election almost over. I. CAN'T. WAIT.

Wow, so glad the election is tomorrow! I never remember seeing so much hate in any election before. I guess though with social media it is blasted in our face on a daily basis. I just can't understand why people don't want their candidate to win because they like his POLICIES instead of making it so personal. Both sides are guilty of this. People just generalize and say the candidate they don't like is all about one thing and then scream about it every day. I happen to think the candidate I am not voting for is a very nice man and has a beautiful family. I'm not voting for him because I don't agree with the POLICIES he wants to enact. I do not think he is evil! On a positive note a few things I did like from the election.

The cutest trick or treaters!


Love this video,definitely how I feel now.


The Obama Campaign Scares Supporters with Fake News Report

and links to a couple of more funny videos....
One on Presidential Mom Jeans and the presidents that wore them
http://www.buzzfeed.com/amyodell/presidential-mom-jeans-a-retrospective

Lastly a video of the Best and Worst Moments of the 2012 Election
http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/the-best-and-worst-of-the-2012-election

       

happy halloween!

Noah was so excited to be Spiderman this year! He has seen all his movies and cartoons over and over. He told Britt last year on Halloween night that this year that is what he wanted to be. He had seen a Dad dressed up like Spiderman that night and he pretended to spin a web for Noah. He couldn't stop talking about it how cool it was! I got his costume about a month ago. I let him try it on once to see if it would fit and of course he had to try out all his excellent Spiderman moves. Whatever Noah is for Halloween the minute he puts on his costume he is immediately in character. I remember the year Britt was so sick and pregnant with Emeri and he just had this kind of funky car costume. He didn't care though. The minute he put it on he was zooming around the house pretending like he was a car. We had been pretty depressed because Britt was so sick but he made all of us lol that night! As for Emeri this year she was a lot harder because she basically doesn't like anything on her head and almost all costumes have headpieces  The one thing she will wear is a light hood. She does try to pull it off like when we try to put a bow on her but when she pulls straight up it won't come off like a bow. So the one costume that worked was Little Red Riding Hood. So that was it and she seemed pretty happy with it!

Matt and his friends continued on with the Super Hero theme this year. Matt being the Joker and his friends as Batman and Robin :) Danielle did not get dressed up this year which is a first since she was a little girl. Her life as been crazy lately with travel and her wedding. She always has the best costumes! Looking forward to having her back in the swing of things next year!

march 2012 rewind

I went to Britt's for St. Patricks Day and we did a lot of picture taking and cookie making. Love every minute I get to hang out with these kiddos!

Noah's favorite part, dipping in the cookie dough :)

or maybe putting sprinkles on.

get in my belly...yum!!

A striped and flowered bathing suit I got Emeri so she is ready to 

hit the beach in the summer. Love her big big eyes!

Noah loves soccer and is always up for practice. He can't wait 

for this fall when he will be playing on a team.

A moment I don't want to forget and saw many times in Emeri's first year.  

Attached to her Mom in her front pack to always be close to her :)

A kiss in the park ♥ as we say goodbye to March.

february 2012

Catching up, from the many months I missed!

First up Valentines 2012

 Back in the days when Emeri would wear a bow...haha! 

Love the way Noah looks out for his little sister :)

Emeri's favorite little red chair. It is just her size and 

she loves to sit in it and feel like a big girl!

She always keeps an eye on her big brother. He has been known to 

get in a bit of mischief once in awhile :)

We also went camping in Death Valley in February with Danielle, Tom and his parents. 

So great having them close by so we can do things like this.

Tom and his Mom made us their delicious campfire tacos 

with homemade salsa. So yummy!

Tons of beautiful scenery 

My beautiful Mom turned 84 this last February 10. Still is as healthy and active as ever!

Noah & Liam...buddies, celebrating Liam's 4th birthday at the end of the month.

They are so much alike and always have so much fun together!

Jump House Fun

My sweet girls ♥

My little buddy who always keeps us entertained!

recipe fail

Wow I haven't done a blog post since June. Was so busy with Danielle's wedding and enjoying this summer. With Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook it sometimes seems unnecessary. Yet, there are times I like to put down my thoughts which work better on a blog. A lot has been going on but first I wanted to post about this recipe I just tried. Cup of Joe has been posting recipes with the catch title The Best You Will Ever Have!  When I saw "The Best Brussel Sprouts You Will Ever Have" come up I had to try it. Brussel Sprouts are my fave. This recipe included Fish Sauce which I have never used but had been meaning too. I love fish and so I read what was in the bottle of Fish Sauce and it said it was made out of anchovies. I thought to myself this is going to be good because I love anchovies and I can eat them right out of the package. I chopped the herbs and garlic for the sauce and then opened the jar. Wow it was the worst smell ever! I couldn't figure out what was going on since it was made out of anchovies and I love them. I thought maybe after I put in all the ingredients it would change the taste. So I left the sauce in the fridge overnight to marry the flavors. Did not work! In the morning it was still horrible and had to throw it out. Wasn't about to serve it to my guests. I ended up roasting the Brussel Sprouts at 425 with olive oil, garlic pepper and salt and sprinkling them with parmesan cheese. My usual way of cooking them. So much for trying to put a new spin on them. Britt called me the next day and said she had tried 3 recipes on my Pinterest page and they were all amazing. So funny because one of them was a brussel sprout recipe. Guess I should check my own recommendations! Here are the 3 taste tested and husband approved recipes that Brittany made. 

Toasted Sesame Ginger Salmon

Oven Roasted Potatoes 

Caramelized Brussel Sprouts

family fun

Over at the blog nyctaughtme she has the funniest post about what she got her husband for his Birthday. He doesn't like her to get him presents and he doesn't like celebrating his Birthday. So she picked out a few gems for him at CVS. It reminded me of my brothers when we were teenagers. On Christmas Eve at 5:30 p.m. a half an hour before the stores closed for Christmas Day, my brothers would panic and run over to our local drug store to buy presents for the entire family. They always put off Christmas shopping until the last second. Needless to say their presents were hilarious, just as hers are!

photo: nyctaughtme

Emeri's 1st Birthday Party

Emeri's 1st Birthday Party was this last Sunday. Before this I babysat Noah and Emeri for a week and the whole time I was taking care of them I kept thinking how will Brittany be able to plan her party. I seriously felt like I didn't have a free moment. Noah goes strong all day and Emeri only takes one nap. During her nap time I would eat. The only other time to do crafts and get a party ready was after the kids went to bed. Too bad at that point I would crash from exhaustion! She clearly has more energy then me because even with the kids going a hundred miles an hour she manged to put together a cute party for Emeri. 

Here are some of my favorite moments.

Emeri digging into her smash cupcake.

Her beautiful cake and pretty table.

Birthday hats and pink lollipops. 

Emeri's sweet birthday outfit! Her daddy picked it out. She is just about to pull her bow off  here. I love her in bows but we have to distract her to get a picture with it on. She is so not a fan!

Here is the 12 months of Emeri that Brittany has been working on since she was born. Every month a pic of her in a onesie with a different fabric as a background.

I really loved how Brittany did the Bubble Station. So cute! The kids had tons of fun using it 

as you can see below.

Noah looking to annihilate the cupcake pinata.

then grabbing his candy booty and running to put it on the table and then back for more....lol!

My mom eating cotton candy for the first time in her life!

Emeri clearly in heaven with frosting all over her face. The rest of the kids wetting their appetite for the big cake. A happy happy day for all, but shed a tiny tear that one year is gone by already!

welcome to the world baby shower

Such a cute idea for a baby shower.

via: youaremyfave

photos: Diana of Yan Photography

I want to know you

I want to know you. You seem like someone worth knowing. Every day I feel like I’m surrounded by people with hard edges and sour faces but I get the sense that you’re different. Too often people seem to think that they have the answers to everything. Their faces are trapped in permascowls and they can’t be bothered with anything besides their own narcissism. You aren’t like that. You still ask questions. You’re still looking for the answers.

Ryan O’Connell, I Want To Know You 

via...that kind of woman

Emeri is One!!

I can't believe Emeri is one today! It seems like just yesterday we were on our way to hospital thinking Brittany was having a boy! It was so fun to be surprised just like when I had my kids. Recently I spent a week with Emeri and Noah so Brittany & Andrew could go on a fifth anniversary trip to Seattle. I was a little scared since I had only babysat them for shorter times. It has been a long time since my kids were little and I had forgotten what hard work it is taking care of two little ones. Even with all the hard work I had great fun getting to know them better. I came home with so many wonderful memories and lots of pictures. Since it is Emeri's Birthday today here is what I learned about her.

She loves playing with her brother. Noah is up on the window seat trying to hide from Emeri but haha she's not so little anymore. She found him!

Her she is  after making the climb up on Noah's bed. She loves to doing this! He has a toddler bed so it is perfect for her to practice her climbing because it is so low to the ground. Over and over she does it for an hour or longer. She always wants to climb the stairs but she is way to little for that so this is a good substitute.

See that wall behind Emeri. That is her favorite wall! She is taking a rest here after just walking around that wall about 10 times. She just learned to walk and it is perfect for practice. She walks close to it without holding on but if she loses her balance she can grab on to it. It goes in a circle around the kitchen and Noah loves to follow her around it too. Super fun!

Next something she hates. She hates wearing bows! She looks so cute in them but she is just not into it. So what I do is get Noah and we try to distract her and put one on. Sometimes it works but like here she discovered it and off it goes!

Emeri loves to eat so I thought I would try to let her feed herself. A sink bath seemed like the best place for this experiment. Her she is doing a great job. Glad I decided on the sink as a little seemed to fall off the spoon! She is very proud of herself which you can see next.

I'm awesome!

When it is time to calm down after a hard day, a little bit of Talking Tom always helps. Looking forward to this next year with you and so glad I was able to be your mommy for a whole week. Love you!