living simply

Anika's first ski lesson

2012-01-31T20:32:00.002-07:00

Eric and Anika went up to Ski Apache in Ruidoso on Saturday and Anika loved her first time on skis. She started out great and just wanted to go on the highest ski lift :) By the end of the day she was so tired that one of the employees gave her a ride back down and Eric got to ski down one run by himself.

2012

2012-01-29T21:57:00.002-07:00

On January 1st I would have told you this was going to be a great year. We were starting our year off with a trip home to Oregon to enjoy a few weeks with family and announce our exciting news. We found out on December 16th that we would be adding to our family this summer. Or so we hoped. I was trying to figure out how to hide my growing belly until we were ready to surprise everyone.

We also had lots of plans for the kids like soccer and swim lessons and camping, Anika is learning to read and may go off to school in the fall. Eric had planned a couple of tests to further his career and I am just getting settled with my new job as a breastfeeding peer counselor with WIC. There was a lot to look forward to.

The drive to Oregon went well and we saw some good friends on our way up. The weather even cooperated with the mountain pass. The kids and the dog did very well on the long drive. We spent an evening in Santa Monica and enjoyed the sunset at the pier.

A couple days after we arrived in Oregon my husband received a phone call from work letting him know that plans had been changed and he would be deploying soon. Well, there went some big plans for this spring and summer. We're still waiting on the details like when, where, and how long. It was unexpected, but that's the way things go in the military.

The visit in Oregon went well. Lots of food and games and hanging out with family. We even were there for a couple birthday parties. Eric and I got to go out on a date one evening. The weather didn't cooperate with Eric and Anika's ski plans, but Eric got one day of skiing in before it was time for us to head home. The season started late and the snow started falling the week we were leaving.

The drive home wasn't quite as pleasant and we hit a snowstorm near Mt. Shasta that slowed us down. We made it safely home though and started preparing for the normal work week.

The Monday after we got home I had my first midwife appointment. I was just over 9 weeks along and praying that all was going well. I was a nervous wreck after last year's miscarriage and worried that my lack of morning sickness was a bad sign. They don't normally do an ultrasound at the first appointment, but they were happy to do one for me considering my history. Unfortunately my instincts were right and the baby had stopped developing and didn't have a heartbeat. My heart was broken again. It still doesn't seem real as we wait for something to happen. I chose to hold off on medical intervention to see if my body would do what it needs to and now a week later nothing has changed.

Now we are spending the last week of January with head colds that are keeping us from enjoying the lovely sunshine here in New Mexico. It has to get better though, right? I'm starting to paint the master bathroom to give myself something to do, my job is going well, the kids have been doing a little school at home and loving it, Emily's birthday is coming up and I have a yellow party to plan. Eric and Anika went off looking for snow today to get Anika that ski lesson they have been trying for all month so I hope they are having fun.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-30T12:56:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

finally made Christmas dresses!

2011-12-11T17:14:00.000-07:00

I meant to do this last year and didn't get around to it. This year I was determined. There are so many cute ones on Etsy, but they are at least $35 each plus shipping. I made 2 for that price :) The hardest part was coordinating fabrics and I'm still not thrilled with the green, but it was the best they had and the girls love it so I'm considering the project a success.

me being cheap

2011-12-11T16:41:00.000-07:00

Eric's Christmas gift came in the mail this week and I was all out of wrapping paper and tape. I don't like buying paper that is immediately thrown away so I considered other options. The box it was shipped in was filled with brown paper and I had some twine left over from St. Nicholas Day gifts.

The paper was perforated so I didn't need scissors.

make your own laundry detergent

2011-12-03T14:18:00.001-07:00

I have been meaning to try making my own detergent for so long. I just never remember to find all the supplies or I just bought a new detergent and don't need any. I finally got around to giving it a try. There are a few ways to do it and I chose the simple powder for my first try. Here's how it went.

Grate one bar of soap. I used Dr. Bronner's lavender scent, but a cheaper alternative would be Zote or Fels-Naptha which were both available in my local Walmart and grocery store.

Then I added one cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Powder.

And one cup of Borax. Sorry I don't have the box, this is something I've had in the cupboard for awhile.

And here is what we ended up with.

I'm using one tablespoon per load for a regular load in an HE front loader. The first load seems clean and it was bath towels and socks. I have a cold load running now so we'll see if it dissolves and works well in cold water. I'll update in an hour or so :)

If you prefer a liquid detergent you can use the same ingredients and add water. I have enough supplies to try this too so I may add photos when I get to it :)

Grate one bar of soap with cheese grater or food processor.
Put grated soap in pan with 2 quarts water and gradually heat, stirring constantly until soap is completely dissolved.
Put 4.5 gallons of really hot tap water in a 5-gallon bucket (available for free in bakeries at grocery stores, just ask them) and stir in 1 cup of borax and 1 cup of Washing Soda until completely dissolved.
Pour soap mixture from pan into 5-gallon bucket. Stir well.
Cover and leave overnight.
Shake or stir until smooth and pour into gallon jugs or other containers.
Use 1/2 to 1 cup per load.

Thanksgiving menu :)

2011-11-22T10:50:00.002-07:00

I only have to make half the meal this year :) We're joining with the neighbors and maybe a few extra single people. My half of the meal includes a ham. I have never cooked a ham. Wish me luck! I got a monster 19 pounder at Sam's Club and it didn't come with directions.

So, my half of the meal:

Ham

Mashed Potatoes (I never really follow a recipe, but it will involve a lot of butter)

Green Bean Casserole

Stuffing/Dressing

Apple pie

Pecan Pie

Pumpkin Pie
Cranberry Sauce

Deviled Eggs

my baby is 5!

2011-11-21T16:29:00.002-07:00

I am having some trouble believing that my daughter could be 5. Where did the time go?

Anika Mae was born on November 18th, 2006 at 4pm.

She was very quick to walk

and to swim

and she hasn't slowed down

Now she is 5. She loves to play outside and can usually be found digging in the dirt, kicking a ball, coloring with sidewalk chalk, riding her bicycle, or helping Papa in the garden. She is learning to read and is so excited when she can sound something out :) Papa is excited that she is interested in Lego now and they love to build together. In the last year she has enjoyed gymnastics, soccer, and swim lessons and done great in all of them. She is (usually) a great big sister and a very sweet little girl.

I asked her what kind of birthday party she wanted and she replied, "orange". So, an orange party it was :)

Here is a little montage I put together for the occasion.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

I am loving Crowdtap right now!

2011-11-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

It took me a couple of months of questions and applying, but I got far more than I expected. I received a gorgeous pea coat from Old Navy and my sister got one too. It finally got cold enough for me to wear it and I love it! So warm and it looks great. I will definitely keep "tapping" :)

pumpkins

2011-10-25T17:25:00.000-06:00

I love pumpkins.

The plant is pretty

they are fun to decorate with

and yummy to eat

I have always used the canned pumpkins for baking. It's what I grew up with and it's easy. This year our local farmer's market is selling little pie pumpkins that weigh about 3-4 pounds each and cost a dollar per pound. I figured I would give it a try and bought one. Here is what I did with it.

Wash the pumpkin and remove the stem.

Cut in half and remove seeds.

Lightly oil a cookie sheet, place the pumpkin halves face down, and bake at 350 degrees until fork tender.

Remove from oven and turn over to help the halves cool faster. Watch out for the steam. Once they are cool enough to handle get a large spoon and scoop out all the pulp.

I use an immersion blender to puree the pulp, but a food processor or even a potato masher will do the trick.

That one little 3 pound pumpkin made over 3 cups of puree. You can use it right away, put it in the fridge, or save it in the freezer for later. Today I turned about a cup of it into pumpkin muffins.

Pumpkin Spice Muffins (adapted from this recipe)

1 cup All-purpose Flour

1/2 cup Sugar

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1-1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger

1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon Salt

4 Tablespoons Butter, melted

1 cup (heaping) Pumpkin Puree

1/2 cup Milk

1 whole Egg

1-1/2 teaspoon Vanilla

Topping:

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffin tins. I used liners and I do not recommend it. They stuck.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Add butter. In a separate bowl, mix together pumpkin, evaporated milk, egg, and vanilla. (I never do a separate bowl and it works fine. Less dishes that way) Pour pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture. Fold gently until mixture is just combined.

Pour into a greased muffin pan—batter hardly ever fills all twelve unless you keep it down to 1/2 full. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar-nutmeg mixture over the top of each unbaked muffin.

Bake for 25 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and allow to cool.

Check back tomorrow to see what I'm doing with the seeds :)

this morning's project

2011-10-20T08:14:00.002-06:00

I made some kitchen hand scrub this morning. It's a lovely shade of yellow, scrubs great, and leaves my hands smelling lemony. I'll have to test it out after lunch to see if it gets the smell of garlic off. I found the easy recipe here. I don't have lemon extract so mine has a mild fragrance.

1 1/2 c sugar

1/3 c kosher salt
zest of 1 extra large lemon (or other citrus)
1 c olive oil
1/4 tsp pure lemon extract, optional

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. If you would like a slightly stronger fragrance, add the extract. Spoon into a pretty jar, tighten the lid. Wipe any spills or drips from the outside of the jar. Alternatively, you can use orange or lime zest for a different fresh citrus smell. For an extra touch, tie a pretty bow around the jar if you plan to gift this scrub. This makes enough for a 1 pint canning jar.

Fall decorating

2011-10-11T23:13:00.000-06:00

With a little bit of supplies from Goodwill, the Dollar General, and Walmart we know have a cute front patio :)

Oktoberfest 2011

2011-10-11T22:23:00.000-06:00

We didn't make it to our local Oktoberfest last year. Partly because we knew it would be a letdown from our previous experience in Munich. This year we got all dressed up and gave it a try. There was an American vs. German soccer game first so we went to that and cheered on Eric's coworker. Americans lost, of course. Then we changed into our Oktoberfest clothes and joined the party. They do a good job of decorating and bringing in an authentic band and I guess the beer and food was good. New Mexico is not Germany though. We were baking in our dirndls and lederhosen. The lines were all very long, but Eric and the girls got to dance a little and we had some food and Eric drank his beer and mine. Everyone under 21 was kicked out at 8pm (when the temps were getting reasonable) so we all headed home at that time.

road trip

2011-08-28T10:55:00.000-06:00

We deviated from our usual road trip course this time and took a little longer to get to our destination. On July 25, Monday night, we hit the road at about 9pm. We made our way through Arizona and arrived in southern California around 8am Tuesday and had breakfast with my grandmother. After a few hours of visiting and the girls riding their bicycles around we caught up with one of our friends from Germany who lives and works very close to my grandmother's home. She was on her lunch break at school so it was a brief stop. We grabbed a quick lunch at Chipotle and Starbucks and drove a little further to get to Pasadena. I have lots of wonderful online friends that I have been chatting with for years now and I had the pleasure of meeting with two of them at a cafe in Pasadena. We had a nice chat and the kids ran around and played and I wish we lived closer so we could do that more often. Then we headed to my grandparents' home on the central coast and spent a night with them, the kids got to play, and we had a nice stroll on the beach the next morning. That is such a beautiful area and we really need to stay longer next time.

Next stop was San Fransisco, but we took the scenic route and drove up highway 1 to enjoy the coast. We live so far from water that we just couldn't get enough of it.

By late afternoon we entered the fog in San Fransisco and spent a fun evening with Eric's sister and her family and spent the night at their place. The next day we checked out Fisherman's Wharf with our friend Jessica and her girls. It had been over 2 years since we had seen each other, but it was just like old times.

That evening, after the kids were worn out, we headed to Oregon. It took about 9 hours to make it to Eric's parents' home. Just after sunrise we knocked on the door, handed the kids off to Omi and Opi, and went to bed for a couple of hours. The next few weeks were filled with visiting friends and family, hiking, camping, playing, shopping, etc. Eric and I even made it out for a few dates :)

On the evening of August 18 we hit the road again and headed straight home. It took about 24 hours to drive through Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. In the 20th hour I got a speeding ticket, but other than that it was an uneventful drive. We made it all the way to Moab, UT before the kids woke up and we took a breakfast break. We stopped at a park in northern New Mexico to stretch our legs and eat some lunch. Now we are home, have our dog back, have restocked our fridge, and Eric has been back at work for a week. It was great to take a break from hot, dry, and boring New Mexico, but that trip wore us out and we're not sure when we'll try it again.

green your cycle

2011-07-20T16:44:00.000-06:00

Over the last year I have transitioned from disposable to cloth menstrual products. I'm not sure why it took me so long. We used cloth diapers, cloth wipes, cloth napkins, and cloth tissues. I guess this was the next logical step. I started with a small set of flannel pads. They were ok, but I didn't love them and they weren't enough for the first couple days of heavy flow. So I was using them part time. Then I won a pad in a contest on Facebook and I loved it! It had a narrower cut and fleece backing and didn't leak. I purchased 3 more from the same work at home mom. With a total of 10 cloth pads I had enough to get by without disposable if I kept up on the laundry. A few months ago I won a menstrual cup. The cup is a little tricky to figure out, but it has been great! I can leave it in there all day or night and almost forget I am even having my period. It would be perfect for camping or hiking trips when you don't want to haul anything extra. I do still keep a few tampons and pads in the house for guests, but I haven't used any of them yet this year.

Here is what I have. My favorite pads in my stash are from Pampered Mama. They are minky on top and fleece on the bottom with snaps on the wings. They don't leak at all and they stay where they are supposed to. I have regular and heavy and am thinking of ordering some panty liners since she has such cute fabrics right now. http://hyenacart.com/PamperedMama/index.php?c=22

The cup I have is the Lunette. I have the Cynthia model which is a light burgundy color. It comes with a drawstring bag for storage. http://www.lunette.com/

So, why switch to reusable?

Save money.

With average cycles women will spend about $10 a month on disposable products. With cloth, most women use about 8-12 pads and unless you make them yourself that will cost you about $100. Those cloth pads will last years with proper care. My Lunette cup costs about $40 but will also last for years. The FDA recommends replacing the cup every 3 years, but it is medical grade silicone and will usually last much longer.

Better for the environment.

If you menstruate for about 30 years you will throw away about 300 pounds of disposable menstrual products. That doesn't include the waste that goes into processing, packaging, and transporting them. Tampon applicators are one of the biggest contributors to beach debris. Too many women flush them and that leads to sewage overflows which end up on the beaches. Yuck.

More comfortable.

Cloth pads are softer and if you use natural fabrics they allow for better air circulation so less sweating and chafing.

What about washing?

You may be thinking it's too icky to be handling the pads or cup or that they may not really be clean. Did you know that disposable menstrual products are not sterile? I also learned that the FDA doesn't require labeling on any of those products so do you really know what you are putting up against that very sensitive skin?

There are 3 basic ways to handle the cloth pads. I'll get to the cup next.

1. Rinsing. You can rinse the pad out in your sink and set it aside until wash day.

2. Soaking. Fill a container with water and drop the used pads in to soak until wash day.

3. Do nothing. Just set it in a pail or wetbag and toss in with the rest of the laundry on wash day.

I do a combination of the first two. I give it a quick rinse and drop it in a bowl of water. I don't have any staining with this method. I don't wash them separately from my other laundry and I use the same eco friendly detergent I use on our clothes. For the cup I just carefully remove it, empty the contents into the toilet, wash the cup with mild soap and water, and reinsert. A cloth pantyliner is helpful for this step so you don't have to hobble to the sink with your underwear around your ankles :) Because the cup can stay in for up to 12 hours I have never had to clean it in a public restroom, but they do make wipes for such an occasion so you can stay in the stall. At the end of my period I wash it and boil it so it is clean and ready for the next month.

Pros: affordable, good for the environment, easy, cute, and no more sending hubby on a late night run to the store when you run out.

Cons: just a little messier than disposable.

It's worth a try :)

it hurts

2011-07-13T10:40:00.001-06:00

This week could have been so different. At one time I was looking forward to this week with excitement and anticipation. This would be the week we would meet our third child. My "due date" was July 15th, but I was sure that the 14th would be the day. Anika was one day late and Emily arrived right on her due date so it was time for one day early. My pregnancy started out like the others had. I knew almost right away that I was expecting and took a test to confirm. I was so excited that my hands shook as I held the test out for my friend to tell me if I was seeing things or if there really were two lines.

I confirmed it with a digital test a day later.

Eric was already deployed by the time I found out so I dressed Emily up in a "big sister" shirt and took a photo and then waited for him to log on to his computer so I could share the news.

By 5 weeks I was very tired and not feeling well and I took those as signs that all was well. But then my symptoms never got worse and I started to worry. I kept telling myself that maybe I was lucky this time and wouldn't have morning sickness or maybe it was so different because it was a boy. My pants were getting a bit snug and that helped ease my worries.

On December 3rd, when I was 8 weeks along, there was a spot of blood. I immediately burst into tears. Then I started to pray. I prayed over and over "God, please no". There wasn't much blood at all that day and only a little more the next morning. It was very light spotting and even though I knew there was nothing the doctors could do I went to the ER. I had to know for sure. I kept up a brave face for the first few hours because the girls were with me, but once my friend came to pick them up and I was left alone the tears started to flow. The ultrasound showed that I was only 5 and a half weeks along, but I knew that couldn't be true and that my baby had stopped growing. As far as the doctors could tell I was still pregnant and they said with that little amount of spotting I had a 50% chance of losing the baby. I was sent home and told to come in if the bleeding got too heavy. 4 days later I was still spotting as I boarded a plane to visit family for Christmas and the next afternoon, December 9th, my baby left my body. After a week of pain it was almost a relief to be able to move on. My brother went out in the rain and buried the baby under a flower bush in our parents' yard. Being with my family at that time really helped, especially since my mom knew well what was going through.

Now, 7 months later, I feel like I am grieving alone. I know Eric has forgotten the date and there is no reason he should remember. He was deployed the whole time and didn't return until months later. Others might remember when I lost the baby, but they wouldn't know when the due date was. Anika seems to have forgotten there even was a baby and for that I am grateful. She asked the hardest questions and what can you say to explain miscarriage to a 4 year old? I thought I was past the worst of the pain and then this week kind of snuck up on me. I find myself wanting to just be left alone to read or watch movies or anything to get through this week without thinking too much. I put the calender away so I wouldn't have to see that page every time I walked through the kitchen. Everywhere I go there are pregnant women and new babies and while I wouldn't say that I am envious, seeing them brings back thoughts of what might have been.

God will comfort, time will heal, and I'll see my angel someday.

simple sushi how to

2011-06-19T09:08:00.003-06:00

It has been about 100 degrees here the last few days and when it's that warm I just don't feel like cooking. Sushi is a cool and yummy meal and the only part I have to cook is the rice. Here is how I make it.

Ingredients:
Rice
Rice vinegar
sugar
salt
pepper
powdered ginger (optional)
Nori (seaweed sheets)
crab flakes or crab sticks and/or lox
cucumber and/or avocado
soy sauce
wasabi paste

Rice. Ideally you want to use a short grain rice. The shorter the rice, the more starch it releases as it cooks, and the stickier it will be. They don't sell much short grain rice here in the southwest so I make do with a medium grain and it gets sticky enough. I follow the directions on the bag. Bring 3 cups of rice and 2 cups of water to boil. Turn heat down and simmer for 20 minutes. I put the rice into a big glass bowl and add about 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, a teaspoon of sugar, and maybe a little salt, pepper, and powdered ginger to taste. Mix it up well and let it cool.

Once the rice is cooled to about room temperature start assembling your ingredients. We like to use crab sticks or flakes or lox (cured salmon) along with avocado or cucumber and sometimes a little egg. If you want to use egg, just make an thin omelet with 2 eggs, let it cool, and slice it into strips. You can also just stick with veggies if you aren't a seafood fan. Last night I used crab sticks (sliced into thirds), cucumber (cut to just a little longer than the seaweed sheet), and sliced avocado.

Lay out one seaweed sheet and spread a thin layer of sticky rice over it. Leave space at one end to seal the roll. You don't want to spread the rice too thick or the seaweed will split when you roll it up. If you like inside out rolls you can flip the seaweed over at this point. To me it's not worth the extra trouble since it all tastes the same anyway.

Layer the crab and avocado at the end.

Roll the sushi tight. Dip your finger in water and wet the end of the roll that has no rice. This will seal the roll. Like an envelope.

Isn't that pretty?

I usually chill my rolls in the fridge as I go. I think they slice nicer and taste a little better after spending an hour in the fridge. When you are ready to serve, slice the rolls into eighths.

Serve with wasabi and soy sauce.

Yum!

I have heard that cream cheese, lox, and cucumber make a great roll so I'll have to try that next time. You would take a block of cream cheese and make long, square strips.

Tip for those with small children. My 2 year old loves sushi, but she makes a mess. It helps to cut it into small pieces, place it in a bowl, and drizzle the soy sauce over it. Then she can eat with a spoon or fork and it's easier for her to chew the seaweed. For my 4 year old I just cut the pieces in half and she tries to eat with chopsticks like we do :)

pasta

2011-06-07T19:00:00.001-06:00

Homemade pasta sounded so easy and yummy so I decided to have a go at it tonight. I think the recipe I found with all the rave reviews wasn't quite right. It was too dry and then the dough was so tough it was impossible to roll it out to the right thickness. Maybe my farm fresh eggs are smaller than the ones people were using in the recipe. Eric helped me out with the muscle, but it still ended up too thick. Very tasty though. I used a little basil infused grapeseed oil in the dough. Yum!

blog clean up

2011-06-07T08:28:00.001-06:00

I've started cleaning up my blog. When I was cloth diapering and entering contests I placed several ads on the side of my blog and followed a lot of wonderful bloggers. It's too overwhelming now though so I'm cleaning out the cloth diapering stuff and just following a manageable amount of blogs. To click on each one and stop following is taking me awhile and when I am all done I'll go through and make sure I didn't delete anyone I want to keep following. I need to update the photos of the kids and I suppose I need to make a new button too :)

this home is now powered by the New Mexico sunlight :)

2011-06-06T20:47:00.000-06:00

We have 8 panels. They should produce all of our electricity plus extra for most months and in the summer we will need to buy some electricity. We don't have any way to store the power so it goes back to the electric company. It will even out over the year so the electric company will pay us about $50 a year. We might make a game out of it and see if we can use even less electricity so they have to pay us even more ;) Our system will generate RECs (Renewable Energy Certificates) and the electric company will pay us 10 cents per kWh. The RECs are for every kWh we produce, not just the extra that we don't use. The current price for electricity here is about 9 cents per kWh. There is a 30% federal tax credit and a 10% NM state tax credit on solar energy systems. There is also no sales tax on the system. We used our tax refund to purchase it and it covered most of the cost. The entire system (including installation and wiring) was about $12,000. Solar panels increase home value and help the home sell faster so between the money we'll save on electric bills and the value we are adding to our home the system will pay for itself eventually.
Solar panels used to all be connected to each other and they would share an inverter. If one panel had a problem it was like a string of Christmas lights and they wouldn't work. Now they each have their own micro inverter and work independently. We can go online to check each panel's production statistics at any time. There is a 5 year warranty on workmanship, 15 years on the inverters, and 25 years on the panels themselves.

We purchased the panels and they were installed by Sunspot Solar http://www.sunspotenergy.com/

The panels are designed by a German company and built here in New Mexico http://www.us.schott.com/photovoltaic/english/index.html

bicycles

2011-05-18T13:17:00.000-06:00

In the last couple of weeks Eric has taught Anika how to ride a bike with no training wheels and Emily figured out how to pedal.

To celebrate their achievements Anika got a new bike and Emily upgraded from tricycle to training wheels.

homecoming!

2011-04-03T07:38:00.000-06:00

The long awaited day has finally come. Our family is all together again!

I kept it a surprise from the girls and they were so shocked. I picked him up on the base just before 5pm. We had one of his favorite meals (rouladen, rotkohl and mashed potatoes) and went for a family walk/bike ride before bed. We went to bed at 8 so Eric and I woke up at 2 and have been up since then. It is so good to have him home :)

why I don't garden

2011-03-16T19:46:00.000-06:00

I thought I would help Eric out a bit and go start prepping the soil so he can get his garden going next month. First there were cockroaches. Lots of cockroaches. Then this guy showed his face and I decided to call it a day.

He was only about 3 inches long, but that's scary enough for me.

don't you love Mondays?

2011-03-14T11:29:00.001-06:00

I was trying to wake myself up and get ready for the day when little Emily came into my bedroom with her hands and feet and pjs covered in red paint. I should have snapped a picture, but that wasn't my first reaction. I put her in the tub and scrubbed her down. We turned the bathtub pink and I think there is still some paint in her hair.

Now on the the rest of the mess

The footprints continued through the kitchen, living room, and across my bedroom. My neighbor had offered to help me clean up this morning before I babysit, but I said I would be fine. After looking at this mess I called her and ask if the offer still stood. She came over and cleaned the bathtub while I scrubbed the carpet.

After things settled down I made breakfast and coffee and started making the invitation to a party I am throwing in a couple weeks. The girls decided to play with their plates after they ate and one of them went flying off the table. I didn't know these plates could break.

carpet mountains

2011-03-07T13:44:00.000-07:00

I was making lunch today and left the kitchen for a moment to find the kids had bunched up our living room carpet. My first reaction was to tell them to fix it, but then I took it back and asked them what they were doing. I sat on the floor with them and they showed me how all their cars were driving through tunnels and over mountains and through valleys. The heavy carpet kept it's shape well and they were having a great time. They can be so messy at this age and I get easily frustrated at the constant messes, but having a clean house is less important than encouraging their imaginations :)

sewing again

2011-02-24T10:12:00.000-07:00

I used to sew a little as a teenager, but haven't used a machine in close to 10 years. My Christmas present to myself was a new Singer sewing machine and this week I finally tried it out.

To try the machine out I made myself a little pin cushion :)

And this is what the girls did while I was sewing.

my models

alone

2011-02-21T16:55:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying I adore my children. I want to be with them almost all the time. I love teaching them new things, applauding their accomplishments, and kissing their owies. Today I had 6 hours to myself. An hour in the car each way with whatever I wanted on the radio and sometimes silence. I walked down every aisle at Hobby Lobby without once having to say "don't touch that!" and I sat and looked through pattern books without interruption. I ate lunch at De La Vega's and read a book without picking up crayons from beneath the table or mopping up spilled juice. I tried on a dozen things at Target without rushing and without comments about the size of my backside or the amount of stretchmarks on my tummy. And while I was in the "big city" I got an iced coffee at Starbucks. It was heaven. The best part is I got to come home to big smiles, little voices shouting "mama's home!", and beautiful sticker filled anniversary cards.

5 years

2011-02-21T07:00:00.002-07:00

5 years ago today, I married my best friend.

In the last 5 years we have had 2 wonderful daughters, traveled to many beautiful places, bought our first house and turned it into a home, survived separations due to deployments, and I can't wait to have him home at the end of this one.

snow!

2011-02-20T17:58:00.000-07:00

We had quite the snow storm here a couple weeks ago. It was fun the first day when we thought it wouldn't last.

It was fun the second day when we had 6 inches to go play in and came in to hot cocoa.

When we woke up on the third day and had now electricity or natural gas and it was about -12F outside it became a lot less fun.

But we survived and none of the pipes even froze, much less burst. Praise God!

Emily is 2!

2011-02-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

My little girl is getting so big! She is 100% potty trained, starting to turn her large vocabulary into sentences, asking "why?" almost as often as her big sister does, and wants to do everything herself. She is still very loud and impatient and sure of herself as she has been since birth. She's very quick to cry or get angry, but also very quick to forgive and hug and say sorry. She still loves cuddles, and breastfeeding, and hanging out in the baby carrier sometimes. She is such a good mommy to her baby dolls and loves to prepare food for them in her toy kitchen. Her artistic skills are improving, but we're still working on keeping the crayons and paint on the paper and not the walls, floor, skin, etc. She likes to count and usually makes it to about 3 or 4, but can say all the numbers through 10.

Good morning birthday girl!

presents! more play food :)

we love books!

trying on her pretty new dress

party time

hummingbird cake

cookie decorating is messy and yummy

more presents :)

my little clown

I love how she eats her veggies first <3

kids in the kitchen

2011-01-22T17:13:00.000-07:00

The kids have been helping me cook a few things lately. They loved the pizzas out of english muffins. Just spread the sauce and cover it with whatever you want :)

Olives are their favorite topping.

Then we made banana cookies with Nutella frosting. So yummy!

Especially the frosting.

Here is the recipe if anyone is interested.

splish splash

2011-01-22T17:02:00.000-07:00

cast decorating

2011-01-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

When Emily first got her cast on it looked so pretty and it was 2 days before Christmas so I didn't let anyone sign it. I didn't want it looking messy in photos. Now that it is about to come off we went ahead and had some fun with it.

deployment

2011-01-07T12:01:00.001-07:00

As we were driving home from the store last week, Anika said to me, "Mama, you shouldn't take Papa to work". I asked her what she meant and she told me that I took Papa to work in the morning and he got on the bus and the bus went too far away from us. It's been over 2 months since we watched him get on that bus at 4am on a cold October morning and she thinks he could still be here if only I hadn't driven him to the base.

In many ways this deployment is going quickly. We are somewhere near halfway through it. We get to talk to Eric on a daily basis and see him on the webcam almost every day. He got to see Anika open presents on her 4th birthday and he was able to join us for gift opening at Christmas. That webcam is a must have for any military family.

.
We have had some rough patches (more detail in previous post), but nothing us girls can't handle. The girls have days when they talk about their papa and whine a little that he's not here and how much they miss him. I have days when I listen to the kind of music that fits my mood and don't even bother getting out of my pjs.

Other days we just stay busy, have fun, and go about our daily routine like nothing is different. This week is a little bit hard. We are sick so no story time at the library or playgroup with friends to distract us. We can't play at the playground until Emily's cast is off (9 more days!). Maybe we'll paint in the backyard or pop popcorn and watch a movie :)

I'll end with a bit of military wife humor. I didn't write these, but there are variations all over the internet and I don't know who did to give them credit.

You know your husband is deployed when...

You cook something one night and the leftovers are still there in the morning

You find yourself carrying home a stack of those customs forms from the post office because you know you'll need them later

You only shave your legs when you think someone might see them

You get excited about "unknown" phone numbers calling you

You've exhausted every idea you could ever have about what to put in a box

You walk outside to get the mail and immediately run back in to get your cellphone

You enjoy weekdays more than weekends because you don't like watching other families

You lose all concept of time and/or day of the week, all you know is "x-ish" number of days until he's home

You go to the bathroom, in the middle of the night, with the lights out, and the toilet seat is still down

You see a couple kissing in the supermarket and immediately run to the tools section to find a sledgehammer...

You check your email every 15 minutes

You know what a "freedom 'stache" is...and secretly hate them

You save messages he has left on the answering machine just to hear his voice at a later time

You only have one load of laundry to do - and it doesn't contain any PT clothes

You're already trying to decide what to wear on the day he comes home - and that's within five minutes of when he left

Every time you go to check the time, you do math in your head to figure out what time it is over there

December

2011-01-03T10:13:00.001-07:00

I have mixed feelings about this last December. It started out great in the first few days. I was planning a trip to Oregon to spend Christmas with my family and I was going to surprise them all with the news that we were expecting our third child. On the 3rd, the day I was 8 weeks pregnant, there was a tiny pink spot. On the 4th there was more bleeding, but still not heavy so I went to the ER to ask for an ultrasound. I spent all day there and all they told me was that everything looked good for me being 5 and a half weeks and my dates must have been off. I know my dates so I knew the baby had stopped developing before 6 weeks. I did a lot of crying that weekend and my little Emily patted my back. These are the times it is hard to have a husband who is deployed. I had to share the news that I was pregnant over the internet and the news that I wasn't anymore over the phone.

On the 8th I boarded a flight to Oregon.

It went well until both kids ears started to hurt on our second flight's landing and they both screamed at me. I was so happy to see my brother and sister waiting for us after all that. The next afternoon the little baby left my body after days of cramping and bleeding. My brother was kind enough to go out in the pouring rain to bury the little one under a rhododendron bush for me. My mom had been through this before and it was comforting to not be alone.

The next week passed quickly. They were full of visiting and shopping and I even found time for a coffee and pedicure with my cousin and finally got to see the new Harry Potter movie. Then on the evening of December 17th Emily broke her leg. She is a prime example of why kids shouldn't play on coffee tables. Because it was the weekend and then the week before Christmas it took until the 23rd to get a cast on her leg.

Once she had the cast on there were less complaints of pain and she quickly learned how to get around. She was even climbing up and down stairs. While I took care of Emily's leg Anika got to go play in the snow with her cousins and grandparents.

We had a fun Christmas Eve with Eric's parents and sisters. Eric was able to get online and watch as everyone opened their gifts that evening. The next morning we went to my parents' home for more.

Emily slept through most of the gift opening.

She woke up just before lunch and opened her presents before eating.

On the evening of the 29th we headed home. Thankfully my sister-in-law had a double stroller she needed to get rid of because a midnight layover with 2 sleepy girls in pjs would have been nearly impossible without it. Especially with Emily unable to get far on her own. We made it home at 4am on the 30th and are slowly getting back into our normal routine. The girls and I also had head colds for the entire month of December and Emily broke my "shockproof" camera by hitting the table with it. After that emotional roller coaster of a month I am hoping for a smooth and quick first month of the new year as we impatiently await Eric's return.

finished a project :)

2010-11-18T08:28:00.001-07:00

I'm not a crafty person, but my family has this home made Christmas stocking tradition. I didn't get Emily's done last year because there were no supplies in Germany and we moved right at Christmas. We use the stockings on St. Nicholas day so I hurried up and got this done before Thanksgiving.

These are our other 3 hanging at our home in Germany 2 years ago.

Eric's seemed to be missing something so I added a little to it this year.

gifts

2010-10-30T21:40:00.001-06:00

I don't know about you all, but I am starting to think about Christmas. I would love to go outside the box a bit this year, but am not at all crafty. I am hoping to support some WAHMs by buying handmade items. I'm looking for beautiful, yet useful. Toys that require imagination.

I love these playsilks for little ones. They are so light and pretty you can't help playing with them. My girls have one and use it for a baby sling, peek a boo, a cape, a doll blanket, and more. There are so many gorgeous ones to choose from. This is from BeneathTheRowanTree

I just recently won a couple pairs of dryer balls. Even though I don't need to use my dryer yet there was one evening when I wanted something dry quickly and I really wanted to give these a try. I couldn't believe how fast the clothes dried! Cutting down on dry time is great for the electric bill and these balls work as a natural fabric softener too. Mine are scented with Rooibos Tea, but they come in unscented and look relatively easy to make at home too. The pair I am using now are from Rhineland Farms

Maybe the little girl in your life would like a tutu? This is another of those things that is supposed to be easy to make, but I haven't had the need yet as we have plenty of tutus given to us. My girls wear theirs all the time and are so adorable :) This pretty tutu is from piper's closet

Maybe Mom would love a new necklace

Do you know someone who could use some pampering? Hand made soaps would be a great gift for anyone (hint, hint)

This one makes me laugh :) Does the man in your life wish he had a beard? Or just want to keep his face warm? Try this bearded beanie.

Or maybe your guy is a gamer and could use a new case for his iPhone

There are so many gorgeous paintings out there too. So much more meaningful than the generic prints from your local home store. I love this one!

Obviously I could go on and on. The hard part is sticking with a budget and not buying it all :)

Halloween fun

2010-10-27T16:36:00.001-06:00

We don't celebrate Halloween in a big way, but the girls do love to dress up and our normal activities this week like story time and playgroup will be in costume. Today was story time.

Last week they made fun spider hats. Such an easy and adorable craft and they love them!

why my house is a mess

2010-10-21T09:44:00.000-06:00

This is what happens when I try to wash the diapers

And this is while I mop the floors

while I wash dishes

while I get little sis down for her nap

and I couldn't even tell you where I was when Emily drew chalk circles on the floor and the table and the wall

As I wrote this they "helped" me by taking my damp laundry off the clothesline and putting it on the wet grass.

It's that time of year again!

2010-10-18T16:58:00.000-06:00

I haven't made this cake yet this year, but I plan to soon. I only make it once every fall because it's a little more money than I like to spend on dessert and it is so rich! It's great for parties so you can share.

Pumpkin Pecan Layer Cake

2 cups crushed vanilla wafers (about 50)
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup butter or margarine

Cake:
1 box spice cake mix
1 can (16 ounces) solid pack pumpkin
1/4 cup butter or margarine softened
4 eggs

Filling and Topping:
2/3 cup butter or margarine softened
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping

In a mixing bowl on medium speed, beat the wafers, pecans and butter until crumbly
about 1 minute. Press into three greased and floured 9 inch round cake pans. In another mixing
bowl, beat cake mix, pumpkin, butter and eggs for 3 minutes. Spread over crust in each pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove to wire racks and cool completely.

For filling: Combine butter and cream cheese in a small mixer bowl. Add sugar and vanilla,
beat on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Thinly spread between layers
(crumb side down) and on the sides of cake. Spread caramel topping over top of cake, allowing
some to drip down the sides. Store in refrigerator.

progression of a birthday cake

2010-10-15T17:35:00.000-06:00

Here is what I was going for

They have a template, but it was just a little too big so I decided to try it freehand. First the grass and sky and then I put it in the freezer before adding the other colors.

This is what I find an hour later

Anika told me she did it while I was getting Emily to sleep. Thankfully there was extra frosting. Don't tell the party guests!

After re frosting and re freezing it was time to try to draw. I have never drawn with frosting before.

The kids knew right away what it was and that is good enough for me :)

pumpkin patch and corn maze

2010-10-11T09:07:00.000-06:00

Christmas dresses

2010-10-10T16:14:00.000-06:00

I want to find something a little different than the traditional puffy skirt and scratchy tulle this year. Anika always hates wearing her dress because it's "itchy" or "pokey". Here are a few adorable dresses I have come across today.

Reindeer dress @GooseberryLane

White Trees and Aqua Snowflakes @ButterflyBabyPlace

Snowflakes with sash @AJoyfulVision

Black and Bright @Hanna Andersson

Eyelet lace @gap

This one is very Christmasy, but not uncomfortable looking.

It's @Carter's

This is also @Carter's

Boba Carrier giveaway

2010-10-06T10:05:00.000-06:00

To celebrate International Babywearing Week, Boba Carrier will be giving away 1 Organic Boba 2G and 1 Classic Boba 2G to 2 lucky winners! Just go here to enter.

it's International Babywearing Week!

2010-10-05T14:18:00.000-06:00

I LOVE wearing my babies. I really miss wearing them :( Emily still fits comfortably in our Moby wrap, but it's still too hot here. Before Anika was born I knew I wanted to wear her and carry her as much as I could. I wanted her close to I could see her and smell her and touch her and enjoy every short moment of babyhood. In our little BX in Germany they had one Infantino carrier that was very affordable so we got it.

We used it when she was a month old to navigate crowded Christmas markets and to keep her warm.

By the time she was about 6 months old she was getting heavy for me so I let Eric take over the baby wearing. The straps on this carrier weren't the most comfortable.

Shortly before Emmy was born there was an awesome sale on the Moby D. I'm pretty sure I got it for about $25 and it's usually at least twice that. We tried it out on Anika while waiting for the baby to arrive. This was 4 days before she was born.

This was when she was 4 days old.

That Moby wrap has been so many places and made our lives so much easier.

According to Dr. Sears, babies that are frequently worn cry less, learn more, have better regulated internal systems, are smarter, helps slow-weight-gaining babies gain weight, and are more attentive.

Doctors Hunziker and Barr did a study in 1985 to see if “supplemental” carrying would result in less crying. They pointed out that a baby generally cries the most at six weeks of age where it starts to taper off through four months at which age babies cry the most just at night. By the end of their study, they concluded that more carrying resulted in 43% less crying at that peak crying age of six weeks!

crafty Halloween

2010-10-04T10:57:00.000-06:00

mystery diaper fun :)

2010-09-30T09:14:00.002-06:00

SoftBums will be unveiling it's new diaper tomorrow and there will be fun prizes to win. Anyone want an iPad? how about some diapers or baby legs? Head on over to the blog for the details.

http://loveclothdiapers.blogspot.com/2010/09/softbums-mystery-new-diaper-event.html

update: It is so cool! I love how versatile this diaper is. Good luck with the contest!

huge diaper giveaway at Doopsy

2010-09-30T09:02:00.000-06:00

There will be a huge giveaway at Doopsy with 30 prizes. They'll give away 20 one size diapers and 10 inserts. If you cloth diaper you don't want to miss this.

why I hate mopping

2010-09-28T11:39:00.000-06:00

Mopping is my least favorite chore. It is hard work and there really isn't anything satisfying about it. Now that I have a steam mop I do it a little more often, but I would never say my floors are clean enough to eat off of.

First I have to get all the chairs out of the way and roll up the rug.

Then the kids need to stay out of the way so they don't slip on the floor and when I'm all done it looks wonderful.

Then about 5 seconds later someone (short and blonde and 3 years old) grabs a handful of brown sugar out of the bag on the counter and runs.

And the part I like the very least is how angry I feel about the mess on the floor. If I hadn't just mopped it would have been no big deal, but because I had I snapped at her :(

paper mama photo challenge "touch of color"

2010-09-28T10:18:00.000-06:00

Here is what I did for this week's photo challenge.

Isn't she gorgeous?!

As always you can see the other entries (or enter a photo yourself) here

monthly food budget

2010-09-27T15:16:00.001-06:00

We are not strict about budgeting food and every month varies, but we do stay in the $300 range. How is that possible for a family of 4?

Well, we are on WIC. We were going to wean ourselves off of it, but then things got tight the last couple of months so we haven't. I get a little bit of milk (Walmart's is rbst free), cheese, juice, cereal, beans, fruits and vegetables, and whole grain bread. On average it saves us $60 a month. They also offer eggs (but, we get fresh eggs delivered to the house) and peanut butter (Eric is allergic) and we never get all of the milk or juice.

We have a garden. I'm not sure how much it really saves us because we had to build the raised beds and buy the plants and some soil, but it's producing more zucchini and jalapenos than anyone could eat as well as melons, cucumber, tomatoes, and bell peppers. We also have an herb garden with basil, peppermint, chives, and rosemary.

We also choose not to purchase on a regular basis: bottled drinks, snack foods, convenience foods, desserts, and very out of season fruits and vegetables.

So, here is what a month of grocery spending looks like at our house (not counting WIC).

1.5 gallons organic milk
4lbs cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, mozzarella)
1lb of cream cheese
5lbs butter (wow)
4qts yogurt (1 plain, 3 vanilla)
1qt cottage cheese
1qt sour cream
2 small strawberry yoplaits
2 cans grated parmesan
10lbs all purpose flour
5lbs whole wheat flour
5lbs sugar
bottle of vegetable oil
4 loaves of bread
Naan bread
1 bottled vanilla Frappuccino (needed that at the moment)
1 small bag of m&m's (Anika announced that she had been good and wanted them and it was true)
lemonade concentrate (for fruit slushes)
1 bag frozen raspberries (also fore slushes)
3 garlic bulbs
7 avocados
3 cucumbers
1lb spinach
8lbs bananas
6lbs grapes
1/3lb snow peas
1lb strawberries
4 lemons
3 limes
4lbs bell peppers
1lb green beans
small box of blueberries
2 packages of mushrooms
5 lbs pears
5lbs broccoli
1 pineapple (75 cents)
3 organic romaine hearts
10lbs potatoes (baked fries, mashed potatoes, breakfast potatoes, etc)
3lbs tomatoes
10oz frozen spinach
5.5lbs ground beef
couple pounds of cube steak
8lbs frozen chicken breasts
2lbs frozen reduced steak for about $2 a lb
flank steak ($7.56!)
bison steak (Eric wanted to try it)
sale frozen pork ribs for about $1.20 per pound
5 bags tortilla chips (we've been making lots of salsa from our garden)
3 bags of tortillas
mayonnaise (on sale for $1.69)
bag of popcorn kernels (we air pop)
6 pack of small raisin boxes
2 cans black olives
ground nutmeg
curry powder
ground cumin
oatmeal (plain 5min oats)
4 boxes of Cheerios ($1.31 a box)
maple syrup
small bag of Reisen's (really good sale, couldn't resist)

Grand Total $277.72

With that food we make lots of Indian and Mexican food (cheap!) and grill lots of meat and veggies outside. I've been baking tons of zucchini bread from our garden zucchinis. Eric has sunny side up eggs and toast most mornings (sometimes I don't feel like getting up at 5am) and the kids and I have oatmeal or cereal and fruit. Eric's lunch is almost always leftovers from the night before while the girls and I have sandwich and vegetables or pasta and salad. We drink a lot of water and tea and the girls drink watered down apple juice sometimes. Instead of running to Sonic when it's hot we pull out the blender and frozen fruit. Snacks around here are zucchini bread, air popped popcorn, or fruits and vegetables.

I should say I subtracted the $6 I spent on laundry detergent and the $22 I spent stocking up on toilet paper and the $6.88 on AAA batteries. Even though they were purchased at the grocery store I don't consider them part of the grocery budget.

winnings :)

2010-09-27T12:48:00.000-06:00

I like to enter lots of giveaways on blogs and facebook. It makes me feel like I'm shopping, but I don't have to spend any money :) When I first started these a few months ago I had beginners luck and won this adorable diaper.

Then I won this board book from Minimal Mom's blog :)

Then I went through a dry spell. Now in the last couple of weeks I am on a roll!

I won an Organically Raised cookbook from the Bragging Mommy

The girls get a cute caterpillar clippie I won on CCbaby

and a Halloween hair clip from Glam Babiez

$7 in credit to Forward Thinking

some credit, Hawaiian coffee, and oatmeal baby bath from Ali and Swan

and a wetbag from Tree Huggin' Mama

I'm really hoping to win a wrap or wipes or more diapers or that Silhouette machine I posted on here yesterday. Fingers crossed that my winning streak holds out a little longer.

children doing chores

2010-09-27T10:15:00.000-06:00

Do your kids do chores? At what age do they start? My girls' playroom has been a disaster for about a week now. I'm talking can't-get-through-the-doorway-looks-like-a-tornado-hit disaster. The only way I can get her to clean it is if I sit in there with her and tell her what to do every step of the way. Sometimes we do that, but if I'm supervising the playroom the dishes aren't putting themselves away, the diapers aren't washing themselves, and the rice from last night's dinner is still stuck to the floor and the table and the girls' chairs and who knows where else.

Telling her she can't leave the room until it is clean really doesn't work. It is the playroom after all.

Threatening to take the toys away if she doesn't pick them up also doesn't work. We tried that for awhile and ended up with most of the toys in a box in the garage and she didn't care.

If I don't push her she sits there and plays and if I do push she sits there and cries.

Any advice on how to making picking up toys less of a chore? She's not quite 4 years old, am I just expecting too much?

one more Silhouette giveaway here

2010-09-25T09:59:00.000-06:00

Twig and Thistle

Silhouette Craft Cutter Giveaway

2010-09-25T09:52:00.000-06:00

I'm blogging about the giveaway because it gives me another entry and I really want one of these! If you want one too head on over to The Finer Things and enter before the 30th.

Look what fun can be had with this tool.

Snaps & Snails is having a giveaway!

2010-09-20T11:00:00.000-06:00

If Snaps & Snails can reach 800 fans on Facebook they will give away 5 Fitted Diapers, 6 Prefold Diapers, 3 Boosters, and 3 Wool Covers! 4 days left to join and enter in the discussion tab.

pretty in purple

2010-09-15T16:44:00.000-06:00

Anika wore this dress to a wedding when she was 9 months old.

It was a little big, but I bought it on Easter clearance so I was guessing. It's been hanging in Emily's closet for awhile now and there has been no occassion to wear it. Anika pulled it out yesterday and said, "this dress is pretty, Emily wants to wear it". I started to say no, but then changed my mind and put it on her. If it doesn't get worn now she'll be too big and will never try it on so why not?

wordless wednesday

2010-09-15T16:06:00.000-06:00

paper mama challenge "brown"

2010-09-15T15:42:00.000-06:00

This one was hard for me. We are not "brown" people. My kids are blonde, we all wear blue and green and pink, and we live in a land of dust and gravel so not even any dirt for the kids to play in. Then I found

this one :) Isn't she cute!

Check out the other entries here

last contest post today, I promise

2010-09-14T09:26:00.000-06:00

I have to share this one because it's an Ergo! Heavenly Hold is giving away a new Performance Ergo. Lighter and cooler than the original version. I want the green one :)

Forward Thinking

2010-09-14T08:49:00.001-06:00

Head on over to Forward Thinking on Facebook. They had some fun giveaways last night and the fun isn't over yet :) While you are over there check out the items they sell. They have some gorgeous fabrics for their diapers.

my kids make me laugh

2010-09-10T22:52:00.000-06:00

I was taking the photos off my camera today and came across these. About half way through I was laughing. That may have something to do with the margarita I just finished, but I do love the random things Anika photographs and all the wonderful faces she makes.

Self timer is figured out

Emily is a willing model

These giraffes are watching the world outside our kitchen window

I have no idea what was going on here. I guess I was putting away groceries, yet Emily was down to her diaper and one shoe and has food on her face?

Isn't she beautiful?

And see how nice her teeth are

anyone want win a Kindle?

2010-09-10T14:54:00.001-06:00

Well, I do so I'd prefer if you all don't enter :P

And if you must enter here is the link http://bittenbybooks.com/?p=30336

the bed is here

2010-09-10T14:52:00.000-06:00

I have two very excited little girls. This bed is massive and adorable and I am never going to make the top bunk again so enjoy the photos now.

They found a perfect place for their babies :)

cutest bugs ever!

2010-09-07T10:11:00.001-06:00

I just stumbled across these today and want them all! Too bad they aren't in my budget.

http://www.stickee.com.au/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=30_35&zenid=7c0f5b0812300a29b0bf94a3d6dd0384

My sisters make little fairies. I wonder if they could make these.

Paper Mama photo challenge - excitement!

2010-09-06T11:39:00.000-06:00

My kids get excited about all sorts of things. They screech "choo choo" when trains go by, run screaming to the door when Papa gets home from work, and beg for all the pretty vegetables in the grocery store. This was the photo I thought of when I read that this week's theme is "excitement".

check out the other entries here

a new digital scrapbook page

2010-09-06T11:09:00.000-06:00

It has been a long while since I put together one of these. I saw this new kit and had to play with it.

This kit is the Plentiful collection from Shabby Princess.

Christmas

2010-09-05T18:17:00.000-06:00

Is anyone shopping for Christmas yet? I really want to, but for now I am just compiling my wish list. The girls are getting an early gift of a new bed. Anika is so excited and asks me everyday when it will arrive. Isn't this every little girl's dream bed?

Eric and I both love this dollhouse, but we may wait until next year. Look at the solar panels and the cute little wind turbine! I think I would play with it more than the little ones would.

This car is awesome! It is sturdy and fast and it comes apart and can be created in different ways if you buy more than one.

My girls love to prepare food in their kitchen or mine and this set is so cute. We are big sushi fans in this house.

I'm also looking for nice dress-up things and maybe some cute books. With the girls' birthdays being in November and February I should do all my shopping at once to save my sanity :)

Paper Mama challenge "self"

2010-08-30T20:02:00.001-06:00

This is a self portrait of myself with my youngest daughter. I don't usually like photos of myself enough to post them, but when my beautiful kids are in them they make it worth it :)

Check out all the wonderful entries at

Update: I didn't win, but I did make it on the "favorites" list and got this button :)

aahbbmbuj

2010-08-30T18:46:00.001-06:00

anikaemilep apaopa

-Edited to add that Anika posted this blog and it says "Anika, Emily, Papa, Opa". I left my blog open and went outside. This is what I came back to.

before and after: master bath

2010-08-27T16:30:00.001-06:00

As I have mentioned before, our entire house was this lovely shade of yellow.

Ceilings and walls in every room.

even the closets

Before we even moved in we started covering up the yellow.

White ceilings

green bedroom

purple laundry room

latte living area

I love the deep turquoise in my bedroom

Then after this playroom we ran out of steam

After about 4 months of avoiding paintbrushes we decided it was time to tackle the master bathroom. At first we thought about reversing the bedroom color scheme and painting it brown with blue towels and accents. Choosing a shade of brown is harder than you would think. Then my sweet husband brought me flowers last week. No reason other than he loves me =)

Aren't they pretty? After my darling 18 month old spilled them all over the kitchen table I moved them to my bathroom counter where they could be enjoyed out of her reach. As I carried them through my bedroom I noticed how lovely the magenta daisies were with my deep turquoise walls. the next day I sent Eric to Home Depot in search of purplish pink paint samples and we chose "sugar plum". It seemed a bit much to do the whole room so bright and feminine so most of the walls are white with an accent wall and arch in sugar plum.

What do you call a small room off the bathroom with just a toilet? Powder room isn't right because there is no sink. WC? toilet room? Anyway, whatever it is called it will be sugar plum colored too.

Every room in our house has a plant ledge. We thought about buying little vases or artificial flowers to put up there and then Eric had a great idea. We had these orange boxes in Germany, but aren't going with the orange theme anymore.

So today, Eric took the leftover turquoise and sugar plum paints and did this

This was an easy and cheap way to decorate that plant shelf and it ties the 2 rooms together really well. Now we have to decide if we are putting anything in those pots.

Here is the before picture

time to wash that remote!

2010-08-26T19:51:00.000-06:00

Now that all the kids are headed back to school you may be buying hand sanitizer and reminding the little ones to cough into their elbows instead of their hands. I'm already noticing more coughing and sneezing around town than there was a couple of weeks ago before school started. We would all like to think that we are doing everything we can to keep the germs away, but there are a few places that we don't think to clean in our normal routine.

Today as I cleaned my daughters' bathroom I realized it had been awhile since I had cleaned the doorknobs and light switches so I wiped them down with the vinegar when I did the counters and sink. Then I started to think of other items that we touch all the time and rarely clean. Refrigerator handle? Telephone? Remote control? We touch these everyday without even thinking about where our hands have been (or where the kids' hands have been). Next time you sanitize your kitchen counter you may want to think about cleaning the salt and pepper shaker while you are at it. I don't even want to think about what could be growing on my laptop keyboard. Not sure how to clean some of those items? Check out these links:

how to clean your keyboard

sanitize your telephone

deep clean and easy clean for your remote

more great tips for a germ free home

wordless wednesday

2010-08-25T10:01:00.000-06:00

beautiful things

2010-08-22T20:38:00.000-06:00

Here are a few photos I have come across recently that make me go "ooh, I want". I have no need for most of them, but they are so pretty.

I have no pretty jars to attach these to, but that doesn't stop me from imagining them in my kitchen. They can be found here

I'm not a big fan of the whole princess fad, but this is just soooo cute! I want two of them :)

it even has the necklace!

I have a pair of earrings from this designer. Eric bought them for me in San Juan Capistano this spring and it was so hard to just choose one. I think I may need the little one.

This artist does custom work. Her shop is closed right now, but I would love to know what these cost. Can you imagine 2 little blonde, blue eyed fairies for the girls' room?

Paper Mama photo challenge "flower"

2010-08-21T15:39:00.002-06:00

I have always loved this photo. I know Anika is all blurry, but I love the flowers and the colors of the sunset and how she is running toward me. This was taken after a little photo shoot of Ani, but she got bored and ran off so I started taking pictures of the flowers instead.

Check out the other entries here

new diaper cover thanks to SwagBucks :)

2010-08-20T17:34:00.000-06:00

I've been using the SwagBucks search bar for all my internet browsing and have earned $20 worth of Amazon gift cards. I spent a couple of them on this new diaper cover for Emily.

This is not our first Thirsties cover, but it is the first duo wrap and the first with snaps and so far we love it. It is cut very generously. I got her size 2 which goes from 18-40 pounds! She's only 21 now so this will fit her until she is 100% potty trained. Maybe I should try it on Anika just to see how it fits :)

If you want to check out SwagBucks I have their widget here on my blog and if I refer you I get some free bucks so please do check it out.

color

2010-08-20T15:26:00.000-06:00

When we first moved into our home we painted as much as we could and wore ourselves out! The entire interior of the house was one color and it wasn't a great one. We started with the ceilings and the large spaces like the living/dining/kitchen/hallways that all connect with arches and made them all a neutral "latte" color. The girls bedroom has a pink and green thing going on, the playroom is vibrant blue and orange and white. With our bedroom I chose a deep turquoise with lots of brown accents and I love it. I'm a bit stumped over what to do with the master bath though. Obviously it can be seen from the bedroom and vice versa so we would love a color that compliments the turquoise. Our first thought was a dark brown, but now I am thinking I would like to have more fun with it. I have a vase of flowers in there now and the reddish purple daisy stood out to me as looking really good with the blue. I went searching the internet for images and as I went I saw some really neat green and turquoise color schemes as well. Now I don't know what to do. Here are some pictures to give you an idea of what is in my head right now.

First off, here is my bedroom. It has stuff on the shelf and a couple of dressers in there since this picture was taken, but I don't feel like cleaning it up enough to take a new one. Not that my bedroom is ever messy ;)

This is the color of the daisy that got me started.

Another option that I have been thinking about would be to paint the ceiling and upper two thirds of the bathroom white and then paint the lower portion a bold magenta or green or the whole bathroom white with an accent wall like the alcove where the whirlpool tub is. What do you think?

yum!

2010-08-18T15:17:00.000-06:00

I have a few new recipes to share. These are perfect for the hot summer days we have been having. First is the veggie and cheese sandwich. Eric loves this and asks for more even when he is full and runs to the store for cream cheese and bread and flowers and asks me to make it again.

I found the recipe on the Pioneer Woman Cooks. We chose to use these multigrain ciabatta sandwich rolls instead of bagels and I don't have presliced cheddar so it's not quite as pretty, but it's so yummy! I cut back on the onion just a little bit for myself, but Eric wants it all on his.

Ingredients

½ blocks Of Cream Cheese
2 whole (to 3) Green Onions
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Avocado
Red Onion
1 bagel or sandwich roll
Alfalfa Sprouts
1 Or 2 Slices Of Muenster or Provolone or whatever you like Cheese
Slice Of Cheddar Cheese
Lettuce

Place ½ a block of cream cheese on a plate and mash it a bit with a fork. Next, chop up 2-3 green onions and mix them with the cream cheese until thoroughly combined.
Slice all veggies (tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados, red onions) thinly.
Slice bagel or roll in half. You can toast it if you prefer or not if you are in a hurry like I was today. Spread the cream cheese generously on both sides.
Layer the vegetables. First lay the avocados right along the cream cheese to help them stay put. Next the alfalfa sprouts and then one slice of each kind of cheese. On the other half of the bagel arrange the cucumber slices in a circle.
Next lay the onion slices on top of the cucumbers, then the tomatoes, followed by a slice of lettuce, and if you'd like another slice of cheese.
Then put it all together and enjoy :)

Another great idea for a hot summer day is a nice, cool salad. This one has an Asian flavor and is very filling.
Also found on the Pioneer Woman Cooks

Ingredients

SALAD INGREDIENTS:
1 package Linguine Noodles, Cooked, Rinsed, And Cooled
½ heads Sliced Napa Cabbage, Or More To Taste
½ heads Sliced Purple Cabbage, Or More To Taste
½ bags Baby Spinach, Or More To Taste
1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Sliced Thin
1 whole Yellow Bell Pepper, Sliced Thin
1 whole Orange Bell Pepper, Thinly Sliced
1 bag Bean Sprouts (also Called Mung Bean Sprouts)
Chopped Cilantro, Up To 1 Bunch, To Taste
3 whole Scallions, Sliced
3 whole Cucumbers Peeled And Sliced
1 can (about 10 Oz.) Whole Cashews, Lightly Toasted In Skillet
_____
FOR THE DRESSING:
1 whole Lime, Juiced
8 Tablespoons Olive Oil
8 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons (up To 3 Tablespoons) Sesame Oil
⅓ cups Brown Sugar
3 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger Chopped
2 cloves Garlic Chopped
2 whole Hot Peppers Or Jalapenos, Chopped
Chopped Cilantro

Preparation Instructions

Mix salad ingredients together. Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on a platter.
Note: dressing keeps for up to three days before serving, without cilantro.

The store was out of bean sprouts and orange bell peppers, but it still turned out great. It's a really, REALLY, big salad so you may want to save it for a potluck or shrink the recipe a bit if you aren't feeding an army.

And last, but not least and for those of you wondering if we had gone vegetarian.

These were sooo good! The meat turned out really tender and the veggies were roasted, yet still crisp. I found this one on Allrecipes. The only thing I changed was to use cayenne instead of hot pepper sauce because we didn't have any. Oh, and I added red bell pepper just because.

Ingredients

1/3 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon paprika
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
3/4 pound beef sirloin steak, cut into 1 inch cubes
8 large fresh whole mushrooms
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
1 medium green pepper, cut into chunks

Directions

In a bowl, combine the first nine ingredients; mix well. Pour 1/4 cup marinade into a large resealable plastic bag; cover and refrigerate remaining marinade. Add beef to the bag. Seal and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.
Drain and discard marinade. On metal or soaked wooden skewers, alternately thread beef and vegetables. Grill, uncovered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until beef reaches desired doneness, basting frequently with reserved marinade and turning once.

We also tried a homemade steak sauce last week, but I have no pictures to share because it was eaten too fast. I am not a steak sauce person, but this was so good I was just licking it off my finger. I used huckleberry jam because that is what we had.

Devil's Steak Sauce

wordless wednesday

2010-08-18T10:07:00.000-06:00

critters

2010-08-16T18:56:00.001-06:00

We have met some new little creatures since moving to New Mexico. Today's was the cutest so far.

As far as I know this is a small horned lizard. He is only about 2 inches long and at first glance I thought he was a toad until I saw the tail. Anika found him in our garage.

This guy is not so cute.

black widow in our backyard

Eric found this one yesterday and I did some googling.

It's a red backed jumping spider. JUMPING?!

And of course the cockroaches.

This was in the garage and almost as big as the lizard.

I didn't stop to take pictures, but I have seen a scorpion and a couple of camel spiders as well. Got to love the southwest...

Paper Mama challenge "orange"

2010-08-14T09:39:00.000-06:00

Here is my entry for this week's photo challenge. It's the first photo I thought of when I read that the theme is "orange". This is Anika dipping her feet in the Adriatic Sea on the coast of Croatia.

check out this week's other entries here:

my amazing girls

2010-08-12T13:30:00.001-06:00

I may be a little bit biased, but I think that my little girls are both brilliant and gorgeous and the sweetest little girls ever. They are surprising me daily with the new things they pick up and I wanted to share some of them here.

We went to the pool yesterday and then to the commissary. I love taking Anika to the commissary. She asks for broccoli and cauliflower and bell peppers and when I ask what color pepper she says, "red, and yellow, and green" and I buy them all even if they weren't on the list. After the commissary she wanted a pink drink (berry smoothie at McDonald's). There is construction going on so the road between the commissary and McDonald's is closed. I told her I couldn't get there and she told me otherwise. She said "go right" and I went right. Then she said "now go that way" and I did. A few more turns later with her directing me we made it to McDonald's and she got her pink drink :)

Anika wanted to play Mickey Mouse Clubhouse this morning so she sat in front of the laptop and started clicking. We have a folder of games and videos for her in our bookmarks so she manipulated the cursor to "bookmarks", then to "Anika", and then over to "Mickey Mouse" and just started playing.

While Eric was getting ready to go to work Anika told him, "Papa, you go to work and they give you money and you give the money to Mama so she can go shopping". I guess she is listening when I answer all her why questions lately.

Just this week she buttoned her first button and learned to hop on one foot. I can't wait to see what she learns next. She is getting better and better at taking photos too. Here is her latest shot.

Little Emily is 18 months old now and is using a new word almost every day now. Her latest is "Topper", the neighbor's dog. Here is the list off the top of my head, there may be more.

Mama
Papa
Anika
Sissy
Alara (cousin)
mehr (more in German)
go
choo choo
no
nein (no in German)
off
hi
hello
bye
woof woof
hot
up
mine
my
wow

night night
uh oh
ow
pop
bubbles
boo

The only time she strings words together is when she fights with her sister. Anika will say, "my mama" and Emmy retorts, "no, mama mine". I guess that counts as her first sentence.

She is sleeping in a twin bed, eating in a regular chair, drinking from a regular cup, using a fork and spoon, using the potty occasionally, and loves to dress herself in other people's clothes.

first haircut

2010-08-10T18:46:00.000-06:00

When Anika was born there wasn't much hair on her head.

By her first birthday we were excited to see little curls appearing at the nape of her neck.

At 2 she still didn't have much hair in the front, but the curls were getting longer and blonder.

By age 3 her hair was adorable ringlets

By now she is beginning to complain about it being brushed, but we can't bear to cut off the pretty curls. After our move to New Mexico we realized the dry air does nothing for her hair and now she screams like she is being tortured every time we comb.

Now at 3 and a half she started sucking on her hair and combing it is unpleasant for everyone in hearing range. So off it goes...

The shorter cut keeps the hair out of her mouth. The fine baby hairs are gone so the tangles aren't as bad. And the weight being off makes her curls bounce up. We probably should have done this months ago.

Paper Mama photo challenge

2010-08-09T19:49:00.000-06:00

This is my first time entering this photo challenge and with my little water baby I have so many pictures that could fit this week's "water" theme. I'll go with my most recent favorite of my 3 year old flying off the high dive :)

Check out the rest of the entries here.

camping

2010-08-09T12:31:00.000-06:00

We spent 5 nights camping in Washington and the kids loved it! Emily discovered dirt and was covered head to toe the entire time.

Anika had a blast playing by the water with her cousins.

Eric was able to go water skiing for the first time in years.

road trip!

2010-08-08T12:23:00.000-06:00

3 and a half weeks ago we piled into the car and drove for 27 hours. By starting at 7:30pm we were able to get halfway there before the kids woke up and that is a great thing :)

We drove through Colorado, Utah, and Idaho on our way to Oregon. Utah is gorgeous and I would love to go back and see some of the national parks.

On our way home we stopped by Four Corners for a photo op. Here we all are in 4 different states. I'm in Utah, Eric is in Colorado, Anika is in New Mexico, and Emily is in Arizona.

I highly recommend driving at night when you have little ones in the backseat. It really wasn't a bad drive and we may even do it again next year.

rain

2010-07-11T17:40:00.001-06:00

When it rains here in the desert, it pours! We get flash floods and cars stalled out in intersections. Today we had a fun downpour with some rain and lightning and thunder. When it calmed down a little we went out to play. Our gravel filled planter turned into a lake.

The garden loved the rain as much as Anika did. Here is one of our watermelon plants.

and some tomatoes

Have you washed your grocery bags lately?

2010-07-06T19:04:00.000-06:00

Reusable bags may be good for the environment, but maybe not so good for your family's health. I'd never really thought about washing my reusable grocery bags until I read this study about bacteria found on most bags. It makes perfect sense and I don't know why I hadn't washed them sooner.

our poor car

2010-07-06T09:56:00.000-06:00

My daredevil 1 year old decided to climb our huge and heavy ladder that was folded up and leaning against the wall in the garage. I was just around the corner when I heard a loud crash and a baby cry. I went rushing in there to find Emily under the ladder. The car had stopped the fall of the ladder so Emmy was fine, just startled. At first glance it looked like the back bumper had caught the ladder. After I soothed the little one I took a closer look and found scrapes, and a dent, and then the broken tail light. My poor car is only a year old and it's already been dented by the wind slamming the door open into concrete and someone hitting the side with their car door and now this.

You can't just order the plastic tail light cover when one gets broken, you have to buy the entire light assembly. We may call a few junk yards to see if they have one to save us a few bucks. Eric might try to pop the dent out and we'll need a little touch up paint. I'm sure it's not enough damage to bother with the insurance company.

new diaper :)

2010-07-03T16:05:00.000-06:00

I keep entering contests and don't expect to win, but recently I've been doing well. My most recent win is a Best Bottom diaper from Nicki's Diapers. The contest was posted on Mothering. I got to choose the color and the insert size and they sent me 3 inserts. It came in the mail yesterday and I prewashed it so we could give it a try. I love the color and the inserts are so soft. It took me a few minutes to get the snaps to the right size settings (wiggly baby), but she is on her second insert of the day and no complaints so far. It stays on, doesn't leak, isn't too bulky, and looks cute.

look at her fly!

2010-07-02T11:04:00.000-06:00

lunar rainbow

2010-06-26T14:57:00.000-06:00

I wish I had a picture to show you, but my camera isn't that great. Last night Eric and I saw a lunar rainbow. We had never seen one before and it was amazing! It was mostly white and made a full arch in the northwest sky. It was around 10pm and the full moon was shining through a break in the clouds. It wasn't raining at our house, but it must have been raining somewhere.

too old for this

2010-05-28T09:11:00.000-06:00

I recently bought a slip n slide for my water baby. She wanted to try it out yesterday so we hooked it up to the hose in the backyard and gave it a try. She loved it.

Her technique needs some work. She runs across the yard, stops, gets down on her belly, and doesn't slide very far.

So, I showed her how it's done.

It was fun. It was refreshing on a 92 degree day. I slid down it several times and only scraped my elbow once. This morning I got up and my ribs and abdomen hurt! I have discovered why the recommended weight limit is 110lbs. Looks like my slip n sliding days are over. Have fun Anika!

bugs

2010-05-24T09:26:00.000-06:00

I'm not a big fan of bugs. I can handle some ladybugs in the house, the moths annoy me just a little, and mosquitoes and flies get swatted. In Germany the spiders were not poisonous so we just squashed them if they were in our bedroom at night or shooed them out the door or window. Here in New Mexico we have brown recluses and black widows which freak me out! Eric found a black widow a couple days ago on the garage door and yesterday he walked out the back door into a web. There was something large and brown in the playroom that needed disposed of as well. We also have cockroaches. They are mostly staying in the garage so I haven't gone after them. Yet. This morning I woke up to find ants all over my kitchen counter. I cleaned the kitchen really well last night, yet they still came exploring.

I recently won a few EcoSMART items through a friend's blog. Today seemed like a good day to try out the ant killer. It works great! Normally I would just squish them one at a time instead of using a chemical spray in my kitchen. EcoSMART is organic, plant based, and non toxic. The active ingredients are things like rosemary and cinnamon oils. It smells very strong, but it's not unpleasant. My prize (the Safe Home Bundle Kit) also included the insect repellent, flying insect killer, and the home pest control. I think it's time to try that home pest control around the doors and windows to keep out the spiders, earwigs (saw one last night), and cockroaches. These items can be purchased online or at retailers like Home Depot and Walmart.

Disneyland

2010-05-19T13:15:00.000-06:00

During our trip to southern California we spent 4 days at Disneyland and California Adventure. I hadn't been since I was 13 and Eric and the girls had never been there so I had a great time showing them around. We went on everything that we could and the girls loved it! Pirates of the Caribbean scared Anika a little bit, but nothing else did. She liked the big rides. She is a tiny bit shy of the required 40" to ride Splash Mountain, but we got her on by stretching her a bit as we passed by the measuring stick. She went twice.

The Matterhorn was closed the first 2 days we were there, but a week later when we went again it was open. Anika took turns going with Eric and I and she must have ridden it 4 or 5 times. She liked to raise her hands and scream. Many of the rides have a parent swap or single rider option so Eric and I were able to take turns on the bigger rides without waiting too long in line. We both enjoyed the rafting ride at California Adventure and it was perfect when we would get too warm. He talked me into the roller coaster, but once was enough for me. Emily loved the carousel and It's a Small World.

While most little girls were getting dressed up in gowns and waiting an hour in line to meet the princesses my daughter got all excited over Winnie the Pooh and Lightning McQueen.

The girls both liked the Playhouse Disney Live show at California Adventure. It was interactive and lots of fun. I got to sit through it twice...

Ani drove the Autopia cars a few times. She's very proud of her driver's license. She tried to drive my car the next day. I pointed out to her that she couldn't see where she was going or reach the pedals so that would be difficult.

To save money on our visits to the theme parks we would pack a lunch and keep it in a cooler in the car. The diaper bag was full of snacks and water as well. If we had to eat in the park we would eat in a restaurant instead of from the snack stands where a Coke is $4. In California Adventure we found a place where they show you how to make sourdough bread bowls. They make them right in front of you and then you can eat them full of soup at the end of the tour. I think they were about $8 filled with clam chowder or cheese and broccoli soup. Another day we just shared an entree and drank water so it wasn't too bad.

Someday when our youngest child is tall enough for all the rides we'll have to go again.

I need a vacation from my vacation

2010-05-11T22:56:00.000-06:00

We had a fun 3 weeks in California and the girls and I drove back home today. Eric will be home Friday. We went to Disneyland 4 days, spent several days at the beach, visited Sea World, the San Diego Zoo, Mission San Juan Capistrano, and visited all of my grandparents and a few friends. I'll save details for when I have photos to post. Eric has the external hard drive with most of my pictures. Here are a couple from our 775 mile drive home today :)

updates

2010-04-13T18:13:00.000-06:00

I apologize for slacking when it comes to blogging. Things have been a little crazy. Eric is in California for almost 6 weeks. He took my laptop and my camera with him. Notice how I said "my". I gave him the camera for his last birthday and he bought the laptop :) I unpacked my desktop computer and set it up on my dresser top. My lovely children think that it is the funniest thing to push the big blue button while Mommy is typing. Needless to say, I don't get much time online while they are awake.

We are all missing Eric. Anika keeps saying "Papa's coming home tomorrow" and "Papa's on the airplane". We call him all the time and put him on speakerphone so it's like he's here. He even got to cuddle on the bed with the girls last night. They put the phone on the pillow. He's had some fun at the beach and the mall when he's not busy working. The girls and I are going to drive out there next week for a visit. Wish me luck on the drive! I'll need all I can get.

It has been very warm here in New Mexico. I am not at all ready for 80 degree weather. I've spent the last 2 days going through the girls' clothing. I have sorted out what is too small and too warm, filled a couple bags for my niece, filled a couple bags for the Airmen's Attic, and am trying to sell some of the nicer items. Emily is starting to wear some size 18 month clothing, but most of her sister's 18 month things are overalls, turtlenecks, and fleece. Thankfully we got a box of summer hand-me-downs from their cousin. All 3 of us are wearing sundresses as much as possible.

I am on week 5 of no shampoo. I think week 3 was the worst. I was almost ready to give up. I just kept it in a ponytail all the time and it was kinda gross how the hair would stay up after I pulled the rubber band out. It's feeling pretty normal now. At first I felt like I needed to wash it with baking soda every few days, but now I can go a whole week in between. I also stopped using soap on my arms and legs and where I am using it I am washing less often. I still shower just about everyday, but only soap a couple times a week. My skin is much softer now and less dry.

Yesterday I had a tax appointment on base. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. I was terribly disorganized and forgot to take the girls social security numbers and the closing papers from our house purchase. I had to take the kids with me and they were pretty awful. They bickered over toys and wouldn't be quiet. Today I went back in with the forgotten papers and we finished it up. Our refund is enormous and now we need to decide how much of the money is going where. Some of it will go to savings and some to the mortgage and maybe some to the girls' college funds. Maybe Eric can get that expensive bicycle he wants so he can ride to work a couple days a week.

Anika is a little sick this week. She has been nauseous, had a sore throat, and today had a fever. Her friend next door had the same thing so the 2 of them rested together today while I was taking care of the taxes. I must admit to enjoying the naps she has taken the last 2 days. She stopped napping a year or more ago and I have missed the quiet time.

The timer is going off for my banana bread so I must run. This doesn't feel complete without pictures. Maybe I can borrow a camera this weekend.

pretty

2010-04-03T15:03:00.000-06:00

ER trip

2010-03-28T13:35:00.000-06:00

After an uneventful dinner last night, we tucked the girls in bed at their usual 8-8:30ish bedtime. Eric and I settled in on the couch to watch New Moon. When it ended I was reading in bed for a few minutes and Anika came in crying and upset and scratching all over. She said her neck hurt. I started looking at her neck and then unzipped her pajamas and found an awful looking rash all over her belly and neck and spots on her leg. Because it had come up so fast and she was so miserable Eric covered her in Benadryl cream while I dressed and then I rushed her to the ER. Eric had had a beer so he got to stay home with sleeping Emily. I had to use the GPS since we've never been before. She started having a coughing fit while I was driving so I was afraid she was having trouble breathing.

I ran her into the ER and told the receptionist all her symptoms. She was still coughing and scratching. We were given forms and told to sit. And we sat for 30 minutes. Then they took a quick look at her and took her temp and put us in another waiting room. This one had comfortable chairs and The Negotiator was on tv. I got to watch the whole movie... Around 2am we were led to a curtained cubicle and left without a word. He didn't ask if she was ok, if we needed anything, or tell us anything. After listening to machines beeping and a drunk guy causing trouble for another 2 hours I finally told the nurse we wanted to leave. I signed a piece of paper, drove home, and took Ani to bed with me. When Emily woke at 6 she joined us and Eric took the kids out when they were both fully awake at 7:30 so I could try to sleep another hour.

My best guess is that she is allergic to cilantro. She'd had a couple spots by her mouth once or twice and I had suspected the cilantro. I guess I should rub a little on her skin sometime to find out for sure. I'll follow up with a doctor on base tomorrow to see what they think.