Royal Wedding Party

We have a OLD TV. Way old. My nephews asked if it was a 3 D TV because the picture is a bit warped from being damaged by two toddlers. I figured now was the time to go for it. I invited some friends over for a Royal Wedding party and suggested to Scarecrow we get a new TV in time for the party.

That evening he came home with a GIGANTIC new TV.

It is huge! My girls and I were up at 5:30am enjoying the wedding in crystal clear viewing. It felt like we were there, did you get an invite?

We had tea, scones, coffee, fruit, laughs, ooohs, and ahhhs. Trivia facts were flying...did you know so and so was not on the guest list....Kate's nickname...how long they dated....

It was a true fairy tale one to be enjoyed and lift our spirits a bit. Hope you enjoyed your Royal Wedding viewing too.

Easter Extravagansa

Easter, what a joyous day to celebrate with family and friends the empty grave.

We were the "peach" family for the day. It is so fun to coordinate outfits for all of our bumpkins, Scarecrow goes along with it.

Our day was filled with eating the colored eggs we dyed the night before. The twins had one bite and shunned them. After Easter services we Shared a meal with scarecrows family, so delicious! Don't you find that the food tastes so much better when you have not cooked it all? Then hunting Easter eggs began....lots of candy was consumed
Taking a wagon ride was a big highlight of the day. Recharged after a short nap we enjoyed hosting family and neighbors for Easter dinner.Followed by another Easter egg hunt with our cousins and friends as the ducks in our pond looked on.

Easter blessings to you and yours.

A SPRING IN YOU STEP

WE SURE HAVE A SPRING IN OUR STEP WITH THE WEATHER BREAKING!!

WE HAVE BEEN ENJOYING PAINTING OUR NAILS AH HEM I MEAN PAINTING ON PAPER IN THE SUNSHINE.

WE ADORE THE PARK, IT IS A HOP, SKIP AND A JUMP RIGHT BEHIND OUR HOUSE.

AFTER SEEING ONE CROCUS (PURPLE)TWO WEEKS AGO i HAVE HEAR "WHERE ARE THE PURPLE FLOWERS MOM" SO WE HAVE BEEN OUT OF DOORS MOST DAYS LOOKING FOR PURPLE FLOWERS AND BLOWING PINWHEELS IN A NEIGHBORS YARD.

EVEN BABY BUTTERFLY IS HAVING A BALL ENJOYING HER FIRST SWING RIDE EVER!

HOPE THE WEATHER HAS BROUGHT A SPRING TO YOUR STEP TOO!!

Let It Snow!!!!!

How many inches of snow have we had in Michigan anyway? ALOT is the simplest answer! We are enjoying it! I have felt like a kid again this winter, experiencing the winter fun with the twins.

Our home is situated right in front of a park which has a sledding hill. Admittedly it is not a grandiose hill, it is great for toddlers!!

We have many sledding adventures.

Have built many a snowman.

Have shoveled a TON of snow.

The latest fun was a snow tunnel.

My dear neighbor whom I will name the knitting guru, dug a great tunnel in the mountain of snow at the end of our street.

The adults even fit in it!!

All of the kids had a blast crawling through, on top of,, and sliding down it.

So let it snow. Well only a little bit more, I am ready for 50 degrees and higher again soon!

Dediction of the Butterfly

Our newest addition "baby butterfly" is now 6 months old!

Time flies now that we are all sleeping through the night for the most part.

We just had our precious gift from God dedicated on January 16th.

Friends and family gathered to thank God for her and agree to help nurture her spiritually and provide a Godly example for her as she grows.

Sweet pea hammed it up trying to make the most of the microphone that I held, and admitted to our pastorfelt quite comfortable on stage when he asked her! Little Sprout stayed put right by his daddy.

Here's to your best foot forward baby Butterfly!

FIESTA!!!!!

We needed to warm up a bit around here as we have been getting quite the dumping of snow, so we brought a little warm weather inside by having a fiesta.
The occasion was Sweet Pea and Little Sprouts 3rd birthday! Yes, hard to believe where the time has gone, long days but short years is a good way to describe it.
We invited friends and family to celebrate. We based it off a favorite book of theirs, "Fiesta". The party was complete with fajitas, a pinata filled with toys and candy.
We sang a rendition of happy birthday, blew out number "3" candles and dug into birthday cupcakes.

Scarecrow bought birthday balloons for all of the kids to take home, along with their gift bags filled with toys and candy.

Prior to destroying the pinata we read"Fiesta"

Then it was time to don the blindfold and take some swings at the donkey pinata. The kids tried their darnedest to break open the pinata with some big hits but in the end we had to break it open and pour out the contents! They all loved the candy and prizes just the same.

We are so blessed to have had these two wonderful gifts err twin tornadoes (as their favorite uncle calls them) in our lives for three years. We will see what the next year brings. We pray it will be filled with more joy, smiles, and times to grow together, and celebrate!

Confessions Of A Brownieaholic

I am still on a dairy free plan as baby Butterfly does not seem to tolerate milk, butter, or cheese quite yet. I have come across a DIVINE brownie recipe which I have made them three times in one week! Yes they are that good!! The key is chocolate, lots of it!



The recipe is rather easy:

1/2 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup plus 2 TBSP cocoa powder

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 325 F

Line an 8 inch pan with parchment paper or spray with oil.

Beat together oil and eggs, then beat in sugar.

Add the vanilla and cocoa powder.

Stir in the flour and baking powder. The batter will be very thick.

Spread in prepared pan, bake for 25 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and cut into 16 pieces.

Enjoy a cup of coffee, hot cocoa, or milk with your delectable creation.

A Working Girls Dinner

So I did return to work yesterday. It turns out all of the fretting was for naught. Our sitter came and after a high five to the twins, Little Sprout came to me and blurted out "Go to work mom". I was a bit taken aback but at the same time very glad to know he was just fine with my departure. Let the party begin is what he was thinking! All went very well at work and on the home front.

Baby butterfly did not take much of her bottle but had not a word of complaint either. I have a great dinner in a pinch for anyone who could use it on a work night or any other night. Very simple, fast and SO delicious!

Ingredients:

Any vegetables you favor roasted - I used carrots, parsnips, potatoes and onionsolive oil

spices - I used all spice, tarragon, & garlic salt

One Rotisserie chicken - I opted for 3 lb chicken at Costco for $5, cooked and hot, can't beat it!!

Simply microwave the veggies until tender (10 minutes).

Place on a cookie sheet toss with spices and olive oil, roast (400 degrees F) for 15-20 minutes until browned.

Arrange veggies around rotisserie chicken on a platter and serve.

Work It Girl

So here it comes, I am returning to work VERY PART TIME on Tuesday (tomorrow!) I have mixed feelings. On one hand I crave some time with adults, away from three kids under three. I enjoy what I do professionally, working in a family practice as a Physician Assistant. The staff is great, the pay is wonderful, they are very flexible with my schedule, I enjoy catching up with patients I haven't treated for a while. On the other hand I am leaving my baby butterfly for 5 hours until Scarecrow comes home and takes over the fort!! Normally on Tuesdays my mother in law takes the twins for the day. The office could really use me on this day OF COURSE!! I really have enjoyed Tuesdays with just one. It just so happens my in laws are out of town this week. So it is trial by fire for our sitter. We do have a wonderful college woman who comes to our home and I do feel she is very capable.

My greatest concern is about my littlest one. I wonder how she will do with a bottle. She has taken a bottle since she was 2 weeks old as scarecrow would feed her pumped milk at 10 pm while I slept through a feeding. However, sometimes she just refuses to drink out of a bottle! What is the worst that can happen?

The two older ones somersaulting off of the couch while the baby is eating? Well, yes, been there done that. Let's not dwell on what could happen. I will just mind my diet (baby butterfly gets terribly gassy and crampy if I have any dairy) and send up some prayers. I will ask you to do the same - the prayers that is!