Spritz Cookies

I love spritz cookies.  They are so dang cute.  And way easier than rolling out dough, and cookie cutters.

Want to know something new about me?  I hate to clean the counters.  Add a layer of flour and bits of dough?  Not fun.  

This year I decided it was time.  I needed a cookie press.  I did some research and grabbed this one from Amazon.   None of them had awesome reviews, so I was keeping my fingers crossed.  But one batch down and I'm very happy!  Good purchase!

See you can see my first attempt!

I need to work on my decorating now!  But they were so very tasty!

I was going to follow the recipe that came with the cookie press, but I was missing an ingredient.  So I used this recipe.  I doubled the vanilla and the almond extracts.  And they took 4-5 minutes in my oven, 6 minutes was too long and they were a little brown.

So now my boxes for friends/neighbors are complete!  Hooray!

From my kitchen

I've been doing some baking lately.  Getting ready for Christmas.  Sending goodies to work with the Hubster.

Last week I made Never Fail Fudge.  It is the recipe that my mom always makes.  Hard to go wrong with that, right?

Today I made Salted Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Candy.  Half will go to work with the Hubster.  The other half will go to friends in the area.  Man.  It is yummy.  But rich.

And tonight I made Pizza Pretzel Bites.  Oh man.  They were awesome!  Took a little time.  Next time I'll make them ahead of time and then boil/bake when we are ready to eat.  They will keep in the fridge over night without a problem.  We will definitely have them again.  A fabulous Super Bowl recipe.

Tomorrow we've got Big One's ballet recital.  Can't wait to see her perform!

And more cookies to bake.  Presents to wrap.  Laundry to do.  Sewing projects!  Ek!

Hair Salon

Yesterday I told Big One that today we were going to get her hair cut.  Her response was "At the Barber?"  Um.... no.  It was a funny response because she has never seen a barber.  Hubster cuts his own hair.  So barber?  I explained that we were going to a hair salon.  And she started talking about Oswald.  Another instance of my children watching too much tv.  Heh.  

This is Big One's second hair cut.  I forgot my camera again.  Oh well.  She sat perfectly still.  She did an awesome job.  And I think it turned out really cute.

Little side bang so the wispies can grow out.

She lucked out with that gorgeous hair!

Ignore the funny mid-cheese face!

I'm kind of just amazed we got there on time this morning.  Little One was up (and SCREAMING) from 10:45-3am last night.  I am beat.  I imagine it is all the teeth she is popping through.  But good Lord I'm praying for a better night tonight. 

Early Christmas Celebration

Last weekend we headed out for a 5 hour drive with the girls to spend 23 hours with the Hubster's family to celebrate an early Christmas.

It was a lot of fun.  The girls got to see (and meet, in Little Ones case) their Great Grandmother, Great Aunt and Great Uncle, Nannie, PawPaw, Aunt/Uncle and cousins.  

Santa and his elf came to visit the kiddos.  My girls were less than thrilled about Santa.  Heh.

It was awesome to just spend the day and catch up with each other.

The Hubster's Grandmother and her sister made super yummy food (and plenty of it!).

We played cards.  Opened presents.  And ate.  Did I mention that already?!

Just before leaving we got a group picture.  I'm so glad we did.

It was a lot of driving for the girls.  We were all antsy to get out of the car on Sunday.  Perhaps even asked to go potty when there was no need to go??

Oh yes folks.  Side of the road.  Potty chair in the grass.  Interstate traffic whizzing by.  Fun times.  Best black mail picture ever.

Cheese Cake (edited)

I'm weird.  I don't like like cheese cake.  Unless it has a bunch of stuff in it.  Like snickers.  And caramel.  And chocolate.  You get the point.

My father-in-law and my brother-in-law both love cheese cake.  And their birthdays are both in December.  So last weekend we celebrated since we were all together.

And I made cheese cakes.

Last year we celebrated too.  And I made my first cheese cake ever.  Plain.  My mom's recipe.  It got rave reviews.  But I wouldn't know because I didn't eat it.

This year I was going to be feeding more people.  So I decided to make two.  I plain and I oreo.

This is not a fancy recipe.  It is rather easy.  So if you want to give it a whirl, here you go:

Peggy's Cheese Cake:
1 premade pie crust (fancy, I know)
2 bars of room temperature cream cheese (low fat is fine)
2 eggs (heh thanks Christy I forgot!)
3/4 c. of sugar
1tsp of vanilla

Whisk cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and vanilla together until really smooth.  Dump in pie crust.  Put in preheated 350 degree oven for 25-35 minutes.  You want to watch it once it hits 25 minutes.  You want it a little jiggly in the middle and a couple light brown spots are fine.  I know, real specific.

For the Oreo Cheese cake I used the same recipe.  I crushed 1/3 of a package and mixed it in the batter once it was smooth.  And crushed another 1/3 of a package and put it on top right before serving.  It would be fabulous with a drizzle of melted chocolate too.

Of course I didn't take any pics of my masterpieces.

Trust me though.  So yummy.  I actually tried a piece of the Oreo one this year.

On top of it!

I am pretty impressed with myself.  We are doing an early Christmas celebration with my In-Laws this weekend and I have allllll the presents purchased/made and wrapped.  All together in one place, and ready to go!

I hope everyone likes what they are getting! 

So I'm off to run a couple of quick errands with the girls and then start some laundry and get baking!

What is your favorite Christmas cookie or candy?

The Hubster has a HUUUUUUUGE test later this afternoon so he's at work and studying.  Praying he does well!

And we'll start the Christmas festivities in the morning!

Sick of me yet?

Well, good!  Because today is the last day of NaBloPoMo.

I did it.  All thirty days.

Not going to lie, glad it is over.

Love to blog for y'all, but the pressure of finding something sort of interesting each day is not super fun for me.  Heh.

And I have a ton of stuff to do in the next couple of days, so most likely you won't hear from me til next week.

Have a great weekend!

Visitor

So we have a visitor this holiday season. 

That is Mr. Jingles.  He is visiting from the North Pole.  Every day he pops in (in a different spot) and spends the day watching the girls to make sure they are behaving.  Then every night he visits Santa at the North Pole to report on their behavior.

You would think that would be good motivation for Big One, huh?  Sigh.  Not so much.

I'll spare you the details.  They aren't pretty.  But we are having some issues with Big One's behavior lately.  Terrible Two's have nothing on the Threes, man.  Geesh.

I'm hoping as we get closer to Christmas things click for her.  Because man at the rate we are going Santa may not visit!

Ask and You Shall Receive

Here is our masterpiece.

Of course, this was after the Hubster had to saw off another 2 1/2 feet.  Oops.  Maybe next year we will have to measure?

Turns our the old owners of our home used to get two trees!  They would have one in my sewing room and one in our sun room!  What a fabulous idea!!!  I'm already planning for next year!

Maybe we can make a ton of ornaments with the girls like my friend, Kristen, did this year!  Ooooooh I'm excited!!

Tree Farm

Friday we went to cut down our Christmas tree.

I saw the perfect one as we were pulling up to park.  We went in and walked all over the place and finally got to the tree I initially saw.  I figured it was too good to be true.  But it was perfect!  The Hubster saw some brown needles in the center so we thought maybe it wouldn't last long.  We kept looking.  I decided to ask someone that worked there.  Apparently those needles are just last year's growth.  Awesome.  Back we went.

Except... someone was already cutting down my perfect Christmas tree.  Sad.

We looked for another 2 hours before finding one that would be acceptable.  Heh.

This was the best shot we could get.  Oh well.

Hard work cutting down a tree!

So excited!

It was a long outing.  Both of the girls were ready for naps.  For real.  The Hubster and I were also ready for them to nap!  Geesh!

We were going to decorate yesterday, but spent the day searching for that wallet instead.  I know you are dying to know how that worked out.  I found it.  At 11:45pm.  In a place the Hubster was supposed to have checked.  Hmph.  

Saint Anthony

So last night the Hubster and I got a sitter and went out on a date.  Fabulous, right? 

Well, yes.  Except as we were leaving he couldn't find his wallet.  No big deal.  I had mine.  Keep the cost down because he can't drink.  Heh. 

But we still can't find it.  Anywhere. 

The last charge he made on our credit card was on Monday night.  Friendly's.  Mmmmm.  So it has to be in the house.  He called and the manager was less than helpful.  I went in, another manager was very helpful, but no wallet. 

We have taken apart the living room, which is the last place I remember seeing it.  The good news is the house is very organized and much cleaner.  Sigh.  Nothing under the couches, the cushions.  The toy bins have been pulled apart.  Went through the trash and recycling.  Ew.  Jackets.  Pants.  Cars.  Upstairs.  Downstairs. 

Saint Anthony is letting me down here. 

I hate that if we cannot find it we will have to cancel all of our bank/credit card.  And the DMV.  Ugh.

So instead of decorating the house for Christmas that is what we have spent the day doing.

Come on  St. Anthony!

Big Girl Seat!

It was time.  Time to get Little One into a convertible seat.

She still fit in her infant seat.  But we happened upon a really fabulous seat from a friend (who we miss tons and tons) who had to move out of the country. 

So.  Whatcha think?

Man she is cute!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving surrounded by those they love! 

We had a quiet day, just the four of us.  Perfect.  We had thought about traveling since the Hubster had some time off from work, but we decided to stay put.  Less stressful that way.

I made a traditional Thanksgiving meal.  The Hubster's one request was rolls.  I was thinking the crescent variety (heh) but he wanted a real roll.  So of course, I decided to make them from scratch.  Glad I did.  They were yummy!

I need to work on my presentation a bit.  Don't mind the messy counters and the lack of decoration.

Turkey breast, stuffing, mashed potatoes, butternut squash, roasted green beans, homemade rolls, and cranberry sauce.

Yes.  Cranberry sauce from the can.  I like it.  So hush.
 

Rolls in my Nana's serving dish.  Love that she was here to celebrate with us in spirit.

Don't let that smile fool you.  She ate almost nothing.  Sigh.

She, however, was loving some mashed potatoes.

No kidding here, his plate was licked clean!

 Please note that he seriously makes Thanksgiving dinner into a sandwich.  Really.  Everything goes into a sandwich.  Hence the request for rolls.

I probably should have taken the picture before I ate half of my meal.  Oops.

And no.  No gravy.  We just don't like it.  So save me the work and the calories.

We have so many things to be grateful for this year.  Our families.  Our health.  Our girls.  The Hubster's job.  The fact that he continues to succeed at work.  I am grateful we were able to spend this holiday together.  Really grateful.

As always, we are thankful to the military to allow us this luxury.  I know there are thousands of men and women who were not able to spend this date with their loved ones in order to keep us safe.  I hope they can feel my gratitude from here.

Midnight snack

Hmmmm I sure hope this isn't an indication of how my night is going to go.

Someone has been up for awhile despite our best efforts to get her back down.

Sigh.

Hopefully she was just hungry. She did just finish a chicken nugget, 3/4 sippy of water, and is working on a Graham cracker.

Duty Calls

I had jury duty today.

I have never been called before and wasn't really sure what to expect.  Wow.  The fashion.  Or lack there of!  I was amazed at the number of people who thought it was acceptable to show up in sweats or jeans.  Sheesh!

I got out of jury duty early.  I did not get called in.  I did not pass Go!  And I did not collect $200.

Fine by me.  I went to the mall for a bit.  And shopped.  For me!

I've been searching for flat, tall boots.  I just can't do heels anymore.  So I got these in black and brown.  Because I'm boring like that.  But hey.  They were comfy and cute.

I also stopped in GAP.  They were having a big sale.  I got this too in the new navy and pomogranite juice.  60% off!  Score!

The Hubster was home with the girls for the first time (for several hours) by himself.  I was nervous.  They all made it out alive though!

I'm patting myself on the back for throwing dinner in the crockpot before I left at 7:30 this morning, so I just had to whip up some more tortillas and dinner was ready!

I am beat though.  Time to get the girls to bed and I'm going to follow suite shortly.

Girls Night Out

Last night I had a Girls Night Out. 

It was fabulous.

Great company.  Met a new friend.  Had fabulous food.  And some adult conversation.

Amazing.

I actually escaped a little early with a friend of mine and went to a shoe store in search of some boots.  Unfortunately we only had 15 minutes before they closed and I felt rushed.  I found a pair of shoes (not boots as the Hubster very quickly pointed out).  They seem comfy although I'm concerned about them slipping off my heels.  We shall see.  My awesome friend had a $10 coupon too.  So, score!

Good timing too because as I put on my fairy cute outfit to leave I realized that I have zero cute flat shoes.  Zero.  Fortunately it felt like a fall day, so I wore sandals.  Heh.

I need to go back and see what I can do about those boots.  And maybe find some jeans.

So it was a great break.  Much needed.  Both girls were asleep when I got home. 

So hooray!

Didn't forget to post!

I just ran outta time!!!

Vacation Hubster

So the Hubster's job is stressful.  Has been for about a year now.  Will be for several more months.  That is life.  But he is doing amazingly well and I am so very proud of him!

He doesn't get much time off.  And even when he has a day or two work just hangs over his head.  Nature of the beast, I suppose. 

But when he got home at 11pm it was like this new relaxed guy arrived!  It was awesome.  Smiles.  Laughs.  Just happy!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Hubster is on vacation!  An entire nine days off!!!! 

We don't have any real set plans.  We are hoping to get some Christmas shopping in, he's going out with a friend tonight, I'm going out with friends tomorrow night, we have ballet class, I have jury duty (sigh), Thanksgiving, picking out and decorating our tree, making some Christmas presents. 

But really?  Relaxing.

I imagine he will take the dog running quite a bit.  And playing with the girls a bunch.  And having dinner as a family.  Man, I'm really looking forward to that. 

So hooray for my Vacation Hubster!!!

Who knew?!

I love apple cider.  Love.  It was a tradition to get a cup of hot cider after picking apples at the orchard every fall.  Good memories for me.

This afternoon I noticed a friend posted a picture of Honeycrisp Apple Cider.  Oh my.  Honeycrips are only the most amazing apple you will ever eat.  And probably the most expensive.  Heh.  Anyway.  I had to have it.

I had made a list of items I needed to pick up at Walmart this afternoon.  Cider was not on my list.  But we walked in and it was like a sign from Heaven.  Really!  We walked through the door and there was the display!

You can't argue with fate. 

And let me tell you.  Oh. My. Yum!

And only $5!

 Let me tell you, worth every penny!

New Recipes

I love to try new recipes. Love.

I usually wait until The Hubster is around, especially if it seems complicated, because the girls are always difficult in the evenings. Even more so when I'm preoccupied and cooking. Sigh.

Well, I wanted chicken fajitas today. I had been toying with the idea of making my own tortillas. Why? Well, I think they are overpriced. My amazing Aunt uses a short cut and cooks her own (they are pre-made and amazing, and she cooks them on the stove) and they are heavenly. And a friend of mine posted a recipe and said they were super easy and yummy. Ok, fine.

I decided to use this recipe here because it was significantly fewer calories. And yes. I used lard. Gasp!

They were awesome. I made half the recipe. It was super easy to put together in my food processor. I used hot water and not all of it. You don't want it to be too sticky.

They obviously take a little bit of time. Mainly just rolling them out super duper thin. But worth it. No preservatives. And cheap.

I will definitely do this again. Just not when I'm trying to juggle both crabby girls at dinner time.

So they weren't perfectly round.  The second batch was better!

Excuse the messy plate, this was my second fajita!

Maid

Ever feel like you need a maid?  Or a body double?  I sure do these days.

Big One has been very good about picking up after herself.  Playing with one toy at a time.  Putting them away before getting another.  Obviously I remind her, or help.  But it seems if she can keep up with her things she won't get so overwhelmed, which also means less tantrums and meltdowns.

Well now that Little One is alllllll over the place it is impossible.  The house can be spotless and if she has five minutes it is as if a tornado came through.

I am constantly picking up because it just isn't fair to expect Big One to pick up toys that she didn't toss all over the house!

But goodness, I don't wanna pick 'em up either!

What a Week!

Little One has been on antibiotics for an ear infection since last Monday.  It has been a struggle with her because she haaaaaates the medicine.  It isn't a pretty thing to watch.  Twice a day.  Sigh.

Yesterday, Big One said her right ear hurt.  Hmmm.  I asked where and she said inside.  I asked her later in the evening, same response.  Again this morning, exact same.  Took them both in to be checked/re-checked.

Little One is good to go!  Hooray no more medicine battle!

Big One, right ear infected.  Sigh.

I'm grateful that she can communicate with me and tell me what is wrong.  I hate that she is feeling badly.  But I'm glad we got her in and hopefully she will be on the mend soon!

In addition to the wonderful germs around this house, we had lots of other fun stuff going on.

The Hubster and I had to replace our entire HVAC system (furnace and air conditioning).  Sigh.  We knew it was coming, we were just hoping to wait a little longer.  We got a great system, much more high efficiency, and haggled a pretty good deal.  I am really happy to have a working humidifier and UVC light as well.

I hope we are in this home for a long time, but if we aren't at least this purchase will be good for re-sale!

And our heating and a/c costs should go down considerably.  Trying to think positively.

They were here from 7:30am until 6:30pm.  Long day.  Lots of noise.  People in and out.  Short naps for the girls thanks to the ruckus.  Glad it is over.

Ah, you thought I was done?  Nope.

I noticed they cut our phone line while they were here.  So I was on the phone with our phone company for over an hour (during the witching hour) after they left.  And then was stuck waiting from 8am-12pm today for the guy to show up.  Late.  It is fixed.  It was free.

But man. 

Short nap for Little One today.  No nap for Big One (or myself ).  I'm sensing an early bedtime for all of us.

I'm crabby.  I need a vacation. 

And it is only Tuesday.

Success!

Maybe I'm counting my eggs before they hatch.... but...

Look at this!!!

Do you see that?!  It is milk in there!  Organic WHOLE milk! 

I can hear the angels singing!

I probably gave her about 6oz and she drank about 1/3 of it.  I will take it!  We are getting there!!!

Maybe I won't go bankrupt on YoBaby Yogurt.  Heh.

Weight Loss Update

I posted awhile back about trying to lose the rest of this baby weight that I was carrying around.

It was much easier to drop the pounds after I had Big One.  Maybe it was because I was younger.  Maybe it was because I was trapped under a nursing or sleeping baby for months not willing to risk waking her in order for me to go and grab something to eat?  Whatever it was, it didn't repeat itself this time around.

I decided in July that it was time.  Really.  I wanted my clothes to fit again.  I wanted to feel good about the way I looked.

The Hubster was always incredibly supportive.  He never ever told me I needed to lose weight.  He always told me how beautiful I was (inside and out).  This was something I needed to do for me.

So I had two goals.  The first was to get down to my pre-pregnancy weight.  The second was to lose five additional pounds.

To throw a little something in the mix, I was nursing.  It is very important to make sure you eat enough calories per day when you are nursing, otherwise you risk losing your milk supply.  Little One never took a bottle, and wouldn't drink anything but water out of a sippy, so losing my supply would be a huge problem.

So it was this crazy balance of eating the right things, and enough of them, but still managing to lose weight.

I hit my first goal about three weeks ago.  Good old fashioned counting calories.  Who knew?!  

I'm about two pounds away from my second goal.  I'm not surprised I didn't quite make it while I was nursing.  The body has a way of holding on to a little extra fat to sustain the milk supply.  So gosh I hope if flies off now!


But I'm pretty proud of myself.  I set a goal.  I stuck with it.  I did the work.  It was certainly not always fun (I really love food).  But I did it.

And I feel good about myself.  My body isn't exactly where I would like for it to be.  But I'm close.

I've lost 10 pounds since the middle of July.

Not too bad!

Mine.

Yup.  All mine.  What, you ask?

My body.  Mine.  Mine.  Mine.

Since early 2008 my body has pretty much been used for someone else's purpose.  I wouldn't trade any of it for anything.  I have two of the most beautiful gifts in the world thanks to this body of mine.

But boy is it nice to have it back!

Twenty months of being pregnant and twenty-four months of nursing.

And it is all in the past for me now. 

Nursing Big One was a challenge sometimes.  Mainly because she took forever.  Little One was a challenge in a different way, she only wanted me.  Bottle?  Pppsht.  

I have never been one of those mamas who adored nursing.  *dodging flames*

I nursed for other reasons.

I nursed because it was cheap.  Do you know how expensive formula is?!

I nursed because it was healthy.  Healthy for my munchkins.  And there are lots of health benefits for the mama as well.

I nursed because it was convenient.  No running downstairs in the middle of the night to fix a bottle and warm it up.

I set a goal for myself.  One year.  I met that goal both times.  I am really proud of that accomplishment.  I feel like I did great things for my babies and for myself.

And I'm glad to be done.  A little sad this time around.  Just knowing that it is something that I will not experience again.  Bitter sweet.

Thursday, when I nursed Little One for the last time, I just took it all in.  I will definitely cherish those quiet times I had with my girls.  Certainly something no one can ever take from me.

And I'm pretty darn proud of myself. 

But time to move on.

Happy Veteran's Day!

I have many Veteran's in my life.  I am so grateful to each of them.

How selfless must you be to go where you are told, when you are told, for as long as you are told, with no questions allowed?  Can you imagine leaving your life behind for six months, a year, or even 18 months?  Missing holidays?  Missing the birth of your children?  Missing them grow up?

We live in a pretty selfish society.  We want, want, want.  We take, take, take.  We expect.

I know it takes an amazing person to put the needs of others in front of your own.  Not just the needs of your family.  The needs of your nation.

I come from a military family.  Both of my grandfathers served.  My Papa chose to correct his varicose veins on his own dime in order to join the military.  Apparently they wouldn't take him initially.  Amazing.  I have Uncles that have served.  My cousins are currently serving.  They have done multiple tours to the Middle East.  One of them is over there now.  My brother-in-law served.  My husband served for five years.  Countless friends.

I couldn't be more proud.  I am surrounded by giving, selfless, amazing people.

To each of you:  Thank you for giving so much of yourself.  Your sacrifice has not gone unnoticed or unappreciated.

My Veteran's Homecoming.

Happy First Birthday!!

Gosh.  One year has gone by with Little One.  It truly amazes me that it flew by.  Probably for the best because I have gotten very little sleep.  Heh.

I remember like it was yesterday how totally miserable I was before she decided to join us.  Huge.  Not sleeping.  Chasing after a two year old.  So sure she would be three weeks early like her big sister.  She had other plans.  And the Hubster was working all.the.time.

But we are so thrilled to have her complete our family.  Little One is so funny.  So smart.  She loves to chase her big sister around.  Loves our dog to pieces.  She is usually a pretty good eater, which is a huge relief to me.  She hates avocados.  Loves pears.  Adores bread, I imagine she gets that from her Daddy and from me.  She loves Elmo, he makes her light up like a Christmas tree.  Little One loves music and dances whenever she hears some playing.  And finally.  FINALLY she is starting to sleep through the night.  For that I am so very grateful. 

I cannot imagine our life without her.  I can foresee many years of her following Big One around trying to emulate her (let's hope they are good things she is emulating, huh?). 

I've stolen a few extra snuggles from her in the last few days.  She is growing up so fast.

Little One.  Brand new.

Little One on her first birthday eating cake!

My sweet baby girl, you are so loved.  I hope you can feel that every single day.  I cannot wait to see how you change the world, because I know you will.

Unexpected Visit!

I got an unexpected text from my bff a couple weeks ago.  She was not too far away from me (at a work conference) and had some time to meet up for dinner.

She moved many many miles away this past summer, which made me super sad.  I had no idea when we'd be able to meet up again because both of our funds are limited these days.

The best part was the the Hubster was actually home so I could have an unexpected Girls' Night Out with my best friend. 

I forgot my camera, of course, and she finally send me the pic we took.

Man, I miss her.

What amazes me though is that we met 12 years ago.  12 years!!!  And boy have we been through a lot together.   Pretty amazing to see how we have grown.  She is awesome.  And so smart.  And beautiful.  And funny.  And talented.  And fun. 

Have I mentioned how much I miss her?

It was awesome having some time (sans kiddos) to catch up with her.

I love her even more because she tells me I look better now than back then.  Man she is a good friend.

Sigh

So the Hubster's schedule is all over the place.  It kind of drives me crazy only because we don't know very far in advance when he will be working.  This is temporary.  Next spring we will for sure know when he is or isn't working.  I look forward to that.  Especially because I just got an email saying the schedule we planned our holiday vacation around has been changed.  Again.  Sigh.  

In addition to that fabulous news we had our furnace checked out this morning.  Just to make sure all was well for the cold weather that is on its way.  It looks like a new furnace is on our early Christmas list.  Booo! That was not an expense we were hoping to incur right now.  Double sigh.  

We have a bunch of different companies coming out to give us quotes so we can figure out what the best direction is for us.  But ugh.

I know, I'm just your ray of sunshine today.  I'll try harder tomorrow.

 

Super Cape!

A friend of mine really must believe in my sewing abilities.  Heh.

I have no been sewing much.  I'm just completely lacking in motivation.  And time.  And energy.  

She asked if I would make her soon-to-be 3 year old a super hero cape.  She asked me... in July.  But I did it.  It was my first.  I'd probably make some changes to any more I'll make.  It was a little bigger than I anticipated.  Just means it will fit him for a loooong time.

We miss our friends.  A lot.  But I hope they think of us while he is saving the day in his super hero cape!

Here is Big One modeling my creation!

Please notice my very first applique.

See?  A little big.

The other side and applique #2.

My beautiful model.

It was a fun project.  Any time I try something for the first time it takes a little bit of extra time.  So new project + first time attempting an applique = looooooong project.

But I hope the birthday boy loves it!  And knows that it was made with lots of love!

Time Change

Yawn.

Who ever invented the idea of the time change clearly did not have children.  Little One was up at 6:30 this morning.  I am not TERRIBLY upset about this because she slept all.night. long.  Wooo hooooo!  I wish I slept better than I did.  But still!

Let's hope this continues!

That being said the time change was also in combination with trip to visit my sister.  So we were out of our normal routine and our normal beds. 

We had a fabulous trip.  The weather was beautiful.  We visited with friends at dinner Saturday evening at a yummy diner.  And then we went to a food show today and met up with a friend that I haven't seen since my WEDDING!  It was so great!  We sampled our way through sausages, and a bizillion types of olive oils and balsamic vinegars (mmmmmmmmmm!), and snacks, and ice creams, and chocolate cake, and and and and and.... I think you get the point.  It was awesome.  I could have stayed there all day.  Alas, my children needed to eat some real food.  And sleep.

Speaking of sleep.  I am exhausted.  

Sweet dreams, readers.  

Halloween Festivities

I'm taking the girls to visit my sister this weekend, and I wanted to make sure I got my blogging done!

So totally jumping all over the place....

My girls made some really cute animals for Halloween.

Little One wore a previous Halloween costume for Big One.  I adore this costume.  And it makes me incredibly sad that we don't have any more Halloweens where this will be used.  Sigh.

I mean, really?  Cutest. Elephant. Ever.

Here is Big One.  Let me tell you, she was ferocious!  

We went to a friend's house for a pre-Halloween party on Saturday.  Then Sunday morning we carved the pumpkins.  I was huge and miserable last year at Halloween and the Hubster was working crazy hours.  So we skipped that tradition.  But I was determined to fit it in this year.

Big One was not a huge fan of the pumpkin guts on her.  Little One was crabby, teething, had a cold, and tired.  So she was just not amused.  The Hubster picked a crazy one from the Pumpkin Carving kit.  So I was left interpreting what the girls' jack-o-lanterns were going to look like.  Luckily Little One can't talk.  Heh.  Big One wanted a "Scary Monster Pumpkin with three circle eyes and a circle mouth and pointy teeth."  Double heh.  

Boo it came out blurry :(

And I ended up with some super yummy roasted pumpkin seeds thanks to this recipe!

I am truly amazed that it is November already.  Bring on the holidays!

Sesame Street Extravagenza Part 2

Well, here's hoping that I can post the rest of the pics I wanted to post!

I found most of my ideas.  Ok... all of the ideas on Pinterest.

Entry way complete with monster feet leading up to the door, primary color pinwheels, and personalized signs with the girls' names on them and how old they turned!

The awesome Sesame Street Characters from tissue paper pom-poms came out perfectly!

And of course the birthday girls eating their cupcakes!

We really had a fabulous time.  I wish I had gotten more pics of the entire space.  It looked great!

But geesh.  Exhausting.  Next year I will for sure have to work on my time-management skills.  I'm sure my entire family will thank me.

Sesame Street Extravagenza Part 1

So we did a joint party for the girls.  Big One turned three at the beginning of October and Little One will turn one next week.  Geesh.

We threw a heck of a bash.  I think everyone had a great time, too.

I had FABulous ideas.  And no time-management skills.  Heh.  I'm sure my family and my in-laws really appreciated being put to work while they visited.

We had a houseful.  I think it was 42 people that celebrated the girls!  Boy are they loved.  It really was fun.  And exhausting.  Glad we don't have to do it again for another year!

Here are some of the highlights!

The dessert table!  Character cupcakes, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Sugar cookies cut out in letters/numbers.

Elmo veggie tray!

Caprese skewers.  Note to reader - I would do these on tooth pics.  Skewers were just too big.

Mac-n-Cheese bites.  These were a huge hit!

Ok, apparently this will be the food post because Blogspot isn't allowing me to upload any other pics. 

We had a fabulous time celebrate my beautiful, funny, smart girls.  They really do make my world go 'round.