Snow! And More Snow!

We recently had our first big snow for 2011.


It was our 2nd big snow for this winter.


It was so beautiful!


Avery enjoyed playing in the snow. It didn't matter how cold it was.


We were all stuck at home for a few days because the roads were bad.


I for one didn't mind it. No school or work!


They're calling for more snow tomorrow. I wonder if it'll come?

You're Gonna Miss This

Hearing an entire basket of toys spill out after just cleaning a room…

I have to remind myself:

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this.

An entire bucket of water being poured out of the bath tub…

I have to remind myself:

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this.

Trying to change a diaper while my child rolls over and gets poop everywhere…

I have to remind myself:

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this.

Trying to clean up one mess and walk out to see my 2 year old peeing off the balcony down onto the living room furniture…

I have to remind myself:

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this.

The tantrums when I say “no”…

I have to remind myself:

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this.

The nightly bedtime struggle to “stay in bed and go to sleep”…

I have to remind myself:

You're gonna miss this
You're gonna want this back
You're gonna wish these days hadn't gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you're gonna miss this.

A Sledding We Will Go

Words.Words.Words.

We are all doing well in our little world over here.
Avery is growing up so fast.
He's currently 2 1/2 and wears 3T shirts and 4T pants and a size 9 in his shoes.

Avery recently started speech therapy twice a week.
It's going well.
He was scored at having a 11-12 month old language comprehension.
So we have a bit of work to do, but he's taking it like a champ!
We've been teaching him a few signs and I must say it's adorable to watch him sign.
Right now, "more" and "please" are his favorite signs.
At home we've been working hard on our words as well.
Every night we look at the My First 100 Words book and go through all the pictures.
He's making a lot of progress already!

I found an awesome sign language site called My Smart Hands.
It's been really helpful for Avery to sign things to me.
It cuts down on a lot of frustration and it's beneficial for him to learn to say new words more quickly.

Hope you all are doing well and are staying warm!!!

Caper Pasta

I. Love. Capers.

I'm certain that I could eat these bad boys on everything! Last night I was really craving some of these tiny, juicy little suckers so to the grocery store I went. I had read MckMama's blog the other day and saw her Turkey Penne Pasta Salad recipe and was really craving it as well. So I put this brain of mine to work, if that's even possible since I had worked 8 hours that day and just got out of a 2 hour long microbiology lecture, and started thinking how I could combine my two cravings.

So this is what I came up with:

I cooked my penne pasta.
As my pasta was boiling, I sauteed my capers in a small skillet with a little olive and the caper juice.
Once the capers were done (about 3-5 minutes), I set them aside to cool and began to prepare my other ingredients.
In a bowl (big enough to mix all the ingredients up in) I added shredded turkey (I used deli meat), finely chopped avocado, feta cheese, about 2 tbsp of olive oil, about 1 tbsp of lemon juice, and a couple shakes of garlic powder and pepper. By this time my capers had cooled off and I poured them into the mixture as well.
When my pasta was done, I drained it and cooled it off by running cold water over it.
I then added my pasta to the mix and stirred everything well.

End result: Delish!!!

mean.green.money.sucking.machine

Today, I did the unthinkable. I.Cut.Up.Every.Credit.Card.In.My.Purse. WHEW!

I'm sure many of you have gotten a taste of the nasty plague called credit card debt. Word.Vomit. I've researched my little heart out on ways to get rid of this mounting stress causer, but money doesn't grow on trees so I guess you won't find me out back shaking the money tree. So I've decided to tackle this mean.green.money.sucking.machine and just get rid of the cause. One by one I cut and sliced and cut and sliced my credit cards into little pieces and I made myself a promise to pay off these bad boys by April and then start funding my savings account, like I should have been doing all along.

Have any of you ever cut up all your cards? What tips do you have on getting out of debt?

The Sky is Falling, The Sky is Falling

After we had our wonderful Christmas breakfast and opened out gifts, we all took a long nap! Opening gifts can just slap wear you out.

After our nap, we ate homemade lasagna and layered salad. YUM! We were all full, cozy on the couch watching Christmas movies on Lifetime and then it happened.
The sky started to fall!





It was pure bliss and a perfect ending to a wonderful day!

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

What do you see here?
A beautiful ornament?
Something homemade?

This ornament has greater meaning than many could possibly imagine.

For those who have been reading my blog for a while now know that my grandfather ("Pop") past away in 2009 and my cousin Brenna makes these beautiful flowers that are normally made into hair clips. However, this Christmas she surprised us all with her many talents and made us all flower ornaments.

You might be wondering what does my grandfather and Brenna's flowers have to do with each other? While we were cleaning out my grandparents house Brenna got some of Pop's ties. A random request to many, but she had bigger plans for those ties.

You see, the gorgeous ornament pictured above is made up of a pretty red fabric, that glistens on the Christmas tree, that once was a tie of my Pop's. A precious reminder of a man that once lived amongst us, but now celebrates with is Savior in Heaven.

Thank you Brenna for this beautiful gift, may it always remind us how precious how lives really are!