happy birthday ME

thanks for all who made my birthday so fun. ya know, every year that passes, especially as Im getting into my mid-late 20's, people care less and less about birthdays. funny... cuz I still care just about as much as I did for my 13th! well mom and dad always put in the extra care to make it a special day. so we enjoyed a fun and delicious dinner at Cheesecake factory and passed on the Cheesecake. WHAT?! yes, I know, its bad. BUT i have had my mom's delicious ice cream cake probably every birthday (at least i can't remember one without it). so the tradition stood and we enjoyed black raspberry ice cream cake (as well as a few mighty good gifts).
Don't worry, the hubby didnt fail either. He suprised me with a really fun evening at Battelle night at the Clipper's new stadium. Its been quite a while since we've been out by ourselves, so I think we both really enjoyed talking adult talk, without being interrupted and being able to eat our own food :)
anyway, twas a good birthday with several nice gifts and cards and yumminess.
wow... 26... can't believe it.

birthday fun

in light of my birthday tomorrow i thought i would share a few of my current favorite things (in no particular order)...

-Starbucks vanilla bean scones
-fabricworm.com
-peanut butter filled pretzels
-arnold palmer lite (by the jug!)
-unique and amazing blogs
-five guys cajun fries
-remi's smile
-ellie's ornriness
-lemon zest luna bars
-family pictures
-learning new things about parenting
-crate & barrel & container store
-dreaming up a business
-room makeovers & random crafty projects
-family after-dinner walks
-few and far-between hubby date nites
-giada at home
-the fact that my Jesus never gets tired, never changes, and has a perfect plan
-getting SO close to fall and buckeye football!
-new baking creations
-when pete gets home from work
-reading "sheparding a childs heart"
-staying home with my girls

...these are a few of my favorite things....!

eat your heart out giada!

welcome to the 1st edition of Home Cooking with Chef Ellia! today you will learn how to make things "creamy" "crispy" and "just like giada" as well as tips on grilling french fries. these are things most home cooks can't live without... leave it to Ellia to teach you all ya need to know!


this is my life.

stand up

everybody growing up too fast, please stand up!



yes, as i was JUST getting slightly used to remae sitting and crawling everywhere... now shes pulling up. what is going on around here?! that was the quickest 8 months ive had. as much as I hate it, im afraid its only going to continue flying by.
no complainin' here though... i am one blessed mama!

foo foo

today the girls and i went over to Gram's house for cousin Sophie's 3rd birthday party! It was a little birthday tea party and lived up to everything G-I-R-L! Its moments like these that you gotta love being a mommy to girls :) 4 little 2-3year olds got together and heres what went down:

-dressing up in adorable little dresses
-making their own pretend soup (cut up fruit and an orange sauce) & scarfing
-making yummy necklaces out of fruity cheerios... much more fun to eat than craft they discovered!
-not-so-daintly enjoying heart-shaped pb&j's, mini cheeses, crackers and peppermint tea.
-discovering all the goodies inside their Gram-made purses (crowns, bracelets, chapstick, etc.)
-decorating yummy cupcakes with all the pink icing and sprinkles the could get their hands on... and yes, devouring!
-helping the birthday girl open her fun presents & helping her play with them too.

Perfect little girly-girl froo froo foo foo party. Happy Birthday Soph!

random ramblings

lately we've been enjoying ellia's rambling of randomness. she intermixes phrases from all her different books into her day & normal conversation. here are a couple cute ones lately....

so i was sitting on the chair, feeding remae her bottle. ellia was in her seat eating a bowl of cereal. we were all pretty tired so no one had much to say. ellia looks over at me after about 10 min of silence (...rare) and says in her deepest voice "Somebody's been eating my porridge mommy!" too funny! that made my morning.

one morning she was running around with her baseball bat... runs into the kitchen after me and says "im gonna get you in the name of God!" (a slight mixed-up version of her david and goliath book) :)