To say that we got off to a rough start yesterday is an understatement.  Brennan and Braxton decided that it was going to be "one of those days" when they woke up....at 6:07 am.   Their new thing is to come into our room and announcing "I awake".  They crawl into our bed and watch some cartoons.  Today, they did not want Mommy to watch cartoons with them.  They made this awful, toddler whining noise "No Mommy.  Get out."  No problem,  I thought.  I would take this time to grab a cup of coffee and check some email...

They seemed to snap out of it...a little.  The whining continued throughout the morning (I don't do whining) and Braxton had a few time outs.   We played until nap time.  They always seem to find some trouble when they are supposed to be taking a nap.  Today was no different.  It appears that I will be replacing library book...Great.  

They woke up from their nap crabbier and whinier then they were before.  Which resulted in more time outs and a headache for Mommy.  Bath time seemed to turn things around!  We came down stairs for a snack and Backyardigans ( I love that show).  Finally, it was bed time.  I decided that I was going to go to bed too, or at least watch the rest of American Idol in bed.  About 45 minutes later, I hear my door push open a little farther.  At first, I thought it was Buckeye, but then I see this little face smiling at me.  "Mommy, I awake" says Brax.  It was so cute I just wanted to scoop him up and bring him into bed.  I decided that would be a BAD habit to get into.  So I scooped him up and put him in his bed.  

It is amazing how kids can make forget a whole day of whining and chaos with one little action, look or comment.  Here is to a better today!

By the way,  Colton had a WONDERFUL day yesterday.  He woke up at 8.  Went down for a nap  from 10-1:30.  He was playful and happy all day until went to bed at 6:20pm.  That little guy keeps me sane!

Rare Moment

There are not very many pictures of me with the boys.  I attribute this to a couple of things. 

 1.  I LOVE using my camera and I am usually the one behind it.

2.  I am usually not "camera ready".  Therefore, I REFUSE to be in front of the camera.

The other day I was showered, dressed and I had make up on.  I took advantage of this rare moment and asked Matt to take a picture of the boys and I.  I should probably try to make this happen a little more often.

Lunch Time

If you have ever spent any time with my little Colton, you would quickly become aware that he is happiest when eating.  He definitely does NOT miss any meals.  In fact, I am still waiting for that "decrease in appetite" that I was promised at his 1 year check up.   Colton certainly seems to be working on his ability to feed himself using a SPOON!

Look at this face!

That is right, there is NOTHING on that spoon, but look at how proud he is!

So focused

Double fisting!

Even though Colton was wearing a bib, a wardrobe change was in order.  Who knew applesauce and cottage cheese would make such a mess?

Mango Salsa

When I bought my food processor, it came with The Food Processor Bible by Norene Gilletz.  It is AWESOME.  My favorite recipe in the book is the Mango Salsa recipe.  It is really simple and quick, but oh-so-delicious.  Did I mention that it goes beautifully with Copper River Salmon?  

Mango Salsa

1 large ripe mango peeled

1 slice fresh ginger, peeled (sometimes I use garlic instead)

1/4 cup fresh cilantro or parsley (or both)

1/2 small red onion (or 2 green onions)

1/2 red small pepper, cut in chunks

1 jalapeno pepper, cored and seeded

2 Tbsp. fresh basil

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (juice of 2 limes)

2 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp. honey

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Process ginger/garlic with cilantro or parsley until minced.  Add mango, onion, and peppers.  Process with quick on/off pulses, until coarsely chopped.  Add remaining ingredients and process with quick on/offs to combine.  May be prepared up to a day in advance and refrigerated.  

I might have to make some this weekend....

L-O-V-E

I don't really get into Valentine's Day, but that doesn't mean I can't decorate for it. I decided to make some Valentine's Day decorations this year.  I bought some letters to spell 

L-O-V-E and some scrapbook paper to make them pretty.   Lucky for me, these letters came in white.  I didn't have to paint them:)   

1.  I simply "painted" each letter with Mod Podge and covered them with the scrapbook paper that I chose. 

2.  Once they were dry, I used an exackto knife to trace around the letters.

2.  I "painted" them again and let them dry.

Here is how they turned out

These were so quick and easy to make, I will probably be making them for every holiday.

I also made the Heart Felt wreath.  I followed the tutorial I found at The Idea Room (my FAVORITE blog to follow)

Happy Valentine's Day!

To Infinity...

...And Beyond!  Toy Story has been all the rage around here for the past few days.  We checked the DVD out at the Library. We are counting down the days for Toy Story  to be added to our "library".  First, it needs to come out of the "vault" (Google tells me that will be in March.  Perfect timing for Easter baskets)  In the mean time,  Brennan will have to be our Buzz Light Year.  Here he is actually yelling "to infinity and beyond"...

...as he prepares for take off.

Crash Landing

This is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITES of Brennan

So is this one.  Isn't this what childhood is all about?

My little tree hugger:)

Braxton was outside too, but Brennan was in a really good mood.  I normally can't get him to warm up to the camera.  I went with it!

Happy Birthday Buckeye

  On Sunday, we celebrated Buckeye's 6th birthday.   Buckeye is a WONDERFUL dog.  He has been patient with the major life changes that we throw his way.    He started out his morning with a R-U-N.  Then Matt and the Boys took him on a walk down to the lake.  They played in the snow and had a blast.  He had a day filled with treats. I don't always go out of my way to show Buckeye that I love him so I thought I would make him a cake on his special day. I found a recipe on-line. We sang " Happy Birthday" and Brennan helped Buckeye blow out his candles. 

I am pretty sure that he enjoyed his cake. I know that he had a great day.

The Best of Today- Friday, Feb 5

1.  My friend Mary and I finally figured out that we could run errands by ourselves if we took turns watching each others kids.  I flew SOLO to the grocery store, JoAnn's and the dry cleaner.  When I returned, Mary ran out by herself.  I am looking forward to our "babysitting swap" next week.

2.  I was 5 for 5 this week with my morning workouts!

3.  Brennan has been wearing a Scooby Doo bandaid on his forehead all day....for a boo-boo he acquired  DAYS ago.  

4.  Colton is on the VERGE of walking on his own.  He also has a very contagious laugh.

5.  Watching Brennan and Braxton hug each other is enough to make my eyes well up.  I am pretty sure that I will NEVER get sick of that.

6.  Braxton finds it perfectly acceptable to remove crusts of bread from Buckeye's dish and eat them (his mother does not).  Apparently the 5 minute rule also applies to the dog dish?

7.  My little chefs made pizza for dinner.  I would have liked to take pictures, but it is almost impossible to take action shots.  I will just say that flour was everywhere!  They love having a "lovely cheese pizza all to themselves"  just like Kevin in Home Alone.

8.  Daddy will be home in a few hours.  We are looking forward to a great weekend!

Breakfast Staple

 One of Matt's favorite breakfast foods is an Everything Bagel with homemade Vegetable Cream Cheese.  Shortly after we got married I discovered a recipe for vegetable cream cheese on the box of Lipton's Vegetable Soup Mix.  Since I love to make recipes right off of the box, I had to try it.  I have been making it regularly ever since.  It is the EASIEST recipe around.

You need:

1 Envelope Vegetable Soup Mix

2 Blocks of cream cheese, softened

2 Tbsp. Milk

Simply put all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix together.  Store it in an airtight container.  I would recommend that you make the night before you intend to start using it on your favorite bagel.