Muffin Love

Muffins and coffee are whats working for me right now. Be it morning or afternoon, I'm really enjoying the combo. As we wind down things here preparing for our move, I find that the stress gets worse every week. Which for me, means migraines. But having a cup of coffee with something sweet in the afternoon helps. A LOT.

(That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.)

Go.

Eat some muffins.

And think of me.

I'm better now!

No IV was needed. How horrible of me to scare you all about a trip to the hospital and the blog nothing for a few days. Sorry about that. This week has been a bear.

We did take Fripits to the hospital. She wasn't eating and had been very lethargic for days. She kept complaining of being sick and finally we decided to take her to the doctor.

She, the doctor, listened to her heartbeat.

She took her temperature.

She looked at her throat, tummy, eyes, and ears.

As she was folding up her stethascope, Elena looks at me with a grin as wide as Texas.

"I'm better now!"

And she was.

Her energy is back to normal, she is eating again, and all is well.

I however feel stupid.

All she wanted was a trip to the doctor and her supposed illness dissapeared just like that.

This ever happen to anyone else?

Oh dear.

Oh My.

What a week.

Two sick children, one still sick, and we have to take her to the doctors today, where I'm guessing she will need an IV.

I'll be back to blogging land soon...

Trees, sunlight, and hands.

He changes diapers.

He makes me coffee.

He understands how I feel about afternoons.

He does the grocery shopping every week.

He loves to buy me things.

And...

He does goofy poses with me no matter who is watching.

I'm so lucky.

I hope you get to spend this weekend with someone you love and LIKE.

My Pizza Dough Recipe

I love this recipe...it's easy and versatile. I can make it a day in advance, or thirty minutes before we eat. I can double or triple it no problem. It makes thick crust, or thin. Bread machine or by hand. I really like it, and the final result is always slightly different, but always very good.

Pizza Dough

2 tsp. dry yeast

1 cup of warm water

1 tsp of sugar

3 cups of flour

1/2 tsp. of salt

2 Tbsp. of oil

Mix togther. Let raise 30 minutes.

And it's that easy.

A list

things I like:

Laundry on the line
The way Abbie says no
People eating my food and enjoying it
The red tablecloth on my kitchen table

things I don't like:

Parties where you have to buy stuff (Tuperware etc.)
Filling the car up with gas (so boring)
Coca Cola or any drink with bubbles.
Blogs with music that blare the second you open the page. (Makes me jump.)

Image:: Mine
Texture:: Adrisbow

Pajama Picnic

You will need:

1. A good dose of bedhead

2. A simple breakfast

3. A cute guy with two cups of steaming coffee.

The perfect start to any day.

Family Puzzles

The girls and I made family puzzles. We printed pictures of loved ones, and then cut it into four simple pieces.

King Fripits loves this.





So easy and so sweet.

A great way for them to recognize faces they may not see often.

Missionary Smile!

My brother used to always tell us "Put on your missionary smiles!" as we pulled up to a church while on furlough.

(Easier said then done when you've been stuffed into a car with all your closest family members for most of the day, and every smells like potatoe chips and beef jerky.)

(Road food. Gross.)

Anyway... recently several churches have asked for an updated family picture. So we put on our missionary smiles and snapped one.

Don't we look so sweet?





And then, we took this one, which I like better.

Its definitly a better potrayal of our personalities.

(Plus, I look thinner in this one.)

(Woohoo!)

Terrifying Experience.

Just recently I decided that I was feeling brave.

Very brave.

So, I let my girls loose with...(drumroll) GLITTER.

And it was everywhere. Shiny, sticky and everywhere. In hair, eyes, elbows, ears, nose and fingers.

But they did have fun.

And I did survive.

But just barely.

I don't think I will ever buy glitter again.

We're sticking with crayons.

(A quick answer to all your questions: yes, we leave for furlough in 8 weeks. Let the packing begin!)

Snuggles

Yes, she is constantly on the move.
Yes, she loves to take her diapers off and pee in the crib.
Yes, she destroys most things that come in contact with her fingers.
Yes, she knows how to pout.
Yes, she steals toys from her sister.

But....

She is the best snuggler there is.

What else matters when it comes to babies?

(I don't want to hear any lip about how my "baby" is almost two years old. M'kay?)

Pasta, please!

Brian and I both loooooooooove pasta. Most date nights include some sort of pasta dish. Our most recent concoction was especially drool worthy.



1 small bag of ziti

2 spicy sausages, chopped into bite size pieces

1 small onion, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1 bunch of basil, minced

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon of oregano

1 teaspoon of parsley

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

6 ripe roma tomatoes, chopped.



Sautee in large pan the sausage, onion, green pepper, oregano, parsley, garlic, and half of the basil. Cook till onions and peppers are soft and tender. Add chopped tomatoes and cook for about five more minutes. If it gets too thick add a little bit of pasta water.



Serve over hot ziti, garnish with freshly ground parmesan cheese and remaining basil.



{Also, eat it cold the next day for lunch. You won't be sorry.}

The Lights of Luque

These are the electrical poles in front of my house.

I will miss my house, it's been a great two years here. The house is open, airy and functional and surrounded by a great neighborhood.

We have a little libreria where I buy most of the girls crafting supplies.

A despensa which never has anything in stock except for local gossip.

A small butcher shop which is very clean.

Our church that we love.

Two famous soccer players, and Oh! How exciting when they are interviewed by the press. The whole block is abuzz!

It has been a great two years for sure.

But....

I'm really looking forward to eating at the Olive Garden.

That helps ease the pain.

Right now

Image:: Via Me.
Texture:: Via Pink Orchard

Right now I'm watching my girls play outside in the hose, they are wetting everything in their sight. But it's outside, so it's fine by me.

Elena is eating a whole tomato. Munch, munch. As if it were an apple. She loves tomatoes, it's one of her things.

Abigail is dropping raisins into a small bowl of water then scooping them out and popping them in her mouth.

I am dreaming about what I can bake with my new bundt pan. Whatever flavor cake I decide on, one thing is for sure...it will be drizzled with chocolate ganach.

All in all, an average day in our house.

Baking with the Littles

Shadows

{No. My hips are no that wide.}

I'm enjoying the fall weather like you wouldn't believe. It's been in the eighties, and I'm in love.

Summer and it's oppressive 115* days are gone. (Sheesh. Do you think I could be more dramatic?)

We are having more picnics and cook outs. We play outside, roll around in the grass and get bit by all sorts of creepy crawleys.

But we're not melting.

And it feels sooooo good.

Hope your weekend is beautiful!

Kate and Lauren::Sneak Peek

A friend of mine recently had twin girls and she was very gracious in allowing me to come and photograph them. Soooooo much fun, and so very sweet. They were angels, sleeping, yawning and cooing at the appropriate times.

These are just a few of the pics, but I will be uploading more to my Flickr once I'm through with the editing process.

Warning: If you don't like baby toes you won't like the pictures.

(And if you don't like baby toes what's wrong with you and why are you reading my blog?)

My Sister

I took this picture of my sister a few days ago. A friend, who happens to be a guy, needed a picture of her for his art class. And she believed him. *cackle, cackle* I think he just likes her, and who wouldn't? She's gorgeous.

Anyway, for my family who reads this blog, enjoy the picture.

And to my sister, who doesn't read this blog {boo} you rock! Thanks for babysitting...all.the.time.

Wordful Wednesday

• I have a crush on the color yellow. It makes me so happy right now.
• I love the light in my house in the mornings, it makes me want to take pictures all day.
• I'm joining Wordful Wednesday in hopes that I can organize my blog a bit more, and share some of my favorite pictures.
• I realize that most of posts lately have been 'lists'. Weird, and kind of cool.
• See you tomorrow!

More Wordful Wednesday at Angies.

my corner

I recently carved out a little space for myself in the house. A place where I can leave out my scrapbooking and quilting supplies so that I can get it all done, little by little.

I love the way it looks. All my favorite colors, glass jars, buttons, colored pencils, ribbons, stickers...Yummy.

And my favorite part is probably this simple string I strung across the table, and clipped some of my favorite pictures on it.

I feel much more inspired all ready.

A goal

My mission for this month is to take more pictures of US. I have gobs of pictures of the girls, but I'm always behind the camera.

(So is Brian for that matter, he's behind the camera too, saying things like "Stop picking your nose Abbie..." "Look over here Frips." etc.)

I'm sure our children will want to know what we looked like while raising two small babies, learning the ropes around a new country and just trying to keep sane.

(Hint: We look tired.)

But we are happy and that needs to be remembered.

Random-ness

I wonder if I could get away with red lipstick? Or would it just be too much?

Are dish washers as wonderful as I think they are?

When I finish the cleanse I'm on I'm going to eat chocolate cake. So there.

I wish there was an extra hour in the day so I could finish the quilt, once and for all.

I'm planning on updating the girls craft room. And I'm moving in two months. Such is life.

I can't believe Elena actually took a nap today.

It's hot outside.

I am editing photos from a newborn shoot for twin girls. Cuteness.

I need a pedicure.

This weekend is going to be very busy.

Hope yours is great!

Pretending

I'm pretending::

• That I have all day to sit and sew, or blog, or read.
• That's it not hot, it's cold and I can wear a cute scarf.
• That I'm not on the Cabbage Soup Diet and can eat some brownies. (Don't worry! I'm just pretending!)
• That I have a lovely garden full of fresh flowers to pick.
• That my girls both know to use the potty.

I should be::

• Washing the dishes
• Planning my day
• Eating more Cabbage Soup
• Starting the laundry
• Getting a head start on lunch for the family

I would rather pretend.

New "do"

Before:: After::

Yesterday, I took my sweet girl outside and lopped off most of her hair. She has beautiful, wild, tight curls which require a lot of care. Care that I don't always have time to give. So off came the rebellious long locks, and we were left with a cap of tight Orphan Annie style curls.

I think it's adorable.

Reminds me of Audrey Hepburn in the movie Roman Holiday.

{Sorry for the blurry pictures...standing still was not on her agenda for that day!}

Three Goals

At the beginning of this year I decided I would have three daily goals.

1. Take a nap.

2. Read more.

3. Excercise.

When I told my mom of my goals she gave me the "And-what-on-earth-makes-you-think-you-can-accomplish-all-of-those-with-small-children-in-the-house" look.

"Why? You think thats too much?" I asked.

"Just make the nap a priority."

And I have.

Every day I nap. It's the most spiritual thing I can do. I'm a much better mother when I nap.

Mom does indeed always know best.