Alcomol

Since Grandma Judy was out of town for her Birthday we invited her and Grandpa Denny over for dinner tonight.  We had steaks, baked potatos, salad, corn, and a Better than Sex cake.

After dinner Judy and I opened a Mango Mojito drink bucket from Tastefully Simple.

The girls kept begging for a taste but since their was alcohol in it, they couldn't have any so I made them their own special drinks.

Crushed ice, juice, splash of sprite and a strawberry.

Hannah:  "Mom, this alchomol drink is really good!"

App of the week

The girls newest favorite App:  Toca Hair Salon

6 characters to choose from

• shampoo them
• wash them
• dry them
• cut them
• shave them
• style them
• snap a picture

This pic was taken while the blow dryer was on- cracks the kids up when his tongue and hair flaps around!

Nice moves!

Check out this girl's moves!

I am so happy that these girls love music as much as I do.

They like a good beat and they like it loud.

We were stopped at a stoplight and Hailey's song was playing.

I couldn't resist snapping this video of her.

Hailey mid-groove

Those eyes! 

 I.  CAN.  NOT.  GET.  ENOUGH.

Where are they now?

Brian got a new truck a few weeks ago.

Hannah likes to remind me everyday how dad's truck smells better than my car and how cool it is when daddy comes to get her at daycare and nobody knows it's her dad because it's not the old truck.

Hailey likes to kiss the truck.

I'm not gonna lie- I like to drive it too :-)

It's weird to look online and see the old truck for sale.

It got me thinking about all of the old cars we have had and wondering about where they are now.

Are they driving around a family?  Was it for a new teenage driver?  Was it someone's first car or a replacement or upgrade from their other car?  Were they searching for that make/model or was the price just right?  Are they taking care of it?  Has it been in an accident?  Did they bring their newborn baby home from the hospital in it? 

I LOVE my car but sometimes I do miss the Honda.  It all happened so quickly that we didn't get to really say goodbye.  *sniff sniff*  Ok, I'm over it :-)

Hope this guy makes someone happy someday!

Is it still winter?

It sure didn't feel like winter when we pulled out the bikes and hula hoops this weekend! The weather continues to be enjoyable- I think most of us could get used to winters like this more often!

No day outside is complete without a game of Mr Fox! 

Get what you ask for

When I was pregnant people would ask me if I wanted a boy or a girl.  I would always respond with "It doesn't matter to me.  As long as it has a beating heart and a brain I can work with whatever I get.  You can buy arms, legs, and other things to assist with almost anything.  Just give me something to snuggle and take care of and I will be good.

Most people would giggle and make comments about 'What if it has a tail?"  to which I would reply "Hey, I am a fan of monkeys so that would be fine by me."

Looks like I got my monkey afterall....

This is Hannah- casually holding a pen with her FOOT- just doodling away

Nap Time

Mom:  "Hailey!  It's nap time honey."

Cha-Ching

Went to the casino tonight to celebrate mom's Birthday.

Sitting at the slot machine, thinking about the fact that just 10 years ago we were feeding these slot machines with dirty nickels and germ filled quarters.

Printed tickets- GENIUS!

86

Today is my Grandma Bauer's 86th Birthday!

It is also my mother in law Judy's Birthday.  Happy Birthday you two!

A few years ago my grandma Bauer started writing a book.  My sister Jennie graciously agreed to type it up for her and at the time she had no idea what she was agreeing to.
This was not a lady sitting down with a notebook printing out her thoughts.
This was an 80+ year old woman who had a story stuck in her head.  She would write (cursive) her story out on any peice of paper she could find.  Most of the time she would use the back side of paper.  Her punctuation wasn't perfect and she is a self-proclaimed bad speller.

Hundreds of pages later Grandma had finished her story.
Jennie started to type.
She enlisted the help from mom and Kari and even one of Grandma's friends helped type a chapter or two.

This year for her Birthday it was a no brainer.
We needed to get that typed book- all 500+ pages- and create it into a book for her.

She LOVED it!

L.O.V.E.D.!

All night she would giggle to herself, hug the book and say "I wrote a book!"

Grandma, Mother, Daugther, Friend, Author

It was amazing watching her make her dreams come to life. 

Amazing to see what she was able to accomplish and a pure joy to watch her so proud of herself.

Not too many people can say that their 86 year old grandmother has written a book.

Having that book in print is a very special thing that our faily will be able to hold on to forever.

I think with the internet and digital world we live in these days that it's hard to predict whether or not 'preserving family memories' will be as important to our children as it was to our parents and grandparents.  One thing I know for sure is that my grandma wrote a story.  Long after she is gone we will have that forever.  A story from her head- told in her words- the way she saw it.

I am sure am proud to be your granddaughter Doris Bauer!

Favorite Pins of the Week

Mason jars pre-filled with drinks in a tub of ice

Mini-Eggs in haystacks

Cooking corn on the cob in a cooler- Great idea for large groups!

Must try this!

How to make chocolate bowls

Cake Batter Buddies

It's kinda ridiculous

This winter has been taunting me.

After the 5K in August, I haven't been out running much.

It started to slow down as fall came and the sun would go down around 4:00 in the afternoon.

I didn't want to go out jogging at night and knowing that winter was right around the corner I figured it would be appropriate to put the running shoes away until spring.

Well, spring came in December and hasn't left to make room for winter yet.

We are having a record breaking winter!

No snow and not the typical cold winter days that us Minnesotans are used to.

I sort of feel like I am beig taunted.

A daily reminder that I shouldn't have stopped running last fall.

Oh well.....as Hannah would say "Whatevs!"

Once our Order/Charge Roll Our is done (around mid-March) I plan to start up again. 

I wanna run a 5K or two this summer. 

Happy Valentine's!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today the girls had a Valentine's party at daycare.

I got Brian an iPod for his new truck and he got me an Archiver's gift card (better than flowers or chocolate any day!).  We had Chicken Wild for supper adn then just hung out together for the evening. Family date night!

The girls wanted to make a video for their aunties.

Take 1

Take 2

Take 3

Take 4

 CUTIES!

 

I think they have had enough of my camera today :-)

Best Job Ever!

I have the best job ever!

I get to be a mommy to the two of you.

I get to talk about you all day long wherever I go.

I get to spend time with you everyday.

I get to put you to sleep at night and wake you up in the morning.

I get to kiss your skinned knees and laugh at your jokes.

You are both such amazing little people.  You are sweet, caring, and loving.

You are both very expressive and dramatic with such fun personalities.

Love you Bean!

Love you Monster!

I got nothin'...

I haven't been keeping up with my blog very timely lately.

This is also not the first time I have posted on this topic.

I am in a rut.

Not a I-don't-have-anything-to-write-about-rut but more of a I-don't-know-how-to-express-myself-rut.

There are moments every day where I stop and think "I should blog about that" but then I sit down with the computer and the words don't come out.

Then I have to remind myself...I am not a writer.  I am not trying to impress anyone.

I am simply logging memories for my family.

No need to get down about it.  Take a deep breath, get started and see how far I can get. 

The words will come with time.

It wasn't me

All I can hear is jumping and giggling.

How many times do we have to tell these girls not to jump on the couch?!

I turned the corner to catch them in the act and Hailey sat down quickly and put her hands in her lap.

Then she looked up at me and smiled that sweet little smile....

Wasn't me :-)

Nice Surprise

It's no secret that I have been having a rough time lately.

Things got really hard the last few days.

I showed up to work today and was handed these.

From Amy and Kelly- just an appreciation for all I do.

How nice!

It's also my mom's Birthday today.  Happy Birthday mom!

Hannah is real excited to see you tonight- she woke up this morning at 5:00 am to record a message to send you a Birthday greeting.

Today we'll play with this....(and tomorrow too)

The girls get into these phases where they play with the same toy over and over.

Lately it has been the trunk of dress up clothes that they got from the Schnur's for their Birthday.

High heel shoes, feather boas, clip on earrings, skirts, dresses, necklaces, and crowns all over the living room floor.  It's fun to watch them and their imaginations at work.

Boob stuff

Girls got out of the bath tonight and Hannah asked me to move away from the drawer so she could get the boob stuff out.

She took it out of the drawer and swiped it back and forth in her arm pits. 

Hailey's turn "Ticky Ticky mom?"

Easiest Chili EVER

Easy Chili

Meat
- we have used ground turkey, beef, and chicken
1 packet dry taco seasoning
1 packet dry Ranch dip mix
1 can Rotel (or diced tomatoes of any kind)
1 can corn
1 can black beans
2 cans light red kidney beans

DO NOT drain any of the cans. 

Brown meat, dump other ingredients in pot. (cans of beans/corn WITH liquids)
Simmer for 45-60 minutes

ENJOY!

For this particular recipe we put bone-in chicken breasts in the crockpot with the ingredients on low for 4- 6 hours.  Pulled chicken out, removed bones, ate.

We first had this at Gretchen and Troy's.  It was so tasty that we rarely make other types of chili now.
And not to mention the easiest thing you will ever make!

Bunked head

This weekend I received this text

Hannah was sitting on my lap at the time and wanted to see what the picture was.  She was very concerned when she saw that Marlee's head was cut open. 

As my typical little 4 yr- old mommy does, she wanted me to send a message to Marlee for her.

If you know Hannah you can see her with her head cocked to the side talking with her hands instructing Marlee to be calm.

Not where she got the biting comment from.

Hannah stared at this picture all night.

"Mom, she is so cute.  Look at her.  She's so cute."

The she noticed that Talon got a popsicle.  She was very confused as to why he would get a treat for hurting his sister.  We had to talk about how it was an accident, he didn't mean it, he helped her feel better and stay brave, etc.  She seemed to be ok with it after that explanation.

We are in for it when these girls get older......

Smells like candy

Took the girls through the car wash today.

Hailey hates it and spent most of the time screaming with fear.

I shut the panel for the moon roof and it got quiet. 

I turn behind me to see this.

Hannah:  "It's ok buds.  I'll protect you.  See it's not so bad.  It smells like candy.  Can you smell that?  It smells good doesn't it?"

Gotta love the cell phone camera.

Mob Boss

She doesn't look the part.

She looks like a sweet little, goofy girl who is full of life.

Most days she is however lately I have thought of her more as a Mob Boss.

She wakes up in the morning and wants to snuggle for a few minutes.  She is as sweet as ever and then decides she wants breakfast.
"Make me something to eat and get me a drink."

Whoa- excuse me?  You can ask nicer than that.

"Please."  (said in a very matter of fact way with a touch of attitude)

Home from daycare and sitting on the couch watching a few minutes of her show before daddy turns on the news.

"Hailey.  Get me drink for me."

Hailey walks over to the fridge and gets her drink for her.

35 lbs of spunk sitting on the couch bossing everyone around.

The sad part is most of us give in to her and give her what she is asking for.

She sure knows how to turn the sweet on but she has got a side to her that can make a mom a little-wee bit nervous.

I think it's time to start telling the boss no once in a while.

Make that a few more

Ever since I blogged about the number of words Hailey says Hannah, Brian and I have been thinking of more and more.  These are my two newest favorites :-)

Regulars

Today I spent my day working at Bethesda.  I was either in a conference room surrounded by coworkers or in the visitor area on a conference call.  I had a few hours sprinkled throughout the day where I wasn't in a meeting so during those times I worked from the cafeteria.

There was a pretty steady flow of people in and out of the cafeteria.  Employees stopping in to get their morning coffee.  Small groups of employees on their first break of the day. A few employees finishing up for the day and stopping in for their coffee to help them stay awake on their drive home.

Whatever it was and whomever they were one thing was constant.

The lady in blue in this picture.

She was on her break sitting by the door.  She would great almost every person that walked in.  Most people she knew by name and if she didn't know their name she knew what they were there to get "We have those caramel rolls you like today.  I just made a fresh pot of decaf for you.  There you are- must have been a busy night if you are just getting out now." 

I sat back for a few minutes watching and listening.

It took me back to those days at the Bingo Hall. 

You can't help but remember the regulars.  Some people are just creatures of habit and would order the same thing every day.  I knew their orders and somedays the line would be quiet as I filled orders while they pulled out their wallets to pay - noone had to say a word.   Tammy worked there with me most weekend nights and usually those nights we would work the fastest.  We knew these people and what they wanted.  The people who wanted extra ice, those that wanted extra butter, people who wanted the popcorn kernels, the ones that wanted a lid on their coffee, those that didn't want a lid on their coffee, etc.

For a few minutes today I actually missed it. 

I said a few minutes...

Warm butt

Brrr....my hands were cold.
I was downstairs on the computer blogging.
Hannah came and sat on my lap.  I put my hands on her belly so she could feel how cold they were.

"I'll warm them up for you.  Just put them here in my warm butt!"

It still makes me giggle...