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Wednesday, January 9, 2019

2019 Goals

I would like to make goals for myself for this year instead of resolutions. I don't know why, but goals are more attainable and I feel like I hold myself more accountable than a resolution that I made.

So here are my 2019 goals:

Have more patience with my children. The girls are 4 years old and let me tell you that the last year has been hard. Everyone says it is the terrible twos, but I felt like it was way harder with the 3 year old stage. I know 4 is going to be hard, but I am hoping that it is easier than 3.

So this year, I want to learn to have more patience with my children. I feel like I ask them to do something and they completely ignore me. I ask again and nothing. I ask about 4 to 5 times before I lose my cool and yell at them to do it. That is when they cry and eventually do it. I just want to foster more patience in myself.

Date my husband. As our days go by, I realize that our lives are so focused on our children that we forget about our significant others. Sure, we had date nights last year and they were amazing, but I want to try to have more date nights. Even if that is putting the girls to bed early and having a dinner date at home with just my husband. Or planning out date nights that are fun and interactive. I want to do at least one date night out each month and one date night in each month.

Purge and declutter. I have seen this same goal in a lot of people's lists, but it is something I try to achieve each year. I want to "Spring clean" more than just in the Spring. I want to go through our clothes, the girls toys and anything that we may not need anymore. I saw this cool idea of turning our hangers backwards with all of your hang up clothes. If at the end of the year, you still have clothes that are on a backwards hanger, donate them as you never wore them.

I also want to go through the drawers in the kitchen that are in desperate need of purging. Basically just go through the house and declutter.

Strengthen my friendships. Just like dating my husband, I want to put more effort into my friendships. I want to check in with my friends more. I want to have more girls nights. I just want to strengthen my friendships to where they were before kids and more responsibility. It will take more effort, but a simple text or phone call can go really far.

Read more. I see so many of my blogger friends reading 50 plus books year. While I don't think I can attain 50 books, I just want to read more.

What are your 2019 goals?
Monday, January 7, 2019

TBB Asks - Keep Me Entertained

The Blended Blog is hosting another year of TBB Asks and this month's prompt is Keep Me Entertained.

Book(s) you have read multiple times. The only book I have read several times would be Fun House by Dean Koontz. I used to love to read horror/thriller books. I still enjoy them, but reach for the suspense books more.

Favorite book/author of all time. That is a hard one. I am not even sure I can narrow it down to one book or even author. I do love Emily Giffin a lot, along with Sophia Kinsella and Lauren Weisberger.

Favorite TV show to binge. Tie between Sex and the City and Friends. I love them both and have seen the entire series for both of them way too many times.

Favorite new-ish TV show. I would have said This is Us if it was last year, but this year hasn't been as good as previous seasons. So I am going to go with Riverdale. I know, weird. But it is good and cheesy.

Favorite movie of all time. Another super difficult one. My husband would say something like Devil Wears Prada since I have seen it at least 100 times. But I think it would be either Dirty Dancing, Grease or The Big Lebowski.

Movie you are looking forward to watching. I had to google movies coming out in 2019 because I never get to watch the latest and greatest movies unless they come out on Netflix. So I am not even sure on this one.

First concert you attended. Offspring.

Ultimate concert (even if it can't happen!). A festival of Pink Floyd, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Aerosmith, Foo Fighters, Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars.

Favorite music artist/band. Again, another one so hard to answer. If I split it up between older and more recent, it would be Pink Floyd and Incubus.

How do you listen? Mostly Pandora or my iTunes library.
Friday, January 4, 2019

Friday Favorites and Happenings

I feel like this week was a blur. Between the girls birthday on Saturday, NYE on Monday and then getting really sick on Tuesday, I just haven't been myself all week. I am still battling whatever sickness I picked up and I am just sad this is the way that I started the new year. But I guess it can only go up from here, right?

Onto Friday favorites and happenings.

ONE. Let's start with the girls birthday. We had Friday off (the day before the girls birthday) because we had the internet guy coming out and the chimney sweep guy coming out. So after dropping the girls off at school, I came home to bake and decorate cupcakes for their class. I did funfetti with purple vanilla frosting.
cupcakes

The girls happily enjoyed their cupcakes and being sang to at school!

We decided not to throw a huge party for the girls this year since we have the previous three years. We decided just to focus on them. So we had an Avery and Sutton Day!

The day started off with breakfast at their favorite restaurant followed by some time at a new-to-us trampoline park. I didn't get any photos while we were there as we did the jumping and adventures with them. The girls had a blast, but we were all tired once the jump time was over. Plus we were sooo sore for days after that.

Next, we headed to pick up their birthday cake for later on in the day. Then we went home and had some lunch and naps for the girls. I got them up a bit early since we had to get ready to go have manis and pedis together. The girls love getting their nails done, so I set up an appointment for them to professionally get them done. They had the scrubs, lotions, painting, sparkles and the whole amazing treatment done. They even had amazing hot chocolates that I kept "feeding" them to while their nails dried. I just got a shelac manicure, so I would dry faster and could watch them more.
 Sutton and her pink color she chose.

 Avery and her bright pink color that she chose.

 Avery enjoying her pedi.

 Sutton enjoying her pedi.

 All done and just letting everything dry.


Once their nails were dry enough, I carried them to the car and we headed home. We picked up Rory and headed off to pizza with my parents, my in-laws and my sister and brother-in-law. We had pizza and garlic knots and then headed home for cake and presents.

The girls tore through their presents in record time, but got some awesome things.




After everything was done, we played with some of the girls new toys and then everyone headed home and the girls went to bed. I can't believe I have 4 year olds! Time really does go by so quickly.

TWO. Sunday was spent taking down all the Christmas decorations other than the Christmas tree. I just can't seem to part with it. Along with the Christmas decorations, I went through all of the girls clothing. I made two piles. One for donation and one for stuff to sell. I then went through my closet and did the same thing. I didn't go through my dresser yet though. By that time, I was exhausted. But I put everything up online to sell (on my poshmark) and then took everything to a donation location.

It feels so good to purge so much stuff for the new year!
Just some of the girls stuff that we donated.

THREE. The rest of the day was spent outside since it was in the low 50s. We have been having some crazy weather around here where we get one day that is 50 and then many days of barely 30 degrees. So we had to take advantage and go outside. The girls rode their bikes a bit, but then Sutton stayed on her bike and Avery changed to her scooter. 

FOUR. Monday was New Year's Eve and we had to work, but the girls school was closed, so my in-laws watched the girls. The girls had a blast going sledding (up in the mountains), riding scooters and playing with a bunch of new toys from Christmas and their birthday. We worked, but got off early. We headed home, watched some Dirty John (soooo good) and then went out to dinner at sushi. It seems like everyone had the same idea, so we had a 40 minute wait. But it was worth it because the sushi was sooooo good. Then we headed home, showered and went to a NYE party. We almost stayed home since we were both exhausted, but rallied on and went over to our friends house.

We had a great time. We had champagne, snacks and tons of water. We went home just after midnight and had a great time. But I woke up feeling awful. I thought I might have had a hangover from champagne, but it wasn't a hangover. It was some sort of sickness. I feel lightheaded, have a fever, get dizzy when I sit up or stand, have an overall feeling of blah, have a headache and sinus pressure. My nose and eyes were sooo swollen on New Year's Day.

So let's hope that this new year only gets better!!!

FIVE. We had the girls 4 year old appointment on Wednesday and they have grown so much. They are perfectly healthy (praise the lord) and the pediatrician was very happy with their progress. Sutton now weighs 36 1/2 pounds and is 42 inches tall. She has gained 5 pounds in one year and 3 inches. She is in the 80th percentile for her height and in the 25th percentile for her BMI. Avery now weighs 36 pounds and is 41 1/2 inches tall. She gained 3 pounds and 3 inches in one year. She is in the 75th percentile for her height and is in the 25th percentile for her BMI as well. The girls rocked their appointments, but HATED the shots. They told me they didn't want to go back to the doctor for awhile. Ha. No one does girls.


Have a great weekend!
Monday, December 31, 2018

Christmas 2018 Recap

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On New Year's Eve, I thought I would recap our Christmas since I dedicated the end of last week to my little birthday girls. I will recap their birthday weekend on Wednesday.

I hope you have a safe and fun evening tonight....should you go out. We usually don't go out for New Year's Eve, but our old neighbors invited us to their NYE party again and it is parents night out!

I am going to rewind to Saturday before Christmas. Rory had a basketball game to go to, so once the girls got up from naps, we made sugar cookies for Santa. I used a recipe off of Pinterest and they were supposed to cook quickly, but they did not. We had to almost triple the cooking time. So between the cook time, cooling off and impatiently waiting in between to decorate cookies, the girls lost interest. Ha.
Christmas sugar cookies
 First batch in

Christmas sugar cookies
 Decorating batch #2

Christmas sugar cookies

Since we took so long to make cookies and clean up, we were able to meet Rory after the game for some Mexican food. We didn't do much else after, but I did admire our Christmas tree after the girls went to bed.
Christmas tree

Sunday was spent at the park to burn off some pent up energy for the girls. We went to my in-laws house for dinner and pre-Christmas festivities. On the way home, we stopped by the house around the corner to admire it one last time.
Christmas light display

Monday we had to work, so we dropped the girls off at my parents house. We only worked until 2:30 and then headed over to my parents house. It started raining really hard and didn't let up until later that night. We were hopeful for snow, but we didn't get any where we lived. Only in the mountains.

At 5 pm, we headed to my parents friends house for their annual Christmas Eve party where we had so much food, fun and chats.

 This wine was heated up in a crockpot and was soooo good.


We drove home and the girls were exhausted, but Avery was up for putting out carrots, milk, bourbon and cookies for Santa and his reindeer. Sutton was too tired, but still took a few photos.


After the girls went to bed, we brought out all of our presents since we can't put them out before or our dog will open them for us. Once everything was set, we watched some Christmas Story and headed to bed.

 Giuseppe's parting gift (Madeline's Rescue)





Christmas morning the girls slept in until almost 7:30. We started the fire and then had the girls come out to the living room. I got a cute video of them checking everything out and then running to the kitchen to see if Santa ate their cookies. And then we opened gifts. The girls couldn't get enough and wanted to open everything so quickly. Ha.





We opened so many gifts. Once we were done with the gifts and stockings, we baked our cinnamon rolls and fried up some sausage. Then I gave the girls a bath and they wanted to put on their new matching pjs with their dolls matching pjs.

Then they got dressed in their Christmas dresses, we snapped a cute photo and then went out to ride their new bikes. They had a bit of trouble figuring out the pedals and that they had to keep going forward in a circular motion to get them going, but once they got the hang of it, they did great.

The girls went down for a long nap while I prepped the roasted carrots and the homemade rolls. They got up about 15 minutes before family arrived. Once family got there, we had some appetizers, opened more presents and finished making dinner. We had ham, my FIL's special mustard sauce, scalloped potatoes, roasted glazed carrots and homemade rolls. Then we had the traditional chocolate yule cake for dessert.

 Our table isn't long enough anymore, so we had to use a card table and some old chairs to make enough room. I bought some new candles and gold leaf decor from West Elm to compliment the table.




 My parents, my in-laws and my family


chocolate yule log cake

After dessert, we sat around chatting for awhile and watched some Christmas Vacation. Everyone headed home around just before 9 pm. It was a crazy busy day, but such a good day with family.

How was your Christmas?
Friday, December 28, 2018

Happy Birthday Sutton and Avery!

Tomorrow is the girls 4th birthday. I still can't believe we are 4 years in, but here we are.

I remember the day of their birth like it was yesterday. The good, bad and the scary. It all started four years ago today. We spent the day relaxing, going to Target to finally get the items we needed for our hospital bags (we never got to pack said bags), went to dinner at a favorite Taiwanese place and then dessert over at my in-laws house. We had brownies and ice cream which I ate happily, but sat very uncomfortably.

By the time we got home, I felt like I did two days before and knew something wasn't right. Well after being stubborn and denying that I was in labor, we headed to the hospital. I came in at a 4 cm dilated and within about an hour, I was a 9 1/2. And at 2:37 am, the girls entered this world and forever changed our lives.

Dear Sutton

You are such a little fireball. That is why your nickname is bear cub. You have definitely been a little ferocious lady lately. But I know that your sweet little self is always peeking out.

You are my sweet little helper. I just love when you sing your clean up song and how helpful you are to your sister. If she needs something, you always help her find it. If she wants something that you have, you always share it with her. You are the sweetest, kindest and most caring little girl. I hope that never changes.

You have blossomed so much over the last year. You have found your voice. You love to dance and are excelling at ballet and tap. You love to sing. Snuggling and cuddling are your most favorite thing to do. You always want to cuddle just before bedtime. I love that.

You give the best hugs. You are full of sass. You love to explain things and remind us of what the day is to hold for you. You are adventurous. You love to go on walks and hikes. You love trying new things. You love riding your new bike. You love to go first and show your sister the way. You love to wear dresses. You love your sandals and would wear them in the snow if we let you. You love Walter something fierce. You love to swing. You love to go to the park. You love to go to Home Depot and Target. You love your shoes. You have the best smile. You love your family. You love to play dress up. You love to play pretend. And you love being a big girl.

You told me that you want to be Elsa and a princess when you grow up, but I have a feeling you might go into the medical field. Your passion for helping others and your fascination of doctors, leads me to believe you would make an amazing doctor or nurse. But whatever you chose to be, we will be right there supporting you.

Sutton, you came into the world quickly, but you have forever changed our world. I love you baby girl.


Dear Avery

You are my sassy girl. You usually chose your dad over me for cuddles and to carry you to bed, but sometimes you chose me and it makes my heart burst. But you are definitely a daddy's girl through and through.

This last year, you have really changed. You are very articulate and love to explain things. You love to learn and are definitely showing a passion for teaching.

You have the sweetest little voice. Especially when you sing to yourself in the car. You would rather hang out and play, than take hikes. You leave that up to your sister.

You love to tell the story of how you were born. You giggle the whole way through explaining how you were taking up too much room and were basically pushing Sutton out of me. You were just too cozy inside my belly and wanted to stay there...without your sister.

You have the loudest scream. You love to swing. You love spaghetti and chocolate. You would eat mac n cheese for every meal if I would let you. You love to play house. You are always hungry and ask me what we are having for dinner every day when we pick you up from school. You love to give the biggest hugs. You love being a mommy to your babies. You love your technology. You love to dance. You love to help everyone. You getting your nails painted. You love playing chase with your grandparents. You love to take charge. And you love being a girly girl.

Avery, I love your approach to life and the world. You are a no non-sense girl and fight for what you want. I love your goofy self and your silly smiles. I love you baby girl.

Girls, this last year has been full of fun, incredible adventures, sass, love, hope, wonder and excitement. I won't lie and say it has been all sunshine, but you two sure have made it an amazing year. I love watching you both grow and become little girls. You are no longer my tiny babies, even though I still call you my baby girls. I love when you tell me that you can do xyz when you get bigger. Girls, just take it one day at a time and enjoy being little.

Thank you for an incredible year and letting us experience everything again through your eyes. It is amazing how beautiful the world is. Especially with you girls in it.

I LOVE you both!


Have a great weekend!