Loving this Life

Home

2012-02-05T10:57:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! I just got back from vacation & we had a great time! I just wanted to say hi! I hope to start blogging again soon, but I have a lot to catch up on. So for now here is a picture of me on the beach, getting tan, drinking a pina colada!

I'll be back with more soon!

On The Menu

2012-01-24T10:43:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been making this for lunch & it is so quick & really tasty! It is quinoa mac & cheese. I discovered this recipe from Tenley Molzahn's Twitter page. You may remember her from the Bachelor? Anyway she had a video about this recipe & as soon as I was done watching it I had to make it! I take 1/2 cup quinoa & 1 cup water & bring them to a boil.

Then I put a lid on the pot, reduce to low & let the water absorb for 10-15 minutes. Once it's done I put it in a bowl.

Then I add a little garlic salt & shredded cheese, then mix it together until the cheese is melted.

I'm telling you this recipe is so good! And it is pretty good for you too, assuming you don't load up with cheese. I'll admit that I like a lot of cheese! But I love making this for lunch or as a side with dinner. My husband loves it too! I wish I could say the same for my kids. They like it OK, but they love regular old mac & cheese from a box. If you have little ones, this might be a great thing to try. And quinoa is really good for you, it is a complete source of protein. And this recipe is Gluten free, if you are into that!

Let me know if you give this a try and if you have any other quinoa recipes!

January Photo A Day

2012-01-23T10:29:00.001-05:00

Hi everyone! Wow, it's been a while since I last blogged! I don't really have any excuses. We are still in the month of January & I am already failing at my resolution to blog more. But I am hoping to be better. I wanted to share a project that I have been doing this month. My best friend told me about it & I'm so glad she did! It is the January Photo A Day project. I have been sharing mine on Instagram & having a great time with it. I wanted to share some of the pictures I've taken.

I realize that January will be over soon & thought about posting this sooner. You can always join in for the last week if you want! But my friend Danielle posted this this morning! It is a February Photo A Day Challenge! I will definitely be doing next month's as well. It's been really fun taking pictures each day. And I love seeing what my friends post as well! I am jlg518 on Instagram if you want to check out my pictures! Let me know if you decide to do this challenge too!

Monkey Joe's

2012-01-09T16:31:00.001-05:00

Today my mom & I took the kids to Monkey Joe's. We got there right when they opened & there were only 2 others kid there! After a while more showed up, but for the first hour the place was pretty quiet. Both kids had a great time jumping & sliding!

It was a nice way to spend a rainy day. Thanks mom for taking us, the kids loved it!

On The Menu

2012-01-04T10:18:00.003-05:00

In my last post I mentioned one of my resolutions this year was to meal plan. So Monday night I made a chicken stir-fry with noodles & a peanut sauce. This was what was left over after dinner.

I cut up some chicken into chunks & cooked them in a skillet. When it was done I took the chicken out & cooked some onions, then added some edamame a few minutes later. I also had some whole wheat spaghetti boiling in a pot. I put the chicken & noodles back in the skillet & added a few spoonfuls of this peanut sauce. I tossed it all together & that's it!

It was pretty good. I think I will work on the peanut sauce. It tasted too much like peanut butter, I would like a more savory taste. I put some soy sauce on mine as I was eating & that helped. But I think this was a good dinner & didn't take long to make. You can add any vegetables that you like & substitute beef or pork for the chicken. I will be making this again!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to a new day, a new month, a new year! I can't believe a whole year has gone by! I feel like time keeps moving a little faster than it used to. 2012 will be a big year. Ella will turn five & begin Kindergarten, Kenton may start preschool as well & my days will be a lot different. But I'm getting ahead of myself! I want to say that I have really enjoyed the holidays this year. Yeah we were busy, but not as booked up as normal. We had time with each part of our family & we didn't feel like we were rushing around. And I have to say that this past week has been so relaxing! We have not done a thing & I've been loving it! No last minute shopping to do, no wrapping gifts the night before you give them & no more stressing. We've been sleeping in & the kids have been playing with their new toys. School starts back this week & I wish we had a little more time! It will be hard getting up early again :)

It is that time of year when people start making their resolutions. Of course you don't have to wait until January to make changes in your life. But something about starting over makes it a good time of year. We all have a fresh start, a clean slate & a brand new year to look forward to. So I thought I would share some of my goals for this year.

I've been wanting to get into running. I've never really liked it, but after watching Greg complete his first marathon last year I was inspired to try it. Especially since he burned so many calories & was eating whatever he wanted! So in order to get into a running schedule I signed up for my first 10K. I have a meeting next week & training starts at the end of January. I am doing the training program through the YMCA. I hope to run/jog most of it, we'll see if that happens! I will definitely be updating on my progress!

Along with running, I want to be more active & healthy. My training schedule will have me working out 4-5 days a week. But after that I hope to keep up 2-3 days per week. And I want to make smarter decisions with what I eat. I don't want to cut any food out of my diet or limit what I have. But I want to make better meals for myself so that I don't binge on junk food. And I want to be better at planning meals for the week & creating good grocery lists. When I have no idea what to make for dinner, I end up buying a bunch of stuff that I don't need & I end up making another trip to the store for things I do need.

As I mentioned above, Ella will be starting Kindergarten this year. I want to make more time to sit with her & practice writing & reading. She got the Leap Pad for Christmas & has been playing with it a lot! Spending some time each day would really be beneficial for her.

And this guy! He is so sweet & so smart! I hope to start potty training this spring. If anyone has advice for potty training boys I'd love to hear it!

This year I'd like to learn more about photography. I took a class 3 years ago, but I've forgotten a lot of what I learned. I'd like to get out of Auto mode more. When kids are playing there is not enough time to mess with the settings, the shot will be gone by the time I get my camera ready. So I shoot in Auto a lot. But I want to spend time practicing in Manual. My pictures will not get better or look the way I want unless I put in the time to learn & practice!

I want to spend more time on my blogs. I would like to post a couple times a week, so that it is consistent. I'm trying to figure out my place in the blog world. I wish I could take amazing photos & write up a beautiful story to go along with them. But I'm not much of a writer. And I'm not much of a photographer (yet!). I just want to be better at documenting our days & posting pictures that give people a glimpse of our life. And I've been having so much fun with my new blog, I have more ideas for posts there too!

The last thing is making more time for myself & time with Greg. I want more date nights, dinners out & movies on the couch. I also want to make sure I set aside time for me, to shop, read, run or whatever I feel like doing!

Overall I'm excited about the upcoming year. It is what you make it & I plan on making it a good one. Oh yeah, I also turn 30 this year! 2012 - bring it!

Our Christmas!

2011-12-28T13:44:00.000-05:00

This year we had a nice time celebrating Christmas with our family. Friday evening Greg's mom came over for dinner & to give the kids her gifts. Christmas Eve we were invited to our friends house. It was a last minute thing, but we had fun! Ella got to play with her friend while the grown ups played our own game! I won the annual Christmas Quiz!

We got home kind of late, but we made sure to leave out cookies & milk for Santa

The kids were so excited on Christmas morning! Kenton loved his fire truck from Santa. He kept saying "open, open!"

Ella was excited about her Lalaloopsy doll!

Just what Greg always wanted, an alarm clock! That was one of those not-so-fun-but-you need-a-new-one gifts :) He also got some running gear that he asked for.

And I got a mirror for my makeup table!

Ella is getting pretty good at her picture taking skills!

That afternoon we went to my parents house. It was so nice to spend Christmas with them. They have been living out of state for the past 5 years & they normally come to our house. But they moved back in May & they are here for good! I think my mom enjoyed hosting Christmas, especially since they had some renovations done.

My dad, me, my brother & my mom :)

After dinner & gifts, Greg & I got into a game of Super Marion Brothers on the Wii. It was so fun!! I remember my brother & I used to play nintendo all the time when we were younger. Greg & I had a blast playing together. It makes me want to get a Wii now! I'll keep you posted on that one ;)

Monday Greg's parents came over for dinner. So we were lucky enough to have three days of Christmas! We had a nice weekend! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas & continue to enjoy the week!

Santa & Christmas Cookies

2011-12-21T10:41:00.002-05:00

Monday night Santa made his annual visit to our neighborhood on a firetruck! I knew both kids would be excited, but each for different things. Ella hopped up & sat with Santa. This year she asked him for a Lalaloopsy doll :) Kenton did not want anything to do with Santa, but he loved the fire truck! And that is exactly what Santa is bringing him this year ;)

Yesterday I had my friend Leah & her kids over to decorate Christmas cookies. I think all the kids had a good time. The girls played really well together!

Kenton showed Walt all his trucks!

Right before they left I wanted a picture with all the kids. I wasn't sure if we could make it happen. But we got one!

Ella (4), Walt (6m), Ellery (almost 3!) & Kenton (2)

The kids had fun playing together & I enjoyed hanging out with Leah. Thanks for coming!!

Christmas Songs

2011-12-19T16:56:00.000-05:00

Today I thought it would be fun to post a list of my favorite & not so favorite Christmas songs. Every year the day after Thanksgiving I turn my radio to Lite 98 & listen to holiday music through Christmas day. I rarely change the station (unless one of those not so great songs comes on!). So I wanted to share some of my favorites with you!

* The Christmas Song - Nat "King" Cole
* God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Bare Naked Ladies
* Christmas Pipes - Celtic Woman
* O Holy Night - any version, but I do like the N'SYNC version!
* Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
* Do You Hear What I Hear? - Martina McBride
* What Child Is This? - Carrie Underwood
* Ding Dong Merrily On High - Celtic Woman
* Baby It's Cold Outside - Dean Martin
* Carol of the Bells - 101 Strings Orchestra
* Joy to the World - any choir
* Song for a Winter's Night - Sarah McLachlan

Now for the Not So Favorites

* Simply Having a Wonderful Christmas Time
* And So This is Christmas
* Do They Know it's Christmas After All
* Winter Wonderland - Eurythmics

I know this post is not too exciting, but Santa is visiting our neighborhood tonight in a fire truck! Both kids will be excited! Pictures to come :)

Looking like Christmas

2011-12-15T10:48:00.001-05:00

It's really starting to feel like Christmas at our house. And it should because it's just over a week away! Normally I like to decorate the week of Thanksgiving, but we were gone this year so things got delayed a bit. But once we got the lights up outside, it felt better!

Ella is out of school now until January. Yesterday was her last day. This morning was so relaxing! We slept in a little & I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast :) I am almost done with my shopping. I am still waiting for Greg's list. I told him I want to be done by Saturday. But I'm hoping I can get out tomorrow to finish. We also have no plans for this weekend, which I am excited about! usually our December fills up quickly. But it's been a low-key month so far. So I am ready to sit back & relax a bit before Christmas. We have plans next week to decorate cookies with Ella's friend. And we are having Tea with Santa next Thursday! Hope you are having a great week!

How we spent our Thanksgiving

2011-12-10T12:29:00.000-05:00

We were lucky enough to be invited on vacation with my in-law's over Thanksgiving. We went to the Cayman Islands with the whole family. Ella & Kenton really enjoyed playing with their cousin Noah. The place we stayed was pretty small, so the beach & pool were not crowded at all. We all had a great time!

We went to the turtle farm one morning & we got there early enough so it wasn't packed with people. The kids liked it, but Ella's favorite part was getting to hold the baby turtles :)

I was so afraid Kenton was going to drop one!

I had to take a picture of this! ;)

It was a wonderful vacation, we all had such a fun time!

Catch Up

2011-12-05T14:22:00.001-05:00

I've been a bit behind on my blogging lately. Here are some pictures I never got around to posting. Enjoy!

Ella & I went shopping one day

She got a hot chocolate from Starbucks, I'm starting her early!

Our friends had another Halloween party this year. Can you guess who we are?

Greg is Brett Michaels & I am Kelly Kapowski! We had so much fun, I can't post the pictures! :)

Ella was Sleeping Beauty this year.

Here she is drinking hot chocolate with the big kids. She had no problem sitting down with them. She loved being part of the group. It made me realize how fast she is growing up. Next year she'll be riding the bus to school with those kids *tear*

Kenton had a blast trick-or-treating! But I think he loved the hayride even more. Our neighborhood is so great. Everyone congregates at one house & all the kids hop on a tractor that takes them around the whole neighborhood. It's fun because they all get to go together. When we are done, our neighbors have hot chocolate & marshmallows to roast. The kids love it!

And I totally slacked on Kenton's costume. He just wore his Halloween shirt. I couldn't figure out what to dress him as & I honestly didn't feel like spending money on a costume. I know, I'm a bad mom! next year I will make it up to him!

We also went to visit the puppies one day. My in-law's dog had puppies so we had to see them. Ella liked them for a few minutes, then she was asking to go inside. Kenton was more interested in them & liked petting them.

They are so cute! But not cute enough to make me want to bring one home! They will be ready to go soon, so we should get to see them this weekend before they do.

There you have it, a little catch up!

New Blog!

2011-12-05T14:01:00.000-05:00

I've decided to start a new blog devoted to makeup & nail polish! It's called Mama Loves Mani's.

Go check it out! Thanks so much :)

Mani Monday

2011-11-28T14:45:00.001-05:00

Happy Monday! I'm sorry I missed Mani Monday last week. I was on vacation! More on that in a later post :)

Today I have Sweetheart Pink by Ulta. Since I was in tropical weather, I opted for a bright manicure! The color looks a little coral in this picture, but it is a nice bright pink. I snapped this with my phone so the quality is not that great.

This was a fun color to wear at the beach!

I feel like I have so much to catch up on, both in my life & on the blog! I have laundry to do, Christmas decorations to put up & a kitchen to clean. I also still have pictures to post from Halloween & a visit with some puppies. And of course I will have some pictures from last week! It may take some time, but I will get them all up. For now, I am going to drink some tea from my new Christmas mug while I clean the kitchen. Be back soon :)

Marathon

2011-11-15T16:35:00.001-05:00

This year Greg decided to run the Richmond Marathon & it was this past Saturday. He started training in June. He went downtown every Saturday morning for training runs & got up early several times each week to run as well. It was a big commitment for him & he had a few injuries along the way. But he kept with it & finished with a time of 3 hours 35 minutes! That is awesome, especially for his first marathon!

I had a great view of the finish line from a parking deck.

Ella said she wanted to run a marathon to get a gold medal!

Greg did such a great job & was so happy to see us cheering him on at the finish line! He is already thinking about what he would do differently next time :) I'm sure another marathon will be in his future. Great job babe! We are so proud of you :)

Mani Monday

2011-11-14T13:32:00.001-05:00

I'm back with Mani Monday! Last week I was traveling home from Arizona. Then that night I got the stomach flu & was out of commission for a couple days :( It was a nasty bug that made its way through most of the bridal party & Janay's family.

But I'm back now with a color that I've had for a couple years now. When I first got it, this color was out of my comfort zone but something inside made me buy it. Maybe my inner nail polish junkie knew some day I would love it! It is Blazing Blue by Sally Hansen.

It is a really nice dark navy shimmery blue. I love it & I'm so glad I was able to use an older nail polish. I like rediscovering things I already own :)

I have a lot more to catch up on such as Halloween, new puppies & the marathon. I'm hoping to get caught up this week. Until then, have a great rest of your Monday!

Wedding!

2011-11-11T10:32:00.001-05:00

I know it has been a while since I posted anything, but I was out of town for my best friend's wedding!

I flew to Arizona last Thursday for 5 days to celebrate Janay's wedding :) I had a wonderful time & it was a little sad to come home! Janay & I have been best friends for 15 years. And even though we live so far apart, it feels like we always pick up where we left off. This girl makes me laugh & we always have the best time! I was so excited to not only be at her wedding, but also stand beside her as her maid of honor.

I don't have too many pictures from my trip. We were super busy getting all the final details done. We didn't even have time for our regular shopping/eating excursions! But I will post some soon. I am also hoping to get some from the other bridesmaids. But my friend from high school, and fellow blogger Danielle was also at the wedding. She got some great pictures of the ceremony! So be sure to check them out here, and you'll see why we were so busy!

The wedding was beautiful & I think it all turned out just how Janay wanted. The newlyweds are now honeymooning in Maui & I'm looking forward to hearing all about their trip :)

Congratulations Danny & Janay!

Mani Monday

2011-10-31T10:36:00.002-04:00

Good morning everyone! Happy Halloween! This is the day my daughter has been waiting for all month! She is super excited to go trick-or-treating tonight. I just hope the rain holds off until after we are done!

I had plans to do a really fun multi-colored mani today. But I just didn't feel like putting in the time knowing that I would only wear it today. So I picked one of my new polishes to wear, that is perfect for Halloween!

This is called Owl's Night & it's from the Project Runway collection by L'Oreal. I searched high & low for this polish about a month ago & everywhere I went it was sold out. But last week I went into Walgreens looking for something else & there was one little bottle sitting all by itself. So I brought it home with me!

I love this color! I'm not really even sure what color it is. I think it is a black base with lots of green & gold shimmer.

I thought this was appropriate for Halloween, but will be great all Autumn long! Have a safe Halloween night! I'll be back soon with pictures from all our Halloween festivities!

Two

2011-10-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

This year for Kenton's birthday we decided to keep things low key. We had a cookout last Sunday with our parents & siblings (We missed you Aunt Jen, Uncle Walter & Uncle Andy!)

It was a relaxing way to hang out with our family & celebrate Kenton turning two!

Ella, Kenton & cousin Noah. It can be a challenge to get them to all look at the camera & smile!

Then on his birthday we took Ella to school & had some mommy/Kenton time :)

Ella took this picture!

Our first stop was Starbucks for some "cho-cat nilk" & a cake pop

Then we went to Toys R Us to walk around & pick a toy.

He refused to wear his birthday crown!

After lots of looking, we needed to hit the road so I gave him this puzzle & he seemed to like it!

By the end of the morning he was exhausted!

We had a fun day celebrating his birthday.

So here is a little update on Kenton at 2 years old:
* He is talking a lot! It is so cute to hear his little voice. When he asks for things he will usually say "pease?" and when I give him something he tells me "thank you mommy" :)

* He loves chocolate!! He will ask for chocolate milk & hershey kisses everyday

* He loves his big sister. He follows her everywhere & always wants to be doing what she is doing. Sometimes the two of them go up to Ella's room & they just play. I always keep checking to make sure they are not in any trouble, but I love that they can play together.

* They also get in trouble together. The other night Greg & I were at the table talking after dinner, the kids were playing. We didn't know what the kids were up to, then Ella came in to talk to us. So we chatted with her for a few minutes, then wondered what Kenton was doing. He was in the other room inside Ella's fairy tent eating cake!! Ella snuck the cake out of the kitchen into her tent & the two of them went to town! So we will have to keep our eye on them both!

* Kenton loves tractors, trucks, cars, buses, trains, anything that goes! He gets really excited in the mornings when he see the bus come down the street.

* He is starting to like watching shows with Ella. He will watch whatever she is watching. But he likes to keep his toys close by to play as well.

He seriously is the cutest little boy (hey, I'm his mom!) He is so sweet & is usually pretty happy! He does have a little temper & will throw things & cry when he doesn't get what he wants. But it's not hard to snap him out of a bad mood. I look forward to what the next year will bring! Whatever it is will be exciting :)

Found!

2011-10-28T15:03:00.003-04:00

http://www.nbc12.com/story/15900695/robert-wood-jr-found-alive

The missing boy that I posted about the other day has been found alive!! About 30 minutes ago the search ended after he was found by a quarry near the park where he went missing. He has been taken to the hospital for medical attention. They have not reported on his condition yet. He was missing for 5 days & unbelievably he survived! I've thought about that poor child each night before going to bed & prayed that he would be found. I'm so glad that our community has some good news this afternoon. It's amazing how many people helped look for him over the past few days. Hopefully we'll hear more about his condition as the night goes on. But I know that people all around here are so happy right now!

Candy Corn Nails!

2011-10-28T12:43:00.001-04:00

Well it is officially Halloween weekend & I'm so excited! We have a couple things going on this weekend & I wanted to get in the Halloween mood. It started yesterday with Ella's Fall Festival & Party at school. I was signed up to help, so Wednesday afternoon I did candy corn nails. I thought the kids would like it. But I actually got quite a few compliments from the adults!

This was really easy to do. I used Sun-Sational by Ulta and Hazard & Snow Me White by Sinful Colors. Any yellow, orange & white that you may have would work. I know Sally Hansen makes a yellow polish as well. You could find all these colors at the drugstore. There's still time before Halloween!

I painted all my nails orange, except my ring finger, which I painted white. After my nails were dry I painted yellow at the base of my ring finger. I let that dry, then went back & painted an orange stripe in the middle, covering up where the yellow & white met.

I think overall it turned out pretty cute! And everywhere I went yesterday people told me how cute it was & asked if I had it done somewhere! If you wanted, you could make each nail a candy corn, but I like this look. And it would take a lot more time to do each nail that way.

I still have another Halloween manicure that I want to try, so look for that one on Monday. Let me know if any of you try this or any other Halloween manicure! Have a great weekend :)

Happy Birthday Kenton!

2011-10-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

2 years ago at 9:52 in the morning, this little guy was born. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by! Looking back at these pictures of him as a baby makes me really miss that time. But he has grown up into such a sweet little boy! I am so lucky to call him my son :)

Hours after Kenton was born & we already look exhausted!

Several days old, relaxing at home

Our first photoshoot, October 31, 2009

3 months old

9 months

Sleeping with his monkey

Kenton on his 1st birthday

One of his favorite things is riding on the "tractor"!

He also loves to color :)

The past two years have been so wonderful & I'm so excited to celebrate his birthday today. Lots more to come from his special day! Happy birthday Kenton!!

On my mind

2011-10-25T16:15:00.003-04:00

http://www.nbc12.com/story/15869383/hanover-sheriffs-office-maximum-number-of-volunteers-reached

This little boy has been on my mind all day. He is nine years old. He went missing Sunday afternoon. That means he has been all alone for 2 days & 2 nights. 2 cold nights. Thousands of people showed up to volunteer to help search for him this morning. I just can't help but think what if that was my child? Alone, cold, scared, hungry. I hope that he is found before the night is over. Please keep him & his family in your thoughts & prayers. I will be hugging my babies a little tighter tonight when I tuck them in their warm beds.

Mani Monday

2011-10-24T16:51:00.005-04:00

Hello everyone! It's that time of the week! Today's color may not be one you associate with Fall. But it is metallic, which is popular right now. It is called Rage by Orly. It is a nice shimmery rose gold.

The lighting in this picture is too dark, but I think you can really see how much this polish shines & sparkles!

I think this color would work well during the holidays, like on New Years Eve. And it would be pretty in the summer too.

But as always you should wear what you like when you like! If you want to wear a bright pink in the dead of winter, do it! A dark purple in June? Why not!

I really like this color & I'm so glad I got it. I had been looking at it in the store for a while. I actually went to Ulta one day in search of another Orly polish & saw that they were on sale. So I took it as a sign to finally get this one too :) I'll post the other polish soon.

But I have a couple Halloween looks coming up this week!

Morning at the Park

2011-10-22T10:27:00.003-04:00

Friday morning I decided to take the kids to the park. We hadn't been in a while & I thought I should take advantage of the nice weather! It was a little cool to start, but soon enough it will be in the 50's then 40's & I'm not a big fan of the cold! So I'm trying to enjoy the 60's as long as they last!

Kenton got up on the slide all by himself, but didn't want to let go! Once I held his hand, he loved it!

After we played for a while we took a walk through the woods to see the river.

I told Ella to be on the lookout for fall colored leaves :)

The James River

I would love to go back in a few weeks when all the trees have turned colors!

Ella wanted to hold Kenton's hand on the way back. So cute!

I told Kenton to say cheese!

The kids had a great time & it was nice to get out of the house. We will be planning a few more park mornings soon!

Vlog!

2011-10-22T09:59:00.001-04:00

Hey guys! So on Thursday I decided to make a video of my morning. It's not too exciting, but I thought it would be fun to document what we do. So here you go!

I may start doing these little vlogs more often! Hope you enjoy!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Sunday afternoon we went to the pumpkin patch to pick a few pumpkins. The kids had fun walking around! I can't believe that we are more than halfway through the month! And I really can't believe that Kenton will be 2 in one week!! The time is just flying by & I wish it would slow down! But it keeps going & we are trying to enjoy each moment as they come :)

Enjoy!

On Our Own

2011-10-18T10:58:00.000-04:00

Last week Greg was out of town. And I have to figure out a way to keep us occupied for 5 days! So we relaxed with some Olivia in the afternoons.

I cleaned my kitchen, which had gotten way to messy

We colored

And we made M&M cookies!

We also met my parents on Friday night for dinner & ice cream!

Overall the week went smoothly. But I'm glad Greg is back!

Mani Monday

2011-10-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

Good morning! So last week was a little busy for me. Greg was out of town most of the week, so I didn't feel like spending any free time I had blogging. But I have some pictures to share from our week. And we all went to the pumpkin patch yesterday afternoon!

But for now I have today's Mani Monday! This color is called Bronze Ablaze by Sally Hansen. It is a bronze-y copper metallic color.

And in certain light in can look very green. Before I bought this polish I googled it to find swatches & in a lot of the pictures it had that green tint to it. It reminded me of Butter London Wallis. This was a color I really wanted during the Ulta sale, but they did not have it.

Now I don't want to say this is a dupe for Wallis, but they are similar & I see no need to try & get Wallis now. I mean if someone gave it to me I would love that!! But Bronze Ablaze was only $5, Wallis is $14.

I got this polish at Walgreens. It was in a separate display & I went to a couple stores before I found it.

But I love it & is perfect for this fall season!

Mani Monday

2011-10-10T15:11:00.001-04:00

Happy Monday to you all! Today's color is not a fall nail color, but it's everywhere right now. As you know it's breast cancer awareness month so I decided to make my nails pink. The color I'm wearing in Encore Pink by Ulta.

On my ring finger I wanted to add some glitter. So first I added a coat of The Gold & the Beautiful by Wet N Wild. Then as I was putting away my polish I remembered I had a pink glitter that would have been perfect. Instead of starting over, I just added a coat of that as well. The pink glitter is Strobe Light by Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear.

Here is the pink with just the gold on top

This was a nice change from all the dark colors I've been wearing. But I'm definitely not sick of them yet! And I'm excited to do a couple Halloween manicures as well!

State Fair

2011-10-07T11:30:00.000-04:00

Wednesday afternoon we went to the State Fair. The first year we took Ella she was about 18 months old. We didn't get there until 5 or so. But we had such a great time! It was the perfect amount of time to see all we wanted to see. It's not as busy through the week. And I love getting there in the early evening, so it's not hot. Then it starts to cool down as it gets darker & you get to enjoy all the lights of the midway. So that has been our tradition! We always go on a Wednesday or Thursday & try to get there around 5, plus the tickets are a little cheaper after 5 too!

This year we had a great time! I made sandwiches before we left so we wouldn't have to buy dinner there. We decided to check out all the animals & tractors first, then hit up the midway last. Both kids had fun seeing all the animals & even petting a few. And Kenton loved running around with Ella. I did not bring my big camera, so some of the pictures are not the best quality. But we did our best!

I asked Ella if she wanted to ride this little roller coaster & surprisingly she said yes! We watched it & waited in line. She was so excited when we were sitting there.

But then we took the first drop & she buried herself into me. I have to say it was pretty fast for a young kids roller coaster!

But she did it! Maybe next year she'll enjoy it more. At least I had fun :)

And no State Fair experience is complete until you have something fried! In my case I went with the classic funnel cake :) Ella & Kenton helped me it it too!

What better way to kick off October & Fall with the fair! Next stop.....Pumpkin Patch! Stay tuned :)

September Favorites!

2011-10-04T15:43:00.001-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXtpuYtvIQA

Check out my YouTube video to see my favorites for the month of September!

Mani Monday

2011-10-03T07:30:00.000-04:00

Good morning! Today's mani monday is not too exciting. I had a manicure on Saturday in preparation for my big event that evening.

It was a formal affair so I decided to stick with something classic & something that would go well with my black dress. It was an OPI polish but I can't remember the name of it.

I met my friend Jesica that morning to get a mani/pedi. The pedicures were good, but it all went downhill with the manicures. First of all they didn't even sit us next to each other for our manicures. Jesica got started first & already had someone next to her. Then when they took me to my chair, the lady got up to wax someone's eyebrows. So I waited about 10 minutes before she finally came back. So she started but seemed like she was rushing through it. Then she would mess up & have to clean up the polish around my nails. And she kind of gave me attitude & acted like it was my fault! Then she asked my if I bite my nails. Seriously?? I said no, but wish I would have said more! She told me my nails were too short. What?? I was so annoyed! Once she was done I realized that she filed my nails round, which I don't like, but she never even asked me how I wanted them.

So I will not be going back to that place & will make sure to tell people not to go there!

That is one of the things I hate about getting manicures. They don't usually last that long & it stinks when they don't do it right. I could have given myself a decent manicure at home & saved some money. Oh well, live & learn right! I'm sure I will be changing my polish in a couple days anyway. I picked up a few colors this weekend ;)

SAVOR the White House

2011-10-02T17:56:00.001-04:00

Last night Greg & I got to attend a State Dinner!!!

OK not really. But it was a charity event that was modeled after the White House State Dinner. It was a black tie event & very fancy :)

Here we are getting ready to meet his parents, who kindly invited us to attend with them. It was so fun to get dressed up!

The event was held at a very fancy country club & I was so excited to be able to go there. First there was a cocktail hour & silent auction. When it was time for dinner, we were escorted to the ballroom by a woman playing the bagpipes! Then we were asked to remain standing behind our chair until the "President & First Lady" made their way into the room. This is standard protocol at a State dinner. We were not quite sure who would becoming through the doors. It turned out to be a Bill & Hillary look a like!

One of the chefs responsible for the dinner that evening was the former pastry chef at the White House, Chef Roland Mesiner. He was at the White House for 26 years. So he had lots of stories to tell!

We had a four course meal and each course was one served at a past State Dinner. And we got a wine pairing with each course.

After dinner there was a live auction, which was pretty entertaining! Then there was the after party with a live band. We rode with some other people who were ready to call it an evening. But we had a wonderful night & really enjoyed ourselves! We feel lucky to have been able to experience something like that.

Blog Help

2011-09-30T15:17:00.003-04:00

Hey blogger friends! So I was thinking it would be cool to have a link in my sidebar for all my Mani Monday posts, but I'm not quite sure how to do it. Can anyone help me? I am a little blogger-challenged!! Thanks!

Photos on a Friday

2011-09-30T10:34:00.002-04:00

I can't believe it is the last day of September! I am so excited because October is really the start of all the fun fall activities.

These are some pictures that I took a few weeks ago & never got around to posting, so here you go! Ella was given this ballet outfit by our neighbor & she was so excited to play in it. Hopefully next year we will get her signed up for dance.

And Kenton wanted in on the action too! This was his pose :)

And some spinning too!

I plan on bringing up all my Halloween decorations today, so exciting! This weekend we have some fun things planned, including an event that Greg & I are going to. A formal dinner as in black tie event as in Greg has to wear a tux & I had to buy a dress! I'm very excited & will definitely post pictures of that. Happy Friday & Happy almost-October :)

Mani Monday + a bonus!

2011-09-26T09:18:00.000-04:00

Hey everyone! We just finished a very busy weekend & I've decided that we are just going to chill out today. So here we go with today's mani monday!

This color is Chic Peek by Ulta. It is a dark brown with silver microglitter. It is an interesting color & I really like it. I would normally think that a brown polish should have gold in it, so the silver adds something different.

And now for the bonus :) Last week at Ulta they had a sale on their Butter London nail polish, buy one get one free. I was so excited because each polish is normally $14. I'm not sure could spend that much money on a bottle of nail polish. So I knew that this sale would be the best time to try it out. I looked online at their website to figure out what colors I liked, then googled them to find swatches. So I ended up with a few colors that I knew I would like to get.

When I got to Ulta I found one color that I wanted, but when I asked where the rest of the collection was the girl told me they don't carry the whole line, but the other Ulta in my area did. So I decided to drive to the other store in hopes of finding the colors that I wanted.

Well you can guess what happened, the one color I really wanted that was at the first store, was not at the second! So I ended up picking 2 different colors. Here is the first one.

Fash Pack is a taupe with a little shimmer running through it, however the shimmer does not show up too much on the nail.

I like this color but once I got home I realized that I have a couple other polishes very similar to this color. So I wish I had picked something a little more unique. The second color I got is a beautiful dusty blue called Victoriana. I will be swatching this soon so stay tuned for that.

In case you are wondering the main color I wanted is called Wallis. Maybe I'll ask for it for Christmas! I will definitely be on the look out for another sale like that. And I'm excited to see what new colors Butter London comes out with in the spring!

Mani Monday

2011-09-19T07:30:00.000-04:00

Today's color is one of those colors either you love or you hate. Of course I love it! It is called Trendsetter by China Glaze & this is one of the colors from their fall Metro Collection.

When I first saw this color on a blog a few months ago I remember thinking how ugly it was. But my taste in nail polish has changed dramatically since then. I love trying out new colors & I am not afraid to think outside the box of pinks, reds & nudes.

This has been described as a mustard yellow (which is going to be a big color this fall, BTW) but it really looks olive green on me.

These bottom pictures were taken in the sun & you can see the gold shimmer that is throughout the polish

I love everything about this color & I'm so excited that I stepped out of the box to try something different. I love the warm tones for the fall and I think this would be pretty in the spring too!

Feel free to leave a comment & let me know of other unique shades you may have tried!

Back to School

2011-09-13T18:40:00.001-04:00

Today was Ella's first day back at preschool & it went off without a hitch. This is old hat to us & she was very excited to get back!

It feels good to be back in the swing of school again, even though my alarm clock went off pretty early this morning! It was like we picked up right where we left off. We even managed to get to school about 10-12 minutes early & we were first in the carpool line. There were no problems, no tears & no anxiety about today.

We met her teacher yesterday & found out that she has two friends from last year in her class again. She will be learning a lot this year & will even be bringing homework home to work on! But I am excited for all the things she will learn to get her ready for kindergarten next year *sniff sniff!

She will be going three days a week, so it will be an adjustment. Mostly for me because me & early mornings sometimes don't go together. But we are moving on & I am thankful we still have two days a week to ourselves, because next year will be a whole different ballgame!

So bring it on Pre-K! We are ready!

Mani Monday

2011-09-12T07:30:00.000-04:00

Good morning everyone! Today we are headed to the Open House at Ella's preschool. She is excited to meet her teacher & see who is in her class, before school starts tomorrow! But for now enjoy today's Mani Monday!

Today's color is Moody Blues by Ulta.

In case you are wondering why most of these colors have been Ulta brand, here's the story. I picked up a few here & there over the past month or so. And now through the 24th they are all on sale for $2! They are normally $6. So when a sale calls I answer!

On my latest trip to Ulta I went with the intention of getting a color called Blue Streak. It is a nice deep cobalt blue. I looked at swatches online & really wanted to get it. But of course they were out of it. So I got Moody Blues instead. It is darker than the other one, but still really pretty.

It is dark navy & what I love about this color is that you can actually tell it's navy blue. Sometimes with dark colors they can look black on your nails. So I love how blue this is. (BTW please excuse my messy application!)

So far I really like this color! I still plan on getting Blue Streak, so I will have to check the other Ulta in my area. And if you've never tried their nail polish now is a great time to stock up!

And one quick tip: If there is a nail color you are interested in, just Google it & look under the images tab. You will be able to see other people who have used it & see what it looks like on their nails. Sometimes what a polish looks like in the bottle is not what it looks like on your nails.

Never Forget

2011-09-11T15:26:00.001-04:00

I've been feeling a little emotional today. Usually 9/11 comes & goes for me, with not too much thought. Of course we all think about it as the day rolls around each year. But something is different for me this time around. Maybe because it is the 10th anniversary. And I feel like we've been hearing a lot more about this day of remembrance. I just got done watching the Dateline all about 9/11 that I recorded on Friday evening. I normally don't watch much about the event. It always makes me cry. But I decided to sit down by myself & watch. I think I have a better understanding of what really went on that day. And now I'm married with my own kids. I can't help but imagine what all those people were going through.

Photo credit here

I remember exactly where I was on that day, as I'm sure we all can. I was at home, sleeping in. I had no idea what was going on. I didn't have class until this afternoon. I wanted to watch something on TV & was a little annoyed that whatever I was trying to watch was being interrupted by the news. Again, I didn't really know what was happening. So I decided to head to Dollar Tree. On the way there I was listening to the radio & starting to get that something big had happened, but still not really sure of the details. And in the store they were listening to the news as well. I started to feel guilty, like why in the world was I shopping during a crisis? I headed home, then had to go to class. I'm not sure why I even went, I should have stayed home. I thought for sure that our teacher would cancel class, but she didn't. So finally I went home for the evening & just sat in my room watching the news & crying. There was only so much I could take. It was hard for me to hear all the stories. To this day I can not watch something about that day without it bringing tears to my eyes.

So I've been feeling a little mellow today. I guess I'm just thinking about all those lives lost, all the people who survived & all the families. I think it is good to remember. But I also think we can't dwell on it either. Life goes on & moves forward. The children who lost parents have grown up. Some are turning 10, some are starting junior high, some are graduating high school & some are getting married. So today we remember, but we will never forget....

Feeling Like Fall

2011-09-07T17:07:00.002-04:00

I hope you all had a nice holiday weekend. Ours was nice & pretty low key. Unfortunately I don't have many pictures. But I'll share what I have!

Friday morning we invited Ella's best friend Reagan over to play. She used to live across the street, so it was fun to get them together again. They played so well the whole time & Kenton played with them too! Here are the girls when they dressed up, I think they were going to a wedding :)

Saturday we spent the morning doing a few things around the house, then my parents came over for dinner. We hadn't seen them in a while so it was nice to spend time with them.

Sunday we got up early, got ready for church & actually got there on time, only to discover that it was Family Life Day & there was only one service at 11:15. So instead of killing time for 2 hours, we went home. I actually got to go out for a while by myself, so that was fun! Then in the afternoon we went to Greg's parents house. Ella & Kenton decided to wear sun hats to the pool!

Monday Greg & his dad had a hunting day planned so Lynn & I took the kids to the outlet mall. It was pretty busy & Kenton had had enough by the end. But we got some cute fall clothes for both of them.

Ella is modeling her new skinny jeans. It old her to pose & this is what she came up with!

It was a nice end to summer. All the kids went back to school on Tuesday & Ella starts preschool next week. It has been cold & rainy the past two days. So it has really been feeling like fall! Although we got soaked after our trip to Sam's Club yesterday. I ventured out again this morning to go to Ulta. It wasn't raining at our house, but as soon as we got on the highway it started. I had planned on stopping at Target as well, but just went to Ulta. When we got there it wasn't raining, but as soon as we all got out of the car it started up again. I got what I needed in Ulta, then the sky let loose! So we decided to kill some time in the mall hoping the rain would let up.

I think it's supposed to be like this the rest of the week & of course I have places to go each day. But I'm loving the cooler temperatures! If only we could lose the rain & keep the temps!

Mani Monday

2011-09-05T04:30:00.000-04:00

Happy Labor Day!! I hope you all are enjoying your last weekend of the summer!

Today's color is called Taupe on a Rope by Ulta. It is a dark brown-taupe color with some golden olive shimmer in it.

I really love this color! And in certain light it can look like an olive green, which I love :) I'm wearing two coats, but I think you could get away with one good coat.

Happy Manicuring :)

Happy Fall!

2011-09-01T11:31:00.001-04:00

OK, so technically it's not Fall yet, but that doesn't stop me from busting out the autumn decor every September 1st! I absolutely love this time of year. There are so many fun things going on & lots of upcoming events to get excited about. Today I brought out my fall centerpiece for my kitchen table.

And I've been burning this yummy-smelling candle from B&BW

I've been adding pumpkin syrup to my coffee

And let's not forget the soap!

So Happy Fall everyone!

Irene

2011-08-31T15:51:00.000-04:00

The weekend was pretty crazy. But luckily Greg & I got a date night on Friday. We went to dinner at Plaza Azteca. It was fun to go out just the two of us, it had been a while!

Saturday is when Irene showed her face. I wasn't really sure what to expect. Some people were saying we would be hit hard, some said it wouldn't be bad at all. Well we were somewhere in the middle. Our power went out a couple times on Saturday, but not for more than a couple hours total. And we have a generator, so technically we had power the whole time, which was nice! However late afternoon our cable & internet went out :( And our phones lines were down as well. But I was able to cook dinner & watch a movie that night.

The next day I noticed I had no cell phone service. And Greg was busy with work stuff (more on that in a minute). So it was a boring day. But I remembered I had cake mix & an unopened can of frosting! So Ella & I made cupcakes :)

She poured in all of the ingredients, stirred it together & filled the cupcake liners.

Why lick just the spoons when you can lick the bowl too?

And the best part was eating them!

Just look at that sprinkle-y goodness!

We were lucky enough to have no damage from the storm. The worst was just losing cable/internet. Greg ended up being on call this weekend & seriously sat in one spot for the whole weekend taking phone calls & dispatching his men out. It was a crazy weekend & was glad to see Monday morning!

Mani Monday

2011-08-29T15:21:00.000-04:00

For today's look I decided to try an Ombre manicure. The word ombre means shaded or graduated in tone. So your nails range from light to dark.

For this look I used a deep purple from Sinful Colors called Let's Talk. So I painted my thumbs the color. Then I mixed a little white nail polish with the purple to get a slightly lighter shade & used that color on my index fingers. Then I added more white for the middle fingers & kept going until I ended up with the lightest shade on my pinkies.

I actually did this manicure twice, the first one didn't turn out so great. And I feel like the lightest shade didn't mix very well. You could always use five different colors, but I'm not sure I have 5 shades of one color. Or you could use two or three shades & add a little white as needed.

I thought this was a cool idea & was fun to try!

Nail Polish Haul

2011-08-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

I Feel the Earth Move

2011-08-23T18:54:00.000-04:00

Today was a first for me. I experienced my very first earthquake! That is something I never thought I would say. It was about 1:50 PM & I was watching Mad Men while the kids were napping. All of a sudden I felt the walls shaking. I had no idea what was going on. You know when you are sleeping & something wakes you up and you are so disoriented, you don't know what is happening? That's kind of how I felt. I thought it was an earthquake, but I had no idea. I also thought maybe our AC units were getting ready to explode! I just had no idea! But after a moment I ran upstairs to check on the kids & get them in a safe place. Ella was laying on her bed covering her ears. She wasn't totally freaked out she just knew something weird was happening. About that time it started to stop. Then the phone rang & it was Greg asking me if I felt that. At least I knew I wasn't crazy & I wasn't the only one who felt it! Then I checked on Kenton and he was fast asleep! It didn't even phase him :)

So I went back downstairs & started checking Facebook to see what everyone was saying about it. Turns out it was a 5.9 earthquake out of Mineral, VA which is not too far from us.

We are all OK and there was no damage! What a day! There still may be aftershocks, but I'm prepared & know what I need to do. Now people are talking about Tremor Envy! Those who were in the area of the earthquake, but somehow didn't feel it. I sure felt it & I will never forget it!

And I have one more thing to add to Kenton's baby book, Baby's First Earthquake :)

Mani Monday

2011-08-22T13:25:00.000-04:00

This week's color for Mani Monday is called Concrete Evidence by Ulta. It's a light gray. I love this color!! It's a great neutral for fall because it is a cool tone & not too dark.

This is one of my new faves!

On the Menu

2011-08-19T10:44:00.000-04:00

A couple nights ago I decided to branch out & try something different for dinner. I had some salmon burgers in the freezer & thought I would put them over a kale salad. I've never had it before but it's supposed to be really good for you. So before my grocery trip this week I looked up how to make it. I found a simple recipe from the Whole Foods website. I added the juice of one whole lemon & it was a little too much for me. Next time I would use 1/2. And I didn't measure out the chili powder, I just sprinkled some in. But this is a good starting place. You can always add any dressing you like & play with the flavors. Overall I liked it & would get it again, especially for my lunches during the week.

I bought a small bunch of kale, I got this at Walmart & it was $0.98. They also sell big bags of chopped kale, but I wasn't sure I would like it & didn't want to waste it.

I removed the leaves from the stems

Then chopped it all up & put in it my salad spinner to rinse

Meanwhile I made the dressing: olive oil, lemon juice, chili powder & salt

Then pour over the kale & toss with your hands. It's best to really work the dressing into the kale so it's all coated. Also this salad holds up really well to dressing, it doesn't get soggy. I dressed the kale & let it sit for 20-30 minutes before we were ready to eat.

Then I placed the salmon burgers on top & added some sauteed onions on the side!

Happy eating!

Zoo Day!

2011-08-17T10:54:00.000-04:00

Yesterday my mom & I took the kids to the zoo. It's something we've talked about doing & yesterday the weather was nice enough to be outside.

Kenton loved watching the monkeys. His favorite stuffed animal is a monkey so I knew eh would enjoy them!

Ella really wanted to feed the giraffes! That was her mission for the day. The last time she was at the zoo was 2 years ago & she did not want to go near the giraffes.

Funny how things change!

Kenton liked the animals. He was curious about them, but when they stuck their heads out he would back up. He liked them from afar!

Ella loved feeding the goats as well

We took a train ride around the zoo

Kenton loved it!

We had a nice day at the zoo. The weather was really nice. It would get hot in the sun, but the shade was nice & there were breezes blowing as well. I would love to take them back again in the fall. Thanks Grandma for a fun time at the zoo!

Welcome to Mani Monday!

2011-08-15T08:30:00.000-04:00

I've decided to add a new feature called Mani Monday. Recently I've bought a few new nail polishes & I've been giving myself manicures each week. I mean the real deal, like filing my nails & taking care of my cuticles. And my nails have been looking really good! So I thought this would be a fun way to share my nail polishes & maybe inspire you to try some new colors! So without further ado, here is my first Mani Monday!

This week's color is Watermelon by Essie. I've had this color since last summer. But I decided to choose a bright color this week before I start getting into my darker fall colors. I also used Don't You Wish by Pure Ice as an accent on my ring finger.

Watermelon is exactly what you wold think, a nice pinky red

This picture makes it look more orange, but I wanted you to be able to see the glitter!

So if any of you have any great nail polish you would recommend let me know! And if you decide to post your own Mani Monday, leave a link in the comments!

Sale

2011-08-14T10:03:00.000-04:00

Hi everyone! If you are still reading my blog, thank you! I know I've been absent lately. But I'm planning on getting back into the blogging swing of things. I even have a new feature in mind called Mani Monday! So stay tuned for that. But for now I wanted to let you know that Sinful Colors nail polish is on sale this week at Walgreens for $0.99! They are normally $1.99 & I have a few that I really like. So I will definitely be hitting up Walgreens for a few more. I think you need their card, so I will have to sign up. But I'm so excited! And I can feature them in my new Mani Monday posts!

See you tomorrow :)

Lazy Days

2011-08-01T16:05:00.000-04:00

We've been enjoying the lazy days of summer. That is evident by the lack of blog posts & pictures. When summer started I had some big plans. I wasn't going to waste the summer away doing nothing. But that is pretty much what we've done. And I'm OK with that. I've gotten used to sleeping a little later in the mornings, finishing up breakfast around 9:30 & making my second cup of coffee around 10.

I wanted to make the most out of our summer. And we have done a few things I set out to accomplish. Like going to the library & taking Ella to the dollar store to pick out a surprise. But mostly we've been relaxing. Ella will be back to preschool in just over a month & our days will be busy again. These are the days when my kids are all mine. I can take them anywhere & we can do anything we want. Before I know it, they will be in school. And trips to the zoo will be planned around school vacations. Lazy days at home will only occur when one of my babies is sick. So for now I will take advantage of the fact that we can do anything. Our schedule is ours to make & if we want to stay in our jammies all day while watching Dora, then we will!

And now a few pictures (because posts without pictures are kind of boring!)

Me reading at the pool while the kids took a nap

Ella's tubing adventure

A little deer family having a snack in our yard

So in this last month of summer I hope to make it exciting & productive. And I have a few videos that I'm planning so stay tuned for those. Happy summer!

7th Anniversary

2011-07-19T12:48:00.000-04:00

On Sunday we celebrated our 7th anniversary! It's hard to believe that 7 years ago I walked down the aisle. We've had some great times & made some great memories. And we both feel like this past year has been the best. We know & understand each other better than we ever have.

We started out Saturday night with dinner at Ruth's Chris. A big thank you to my parents for keeping the kids overnight!

Sunday morning we woke up & headed up towards Charlottesville to check out some wineries. This is something we have been wanting to do for a while now. The first place we went to was Veritas.

Let the wine tasting begin!

After our tasting we sat on the patio with some wine & a cheese plate. We had a nice view of the fields. And we got lucky with the weather, not too hot with a nice breeze blowing.

On the way to the next winery I spotted Jessica Ln. I made Greg pull over so I could get a picture!

The second place we went was Afton Mountain Winery. Here we got a picture outside where they have weddings sometimes. The great thing about all these wineries is that you can walk right in & do a tasting.

The third & final vineyard we went to was Pollack Vineyard.

We had such a great time & would love to go back in the fall. When the trees change color & there is a coolness in the air, that would be perfect. I am excited just thinking about it!

M&M Math

2011-07-13T14:58:00.000-04:00

Ella & I played M&M math today. I thought this would be a fun way to learn and practice adding! She did really well. I spent about 5-10 minutes showing her how to count & add up all her M&M's.

Here she is counting "3+4=7"

The best part is at the end when you get to eat all your M&M's!

This was a fun, creative way to practice math & make it fun!

The Storm

2011-07-13T13:32:00.000-04:00

So last week about this time I had just put the kids down for a nap. The sky was dark & cloudy, rain had started to fall. I was so excited for a good thunderstorm. I settled in to watch The Tudors on Netflix, when I suddenly heard some loud cracks of thunder. I mean really loud! I actually checked to make sure the house didn't get struck by lightning. Pretty soon the cable was out along with the internet. I figured it was because of the storm & tried to find something else to occupy my time. I finally called later that evening & the girl told me there were no outages in my area (I was the only lucky one!) & she couldn't get anyone out until Monday. 5 days! I went ahead and got on the schedule, thinking surely this was storm related & it would all be back in the morning.

No such luck. I called again & tried to get it fixed faster. Despite telling me they "escalated" my request no one came early. It was a long 5 days! Of course we could still watch DVD's, but it felt pretty quiet around here. I told Greg one night that it felt like we had no power! But we made it through the weekend & I was so relieved on Monday morning. My time was 11-2. I wasn't really expecting the guy to come at 11. Do they ever come at the beginning of their time frame? He showed up around 12:45 & told me that the box outside my house had lightning damage. He replaced it & all was in working order in about 10 minutes! The only problem is that our HDMI connection is not working. He thinks that lightning messed up the port on our TV & he can't do anything about that. So we either need to have it fixed, get a new TV (I wish!) or hook up some other cables to have the same quality as HD. That of course means taking the TV off the wall. So it may take us a while to get that right again. But I can't complain too much, at least I have TV & internet again!

Why does this kind of thing always happen to me? I always encounter some problem or another with technology. Nothing seems to work just right the first time. There is always a catch somewhere!

Online

2011-07-11T17:19:00.000-04:00

I've been without TV or internet for the past 5 DAYS!!!! Which is why I haven't blogged recently. Although I have no excuse for the other few weeks, other than laziness. But I have a few posts coming soon! For now I am catching up on blogs & youtube videos. And I have a date on the couch with some mocha mudslide ice cream & The Bachelorette tonight!

Donuts, Weddings & Swimming. Oh My!

2011-06-12T18:50:00.000-04:00

Did you know that the first Friday in June is National Donut Day? I didn't either until I read it in my All You magazine. Lucky for me I saw it 2 days before & was able to celebrate it this year! So we headed to our local Dunkin Donuts. It was so fun!

Ella chose the pink frosted donut

Kenton went with a few munchkins

I had a chocolate frosted donut (Don't know why I didn't take a picture!) It was a fun treat & I may not be able to wait a whole year to do it again ;)

The next day we went to the pool. Kenton loves the water! We have dunked him a few times & it doesn't bother him at all. Ella played it safe that day, but has since come out of her shell. You'll see if you keep reading!

On Monday Ella started her "8-day blitz" swim class. She did it last year & it started out a little rough. But after it was over she was going under water like it was going out of style. Fast forward about 7 months with no time in the pool at all & she became a little intimidated again. So I signed her up early this year & she has done great so far!

Here she is after her first day.

This is Ella's teacher Miss Sarah (she happened to be Ella's teacher last year too! - totally random that we got her again!)

I took this photo from behind the fence with my zoom lens. I felt like a stalker. So I only took one. Maybe this week I can get a few more! But Ella is doing great & she is excited about class everyday.

This weekend Ella invited us to a weddin'. Eric & Ariel were gettin hitched! (Thanks Ellery, Ella loves her gift!)

Walking down the aisle

"You may kiss the bride!"

The happy couple

Ella caught the bouquet

Dad dressed up & wore a tie

And right after their wedding, they had a baby. I didn't ask any questions, we just went with it!

Ella likes to get up early each morning & roam the house. She used to raid the pantry until I put a lock on the door to keep her out. Her new thing is to go in Kenton's room & climb into his crib. The other morning I heard her talking to him & showing him movies on my phone.

And this is the result of 1 week of lessons from the Morgan Swim School!

She loves going under water! However she did not want to practice anything she learned this week. Hopefully there is nothing to correct when she goes back tomorrow.

Have a good week!

On the Menu

2011-06-07T16:53:00.000-04:00

I've made this yogurt parfait a few times for breakfast & it is really good. I use a container of vanilla greek yogurt. I've tried to use plain & I just can't!!

I put it in a bowl, then add 1/4 cup of All Bran Bran Buds. I know, it looks like some sort of pet food!

But when you stir them into the yogurt, they are like sprinkles! And if you know me, you know I love sprinkles :) They just add a nice crunch & I prefer it over granola.

Then add some fresh berries on top & Voila! A yummy breakfast parfait!

I made this salad for lunch one day & got hooked! I used baby spinach, cooked chicken, grilled onions & peppers left from dinner the night before, blue cheese & balsamic vinegar. This salad was so tasty! And the grilled veggies were already cooked with oil, so that really became part of the dressing. So good!

And finally my attempt at a healthy pizza. I sauteed some onions, zucchini & summer squash.

I also browned some ground turkey

I bought whole wheat pizza dough at Walmart, and rolled it out (in an almost rectangle!)

I spread on some pizza sauce, then the meat & veggies & topped with cheese.

Baked it at 400 for about 15-20 minutes

and served it with a glass of red wine! It was actually really good & Greg even liked it. I wasn't sure how he would react to pizza for dinner. He tends to like chicken or fish with vegetables.

And Kenton liked it too :) Ella, not so much. But what can you do!

Another Video!

2011-06-07T16:23:00.000-04:00

I'm posting yet another video! I had a lot of fun making the first one, so I think this will become a new feature on my blog. I hope you enjoy!

Products I Love - A Video!

2011-06-03T16:21:00.000-04:00

I decided to make a video for you to show off some of my current favorite products. Hope you guys like it!

June 1st

2011-06-01T08:15:00.000-04:00

I can't believe that today is June 1st. We are already half way through the year. Crazy right? I wanted to share this, not only because I love her blog but because she has issued a challenge to her readers. This month is a new start. What will you do to "start over"?

My goal is to practice my photography, go over old notes from a class I took & Google anything & everything about photography!

How will you kick off your summer?

Friday Night Campout

2011-06-01T08:10:00.000-04:00

Somewhere along the way Ella decided that she wanted to go camping. Greg happened to be at a campout last weekend & still had the tent he was borrowing. So we decided that Friday would be the night. We set up the tent in the backyard & got a campfire going. Ella was so excited all day!

"I'm goin' campin'!"

We roasted marshmallows

Sometimes 3 at a time!

Kenton just hung out. He did not care for roasted marshmallows

Greg was not really sure how the night would go. We put Kenton to bed, then I sat outside for a while. Ella was ready to get in the tent, so she crawled in, found a spot in the corner & went to sleep. Greg & I sat for a little while before I went inside & he got in the tent. I left the alarm off just in case they needed to come inside that night.

But Ella slept out there all night & slept well! She loved it! Greg has decided that he is at a point in his life where he needs an air mattress! I'm just glad Ella wanted to go camping with her daddy! I am not an outdoorsy kind of girl.

So now Ella is figuring out her next camping trip. We may have to wait until fall for the next one!

Trip Around the Sun

2011-05-20T15:47:00.000-04:00

I turned 29 on Wednesday. I wasn't sure how I would feel about it. I remember being a little upset when I turned 22. I know, it's crazy! But I thought that 21 sounded so cool & I didn't want to think about getting older. Of course it's totally different now. As my kids get older it reminds me that I'm getting older. We are in a wonderful season of life. We are young, healthy & we have a beautiful family & we are just getting started. It makes me appreciate everything a little more. I don't feel any different now that I'm 29. But I sure hope I enjoy this last year of my 20's. Next year might be a different story!

My birthday has also been different the past four years. It is 8 days after Ella's birthday. Usually I am so wrapped up in planning her party & focusing on her that mine stays pretty low-key. Which is OK. I remember right after she was born, she was 8 days old, & we had been home from the hospital for 5 days. I woke up with a fever & not feeling good at all. I spent the morning taking Ella for her check up & walking across the hall to see my doctor too. And it was my 25th birthday which should have been kind of a big deal. But from that moment on things changed.

Now I'm not saying that we don't celebrate my birthday at all. Last year we went dancing downtown one night with friends. And this year we had a party at our house (which made for a busy day last Saturday!) And I'm all about kicking off 30 in a big way!

This year my day started off with a free drink from Starbucks :)

Then I took Ella to school for her last day. After that my mom took me out to lunch at Panera. Then we came home & I watched some shows while the kids took a nap. We then headed over to my parents house for dinner. My mom made the yummiest cheesecake for dessert! Seriously, so good!

Greg brought me some beautiful flowers.

And I got a Keurig coffee machine! I had been thinking about getting one for a while & checked out different stores to compare prices.

This machine is so great! We have a Tassimo, but we recently learned that they will no longer make Starbucks coffee t-discs. But Keurig will be soon. And they have over 200 varieties of coffee, tea, & hot chocolate. And it has a special filter that you can use with your own ground coffee! I've only had this machine for 2 days but so far I love it!

Overall it was a great birthday! And I look forward to what this year will bring :)

Summer Break!

2011-05-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Today is our first day of summer break! I've been thinking about some goals I have for the summer & thought I'd share them here. I really want to be active this summer & make plans & have fun. I want to keep Ella in the learning groove & teach her a few things as well. So here we go!

* Getting back to the gym on Tuesdays & Thursdays. I have been absent lately, but I want to get back in shape. And the kids will like going to Kids Club.

* Going to Story Time at the library and/or Barnes & Noble. Both are free, so we may as well take advantage! And Ella loves the library anyway, so we'll be able to pick out lots of books & movies this summer.

* Taking a couple trips to the zoo. I know Ella wants to go & I think Kenton would love it too.

* Dollar Tree Days - I thought it would be fun take Ella to Dollar Tree & allow her to pick a special toy or treat.

* Taking morning walks to get out of the house, get some exercise & keep the kids active

* Practice my photography

* Make ice cream

* Family Movie Night

* Possibly sign Ella up for a dance class

* Plan arts & craft projects for the kids

And here are a few things I want to teach/work on with Ella:

* Writing letters & numbers
* Counting to 30
* Learning the sounds of letters
* Introduce her to reading
* Drawing
* Learning about money

So those are just some things I thought of to keep us busy this summer. There will still be lazy days & lots of time at the pool!

Last Day of School

2011-05-18T13:45:00.000-04:00

Today was Ella's last day of preschool & it was a little bittersweet. I'm excited for a break this summer, & sleeping in a little on Tuesdays & Thursdays! But it's sad to know that her first year of preschool is over. It is just another sign that she is growing up! She has had a great year & made some great friends. And I'm happy that she still has another year of preschool!

Her last drop off in the carpool line

They put on a show & the theme was Going on a Picnic. She made a butterfly shirt & had a matching headband. They were all so cute!

She was waving to us in the crowd, loved it!

Her "diploma"

Her real diploma :)

Ella & Mrs. Gina

After the show we picked up some things from her classroom including a DVD slideshow that I had ordered. I also got a second CD of pictures of Ella throughout the year, which is so great to have! Here are a few of them.

Dropping her off on the first day

Fall Festival

Thanksgiving Show

Sitting with Santa

Johanna, Karah & Ella

Her class

Painting my nails!

Modeling her headband for the end of year program!

It has been a great year for Ella & I'm sure she will miss going to school each week. I'm hoping to set up a few playdates this summer & we'll see some of her friends at church each week.

Ella's 4th Birthday

2011-05-17T18:28:00.000-04:00

Ella is four now! I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Four

2011-05-10T07:46:00.000-04:00

My baby girl is four today. I don't have an elaborate post all planned out about how much I love her, how she made me a mama, or how how she changed my life. For now, just some pictures of the past four years. Enjoy! Happy birthday Ella!

Mother's Day Tea

2011-05-06T08:26:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I went to Mother's Day Tea at Ella's school. She brought home am invitation the week before & I was so excited! I was able to drop Kenton off with my in-laws. I arrived at school & the tables were set nicely with snacks & drinks. All the moms brought their own tea cups for tea or coffee. We sat & had our snacks.

Then we went to another room with several tables set up. The first table had gifts for all the moms. Ella made a beautiful teacup frame with her picture inside. Then we went to the mani/pedi table. Her teacher emailed us before to let us know the kids would be painting our nails, so I was ready! Ella got to work on my toenails!

She did a pretty good job! I cleaned them up a little, but overall she did really well. Everyone was commenting on how well she did!

Then she massaged my hands with lotion

After that we read a book before it was time to go.

It was such a cute day! She was so excited to have me in her class & loved showing me all the parts of her classroom. And I loved being there & feeling pampered for Mother's Day!

Blog Question

2011-05-03T15:49:00.000-04:00

Hey fellow bloggers, I need some advice. I was trying to change the picture of Ella on my sidebar & when I tried to upload the picture it said I have reached my quota for pictures. Then when I looked on Picasa, it said I am using 100% of my storage. Does this mean I can't upload any more pictures unless I buy more storage? Thanks in advance!!

18/52

2011-05-03T15:22:00.000-04:00

17/52

2011-05-03T15:20:00.000-04:00

18 months

2011-05-03T15:11:00.000-04:00

Last Tuesday this little guy turned 18 months old. Where does the time go? I can hardly remember what he was like as a little baby & it was only a year & a half ago!

His 18 month check up went well. He is 25 lbs 9 oz & 32 inches tall (50th % for both height & weight)

He is saying a few words now:

ball

car

chair (as in his booster chair because he knows when it's time to eat!)

cup

dada

mama (although he uses this word very seldom, which makes his mama sad :(

Ella - any time he sees a picture of a baby he says Ella!

toe

dog

uh-oh

And he is all boy all the time! He has mastered climbing the stairs & coming down. He knows that he needs to hold the railings & has yet to fall down the stairs.

He loves to be outside & gets so upset when we bring him back in. He also chases Ella all day & wants to do whatever she is doing. He loves his monkey. He likes playing with his cars & trucks. He doesn't have much of an interest in TV yet (which may be a good thing!). He loves to eat & will eat almost anything we give him! He can be a little rough & thinks its funny to hit people in the face, but then he will rub your cheek when you say "gentle". And he will give hugs & kisses too! He waves bye-bye, but usually after we've already said goodbye & walked away.

Kenton is a sweet guy & we love him so much. Happy 18 months buddy!

Easter Weekend

2011-04-25T16:57:00.000-04:00

We kicked off the weekend on Friday by dyeing eggs. This is usually our Good Friday activity to get us in the spirit for the weekend.

Kenton watched this year, but I'm sure next year he will be all over it.

Ella with all her Easter eggs

And I made one for Kenton!

Saturday we went to Greg's parents house & spent time with his family. Lynn made bunny cakes for the kids to decorate

Then they got to do an egg hunt

Kenton ended up with the most eggs thanks to his aunt Jen! And I get to eat the candy! (That could be a good thing or a bad thing :)

After the Easter egg hunt we went in the pool. Kenton had a blast! I do not have any pictures because trying to take care of two kids in the pool is a lot of work! And Greg wasn't there yet. But don't worry, there will be lots of pool pictures to come this summer!

Sunday morning we all went to church, then came back for lunch. And before we did anything, I made the family take some pictures. It's not always easy when one child is squirming & one child refuses to smile.

But we got a couple good ones, so I'll take it!

Now it's back to the routine as Ella goes back to school tomorrow & I really should get back to the gym! Next up is planning a certain someones 4th birthday!

The Park & The Commercial

2011-04-21T14:11:00.000-04:00

Today I took the kids to the park. It was a perfect day, a little cloudy & low 60's.

Ella got in this spinning seat & actually liked it! Normally she would never go in it, but today she tried it & got hooked!

The main reason for today's trip to the park was to record a commercial for my husband's company. He has done a few before & wanted the kids to be a part of it. They both did a great job & I can't wait to see the final product!

And Ella decided that she wanted her hair in a "flip" like Jasmine.

Hi

2011-04-19T15:51:00.000-04:00

All is Well

2011-04-19T15:17:00.000-04:00

It has been a while since my last post & I wanted to let everyone know I am still here! I've been slacking on blogging & taking pictures (& house work, if I'm being honest!) but I intend to get back into it. Last week I had cable installed & I am so excited about it!

We had Directv & were planning an upgrade to HD & multi-room DVR. They were scheduled to come out on a Friday. They never showed up. The mechanic & supervisor both called me that evening to say they would be out first thing Saturday morning. Well they were a no-show again. I called Directv to express my frustration (which included me throwing the phone after I was hung up on!) & was not given much sympathy. The end result was that someone messed up & set it up for a different day.

So I decided to look up the local cable company after my neighbor told me he had it installed a few weeks ago. I had no idea we could even get cable. When we first moved to our house, we could only get dial-up internet! But they said we were able to get cable & internet and they gave us a good price. So I set it up.

They came out Tuesday, they were on time & the guy who came was really nice & answered all my questions. And Tuesday night I cancelled Directv!

I am especially loving the internet. We had DSL, which was rather slow. But now watching videos & uploading pictures to the blog is really fast!

So now we are enjoying Spring Break! So far we haven't done too much. I took Ella to the library yesterday. She's been asking to go for a while. And I may take them to the park tomorrow if the weather is nice.

Not much else going on. Hopefully I'll have lots of pictures to post after this week :)

2011-04-19T15:06:00.000-04:00

14/52 Ella helped Greg cut the grass!

15/52 Ella loves her new pillow pet. She's been asking for one for a while. So when I saw some at Five Below, I picked one up for her & Kenton. It is not an official Pillow Pet, but she doesn't know the difference. And I saved $15!

16/52 Greg found this little nest under our deck.

Pony Pictures

2011-04-06T19:08:00.000-04:00

Ella got to ride a pony at school one day & have pictures taken. I think they turned out really cute!

She told me there were two horses. She rode Peanut Butter. The other was called..... you guessed it.... Jelly!

Full

2011-04-06T10:43:00.000-04:00

This weekend was full of activities. We started off on Friday night going to our friend's house for dinner. Cary & Leah invited us over for a casual dinner to hang out & talk about the race the next day. Ella was so excited to see Ellery & play with her. We had a nice time visiting & letting the kids play. Thanks Leah for having us over!!

Saturday was the Monument Avenue 10K. This was the first year that Greg signed up to run it. He had been training for a few months & hoped to run the race in about an hour.

Getting ready to head out.

We had to leave the house around 7:30, so it was a busy morning getting everyone up & ready. But we made it downtown & found a parking lot a few blocks away from Monroe Park. Greg headed to where he needed to start & I met up with Leah. Cary was also running the race & she found a spot right at the finish line.

It was hard for me to get the double stroller through the crowd.

When Cary finished Leah went to meet him. So I hugh out with the kids for a bit waiting for Greg. Ella had to go to the bathroom, but when she walked in the porta-potty she saw the toliet & said she didn't need to go anymore! I told her it would be ok, just go real quick. She did great & I made her stand outside when she was done!

This was Kenton the whole morning! He was not happy!

Greg ended up finishing the race in 46 minutes! I was so proud & he was happy to beat his goal.

Greg & Cary after the race

After the race we went to Red Robin for lunch. then home to rest for a while. Saturday night was the VCU game & we headed over to our friend's house to watch it.

I had on my Final Four shirt :)

Unfortunately VCU did not win :( But there is always next year!!

Then Sunday we had plans to have lunch with some couples from church. It was a wonderful afternoon full of yummy food & good conversation. I didn't even have to cook dinner that evening, we were so full!

So we had a full, busy weekend! We might be keeping things low-key this weekend!

Ram Nation

2011-04-01T13:54:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is the big game that everyone in Richmond is talking about. If you don't know, the Final Four college basketball game is tomorrow evening & VCU is playing Butler. This is a huge deal for the university as well as the city of Richmond. People around here are so excited & proud of our men's basketball team! And VCU is really making a name for itself & people want to know about our school & our city.

Now I should say that I am not a big sports fan. The only sporting events I watch are the Olympics & the Super Bowl. I know nothing about most sports, including basketball. But there has been a lot of buzz around here since VCU made the Sweet 16. Then I heard that they made it to the Elite 8. My friend asked me last week if I was going to watch the game. I didn't give it much thought. But that afternoon I saw it was on & decided to watch it. That's when I got the Ram fever! We won & made the Final Four! I still know nothing about the game. But I know when they make a shot or intercept the ball (are they called interceptions in basketball?) Who cares! The point is that I am super excited about my school! My brother & I both graduated from VCU. I couldn't be prouder of my Alma mater!

So tomorrow evening at 6:09 I will be tuning to see the game & hoping for a win!

Good luck Rams! Kick some Butt-ler :)

Check out this song in honor of the team & head coach Shaka Smart

Spring. Sort of.

2011-03-31T17:18:00.000-04:00

Recently we had a few really nice spring days. Warm & sunny with all the trees in bloom.

But this week has been cold & rainy :( We are hoping Spring comes out to play soon because we are ready!

I am loving my new spring-yellow coffee mug. It brightens up my mornings :)

Kenton is ready for warm weather too. I picked up a few outfits today & I love the mix of colors.

And what would Spring be without a pair of jellies? I am pretty excited that these are in fashion again. I used to love jellies when I was little.

And we needed some shirts to match the jellies (shoes & shirts from Old Navy)

I asked her to pose with her feet & this is what we got!

So come on Spring! What are you waiting for?

11, 12 & 13/52

2011-03-31T16:16:00.000-04:00

11/52

12/52

13/52

On the Menu

2011-03-23T13:44:00.000-04:00

Monday night I made a slow cooker curry chicken. It was a recipe I got from $5 dinners.

We had rotisserie chicken the night before & ended up with quite a bit left over. So I chopped that up & added 2 cans of chickpeas, 1 cup of chicken stock, some left over spaghetti sauce (the recipe calls for 8 oz of tomato sauce, but I didn't have any), 1 tbs curry powder & about 2 tsp cumin. Then I set it on low for about 1 1/2 hours until we were ready to eat. Everything was already cooked so it just needed time to warm up & let the flavors combine. It was pretty good! It was not very spicy, so next time I will add a little more, maybe some red pepper flakes or something with some heat. Then I served it with some brown rice & sugar snap peas.

I found the short grain brown rice at Whole Foods in the bulk section. I had never bought anything from that section, but I was so excited to find it! I've tried to find short grain brown rice before but it is pretty expensive for a small bag. This way I was able to get the amount I wanted for a lot less. I forget the exact price. The only thing is it takes just under an hour to cook, so you have to plan for that if you are cooking it for dinner. But it was so good! I also found quinoa for $1.39/lb which is a great price! So I will definitely be stocking up there. And they have lots of other things I would like to try.

But give this recipe a try, I really liked it. It's quick & easy.

The Paint

2011-03-23T13:08:00.000-04:00

Here is our bedroom painted. It's hard to tell in the picture, but it is a really nice neutral color. And it does so much for our room. It was this huge stark white room, and now it feels more cozy. The color is called Belle Grove Buff by Valspar. Now I just want to hang a couple pictures above our bed & get some lamps for our nightstands.

This is our bathroom & it turned out pretty good as well. We went with a soft blue called Ghost Ship also by Valspar. The blue really makes the white trim stand out.

We also had our guest bedroom/bathroom painted the same color as our room. Overall I'm really happy with how it turned out. We've talked about painting our room for a while now & I'm glad we finally did it. The rooms feel more complete.

Super Moon

2011-03-23T10:13:00.000-04:00

Did anyone see the Super Moon Saturday night? We heard about it on the news & I was expecting big things. So Greg, Ella & I rode through the woods behind our house to an open field to catch sight of it. And it was pretty, but nothing extraordinary, at least from our vantage point. It was a little bigger than normal, but not much different that a regular old full moon. And I tried to take a picture of it, but I did not have my tripod. So here it is.

Well yesterday morning as I was getting ready I looked out my window & saw this.

What could be more super than a full moon at 7:15 on a Tuesday morning?

For Your Reading Pleasure

2011-03-23T08:41:00.000-04:00

Today I thought I would share a few blogs that I enjoy reading. I love that I can find blogs of people across the country, read them, "introduce" myself to them in comments & they welcome me to their blog! So here are a few that I read all the time.

One of my favorites is Enjoying the Small Things. Kelle is a mom to two beautiful girls. I found her blog just over a year ago when she wrote her daughter Nella's birth story. It touched me so much, and I kept going back to read more & more. She is a beautiful writer & photographer. I love the photos she takes of her kids & her ability to make me laugh & cry all in one post! If you have not read her blog yet, go check it out!

This next blog is by a mama/photographer. I just love her pictures & wish I could hire her to shoot my family. I especially love her Formspring that she started. She has been so kind to share her knowledge of photography with everyone that reads her blog. It is a great resource, I've already asked a couple questions!

I found this blog from a friend's friend's blog, if that makes any sense! I usually start off reading a friend's blog, then I like to pick a blog from their blogroll & just keep going. Next thing you know I've found a new favorite! Anyway "B" is a mom with two kids & I can relate to her everyday life. She also has an etsy shop with some beautiful prints.

Danielle at Sometimes Sweet is a friend from high school. We were really good friends in 8th-9th grade & played on the same softball team! Now she is a wife/mama/blogger. I was so excited to find her blog & I love that we are able to keep in touch! She is a new mama to a beautiful little boy & it's fun to see her post about her son.

Your Wishcake is a blog I found about 2 1/2 years ago. I was thinking about getting long side bangs, so I googled some images & came across a pic of Mandy Moore. So I clicked on the picture & it linked me to her blog. I read the post, then read some more, then I was hooked! Well now she is expecting her first baby! It will be interesting to read about her pregnancy & when she has the baby!

So these are just a few, I read many more. Do you have any blogs that you read daily?

Fun on a Trampoline

2011-03-21T08:27:00.000-04:00

Last Thursday (St. Patty's Day, as you can see by Ella's shirt!) Ella wanted to play outside. So while Kenton napped I took her out to swing. Then I spotted the empty trampoline in our neighbor's yard. The one Ella loves to jump on & asks to go on all the time. So I said "hey Ella, you wanna jump on the trampoline?" "Yeah!!!!"

So we went over. I did knock on the door since our neighbor was home, and he was very kind to tell her she could jump whenever she wanted!

Taking a little break

Her hair was going crazy with all the static! It was sticking straight out

And I couldn't pass up the chance to show Ella some moves!

This is a hurkie. Sort of. I don't really know, I was only in cheerleader in spirit!

I also handed over the camera to Ella to catch an action shot. Not bad right?

Ella showed me some of her moves too.

It was a fun time outside! We got to jump & play & I felt like a kid. And I was sweating by the time I was done, so you know I burned a few calories too!

A Little Catch Up

2011-03-19T10:57:00.000-04:00

My name is Jessica, I am a magaholic. But I'm looking forward to reading each & every one!

The kids love to climb in the storage ottoman

Kenton woke up one morning with his arm out of his jammies

Not sure how he did it, but it was pretty awesome

"Kenton, where's your nose?"

"Where's your eye?"

Little smarty!

There you go, a little catch up!

10/52

2011-03-16T09:12:00.000-04:00

One night while I was making dinner, the kids were playing in our front room. I noticed that it was fairly quiet, no arguing, no bothering each other, no whining. So I peeked in & found them playing legos together! So sweet :)

The Painter

2011-03-09T10:47:00.000-05:00

This week we are having our bedroom/bathroom & the guest room painted. Greg has been wanting to paint our bedroom for a long time & I always put him off. Well this time he won! We got our paint last weekend & the painter started on Monday. He has already painted the rest of our house & I've always had some issues with him. He's a nice enough guy, but he was always late. So I didn't really want to use him this time, but he came over to look at the rooms & give us a quote. And of course he was inexpensive, so I agreed to let him do it. But I told Greg that he needed to get the job done quickly! You'll remember my problems here & here.

Well I have to say, this time has been completely different! He has showing up each morning around 8:30 & has been staying until 3:30 or 4:00. I am pleasantly surprised & very happy with the progress. He finished the guest room in one day. Then he moved on to our bedroom/bathroom. Our bedroom is quite large & we have a high vaulted ceiling, so it is definitely a lot of work. But so far it looks great & I'm so happy with the color we chose! I will put some pictures up after he is done, which is hopefully by the end of the week!

9/52

2011-03-09T10:32:00.000-05:00

Ella loves swingin'!

8/52

2011-02-28T16:16:00.000-05:00

The Perfect Cup!

2011-02-23T10:55:00.000-05:00

If any of you know me or have read my blog for a while, you know that I love Starbucks & am obsessed with making the perfect latte. Well I have finally done it! It took me a while but I figured out how to make a Starbucks quality latte at home & for a fraction of the price!

Here is what it takes to get the perfect latte. Our Tassimo machine, an espresso disc, milk & syrup.

I start off with a pump of syrup in my cup, then add some milk (about 6 oz), then I microwave it for 1 minute 25 seconds. Then I pop in the espresso disc & brew it directly into the hot milk. I give it a little stir, and sprinkle a little cinnamon on top & Voila! You have a tasty latte!

They sell packages of lattes in the Tassimo line of coffees. You use a milk & an espresso. But they don't taste right to me, something about the milk/creamer is not good. You can also buy packages of just espresso, which is what I do. I like using my own milk, and the espresso disc is so easy. You don't have to worry about making a good shot of espresso, you just put it in, push the button & it's done. I bought my syrup at World Market for $6.99. They were on sale 2 for $12, so next time I might get 2 flavors. I also bought the pump for $2.49. It's just more convenient that way (and I feel like a barista!)

So here is a little cost break down:

A package of 16 espresso discs is $8.99 at Bed Bath & Beyond

so 1 disc is $0.56

plus if I have a coupon I can save 20% which would make it $0.45 per disc

A gallon of skim milk (as of now) is $2.61

and 1 gallon is 128 oz which is about $0.02

I use about 6 oz so that is $0.12

The syrup is $6.99 for 25.4 oz

1 pump is about 1/2 oz

I use a pump plus a little more

1 oz is about $0.28

so 1 pump is about $0.14

so let's just say $0.20 for the syrup

That means that each latte is $0.88!

I pay $3.83 for one latte at Starbucks

And mine are so good! You can also buy the bottles of Starbucks syrup. I think they are $6.95 for a big bottle. So I might do that too. And in the summer time I can make iced lattes. Just put ice in a glass, pour in syrup & milk & brew an espresso right in. I'm telling you I'm so excited to finally be able to enjoy a delicious latte every morning. I look forward to it each day! And I love being able to have a second one if I want!

On the Menu

2011-02-23T10:17:00.000-05:00

Last night I made pizza for dinner & it was delicious!

I bought a bag of pizza dough at Walmart last week. They have regular & whole wheat. I bought whole wheat & it tasted the same! I also bought mini turkey pepperoni. So I cut the dough into four pieces to make individual pizzas. I rolled them out on a floured board. I brushed them with a little basil flavored olive oil, spread some pizza sauce on them, sprinkled them with cheese & pepperoni and baked them at 400 for about 15 minutes. They were so good! I made a salad with mine & had a little red wine. I plan on making these more often!

The Weekend

2011-02-21T17:56:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend. Thursday was pajama day at Ella's school. She was excited to wear her tinkerbell nightgown & bring bunny to school!

Friday we met Ella's school friend Natalie at the Children's museum for a play date. I was excited because I had never been before. It is a great place for younger kids. They have different things for the kids to play & climb on. And a really cool jungle train!

Kenton had fun at the water table & soaked his shirt by the end of it. But he had fun :)

They also have a few table set up, so you can bring your own lunch/snacks & eat there. The girls had a great time & it was nice to get out & meet another mom!

Saturday night we had plans to meet our friends Travis & Jesica for dinner. Greg's mom was watching the kids & offered to keep them overnight. She also said we could drop them off any time. So we had everyone packed & loaded up & we were at his mom's house by 11:00! So we had a whole day kid free! Usually when we have free time at the weekend, we do our own thing. But we decided to spend the day together. We got Greg's hair cut, had lunch, went to Lowe's, had frozen yogurt at Sweet Frog & checked out a model home. It was such a fun day! I wish I had remembered to take pictures. That evening we went to Firebirds for dinner.

Travis & Greg have been friends for a long time. They were room mates when I met Greg. Now he is married & they are expecting their first baby in a few weeks. Doesn't she look great!

It was fun seeing them one last time before the baby comes!

Sunday Greg picked up the kids & I did a few chores around the house. It was a good weekend!

7/52

2011-02-21T15:42:00.000-05:00

I know I already posted this picture, but it's so cute!

Toy Story Fans

2011-02-17T14:00:00.000-05:00

Toy Story 3 is on sale this week at Target for $9! It's normally $19.99, so if you need it for your library, this week is the week to get it! I got mine today. We don't even own the first two & have only seen the first movie, but a deal is a deal right? And Ella will be super excited when I show her, maybe I'll save it for a rainy day! The sale is through Saturday.

Valentine's Day

2011-02-16T11:03:00.000-05:00

We had a lovely Valentine's Day this year!

We had heart shaped pancakes for breakfast

We made sugar cookies

We had heart shaped macaroni & cheese for lunch

Then we decorated our cookies with pink frosting!

It was heart filled day with lots of love!

I also made mini heart shaped brownies for dessert. Greg came home with red roses & champagne! I cooked salmon for dinner & we had a nice night in. it's funny how our Valentines days have changed over the years. We used to get dressed up & go to fancy restaurants. Now we are eating at home in our comfy clothes, cleaning up the dishes & bathing the kids! But it's great & I wouldn't change it! I hope you all had a lovely day too!