Sweetie Pie Pops

The cutest little sweetie pie pops you ever did see!
I found these over at the Best Bites site today. It is such an easy idea. There are even some matching printables to add to the cute factor!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/01/sweetie-pie-pops-plus-hand-pies-pie.html

In the spirit of Valentine's Day

"The more I give to thee, the more I have."
-Juliet

The Happy Home Fairy has been posting all sorts of great little tidbits for valentine's day. Her latest posts are all about romancing our husbands. She's got some fabulous ideas!

http://happyhomefairy.com/2011/01/30/the-25-days-of-love-fun-day-11-romancing-the-happy-hubby-part-1/

http://happyhomefairy.com/2011/01/31/the-25-days-of-love-fun-day-12-romancing-the-happy-hubby-part-2/

Wrap Up

We have had a very enjoyable weekend.
Ty had Friday off so we began our second house hunt. We ended up making an offer on another house. As always we are hoping for the best, but we are a bit guarded because of our previous disappointment. Friday night was a date night for Ty and I. We went to this chicago style italian restaurant. We were celebrating Ty's first real paycheck in a very long time! We had italian cream sodas and way too much bread. After dinner we went to Barnes and Noble for a little reading and comfy chair sitting. I think it is the perfect way to end an evening. On Saturday I ran 5 miles in 40 minutes. I haven't been up to that speed since before I had Max so I was pleased :)
Today we went to church and had a nice chicken supper. The kids and I made Valentine's countdown chains and we are planning on a little movie watching this evening. Ty goes back to work tomorrow, but Max has the day off so I think we will be doing a little more crafting. January has been busy and wonderful and crazy! I am excited for February and hoping we can continue to move along with our plans and goals!

Maybe for Christmas

I have always wanted to give Ty something really fabulous for Christmas. Wouldn't a motorcycle be fun? It's been a while since we have taken a ride on one of these.

Scary Awakening

I usually leave for the gym at 5am so that I can have a quick workout before Ty has to leave for work. This morning I woke up and decided my warm bed was much better than the gym and I went back to sleep. Ty got up and left for work. I was still enjoying dreamland. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Then the doorbell rang, several times. It was about 6:00. It was my parent's neighbor Cheryl. She had been up working on her computer when she noticed the light on in my car. She looked out the window and saw a hooded man sitting in my car. She thought at first it was Ty. She watched the man walk out of my car and into another car that was waiting. At this point she knew the man was not Ty and called the police. While the police were talking with Cheryl the car she had seen the man get into returned. When the driver noticed the police they tried to get away, but they were caught quickly. Cheryl was able to id the men. My car is being dusted for fingerprints and my GPS is gone. I am glad that was all that was in the car and I am glad that no one was hurt. It is still creepy to know that some strange person was in there and up to no good. I sometimes feel like these are the things that happen to everyone else, and while I know the situation could have been much worse, I feel very unnerved by the whole thing. Hopefully we can get the GPS back, but if not I am sure we will move on!
I think today I will cuddle with the kids, kiss Ty a little more, and eat some chocolate.

Awesome

Free Stuff!

Free Valentine Printables at Kara's Party Idea's!!!

http://karaspartyideas.blogspot.com/2011/01/free-valentines-printables-cards-party.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+KarasPartyIdeas+%28kara%27s+party+ideas%29

You will like them you will see...Try them try them!

There is some seriously cute stuff here folks.

Max is going to love these super hero valentines.

And doesn't this card make you all mushy.

Go check it out!

Flowers for me

and you
If you needed a little pretty in your day.

One step forward.......

Yesterday began with some sad news. The house we were on our way to purchasing had been appraised for less than we were going to pay for it. When I say less....I mean $50,000.00 less! Needless to say the buyers are really not interested in dropping the price. This makes no sense to us, but we are walking away. We were sad and discouraged, but good has come out of the situation. We now know that we can afford more house or at least the same quality house. We are planning on starting our search once again this weekend. We have decided that we really like the Beaumont area and we will be looking there exclusively.
We are still moving forward! Ty is loving his job. Max is doing well in school. I continue to feel slightly unsettled, but I am making the most of our situation.

Foiled!

My mom and I spent the day making large batches of rolls for a relief society activity later this week. The rolls were covered in foil while they rising. When we started baking I started making piles of foil. The kids were running all over the place so I started grabbing them and making them little foil hats. Next thing we knew they were pirate hats and Max and Mia started swashbuckling!

Maybe they don't really look like pirate hats, but that's what we were pretending they were.

Max has been in that weird photo face phase for a while, but Mia is now leaning in that direction as well.

Zackary wouldn't keep his hat on his head, but he did join in on the pirate adventure. He found a sword and attacked everyone.

In the meantime we baked up some super yummy rolls!

Love Boxes

I have been getting some great Valentine fun ideas from the Happy Home Fairy
http://glittermagic.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/the-25-days-of-love-fun-day-2-valentine-mailboxes/
I loved her idea for personalizing valentine's day mailboxes.
I found the same mailboxes she used at Target for $1 a piece :)
I got one for each child. Mia got a pink one. Max got a red one and Zackary has a little white one.

We used stickers to decorate our mailboxes.

We made some miniature pieces of mail to go in the mailboxes as well. I am planning on using these for little love notes and fun treat drop offs as the holiday draws closer. For now the kids were having a great time watching Blue's Clues with their mailboxes so that they could get mail with Steve!

Dinner Tonight!

I am hurrying to the store before Max gets out of school.
I need to buy sour cream so that we can make these tonight:

Sour Cream Enchiladas!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/01/sour-cream-enchiladas/

Thanks to the pioneer woman, for once again making dinner amazing :)

So far this week:

It's Thursday night and the week has flown by!
Ty has been busy getting to know his new work environment. He was pleasantly surprised to learn that the entire anesthesia department eats for free at the hospital cafeteria. I never have to send Ty with a brown bag lunch again. I am not sure what I will do with all of the extra cookies now.
Max had a busy week at school and bought lunch from the cafeteria for the first time. From the way he talked about it, I think it may have been the best meal of his life!
Mia and I have been reading like crazy and working on her ABC's. She is finally showing an interest in writing! I am planning on sending her to preschool this fall so hopefully by then she will be writing her name at least.
My mom took Max and Mia to the pool where my grandma lives. It is heated year round to about 90 degrees. They had a blast! I can't believe they are swimming in January :)
Little Zack has not been to the pool yet, because I have not been in the mood to get in a swimsuit and chase him around. While he is at home he plays with his cars which he loves more than anything! He drives them around and makes little vroom-ing sounds.
I am in love with the California sunshine and have been walking Max to and from school every day.
We are looking forward to Friday and the weekend!

I love Valentine's Day!
I don't care what anyone says about it being a commercial holiday invented by candy companies.
I think it is a great day to have fun with the people you love.
I found some great Valentine's themed foodie fun ideas. These were some of my favorites:

Valentine's Day Brownie Bags

http://www.twigandthistle.com/blog/2010/01/diy-valentines-day-brownie-bags/

Little Sweetie Pies

http://www.twigandthistle.com/blog/2009/02/diy-sweetie-pie/

and a Heart-y Valentine's Pizza!

http://onecharmingparty.com/2011/01/18/valentine-pizza/

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

These cookies from The Curvy Carrot were part of the Foodbuzz top 9 this morning.
I love the ones with the colorful sprinkles. My kids love making the peanut butter version of this cookie at Christmas time and I think I could make these using pink and red sprinkles for valentine's day.

http://www.foodbuzz.com/blogs/3156074-chocolate-thumbprint-cookies

Happy Birthday Ty!

Today was Ty's 30th birthday!
Ty had to work today so the kids and I spent the day getting ready. We wrapped the gifts, decorated the house, and made the cake! This year I made a root beer float cake with whipped vanilla frosting. I topped it off with chocolate ganache, because it seemed like the right thing to do.

When Ty came home from work we did presents right away and then we had some chinese food for dinner.
After dinner I put one little candle on the cake.

We sang happy birthday and then I fed Zackary cake as quickly as I could. He was screaming for it....Ty liked it too.
We love you Ty! You are the best :)

One more thing

While I am super excited about Ty's birthday and all the other good stuff going on. I forgot to mention one more little thing:

One more week until the return of Gossip Girl!
and Chuck Bass!

Happy birthday Ty, I love you....

Reasons to Celebrate!

1. It's Ty's 30th birthday!
2. We are having cake :)
3. It is almost 80 degrees outside!
4. It's a holiday
5. Zack slept through the night for the first time since we left Tennessee!
6. Mia went to Sunbeams yesterday! (and not to Max's CTR class!)

I love a little celebration! Tonight we are having a little party for Ty. We have the presents all wrapped and I am planning on picking up some of his favorite chinese food. The kids are excited. Can't wait!

Looking forward to

Strawberries!
I know it's only January, but my parents strawberry plants are already up and growing :)

In other news: we will close on our house February 22nd!

Garage Sales

My mom goes out every Saturday morning with a group of friends. They map out a route ahead of time of the weekend garage sales. They get up early and treasure hunt all morning. Today I decided to join them. The company is always wonderful. I love a little girl talk. I found some great deals; a doll house for Mia, clothes for Zac, and a few fun things for Max. At the end of the morning, however, I felt a bit disappointed. I had spent money, not a lot, but some. I had bought some cute things, but nothing we really needed. I think unless I was able to use great discretion I might end up wasting money week after week. I usually go to the gym on Saturday mornings and I think next week my tradition will resume. As for saving money, I think I do best when I shop online or in store for one item that I know I need and want and look for the best deal.
What are your thoughts on garage sales, and saving money?

Once there was a snowman!

I got this great idea from the happy home fairy.
She has been posting great ideas for snowman crafts and snacks. While we are enjoying sunshine here in California, much of the country is covered in snow. I forget that people are still making snowmen! Today we made some of our own.

We used mini marshmallows for the border and filled the snowman with coconut.

Mia used gumdrops for buttons, chocolate chips for eyes, and tootsie rolls for arms.
I tried to get her to write her own name, but she had no interest. I did get her to tell me which letters to write so I have high hopes for the future!

Feeding the Birds

This morning, after Zackary went down for his nap, Mia and I had a little craft time fun.

We wanted to make little bird feeders to hang in the trees. We needed bird seed, peanut butter.....

......and bread.

We used cookie cutters that Mia picked out to cut the bread into shapes.

Next we spread peanut butter over the bread.

We pressed the bread, peanut butter side down, into the bird seed.

Finally we hung our little bird feeders high up in the trees.

Chocolate

In a bowl
I have been making a lot of brownies lately.
We are all happier because of it :)

New school and projects

Max started school again on Monday. In Tennessee he was attending a full day kindergarten and now he is attending a half day kindergarten that doesn't start until 9:50 am! I am loving the laid back mornings. Max seems to be adjusting well to his new teacher and classmates. They have had hot chocolate for snack every day this week :)
I have been crafting and reading with Mia while Max has been at school. I think she is glad to have some time for herself again.
Zackary has discovered the sandbox and has been spending his days distributing the sand throughout the backyard.
Ty and I are busy with home inspections, loan officers, new bank accounts, and other financial fun. In his free time Ty has been dry walling and painting my dad's garage. I think he was missing his projects. I know he is anxious to have his own garage where he can do all of his wood working and furniture building. I am counting down the days until we can move into our house! I feel like we have been so blessed. The Lord has been very mindful of our needs and has helped us transition so smoothly. We are so thankful!
Hope everyone is having a great week!

Gettin' Fresh in the Backyard

I have been away from California for a long time. I remember my first summer away from home. I missed my parents fruit trees so much!
The kids and I are having great fun playing in the yard. Mia and Max love to play in the sandbox and Zack enjoys hiding in the little orchard. We are all loving the fresh fruit!

Seriously! Check out this gorgeous little avocado....growing on a tree just outside the back door!
We are going guacamole crazy :)

Oranges for juicing or eating. If you have never had an orange fresh off the tree, you really don't know what an orange is supposed to taste like. (Better than candy!)

Let's not forget the lemons.
They add freshness to almost everything and Zac is having a great time throwing them all over the place.

January!

It may not be snowing here in southern California but we are still enjoying plenty of hot cocoa, warm soup, and together time. Hope everyone is enjoying their month :)

A Little Update

The other day at the library bookstore I found a bunch of cook's illustrated magazines for .25 cents a piece! I have been reading and learning and tonight I did a little cooking. I made fried chicken and it was so fabulous. Funny that I would live in the south for almost 3 years and just now learn how to make really good fried chicken! So fried chicken for dinner and chocolate cupcakes for dessert! It's a good thing I joined the gym out here.
Ty went to his first staff meeting this morning. I think he was really glad to get back into the workplace and feel professional again.
The owners of the house we made an offer on came back with a counter. We countered right back. I think we can both get what we want! When the deal is finalized I will post pictures and details.
Max starts school on Monday. Here in California the kids get 3 weeks of Christmas break! It feels like Max has been off forever. I know he is looking forward to getting back to school. I am excited for the time I will be able to spend with Mia. With all of the transition I haven't had much of a chance to work with her. My goal for 2011 is to help her to learn all of her letters. She is very headstrong and does not really enjoy learning right now so it is a challenge, but I know we can do it :)
Zac is loving the southern California winter weather. It has been so wonderful to get outside so much. He loves taking walks and hiding in the orchard in my parent's backyard.
Everyone is doing well and we have been very blessed. We are just working on moving forward with our plans and we are trying to live as normally as possible while we are still in transit!

Today was a Tuesday

Ty and I made an offer on a house today!
I can't help but daydream about decorating the kid's rooms and cooking in the kitchen!

We went downtown with my brother and the kids today. We stopped by the library bookstore so that I could stock up on magazines for the gym. I am so excited to get my cardio on in the morning! After the bookstore we did a little tour de Redlands. We played by the fountains at the Lincoln Shrine and danced on stage at the bowl. On the way home we stopped for tacos at Cuca's. Oh how I have missed good tacos! I seriously cannot get enough of them now that I am back in California. After tacos I had to go to the store and buy good chocolate with which I had to make some good brownies. Overall it was a pretty awesome Tuesday.

Hoping to hear some good news soon!

Snowman Milk Glasses!

I found this fabulous breakfast treat idea at Bakerella.com!
http://www.bakerella.com/milk-men/

My kids are going to love it.

What you will need:
small milk glasses
powdered doughnut holes
straws
milk

To decorate,

Small candies attached to the doughnut hole with frosting to create the snowman face, felt for the scarves, and buttons to glue on to the front of the milk bottle.

I wonder if using chocolate or strawberry milk would completely ruin the effect?

Happy 2011!

To celebrate New Year's Eve I put together a little treasure hunt for the kids. The clues led them to a box full of noisemakers and candy. Max and Mia were able to blow the horns on their own. Zackary put the horn to his lips and made his own horn noises!

We built a fire in the backyard and played with glow sticks and made s'mores. It was a great New Year's Eve! The night ended early because we are old and tired, but 2011 still came :)
This year I resolve to eat more butter, buy more shoes, and to watch every new episode of Gossip Girl.
Here's to a better me ;)