Practicing for Trick or Treat

The other day when someone decided not to nap...I gave her the Jack-o-lantern bucket to practice for Trick-or-treat.  Her version is more like "teat teat", but she's trying...I think pretty good for a 17 month old!  She, of course, was sporting an adorable fall outfit & I couldn't resist a few fall-themed pics. Enjoy & have a great day!

Always surprising to see how small they look in comparison to the "Jack" buckets

That's a diva face if I ever saw it...she does this when she doesn't like something I tell her

1st try on this one

Getting better

Better

Probably best, but all are cute, so I had to include them :)

I told her when we go trick or treat there will be candy inside...she was already looking for it

Mommy...I'm tired of that hairbow

Lil' punkin

Then she decided to start putting leaves in "jack"

That's her scared face, she's practicing for Halloween

The littlest baker

*Sorry about this post being posted late...Ella has an ear infection, resting now & hopeful she's on the mend*


So the other day I had put Ella down for her morning  nap, which is usually from about 10:30 until 12.  Well, Ms. had other ideas about where she should be & what she should be doing.  She began loudly rebelling against nap time.  This is unusual as normally she is a very good napper.  Well, she heard Jessie & I downstairs making cookies & as soon I went to get her she was content.  However, baby girl wanted to "help" also.  Here are a few pics of her on the "little helper stool"--that's what Jessie calls it.  She is practicing her rolling :)  Adorable, but trouble is how I would describe her!

Notice the 25lb bag of flour on my island...with as many bake goods as I made, this is just standard at my house

Daddy love

What is love to a little girl??  T-I-M-E.  Despite Michael's hectic work schedule he always makes time to play with the girls & he often ends up rolling around with them in the dirt outside.  Glad he's willing to do this as this is not necessarily my cup of tea ;)  Very thankful that Jessie & Ella have a Dada that love them so much.  Here's some pics of them monkeying around outside!  Have a wonderful day :)

Looks slightly dangerous, but she loves it

All that rolling around in the dirt...gets you this...precious!

Male model

*******************Fingers crossed, I'm working on Halloween pics today :)********************

Recently, I took advantage of Michael's need for a new head shot for some professional purposes to practice taking pics on a more stationary subject.  I grant you these are not technically a "head shot" only, but they're pretty good pics, right??  Isn't he a handsome male model??  I certainly think so. One important thing I have learned along the way is that editing adults is much different than children--my rule is a little editing on adults goes a long way.   I took these the other day when the girls & I visited dada's office at work.  You can't tell but he has a great view of the city from his office.  Jessica got a special treat & got to see a mouse in one of his labs...she now continuously tells me that she saw "Mickey Mouse" at dada's office....haha, not quite, but to a little girl I'm sure it makes sense.  Handsome & smart...aren't I a lucky lady :)  I certainly think so!!

17 months old

17 months old has been a big change for Ms. Ella.  She's running everywhere after her sister & growing like a little weed.  She actually runs so hard these days that she's red in the face a good amount of the time.  Hair as wild as can be & growing longer by the day :)  She loves to be chased & tickled & thinks it's funny when she catches sissy in her arms for a hug or headlock.  She has quite a sense of humor & will do a "flip" if you ask her...it's really more of a sideways roll, but still very cute :)  Ms. is adding to her vocabulary almost daily.  She knows 4 colors & consistently can identify, blue (still her favorite to say), red, green, & purple (her favorite color to wear).  Loves her little Mimi monkey...see below in her pics.  Runs wild almost everyday & is kind of clumsy.  Actually just ran into a wooden cabinet last night (thankfully) I'd already taken these & as now she has a goose egg on her head between her eyes.  Oh those eyes, still grey, maybe looking slightly bluer or greener depending on the day.  She's wearing 18 mo, 24 mo, & some 2T clothing just depending on how much the clothing has shrunk in the washer or the style of the outfit.  Very interested in the potty.  And actually tries to go when I go...hey, I guess it can't hurt.  She's napping better these days & this mama is very thankful.  We've continued to have some nights with her up with teething, but it seems like that has eased up a bit.  Let's hope she will be sleeping through the night again soon.  She could read for 6 hrs straight if we had the time/patience for it.  Loves to see airplanes in the sky & loves to point out deer in the yard.  Such a fun, yet busy age.  Love her so very much!  Have a wonderful day :)

Such a cute little coat, couldn't resist it :)

She was staring at an airplane flying overhead...she's obsessed with them

Airplane...so exciting

Ain't she cute :)

Pretty girl

Oh baby girl...those grey eyes!  Why would you make that face when you look so cute??

Loving on Mimi

2 great recipes for Fall

I haven't done a recipe posting in a while & I must admit, there are no pics to go along with the recipes...but, these are excellent recipes.  However, a blog post from me would not be complete without:

**Insert token pic of my kiddos**

I know it's kind of gross, but baby girl loves spaghetti & meatballs with marinara...she also now insists on eating with a fork (not a baby fork, don't insult her with that crap, give baby girl a big fork)

I have been subscribing to & reading Bon Appetit for a while now & some of the recipes are way over the top, but others are great for a week night.  The reason I am putting both of these on the blog is I believe they could easily be tranformed into crockpot recipes also, which would be helpful to any working mommies that might read my old blog.  Truth be told, I should use my crockpot frequently now so that I could free up afternoons to play with the girls more.  I love, love one pot meals (I use a very old metal dutch oven that my Great-grandmother used--I guess I should update to a cast iron Le Creuset dutch oven, but I love my old one) that only require a side or 2 & these fit the bill.  P.S. Michael does not care for onions, so I always substitute shallots--maybe slightly different taste, but it worked in both recipes.

The first is Kerala-Style Beef Stew:  I've never been a huge fan of beef stew as I always feel like no matter what I add, it is always bland, this is not bland at all.  It's a curry & when I made it this last week, I couldn't find the serrano chiles at our local grocery store, I subsituted a little cayenne instead, just for a little heat.  Michael & I both thought it was great.  I also only found cans of unsweetened cans of coconut milk in 13 oz, which is not technically 2 C as the recipe calls for, but it didn't seem to make a difference in the taste.  Definitely, sprinkle with cilantro when you serve it....yummy!  I served it over rice.

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/quick-recipes/2012/09/kerala-style-beef-stew

The second is Braised Chicken with Capers & Parsley:  Delicious is all I can really say.  I didn't use the chicken thighs, legs, & drumsticks, instead I used bone-in skin on split chicken breasts that I got on sale at Sams.  Such a good value & again a one pot meal that only required a quick side.  This recipe uses 1/3 of a cup of white wine vinegar & I thought that sounded like a lot & was worried about this one, but fear not my friends  it turns out great.  Go ahead & add all of the ingredients they recommend, including all of the parsley & capers (I had a slightly larger jar that was exactly around 1/3 of a cup).    You will not be disappointed.  The flavored oil/vinegar that the chicken cooks in is great to pour over the chicken before serving.  I made a pasta side dish to go along with this.  A nice salad would work well also.

http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2012/09/braised-chicken-with-capers-and-parsley

Enjoy & Bon Appetit!

Also, here are some pics of the fall decor (limited as it may be) at our casa...gotta work on getting more cute stuff for next year :)

All of the jacks we've collected so far & some mums in my pot...Jessie picked out the scarecrow at the dollar store

Kind of cute for a dollar store find

Our "Jacks" inside...I've started a new tradition--every month I replace the pic in the gold frame with a favorite of mine, why not, I take so many :) I'm hoping for a Halloween themed pic with both of them for this month...we'll see!

5 years ago

Psalm 50:15
"call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

[We actually have a stone outside our front door with this inscribed on it to remind us of the mercy we were shown on this day 5 years ago]


5 years ago today Michael & I were involved in a near fatal car accident.  We were about 5-10 min. from the hospital where our niece had been born & we were on our way to meet her.  A large construction ladder flew off of a truck in front of us & Michael swerved to avoid it.  We began spinning & were sucked into the median of the interstate.  We finally came to a stop when our car was hit by another car on the opposite side of the interstate.  Yep, we went all the way over into oncoming traffic.  It was a day, which we will never forget.  I, personally, will also never forget all of the love/kindness that we were shown after this happened.  Michael suffered a C2 spinal fracture, which fortunately did not displace & I broke my right femur & my pelvis.  I'm still not sure how I rallied strength to return to complete my senior year in dental school only 2 weeks after this injury, but I continue to thank God for His provision of protection and mercy on us this day.  For those of you that don't believe in miracles...talk to me, because I continue to believe that it was a miracle that both of us has no serious lasting effects from this accident.  If I think about all that has happened since the accident, it is difficult to fathom not seeing those things develop.  It is also impossible to imagine life without our precious girls, but had we both died that day, neither of them would be here.  If you are reading & you were there to support us after our accident, know that we continue to be grateful for your kindness in our time of need.  One of the biggest lessons I have learned through this experience is that no day is guaranteed & even though your life may be wonderful, it can all change in a split second.  I would be lying if I said I wan't angry (at the time) that someone would be so careless & almost kill 2 people.  I would also be lying now if I didn't say that this accident did indeed impact my professional life & some days my personal life also...I still have some pain in my leg from time to time.  The fact of the matter is that it was an accident & I have forgiven the person responsible.  Having gone through something like this I think the best response is to live life everyday with a little more gratitude, more perspective on how precious our lives are, and more FAITH--most importantly.  Thanks for reading & please be careful on the roads, I still recall how quickly everything happened!

I was so skinny here...Oct 2007-May 2008 was not easy, but I did indeed finish with a DMD

One of our first pics as a family of 3 in 2010 with Jessie

Family of 4 in 2011

Me & my babes 2011

Me & the girls in Aug. 2012

9th wedding anniversary this year