10 Things to Smile About in February

I'm late, I'm late!!  It's really March 6 already?  Damn, where did February go?  Well, better late than never so here are my 10 Things to Smile about in February...

A weekend in Big Bear with my sister and her family (somehow I have very few pictures from this).

A much needed eyebrow wax.

Watching Daniel perform at his preschool Chapel service.

A fun family birthday party for my little cousin (more like a nephew).

Spending time with my friend Shannon and her adorable son.  We don't get to see each other as often as I'd like, but we were able to meet up twice in February!

The silver lining to cold season...lots of snuggle time under warm blankets.

A great parent/teacher conference with Daniel's preschool teacher -- not going to brag too much, but she had good things to say.

A tour of a fire station with Lauren's "mommy & me" class.  She wasn't too sure about the firemen at first, but she warmed up.

Hanging out with friends every Tuesday morning while our kids did sports class together.

Being asked to be a Godmother.  I'm still in shock and so honored that my wonderful friend Jen asked me to be her son's godmother.  I'm honored and humbled that she chose me!

Weekly Dinner Menu

Here we are again, ready for my week's worth of dinners.  I've heard from a lot of friends that they struggle with figuring out what to make each night for dinner, and I'm telling you -- make a plan!  It takes a little time upfront, but will save you time in the long run.

Monday - Stuffed bell peppers and pasta (I don't have a recipe for this because my wonderful mom made them and gave them to me to re-heat).  Kids menu - pasta, turkey meatballs, cantaloupe.

Tuesday - Free pancakes at IHOP!!  I know, I know... not much of a dinner, but you can't beat dinner with friends and free pancakes.

Wednesday - Baked ravioli, chicken sausage and salad.  Kids menu - baked ravioli, chicken sausage and baby carrots. 


Thursday - Pork tenderloin with salsa verde in crockpot (make tacos with it) and rice.  Kids menu - rice, chicken nuggets and cantaloupe.

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Pizza Night!

Weekly Dinner Menu

I swear if I don't do a weekly dinner menu on Sunday we ate crap all week long.  For some reason I can't organize myself mid-week so it's either all or nothing with me.  This week I got really organized and planned out my week's menu and went shopping for it on Sunday afternoon.  I also added something new to my list, a kids menu.  I try really hard not to be a short-order cook with my kids and get them to eat a variety of foods.  But the reality is, they are 2 and 4 and I just can't expect them to try everything Joe and I like to eat.  My compromise is that they eat some of what Joe and I eat, but maybe a modified version.  For example, tonight I made chicken and cheese enchiladas, but I know there is no way they will eat them with spicy (ok mild!) red sauce.  So before I made the chicken mixture I separated out some chicken and mixed in seasonings and cheese, rolled the mixture in tortillas and baked them when I baked my enchiladas.  Easy, kid-friendly and not a lot of additional work.  

Sunday - Chicken enchiladas (no real recipe, just throw them together) and rice. kid menu - chicken and cheese tortilla rolls, rice, fruit

Monday - Farfalle Pasta with chicken, tomatoes and spinach.  The recipe doesn't include chicken but I boiled more chicken than I needed for enchiladas and will toss some in to the pasta. kid menu -  buttered pasta, chicken, baby carrots

Tuesday - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes (from a box), grilled asparagus (season with EVOO, salt and pepper and grill in oven). kid menu - meatloaf, french fries (frozen ones, bake in oven when I put in asparugus) and peas.  For some odd reason my kids don't like mashed potatoes...I'm sure they will eventually.

Wednesday - Stir Fry Chicken Paprikash and noodles. kid menu - plain noodles, red bell pepper, plain chicken from our dinner

Thursday - Greek Chicken pitas and salad.  kid menu -  chicken in pitas and some fruit or veggie.

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Take out or go out!

So now you know what we will be eating this week.  If any of these dinners sounds good to you, stop on by!

Family Pictures

 

Back in November we had the opportunity to have some family pictures taken.  This was the first time we did this and I couldn't be happier with the way they turned out.  Several of these pictures will probably look familier to some of you -- the became our 2010 Christmas card.  The pictures were taken by two of my friends who have their own photography businesses.  We were fortunate enough to have two photogs who Daniel and Lauren know so our session was not just productive, but fun.  Check out Clickable Moments and LeilaPie Photography to see more of Ami and Lisa's beautiful images.

A Pop of Color

I haven't been sewing much lately and I realized I missed it.  I decided to try out an easy, but practical project -- pillow covers!  I love the idea of making pillow covers for my throw pillows because it's a quick way to change the look of a room with just a pop of color.  The sofa in our family room is basic beige and came with four pillows.  Here is one of them...

I didn't love the pattern and I didn't like the fact that all four were the exact same.  So I looked up a tutorial for pillow covers (you can find anything online!) and made these...

I'm so happy with them!  I have some large pillows that I'm not using and am going to cover them and use them as floor pillows.  It's funny how I don't sew for a while and then when I do I have all kinds of projects on my list.  Better run, got lots of projects to work on.

Letter to Someone

Dear Amazon,
You are simply marvelous!  I can find anything and everything on your site.  The other day my Amazon order included:  a leather bench, a black slip, a Judo book, a new Wii controller and a new book directly loaded onto my Kindle.  That is awesome!  To run around town and buy all those things with my kids in tow would have been a nightmare.  Instead I made my order with a glass of Merlot in my hand while my kids slept.

Thanks,
Happy Shopper


Dear Lady at Ralphs,
Originally I thought the reason you didn't put all your cases of varied soda on the conveyor belt was because they were heavy.  So when the checker asked you to put them up and you said "no" I figured I'd offer to help.  Which I did.  But you shot down my gesture of kindness and told the cashier to just go against policy and scan one case several times.  She finally relented and did scan it.  You were rude, I tried to help, you didn't want my help...whatever.  But then after you already paid and had all your items back in your cart you remembered a coupon that you didn't give to the checker so you insisted she give you .84 cents in change.  OMG lady you already held up the line long enough and I have a two-year old in my cart and just want to be done.  Nope, you stayed firm until you got your nickels and dimes. Lucky for you my daughter was in a good mood and didn't get antsy because if she had started melting down I would have let her and then blamed you.

Sincerely,
Your Fellow Ralphs customer


Dear Florida,
Joe and I will see you soon!  I'm very excited to buy myself a couple of beachy items to show you next month.  I'm sure you will appreciate them.  I'm thinking a bright colored dress, floppy hat and new bathing suit.  Which reminds me...
                     Dear 5 extra pounds, you guys are not joining me in Florida.  See ya!
Oh, and Florida I'm looking forward to the drinks, beach, Cuban-inspired side of you because I will be sans kids so I do NOT want to see anything related to Disney.

Cheers!
The girl in the coral colored dress

The Mirror of My Kids

As my kids grow I am learning more and more about myself.  Having children is like having a mirror placed right in front of us, whether we like it or not, it's the truth.  Sometimes funny, sometimes insightful, always true, here are a few things I have learned recently...

• I say "actually" a lot.  I know this because Lauren has picked up on it and says it constantly.  It actually sounds really funny coming from my little girl.
• Apparently I use my credit card a lot too.  Another thing Lauren has noticed.  When she is playing store she uses her credit cards to pay.  I better start showing her that I pay off my balance every month.
• I get nervous before starting something new.  It took me a while to acknowledge that Daniel's timidness was from me, but it is.  I remember not sleeping the night before the first day of school (all the way through college) so why am I surprised that he is nervous before a new sports class?  
• I like order.  Schedules, routines and everything in its place calms me down.  My kids have picked up on this and ask me each day what our plans are and know where their toys go (doesn't mean they always put them away, but they know).
• I like to be doing something while watching tv.  It bewildered me for a while that Lauren has little interest in cartoons and only watches them if she is doing something else.  Then I realized, I never sit and JUST watch tv.  While watching tv I'm checking the internet, folding laundry, packing lunches, tidying up, etc.
• I'm an observer first, joiner second.  If I'm in a new environment or meeting new people, I like to sit back and observe for a while before I really join in.  I take my time, but once I'm comfortable I jump in 100%.  I guess I like to evaluate first and make sure I'm up for giving my time and energy to the people, place, etc.  I see Daniel do this too.  He takes a little longer to warm up, but once he's there you can't get him to shut up or leave!

10 Things to Smile About in January

I really, really, REALLY wanted to get my blog up and moving again in January.  But honestly, I'm pretty sure a week (or two) was removed this month.  There is no way it is already February 1 (the calendar LIES!).  If "they" can change our zodiac signs, "they" can remove a week too.  Either way, here are my 10 Things to Smile About in January:

A beyond beautiful beach day in the middle of January with the kids.  Seriously -- 80 degrees, clear, sunny and no one else but our friends on the sand.  The reason we live in SoCal.

Visiting the Orange County Great Park for the first time.  Going up in the big Orange Balloon and riding the carousal over and over and over... (it's free!)

New episodes of "Modern Family", "30 Rock" and "The Office"

A date night with Joe that included complimentary glasses of champagne at a fancy French restaurant.

Peaking in on my sleeping angel during nap time

A moms only night of Wii Dance, wine and appetizers.  No pictures from this, but I do have video.  However, I'd like to stay friends with these ladies so I won't be posting them!

This picture

Cuddling with Daniel and Lauren while we watch a movie.  Although both were a little under the weather, it made for some great cuddling time.

Dinner with my friends from high school.  So happy we still get together on a semi-regular basis.  I may not see them as often, but these are the girls that really know me.

Getting back to a workout routine.  

Check out what made others smile this month over at Emmy Mom

10 Things to Smile About in December

Of course December was a month full of things to smile about.  The days leading up to Christmas were full of fun and cheer.  Unfortunately our 2010 ended on a sad note, as both Joe and I each lost a grandparent the last week of the month.  However, both deaths were somewhat expected and both grandparents were in their 90's so they had lived very full lives.  Looking back on December 2010, here are my 10 Things to Smile About:

Lauren's love for babies.  She is so in love with her two baby cousins it just melts my heart.

Daniel and Lauren playing together more and more everyday.

Seeing a "real" movie for the first time with my two kids (no one crying or fussing the whole time!)

Watching Daniel perform in his preschool Christmas program

A family picture!!!

A date night with Joe.  Wore my favorite dress and headed out to dinner in Newport Beach.  So nice to spend time with my hubby and feel like a couple instead of just parents.

Crazy cousin time.

Spontaneous dance parties with Daniel and Lauren.  Daniel's dance moves are a combination of break-dancing and karate, while Lauren seems to be a hippie chick at heart and looks like she is doing an interpretive dance.

The joy of Christmas through the eyes of children.  Everything is a little sillier, funnier and more joyful with a 2 and 4 year old around!

And lastly, although he is gone Grandpa is not forgotten.  I have so many memories of my grandpa and his spirit will live on in all of us.  His smile was contagious, his chess skills unbeatable, his tennis game unbelievable, his compliments plentiful, and his stories movie-worthy.

So as the year ends and a new one begins, remember there are always reasons to smile.  See what others smiled about in December at Emmy's Mom.

What Was I Thinking?

I've created a monster -- it's me.  I thought it would be fun this year to do a "Countdown to Christmas" starting on Dec 1.  Twenty-four days of holiday cheer, each day bringing a new Christmasy activity, event or craft.  So come rain or shine, sniffles or sore throats, we are finishing this countdown!  Actually, it's been very fun for the kids and mostly fun for me.  The good thing is, I can change the activity the night before if I need to because they are written on slips of paper and put in an advent calender.  Which explains last week's "movie night"  followed by "coloring Christmas pictures", due to Daniel and I having colds.  Some highlights thus far have been:

St. Nicholas Day with Cousins

Reindeer Cookies

Santa Train at Irvine Park

Preschool Christmas Show

She's a Big Girl

I finally took Lauren to get her hair cut today.  I'm not sure why I have waited so long, I guess I kept wanting her hair to grow more.  I realized today that instead of her having long hair, she had a semi-mullet with scraggly ends.  Not a super cute look.  So, I took her to a kids hair salon and watched her scraggly ends fall to the ground.  I didn't tear up...well, not really.

PS - they gave her a certificate for her first haircut with a lock of her hair.  Totally worth the money.  I mean, from now on I don't need to go there, but worth it for the first time.

10 Things to Smile About in November

Wow - where is the time going?  Here we are again at the end of a month and ready to list out my 10 Things to Smile About in November.  Let's get started...

A last minute 3-day getaway to Palm Springs for the four of us.  The weather was perfect, the hotel was almost empty and the rate was dirt cheap.  What more could you ask for??

A spa day with my sister two weeks before she gave birth to baby #3.  We had massages, ate lunch and shopped all day.  I'm guessing we won't get a chance to do that for a while.

Enjoying Lauren's last day of "mommy and me" school before the holiday break.  She is crazy about her teacher and just loves her time there.  I'm hoping we get into the next session--the class fills up FAST!  Here she is proudly showing off the bead necklace that she made.

The birth of my brand new niece!!

Giving thanks for my family on Thanksgiving and the day after.  We spent time with my in-laws and my parents and enjoyed the holiday while stuffing ourselves.

My kids enjoying special time with almost all of their cousins.  First it was a sleepover at our house the night my sister had her baby, then it was Thanksgiving dinner with the cousins on my husbands side of the family.

My amazing friend Shannon (known as Aunt Shannon) who comes to my house, helps with the kids and is always the most supportive friend.  Here she is leading "Princess Storytime" for Lauren and my niece.

My husband's Christmas spirit.  Joe is as excited about Christmas as the kids and it makes the whole season so fun.  We are fortunate to have a house in our neighborhood that is AMAZINGLY decorated for Christmas and we walk to it a few nights a week.  This is our first visit of the 2010 season.

The first birthday of my good friend's son.  He was born with many complications, spent time in the NICU, been on a feeding tube and has already undergone several surgeries.  Celebrating his first birthday was an emotional event for all of us.

Visiting with my (almost) 95 year old grandfather.  I'm so thankful my kids are able to get to know their great-grandfather, such a rare gift.  His health has only recently been on the decline and I'm realistic that his time is limited, but he has always been such a special man to me and I'm so happy he now is to my children as well.

What made you smile in November?  Remember, a smile is contagious -- it's hard not to smile when someone is smiling at you.

I'm a Way Better Mom

I'm a way better mom when I'm watching someone else's child.  Take the last two Tuesdays as examples.  After busy mornings of speech therapy #1, playdate, lunch, speech therapy #2 I got home just in time to watch my friend's daughter "A".  Normally 2pm is the time in the afternoon when I get Lauren to nap and Daniel to, well... "rest."  Resting generally means him watching tv for a while and then incessantly interrupting me to play with him. 

However, I just don't feel comfortable telling a friend's child, "go watch more tv."  So, last week I spontaneously created three Thanksgiving crafts, held storytime in my living room and played freeze dance with two 4-year olds (thankfully, Lauren napping at 2pm still held true).  This week I set up our bounce house in the front yard and Daniel and "A" had a blast bouncing out their energy (again, bless Lauren's little heart she napped).  Following bounce time was snack time, then more bouncing.  No wonder Daniel loves having friends over! 

10 Things To Smile About

Another month has come and gone so it's time to look back and remember 

October's 10 Things to Smile About:

Pumpkins, pumpkins and more pumpkins!

A baby shower for my oldest friend (oldest in years of friendship!).  So excited for Tracie and Neil to welcome baby Reese to their family.

A very special visit with our newest nephew (and cousin), Simon.  My kids adored spending time with him and kept kissing and hugging him.

A couple of rainy days so the kids could put on their rain boots and splash in puddles.  

Then back to sunshine!  The weather has been weird, but it's been nice to enjoy all seasons within a month.

A fun evening with the "older" kids and my parents at the Pirates Dinner Adventure Show.

Watching Lauren really think she is part of Daniel's preschool class -- marching in the Halloween parade, posing in their class picture and eating lunch with them.

The knowledge that Daniel and Lauren are still small enough (and Joe is still strong enough) to comfort both kids at once.

Trick-or-treating with friends

Daniel and Lauren playing together and enjoying toys we thought they had outgrown.

Feeling a sense of calm before the storm of the holidays.  Enjoying some crazy, event-filled days, but also some calm, lazy days.  Knowing that things only get more busy during November and in the years to come, so to enjoy the simple things.  Walks around the neighborhood, baking muffins, carving pumpkins, coloring, and snuggling up to watch a movie.

Be sure to check out what made others smile.

I Actually Feel Their Pain

Last night Lauren woke up crying for me at 12:30am. Very unlike her. I went into her room and she was burning up and had that weird croup-cough (honestly, it sounded like a dog was barking in her room). I gave her Motrin and cuddled her...what more could I do? Every time she coughed I literally felt the pain in my own chest. Her cough was so awful and her little body was burning hot to the touch. Fortunately she fell back to sleep. She woke this morning with her usual smile, but still coughing like a barking dog.

Until I became a mom I didn't understand what my mom meant when she said she felt my pain. When they are hurt or sick, I want them to be better because it is painful to see them suffering. I can handle scraps and falls, bumps and bruises (that is a normal part of their age), but when they are actually sick, really hurting, it breaks my heart.

Tonight the humidifier is on high in Lauren's room and I'm hoping that she quickly gets over whatever it is that she has. She is such a little trooper you would hardly know she is sick. But I know and I don't think I can be as strong as she is.

Here Come the Holidays!

Every year the holidays come quicker and quicker. I just know that once we start hitting up pumpkin patches and collecting leaves on our walks, Christmas is right around the corner. So, here come the holidays!!

We visited Tanaka Farms this part weekend with my mom's group. Our first pumpkin patch of the season, but I know there will be lots more within the next two weeks.