Miscellany Monday

(For some reason, I can't get blogger to space these out so it looks like one huge paragraph. Sorry) 1. I am mentally bracing myself today, on this last day of April, for a very busy May. April was crazy busy, too, but May will be nuts. May seems to be the start of a very hectic summer for us, which will make it go quickly and that's a good thing for me. 2. I totally unloaded on Chris on Saturday night. Not in a good way. It was like mean, crazy, hormonal devil-wife became unhinged. To be fair to me, the devil-wife, he had been pushing every single one of my buttons for about 28 hours (but who's counting). It was unintentional, but button pushing nonetheless. Instead of just telling him about the button pushing, I sent him a very mean text and then felt like crap. So I apologized but still felt like crap. He was very gracious about it and even apologized for the button pushing and now all is right in the world again. 3. After feeling so mean, I made a vow to do something nice for someone every single day this week. On Saturday I called a friend who I hadn't talked to in a long time who has had a lot of really heavy things on her plate lately, just to chat. We had a really nice talk and it felt great to re-connect. Yesterday I would have done something nice but I had a horrific migraine and puked and slept by turn all afternoon and evening. Today I helped out in Sydney's preschool class when one of the teacher's was sick, and that was a lot of fun. I wanted to do something nice for Chris so I decided to mow the lawn. I should say, I tried to mow the lawn. I hauled it out and couldn't get the darn thing started. So much for that one. 4. Savannah is getting so grown up these days. She is almost 21 months! She is invited to a birthday party this weekend for one of her friends who is turning two! And in a few months, it will be her second birthday party? How did this happen? 5. I love the show The Big Bang theory. Sheldon makes me laugh so hard and Chris and I take every opportunity these days to say, "Bazinga!"

Fire Station Field Trip

Sydney and her preschool class had a field trip to a fire station yesterday. She was very excited to go because she knows her daddy used to be a firefighter. I actually had an appointment, so Melissa took her to the fire station. She had a blast and loved getting to wear a fire hat! It's kind of sad, this is her last preschool field trip.

Pioneer Woman

On Tuesday my friend Kelli and I drove to Seattle to see this lady:

This is Ree Drummond, otherwise known as The Pioneer Woman. She is a blogger, chef, and mom. She has a show on the Food Network that Chris and I both enjoy watching. Anytime I cook a recipe of her's, it usually turns out really well and it's always wll liked, if not loved, by my family. I pretty much love her! She also wrote a book about meeting her husband called Black Heels to Tractor Wheels, which I highly recommend. Awesome book, quick read, and super funny. When I saw she was doing a book signing for her new cookbook, I immediately decided to go. So Kelli and I drove 3.5 hours each way just to hear her speak for less than an hour. Totally worth it. I'm pretty sure I was grinning like a fool during her entire speech. There were literally hundreds of people ahead of us in line to get their books signed and we dicided to throw in the towel and go home at about 9:45pm, knowing that we still had to drive 3.5 hours back home in the dark and in the rain. Ree had said anyone could leave their books and she would stay late to sign them, so my book is getting shipped to me all signed and I can't wait! Kelli and I had the best time just laughing, talking, and having girl time. We even had to pump gas, which is a big deal for us Oregon girls! I hope Ree comes back to the west coast soon, I'd love to go see her again!

Pancakes and Carseats

Sydney is getting so excited for kindergarten next fall. We went to her kindergarten orientation a few weeks ago and she loved it. Her new school had a pancake breakfast to support an art program and we decided to go. We really want to get her used to her new school and she was excited to go back.



On a totally different note, I took Sydney's carseat out of the car last weekend because it desperately needed to be cleaned. Savannah was fascinated with the carseat being in the hallway and sat and played in it for such a long time.

Playing Dress-Up

Sydney loves to play dress-up. For hours on end she will strut her stuff in various princess get-up's and play dresses. Tonight for the first time I put Savannah in her first little princess dress-up costume and oh my gosh, she was so cute! She was very proud of herself!






I couldn't resist taking this one after the dress was off but the hair poof was still in!



Sydney in some of her costumes. You never know which outfit Sydney will come out in!

Looking Outside

Much like her older sister, Savannah does not like animals. At all. For some reason, every single cat in the neighborhood hangs out in our backyard. What is it about our house? All the kids play in my driveway (Please dear Jesus don't let me ever run over a kid or a bike or a toy while backing out). And I mean, in our driveway. Every single kid, in the entire neighborhood, spends their afternoons on my driveway. And all their cats spend their days in my backyard. Poor Savannah, about half a million times a day screeches, "Ki-yee" which translates to "kitty." She stands at the back door and yells at the ki-yee to go away, which it never does. She becomes hysterical and cries if they come too close. Stupid cats.

Looking Back

I got this pic of Sydney the other day:



It made me think back to this one:



Where has the time gone?

Play Time

Three years ago when Melissa was on bedrest while expecting the twins, Sydney and I went over to her house a few times a week. Sydney and Madison could play, Melissa and I could chat, and I could work on laundry, dishes, and all the things that Melissa couldn't do. It was such a fun time and certainly it was the calm before the storm of twin boys! After the boys were born, we continued to go over there because it was way easier for me to bring one child to Melissa's house then it was for her to bring three children to mine. Also, with newborn twins, she still needed help with the laundry, dishes, etc. Again, it was a really fun, although much busier, season of our friendship. After I had Savannah, it was still easier to take my two over there. We realized that her boys have never played at my house. So this week Melissa brought her crew over to my house for the kiddos to have a playdate. I like our playdates; Melissa and I wear comfy clothes and the kids stay in jammies. We don't even bother to dress Sydney and Madison anymore because they immediately strip down to play dress-up. Here are some of the pics of their first playdate at my house.

Savannah was so excited to be able to play with the big girls!



This is something our house is sorely lacking in: BOYS. They weren't quite sure what to do with all the pink toys in our house!

Raspberry Poof

Chris' mom passed away a long time ago, so I never knew her. There are certain times in life when it would be nice to have a mother-in-law, you know? For example, when Chris and I got married he presented me with his half of the guest list and I accepted it, no questions asked. Well, maybe I should have asked some questions. Years later I have discovered people he left off, including family members, that a guy doesn't think about but a mom certainly would. And there are questions about Chris as a child that I would have loved to ask her. Apparentely she was an amazing cook and I would love to have some of her recipes, which she had memorized but not written down. So I was surprised and delighted this last Thanksgiving, which we spent with Chris' family, to discover a traditional family recipe that they always make at the holidays. It is called the Raspberry Poof and it is amazing. I decided to share it with you because I'm a giver. You're welcome.


2 bags (10-12oz) frozen raspberries (Not Birdseye brand)
2 cups applesauce (I used the no-sugar added kind)
1 cup boiling water
1 large package of raspberry or strawberry Jello
16 oz sour cream
1 bag mini-marshmellows

You will also need a wire strainer-this is essential.

Puree the raspberries. Place the wire strainer over a bowl and pour the raspberry puree in the strainer. This will take a while, the seeds clog it up and you have to kind of push the pulp through, rinse out the seeds, push the pulp through, rinse out the seeds, and repeat about 150,000 times.

Add the strained, pureed raspberries to the applesauce and mix; set aside.

Dissolve the Jello in the boiling water, then add to raspberry mixture. Pour into a 9x13 pan and chill until set (I left mine in to chill overnight).

Mix sour cream and marshmellows together and spread over top. Serve and enjoy!

I was a little skeptical about the sour cream (gross) mixed with the marshmellows, but trust me, it's DIVINE, AMAZING, and WONDERFUL.

If you make it, let me know what you think! I made it this last weekend as part of our Easter brunch and it is ssssoooo good. I think this will be a regular for our holiday meals now.

April 12th

Six years ago today, on April 12th 2006, I found out I was expecting Sydney. Our first little bundle of joy and pink and girliness. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. I had only been off my birth control less than a month and had just found out that Melissa was pregnant with Madison. I had a work meeting that day and came home and felt a little twinge in my abdomen. As soon as I felt it, I just knew. I took a pregnancy test and it almost immediately confirmed it. I was so excited! As soon as Chris walked in the door I shoved my pee-stick in his face and was like, "WE'RE HAVING A BABY!!!!" We were so excited! And now we have a five year old little Sydney, who is such a joy every day! Six years ago, today, I became a mommy. What an amazing joy that is.

Spaghetti!

SPAGHETTI!! Or as it's known in our house, sca-betty.



Apparently it's plate-lickin' good.

Easter Baskets

Who wouldn't want to wake up to a huge bucket full of candy and treats? I sure would, especially if they looked like this:








After the sugar wore off from all that candy and after a really nice Easter brunch, we decided to take the girls to the park. Chris and I made it a goal to visit all the parks in our city, there are 25, by the end of summer. We went to the one that was the farthest away and was still only about 10 minutes away.

Isn't she adorable? Don't let that happy face fool you. She was a WRECK at the park (well, pretty much she was a wreck all day) and while we were there I noticed a small amount of goo coming out of her ear. I know that's super gross, but I'm all about keeping it real. The ear goo plus the non-stop crying plus the gunky nose and cough prompted us to take her to the urgent care and sure enough, ear infection.

Sydney was totally pumped to go to the park! We had to leave early because of Savannah and she was so good about it, no whining or complaining. She is showing maturity more and more these days. I love that little sweater vest on her, it's so Chandler Bing, don't you think?

Easter Dresses

One of the 500 bazillion reasons I love having two girls is dressing them similarly. Especially at Easter. I LOVE Easter dresses (and little gloves, and bonnets, and pretty hair ribbons). This year I found the girls' Easter dresses on clearance at Gymboree at Christmas. I instantly fell in love with them and was so happy with how they turned out. They don't totally match, but Savannah's dress and Sydney's skirt are the same floaty, feathery material.

(This was the ONLY picture I could get of the two of them together.)



When I look at this picture, I realize how grown up Sydney really is becoming. She is fast entering that awkward all-arms-and-legs phase. Gotta love her, she always has to strike a pose for pictures.



Poor Savannah wasn't really feeling the photo shoot. We have all been sick for like a month and she's had it the hardest and the longest. She actually wrapped up Easter Sunday with a trip to urgent care and an ear infection. But she was so adorable in her little Easter dress and got lots of complitements at church!



You can really see the feathery material here.




I found these matching little fascinators for the girls and they were so pretty. Here is a close up Sydney's, but Savannah's looked just like it.

Easter Eggs

This morning we went to an Easter egg hunt at my mom's work. This has become a fun annual tradition. Sydney knows all about it and was really excited to get those eggs.


This was the first year that Savannah participated. It was like she was born to do this. She immediately started chucking those eggs in her bucket as fast as she could. Another little girl put her bucket down and Savannah even started stealing her eggs, too!



Both girls got lots of eggs! It was over in, literally, two minutes!



We did Easter eggs while Savannah was napping today. Sydney, of course, loves coloring Easter eggs.



I decided to do some crafty eggs. I did two in Washi tape and four in glitter polka dots. I used Zots, which are adhesive polka dots, then rolled them around in glitter.

Kidlet Delicious-ness

I love my kids more each day. I didn't think this was possible, but oh my gosh, they get cuter and cuddlier and funnier every single day. Look at Sydney striking a pose in her Cinderella pj's:


And putting lipstick on her baby sister.


They both love to help me sweep, or "seep" as Savannah calls it.


Savannah is obsessed with wearing shades these days.


Rockin' the tiara in Christmas jammies.


I could just kiss her cute little cheeks all day!



Ok, I totally just realized that in every single picture here both girls are in their jammies. In my defense, almost all of them were taken during spring break when we were all home sick.