Fun Fridays!

    Jill took Abby for a few hours on Thursday and Kyleigh and I went out. We walked through Kid to Kid Consignment store looking for toys. Then we ate at Qdoba and then went to Target. While at Target, we picked up some nail polish so we could paint our nails on Friday. :) We had a fun time out and it was really nice to spend some "special time" with Kyleigh. 
    Friday was a beautiful day. We had the windows open and radios on. The sun and warmer temps do wonders for our moods. :) We actually spent most of the day, after Kyleigh got home from school of course, in the playroom.

    
    While Abby was trying to take a nap (I say 'trying' because she never actually slept), Kyleigh and I painted our nails. :) Kyleigh did my toes. I think she did a great job, too.

    The girls were playing with The Littlest Pet Shop animals and the Fisher Price Little People animals. Abby loves playing with the animals and making the sounds the animals make. It's cute because she pretends to be an elephant, frog and dog. :) Here she is playing with a seal

    The girls have a lot of the dogs of The Littlest Pet Shop toys, and there is one black one that looks like my mom's dog Axel and one that is pretty similar to our Peanut. So Kyleigh decided they were going to get married. :) And all the other animals are watching.

    Kyleigh accidentally popped out one of the eyes of her sunglasses and decided then that she was a pirate.

"Aaaaaargh!!!"

    Since it's Friday and there is still no sign of Nate, I wanted to do something fun for dinner with the girls. First we ordered pizza--something we haven't done in quite a while. Then I decided we'd get a movie off of iControl and have 'Pizza and A Movie Night' and eat in the living room--a treat in itself.

    We ordered Shrek3 Forever After but didn't make it too far in before Kyleigh declared it was going to give her bad dreams. So we switched to Pocahontas. For dessert, we finally dived into the ice cream Kyleigh and I whipped up early this week. It's a coffee ice cream with crumbles from our Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies and it was a hit!

Me and my Abby--who was struggling to run away. :)

Kyleigh has been anxiously awaiting Valentine's Day since she first saw the Valentine's decor in the stores. Now it is almost here. We've decided to bake some cupcakes for her friends for Monday.
First, before we get into what we are baking, look at my nail polish! I didn't realize it when I bought it, but look! It matches my mixer! haha And yes, painting my nails is that big a deal. I honestly don't remember the last time I "pampered" myself this way.

 Now on to what we are baking. For Kyleigh's classmates, we are baking Kyleigh's Cupcakes. They are yellow cupcakes with a chocolate butter frosting. I put the heart shaped marshmallows on and Kyleigh put the sprinkles on.

 Of course, we needed someone to taste test them to make sure they are fit to be shared. Abby took charge of that job. And she takes her jobs very seriously. See?

  She tested these quite thoroughly. :)


Yay for a good weekend!

Weekend Recap

I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that today is Tuesday, not Monday. We were lucky enough to have a three-day weekend with the hubby. It started off that he was just going to be going into work late so that he could come to the Parent-Teacher Conference Monday morning, but then he decided to make a whole day of it! What a treat!! It's funny, playing "hookie" for a day makes the time more special compared to the weekend when things sometimes just feel more stressful. Is it just me? Oh well.


Anyway, we had a pretty good weekend, too. Saturday the girls had a birthday party to attend, which was held at Monkey Joe's. Kyleigh and the birthday girl, as well as the other party attendees, had a great time. Abigail was somewhat unsure of the big inflatable bounce houses and preferred to stay in the party room playing with spoons. :) Sunday we hung out at Nate's parents' house, watched some football, and ate pizza. Yes, it was a good day. :) Monday, after the Parent-Teacher Conference, we went to the park to let the girls run around for a few minutes. Yes, it was cold outside but that is what coats and hats and gloves are for. Besides, just because it is cold out doesn't mean one doesn't need fresh air. Then grabbed some McDonald's for lunch (a rarity I assure you) at Nate's request and then down for naps. We topped the day off with going to a frozen yogurt bar in celebration of Kyleigh being dry two nights in a row! Then it was home and to bed...the girls were pretty tired out. It was a really great three-day weekend! :)

"C'mon Daddy! Let's go play!"

We made it to the top!

Growing up way too fast.

Which explains why today felt like Monday. Nate was home yesterday. So. Tuesday. Crock Pot day!! The last three or so weeks I've done stews. While it has been nice to have soul-warming stew, the girls have yet to actually eat their dinners on Tuesdays. Now I don't have a whole lot to throw into the slow cooker, so I decided to try my hand at some homemade baked beans. I'm still undecided as to whether or not I'll cut up some leftover hot dogs we have to give it more 'kid appeal' and I've also been considering adding a bit of rice to it...I'll let ya know.


Thing2 has woken up quite early from her nap and Thing1 has decided to not nap at all. It'll be a rocky afternoon/evening if they don't get back to sleep. *Fingers crossed* Besides, they get up now and I won't be able to finish this post till later tonight. I really enjoy naptimes for 2 reasons: 1)it is quiet; 2) I get to blog and check out foodie sites. So yes, major bummer that nobody is napping.

Reporting on the Reebok EasyTones

Okay, so I've had the Reebok EasyTone shoes for a little over 3 weeks now. I wear them mostly all day (even around the house) because if you don't wear them, nothing will happen.

Have I noticed any difference? 


Aww, thanks for asking. That's so sweet. :)


I am beginning to see a noticeable difference. I payed attention yesterday because I finally wore a pair of underwear I got from Aeropostale years ago and have avoided wearing for some time. The problem was that I could see the underwear lines through my jeans or whatever because I had some extra padding. :) But in week 3, there are no undie lines!!! I am soooo freakin' excited! I actually don't cringe when checking out my behind in the mirror after showering. May be getting a little graphic here, but c'mon, what woman doesn't scrutinize what she sees in the mirror on an almost daily basis? Since having my kiddos, I avoided looking in the mirror...or at least I tried very hard not to look after showering. But yesterday and then today, I like what I see!!! I can't believe I just said that! It's crazy!! The Aero undies were no fluke. Same goes for today's pair. Oh my goodness!!! I'm stoked! lol Would I recommend these shoes? AB-solutely!! If you get them, let me know how you are liking them! We can compare notes.  ;)


Here is a picture I took the other night while baking since Nate wasn't home. Wanna check out what I made? You won't be sorry. Just go here.

I'm so glad today is Friday!! I know my mom isn't too happy about it since she works this weekend, but it is going to be so nice to have Nate home!!!! Have a good weekend everyone!!

First Hair Cut in 2 Years!--Part 2

I did it! I went to The Spa by Mitchell's and got my hair cut! I was so nervous. haha Before I left this morning, I took some before pictures. Since I probably won't ever let my hair get this long again, I decided to measure it. :)

 So, there is the before. Now, time for the dramatic "after".

 We decided short with layers and side swept bangs. I guess you can't really see them from this front view, but they are there. :)

A cute side view.

And a back view.

I can't believe how light my head feels! It feels like my hair is all gone. haha I do really like the new cut and am enjoying the short playfulness of it. Abigail faltered a little in her welcoming me home when I returned. Kyleigh, on the other hand, peeked around the door as she and Gramma came home (Kyleigh spent the night and Nate's parents' house) and didn't come in much past the entryway. It took her a bit to hug me. I understood though...I feel the shock when Nate goes from shaggy to hair to the buzz that he likes best. :)

First Hair Cut in 2 Years!

I have decided that it is time for a haircut. The last time I got a haircut was while I was pregnant with Abby and my mom treated me to a cut and highlights. My hair, when not pulled back of course, very nearly reaches the top of my jeans. Yeah, hard to believe I know but it is true. Washing my hair usually adds about 10 to 15 minutes to my shower and actually is pretty heavy. That may sound weird, but after piling all of my hair on top of my head and letting go, there is quite a tug as it falls. I think it is time to chop most of it off so I can change things up. Hear are pictures I found online of hairstyles I'm considering. 

I really like the shorter length compared to what I have now  as well as the movement of the style.

Since I think I have a rounder face, I was considering this 'cause it looks really good.

This actually resembles what I have now only Anne's is shorter.

I like Kristen's hairstyle on the left.

First Kate Hudson is beautiful, and for me I really like the flow of the hairstyle on the left.

This hairstyle is nice too.

Okay, so the gist of the hairstyle I'm looking for is a layered look and side swept bangs but something that will take minimal effort to style and get ready. Looking for a cute, fun, and stylish haircut. ::Fingers crossed:: I'll post before and after pictures because I'm pretty sure that most people have not seen my hair down in quite some time....it just takes soo much work to make it look nice because there is just so much of it! :)

Two Books Read off the List

Last night I finished the second book off of my reading list for 2011.

The Amateur Marriage, by Anne Tyler

Review From Publishers Weekly

Because Tyler writes with scrupulous accuracy about muddled, unglamorous suburbanites, it is easy to underestimate her as a sort of Pyrex realist. Yes, Tyler intuitively understands the middle class's Norman Rockwell ideal, but she doesn't share it; rather, she has a masterful ability to make it bleed. Her latest novel delineates, in careful strokes, the 30-year marriage of Michael Anton and Pauline Barclay, and its dissolution. In December 1941 in St. Cassians, a mainly Eastern European conclave in Baltimore, 20-year-old Michael meets Pauline and is immediately smitten. They marry after Michael is discharged from the army, but their temperaments don't mix. For Michael, self-control is the greatest of virtues; for Pauline, expression is what makes us human. She is compulsively friendly, a bad hider of emotions, selfish in her generosity ("my homeless man") and generous in her selfishness. At Pauline's urging, the two move to the suburbs, where they raise three children, George, Karen and Lindy. Lindy runs away in 1960 and never comes back-although in 1968, Pauline and Michael retrieve Pagan, Lindy's three-year-old, from her San Francisco landlady while Lindy detoxes in a rehab community that her parents aren't allowed to enter. Michael and Pauline got married at a time when the common wisdom, expressed by Pauline's mother, was that "marriages were like fruit trees.... Those trees with different kinds of branches grafted onto the trunks. After a time, they meld, they grow together, and... if you tried to separate them you would cause a fatal wound." They live into an era in which the accumulated incompatibilities of marriage end, logically, in divorce. For Michael, who leaves Pauline on their 30th anniversary, divorce is redemption. For Pauline, the divorce is, at first, a tragedy; gradually, separation becomes a habit. A lesser novelist would take moral sides, using this story to make a didactic point. Tyler is much more concerned with the fine art of human survival in changing circumstances. The range and power of this novel should not only please Tyler's immense readership but also awaken us to the collective excellency of her career.

Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This book was a departure from my usual reads. That doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it, quite the opposite actually. It didn't hook you in and keep your attention like the murder mysteries I've read, but when you pause, you realize you want more. I kept making time during the day so I could go back to it because I was just so curious to see how it all turned out. I consumed the last pages after Nate got home from work and let out a few "Are you serious?!"s and some "No way! You've got to be kidding."s, which made him chuckle. 
Anne Tyler's writing of this book was very real and written so that you shared in the emotions of the characters, almost too real for me. At one point, when one of the characters is strung out and drugged up I felt like I was right there and for that chapter I was scared to be a mom. I became scared of doing something that would negatively affect my kids that would lead them down a life like that and had momentary regrets about being responsible for anyone but myself. Hey, it's easier for me to control just me...have you met Kyleigh?? :) So of course I put the book down and lavished hugs and kisses and giggles and tickles upon my girls--the cure for anything, I promise. 
I can't say it will become a regular read, but I am glad I read it. I look forward to reading more of Anne Tyler's books now that I have had a taste of her style of writing.


Up Next: The World Below, by Sue Miller

First One Down

I have devoured my first book off of the list: 

Steamed, by Jessica Conant-Park and Susan Conant

It is the first in the Gourmet Girl Mystery series. While it wasn't until halfway into the book that the point of the book really came into focus and picked up. Though slow to get to the point, it was a nice light read, as well as quick. I enjoyed it and will continue on with the series. 


The summary on the inside flap of the jacket:

If you have an appetite for crime, join Chloe Carter, food connoisseur, aimless grad student, and resilient survivor of failed romances...

Chloe Carter is forever on a quest for the perfect meal and the perfect man. Getting both in one shot is irresistible. That's why Chloe (known on the Internet as GourmetGirl) risks another burn when she accepts a date with DinnerDude online. Unfortunately, her fellow food lover turns out to be just another cheap, pompous, well-fed bore. Showing more promise is the honey-lavender creme brulee--a bit of culinary heaven Chloe's bland date never even has a chance to sample. Certainly there's an easier way to run out on a tab than being stabbed to death in the men's room.

Talk about a rocky love life. Chloe's first date of the week is a murder victim. Her second date is with a perfectly sweet chef who'd be ideal if he wasn't the prime suspect. As the investigation plunges the amateur sleuth into the gourmet restaurant scene, she discovers a cutthroat world rife with killer competition, stormy love affairs, and a recipe for Baby Bok Choy Slaw to die for...

Up next:  The Amateur Marriage, by Anne Tyler