Randoms

*March is going to be an awesome busy month for us, as we are leaving to go to Massanutten for a winter break getaway.  We usually go in January or February, but Laura has a winter break in addition to Spring break at her school, so we figured we would take a little vaca then.  We are looking forward to some time away to relax and play.

*I am also heading on a shopping trip to Lancaster, PA at the end of the month with my parents, and of course that excites me greatly, as I live to shop.  I am even more excited to actually enjoy clothes shopping for myself now I am thinner.  The kids need a crazy amount of spring and summer stuff though, so they remain the priority.  Laura and Rachel wear the same size so it makes it even harder.

*Speaking of shopping, the estate sale wrapped up this past Monday across the street.  Everything was marked half off on the last day, and after I stalked a pie safe there since last friday, and plotted where I would put it if I owned it, we walked away the proud owners of it!
 Ok, so my mom and husband waited in line for an hour to be the first ones in the house Monday, but hey, we got it!   We also purchased something called a "dry sink".  The dry sink we are going to refinish, put new hardware on it, and it will replaces our sofa table behind the couch.

* My pie safe is in the dining room, and I am just in love with it! instead of storing baked goods in it, I have turned it into a wine cabinet lol.  I put my collection of wine glasses in there, and Dave's beer mugs to store, and I plan on storing wine bottles in there.  Not that I have a vast wine collection or anything, but now I have an excuse to start one =)

*I am looking forward to heading to the movies with my oldest Friday for a school field trip to see the Lorax with her and her school in honor of Dr. Suesse's birthday.  A movie theatre is having a special viewing of the movie just for her school Friday morning, and I am not sure who is more excited, her or me.

Estate Sale Fun

There used to be an elderly couple who lived across the street.  They never had any children, and they spent most of the holidays at my parents house because of this.  The wife died when my oldest was born about 6 years ago, and the husband died this past October.  The surviving family members are going to sell the house here soon, but before hand they had a company come in and have an estate sale that began yesterday.  My mom and I were one of the first people to get in the house yesterday when it opened.  I love estate sales, but this felt kind of weird since I knew them.  I mean there's that just feels wrong with going through all of their stuff.  I was going through one of the bedrooms and I felt almost guilty for opening up her panty hose drawer lol.  I even got a little sad when I saw an album with some pictures in it of the husband.  They were nice simple people people, and it's just sad to see all of these people come into the house and buy it up.
But, there gone, and their family members don't want the items, so I know it makes sense.  And heck, I was in there myself, and I have to admit I bought some items.  I will however always remember them when I see the things =).
My first purchase was this cool wash stand, or at least, that is what was on the label.  To me it's a neat cabinet.  I was drawn to the color, and I purchased it thinking it would look great in one of my daughters room.  It was a steal for just $55.  An old family friend helped me carry it home, and he pointed out that he could tell from the back of it, that it was very old, and remarked that I got an amazing deal on it.  I am sure it was cheaper because the color is a bit crazy, but that's what I loved about it.  I did put it in Rachel's room, but it was all kinds of wrong, so after some looking around I am pleased with the spot I found for it in the living room.

I went back over later that afternoon with some friends, and this time I left with a beautiful cake plate, 4 cake pans for baking, and a yellow glass pitcher (pictured).  I got all of the items for about $20.  I plan on going back over when items are marked further down to see if there is anything else I just have to have.   

The big 5, and cake making adventures

Rachel is officially 5 years old!  February is definitly busy for us with the girls having birthdays.  I feel like I can finally catch a break now from the madness!  We had Rachel's family party on her actual birthday- the 23rd.  We were just going to do cake and ice cream, but my husband had a chili craving, so he made a big yummy pot of it, and some delicious cornbread to go with it.    I just concentrated on the cake making, and I was pretty proud of what we ended up with!  Rachel asked for a princess cake, and I thought it would be fun to make her one of those barbie ones, where the dress is the cake.

I found these little half barbies at Michael's for 3 bucks, but they come naked... I went through our barbie stash trying to find a cute top to put on her, but nothing seemed to work, sooooo I glittered her lol.

  Her top is simply some Martha Stewart glitter glue, and some random glitter in my craft stash.  I found a princess crown to put on her in the kids barbie stuff, so all I had to do then was make the cake.  I used a large Pampered chef batter bowl, and 9 inch cake pan.  Truth be told I did a box mix in the batter bowl, but when I took it out I knew the dress needed to be taller, so I got another box mix and put it in the other pan, and then stacked them.  I did make home made butter cream icing, and put in a drop of food coloring to make it pink.  I then just used the same star tipped icing baggy thing I have from the Elmo cake I did for Emily's birthday, and did little dabs of icing with it all over.  Finally when it was time for the party I pushed in barbie.  I panicked an hour before the party, and bought a few cupcakes from Harris Teeter is coordinating colors because I was afraid we wouldn't have enough cake, but it was plenty for our crowd.  I have to admit though I thought the cupcakes made it look cute =).

Rachel enjoyed opening her presents.  We got her a Figet toy (she asked for a robot and it was the closest thing I could find), she's obsessed with it though, and the toy cracks us all up with its dancing.  She had a lot of fun and has enjoyed playing with her presents, and wearing her new clothes.
I am so proud of the little lady she is becoming.  She's full of spunk and personality, and makes me so proud every day!

 

Valentine's Day recap

My husband spoiled me rotten this year for Valentine's Day.  When Dave goes all out, he goes all out I have to say, but this year he really went crazy.  He first of all took initiative and got a babysitter in advance, he also tried to make reservations and some nice places a week ahead, but that wasn't early enough, BUT I appreciated going out anywhere just the two of us.  I came home to a clean house, roses, a reese cup heart, and then he had me open a present.  It was a wireless printer.  I was really excited, as we don't have a printer, and I always bug my mom to print things out for me if needed. Then he told me the girls had made something for me, and it was upstairs on the wall.  They took me upstairs, and closed a door, and behind the door was a spanking new iMac!

Holy moly.  We don't have a home computer, and our laptop is still going strong, so he knew this was something I was lusting over, so he figured it was time for us to have a real computer..  This was totally over the top, but I have to say he knocked my socks off.  I seriously cried when I saw the box lol.   I am so in love with it!  I finally braved up and took it out of the box, and I tell ya, it's magical... Confusing a little because I have never used anything but pc's, but wow, I really see now what all the fuss is about....

We ended up at Salsa's for dinner, a change in venue from our usual Plaza Azteca outings, but still some awesome Mexican food was consumed.

Weekend recap...

It was a fun, but again a busy weekend.  The biggest item on the agenda was the girls friend party at the VLM.  I have to say, I am really pleased with how it turned out.  Totally a great place for a birthday party.  They give you a decorated room, a private animal show of two animals that you can pick out, an hour in the party room, and free admission for your guests to see the exhibits.  The price also can't be beat especially for members.  The girls had a great time, and they chose a bunny and a snake for their animal show. 

I am not going to lie, I was worn out after the party.  It was great having it at the VLM but I had to prep the night before with goodie bags, snack bags, and making sure everything was packed up to take light ice cream scoop, candles, etc.  I tend to get worked out and afraid I will forget something.  But this ends up with me being super prepared lol.   Later that night we had a quick dinner date, and then I went to a girlfriends after the kids went to bed to watching Breaking Dawn on Blue-Ray with her. 

The funny part of our weekend, is Friday night I dug out an old Ouija board to give to my friends son, and they came over to get it, and we attempted to play with it a while, and then headed out ghost hunting at Crawford Road for a quick bit. No ghosts or spirits seen.  It was all in good fun though.  And heck no we didn't get out of the car, just drove down the road.  If your a local then you know all of the crazy stories about that road. 

 
Sunday the girls enjoyed a snow dusting that we got.  Seriously, they all got their snow clothes on and were outside by 8am, and it wasn't even half an inch of snow lol.  They had fun though, and then enjoyed some hot chocolate.  I then spent the rest of Sunday nursing a migraine, but even with that it was still a good weekend =).

Thoughts post...

*I usually take Fridays at my day off from work as I just work 4, but today begins a new schedule for me, as starting this week I started taking Mondays.  Man the idea of Fridays off just seems so much more fun then Mondays, as I sit here waiting to go to work.... I am doing this switch because Emily has started speech therapy, twice a week, and the lady who does it doesn't work on Fridays either lol.  I take her Mondays, and either Dave or my mom will take her on Thursdays.  She's been a few times now, and the specialist thinks she will catch on quick, and not it as long as originally thought.  Emily loves going, as she gives her prizes, and takes her for rides in a wagon for a reward. =)

*I downloaded My Fitness Pal application to help monitor my calories.  I used a different app in the past and this one is soooo much better.  It's a free app for I think any smart phone, and it has a lot of food info already stored in the program so you don't have to waste so much time adding in the info.  You can also friend other users who use it to help motivate each other. 

*I went to kickboxing last night with my friend again, and I tell ya, every Thursday I drag my feet and try to come up with an excuse not to go, but once I get there and especially after I am always so glad to have gone.  We always do something new, and I always feel it the next few days, so I know its helping make my body stronger and healthier.  I love how close the class is to my house, and I love the positive trainer, and seeing the same people each week.  I am still doing good with going to the gym, and I set a goal of going 3 days a week, but really try to aim for 5.

*I want to get my husband something for Valentine's Day, and I have no idea what to do, and I am running out of time.  He says he has already made plans to take me out that night, and has a neighborhood girl coming to babysit, so if he's on the ball, I need to hurry up.

* I busted out a p90x workout the other night when I didn't have a chance to get to the gym.  I did the Kenpo X one.  I spent the first 10 minutes complaining about doing the yoga warmup, wanting the actual work out to start, but soon after it began I was praying he would start doing yoga again. Those videos are killer!  I didn't complete it, but considering a few years ago when I attempted the videos and I only lasted 10 minutes tops, I have made progress!

*I changed from doing an 8k race to doing the 5k one.  I know, I know, an 8k isn't that much more, but I would like another 5k under my belt before I try to do anything longer, plus a lot of my friends would rather do a 5k, and I don't want to be stuck running the 8k without anyone I know.  Also let's be honest.  Serious runners are going to chose to run the 8k over the 5k, and I am not a serious runner, and I also don't want to come in last place =)

*I am looking forward to winter vacation in a few weeks.  We are heading to Massanutten the first week of March as Laura's has a break from school that week.  Apparently, skiing is still going on then, though chances are we wont be skiing.  But we love the tube park, and the indoor water park, and just getting away. 

Happy Birthday Laura!

My oldest baby girl turned 6 this past Monday.  Geesh.  It's crazy to think these last 6 years have flown by, and in 6 more she will be 12.  This is scary stuff.  We had a small family party for her on her actual birthday, as her and her sisters friend party is going to be Saturday at the VLM.  She had a great birthday, and we didn't have anything going on Monday as Dave and I were both off, so we made it a fun family day, and let the girls stay home from school and preschool.  We played all day, upon Laura's request we went to the VLM (the girls are obsessed with that place), and we had lunch at Papau Georges.  The owner spoiled the girls with free milkshakes, and gave Laura a free piece of strawberry short cake with a candle.  He's the nicest guy ever!
The girls spent the rest of the day riking bikes outside with their friends, until it was time for her party.  She wanted a red velvet cake with cream cheese icing like I had made for Christmas, and a Highschool musical theme.  It's a bit hard finding items for a movie that's several years old... I found a LARGE wall cling hanging of the cast on clearence for $2 at Party City, bought a musical note ceterpiece to stick on the cake, and popped the movie in and called it a day.  Laura thought it was cool, and now has the huge wall cling picture of the cast upstairs in her room!

Laura was spoiled by her family members, and excited to open her presents.  We got her a new bathing suit (perfect for a pool party she is going to next weekend), a hardback copy of Charlotte's Web (she's been bringing up the same book from her school library all year just about, and my old copy is falling apart), a home work bag to keep her papers in,  a wedding doll barbie, and Glee Season 1.  She's into it for the singing and dancing.

Valentine's...

Ahh  Pinterest.  How I love you.  With Valentine's Day coming up, I turned to it for ideas on making Valentine's with the kids for their classrooms.  We have quite a bit to make with all three having Valentine Day parties at their schools.  I know I could have gone to Target, or heck the Dollar Store and bought 3 quick boxes with all we need, but that's too easy, and I was aching to do some crafting with them.  I also have it in my head that making Valentine's can be cheaper then buying them.  Um no it isn't lol.  I can attest to this now that I have bought all the supplies....But that's ok, they are cute, the girls love them, and hopefully their friends will like them, and no small children choke on the gum balls.
The girls and I fell in love with an idea we found where you print a template that looks like the bottom of a bubble gum machine, and then take bubble gum in a plastic baggy and tape it on the cut out template.  It has printed on it " I chews you, Happy Valentine's Day".  
I printed out the template, made a bunch of copies for all three kids classes ( I under estimated so I have to make more copies). I then laminated the copies of the template to give it more support.  The bubble gum I purchased from the dollar store, and I needed about 5 bags of gum to do all of the classes with about 5 or 6 pieces in each Valentine.  I also bought the baggies that the gum go in there.   I used packing tape to tape the back of the baggie on the laminated paper.  It was a fun counting activity for the kids when they counted out the bubble gum, and they did cutting out the templates.  I did tape them on just to speed things up.  We do have a few more to make, but we have plenty of time since their parties are not for another week. 

Here is the link where the idea comes from if you want the template: gumball-machine-valentines

Another catch up post....

My husband is pretty much as obsessed with Pioneer Woman as I am.  After his birthday meal that he made from her show, he decided to make her "Knock you Naked Brownies" that were on her show last week. OH MY GOODNESS.  They were simply amazing...and so simple to make.  The only hard part was being patient enough to unwrap a bag of caramels.  I wonder if just jar caramel sauce would work, or if it would be too runny...She makes these with a German Chocolate cake box mix, stick of butter, caramels, and evaporated milk.  She did have pecans and powder sugar to spruce hers up, but we skipped out on those, and those items were not missed =)  Make them now! knock-you-naked-brownies

We have really enjoyed the warm weather, and after work this week if I have been home early enough we have been outside playing in the street with our bikes, and other toys.  We had a new neighbor move in at Thanksgiving who have a 18 month girl, and I have really enjoyed getting to know her.  Another friend of mine who lives one street over has been coming over a lot to let her kids play on our street too, and it's been nice to watch the kids play all together, and be able to gab.  It's pretty much something that has never existed before since all of our other neighbors are elderly.

I started reading another new book- The Color Purple, by Alice Walker.  I love the movie, and I have to say I think I like the movie better.  The book is a bit uncomfortable to read, as it goes into more detail on certain issues.  I also think that I saw the movie when I was pretty young, and a lot of that may have just gone over my head and I just didn't understand it.  It is a good book though, and I have already read about half of it.  I picked this one up at a used book sale at my daughters school for .50

 My husband is just as excited as he can be planning his Super Bowl party. Obviously I am not as excited, I know it's important to him, so I am trying to be helpful lol.  I am thinking of planning a craft for the kids while they are over here so they have something fun to do.  Nothing crazy or messy, maybe just a Valentine's type project, or maybe I will print out some football coloring pages for them to do.

 This weekend in between getting ready for Sunday, I need to make a cake for my oldest who is turning 6 on Monday.  We are having a small family party for her, and she wants a red velvet cake.  I also would like to take the kids to the Air and Space Museum since our VLM pass will give us admission there as well.

I see a busy weekend and a dirty kitchen in my weekend future.