Love Notes

When Leah started writing, she could only spell a few words...Leah, Mom, Dad, Love, Hi.  

Just the basics.

It led to a lot of little love notes left around the house, because she could only spell love note kinds of words.

I was kind of sad, in a sentimental mommy sort of way, that when she learned how to spell more words, she'd be done writing love notes, because she'd be able to spell so many other words.  

I'm glad I was wrong!  

Here are a few examples from the last week or two:

I made a little dot to dot and word search during church and she turned the heart into a little love note:

I think "hary" is supposed to be "hooray!"  Either that or it's hairy which would just be weird.

When we were at my parents' house, she got to use envelopes and made us more!

I don't think we'll ever get tired or finding little notes like this around the house.  I hope they keep on coming!

I love my sweet Leah <3

The Whistlers

Leah is an all star whistler.  

She can whistle like a bird.  

She can whistle regular.

She likes to say that she is the loudest whistler and the softest whistler.

Sometimes I have to declare certain areas a non-whistling zone, like the bathroom in the morning when all of the girls are in there with me and I am doing hair dos.  

Needless to say, Maggie and Gracie would love to be able to whistle, so they are practicing.

Maggie wanted me to take a picture of her whistling.

Once again, Gracie is standing on furniture.

My mom reminded me that my sister used to stand on furniture all. the. time.  

I'm happy to report that my sister reserves her standing for the floor these days.  So I'm guessing that eventually Gracie will reserve her standing, walking, jumping, running, and eating for the floor or sitting in chairs.  I'll probably miss these days, though!

Anyway, I took a short video of Maggie and Gracie practicing their whistling.  It is seriously, seriously hilarious and adorable.

Enjoy!

That Time We Went to Cherry Berry

The girls loooooove going to frozen yogurt places.  

I don't know that they actually like the fro yo itself...they pretty much just like the toppings. 

Can't say I blame them.

We took some Christmas money and went to a larger town near us for some of my favorite pizza and then to Cherry Berry for the frozen yogurt experience!

Our friend, Andy, came with us, so I got to sit in back with the ladies!

I didn't take pictures at the pizza place, but it was very fun!  They have paper on top of table cloths, so the girls got to draw right on the table!  

This place seriously has the best pizza, and the girls were super well behaved.  They started to get a little antsy at the end, but it was easily managed by a trip to the bathroom.

I did have to walk Gracie over to the bar area, too, to check the score of the football game.  I feel like the bartenders may have thought that was weird, but Gracie needed a change of scenery to encourage the continuation of her good behavior, and it worked like a charm!

After what must have felt like an eternity in little girl minutes, we finally made it to Cherry Berry!

What is not to love about a place that has all. these. toppings!

And that's maybe half of them!

About those froot loops on the far right...I would never put froot loops on any ice cream like treat.  And what's with spelling the misspelling of fruit?  Froot?!?!  Seriously, Kellogs.

And you can see our fine creations below!  Mine is coffee flavored fro yo with heath bits and caramel.  Heath bits are my favorite candy topping on any sort of ice cream.  I also put some Mike and Ike's on the side to eat separately.  

Mixing the Mike and Ike's in with the rest would just be wrong for me.

I'm not exactly sure what the girls have.  They, however, have no qualms mixing chocolate with artificially flavored fruit things.  More power to them!

I think Maggie is unimpressed with me taking her pictures when she doesn't want me to.  Just a guess :)

I mentioned yesterday that Gracie likes to stand on furniture.  Here's further proof...

It takes some serious skillz to be 2 years old and stand and eat ice cream.  I don't think she even spilled (this time)!

Usually Cherry Berry has sports on one TV and the Disney channel on the other TV.

But that night was special.  

That night they had Sponge Bob. 

On both TVs.

Leah knows who Sponge Bob is, but has never seen the show before.  

Thank goodness the volume was off, though, as I've heard he's a teensy bit annoying.

Needless to say, they were all quite enthralled!

Here's one of the cutest pictures taken at a fro yo place in the history of fro yo places...

The girls were really tired on the way home, so I quickly switched into camp counselor mode and we sang some songs and did some actions.  

It's amazing how singing "I'm a Little Tea Pot" and "Five Little Monkeys" can keep the crying to a minimum!

Because nobody wants crying on a night filled with frozen yogurt magic!

Guess Who I Dressed

I let Leah and Maggie dress themselves pretty much every morning.  So often, that if I tell them what to wear, their creativity is insulted.

It occurred to me when Leah was little, that when my children are dressed ridiculously in public, nobody looks at me and thinks, "Wow, that mom has a really poor sense of style.  Look at what she dressed her child in!"  They just think, "Oh, that cute little girl dressed herself this morning.  How delightful!"

I just don't choose to fight the battle of matching very often.  As long as they are mostly weather appropriate, I don't really care.

For example, Leah dressed hilariously for pretty much all of kindergarten.  Her amazing teacher would dismiss them to line up for lunch by what color they were wearing.  Leah, being practical like her Mama, wanted to wear every color every day so she could maximize her early lining up potential.  It resulted in some hilarious ensembles!

So, here they are, dressed for church on Sunday.  Your job is to guess which girl I dressed.

Here we have Leah.  When did she get so grown up?  Sometimes I wonder how she got to be so darn beautiful!

Then, we have my little cutie pie, Gracie Kate.  I think she is standing on furniture about 70% of the time.  The remaining 30% of the time she is poking her sisters.

And now, the ever adorable Mighty Maggie. 

Her facial expression just kills me!  She came out with this outfit and said, "Mom!  Don't I look just like a tap dancer!"  Yes!

She decided she needed to change after lunch and came out, but not dressed as a tap dancer any more, apparently.

I've heard that mixing patterns is "in" this season.  Maggie = fashion savvy!  I love that her seasonally inappropriate sandals are on the wrong feet.

Mostly I just love her!

So, just in case you need to know the answer for sure, I dressed Gracie :)

Additionally (and this has nothing to do with anything I just wrote), Leah referred to her middle finger as "the big naughty guy" this morning.  I've always referred to it as "the swear finger," but I think I like "the big naughty guy" a lot better!

Have a happy day and be COLORFUL...even if you're wearing neutrals :)

Sunday Snapshots

Here are some little snippets from our Sunday afternoon and evening.  It was a lovely, relaxing time...

Leah and Gracie took a little quiet time to read in the closet while Maggie was still napping.  Gracie is sipping on some hot chocolate, and Leah is reading a Mickey Mouse Christmas book.  I seriously love hearing Leah read and hearing the little girls recite books.

Note to self: put away the Christmas books.

I feel like Disney really knew what they were doing when I was little and they had a family movie on each Sunday night.  Classics like Herbie or Darby O'Gill and the Little People or Swiss Family Robinson.  As a mom, I know that we're all really worn out by Sunday night and just need to unwind.

Hence movie night at our house.  

Movie night starts out with SCS (Silly Cereal Supper).  I don't always make dazzling  meals and this is certainly one of those times.  The girls think it's hilarious to have cereal for supper, and I love that it's SO easy.

We also always have shakes and popcorn (or "copcorn" as Gracie says) during the movie.  

I originally tried to serve shakes and popcorn for supper on Sunday, but, while Aaron and I liked it, the girls were appalled.  Maggie, who sometimes only eats 4 craisins dipped in ketchup and one bite of some sort of carb for supper, was just disgusted by my non-traditional approach to supper.  So, now we have it with the movie.

Here the girls are watching the funniest movie ever...some sort of 3 Musketeers movie with Mickey, Donald, and Goofy that we got from the library.

They do not look like it's the funniest movie ever in this picture, though...must have been a slow moment!

Leah and Maggie were laughing so hard!  I love hearing such a genuine laugh from them!  

They were laughing for good reason, too, as the movie was really, really funny...if you like slapstick, physical humor.  

I love slapstick, physical humor!  Apparently I pretty much have the sense of humor of a 6 year old :)

Then, after the girls went to bed, it was time for Downton Abbey and some scones.

If you ever wonder just how much Aaron loves me, look no farther than the moment above.  

Yes, he plans date nights.  Yes, he does 95% of the dishes.  Yes, he picks up a vast majority of my messes.  And yes, he sits with me while I watch what is essentially a historic British soap opera on PBS.

I think he's in it for the scones, though.  They're delightful!

My dad always says that "simple pleasures are the best."  And I would have to agree.`

Island Spice Pork Tenderloin with Mango Avocado Salsa

I would never lead you astray when it comes to a delicious meal.

This is a delicious meal!  As a matter of fact, it is one of my favorites!

As a side note, I like to put chalkboard paint on anything that is holding still.

For starters, make the Mango Avocado Salsa.  Avocados are, apparently, the world's healthiest food at the moment.  I feel like I should be eating 5 a day...smothered with coconut oil, drizzled with dark chocolate, and sprinkled with chia seeds and quinoa.  Then I would be the healthiest person...ever!  ;)

Before I give you the recipe, let's have a little talk about how to pick an avocado!  An Aldi employee told me this trick years ago, and it's a winner!

Pick off that little nub on the end and see what color it is under there.

If it is nice and creamy green, the inside will be nice and creamy green.  Mine was nice and creamy green when I got it, but it got a tad brown when it was sitting out.  

See!  Inner beauty...even in an avocado!

It's super easy to get the pit out when you whack a knife in there, as shown above.  Then you simply twist it and the pit comes right out.  Plus, you feel awesome whacking something with a knife.  Or, at least I do!

Then, I cut the avocado while it's still in the skin.  Be gentle when you do this as you don't want to cut your hand.

Then, you just scoop it out with a spoon, as you can see above.

Without further ado, here are the ingredients (aren't they pretty!):

1 mango, peeled and diced

1 avocado, peeled and diced

2 smallish roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced (I'm a wimp with spice, so you could add a whole one if you're brave)

1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro

Juice from one fresh lime

1/4 cup chopped red onion

1 tablespoon oil (canola or olive oil)

Salt and Pepper to taste

*I like to cut up the spicy, stinky things like jalapeno and onion first.  The acidity of the tomatoes and lime that you cut and squeeze after those things helps get rid of the stink.  I also cut the avocado last so it has less time to get brown.

Gently fold the ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

I like to make this in the morning and then have lunch with my little cuties.

Maggie wanted me to take her picture with her 15 M&Ms that she got for a treat after lunch!

Then, during nap time or whenever, get your spices together for Island Spice Pork Tenderloin.

1 teaspoon salt (I used the coarse, kosher variety.  I'd do a little less if using table salt)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Combine the spices and pat them on trimmed pork tenderloin.

I was going to post a picture of what that looks like but decided not to as it just looked really gross...you're welcome :)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil over medium high heat in an oven proof skillet.  When it's really hot, add the pork tenderloin.  Brown it on each side for about 4 minutes total...about 1 minute each side.  

If you are like me and don't have an oven proof skillet, simply cover the handle with a couple of layers of aluminum foil and it does the trick!

Pop the skillet in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the pork reaches 140-150 degrees.  

Tent the skillet with foil for 10 minutes before slicing.

While the meat is resting, your daughter may pretend to ice skate on books on top of duplo blocks.  

Or maybe that's just my daughter.  I love love double love how creative and imaginative she is!

Back to the pork!  Look at that delicious spice crust...

Pull your Mango Avocado Salsa out of the refrigerator.

Top a few slices of pork tenderloin with a couple of spoonfuls of salsa.

So, so delicious!  I served it with brown rice (this is my favorite way to prepare it) and green beans for me and mandarin oranges for everyone else.

This is also the meal that keeps on giving!  The salsa is delicious with chips, plus it actually keeps really well in the fridge for a few days without getting brown.

I like to use the leftover rice and pork to make pork fried rice.  Just scramble an egg or two, add the rice with some powdered garlic and ginger and soy sauce to taste.  Stir in cubed pork and some thawed frozen peas or whatever other veggies you like.  Heat through.  It's not necessarily restaurant quality, but it's a nice way to use leftovers!

Make this for supper!  You won't regret it!

Here's where I got the recipes!  I adapted them a bit and decided to combine them, but I certainly didn't make them up on my own :)

Island Spice Pork Tenderloin

Mango Avocado Salsa

I (FINALLY!) Did It!

When I was in high school, I was fairly certain that the only people who had their noses pierced did drugs.  Obviously that's ridiculous, but regardless, having a pierced nose is much more mainstream now.  

I've wanted to get my nose pierced for 2 or 3 years, and I finally decided to do it on my birthday, but I was sick, so I couldn't go.  Call me crazy, but I didn't think a freshly pierced nose and a neti pot bottle thing would go well together.

Fast forward to this past Saturday when I drove the mighty minivan to one of the tattoo places in town.  

I feel like I'm probably one of the few minivan drivers to visit my friendly local tattoo studio/parlor/shop/place/whatever they're called.

The tatted up guy who was working there was really nice.  

I was nervous, so I was talking.  A lot.

In case you were wondering they keep pretty busy doing tattoos, but he's not sure how many they do each week.  I know this because I just kept on talking and asking questions :)

Anyway, we went into the very clean and sterile piercing room.  Because tattoo people are awesome and edgy, they use black doctor gloves instead of the white/clear-ish ones.  

I said to the guy (because I was talking so darn much), "I've given birth to 3 babies without drugs, but I'm still afraid this is really going to hurt."

That might have been a little TMI for my tattooed friend, but he said, "It's not bad...it's just a little pinch."

In retrospect, I feel that, considering the large amount of tattoos he has, he probably has a really high pain tolerance and I should take what he says with a grain of salt.  

But, he was right!  It really didn't hurt that much.  It was certainly sore and tender after it was pierced, but really not that bad at all.

Taking care of it is pretty much a part time job.  I have to clean it 3 times a day and put cotton balls soaked in salt water on it once a day.  

Seriously!  Part.  Time.  Job.

But, I feel awesome!

Here's the before shot:

And the after:

Aaron really likes it!  

The girls had interesting responses.

I didn't tell them what I was doing, but I gave them a clue that it was sparkly.  Leah guessed!  She's such a good little detective :)

Maggie said, "You have a sparkly freckle like Bri!"  Bri is our friend who has her nose pierced.

Gracie looked at it and loudly said, "nipple."  

I'm not going to lie, that was a little disconcerting.

When I stopped laughing, I informed her that it was a sparkle.  Thankfully, she hasn't talked about it since!

I'm so glad I finally did it!  And when I get sick of it or start looking ridiculous when I get older, I can take it out.  Easy peasy!