Blessing day!

Fashion Advice

There's no better way to complete a totally cute outfit than with your little brother's future Halloween hat.

Aprons

This was my latest craft project--aprons. It was inspired by this first picture. Miranda got this little apron from Grandma Merilynn (who is modeling with Miranda in the pictures) for Christmas last year. It is such a cute design and Miranda loves wearing it. So, I made matching apron sets for mother/child for a church auction to raise money for the youth programs. I think they turned out really cute! Thanks to both moms who helped me sew them in time for the auction--they were a big hit!

Happy Anniversary

Here's to six years and counting!

Losing It

Warning: This post contains sarcasm and some bitterness.

It's official. I'm losing it.

My HAIR has started to come out in handfuls, thanks to post-partum hormones. I'm really looking forward to a fashionable, fuzzy, short regrowth look for summer.

My SANITY is going. Miranda has started doing two new things this week, and let me seriously say that they better be phases that pass quickly. One is that she is screaming at the top of her lungs. No matter what I do--ignore it, punish it, explain why it's freaking annoying--she continues to do it until I successfully distract her with something else. I'm not sure what kid she learned this from, but I'm pretty sure it was one in nursery. The other thing she has been doing lately is a fake burp. Yea, really cute and feminine, you can bet. This one, I'm pretty sure I know who she learned it from, and he's not a 'kid'. Oh well, at least we get to practice saying "excuse me" a lot.

My PATIENCE is wearing thin. As I was nursing Bradley today, Miranda put tape on my toenail. When I pulled it off, along with it came my toenail polish. Good-bye $28 bucks I just paid for my pedicure a week ago that I was hoping to stretch out for a good two months. Which leads me to this question: Why is it that just as toddlers are becoming so fluent and picking up so many new words, why is it that now is when I feel the most like cursing and find myself having to bite my tongue?

What's the Big Deal About Caviar?

Jeremy's employer, as a bonus, paid for he and I to have dinner at La Caille Restaurant. Jeremy had been there once for a high school dance, but I had never and actually told Jeremy last year that I wanted to do that for our 6th Anniversary, which is coming up in a couple weeks! So I was quite excited.

It was fun and definitely worth doing once, and of course it was wonderful that we didn't have to pay the bill (which was over $200 by the way!), but I don't think I'd ever go back. The food wasn't that delicious for that price. The atmosphere was wonderful, though, and now one of our dreams is to turn our patio into a nice covered atrium one day like they have there.

Anyway, I ordered the lobster bisque appetizer because I love lobster, but mostly because it came with caviar and I have never tried caviar. I cannot believe people spend huge amounts of money on that! It hardly has a distinct taste besides tasting salty, and it's really crunchy and gets stuck in your teeth. Tell me if you disagree with me...Jeremy's appetizer was crab cakes, and they were really delicous.

For dinner I had the filet mignon and Jeremy had salmon-both really good. Jeremy loves creme brulee, so he had that for dessert and did love it. I ordered the "Trio of La Caille Desserts" because I was indecisive. It is "a miniture sampling of our favorite desserts: Creme Brulee, Chocolate Chantilly Cake, & Baked Alaska". When the waitress brought me my dessert, she apologized that the chef was still making the Baked Alaska, and gave me some chocolate dipped strawberries instead until he was done. I ate most of what I could still fit in my stomach, but I was so full that I knew if they brought the Baked Alaska there was no way I could even have a bite of it. I asked for it to go, but it still wasn't ready yet and they were so apologetic and said my dessert was complimentary on them, but to tell the truth, I had no idea what Baked Alaska was, and I didn't know what I was missing, so I said not to worry about it. Well, in case you don't know either, I just googled it, and it's a cake and ice cream dessert topped with meringue. YUM. I should have waited--my food would have digested in the meantime, right? That's what the picture is, at the top, by the way.

Nemo Party

I can't believe our Mandy is two! We had a "Finding Nemo Party" for her to celebrate since she loves anything fish. (Ask her dad why that is...) Anyway, although I think she was a little overwhelmed, she had tons of fun, too!

The kids all went fishing for prizes and here they are modeling one of their prizes, fish glasses.
'Fishing' over the banister.

I decided to make the cake because I didn't like the one from the grocery bakery. I think it turned out cute, although it was my first time using fondant and I need to practice that more! It was a vanilla cake with cream cheese filling and cream cheese frosting~delicious!
Making a wish for a terrific year of two's ahead!

Thumb vs. Binky

Little Brad has started to look for and--often finds--his thumb. He loved his binky for the first couple of months, but lately hasn't taken it very much. Now I catch him sucking away on his fist or thumb when he's hungry.
Miranda is a serious thumb sucker, and I don't think I want two thumb suckers. But then again, I don't know that I really have a choice, do I?
'Thumb' definitely has it's benefits over the binky, but it's not a bonus when it comes to kicking the habit as a toddler! The pediatric dentist told me he would like Miranda done sucking her thumb by age three, at the latest, which I don't really see happening without some serious and possibly painfully emotional intervention...

Have You Ever

Have you ever gone to a movie all by yourself? I did on Monday. Miranda and I are sick right now and it made for a terrible and terribly long day for both of us. So when Jeremy got home, he said he was kicking me out of the house. He was really serious, too, so I took him up on it. I went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic. I'm sure the other 12 people in the theater were thinking, "Oh, that's too bad. That girl's friend stood her up!" Anyway, it was a great movie and it was great to get out of the house and relax for a couple hours...

Family Pictures

I love how our pictures turned out! They are priceless. Now I just have to decide which ones to enlarge and frame...

Random Act of Kindness

What's helping keep our spirits up during this cold week? Gerber daisies from Jeremy's parents--we love them!

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

We had breakfast with the Easter Bunny today. It's a free event at South Towne Mall and our second year of participation. If you have never been, you should plan on going next year, too. Here's what to expect:
Wait in line to get the breakfast--which is tiny Chick-Fil-A sandwiches, pancakes with no syrup/jam, and o.j. or chocolate milk.
Speakers begin blaring "Here Comes Peter Cottontail" and the rabbit makes his entrance with mall employees holding large baskets of plastic Easter Eggs.
Breakfast begins to be served and the line progresses towards the bunny and the food.
Meet the bunny and take a picture, if desired.
Get a plastic Easter Egg (with candy inside) for each child.
Get breakfast.
Eat breakfast.
Wish you had maple syrup for the pancake.
Marvel on how soon Easter will be here.
Put wet wipes to good use on sticky fingers and chocoalte milk mustaches.
Pack up the kids to go home and think, "That was fun--for a free event!"

Pictures

Thanks to everyone who gave me referrals for photographers! It was so fun checking out their websites/blogs. We did get family pictures last week and I'm really happy with how they turned out. We got some family shots, but mostly I wanted just portraits of each of the kids. Miranda was a typical two-year old and didn't want to fully co-operate, but the photographer bribed her with fruit snacks to get a few great shots. Brad was really good too, and was wide awake the whole time. There is a picture of Brad on the photographer's website if you want to check it out. The website is http://www.angelamariephoto.com/ and it's her post for today, March 16th, the last picture. I'm still choosing the pictures I want and then she'll edit them. I can't wait to get them back!

Good Things

This week Jeremy went to Nashville for a work conference. He got back last night and had a good time. He got to spend time with some family, as well, which was so fun for him and definitely made the trip worth it. His flight got in at 7:55 pm, and it was so cute, he called me and asked if I would keep Miranda up past her bedtime so he could see her and put her to bed.

I ended up staying at my parent's house for a couple of the nights because I knew I wouldn't be up to playing the single-parent role very well. I'm really glad I did. My mom helped a lot with the kids. It was so nice to have someone there (during the day!) to help hold a fussy baby or distract a dramatic toddler. We had some delicious meals and saw cousins every day, too. While Miranda napped, my mom was nice enough to watch Brad while my sister Holli and I went out and did some errands. It's so wonderful to go to stores without kids! Since it was a change from the normal routine, I tried some new things this week. These are some good things I discovered.

Lean Cuisine's Butternut Squash Ravioli
Holli bought me this because she wanted me try it. It is so de-lish! I want to find a recipe to make it at home.

Flower Hair Clips
Kristi, my other sister, made some of these for Miranda. They are so cute and dress up a pony tail so easy! I love them on alligator clips.

World Market
Fun, eclectic stuff.

Fast Fix
They fixed my mom's wedding band in 20 minutes (the prongs got bent and her diamond was crooked) and then they offered to clean my ring. I love having it professionally cleaned. It's like the same happy feeling as getting a pedicure.

Layers Clothing
Okay, so this isn't new for me, but it was one of the many stores Holli and I went to. If you're not familiar with this store, you have to check it out. http://layersclothing.com/shop.php We there at least every couple of months. They have a warehouse with a retail store and a lot of clearance items. They just moved to Sandy on the West frontage road right off 90th. I got this top in black, Holli got it in cream. Only $8.

Mommy's Little Helper

I gave Brad a bath and Miranda wanted to help, probably because it's a good excuse to play in the water. When I was done, of course Brad was crying because he hates getting bathed, so I told Miranda she could keep playing while I went and dressed him. When I came back after a couple minutes, she had decided someone else needed a bath.

What a Handsome Boy

Which way to the gym?

Don't you just love the sporadic movements of newborns? It looks like Brad is showing off is muscles. Check out this cute 'gun show'.

Stroller Ride

Miranda and I have been waiting all winter to go on our walks that help keep us sane. With the warmer weather last week, we went for the first time this year and Brad got to have his first stroller ride. (Miranda didn't want her picture taken and she was already climbing out of the stroller before I could take the picture...)

Good Hair, Bad Hair

Last Friday we went to a wedding reception and took this picture of the kids dressed up so cute.
Isn't it funny how cute hair one day can create a bad hair day the next morning?