1.26.2013

{Guess What?}


dave and i are getting on a plane tomorrow.
alone.
yes you read that right.
alone.
he has a work meeting in TX and i am tagging along for the ride.
my parents are here to love on the girls
and i know they will all have a wonderful time.
i am still gonna miss my babies like crazy.
i'm sure you can all relate.:)
we are excited to take in the sites,
eat some yummy food,
shop a bit and
just relax.
oh...and one of the best parts of the trip is i get to meet my two dear friends...nicolle and megan.
it feels like i have known them forever.
we have shared so much of each others lives through blogging and now we get to hang out and talk for "reals".
tomorrow can't come soon enough!:)
have a happy night,
cindy

1.25.2013

{Insta Friday :: week 4}

::happy friday::
 
a rather slow but full week for us.
not much camera action in our house...real kind or iphone kind.
we had a dusting of snow last night that has the girls all excited but i think the sun may melt it to a pile of slush by tomorrow.
 
::here's a quick peek at our week::
 
i love the little things that keep my chef smiling.
 
 
i love braids on little girls.
 
i love muffins on a school day.
 
i love girls who check their calendars before making plans.
 
 
 
 
i love school day lunch time schenanigans.
 
 
i love wide open peaceful roads.
 
hope your week was a wonderful one,
have a happy day,
cindy
 
{thankful for}
1. my parents
2. pepper jelly
3. aubrey's sweet voice and kisses
4. a full tank of gas
5. one of my favorites for dinner tonight
 
 
 
 

1.22.2013

{Weekend Glimpses}

so happy to have this long weekend.
i think we all really needed it.

riley had a sleepover friday evening. not really sure how i feel about all this sleepover business (this is only her third...but still). i remember sleepovers when i was a kid and they were always so much fun. i don't remember being quite the grouchy zombie the next day, but maybe my mom would say otherwise!:) i just miss her when she's gone. and i don't sleep well. and the house feels empty-ish. so i guess basically all these negative feeling are all about me and i should get over myself.:)

janey was so sad to see her leave.
i mean really sad.
real tears, and real sobs and lots of hugs...and then more hugs.

it was so cute, riley and dave had soccer practice first, so riley and jane texted each other the whole way there. funny how they can't even stand to be in the same room with each other one minute....then head over heels in love and desperate to be together the next.....girls!:)

janey and aubrey decided they needed a "sleepover" too.
which was really quite adorable.

janey stayed up late with us watching silly tv till about 10:30.  when we were getting ready for bed and brushing our teeth janey jumped up on the sink and said "what were your favorite things to play with when you were young"?  i proceeded to tell her about my love for my cash register and my clock radio and she said "when my kids ask me what my favorite thing to play with was...i'm gonna say you!"
...sigh...melt...
janey brooke you have my heart forever!


i snapped this picture right after she said that to remember that moment.
always.

the sleepover must have been a success because when i came to pick riley up in the morning they begged to play some more, so they came over to have lunch and jump on the tramp. our weather was just beautiful. i think we even saw the 50's!!!
girls are so cute.
they vegged a bit and played tangled on the wii.
instead of really playing they just "played house" in the forest and rearranged all the flowers into little rooms. so sweet.


we had some friends over for dinner saturday night and dave made the most amazing pizza!!!
seriously our all time favorite.



and that is saying a lot...cause we are kind of crazy about pizza over here.

he started with this pesto recipe:

Katsinas Restaurant Spinach PestoCourtesy of John Katsinas

30 ounces fresh spinach (3 10-ounce bags, or slightly less than 2 pounds), washed and dried
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (or to taste)
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 tablespoons fresh garlic, peeled and chopped (or to taste)
1/2 cup best-quality olive oil, or to taste—enough to smooth out the pesto

Place all ingredients in a food processor and process until the pesto is the consistency you like. Mix with hot cooked pasta, spread on pizza, use as a base for appetizers or a dip for vegetables—whatever makes you happy!

{he has been looking for a pesto recipe that uses spinach instead of basil and finally found one.
can't wait to try it later this week on pasta!}

...and made this pizza.
he used tomato instead of red pepper and i think that made it better.
crazy, crazy, crazy good!!!!!
the flavors were amazing.
please try this one.:)


sunday we added some love day goodies, relaxed and chilled.
riley had a late afternoon soccer game and the poor thing ended up hurting her foot.
i'm thinking a trip to the dr might be in our future.
dave made this soup to have warming in the crock pot when we got home.
homemade bread sticks from left over pizza dough and we are set.


monday the big girls slept in, so aubrey and i got to baking.
we made these which are one of our go-to muffin recipes.
i love it because it calls for melted butter which is great for a quick school morning recipe.
and of course we can't bake without a little pandora on.
james morrison station.
first three songs had us movin and groovin.
one
two
three
kind of hard to bake when you keep running to the computer to see the next song and turn the volume up.
shakin and bakin.
perfect monday morning in my book.
{see that red heart on the wall...aubrey taped doilies all over the place...!}

hope your long weekend was a wonderful one!have a happy day,
cindy

PS
well, we were right, riley needed a doctors visit and a set of xrays.
we go back today to see what's up.
for now we are hobbling around on crutches.

{thankful for}
1. crutches
2. yummy food made by a hubby who loves to make yummy food!
3. special moments with jane
4. our fireplace (it's 4 out right now!!!)
5. sunshine

1.18.2013

{Insta Friday :: week 3}

::happy friday::
the abundance of sunshine
and a long weekend on the horizon
are making the fact that it's friday even better in my book!

::here's a quick peek at our week::
 
 
sweet sweet face
cody keeping babi company till janey gets home
the key morning players
my baby is already techy (diggin my new mouse?)
 second lunch time car picnic for these two this week
 
blueberry muffin band aid and chippy blue polish...a match made in heaven
everybody loves under armour around here apparently
chillin...i was even reading a magazine...
 letter/animal zoo
wheeeee......
 
hope your week was a wonderful one.
have a happy day,
cindy
 
linking up here
 

1.16.2013

{Wednesday}

hi there.
it's wednesday...one of my all time favorite days of the week.
panera and the library...need i say more.

today we went on our own without our buds.
we didn't get to sit in our usually booth.
but we rolled with it.
i love a booth don't you?
or am i just odd?
i'm not a fan of that "sitting at a table out in the open" feeling.
i'm weird.

thanks for the picmonkey inspiration nicolle:)
 
 
i feel like my mind is spinning in a million different directions today.
so much i want to do.
goals i want to make.
things i want to accomplish.
for me and for the family.
just really need some time to ponder and be alone to get it all sorted out i think.
if life would just pause for a second...just a second, maybe i could.
 :)
but pause it doesn't.
and that's ok.
 
started working out again pretty hard this week.
me and half a million other folks probably.
it takes up most of my early morning hours, leaving little time for anything else.
but i know it's a good thing.
something i need.
something i want.
just need to find that balance to get it all in.
 
 
2010
 
i'm itchin to get some valentines decorations out around here.
love love love that special day.
looking for some good preschool art activities too...got any great ideas??
 
 
speaking of love...i LOVE this lotion.
this is gonna sound corny, but this is seriously the best lotion i have ever used in my life.
your skin feels like silk...seriously!
it doesnt' have a fragrance which i think is a good thing, cause i use so much of it i'd probably really stink (!:)!) so i just put some of my other favorite lotion on my arms just for that tough of scent.
yum!
 
ok...that's enough from me today.
the girls are in bed...kind of...sister sleepover on a school night...this may be a mistake!
yikes
 
and i have a sofa and a mug of mint chocolate chip ice cream calling my name.
 
thanks for listening to this buncha nothin!!:)
 
have a happy night,
cindy

 
 
 



1.12.2013

{Janey Turns Nine}


we began janey's big birthday bash by bringing in cake pops to her class. they were a big hit and janey was thrilled to share these goodies with her friends and be the star of the moment.:) aubrey of course like it too.

later that night our good friends came over for cake and fun. after all those cake pops...we went easy...ice cream cake from dairy queen!:)

saturday was janey's actual birthday so she wanted to save the majority of her presents for the real big day. this girl has incredible will power! she loves to take things slooooow and get every last ounce of love out of it. one of the many things i love about her.
 


we ended the big day with an evening with janey's bff. she came over to play for a few hours, then we had pizza, more cake and snuggled up for a movie. it was the perfect ending to the perfect day.

 
oh how we love you janey brooke.
you are kind, tenderhearted, always take your time and love to play with your sisters. and i mean really play. you are thoughtful and sweet and write the most heart warming letters. you love to snuggle and wish like anything that you could be 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 again!! anything to be able to stay home with me all day.:) another year watching you grow had given us so much joy. we can't wait to see what the next year brings.
 
{insert picture of  janey and dave and i...we keep forgetting to take one...but will add it tonight!}
 
 
******************************** 
 a trip down janey memory lane.
some of my faves...
in no particular order!:)
 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
happy birthday baby!