Busy Busy Busy

Things have been really busy around here lately. We are in the midst of buying a new house, we have had some sickness around here (my little professor had Scarlet Fever and I had the flu, and my photography business is thriving. Other than being sick is has all been good busy, but it is still tiring! This weekend my photoshoots got rescheduled because of the weather, so we had a free weekend! It was a wonderful time to sit back and relax a bit. We were still very productive around the house, but it was nice to not HAVE to go anywhere or do anything. Saturday was icky, so we spent sometime in the house. The highlight of the morning was playing "Duck Duck Goose" with the kiddos. I wish I had pictures, but I was too busy playing to take pictures! My little Roo didn't quite get the hang of the game, it was hilarious to watch her pat us on the head, say "duck, duck, duck" and then take off running and giggling! And my little Professor relaxed enough to just enjoy the giggles and he didn't get too upset when the rules weren't followed to the letter! I also tried my hand at ladyfingers on Saturday. I love tiramisu and would love to make it, but I want to make it from scratch and in order to do that I need to master ladyfingers. The taste was delicious, but next time I will make them a bit thicker. I made up some chocolate buttercream frosting and made really yummy sandwich cookies for dessert! Here is the recipe I used: Ingredients: 4 eggs, separated 2/3 cup white sugar 7/8 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Line two 17 x 12 inch baking sheets with baking parchment. Fit large pastry bag with a plain 1/2 inch round tube. 2. Place egg whites in bowl and beat on high until soft peaks start to form. Slowly add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and continue beating until stiff and glossy. In another bowl beat egg yolks and remaining sugar. Whip until thick and very pale in color. 3. Sift flour and baking powder together on a sheet of wax paper. Fold half the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture. Fold in flour, and then add the remaining egg whites. Transfer mixture to pastry bag and pipe out onto prepared baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes.

We also had bananas that needed to be used, so I found a recipe for Marbled Nutella Banana Bread. I doubled the recipe and used it to make "cupcakes" that I then frosted with the left over buttercream frosting. So yummy! Marbled Nutella Banana Bread 2 1/3 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups mashed ripe banana 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 large eggs 1/2 cup Nutella Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together banana, butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla until creamy and well combined - about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs until well combined - about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and beat in flour mixture until just combined. Divide 1/2 of of the batter into a medium bowl; stir in Nutella until combined. Alternate spoonfuls of batter into loaf pan until all of the batter is used up. Swirl batter gently with a knife (not too much!). Bake 1 hour or until well risen, deep golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into bread comes out with moist crumbs attached. Makes 1 loaf

Sunday the weather was much better so after naptimes we took the kids up to the fountain near our house to play.

We came home had dinner, with cupcakes for dessert!

It was a wonderful weekend and I got enough downtime so that I can attack this week's to-do list!!!

Getting in Touch with Nature

Yesterday I had the privilage of taking a friends pictures. We decided to check out Patapsco State Park. We were hoping to find the waterfall, and while we didn't find it on this trip, we did fine some awesome train tracks, a swinging bridge and a little beach area. I really enjoyed the time outside. I haven't explored a state park in a very long time. I came home sweaty, dirty, stinky and tired, but so happy and energized! While I was there to take pictures for my friend, I was able to capture a few pictures of the beauty that surrounded us.

We saw these flowers creeping their way down a hill. I think they are a type of phlox, but please feel free to correct me if I am wrong. It was so pretty to see their bright little faces standing out among the dirt and tree trunks.

Here is a picture of the swinging bridge we found.....it was really fun to walk across, you just felt a bit uneven! And the photo ops by the bridge are endless!!!

I snapped this picture as we were getting ready to leave, I was standing under the railroad tracks. The light was so pretty! I can't wait to go back and explore some more!!!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Today is day three of being housebound because of illness. My little professor is feeling better, but trying to keep both kids playing quietly is more than difficult! Plus, the weather isn't great so it was time to dig into my craft supplies! I decided to bring some color in the house in the form of rainbows! All you need is a paper plate, crayons, cotton balls, contruction paper and a blue crayon!

I sat them down at their craft table for some creative fun!

My little Roo had a very "free spirited" rainbow!

My little Professor was more meticulous! He wanted to make sure that his colors hung evenly.

Roo's finished product!

My little Professors finished rainbow! It was a great way to bring some cheer into the house!

See Me Sew!!!

I have wanted to sew for a very long time! I had a disasterous experience in highschool, and have been hesitant to sew again, thinking that sewing machine's are just out to get me!!! Well, right before Christmas my dear friend Brook helped me get over my sewing machine phobia. Through MULTIPLE cups of coffee, screaming children in the backround she walked me through my first pillows, and I was hooked! Just recently I have ventured into the world of sewing clothes. I still have a dress for my little Roo halfway done, but I have found a great tutorial for pillowcase dresses!! You use the "fat quarters" that you can get at any fabric store for around 10.00. Add some ribbon and you have a dress. I found the instructions at http://www.u-createcrafts.com/. There are alot of things on this site that I really can't wait to try!

This is my first dress! I was so excited that it looked the way it was supposed too. It has since stood up to mulitple washings, playing outside and other things my little Roo gets into on a daily basis!

For my second dress I changed the pattern a little bit. I did ribbon on the bottom instead of making a band. I can't wait to put it over little black leggings!!! My third dress was a little tricky. I had seen a picture online and tried to duplicate it. It just didn't look right.

While my model makes anything look cute, I just didn't like it. So after she went to bed, I took out my scissors and did some "re-adjusting".

I took off the tulle, and added some "yo-yo" embellishments. This morning I tried it on my willing model, along with a matching hair bow I whipped together last night.

I think this is now my favorite one of the bunch! I can't wait to see what I can come up with next!!!

A Whirlwind Weekend

This weekend was extrememly busy, but extremely fun! On Thursday my mom arrived. She decided to come in and surprise my sister at her babyshower which was held on Saturday. It was really hard not to spill the secret! I had to be so careful with the pictures I posted on Facebook!! Friday I did my big grocery shopping trip. It was quite fun as I was kidless, and had my mom to chat with while I shopped! Saturday my mom and I left around 8am to head to Salisbury for my sister's baby shower. Before the shower I got to catch up with a friend that I haven't seen in about 6 years! It was wonderful to catch up over coffee and meet her new little baby!

The shower was lovely! My sister's mother-in-law did such a wonderful job hosting and the decorations were extremely cute!

It was also great to see my youngest sister. We all haven't been together since a my sister's wedding about a year and a half ago!

After the shower my mom and I headed back home. My hubby and I were able to take advantage of my mom visiting and headed out for a date. We haven't been able to spend alot of time together because he has been working crazy hours. We visited a new restraunt that is by our new house, more on that at a later date. It is Aida Bistro and Wine Bar. Oh my goodness, it was such a great experience! If you are in the Columbia, MD area, you need to check them out! We started off with a sampler plate. It included veal marrow, a leg of duck confit and a salmon sausage. While all of it was more than delicious the veal marrow was completely amazing. It melted in your mouth and coated it with a wonderful earthy flavor. Next time we decided we will just get 3 veal marrow bones, it really was that good. For the main course I had Lobster, Shrimp and Crab pasta. The best thing was that they make their pasta in house, and you can tell the difference! It also had spinach, capers and carmalized onions. The sauce was a reduced lobster stock and tomato butter. It was garnished with truffle oil and had a basil chiffonade. They make everything in house, from the bread to the pickles, to the mustard! It was an amazing dining experience! The service was more than wonderful. After we ate our server took us on a quick tour of the wine room. They have about 30 wines on tap. Instead of keeping the wines in bottles, they keep them in small vats. The vats are pumped with nitrogen, which is what is put in wine bottles to keep in fresh. It was a cool system. My hubby understood more of the science behind it, but I just thought it was really cool, and it tasted amazing!! It was a really relaxing and nice to spend some time with my husband. The past month or so I have felt like we have just been passing each other. On Sunday we joined my in laws to celebrate Orthodox Easter. It was a fun time and I got to spend some quality time with my nephew.

I think I like this "aunt" thing. I got to hold him and cuddle on him, but when he got too fussy I got to hand him off! It was a wonderful weekend. I really enjoyed spending time with people I love!

Happy Resurrection Day!!!

This year we will celebrate two Easters. My in-laws are Orthodox and this year their Easter falls next Sunday, so we are doing are family get together next Sunday. So this Sunday we got to celebrate with our military family! We started out with some bunny pancakes for breakfast!

I am getting to be quite the pancake artist! After breakfast the kids got ready for church. They each had a new outfit to wear. Roo's was completed by pink "sparky" shoes!

They went to church with my mother in law this morning, while they were gone I hid their Easter baskets for them to find after our party.

We went off to party, leaving Daddy home to get some rest since he is on night shift. The party was a a combination of birthday/Easter get together, having the best of both worlds!

When we got home, both kids were tired and dirty....a sure sign they had a good time. Then they got to open up their Easter baskets!

As I sit here typing this I am so amazed at God's gift to us. I love giving my children presents, I loved watching them open their Easter baskets this afternoon. The thing that gets me is that we didn't love God when He gave us His gift! We were His enemies and He gave us His Son. So as we come down from our sugar high, lets remember what this day is really about.....LOVE!

Not My Original Plan....

This week was my Little Professors spring break. I was inspired by a friend to fill the week with fun activities and day trips. I was so excited. Then Monday afternoon came and I got sick...really sick. By Wednesday I was in the ER and being diagnosed with type A flu. Not fun, and not the way I wanted to spend spring break. Today I woke up feeling better, so while we did stay at home, we had some Easter/spring fun! We started out by using the Resurrection Eggs that my mom sent us. Through the little eggs we went over the entire Easter story.

After that I got out some ink pads and we made some thumbprint art featuring chicks and bunnies!

We made some chocolate chip cookies next. To change things up a bit we added some caramel chips that I had found at the commissary on my last trip. My kids LOVE taste testing the chocolate chips to make sure they are fit for the cookies!

We ended the morning by decorating Easter eggs. I used plain old food coloring this year, and used muffin tins to hold the dye. We sat out on the front porch and the kids had a blast!

It was a fun, but exhuasting morning!

A Bit of Peace

While I was in Hobby Lobby on Saturday I fell in love with this plate.

I loved the simple little bird drawing the the Bible verse is a daily reminder of what I need to do.

I added to the top of my bookshelf. I love looking up and seeing the simple decorations!

And Here We Go Again.....

Last week was a tough week. Monday was a great day, I was productive and at the end of the day I sat back with my "super-mom" crown on and smiled at all the mere mortals down below my throne. Then Tuesday came..... By Friday my crown had fallen off, most likely when I was cleaning up after my little Roo, who has gotten over her fear of "peeing on the princesses" and now doesn't seem to care that Cindrella is wet. My throne was taken over by my children, who can be quite the little dictators! My mantra for the week was, "children are a blessing from the Lord"...."children are a blessing from the Lord." On Saturday, while my husband was sleeping, (he is on night shift) I decided that I needed to get the kids out of the house. So we went to Hobby Lobby, where we got in and out in less than 15 minutes,my little Roo likes to "help" a little too much. We headed off to Family Christian Bookstore to pick up some things for Easter baskets. While we were there Roo had a melt down, so I decided to pick up Dr. Dobsons book, "The Strong Willed Child", I couldn't ignore the chuckle from the salesperson when I told her what I was looking for while my daughter kept saying, "no Mommy, I do it." Next to Dr. Dobsons book was one I had to pick up called, "Because I said So" by Dawn Meegan. I am only on page 18, and have already giggled outload. It has helped remind me that all mothers get fed up, all mothers feel like they have completely failed their children, all mothers secretly wonder which things are going to come out when their child in on a therapist's couch years down the road, and all mothers love their children so very much and want to be the best mother that they can be. This week is Spring Break. My plan of action is to keep them both busy so they don't have time to argue!