Girls Weekend

Lila & I had Saturday afternoon and evening to ourselves. Nate & Scott went to Indiana to see a good friend of ours perform with her band. We played lots of tea party, Elmo and of course Lila played lots of books. It is her favorite past time.

Pure Sweetness

(except you can see her battle wounds on the left side of her face - they won't be the last I'm sure)

 And here's what her area looks like when she's playing.Takes all the books off the shelf, with force, and then sits in the middle of them flipping pages. Precious.

 On Saturday afternoon, we went to the mall to walk around. After I got my errands done, I let her out of the stroller. Oh.my.word. She pranced around like she owned the place, talking to everyone and stomping all over with purpose. She had her squeaker shoes on and I kid you not, at least 15 people said something to me in the short hour we were there. They are certainly an attention getter, but I like to think her cuteness is pretty attention getting too:)

Here she is resting from our shopping trip. She laid here for almost 20 minutes. Which if you know toddlers, you know this is a huge accomplishment.

I look forward to many more girl weekends! 

Recipe Monday

I found this recipe in the February / March Taste of Home issue. I didn't figure my kids would eat the sandwich whole, but since we deconstruct alot around here, it looked like a winner.

Mediterranean Turkey Panini (Taste of Home, Feb/Mar 2012)

1/4 cup marinara or spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp chopped aritchoke hearts
3 tomato slices
4 oz sliced deli turkey
Ciabatta rolls

Spread marinara on the cut sides of one split ciabatta roll. Top bottom half with feta, artichoke hearts, tomato slices and turkey. Replace top. Cook on panini maker or indoor grill for 4-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with warmed marinara.

Ingredients listed above make 1 serving. Double or triple for family meals.

Enjoy!

My Monkeys

Nate was out of school on Friday for a teacher development day. The last 2 weeks for him have been 4 days week because of this and MLK. I guess STL usually uses them as snow days, but :):):) we haven't had to use them yet. We are sure to get a blizzard next week since I said that, but any day over 40 in January & February is a good day. I'll take it.

We headed to Monkey Joes to burn some energy. It was either this or take the kids to the indoor pool to swim. Since I wasn't fired up about putting a swimsuit on in January, we opted for MJ.

Of course, Lila loved it. She is in fact a monkey.



Nate was battling a nasty infection so we found out later, but he managed to play for a bit before he just about crashed on the floor. He is feeling somewhat better. He is never sick, so when he goes down, it is usually for real.

Little Miss, who believed she had the run of the joint. 

Nate is so much more adventurous than he used to be. I'm thankful.

Here's to our 5 day week. I hope we all can survive!

100th Day!!

Today is the 100th day of Kindergarten. To celebrate, Nate had to bring 100 of something to his class today. We were going to build a creation with exactly 100 Legos, but that turned out to be harder than we thought. So we counted out 100 pennies (thankfully we had 100 pennies around the house:)

Happy 100th day Nate!

Random Thoughts By Me

Sorry grandparents, I don't have any pictures. The camera hasn't even been out of the bag in over a week. Not to mention Lila has a black eye and I don't really want to remember it. She fell at school last week and really did a number on her face. It didn't look so bad at first but it is now a real shiner turning all sorts of shades of blue and yellow. Fun times.

Just a few random thoughts for you today...

• Nate likes to sleep in his tent, in his room. For some reason, it bugs the bee-jeezus out of me. I know I should just go with it.
• Lila shows more of my personality everyday. Impatient that girl is.
• It is January 24th and it has only snowed once in St. Louis. So thankful. It's the small things.
• Nate asked recently if Kelly Clarkson was a real person. Um, yes, she is.
• We've only had one babysitter in Nate's entire life, not counting family. That's about to change this week. And next. And if I have anything to say about it, the week after that.
• Nate and I were listening to one of those channels that plays music all the time and Pink Cadillac came on. I told him that Bruce Springsteen sang this song. To which he replied "Who's that?" Scott is not doing a good job with his music education, but secretly I laughed.
• Lila loves to shake the glass side table in the living room. I'm convinced she likes it because she knows it makes me crazy.
• What is it about 40 degrees that makes or breaks your skin. I swear (except I don't very often) that my dry skin is miraculously better over 40.
• Nate's cafeteria at school re-opened yesterday. He had never eaten in there as it has been under construction since August (great timing right?) He is fascinated with a hot lunch. Mmmm. So are my lunch packing fingers. 
• We've lived here almost 5 years and just joined the Heights last week, which is Maplewood-Richmond Heights recreation center. We've already gotten our money's worth and it is just January 24th. Remind me why we didn't do this sooner?

Do you have random thoughts?

Recipe Monday

So this is not a dinner recipe that I know we all look for...but these cookies are awesome! And I found some new dinner recipes that I'll try soon and share.  I found this cookie recipe on a mom blog I read, Jenna's Journey.  It looks like she originally got it from Bon Appetit (in full disclosure, ya know).

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies (109 Calories!)

1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 9 ounces) divided
3 large egg whites, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, divided
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tblsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400. Spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray. Melt 1 cup chocolate chips in glass bowl in microwave, stirring twice, about 2 minutes. Cool slightly.

Using electric mixer, beat whites in large bowl to soft peaks. Gradually beat in 1 cup sugar. Continue beating until mixture resembles soft marshmallow creme. Whisk 1 cup sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt in medium bowl to blend. On low speed, beat dry ingredients into meringue. Stir in lukewarm chocolate and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Dough will become very stiff.

Place 1/2 cup sugar in bowl. Roll 1 rounded tblsp dough into ball; roll into sugar coating thickly. Place on prepared sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until puffed and tops crack, about 10 minutes. Cool on sheets on rack 10 minutes. Transfer to rack. Cool.

Note:

I used bittersweet Ghiradelli chocolate bars and smashed into pieces. I couldn't find bittersweet chips and this worked great too!

Enjoy!

Early Birds

Do your kids get up early? Well. MINE DO. Most of time I'm okay with it. I mean, we get up early on the weekdays to go to work & school because everyone is out the door by 7:30 AM. But is it so hard, LILA, to sleep until 6:20 AM? Honestly.

I know she will grow out of it and I know that because I've been here before.  It took Nate quite some time to not get up so early and if LILA WEREN'T WAKING HIM UP NOW, he would easily sleep until 7:00 AM, which is a perfect wake-up time even on the weekends. 

I've never been a sleeper inner. When I was in high school and it was cool to sleep in (really?), I couldn't do it.  I remember many-a-mornings being at a friend's house watching them sleep. But it is my preference to not get up with anything with a 5 ON IT.

I shouldn't complain.  Scott is the one that 9 times out of 10 gets out of bed when our children get up early. But it still disrupts my sleep, because unless I'm really super tired, I won't go back to sleep, but instead start thinking of all the things I have to do that day. Or worry that I have to create.

I write this post because I think it will be hilarious when I go back to read the blog books when my kids are teenagers and I CAN'T GET THEM OUT OF BED!

The Bib of All Bibs

The new love of mine deserved it's very own post.  When I kept Bluet over the New Year's holiday, she brought her own bibs.  They were lovely! Much easier to clean up and sturdier than the ones that I had for Lila. Well, Bluet happened to leave one of her bibs. Such a shame:) I used it for Lila a couple of times before mailing back to Bluet and decided I just had to have some of our very own.

Bumkins Bibs are my new best friend! Durable and cleanable and so very cute. Emily even told me that they put theirs in the washing machine a couple of times a week.  Score!

Bumkins Bibs is not compensating me in any way for this post. It is just a PSA for an awesome bib!

Ant Farm

My parents got Nate a glow in the dark ant farm for Christmas. Right after we got home from GA, we ordered the ants. The website said that they wouldn't ship them until the temperature conditions were right, so we didn't know when we would get them. Well let me tell ya, they must be some robust ants because they arrived on one of the coldest days yet. But they were still alive, fortunately and unfortunately. I'm not a huge fan of having ants in my house. On purpose.

But Nate thought it was so cool and it really is pretty cool. Here they are setting everything up. I should have moved the drinks from the front of the picture, but I can tell you I was doing a couple of other things while they were doing this and didn't want to miss the photo op, so it was rushed. 

Nate would not let me get a good picture of him. Of course.

The jokester as always. I'm sure he's giving us instructions here.

And then I tried again in Lila's room to get some pictures of him. As you can see, that turned out well.

Actually, it did turn out well. I think he's pretty darn cute. Even if he won't smile at me for real:) 

Recipe Monday - It's Back!

I need some new dinners to cook...how about you?? One of my favorite recipe sources is Taste of Home.  If you don't get this magazine and you are in your prime dinner cooking years, check it out.  Seriously. 

Chicken Caesar Florentine (Taste of Home)

2 cups grated parmesan cheese
2 cups Caesar salad croutons, coarsely crushed, divided (I considered using Italian breadcrumbs too)
1 cup fresh baby spinach
1 cup creamy Caesar salad dressing, divided
4 bone-in chicken breast halves, skin removed (I used boneless skinless)

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup cheese, 1 cup crushed croutons, spinach and 1/2 cup salad dressing. Cut a pocket in the thickest part of each chicken breast; fill with cheese mixture.

Place remaining dressing and crushed croutons in separate shallow bowls. Dip chicken in dressing, then roll in croutons.

Transfer to greased 13 x 9 baking dish. Bake, uncovered at 375 for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 170 (or until juices run clear).

Enjoy!

Pink

Sometimes I get tired of pink. Everything with girls is pink. When you go to the store to pick out ______ (insert anything you might need for a baby/toddler), there is usually one choice for girls. Pink. And that gets old after a while. But then I remember how sweet my pale skinned, blue-eyed girl looks in pink and I love it all over again. I mean, isn't this what I dreamed about when I just had a boy??

She gets sweeter every day. And more opinionated for that matter. But we love watching her learn and to her each day is a party. Her recognizable words include MaMa, DaDad, and BoBo. She uses a sorta kinda word for juice. But just when I think she doesn't understand what I'm saying, she nods her head for yes and shakes her head for no when I ask a question. I don't remember Nate communicating that way, but I also don't remember him not talking. He just talked. With Lila, I think she's going to perfect the non-verbal cues first:) Which is fine with me. If that only meant less noise. Which it doesn't.

Lila loves loves loves to read books. They can still entertain her independently for many minutes. She also loves to climb on things. Anything. I'm already re-thinking my plan of waiting until she's 2 to move her out of the crib. She hasn't shown any interest in climbing out yet, but I just want to be in the right mindset that we might not have another year left in the crib. It is funny to watch her shimmy up into places that I don't think she should be able to get to. I guess I should have known I would get at least one adventurous kid:)

Even though this past year has, sadly, seemed like a blur, I can say I am happy to be out of the bottle, eating every 3 hours, spitting up stage. She is growing so fast, but we are excited about these next few months as she really shows us what her personality is all about!

Loving Lately

It's been a while since I reflected on my loves lately. Heck, it's been a while since I've devoted time to my blog. But this week, I had a reader that I've never met IRL (in real life) contact me out of the blue and say how much she liked my blog - the feedback was completely unexpected and I am so flattered. I do love to write and share our happenings with the blog world. It is very nice to know that there are folks out there that read and come back for more:) I love comments. Just sayin.

We are in the midst of winter and although it hasn't been too bad lately (I'm even saying that after the snow this week), all of our skin takes a hit. I love this body butter. I used it during both of my pregnancies and call me crazy, but I think it helps make the stretch marks stay away.

If you've been around me much, you know there are not a whole lot of things I love more than a fountain Diet Coke. I'm a addict. Such an addict. But I figure there are worse things. DC can make my day and can turn almost any situation around for me.  I have such a love for Diet Coke that I'm even a DC snob. The best diet coke on the planet is at Waffle House. Close seconds are Sonic, McDonalds, and Chick-fil-A.

I never thought I would say it (heck I never thought I would drive one), but I LOVE MY NEW VAN. I hear moms in my circle talk about how uncool it is to drive a van and they are sticking with the SUV. Well if it's uncool, I'm just uncool. And comfortable. And less inconvenienced. Let's just face, there is really nothing a whole lot better with children than doors that open up by themselves at the click of a button.  It was a big leap for us to enter the van world, but I can honestly, wholeheartedly, say it has been so worth it. And as a funny tibit, Jane Ellis and I drive the same van. We don't live next door to each other like we planned years ago, but we do still have the same great taste:)

What do you love right now? The companies that sell these fine products have not compensated me in anyway for these endorsements. Just lots of love from me to you in cyberspace. 

Outside in January

Dare I say that it has been a very mild winter so far?? I know it's only January 9th, but the extended forecast is looking pretty darn good for January.  Hope it keeps up!

Friday was a gorgeous day and we spent most of the afternoon outside.  Lila & I went on a walk, then picked up Nate from school. We didn't even go inside when we got home, but instead walked straight to the park.  It was heavenly. 

Cousins Retreat

We had the extreme pleasure of keeping Bluet this past weekend when her parents went on the annual NYE Float Trip. I say WE meaning me, Nate & Lila as Scott was on the same trip.  So really me. And some Nate. With mucho help from my Aunt Lee on Saturday and a visit from Sarah on Friday, we survived. 

The girls. Lila would prefer if Bluet would let her love on her a little more. I have no idea why Bluet doesn't want Lila putting her mouth on her all the time.

The cousins...Nate really was a big help and I truly couldn't have done it without him.

We took a walk on Saturday afternoon with Lee.  It was a much needed get out of the house moment.

We really enjoyed having Bluey-Blue and would welcome her back any time!  She loves to dance and has the best smile. But come back after you are over bottles...I thought Lila would want to drink the bottle, but instead she just wanted to "help" Bluet feed herself.  You can imagine how that went - lots of screaming from both ends:)

Christmas 2011

Warning: Picture Overload! I couldn't just pick a few. 

We had a wonderful, fabulous Christmas holiday.  We are so blessed and thankful for our family and friends. We got to see not only our family in Georgia & South Carolina over the holidays, but also some special friends and family that we had not seen in quite some time. Huge blessings.

We booked it out of town to Georgia as soon as Nate got out of school. Scott made the trip to Nashville by himself with the kids, where we all stayed the night and made the short trip to ATL the next day. It was pretty uneventful, thankfully.

Mimi recorded a book for Lila for her 1st birthday and I loved it so much that I asked if she would do one for Nate. I don't know about you all but I would love to have my grandparents' voices reading to me right about now. I know they will treasure the books always. Lila goes into her room and opens it up all by herself and lets Mimi read to her. So special. Nate's book has Mimi & Paka's voice, which makes it extra special. Thank you both for doing these for the kids - they will be loved for a long time to come.



By the beautiful Christmas tree before heading out to SC for Christmas Eve.  Love my sweet kiddos.

Lila wasn't really having pictures at this moment, but we suckered her in anyway.

The hooligans - they have so much fun together and the volume is always on HIGH:) Wonder when they will figure out that Nate doesn't know everything...when they do, I hope they don't tell him:)

Playing Aunt Amanda & Uncle David's piano. Remember that the volume was already on HIGH? Well it just went to extra HIGH.

One of our traditions is to do the first gift of Christmas on Christmas Eve, like in Polar Express. Nate was so excited to give Scott & I the first gift of Christmas that we had to have 2 ceremonies, because he just couldn't wait. I was proud of him for being so thoughtful. Yet, I think he thought we would speed up his gift if he gave us ours :)

The 2nd ceremony...ready for bed and Santa to come!

Fixing Santa & the reindeer's snack. Paka convinced Nate that he didn't actually have to have 9 apples for all of the reindeers. They used the apple slicer to make 8 slices and then cut one in half to make 9 pieces. Paka said 2 of them were on a diet. It worked, after we explained what a diet was of course.

Opening stockings on Christmas morning! I thought Nate would be up at 4 AM. But he slept until around 7 thankfully.

Little Miss - loved all the excitement but had not a clue.

She did love the singing Georgia cheerleader though! Guess it will come in handy for her now that Georgia & Missouri are conference opponents.

Santa knew that Nate needed a Cardinals jersey with his name on it. Scott wondered why Santa didn't bring him a Braves jersey too. I said that Santa didn't root for the Braves.

He looks so old here!! Nate, I mean.

Mimi reading Lila a new "That's Not My Princess" book. She loves these books and this guy that put touchy feely things inside a book and put "That's Not" in front of it is a genius.

My Christmas baby! I mean. 6 year old.

Opening presents with Mimi & Paka. Aunt Amanda in the background - unfortunately, this is the only picture I got of her!

Lila's new ride on toy from Mimi & Paka. She loves when it sings the song! This is in the middle of the day, but she was in pajamas - she had a wardrobe malfunction and the dress had to dry for later:)

Electronic gurus - sweet cousins.

Nate & Gavin enjoying some ice cream on Christmas night with Lucy in the background.

It was a truly wonderful holiday! We are safely back at home relishing in the memories. Thanks to the Boyles and Odoms for having us!

Nate's Big Day

Nate's actual birthday was December 20th. It seems so long ago, yet it wasn't.  Guess that's what happens when you are behind.  I, sadly, had to be in Nashville on the actual day, but Scott & Lila pulled his day off fabulously.  Opening presents, with me on the webcam. 



We started a tradition on Nate's first birthday that the whichever baseball team went the furthest, that he would have on his cake that year.  The first year was the Cardinals and it was his whole cake.  Every year after that, we do cupcakes to honor the winning team.  I think every year but one has been the Cardinals. Just sayin.

So of course this year, the Cardinals won out again in this tradition. I got this Cracker Jack Cardinals cupcake the day they won the World Series. I know what you're thinkin. Gross. Well, I asked the lady at Jilly's Cupcake Bar if it would keep in the freezer.  She said Sure! Wrap it in cellophane and let it thaw when you are ready. So I did.  And it turned out beautifully.

My handsome 6 year old. He tells everyone that comes in the house that he is 6. The next year should be fun!