Life in the Slow Lane

I feel like since Christmas life has been pretty dull around here. We haven't gone anywhere exciting or done much other than school, dance, piano, church, playing with friends, meetings, homework, watching t.v.. See.... not much excitement around here!

Work has been a bit slow (to put it nicely) so far this year. I try to look on the bright side and am enjoying the time we wouldn't normally get with Nate. I'm not so sure I want the work to pick up...... I LOVE having him home every day!! But in reality, of course I want him to be busy and making some dough (not bread this time.... cold hard cash!). Hopefully it will pick up soon. I'm just enjoying not being a single parent 3 days a week. :)

For Valentine's Day we had some friends invite me and Nate over to their house for prime rib and crab legs.... yum! We were happy to accept the invitation and had a fun night. We didn't do much in the way of gifts this year. Actually every year we don't do much, but we still love each other.... "never ending". {We play this game with our kids and say we love them 500 million or something like that then they say they love us an even larger number, but Kaden will always just say, "I love you never ending." It melts our hearts everytime!}


I helped the kids make sugar cookies, but it ended up being a two day process. We made the actual cookies on Valentine's Day, but frosted them after church the next day. I just ran out of time to finish them in one day. Figures-- with my unrealistic time management skills! We let Tye decide which cookie cutters to use. He wasn't too thrilled to just have hearts so among them we had a few four leaf clovers, dinosaurs and cowboy boots. I don't think the dinosaurs made it passed the cooling process, though.

We had my family over for dinner Sunday and really enjoyed everyone's company.... our house even survived the 18 grandkids who were able to be there!

Nate's parents had us over for family home evening yesterday. It was fun to spend some one on one time with them. The kids had a great time. They learned about obedience..... they've needed a few reminders already!!

Now I am just trying to survive the rest of the winter. I noticed in one of my flower beds some tulips are starting to poke there little heads out of the ground..... there IS hope! Hallelujah!!

Haley at 18 Months

Our little Haley is 18 months old now. It's a bit hard to believe. She's a sweetheart and has all of us wrapped around her little finger.

Her most recent love is shoes. (Uh-oh... her future husband is in for it!) If you leave your shoes out she'll be walking (tripping, clunking) around in them.

She also likes to "talk" on the phone and gets really excited if my cell phone rings or gets a message. She loves to put Rachel's headbands on all by herself....

But most of the time she just puts them around her neck.

She has just recently started to throw tantrums. She'll scream, kick and arch her back... I soooo am not ready for this stage, or maybe I was just hoping it wouldn't come. No such luck! We still love her though and are so happy she is a part of our family.

Skating Rink

Apparently our rain gutter doesn't work right! We've had so many issues with getting the finishing touches done on our garage that at this point it's just a joke. The kids have had a great time playing on the ice, though. I cringe a little whenever I know they are on it because I picture them slipping and smacking their heads on the brick wall. I happened to walk around the corner right as they slipped... Phew! No blood.

It was at least 4 inches thick at the thickest point and made quite the ice sculpture on the corner of the garage...

What the heck, Dad! You ruined it. Fun hater! { Mom says, "Thank you!"}

What is it with me???

Someone PLEASE help me! I was told I looked tired and not so well AGAIN at church today.... by two separate people. What the heck is wrong with me? I stayed up late last night, but I slept until 8:00 this morning so I got plenty of sleep... well, enough sleep anyway. Is it time for a face lift or do I need to start using some fancy, expensive, magic cream to lift and rejuvenate my face?!! Nate says I look fine and normal, so why is everyone thinking I'm not????? I didn't think I'd have a hard time turning 30 in a few months, but the more people say things like that to me the more I'm thinking aging isn't so hot!

{I really am okay... I just had to vent!}

I Don't Like Mint

Tye asked me for a snack and I decided to give him a kiwi. I knew he had probably never had one since we don't buy them very often.... but we should. They are good! Anyway, I got it out of the fridge and he pulled a face of disgust. I don't blame him. It's brown and hairy. Not the most appealing fruit. So I started to peel it and he saw that it was bright green inside. He quickly informed me, "I DON'T LIKE MINT!" After I got done laughing, it took me a few minutes to convince him it wasn't mint flavored. He kept comparing it to the mint chocolate chips we have in the pantry. If it's green and mint chocolate chips are green, then kiwi must be mint. I did get him to at least have a little taste and he liked it, but wasn't so sure about the black seeds. He was afraid they would be hot. Not sure where that assumption came from, but I assured him they weren't. He finally took the plunge and ate the whole kiwi and wanted more. Speaking of kiwis, they are also known as Chinese gooseberries. So if you'll excuse me. I'm going to go eat my last Chinese gooseberry now.........

Mr. Baker

Yesterday I had an afternoon of running errands, but when I returned home in between a couple of them Nate had started to make some bread. I helped him make the braid, but he did the rest.

Right after I took the picture of the dough I looked around, but Nate was no where in sight. I hunted him down and found him doing this....
He said he had to get back some of his manhood!

Boy do I love that guy.... (I'm talking about Nate, not Junior!) He helps me so much and makes me feel like a million bucks! He even made dinner that night. How lucky am I? On a scale from 1 to 10? An Eleven!

Paper Doll Mom

Kaden woke up earlier than everyone else Saturday morning. Nate and I didn't want to get out of bed yet so we told him to go play or watch TV for a while. I could hear him doing something in the kitchen, but I wasn't concerned about it. I thought maybe he was getting some cereal. A few minutes later he gave me this paper doll. It's suppose to be me....

Thanks, Kaden. I love it!

No Water? No Problem!

Vacation?

I wish! {sigh} A girl can dream.

I am cold. I need sun. I need warmth. That groundhog better have some good news tomorrow!