date night

our fabulous valentine's party hosts knew we'd be splitting up for a few days because of work travel, so they offered to watch our kiddos so we could spend a little time together before the trip(s).  it was refreshing, and we had a really nice dinner at waterfront grill.

e had the ahi tuna tower, which i would describe as a pretty presentation of rice and avocado with a pile of raw fish on top. 

i do like sushi - even the raw varieties - but, this was NOT something i was interested in even looking at.  my boy's an ahi tuna lover, tho, and i think he enjoyed it.

i had the pecan parmesan crusted trout with a lemony artichoke sauce on top.  deee-lish!



  we decided not to flash people at the restaurant, so that's why our pix are not the best quality...

and, the pile is gone.

as shown at the bottom of this post, we had a little more sorting to do in this room.  not that this picture is very exciting to any of you, but it is to us!  a corner that we haven't seen in many months is now empty, and we had to snap a picture to prove it.  :)

table's all set

using the utensils from the play kitchen, thing 2 set the table for us.  she placed each one in a certain spot, and said who it was intended for as she went - gykee, mommy, daddy, ee-a.

mama was in the kitchen and saw us happily reading our stories all snuggled in this quilt:

so, she quickly grabbed her camera and snapped away.

we were totally engrossed, and didn't notice that she was still taking pictures.

and, since we weren't paying attention that she was watching we had a little squabble over the space in the chair.  thing 2: i'm really not going to put up with you squishing me and taking up more than half the chair.  you keep trying to scoot me over.

in fact, i have no problem with putting my elbow right in your face.

and, the pictures ended here... storytime didn't last much longer, and instead we played wrestle mania.  oh well.  mama's probably happy that she got a couple of us being nice in the chair. 

there was a lot of giggling going on under that quilt...

baked eggs w/cream, spinach, and parmesan

middle sis got me a brunch book, and i really enjoyed this recipe from it.  easy, and yummy!

of course, i didn't follow the suggestions recipe as stated, so i'll share my take.

15 oz spinach (1 1/2 bags), lightly wilted, and placed in bottom of greased casserole dish

8 eggs placed on top of spinach

1/2 c cream (i used heavy, but just because that's what was in my fridge) poured on top

1/4 c grated parmesan cheese sprinkled over it all

bake at 325 for 15 minutes or so, depending on how you like your eggs.

it goes really well with homemade bread and blackberry jelly...

we love our blue bell ice cream

wordless wednesday

happy valentine's day

just before sunday lunch with papa & gram

hope you're with someone you love today!

one of the things i was the most scared about moving to a new place was making friends.  not so easy for an at-home mama to get out and meet people and start up new friendships.  i don't seem to have any problem going out and doing things (notice i didn't say stay-at-home mama), but i do seem to have a problem keeping up with a conversation and 2 little things at the same time.  :) 

that being said, i feel so lucky that there are 2 other mamas nearby that have kids about the same ages that i've become friends with.  we have weekly playdates, but i'm not sure who looks forward to them more - me, or the kiddos.  one of those other mamas invited us to a valentine's party, and we had a fun evening! 

kara & adam, our hosts!

thank you papa & gram for babysitting, and thank you adam & kara for hosting!

doughn't ya like bread?

i was inspired by the post over here to make some bread.  i really don't like store-bought bread very much, but i could eat literally loaf after loaf of the homemade stuff!  my first attempt was a tad dry, but i suppose it's been a few years?? since i made bread.  the second attempt turned out MUCH better.  used the recipe that tamara supplied for this site, and loved it!

 cinnamon rolls in progress

 wow, this looks like a lot of dough.  gonna split it in half - one side for rolls, and one side for a loaf.

 ready to be sliced!

after supper, this was left.  ONE piece of plain bread, and ONE piece of cinnamon.

stuck the rolls in the fridge to bake for breakfast the next morning, but somehow, i didn't get a picture of them before they were gone!  they were topped with cream cheese icing, which is actually the only good kind of icing.  yum!

i wish

that my counter looked like this all the time!  mmmm.  a little chocolate, a few veggies, and a lotsa fruit.

for the love of paper

i love all things paper and all things stampin up! brand.  i've loved this brand of loot since i made my first cards from their stamps that i ordered off of ebay during college.  there was a stampin up lady nearby at the time that i became friends with, and we even had a booth together selling cards at the farmer's market for a summer.

in the past couple of years, i've spent a little more time playing with paper again and trying to get albums going for my little things.  there've been good deals on the starter kit here and there, but i never felt like i had "time" to get it. 

i made a little deal with myself that when our house in OK was pretty well set up that i'd give it more serious thought.  things are mostly in order here now, so, well, you know what happened... a box arrived at our doorstep!  i got $340 of fun stuff for $125 shipped to my door.  that'll make a girl happy  :)

i'm a little surprised i am posting such a goofy picture of myself, but it was the only one of my face. 

and, you can see below that the kids thought it was pretty funny.

the contents of the box! 

not sure exactly how long i'll maintain my "demonstrator" status, but in any case i'm excited to have gotten a bunch of stuff i know i love for a screamin' good deal.  who knows, maybe i'll still be doing this when i'm 50.  :) 

of course, i'm happy to help you get a fun box shipped to your door, but i'd rather you come visit me and use all my new stuff.  i've been working on some fun projects, so maybe you'll get to see a picture sometime soon!

anyone been doing anything fun lately?  any new adventures?  tell me, tell me!

did i miss something?

...like winter?  a little confusing to move to a different state and then (so far...) miss a season.  we've only had 1 dusting of snow that lasted barely until the morning sunshine, and temperatures warm enough to play outside pretty much any ol' time we please.  like this:

and the ride went something like this: 

thing 1 - chatter, talk, chatter, talk, silence. 

thing 2 - gykee seepy.

i know it's been unseasonably warm everywhere, but it's still kinda wierd to have t-shirt weather this early.  i think i'd actually be fine with a few weeks of actual COLD.  the daffodils are pretty, tho...

dinner last night at genghi's grill, and then shopping at target. 

love these kiddos and their smilin' faces!

no mess here

yep, that's right!  no mess here......is apparently big enough to prevent a little settlers action after kiddo bedtime.  this is the trails to rails version, and not bad as a 2 player game!

sometimes...

...those words of wisdom hit close to home.

just after i'd posted that lil quote, i learned that karen raber's life ended last night.  she was a dear friend of my mama's, and i have many fond memories of her. 

i'm so glad that mom spent yesterday sewing with her.  we (i) never seem to think there's enough time to get everything done and spend time with friends/family, but really what's the most important?  my dirty house can wait.  :)

we'd ride the bus home after school, and check every. single. day. to see if mom's car was at karen's house near the bus stop.  we knew she was only there maybe once a week, but we checked anyway.  mom at karen's meant yummy treats and at least 2 episodes of saved by the bell!  we'd sit in her swing and watch tv until mom made us leave.

i know mom will really miss her.  i will too. 

words of wisdom

saw this posted on another mom's blog, and love it:

the days are long, but the years are short.

mostly, we have really good days, and i love being at home with my munchkins.  (ok, i might not actually stay at home  that much, but i love having my family as my full-time job.) 

but, we all know about those "moments."  if only i could remember this little tidbit when my ugly face appears.  :)