Merry Christmas

I will be taking a break over Christmas so I just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and enjoy family and friends.  Also remember the reason for the season!

Wordless Wednesday

Christmas Program

My niece and nephew had their Christmas program at their church this past weekend.  My sister-in-law is the children's music director and my brother plays guitar for the kids choir.  Both my niece and nephew had special parts of the program.  Ruthie is learning to play guitar and she played along with her dad (my brother).  Link to video

My nephew is a break dancer.  He LOVES it and started less than a year ago. (I can tell the carpet tripped him up at times.  He is not use to dancing on carpet. Normal it is a hard smooth floor.)  I think that it is really cool that he is breakdancing in church.  He is using his talent to praise God! Link to video

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Mallorie 2 year pictures

So I am way behind...Today I went and had Mallorie's 2 year pictures taken.  Yes she turned 2 in September but I guess better late than never.  She did AMAZING!  she usually does pretty good with me taking her picture and getting her pictures done but I was afraid all of the shots would be of her cheesy  "Cheeeeeeeese" smile.  I could put her into a pose and she would stay still and give a real smile.  Here is a link to see the proofs.  Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday

Mallorie's first "Yuckies" on the Potty.  (9/4/12)  She was so proud!  (what a cheese ball smile)

Thirsty Thursday - Juicing

My Hubby had found a "Juice Detox" article in a Men's Health magazine this month and he really wanted to try it.  I was not to sure about this but he was really into it so I thought, heck why not lets give this a try.  It was a 3 day cleanse.  We started on Friday and went through Sunday.  So last Wednesday night we took a trip to the store and bought TONS of produce to juice.  We had read some articles on juicing and got some good ideas.  We got your typical apples, oranges, kiwi, grapefruit, and pears.  We also got spinach, kale, beets, sweet potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, and carrots.  We had previously bought a juicer from Bed, Bath, & Beyond.  So we were now ready to juice.  It was fun to see how much juice we could get out of each fruit or veggie.  But we did learn which ones don't mix.  We also learned that cucumbers do not make good juice.  It was very hard to choke down.  Here are some pictures from the juicing process.

It is kind of a messy process but clean-up is a breeze.  All parts are dishwasher safe.  Just rinse and load.

I love to see all the colors.  (From left to right) Grapefruit, celery, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, blackberries, raspberries, and kiwi!

All mixed and ready to drink!

Trust me it taste a lot better than it looks!

We were so hungry on Friday night that we did give in and steam up some veggies and ate them.  We were both fighting the erge to chew something and figured it is only veggies we would have juiced anyways.  We then went all Saturday and Sunday only drinking Juice and then ate dinner on Sunday.  I will say that I felt like I had more energy, and I was "healthier", and I lost 5 pounds!  We are going to definetly continue juicing but just not to that extreme.  If you have any questions about it just let me know.

Wordless Wednesday

In honor of hunting season I post a picture of Mallorie "hunting"
(We had to go to Gander Mountain for my Hubby and Mallorie found a toy and wanted to show us how she used it!)

Mommy's little helper

I have learned that Mallorie loves to clean.  It doesn't matter what it is she clean but also wants to help.

From windows....

To vacuuming....

Ever toilets!




















I know that this "want" to clean will go away with age but for now I will use it.  But remember she is still a two year old and she does make messes too!

Wordless Wednesday

She loves her Fishy, Oz!

Fun Food Friday

Last week Friday I had my friends little boy, Bryce, for the day while she worked.  He is exactly one month younger that Mallorie!  It is so fun to watch them play together.  I did not have anything special planned for lunch and just thought I would "find something".  They were playing with PlayDoh and cookie cutters and I got an idea.  Fun Food!  I found some they were not using and got to work.  Here is what I came up with.

Starting at the top and going clockwise:
     * Fish cut out of turkey
     *Fishing rods (pretzels)
     * bait (peanut butter)
     * gold fish in a pond to fish for (with the pretzels and peanut butter)
     *Fishing line (string cheese)
     * Worm (peanut butter sandwich)

Two plates for two hungry kiddos!

Mallorie "fishing" for goldfish and loving her fun lunch!

Bryce caught one!

These two love to copy each other! (sorry Mallorie's picture is dark.)

Both plates were almost clean.  They loved it!  I am enjoying making fun lunches and have some more in mind.  I wonder which one I am going to make today?

Wordless Wednesday

Miss you Uncle Rich!

Sad Day

Well.... today was a tough day.  I got home from work and went to bed like normal.  Then at about 11:15 i got a text from my sister-in-law and it said "call me or Staci when you wake up." (Staci is my cousin)  I figured that it was about a girls night out that we are trying to plan so I rolled over and went back to sleep.  Then at about 3:00 p.m. one of my Aunts called me.  The first thing I thought was something bad happened to my Grandma.  I called Staci my cousin.  She told me the worst news.  My Uncle passed away this morning.  I was shocked!  I was speechless! He was up at deer camp with his son (Aaron) and brothers.  This is the first time he had gone in four years.  Last night he had gone to bed around midnight as was going to sleep in his van while his son was in a tent  and brothers in a cabin.  When he went to bed to started a propane heater for warmth and fell asleep with it on.  He never woke up.  (it is a little reassuring to know that he didn't suffer.)  Aaron woke up and noticed that his dad was no up yet so he went to the van and tried to wake up his dad but he couldn't.  They did call for an ambulance but he was already gone.

After picking up Mallorie from daycare I went over to my Aunt's house. I was happy to see she was surrounded by family.  I gave her a big hug and she broke down.  She told me that it just didn't seem real.  I looked out the back window and saw the van.   I broke down.  We talked about all the memories that we had with Rich and were there for each other.  I feel so bad for my Aunt and cousins.  My Aunt lost the love of her life and did not get to say good-bye.  A few of my cousins were there while I was and it was hard to see.  One of Rich's daughters came in and just broke down.  Also two of Rich's grand kids were there.  one is 9 and the other 7. The were aware of what happened and were having a hard time with it but were coping in their own ways.  I know that time will heal but it will take a long time.

Please pray for my family. Pray for peace, reinsurance, and knowledge and understanding that this is God will.  Everything happens for a reason, we just might not know what that reason is yet.  I also pray for Aaron.  He has had trouble in the past with drinking but he is clean now but I am afraid after all that he has been through and with the lost he will relapse.

This story was also on the news.  Here is a link

So I start again...

So I have had a love/hate relationship with one thing lately...


I started this last spring and really did see results.  But I say started because I never finished the full program.  I am a numbers girl and I really wanted to see the numbers on the scale go down but it did not tend to do that.  I am sure I lost fat but gained muscle.  This is a great program and lives up to its name!  I came to the conclusion that I needed to so SOMETHING! So.... I am going to start again.  I hope to keep you updated once a week as to how it is going and my progress.  What do you use when you workout or exercise?

Wordless Wednesday

 

                      2012                                                          2011
It is crazy the difference a year makes!

Fun Food Friday

I have been wanting to start Fun Food Fridays with Mallorie but I did not think that she would understand just how fun it is.  Last Friday everything was Bunnies.  So I decided to roll with it and made a bunny lunch on the fly.  I didn't buy anything special but just found things I already had in the house.  Here is what I came up with.

(Clockwise)
*  I cut a peanut butter sandwich into a bunny shape with a cookie cutter.

*  I put (leftover) Mac n Cheese as "hay" that the bunny lays in.

* Raisins as bunny poop. (hehe, she ate all of them and thought it was so funny)

*Marshmallows as bunny tails.


I would have loved to put some steamed carrots with this but she was hungry and wanted to eat NOW!

Here she is enjoying her bunny lunch!  (I added some grapes!)
I can not wait to continue this I think I will try to so a couple a month! It was a hit!

Wordless Wednesday

One of my favorites from your vacation to the cottage in Ludington!  Priceless!

Wordless Wednesday

Here is Mallorie at my nephew Lewis's breack dance battle this past weekend.  She ADORES her "Cousin Lewey".  She is wearing his hat and her sunglasses and standing in her "Bgirl stance"  So proud!

Tackle it Tuesday

I have had this project that I have wanted to tackle for about two weeks and when I got down to it it only took about 2 minutes to complete.  I really wish I would have done it earlier.  We had replaces our old dial thermostat with a digital programmable one and when we removed it the old paint color and plaster showed.

I had seen a pin on Pinterest where you can put a frame around the thermostat and I loved the look of it.  I would have never thought of framing it on my own. (I love Pinterest!)  So I went to the dollar store and found a cute white distressed frame that was just the right size.  Then I bought the 3M velcro strips.  I LOVE THEM.  They are amazing.  I didn't want to go through the hassle of putting a nail or screw in the wall so I thought this would be the easiest way, and it was.

All I had to do was peel the little paper piece off the backs to make them sticky.  Then I stuck them together and to the frame.  Then I just pressed it on the wall and PRESTO!

A perfectly framed thermostat and the nasty, ugly old paint is covered up.  I am so happy with how it turned out!

Wordless Wednesday

My Favorite!

I think I have mentioned this before but these two have such a special bond!  (this is Lewis my Nephew)
Mallorie ADORES her cousin Lewis!  These pictures are just priceless!

Pinterest Weekend

Looking back over the weekend I realized that I used a lot of ideas that I got off of Pinterest.  I am sure that almost everyone knows about Pinterest by now.  Here is a list all the "Pinterest things" I did this weekend!

1. Carrot and Zucchini Fingers
 

2.Mini Ham and Cheese Quinoa Cups


3.Pumpkin Muffins (I added Chocolate Chips too!)


4.Laundry Detergent


5.Ribbon and Pearls Necklace


6.Frame Thermostat


7.U of M hairbow (I used this pin to find the pattern I used.)

Time to Play Catch Up

This summer has been CRAZY!  I feel like it just started but it is already over.  we had so many things we wanted to do but just going not fit them in between the vacations, birthdays, anniversaries, and work.  I did take a month off from my blog just to focus on family more and i needed it.  I am now excited to get back to the blog and have a lot of projects I am excited to post for you.  but here is a recap of what we were doing while I was gone.  (Sorry for the over load of pictures!)

Splash pad with buddy Bryce!

Movie night with Elliott

 We found two baby bunnies in our yard!
Mallorie said "Awww they Cute!"

We also had a Toad that was living in our garage.
we would move him out and the next day he would
be back!  Of course Mallorie had to play with him.

On Vacation

Brad (hubby) turned the big 3-0!!!




















All of these pictures were from my phone.  I have plenty more on my camera but they will have to wait.  I also started to coach Volleyball for a local christian school.  I love to do it but it takes so much time between practice, games and planning.

 Mallorie and I also took a trip to the Zoo with my parents and cousins.  Here is Mallorie and Lewis

 Mallorie and Paisley with their suckers while waiting for Ruthie and Lewis to pet the stingrays.

Cousins!!!