Grocery Store Observation Hour.

I had plans last night.

They got cancelled.

I did my hair and make-up for the occasion. For me, that takes much effort.

So instead I wandered around our local grocery store for fun. Seriously. I literally strolled up and down every isle just looking at all the stuff I never notice when grocery shopping.

It was a fascinating experience.

I learned:

1. Every fruit and vegetable known to man has been juiced.

2. There are way too many different kinds of olives. And the olive bar looks gross. They just sit out all day.

3. Chicken feet?! How could raw chicken feet with the toe nail still attached serve a purpose in this world?




I highly recommend this activity.

You too will be amazed at how much they can cram into one store.

If I offended any of you about olives or chicken feet, I do apologize. I am unlearned when it comes to those things.

Picture Of The Month - December

We all ate too much for Thanksgiving.

Jared had to lay on the ground due to the pain.

Happy Turkey Day.

Random Memory #147

One of my earliest memories is when I grew out of my crib and graduated to a regular bed.

I can remember my parents taking apart the crib and putting together my big-girl bed.

It was so fun climbing between the frame and "helping" my mom put it together.





I think my crib was olive green. And my bed had a headboard with a sliding door shelf that I thought was super-cool.



I see so much of myself in Hannah.



Congratulations to Hannah for graduating and officially becoming a Big-Girl.

She loves her bed and spends more time in it than just sleeping.

All Filled Up.

All Filled Up is the emotion you feel when your heart is so full of love for another person you can physically feel it in your chest.

It's a term Jared and I invented when we were dating.

I was all filled up this week...



It was my birthday...



I turned 29 and it was awesome.

I had many little moments that confirmed life is good.





It's the first year since High School that I've actually felt older...

but I've decide that's okay.

(Not pictured was my favorite moment of all 4 of us snuggled on the couch watching a movie the morning of my birthday.)

Now You Know.

Very Very often, I get asked...

Where does the curly hair come from?






Question answered.






Happy Birthday Week Jared!

Who Does Hannah Look Most Like?

Click here to see who Asher looks most like.

I Only Need One.

Getting family pictures taken is always an adventure when my kids are involved.

I just need one picture to turn out decent.

We had two. Yes!





Thanks Jessica! I love our two shots!

P.S. Click here for our failed attempt at family pictures a few months ago.

Picture Of The Month - November

He was already cute.

But put him in a Tigger suit and you just have to hug him.

Sugar Rush.

Halloween was fun, but I'm glad it's over.

Too much sugar for one little girl.


Jared's is the more interesting Jack-o-lantern.


Princess Hannah. She loved her costume so much, she didn't want to wear a jacket. It's fun to take her trick-or-treating.


And No, we don't usually give Asher candy. He was given a few licks of a sucker and he LOVED it. Of course. Who wouldn't love sugar after a diet of formula and mashed vegetables.

P.S. I am wicked addicted to those small boxes of Nerds you get at Halloween time.

Baby He-Man.

Only 8 months old and he can do a chin-up.

I've never been able to do that.

Keeping Me On My Toes.

I've never been to the ER for an emergency till now.

Early in the day, last Friday, a jar fell out of the refrigerator and broke. I cleaned it up, vacuumed, mopped, and scoured the floor for remains with my hands. After all, I do have little girl bare feet and a crawling baby to think of.

Many hours later. I hear Asher in the kitchen choking on something. I rush to him and pull out a large piece of broken glass and it's bloody. My heart stops and the emergency procedures begin.

I investigate his mouth first to decide whether I take him to the ER, call 911, or wait. I can't see any additional blood coming out and he seems okay. A friend recommended calling his doctor first. The doctor said to take him to the ER immediately. So I do.

3 doctors examine his mouth and don't see anything wrong. Asher is smiling and laughing the whole time. I feel like a fool for coming.

But just in case, they x-ray his chest and throat to see if he swallowed any glass. He didn't. But the doctor said swallowing glass is serious and it was good that I brought him in. That made me feel less foolish.

The blood on the glass was from his finger. Asher got a tiny cut on his thumb. It bled on the glass before he put it in his mouth. And that was the blood I saw when I pulled it out. His mouth and throat are fine.

In the end his thumb didn't even need a band-aid.



It was a bad experience, but a good reminder that you have to watch those snoopy kids carefully. They will find, eat, and choke on anything you overlooked.

I was already a paranoid mother. It's been kicked into high gear and now all toys remotely small enough to fit inside his mouth are being thrown in the trash.

When Hannah figures that out, she won't be happy.

Thank you Liesl for being a fast friend.

Thank you Jessica for watching Hannah and lending me your car.

I feel loved.

When You Can't Go Outside... Journal.

It's been raining for 2 days.
I passed the time with my camera and 2 kids.


Hannah loves to jump in bed.


Asher can usually be found under a chair.


She likes to fill up boxes with random items.


She works hard keeping the box away from Asher.






"I want something" face.


Asher finally catches up to Hannah.


"Melt my heart" face.






She put all her random items in bed.





Hannah is a 30 pound 2 1/2 year old. She controls the mood of the house. If she's happy, then everyone else is happy (I thought it was supposed to be if Mom's happy?)

She is talking, singing, and laughing more than ever. She can sing Twinkle, ABC's, Child of God, and more all by herself. It's so sweet.

She always wants to know where Daddy is. Or Asher. Or Mommy. Even though we're right there. And when Jared goes to school she yells for a kiss and hug and opens her arms wide.

Every day she has a box or bucket that she fills with random items. Her life revolves around this container. She carries it with her everywhere. She is very possessive of it and WILL NOT share any items in the box. We are currently working on sharing her box items with Asher.

She will drag chairs around, stand on them for height, and get into mischief. She likes to "help" me do dishes. She flicks the lights on and off (there goes the electric bill). She just loves to stand on things. Including Asher.

She likes Dora the Explorer, Arthur, Kipper, and Buzz Lightyear (Toy Story). Every time we leave the house she thinks we are going to Chocolate Lake, the Tallest Mountain, Coney Island, or some other location Dora the Explorer has visited.

She's our energetic girl with a spunky personality. We love being around that girl.





Asher is 7 1/2 months old. He army crawls all over the house. He can't sit up yet. He can't pull himself up. But he can move, wiggle, and get where he wants to go.

He eats an impressive amount of food every 3 hours. I would be worried about that, but he's not fat so I allow it. The doctor said he's big for his age. Meaning, he looks like a 9 or 10 month old.

He already weighs 20 lbs. He watches us eat like a hawk. He thinks he's ready for hamburgers. It's kinda hard to eat when a baby is staring hard at you.

He is getting much better at sleeping at night now that we are letting him cry-it-out. He still takes 4 or 5 naps a day. Wahoo for Mommy.

He DOES NOT snuggle. Tear for Mommy. He likes to play with you, touch you, laugh with you, but he will not snuggle ever. Even when he's tired or drinking a bottle. It breaks my heart into a thousand-million pieces.

But he loves to be picked up and carried around, not held. There's a difference.

He is so happy. It's easy to get him to smile and laugh. It's the greatest sound in the world. He is curious about everything and tries to play with it all. He spends much of his time crawling after Hannah and the toy she just took away from him.

For fun, we all get on the bed and roll around. He always tries to dive off the bed. It's a good time and everyone is laughing... even Asher.


Every mom and dad think their kids are the cutest people ever. We are no exception. I think that's the way it's supposed to be.

I See. Therefore I Eat.

I have a hobby.

I like to try new recipes. It's an addiction really.

I see a picture of a dish, something snaps in my brain, and I just gotta make it. At times I can't get it out of my head until I do.

It started with this picture 5 years ago. I saw it in a library, snapped, and copied the recipe. I thought about it for years until I made it once I had the right tools. Chocolate Sinkholes are now a favorite of ours.


(It's as good as it looks)

Then, I saw this salad and didn't sleep well until I went back to the store and got the recipe. Psycho? Maybe.



This week I saw a picture of spring rolls wrapped with rice paper. I just had to try it. I went all the way to China Town to get the paper! Jared liked them, but I was fighting the gag reflex every time I took a bite. NOT a fan of how the paper feels in my mouth. The leftovers are still sitting in the fridge.


(Don't they look good?)

Sometimes my ridiculous obsessions don't always work out.

Jared, thanks for not thinking I'm crazy... or at least saying it out loud. It's better than my plant phase right?