A New Kind of Egg

I was reminded of how much fun Jello can be. I just ordered the Jiggler Egg mold for Easter on the Jello site. I hope they come in time because these Jello Eggs would be so much fun to make and eat! But if they don't come in time, at least I will have it for next year. I think this is going to be a new Easter tradition.

Also, I purchased the Jell0-bean mold too. This one we can do anytime of the year and they make great little snacks! They are only $3.50 each plus Free shipping. Now, that is a deal if you ask me.

Nevermind

A while back, I talked about doing baby announcements for Ella's birth. Well, now that the time has come, I have had a change of mind. The thought of doing them seems a bit much and since everyone has seen pictures of her, I feel I probably don't need to do them. But I thought what I created was cute, so I am going to post them here for you to see. Consider this Ella's birth announcement.

A Sneak Peak

Here is a sneak Peak of Hannah's dance recital piece in June. She first (kinda) dances it (I don't know why she was being so shy about it) and then sings it as a solo (which is actually cuter than the dancing part).

That's what it's all about..

Finally, I was able to get some cute pics of Ella and Hannah together. The one that is at the top of the blog is my favorite and I will be blowing it up to an 11X14 for my photo wall collage. Hannah loves to lay down with Ella any chance she can get and then smoother her with hugs and kisses. That is what having a sister is all about

The Lost Sibling

Many of you might be wondering... Is Ella is missing or what we have done with her? I haven't taking pictures of her because I think to myself "she doesn't do anything by lie down and stare off into Never, never land and I have pictures of that". But my sister convinced me that I need to take pictures of her, so we will have them later on. Even if I don't think she does much or changes much, I need to have the pictures later on in life. So I have come to my senses and have taken some pictures of our dear Ella and will keep it up each week. I would hate for her to think she wasn't loved, just because I didn't have as many pictures of her as I do of Hannah :-)

Also, funny thing. About every other time I am out and about. People come up to me and say "I thought you were holding or carrying a doll." I laugh and think to myself... "yeah, I thought I would put a doll in my carseat and lug it around, just for fun." I know they are giving me a compliment and it is very nice of them, but what a wacko I would be.

I'm In Love

While my sister came to visit she told me about these cute little shoes at American Eagle (which she went and bought). They are super cute, but I am just not a flats person... I need a little height to my shoe. So, I had to pass on the purchase. But low and behold, I was at Banana Republic the other day and found the same cute shoes but with a little heel (and wedge, which I love). So, I had to order them (since they didn't have my size). I can't wait for them to come!!!!

Loving baths again

Hannah went through about a 6 months period where she didn't take baths (only showers). I probably encouraged it a bit while I was pregnant (it was just easier). But we have finally got her to return to taking baths and she loves them again. I decided to take pics, since the last ones I have of her in the bath are when she was 12 months old... it has been awhile.

I'm A Big Girl Now

Hannah has been in her big girl room now for over a month and she loves it. So, I thought I would post the final product! It was fun to get this room ready for her and I hope to have captured her personality (just a bit). It is a fun and bright room - just like our girl!

We need a pool

Here are some pics of Hannah at the pool in Palm Springs. She and Chris had so much fun. They were in there for hours. Once in the afternoon and again at night. She is like her dad.... loves water. You can see Hannah wears a lifejacket. That is because she is in water about 3 times a year, so we haven't learned how to swim yet. How do kids learn when you don't have a pool? I guess - swim lessons are in our future and hopefully a pool.

Artsy-Fartsy

I love looking at photography blogs. I am constantly wishing I could take pictures like so many of these other photographers out there. Well, I think I might have accomplished one of those fun, artsy-type pictures. I like the depth of field, angle of this photo. FYI - I played with the colors to really make them pop (and look artsy). Hope you enjoy!

Desert Fun

We loaded up the family and drove to Indian Wells, Ca (right near Palm Springs). It was a great weekend visiting Chris' aunt and uncle. Although it was a 6 hour drive, it wasn't bad at all (which I contribute to our wonderful, luxurious new minivan!). We had so much fun going to the local street market faire on Saturday morning and then swimming in the pool all afternoon. The weather was beautiful and the weekend was nice and relaxing.

While at the fair, we found this fun umbrella which Hannah loved trying to hold up. It was twice her size, but so fun to spin and play with. All the ladies at the fair just stopped and laughed at Hannah and how cute she was, so here are some pictures to prove it :-)

Polenta Pizza

At Christmas,my parents bought all the kids Kentucky pottery from ByBee Pottery. I got these great French Handle Bakers Dish. I love them and last night I got to use them. I found this great recipe called Polenta Pizza. If you like polenta, you will love this. I altered the recipe a bit to use up the vegetables I had in my fridge and added pizza sauce. It was super yummy and super easy and a recipe I will be adding to my collection.

Zoo Buddies

Today was so nice, we went to the zoo. We met up with Serenity and Landon and boy did they have fun. The two girls just ran and ran all over the zoo. At times, they were too busy to stop to look at the animals. But they did enjoy the monkeys (of course), the elephants and the flamingos (as the pictures show). We bought our annual pass, so we will be going a lot more often (or at least until it gets into the 100's)

Lady of the Dance

We finally got a new camcorder and so I am finally able to get Hannah's dance class video up for viewing. My my family has been begging me to do this for so long. So, I buckled down and got it done. Hope you enjoy the footage... it is pretty darn cute!

Sharing Time

I love it when I read about new ideas on how I can entertain and play with my daughter, so I thought I would share this fun one (in case you didn't know about them). It is called Do-A-Dot Art. You can get them at GW School supply here, but probably any arts & crafts store would have them. They are fun, easy to use and the best part mess-free. My daughter loves them and so do I!

Sick of being Sick

Our house is one sick place to be right now. Hannah has been sick for days and now Ella is sick too. It started with Hannah throwing up all night on Wednesday and recuperating with bouts of "the illness" every day (when she eats too much or drinks too much) and now poor little Ella has a very stuffy nose and can hardly breathe. It is so hard to see your children sick - especially so young and for so long. Hopefully it will be over soon. But until then I had to capture Hannah's first real illness, so here you go!

Move Over Martha

I just found this great website Matthew Mead. He is a lot like Martha Stewart in his presentation and projects and recipes. He has great dessert ideas and fun projects that I am just in love with. For instance, check out these absolutely decandent Chocolate Caramel Cups Oh my gosh! I have to find a reason to make these and soon... or maybe I need no reason at all. Well, just thought I would share this new find of mine.

In Search of....

With a new spring season on the way, it is time to update our closets ladies. And as we all know the little black dress is a closet necessity. We can thank Audrey Hepbrun and Breakfast at Tiffany's for this timeless must-have. And thank you! I love little black dresses and my closet knows it.

They come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. And luckily, with the help of the internet, we don't have to spend hours traveling from store to store or pay a small fortune to have this little black number.

Another thank you, goes to Like.com , a visual, digital shopping assistant. I found a collection of little black dresses ranging from the super cheap to the more expensive. My search for the perfect black dress just got a whole lot easier and more affordable. Now, I just need to go and make more room in my closet!

You Can Be a Top Chef

Whether you are a stay-at-home mom, a working mom or a single woman, figuring out a weekly menu is a constant challenge and for some culinary-challenged women, it is a nuisance! It is hard enough to cook the meal each night, but to have to create a three to four course menu (main dish, vegetable, fruits and sometimes dessert) up to seven days a week, puts us in the running for the next Top Chef.

What is the solution to this constant dilemma? Well, I am not sure there is an "end all, be all", but I have discovered a way to minimize the hardship in my life. The key for me is planning ahead. It might take some investment in time at the beginning, but it saves you time each day as you already have everything planned out. At the beginning of each week (or twice a week or each month, you can decide) I sit down and write up the menu for that week, what I will serve each night and the ingredients involved. Then I take that list and go to the grocery store just ONCE! (Going to the grocery store once is a big key to simplifying the "menu dilemma".) This way, the work is done and the menu is determined. Each night I have what I need and know what to cook - no more decisions or questions about the menu.

Also, a word to the wise and to make things even easier, there are tons of websites/blogs where women like you are doing this. They list their weekly menu and usually add links to the recipes. So, now it just got a whole lot easier. Here is a blog that has a list of links - Menu Planning

If you aren't afraid of a little planning and one-stop shopping, try this plan of attack out and see what you think. Eventually, people just might be calling you their "Top Chef".

A new found passion

We went to Color Me Mine (a pottery painting store) with Aunt Jill on her last day with us. We had so much fun. This is the second time there for Hannah and she loved it even more this time around. She was so concentrated on painting her mug and the best part was going back to the paint selection and picking colors. As you can see on her mug, she picked every color they had. She really loved it, so we will be going back again and again and again. I will post our end products later (we have to wait until the 21st to pick them up).

New Apron for House and Costco

Hannah has a lot of fun being artistic - paints, crayons and markers. I decided to get her an apron to help save her clothes. It is so cute and she liked it so much we had to wear it to Costco. She got a lot of looks and a lot of comments on how cute she was. I think she is pretty cute too!

Tip for Moms

I am sure this is not new, but I thought I would share it just in case you hadn't thought of this before. But as a parent I love having books around our house for Hannah to read and she loves reading books (as you can tell from most of my pictures), but books are expensive and get ruined quickly. $5 for a small paperback book that will be ripped in weeks.... there has to be a better way and there is! If you go to Ebay and search under Children's books "books lot" you can find listings for a bunch of books for the price of one at a regular store. I just got 10 Winnie the Pooh hardback books for $10 and they are in Like New condition. So, if you like books as much as I do, give Ebay a try!

A fun alternative

Jill, hannah and I had fun today creating flower crayons. It is fun to have Hannah at an age that we can do fun projects together. If you are interested in doing this, go here for instructions Making Crayons. It is easy and makes fun crayons for the little ones (and mommies too).

My Visual DNA - Pieces of Me

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

This is so much fun... pictures that capture the essence of ME. You can do one for yourself, just click on the link at the bottom of the image.

Quick, Easy and Yummy

I saw this ad/recipe in Rachel Ray's magazine and had to try it. And I have to say it is pretty good as far as store bought, fast brownies go. So, if you are looking for a yummy, chocolate treat... look no further.

If you love Rocky Road ice cream, you should try this recipe. It brings chocolate, marshmallow and peanuts together for that unforgettable taste you crave.

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg Duncan Hines® Chewy Fudge Brownie Mix
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows
Baking Instructions:

1. Prepare and bake brownies according to package directions.
2. Mix marshmallows and walnuts with Duncan Hines Milk Chocolate Frosting and spread generously on cooled brownies.
3. Top with additonal walnuts, if desired

Time with the Fam

My sisters were able to come and help me after the birth of Ella. Jamie and Walker were here for one week and then Aunt Jill came for the next week. Hannah loved playing with Walker and taking all his toys and of course she loves Aunt Jill... the perfect playmate. We will be so sad when our time with fam comes to an end. I wish we lived near family, hopefully someday!

Good Friends

This is such a cute picture of Hannah with her good friend Serenity. They have a ton a fun together and we are grateful for good friends!

All Mixed Up

Hannah is so funny.... she is a huge singer. Constantly singing... she knows so many songs, so I guess the time would come that she would either (voluntarily or involuntarily) mix up the songs. The other night she was singing and she started out "I am a Child of God" and then shouted "Cleveland rocks". Not quite the same genre, but at least she got both in, right?. It was so funny.

PS - Cleveland Rocks is an older rock and roll song that of course, Chris taught her.

great photo

I have a lot of pictures that rotate as my screen saver. And this picture is one of them. For some reason, I just love this picture. It is of Hannah and her Uncle Brian at Sequoia National Park. What fun they are having, I think that is why I like it so much, you can see it in the photo. So, here's to you Uncle Brian!

Sister Bonding

Here are some pics of Hannah reading to Ella. I am noticing that most of my pics of Hannah are her reading. She loves to read and as a mother, I love it.

Fashion Help

I found this cool website that breaks down different celebrity styles and where you can find them for much cheaper than you would think. It is called Frugal Fashionista . It is fun to look at and pretty helpful in finding great fashion deals.

Something Orange

What a success story we have in our family! Hannah ate carrots and loved them. I can't believe it we added something orange to her appetite. Now Hannah will eat, cereal, Ham and cheese, tortilini and mac and cheese, strawberries and grapes and now we can add carrots. This is huge ... a little beta carotine in our little one's body... yippee!

Music we can both listen to

I don't know about you, but I am getting tired of listening to the same music again and again in the car. If it isn't Veggie Tales then it is nursery rhyme or Disney. Hannah has to have her music or else..... but I came up with a new solution, where we can both be happy. I made Hannah a mix of music that she loves from different movies she loves but by artists I like too.

For instance... "I like to Move It" from Madagascar or Jack Johnson songs from Curious George. One Little Slip from BareNaked Ladies on the Chicken Little Soundtrack and Sheryl Crow from the movie Cars. She loves these songs because she knows them from the movies and I like them because they aren't nursery rhymns.

We also have a few other songs thrown into the mix, thanks to the indoctrination of music from my husband... Songs like Shake your Boon Boon (which Hannah loves and shakes her Boon Boon with the song), Car Wash and other 70's disco hits.

We will keep the nursery rhyme and Veggies Tales, but we have added to our collection. So, if you are tired of listening to the same old songs... try making a mix from movies your kids might be watching.