stained clothes, flip flops and feet.  My kids and my house look like a berry f&#*ing crime scene.

The puppy is only allowed to go on a leash in the backyard because she is addicted to mulberries.  It's like crack.  She Joneses for the berries.  She obsesses over the berries.  When she gets a chance, she eats and eats the berries and then well, she poops nonstop and it's incredibly gross.

We tried to pick the mulberries, we tried to romanticize the mulberries, but we just hate the damn mulberries.  And the last thing I want to do is make a stupid pie out of the mulberries.

During our Fourth of July family soccer game Tim fell and his shirt got a little stained from the mulberries.

The end.  This week, I'm officially a Pinterest Failure.

**In an attempt at not being a Pinterest Poser,* every week I  detail a new Pinterest challenge whether it be a new recipe or a craft.   

*My definition of a Pinterest Poser is someone who is all pins and no substance.

So, there's none of this:

Source

Or this:

Mulberry ice cream--Source

Or this:

Source

Have you made something from Pinterest lately?  Had any great successes? Or advice?  Or warning about a project that's a total waste of time? Do you like mulberries?  Do tell.

Please share whatever you're working on in the comments here or over on Facebook.  Come on over and follow my Pinterest boards.

Here are some of the projects I've already attempted, the good and the bad:

Front Porch Kid Art Display- click here
Door turned into Table- click here

Summer Wish List Chalkboard-click here

Peanut Butter Nutella Cookie Sandwiches-click here

Painted Mason Jar Vases-click here

Cinco de Mayo Paper Flowers- click here

Earth Day Cupcakes- Click here

Nail Art-click here

Homemade Photo Booth Fun- click here

Fake Bangs- click here

DIY Subway Art- click here

Furniture Painting and Bench/Chest Makeover- click here

Thanksgiving-y Project/Gratitude/Holiday Countdown- click here
The Smoothie-click here

The Free Printable Turned Artwork in a Boring Hallway- click here

The chalk board-click here
Seven Layer Dip in Individual Cups (my favorite so far!)-click here
The pumpkin address-click here
The Kitchen Dancing Sign--click here

Come play with me on Instagram @jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed.

Oh yeah, and come follow me on Twitter @AngelaYBlood and subscribe to my MomPulse YouTube channel here.

A Cottage On A Lake Up North

This weekend was full of more Fourth of July magic.  We got up early Saturday morning and headed up north.  Going up north is just something all of us Michigan people do in the summer.  We head north to lakes and cottages, big and small.  Kid Rock had a big hit song about up north adventures.

Up North is anywhere north of where you live.  An hour, four hours, upper peninsula? If it's north, it's "up north."

My husband's family has a cottage on a lake up north.  Every Fourth of July (or the week of), over 70 members of his family go to this cottage on a lake up north.  

I've been there from the beginning.  My in-laws bought the place and hosted the first party way back in 1998,  the summer I met my future husband.  This cottage on a  lake up north was where I was first introduced to his cousins and aunts and uncles and grandfather.  I remember that first night around the camp fire they were quizzing me and seeing how many names I could remember.

Every year, every Fourth of July for the past 15 years, we have gone to the party at this cottage on a lake up north.  Looking back this weekend, we laughed about how much fun I was 15 years ago.  And how much alcohol I could throw back in those early years, which was the main reason I was so fun.  And how much I used to worry about what my passing dish was for the ginormous potluck dinners.  

For the past 11 years, it's been about our kids.  It's been about the sparklers, the boat rides, the swimming, the fishing, the ice cream cones, the campfires, the marshmallows, the parades, the candy bar bingos, the sand piles...the traditions. 

There are a LOT of kid up north.

Every family has a parade right?

For the past 11 years, it's been about watching my kids make connections with their dad's aunts and uncles who played with him while he was growing up.  It's about watching all the second and third cousins running and laughing and connecting.  It's not about passing dishes, alcohol, sunscreen, or matching T-shirts or Kid Rock songs.  It's all about connecting.  Connecting with family, love, nature, the water, the sky, the past, the present.  

It's about moments like this...JT watching closely as  his "Bubba" fixes something up.  

All of this connecting is paving the way for the future, the next generations, to keep on carrying on all of this Fourth of July magic at a cottage on a lake up north.

"Catching Walleye from the dock, 
Watching the waves roll off the rocks...." 

Serious Business, What I Know For Sure & #iPPP

"They're attacking, get down," ordered Lucy while her brothers ducked behind the minivan.

"Run for cover!," yelled JT and they all ran to the bushes.  

No worries, my children weren't in any real danger.  They were just up to the serious business of being kids. Playing make believe and pretending the sounds of fireworks were an act of war.  Sounds of firecrackers rang through the darkening sky and my children were pretending they were in a battle.  They would stop to ooh and awe over fireflies and try to catch them briefly.  Then it was back to running from the enemy.

Fourth of July and we're having a blast (ugh, sorry I couldn't help it).  Not sure who was having more fun with the fireworks part of our holiday, Tim or the kids.

Earlier in the day they spent time trying to blow up a Spider Man action figure.

Poor Spidey.

Clearly they got the wrong message from the movie Toy Story.  Tim was the ringleader in this escapade and assured me it was totally normal for kids to want to do this.

I was just pleased that the kids were really working together.  Sure it was formulating a plan to try and melt Spidey's face off, but they were being nice to each other and that's what melted my heart.

I'm less firecracker and more of a sparkler person.  In fact, I love sparklers.  I fell in love with sparklers when Alice put them on a cake for one of the boys on The Brady Bunch.   How awesome is that? 

The kids indulged my sparkler love and then went back to plotting against Spidey and whatever enemy was attacking their base.

I love sparklers so much that after we thought the kids were in bed I busted out a few more.  I went into the front yard and heard "oh hey, mom!"  Hanging out the window above me were Lucy and JT.  They were listening to the faraway fireworks and pointing out the fireflies.  Neither one of them seemed surprised to see me running through the front yard with sparklers, they were just like "oh hey whassup" and then got back to their business.  Their business of being kids and telling stories and marveling at loud noises and the sounds of summer.

"This has been the best Fourth of July ever," Lucy yelled down to me before I warned her she should shut her window so bats don't fly into her room.

A little while later, I went to tuck them in (and check the room for bats) and I found Lucy and JT passed out from so much Fourth of July fun.  The serious business of being a kid is exhausting.

Sparklers, firecrackers and blowing up toys may not be everyone's idea of an epic Fourth of July, but it was one of our best, I know that for sure.

Here's what else I know for sure (this week):

• Since we decided to keep our puppy, she's been one of the happiest dogs evah.  Which makes all of us happy.  And it's pretty awesome.

  

• I am obsessed with the show Scandal.  Thank you Netflix and Hulu for letting us catch up from the beginning.  Tim and I are almost done with season one and it is sooooo good. 

• It's not too late to impress people with a Fourth of July craft. If you have a weekend party to go to, this is the perfect cheap, easy and patriotic project.  Check it out:

• Lucy and Wade are the perfect make believe partners in crime.  Mostly because he does whatever Lucy tells him to do.

• This song by Imagine Dragons is how I'm feeling about my summer...on top of the world.  Peyton's fifth grade class sang this to the parents at his graduation.  Seriously, isn't that so cool? (And they sang it on Good Morning America this morning.)

• Jennifer won the olloclip in lat week's giveaway. (The winner was determined using Random.org.)  In honor of living in the moment, loving it and capturing it on your iPhone, I'm gave away a quick-change camera lens for your iphone--the olloclip.  A lens that can make the awesome pics you already take on your iphone um, awesome-er.  It is a $70 lens and is perfect for capturing all the summer memories you are making.

What do you know for sure (this week)? C'mon, we're friends, share what you know. What did you do on the Fourth of July?  Leave a comment here or on the Facebook page.

  Please come play with me on Instagram @jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed.

I'm linking up today with my friends Greta from  Gfunkified.com and Sarah from SundaySpill.com for the #iPPP link up.  They host a link up where they encourage people to share "your funny, your yummy, your heartfelt, your favorite photos of the week" from our phones.  
Check them out.

Sparkler Fun & Pinterest Poser Challenge

Fourth of July is right around the corner and we have nothing planned. Nothing.  Tim has to work on Friday, so any plans of going away are on hold until the weekend. Soooooo, we're kind of just not feelin' all holiday-ish this year.  In an attempt to get the kids feeling more patriotic I thought what better way than a patriotic craft?

This week's Pinterest Poser Challenge** is Star Sparkler Holders--cheap, easy, patriotic.

**In an attempt at not being a Pinterest Poser,* every week I  detail a new Pinterest challenge whether it be a new recipe or a craft.   

*My definition of a Pinterest Poser is someone who is all pins and no substance.

I found this craft on Pinterest and it turned out pretty great.  It cost next to nothing and didn't take very long.  
To make these all you need is:

Spray paint-- um red, white and blue of course

Cardboard--I used old boxes from our move last year

Scissors--the Pinterest craft told us we should use a fancy cutting knife, but I used good old-fashioned dull scissors

Stars- I Googled "printable stars" and printed a star

Sparklers- we bought pretty crappy ones that were $1 a box, we plan on buying better ones for the actual Fourth

We cut stars, traced, then cut, then painted.  We stuck the sparkler through the cardboard, lit then ran around.  It was a craft that can be done on the day of the Fourth or for a family reunion or party or anytime you use sparklers.  You can use any shapes, any colors and they are reusable.  One of the best parts of this craft is the kids can do almost all of it. 

And now we are feeling much more in the holiday spirit.  Watch this short (approx 2 min) video to see how the craftiness in action.

Have you made something from Pinterest lately?  Had any great successes? Or advice?  Or warning about a project that's a total waste of time? What are your plans for the Fourth of July? Do tell.

Please share whatever you're working on in the comments here or over on Facebook.  Come on over and follow my Pinterest boards.

Here are some of the projects I've already attempted, the good and the bad:

Front Porch Kid Art Display- click here
Door turned into Table- click here

Summer Wish List Chalkboard-click here

Peanut Butter Nutella Cookie Sandwiches-click here

Painted Mason Jar Vases-click here

Cinco de Mayo Paper Flowers- click here

Earth Day Cupcakes- Click here

Nail Art-click here

Homemade Photo Booth Fun- click here

Fake Bangs- click here

DIY Subway Art- click here

Furniture Painting and Bench/Chest Makeover- click here

Thanksgiving-y Project/Gratitude/Holiday Countdown- click here
The Smoothie-click here

The Free Printable Turned Artwork in a Boring Hallway- click here

The chalk board-click here
Seven Layer Dip in Individual Cups (my favorite so far!)-click here
The pumpkin address-click here
The Kitchen Dancing Sign--click here

Come play with me on Instagram @jumpingwithmyfingerscrossed.

Oh yeah, and come follow me on Twitter @AngelaYBlood and subscribe to my MomPulse YouTube channel here.

A Thank You Kind of Weekend

This past weekend was good.  We were all together which is rare.  Usually, Tim and I divide and conquer shuffling and chauffeuring kids to various activities.  But this weekend it was different and it was so good.

This weekend was one of those times where I looked around me at my little corner of the world and said, "yes, this is it, this is my dream life, and thank you, thank you, thank you."

I was less scattered, more focused; less nobody is listening or doing what I say!, more I'm going to sit back and take it in; less I'm so full of stress and tired, more I'm so full of love and tired (um, yeah, even though it was a good weekend, I don't think I'll ever not be tired, that just seems never ending).

Fifteen years ago, I watched my boyfriend playing football with my little brother who was seven at the time.  I watched how patient he was and how he looked him in the eyes.  I marveled at the connection he made and the time he devoted.  I fell in love with him and dreamed about what kind of father he would be to my own kids.  This past weekend, I thought of that boyfriend and once again marveled at the man, the father, he is today and found myself saying "yes, this is it, this is the dream life and thank you, thank you, thank you."

Tim is the dad that plays, teaches, coaches, reads, provides, comforts and did I mention play?
He really is Super Man
(just like his costume for the
Kids vs. Dad wrestle mania event).

And he makes the kids laugh and laugh and laugh.

This has sort of turned into a mushy, belated Father's Day post. But really it's a post about those weekends, those moments in time, where you look around filled with gratitude.  Those moments where the same messy closet that drove you nuts the day before just doesn't bother you; or the stack of bills that gave you a mini panic attack the night before doesn't even phase you the next morning.  Those moments where you look at your husband and you fall deeper in love.   Those moments when it's all good and you want to say thank you, thank you, thank you.

This is is drop the mic and walk away all big and bad moment, because well, he's Super Man.
Ha. Ha. I'm kidding this is on the way home from our walk to Dairy Queen.

****Giveaway Reminder****
In honor of living in the moment and loving it  I'm giving away a quick-change camera lens for your iphone--the olloclip.  A lens that can make the awesome pics you already take on your iphone um, awesome-er.  It is a $70 lens and is perfect for capturing all the summer memories you are making.

All you need to do is leave a comment here or like my Facebook page and leave a comment on the FB page and you will be entered.  You have until this Thursday to leave comments and enter.  A winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Friday.