Third Wheel

It seems like every time Eric and I plan one of our at-home date nights, Olivia decides that bedtime is just not gonna happen.  About the time we sit down to eat, I hear that little voice calling "MOOOMMMMMYYYYYYY!!!!" loudly from her room until I go in by her.  Despite my best Livi-charming efforts, I can't convince to her to go back to sleep, so our little third wheel joins the date.  I know there will be a time down the road when we will be able to have unlimited uninterrupted date nights, but I bet there will be a part of me that misses our little third wheel interrupter and all her adorable sweetness.  

Snowshoe to Engagement Bridge

Being that Nolan did so well on his first snowshoe of the season, we decided to make it a family thing and head out to the cabin for another try.  The day was absolutely gorgeous - it had recently snowed, making the woods stunningly beautiful and the sun was shining bright and warm.  We got our gear on and headed down the path toward the creek and Engagement Bridge - named because that's where Eric proposed to me (on snowshoes!) 8 years ago.  As soon as we got to the bottom of the hill, Nolan started complaining.  Apparently, he was tired and didn't want to walk anymore.  We had brought a sled for little Livi, who didn't have snowshoes, but by the time we got to the end of the game opening, Eric and I had had enough of the whining and decided Nolan could be pulled along in the sled if that would make him quiet.  Olivia was a trooper and walked almost the entire way to the creek and back.  I can't believe her little legs could do so well in the deep snow, but she had no interest in riding in the sled or being carried.  She's a tough girl!  Miles was in absolute heaven.  I love taking him out to the cabin.  I have never seen a dog that loves to run like he does.  He run laps around us, but checked in constantly.

Before we knew it, we had made it to the beautiful creek and the bridge that Steve rebuilt this summer.  I had Eric take a picture to show the difference eight years can make.  What a beautiful life we've made together. 

We all had fun (well, maybe not Nolan...) and I'm sure we'll be doing more of it this winter!

Engagement Bridge 2010

Engagement Bridge 2018

Week 4: Bathtime

For this week's Bathtime challenge, I decided to have a little fun and let the kids have a bubble bath in our big whirlpool tub.  Only problem is that our tub is HUGE and our hot water heater is not quite so huge, so the hot water runs out when the tub is about a third full every time - barely enough to even cover the jets.  It was still plenty of warm water for the kids to have fun in, so the plan continued until Nolan pushed the jet button.  Olivia panicked when she heard the loud, unexpected noise, and even more when she saw the water shooting out. Even though we turned them off, the rest of the bath was her screaming about being scared and trying to get her washed as quickly as possible, and Nolan insisting that he could do everything himself and being uncooperative.  It was not the fun playful bathtime I envisioned, but I did still manage to get a couple cute photos, which I guess was the objective of the challenge...

My Loves

Daniel Ti-GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

One of our family's favorites is Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, which is based on one of my favorite childhood shows, Mr. Rodger's Neighborhood.  Daniel talks about being kind, being brave, manners, school, and so many other great themes that I don't even feel guilty when my kids spend too much screen time watching it.  I will also admit to using the WWDTPD (What Would Daniel Tiger's Parents Do?) motto when parenting because they always respond in the best way possible.  Livi was supposed to be a tiger for Halloween this year, but she got cold feet at the last minute.  Thankfully, she's recently rediscovered her tiger costume and has been wearing it and ROARRRR-ing along with Daniel Tiger this week.

Happy Birthday, Miles!

Miles celebrated his 4th birthday this week.  Our furry friend has had a few challenges lately, including middle of the night panic attacks.  After lots of problem solving, medication, and conversations with our vet, we determined that he was having confinement anxiety in his crate.  We got rid of his crate and he's been doing so much better. 

Miles has certainly brought his share of issues and frustrations to our family.  Managing his anxiety is stressful and time-consuming, and often we wish he would simply go-with-the-flow more, like our previous setters.  But, he is quite possibly the sweetest and most loving dog you could imagine.  His loyalty and devotion are second to none.  He has the most tender heart and the most beautiful soulful brown eyes.  

We celebrated his birthday with some peanut butter Pup-cakes, which he absolutely loved.  Happy Birthday to our beautiful, ridiculous, loving, neurotic spotted pooch!

Snow Play

After weeks and weeks of subzero temperatures, we finally got some nice winter weather at the end of this week.  It's amazing how 30 degrees can feel absolutely balmy after weeks of frigid cold.  We've all been going a bit stir crazy, so I decided we were going to make the most of the nice weather and get outside for a bit.  I also thought it would be fun to finally get to try out my new camera is some natural light!  The kids had fun shoveling, throwing snowballs, and playing on the swing set.  Nolan was thrilled because he and Isaac got to play a little bit, too.  Everybody warmed up with some hot chocolate afterward and it was a great morning!

Week 3: My Favorite

Those that know me well are aware of the few special things that make me tick.  Chocolate, my kids, chocolate, riding my horse, chocolate, music, chocolate, and...did I mention chocolate?  My husband has been known to go on late night chocolate runs for me when the chocolate frenzy gets intense and there's none in the house.  This week, I made one of my favorite chocolatey treats: Aunt Jackie's Chocolate Chip Cookies.  They are perfectly soft and gooey and so delicious.  Here's the recipe!

Aunt Jackie's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2/3 cup shortening
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups + up to 1 more cup flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Mix thoroughly shortening, butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla.

Stir in remaining ingredients.  (For a softer, rounder cookie use the 1/2-1 cup more flour)

Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 8-10 minutes.

Cabin SnowShoe Day

Sunday was our annual snowshoe day out at the cabin. We spent the afternoon enjoying the beautiful warm day and the company of friends and family.  Nolan got to try out his snowshoes again this year, which much more success.  He only fell a couple of times and made it all the way to the creek.  Livi toddled around the cabin and the game opening, throwing snow (and eating it.)  After a few hours out in the gorgeous and serene woods, we all came inside for some delicious soup and games.  It's become a fun tradition to spend a winter afternoon at the cabin, and our whole family had a great time. 

Days Home with Livi Lu

When Nolan was a toddler, I cherished the special one-on-one times that we had every day.  He was my little side-kick and some of my sweetest memories of his babyhood are of the two of us doing our ordinary, everyday tasks together.  He was always so cheerful and smiley.  In fact, going grocery shopping with him was an event - mostly because he insisted on smiling and talking to nearly every person in the store.  He was (and still is) such a charmer!

Things were different the second time around with Livi.  Having two kids home meant that my attention was nearly always divided and while I loved being a mom of two and had many beautiful, wonderful moments, I was sad that I never really got to have those special one-on-one times with Livi in the same way that I did with Nolan.  

But now that Nolan has been attending school two days a week, I have really enjoyed the opportunity to spend some girl time with my sweet daughter.  She is much more reserved than Nolan ever was.  She will play quietly, color, watch a show, or snuggle with me all day long, whereas Nolan only ever lasted a few minutes with any one of those things.  She's so much more independent than he is.  I have loved to get to see her little personality come out and watch her explore and learn new things.   She is so incredibly funny and smart as a whip.   

I'm so grateful for my two special kids and the fact that I get to be home with them to soak up all these precious memories!

Lower Level Refresh

One of the biggest eyesores when we moved into this house was the ever-so-lovely, fake wood paneling that graced the family room on the lower level.  I've been dreading tackling this project since before we even moved in, but with the upstairs all repainted and the holidays behind us, it was time to take on the beast.  

Because of the smoothness of that gorgeous faux-wood finish, I had to prime everything with a Gripper to help the paint to stick.  This doesn't seem like it would be a big deal.  But, every single groove need to be completely filled with this stuff - meaning I had to paint it all with a brush.  It took me about ten hours to do this.  It was awful. But even with the blotchy primer, I could catch a glimpse of the lightened up space, free from the deplorable fake wood and it made me excited for the finished product!

The painting went much faster than the priming, but still took me another six hours or so.  I picked a very light and neutral paint color since the room is in the lower level and has no windows.  I was really happy with the results and can't wait to put some finishing decorative touches on the room!  What a transformation!

We also decided to try something creative in the downstairs music room/guest room.  It's such an oddly shaped, multi-purpose area that I wanted to create some definition to make it feel less weird.  I ordered these white bookshelves from Amazon and Eric anchored them into the studs to create a faux-wall between the music area and the bedroom area.  I think it works really nicely - plus after years and years of not having places for our many, many books, we FINALLY have ALL of them out of storage and onto shelves!  I found some of these beautiful hymn prints on Pinterest and decided to make a small gallery wall of them to finish off that area.  I was really happy with the way it all turned out!  

Brigid Comes to Visit!

Brigid headed up north to visit us last weekend.  It was great to see her, as always, and have the opportunity for a little girl time.  We went out for lunch on Saturday to our favorite, Crimson Café, and hit a few stores that afternoon.  I found some super cool antique hooks for a barnboard project downstairs, which was exciting. I'm glad I got to spend some time with my friend and have the chance to get out and about a bit.

Potty time?

Because Olivia is so communicative and smart as a whip, I thought I would give potty training a try.  We made a brief trip to the store to stock on up on some Minnie Mouse underwear and dug the potty seat out of storage.  My tactic with Nolan was to put him in underwear and let him have an accident, so he new what it felt like to be wet.  I decided to use the same tactic on Livi.  Within a few hours it was evident that she really didn't mind being wet, and that she wasn't quite ready for this grand endeavor.  However, the adorable picture of her on the potty trying to "push" made those wasted hours so worth it.  We'll wait a few months and try again.

Week Two: Happiness is...

Happiness is...this beautiful, carefree girl singing and twirling around in her new Anna dress.

Kisses

Livi is so sweet at bedtime.  She always wants me to stay longer and as she begs me for one more story, I clearly hear the voice of my Dad in my head from when I was little..."Tiffanie......you're stalling."  (I think this always stood out to me because I didn't know what the word stalling meant - I thought it had something to do with a barn...) Anyway, like mother, like daughter.  And my daughter can stall with the best of them.  But lately, she's been stalling with requests for a thousand kinds of kisses.  First a hug, then a kiss on the mouth.  Then a "Mock-mo" (Eskimo) kiss on her nose.  Next comes the butterfly kisses with both left and right eyelashes, and finally a Moose - her invention where we bump our heads together.  Then as I walk to the door and say "See you in the morning," she says, "No, Mommy, No!!" and demands another Mock-mo kiss or another hug and because I'm a sucker, we start all over again.  Olivia.......you're stalling!

Date Night Recipe #1

Last fall, Eric and I began a weekly date-night dinner.  We have been cooking our way through one of Rachel Ray's cookbook, and some of the recipes are amazing.  I thought I'd share a few on here for everyone's benefit!

Last night we made this really yummy Indian meal.  It was super easy, took less than 30 minutes to make, and was quite healthy.  Enjoy!

Indian-Spiced Chickpea and Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup

1/4 cup EVOO
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
1/2 small onion
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground turmeric
salt and black pepper
1 cup chicken stock
1 28-ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
1/4 cup plain yogurt

Heat the EVOO in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.  Combine the chickpeas and onions in a food processor and process until finely chopped.  Add them to the pot and cook for 5 minutes to sweeten the onions.  Season the chickpeas with the cumin, cardamom, turmeric, salt, and pepper.  Stir in the stock, then the tomatoes, and simmer the soup for 5-10 minutes to combine the flavors.  Serve it with a dollop of yogurt on top.

Spiced Chicken Patties in a Pita

1 pound ground chicken
salt and black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp paprika
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 TBSP chopped fresh mint
2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro
2 TBSP plain yogurt
2 TBSP EVOO, plus some for drizzling
1/4 seedless cucumber, thinly sliced
1 plum tomato, thinly sliced
1/4 small onion, thinly sliced
1 small romaine heart, shredded
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 pitas, warmed

Combine the meat and spices, garlic, herbs, and yogurt and form 4 very thin patties, 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  Heat the 2 TBSP of EVOO in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Cooke the patties until they are golden and cooked through, 3-4 minutes on each side.

Dress the sliced veggies and lettuce with lemon juice, a liberal drizzle of EVOO, and salt and pepper.  Slice the tops off of the pitas to open up the pockets.  Layer 2 patties and half of the veggies into each pita and serve.

Christmas Tree Picnic

A few years ago, Nolan and I had a picnic under our Christmas tree as one of our Advent Countdown to Christmas activities.  He remembered it (unsurprisingly) and requested that it become a tradition that we do every year.  With the craziness of the season, we didn't get to it until the first week of January, but both the kids enjoyed it nonetheless.  

Week One: Who Am I?

My first theme in my weekly photo challenge was about who I am.  I've been seriously laboring over what in the world I was going to photograph that was going to completely sum up who I am.  The obvious answer is that one photo is not going to accurately describe all of the things that make me who I am.  But, these two beauties are probably the best bet.  Since Nolan was born five years ago, I have immersed myself in motherhood, letting the many other facets of 'me' take a backseat for a while.  Though being a mom certainly has its challenges, especially when being home with them all day long, I have found the time spent with my babies to be some of the most precious, fulfilling, and rewarding moments of my life.  Throughout my journey of motherhood, I have discovered many things about myself.  Here's what I've come up with so far: I am kind.  I am thoughtful.  I am generous and compassionate.  I am musical.  I am creative.  I am strong, courageous, and confident.  I am sensitive and tender-hearted.  Pain in others becomes my own.  I am nurturing.  I love animals.  I am faithful.  I am determined, tenacious, and occasionally sharp-tongued.  I am a teacher.  I am practical and logical.  I am resilient.  

My babies have taught me so much about myself and who I want to be.  They are the things in my life of which I am most proud.  And because of all they've taught me and the sheer fact that I spend most of my waking hours in the company of these two beautiful souls, they get to be the "poster children" for my Who Am I photo challenge.  

New Year, New Challenge!

Happy New Year!  It's hard to believe it's 2018 - feels like 2000 was not that long ago!  I guess this fits into the cliché of time going by even faster as you get older.  Our past year brought us many blessings and some excitement as we moved to our new neighborhood and Nolan began school.  It also brought us some heartbreak, as we received news of Grandma Edie's cancer diagnosis and Grandpa Ralph's deteriorating health.  We look forward to the rejuvenation that a new year brings and can't wait to see what blessings and challenges are in store for our family.

One of the most exciting challenges of the new year is learning to use my new camera.  I'm hoping to learn some of the very basics to improve the quality of the pictures in my blog book.  I decided to aim for a weekly photo challenge in order to make sure I'm practicing and taking pictures regularly.  This will force me to learn new techniques and challenge me to think creatively.  So far, it's a bit overwhelming.  There are so many things to think about!  It has also been hard because so far with the bitter cold we've had lately, I've only been taking pictures indoors.  Artificial light just doesn't photograph like natural outdoor light.  I'm hoping over the course of this year, I will get better and better!  Practice makes perfect, after all.