Bubbly Weekend!!

This weekend was absolutely B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!! We pretty much spent most of the weekend outdoors. My friend, Jana came into town to hang out with us for the weekend and she couldn't have picked a better weekend! It was fabulous! Saturday, Jana and I went and got pedicures and shopped part of the morning, while Dan and Joshua hung at the house and played outside. Joshua spent most of his time outside either riding his bike or blowing bubbles! On Saturday evening we decided that since it was such a beautiful day that we would all go out to eat at The Oasis. It is a restaurant that over looks lake Travis and is famous for the view and being able to watch the spectacular sunset. It was amazing! We were able to get an amazing seat which led to an amazing view once the sun started to set. We all had a great time visiting and taking in the view. Later that night after Joshua went to sleep, we played some old school Super Mario Bros. and used our fire pit to make SMORES!!! Oh how I love smores!!! Today we got up and went to breakfast and then Jana headed back home. We had a wonderful time visiting with her. I love that girl, she is so full of life and so fun to hang out with. I miss her already!! After Jana left we spent the rest of our Sunday playing outside in nice, sunny weather. Joshua is all about bubbles lately and he loves to catch, eat and blow the bubbles. I think at one point we had the bubble machine going, I was blowing bubbles and Joshua was blowing bubbles all at the same time. It was BUBBLE MANIA!!! Dan did some yard work and joined in the bubble mania when he was done. It was a great weekend overall and I hate that it has to come to an end. It was perfect weather with perfect company, and of course the bubbles! I have posted several pictures from our weekend below!

"This Day I will Marry My Friend....

...the one who shares my dreams." Today, Dan and I have been married for 3 years! I thought I would put together a little slide show to show what was before and during our 3 years of marriage. This is just the beginning and I am excited to see what the future holds for us as a couple, as a family! I still believe he is my perfect match and I know we will always be there for each other through the highs and lows, not because we are husband and wife, but because we are friends, the best of friends and that is what you do for friends! I love him as my husband and friend, I loved him even more when he became a Daddy and I continue to love him more and more with each passing day! I love you Dan, thanks for the best 3 years; can't wait for 100 more! I LOVE YOU!!!!!

The slide show has music to it if you want to turn up your volume! Plus check below for a couple of more new post!

Make a Smilebox digital slideshow

Is That Snow I See?

On Monday night, the weather man was saying that it was going to snow the next day, and I was a little skeptical(deep down I was praying for it to snow, I even said a little prayer before I fell asleep). If you recall my post back in December where we were supposed to get snow as well and we got maybe 10 mins of flurries, you can see why I was not going to get my hopes up(I really would have been disappointed if it didn't). Well, we woke up to rain which in a matter of 45 mins turned into sleet, which in a matter of 30 mins turned into sleet/snow mix and then complete SNOW from about 9:15 to about 6:00 this evening. This is pretty much unheard of in central Texas and even though we did not hit any records like our Dallas friends we still were able to have a snow day! One of the benefits of working for a small office is I didn't have to go into work today do to the weather, so Joshua and I made the best of it. Daddy was able to enjoy the snow with us once he got home. Joshua and I went out early, because I kept thinking it was going to stop and I wanted him to really experience it. Little did I know that we would continue to have snow fall and we would go back out 3 to 4 more times over the course of the day. At some points in the day the flakes looked like huge cotton balls floating and swirling around in the sky. It was incredible to watch and I loved being able to look out my window and experience God's amazing work! I enjoyed my day off with little man and he loved the snow! He kept saying "tomp(stomp), tomp, noz(snow)! He loved everything about it and I enjoyed watching him tomp, tomp through the snow and try and catch snowflakes on his tongue!! I have posted a ton of pics below! We had a great SNOW DAY!!!

Trying to catch snowflakes...isn't he the cutest!

So excited about the snow!!

An attempted snowman, sad I know, but my hands were freezing!!!!

Watching the snow come down!

Cold Day, Hot Soup

So, I thought I would send my fellow bloggers and blog readers some warm soups. We are having a snow day here in Austin, so I am being remided of warm soups and hot chocolate! No, our Snow Day is not like the Dallas area's snow day but it is still fun none the less, pictures to come in another post!

Spinach-Tofu Soup
4 servings Prep Time: 5min Cook Time: 15 min

1 quart of vegetable or chicken broth (which ever you prefer)
1 10 oz box of frozen chopped spinach
1 16 oz pkg of tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 in cubes
1 tsp of sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
scallions for garnishing (optional)

In a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, mix the broth with the spinach. Cook, covered, over medium-high heat, removing the lid a few times to break up the spinach with a wooden spoon, until thawed. Bring the soup to a boil, about 10 mins. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the tofu without stirring and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat. Add sesame oil. Garnish with scallions and season to taste.

**This is probably good with chicken as well! I have not tried this soup yet, but it sounded really good and the best part is it can be a vegetarian soup or you can add chicken and have a whole different soup.**

Below is what we are having tonight for supper. The recipe is for the sandwhich and I am serving homemade creamy tomato soup with it.

Gooey Grilled Cheese
Makes 4 servings

8 slices light whole-wheat bread
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup fig jam or grape jelly
4oz thinly sliced Havarti or Monterey Jack
1 small pear, thinly sliced
Non stick cooking spray

1. Brush one side of each slice of bread lightly with olive oil. Turn over four of the slices and spread with jam. Top each with 1/4 of the cheese and 1/4 of the sliced pear, then the remaining bread slices, oiled side up.

2. Lightly coat a griddle or large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat over medium heat. Add the sandwiches and cook 5 to 6 minutes or until the cheese is melted, turning once to brown both sides.

I am going to serve this with the tomato soup. I buy the Pacific Organic creamy tomato soup and then I add diced tomatoes with basil and garlic. I let it all simmer for about 30 minutes.

So here are my warm soups for today. Check back for the post with pictures from our Snow Day!!

Extended Family Weekend!

This past Friday night and Saturday we drove about 2 hours to Columbus to get together with Joel's side of the family. Almost everyone was able to make it and it was a great time of fellowship, good food, and reuniting! I say reuniting because I have not seen most of his side of the family since Dan and I's wedding ( I know shame on me, right?). Most of them were actually meeting Joshua for the very first time ( Shame on me again!). It is hard to try and coordinate between 4 families during the holidays and everything else in between. So, it was very important to me that we make this weekend so I could see family members and Joshua could meet and play with his 2nd cousins. Joel's sister in law and brother were the gracious host and hostess and actually came up with this great idea to all get together on a random weekend hoping that everyone would be able to make it and almost everyone did! It was great to catch up with everyone and Joshua and the other little ones played so well together, it was like they had grown up playing side by side all along. I was a little nervous that Joshua would be really shy and be a permanent fixture to my hip over the weekend, but to my surprise he walked right in like he owned the place and started playing with his cousins. It was great!!! He played and played! We left Saturday evening and headed back home. We are going to try and do this around this time every year. I think it is a great idea, and we hope to make it each year!

This is Nana with all her great-grand kids....Amazing!!!

Joshua and Kamryn, trying to get of picture of them together was impossible, this is what we could get!

Making Valentine's Day crafts!!!

Another Post is waiting below....

Kindermusik and Fat Tuesday!

Sorry, no pictures with this post! So, Kindermusik and Fat Tuesday are two totally different things, but they are coming together for this blog. On Monday we went and used our coupon for one free class that Joshua received for his birthday from Kindermusik(they provided the entertainment for the party, both adults and children were entertained,ha!), anyway, the class started at 7:15 and ran for about an hour. It was a small group, but Joshua sure had a lot of fun. We sang songs, played with different instruments and even had story time. It really is a great program but I found that when there wasn't really any dance music playing Joshua seemed to lose interest. He did not sit down for one minute. He kept running around the room and clapping. He participated for the most part, but I think if the class was geared more towards moving and grooving, like it was at his party, he would be all about it. The class we participated in was more towards learning listening skills and rhythms. So, I think Joshua would be more interested in going to a gymboree or little gym type class where he can move non stop until he drops...lol! I will be checking into these classes soon.


On to Fat Tuesday, that is right, today is Fat Tuesday! Joshua's school celebrated the day with music, dancing and a parade. They had beads for the kiddos and everything. His school is really awesome! They provide a lot of fun activities for the kids! I had to post about Fat Tuesday, because of the note that I got when I picked up Joshua from school. Too funny, here it is word for word:

"Josh was quite a little party animal at our Mardi Gras Celebration! Music, dancing, a parade...right up his alley!!! He definitely knows how to have a good time!!!"

Wow, 2 yrs old and already a party animal, what the heck am I going to do later on down the road...LOL!!

HAPPY MARDI GRAS EVERYONE!!!

Linus!

So it seems here lately that Joshua has grown very attached to his blanket. It doesn't have to be a particular one, any blanket will do. In fact, he now goes and pulls open his drawer where the blankets are kept and helps himself to one if he feels the need. If it is a really bad day, he would prefer to have two blankets, one for each hand. Joshua never got attached to anything really as a baby, never used a pacifier, never really needed a bottle in his hand or any stuffed animal for that matter, and I thought that was a little strange, because I thought every child gets attached to something at a young age. It has just been here in the last month or so that Joshua feels the need to have his blanket outside of the bed. If he gets hurt; he needs his blanket, if he brushes his teeth; he needs his blanket, if he goes to the playground at school; he needs his blanket, etc. He will go around calling for his blanket, "banket, banket?" We try to keep the blanket in the bed and tell him only when he goes "night, night" can he have it, but sometimes I guess the boy just needs that security of his blanket. One night this last week, Dan walked in to check on him before bed and came in our bedroom and asked me if I had covered him up with 3 extra blankets and I said nope, he must have got up and put those in the bed himself. NICE!! Although, I don't think Joshua will become like Linus, I think this is his choice of attachment and I can't really blame him, because it was my choice as well when I was his age and I didn't give mine up until my first day of kindergarten! I know eventually he will leave this "Linus stage" behind; hey it could be worse!!!

CHECK BELOW FOR A CUTE POST...

Notes from School

When I go to pick up Joshua from school at 2, I always look forward to the notes that the teachers write. These notes usually consist of what he did that day, if he ate well, and what time he took a nap, and there is always a special note at the end sharing one special thing that Joshua did that day. I am always humored by what they have to say about Joshua so I thought I would share a few "notes" that are left by his teacher.
Now these are quoted word for word by his teacher's Ms. Pam and Ms. Elaine:

The sensory table is full of dry pasta shells-Josh figured out how LOUD they can be! :-)

Josh found our pretend spider and went around to each of his friends "kissing" them with it.


He told Ms. Pam that his pizza was "yuck"! But he sure are plenty of pineapple bits!


He got a hold of Kate's Mardi Gras beads and started doing a dance for us with them on!


A soggy blanket didn't bother him a bit-he really needed it today at nap, so if he smells a bit like a wet puddle, that's why! :-) (He took his blanket out to the playground and it was dragged through a puddle)


Josh thought it was funny to put his blanket over his head, but when he started to walk, oops-no eye holes! The tire mulch on the playground cushioned his fall.


Josh always helps his friends, no matter what the task is, he is the first one to show them how it is done!


Josh let us know today that he can say his name! He shouted it from the roof tops, "Josh, Josh, Josh!!" Very cute!

I love the notes at the end of the day, they usually brighten up my afternoon! He is such a delight and it shows in his classroom as well. They have hearts placed all over the walls of their classroom for valentine's day and each child has his or her name on one and Joshua's says "Joyful Josh". I think they definitely got that one right!!!

It's God's World, We Just Live In It!

So today, I was reminded once again that this is God's world and he is in control. Several post ago, I mentioned about a woman who had Stage IV Colon Cancer, well earlier today, she passed away after battling it for 2 years. God decided that her time here on earth was done and he called her home. While I have not been able to forget her story, it still hit me like a ton of bricks when I read that she had passed. I felt like I had been punched in the gut, hard! I began to cry, I only knew this girl as an acquaintance but I guess her being my age and having a little girl, Joshua's age really has hit home with me. No, I have never experienced cancer, and I pray to God that I never will, but the fact that I sometimes forget that God gave me this life and it is HIS life not mine, things like this really are a wake up call. "REALITY CHECK" again! Everyday, I strive to live life to the fullest and sometimes I just do not quite make it, but I know that is ok. This woman has really touched me and she will never know how much of an impact she has had on me. She will never know how she makes me stop and think about my reaction or how she makes me want to absorb every minute I have with my family. Every time, I start to throw a pity party for myself, her story pops in my head and I am able to stop and think, "this is no reason to throw a pity party for yourself". So, once again, God has shown me that he is in control and that it is truly his world and we are supposed to live in it and do His will. He controls every aspect of your life and what you do. I am 100% sure that God allowed me to read and know this woman's story and she will always be apart of my heart and thoughts. God used her and her story to give me a "reality check" and I am answering that wake up call. I hold and look at my family differently now. I definitely will not take anything for granted especially, my precious little boy and wonderful husband. Remember: God created this world and he did not have to put you here, but you have a purpose on this earth and it is to serve him until he is ready to call you home!

I love this little boy and he loves to watch the cars go by at my work!

My Two favorite boys!!!