Genius

I know, I know.  I should remember my reusable shopping bags when I go to the grocery store.  But I must admit, between juggling to toddlers and rushing out the door, I don't always remember to be earth-friendly when I'm shopping.  In fact, maybe I'll just plain blame it on me-I'm forgetful.

In light of that forgetfulness, I sometimes have a stash of plastic bags under my sink that make me want to close my eyes when I open the cabinet. If only plastic bag holders weren't so yucky looking and still disorganized feeling (for my taste).  Enter:

It's brilliant.  Fold the bags like I used to fold notes in middle school and now the 20 or so bags fit into a shoebox that fits neatly under my sink!  Now I can see what REALLY needs to be cleaned under there.  And I still can find the bags that are useful when taking our sweet Maple out on walks.

Want to know how it's done?  Check out this SUPER EASY and FAST tutorial here.

Falling for Fall All Over Again

Despite the warmer weather today and for the next few days, last week had me falling for Fall all over again.

Summer has been a whirlwind this year.  It has stolen away our time and landed us here in September happy, tan, tired, and with more experiences and stories to take us through that sometimes dreary season that sneaks up after fall.

One of our best memories of the summer will be letting the three cousins spend some time together as the four Gubser kids descended on my parents' house to celebrate my oldest sister's 30th bday.

I'm definitely in the fall mood now though. Weather in the 70s, cool breezes, the smell of fall in the air...makes me think of pumpkin bread, corn mazes, fall festivals and plaid shirts.

So here we come, we're riding into Fall in style.

I'm curious. What's your favorite thing about Fall?  (tommie's is pumpkin lattes) And what will you miss most about Summer this year?

Truett's Birthday!

Yesterday was Truett's First Birthday.

Celebrate Truett

Oh how I love that little boy.

Best Summer Craft

By far, this is my favorite craft I've run across this summer.  

I love Tootsie Pops and I love mustaches.  Winner!

It makes me smile every time I see the pictures.  What a simple, wonderful, hysterical idea.

Thanks to Mary Black Orrozco for her ingenuity on this one!  She's our children's director and made a TON of these for the VBS at our church this summer.  Awesome.

First Things First.

I've been super-busy lately. And I can't even complain, because it's really just that my life has been ACTION-PACKED this past month-in an awesome way.  So I have much to update you on.

First things first though: Alisa Learns to Surf and Doesn't Die

1. It's a little wave, cause the day we went was moderately flat...but it's headed my way. PADDLE FAST to try and get up to speed with the wave(ha!).

2. Pretty decent placement, push up and try to get up on my knees, then feet.

3. It's breaking on me...time is ticking and I'm failing.  On my feet with almost no time left before this wave is dead.

4. Time's up. I got caught by the wave instead of the other way around.

5. No worries, I'm on my feet in no time, steadying and readying to head out for more.

6. Don't be fooled. I'm ready for more and, believe it or not, I've actually caught a better wave or two than that.  I'm gonna dominate, just gimme time!

Tommie and I are HOOKED!  Now to start scrounging up the cash so we can buy a board...our loaner's heading back to it's rightful owner at the end of August.

Come visit. You know you want to surf.

You Don't Like Fish, You Say?

Fair enough.  I'll resist the urge to tell you, "If you try it this time, you might like it..."

But I will tell you, if you're on the border about fish, or you're trying to help a child like fish, having it shaped like a burger sure does help!  Why else do you think McD's goes through all the trouble?

That being said.  I made these garbanzo bean and fish burgers for dinner tonight and they were a HIT!  Even our little man ate an entire patty and he's not even one yet.  Our two-year-old ate with no complaints and my hubby had TWO.  

Combine that with the easiness factor and we now have another meal to rotate onto our summer menu.

Find the recipe here and leave me a comment so I know how you like them when YOU try them!

Refreshing

Two Refreshing "Must-Dos" For Yours and Mine:

1.Make homemade lemonade before the summer's over:

It's so easy...and less work and money than you might think...or might not think, considering 10-year-olds and younger routinely pull off this delicious treat whilst making the big $$$ on your neighborhood street corner.  Anyway, Lili helped me make it.  Here's how you should too:

-4 Lemons

-1/2c Sugar

-4-5c Water

Cut 3 lemons in half and squeeze juice into pitcher (you SERIOUSLY do NOT need a juicer thingy...just use your strong thumbs). Using a slotted spoon or small strainer, remove seeds from juice in pitcher.  In a separate glass measuring cup, or bowl, microwave about a cup of water for about 1min and 30sec.  Add 1/2c sugar to the hot water and stir until the water is clear (this is often known as "simple syrup" in the cooking world).  Add your simple syrup to your strained lemon juice and pour about 4c of cold water into your pitcher.  Taste and add more sugar or lemon juice to taste.  Finally, slice thin slices of your last lemon and add to your pitcher because it's BEAUTIFUL to do this and because it will keep your lemonade tasting lemonade-y.

2. Swim in a pool with kids.  Inflatable pools count.

Seriously.  Our inflatable pool has WAY earned back its meager investment.  Nothing like cooling off with your kiddos, or your brothers' or sisters' kiddos, or your friends' kiddos or, I dunno, even yourself in your own backyard.  Throw some hotdogs on the grill while you swim and it just might be your favorite evening of the week.

Ahhhh.  So refreshing.  I love you summer.

Up next: Alisa goes surfing. And doesn't die. :)

Happy Fourth of July!

Or rather, Independence Day.

I love this holiday.  Here's to hoping the kids don't get cranky and we get to see some fireworks tonight!

And here's to being crafty:

Lili and I will be wearing matching, patriotic headbands all day. (or at least I will...Lili will wear it until her little hands can't help but tear it off...)

Light a Lady Finger for me while you celebrate tonight!

June Favorites

WHEW!  I can't believe June is almost over already!  It's flown by.  I guess that's because we have so many wonderful things we're using/doing/seeing this month.  Here are a few of our favorites:

1. Beach Days!  Virginia Beach certainly has plenty to offer in the way of beach entertainment!  We've been loving heading out to the beach and just hanging out for a while until we feel like our skin is about to melt off from the heat....then we head on home.  Some things we're learning?  Don't eat handfuls of sand (Truett).  The waves aren't so scary, they're just kissing us (Lili). The sand is SUPER hot and you WILL end up carrying both kids down to the water, one on each hip, so be prepared to burn the soles of your feet off so bring another adult with you to carry at least one baby so you don't want to die (Alisa). Yay beach!

2.We love sunscreen.  Keep those white little babies white.  Arbonne Int'l has the best baby sunscreen I've found yet!  It's not oily and it smells great-and it keeps that perfect baby skin, well, perfect! You can get some by emailing my mama at louanngubserdesign@gmail.com.

3.Truett is standing now.  He can't quite get up on his own, but he thinks he's the best thing on two feet when he pulls himself up either on his crib or any other furniture, person, or dog that he can.  Needless to say, this new talent has been accompanied by a few new bruises on the poor baby's forehead.

4.Crafty mccraftiness!  I actually have finished sewing my quilt together!  I can't believe I actually did all the work to make that happen.  Just have to quilt it and then you'll get the scoop!  We also hit up Michael's for kid's craft stuff and now have a box full for those afternoons when it's just TOO hot to hit up the inflatable pool even on our own back porch.  I also aspire to make one of these adorable braided headbands sometime before the month is up.  I'm thinking maybe a red, white and blue one for July 4th!?  Want to make one too?  They look super easy, cheap and fast...all requirements on my typical craft checklist. Check out how to make one of your own with this tutorial.

5.Finally, my sister, Brittany is doing an awesome new "Blogshare Wednesday" that I think you might love.  Check out her blog faves every Wednesday here to see which new blogs you just have to add to your reader!

So I think I might have made up for my brief lull with such an overdose of awesome stuff today!  Enjoy it all and let me know which stuff you loved.

Love. Love.

Birthday. Bangs.

I'm twenty-five today.

I'm ready to do more. I'm ready to keep life exciting. And mark my words, I'm going to learn to surf this year.

Also, I'm going to rock bangs for at least a few weeks:

Busy May...Just Chillin' June

In May we had so many lovely trips!  Included in that list of trips was one to Gainesville Florida for our dear friends' wedding.  We had yet to make our pilgrimage after we left G'ville 4 years ago, so we packed our bags and headed back-WITH OUR TWO KIDS!  Liliana was a flower girl (as you can see above) and did a wonderful job in a gorgeous wedding.

Then we just chilled at THE SWAMP, home of the Gators. There we imbued our children with pride for our orange and blue. What a funny thing to revisit my college town for the first time with my two babies.  We had a blast.

We at almost all of our favorite college haunts, including:

-Sweet Dreams Ice Cream

-Sonny's Real-Pit BBQ

-El Indio

-Publix (their sub sandwiches have few rivals)

-Angie's Subs (Jax)

We even took a short tour of the stadium, just to reminisce. It was lovely.  Thank you Gainesville, for sending our May out right.  We love you.  :)

Mommy McMommerson

I don't know this baby. That's why I blacked out its eyes.

I want my baby's to have this tattoo. I think it would make a lovely mother's day gift for next year.

This past Sunday was Mother's Day, as I'm sure most of you know.  I had a particularly amazing one, thanks mostly to my wonderful husband.  (Both my mini's were wielding jewelry from Forever 21, and my hubby got me a new bathing suit from H&M!)


Our friend Wayne Patterson preached on Sunday too, which added to the great day.  He talked about idolizing his Mom in a subtle way growing up, and how she, in some ways, idolized him and her role as a mother.  The main crux of his point was the day she realized it, repented and put God first.  I don't know that that was part that convicted me, rather, the part where he said, "You love your children and your families best when you as a mom love God first, intentionally."


Ooooo.  Burn. 


I feel so busy. I feel so overwhelmed. I am so busy.  I have at least one child talking to me at nearly every moment of the day. I don't have time to sit down and talk to God every day.  I don't have time to pray. I don't have time to read my Bible. Me, me, me, me, blah, blah, blah, blah.


YES I DO.


The best part about my revelation and repentance this week is that, it isn't out of duty that I'm choosing to make time for my God. I'm choosing to because I believe God is big enough to make time for me to make time for him (catch that?). I also genuinely want to go deeper, to have my well filled up so I can pour out to those around me (primarily my family) the LIFE GIVING love of Christ that I receive as his follower.  I've been so empty lately, feeling dragged down by not truly understanding what I have to offer, or what I have to fulfill.  


Jesus fills me.


Anyway, I could write volumes on this...and maybe one day I will, God willing.  But for now, I wanted you to know that I'm CHOOSING to take time out of today to intentionally love God and hear from him.  It probably won't be 30minutes of quiet time (hahah...quiet time...hahahaha).  It probably won't be 15 minutes.  But it will start today with at least some time.  And tomorrow I'll choose the same thing.  And I'll keep going like that and let Jesus draw me.


Ask me about it, keep me accountable.  And if you're feeling adventurous, join me in my efforts to know God more...the few mommy-minutes a day we have to ourselves...In fact, I know that those of you without kids struggle to find time for God too...you join me in your student-minutes, driving-minutes, work-minutes, tooth-brushing-minutes...whichever minutes you can spare.  Let's start small and see where this goes.


Pray a prayer. Say a scripture. Talk to God and listen for his voice.


I am the best mom when I love God first.
I am the best wife when I love God best first.
I am the best Alisa Kelleen when I love God best first.


I love it.

Curls

I love curling my hair.  It makes me feel so feminine and put together-despite the fact that spending the evening before in curlers makes me feel exactly the opposite. Ha!

Anyway.  Today my hair is long and curly and I love it.

I'll be 25 in less than a month and I'm trying to come up with a list of things I want to accomplish, do, be, understand by the time I'm 30.  Wanna join the fun?  Just leave a suggestion in the comments...

Wedding Season!

Sorry for the delay in posting.  We were preparing for and attending our first wedding of WEDDING SEASON!

Liliana was the flower girl for Tommie's mom's wedding in Colorado this past weekend.  It was beautiful and Lili did a great job!

In a few weeks Lili will get to perfect her skills as she's the flower girl in the wedding for our friends Bethany and Wayne in Gainesville, FL.  I'm psyched!

Here are some photos of our first wedding of the season:

Chicken and Apples

This post is long overdue. 

A few weeks ago, I asked you if you had any good recipes to take your groceries just a little farther.  I got a BUNCH of great recipes and I plan to try many more of the ones you suggested.

For the first one though, I tried David Buckmaster's CHICKEN.

He said that after 4hrs at 275 degrees it would fall of the bone and be moist and delicious.

It did.  It was.

He also said it would last for many more meals than one, including a nacho meal.  

It did. 

Recognizing the fact that food pictures rarely turn out the way you want, just know that this shredded chicken pita rocked my world. You are a chef among men, Buck.  Also, I hope this was really your recipe and not your wife's because I'm giving you so many kudos.  But since you are married, we'll just assume credit goes to both of you.

In other food news, we had some friends over the other night.  Lili's job for setting the table was to bring out an apple to the table for each of us.  I handed them to her one by one in the kitchen and she took them out to the table. When we sat down to dinner, this is what we saw:

Each of the apples has a two-year-old girl sized bite mark in them.  :)

I guess she got moderately hungry each time on the long trip from kitchen to dining room.

We all still at the apples.

The Moon Daddy

Lili and I get precious time together often on Sunday nights.

We walk home from our neighbor's house where she and 8 other kids get babysat while we have small group at our house.

I get the privilege of hearing her explain her evening in all it's 2-year-old vocabulary glory while she marches down the street with her backpack on...it's the cutest thing you've ever seen.

Tonight as we were walking, the moon was starting to come out and she noticed...The following is the conversation we had about it:

Lili: "Mommy!  The moon is awake!"
Me: "That's right!  Hi moon!"
Lili:"Da moon is helping us to walk to my house, Mommy"
Me: "Ok.  Thanks moon!"
Lili:"Keep helping us walk to my house Moon. The Daddy Moon."
Me: "The Daddy Moon?"
Lili: "Yeah. The Daddy moon is helping us walk home. Mommy, when the moon comes down and goes under, you will be a moon and I will be a moon in the sky."
Me: "What do you mean? What?"
Lili: "When it comes down and goes under"

I know it's naturalistic and probably pantheistic, but could this be a taste of Heaven from my sweet baby's mouth?  To my knowledge, no one has told her ANY stories about the moon...maybe a picture of what Heaven looks like to a two-year-old.  I don't know.  But really, neither do you.  :)

Good night Daddy Moon.

iPhone App Pick-Me-Up

Truett is growing teeth. 

I'm growing tired.

Waking up at night to deal with this feels worse than when he was a newborn...how quickly we grow to love our sleep again...and miss it dearly when it's gone.

Good thing Tommie has the Stache-Tastic iPhone App to cheer me up. 

It also comes in handy when one of us is "just resting our eyes" during the afternoon lunch-hour/kiddo nap time.

Enjoy. I know I do.

Elegance...

I just know these will make even my cereal feel elegant.

I have a lighter blue one than even this one and I use it for everything.  At $5 a bowl, you wouldn't believe they're from anthropologie, would you?

I hope I get this set of six for my birthday.  

Makeshift Mealtime

It's March 30-two days left until Tommie gets paid and we can go grocery shopping again.  We NEED to go grocery shopping.

I'm down to the wire with my meals, making the very basics work until we can do something a little fancier again.  Tonight, we had Zatarain's Jambalaya with some hamburger meat saved from last night's burgers.  It tasted delicious.  Tomorrow night I'm planning stir-fry with a veggie mix from Trader Joe's.  Finally, on Thursday, just in case we don't make it to the store that day, we'll have falafel with pitas.

These are some of my standby, freezer-type meals that can last and don't require too many ingredients to make them happen when we're in a small bind.  They are yummy, but that being said, I wouldn't mind spicing things up a bit.

Do you have any suggestions for delicious meals that take your family down-to-the-wire on your grocery money?

I'm looking forward to trying one of your recipes in the next two weeks and blogging about it...

Things That Make Me Ready for Spring...

Daffodils next to my mailbox

My Sweet Daughter continually asking to play outside

My Little Boy who stops crying immediately when brought outside

Little Feet in Little Flops with her chosen color of "black" toenail polish

$1 helium mylar flower balloons from Dollar Tree

Sun on my face

My neighbor's pretty pink flowers