1st Silhouette Project!

I'm so excited that I finally got my Silhouette :)  Everyone has been asking what I'm going to make and, honestly, I can't decide!!  The machine has literally been sitting on my kitchen table waiting to be used.  There are so many things I could and want to make that I don't know where to start, so I've been taking my time brainstorming.  After getting all of my "chores" done today I sat down at the table and made this:

(excuse the horrible picture)

I made a heart!  Lame, I know, but it turned out cute (I think).  It's even cuter in person ;)

Any ideas on some super cute stuff I should make?  I'll add them to my list!~

Friday Confessional

* I've read Glamazon's confessions for a while now and just never had the gumption to do one myself
*Yes, I'm one of those blog-stalkers who doesn't comment
*Yes, you can hate me now
*I'm going to try to do a lot better with commenting
*It's just so much easier to read everyone's blogs in my reader where you don't have a place to comment unless you click on the title, which takes you to the blog, then you have to find the comment area, blah, blah, blah, blah
*Does anyone else find that totally frustrating, or is there a way to do it and I'm just completely computer illiterate?
*There's probably a way to do it and I'm just a blog-loser
*Anyway... I'm totally lazy
*I've been up for hours and have done nothing
*Except for "working" on my computer
*At least that's the excuse I give my kiddos
*I really need to take a shower, but I don't want to
*I think showering is totally overrated
*Because then I have to do my hair (which I have a ton of)
*And do my make-up (because I am fugly without it)
*Or maybe I'm just really, really lazy
*Yep, today I am
*If I have to play one more game of "army men" I'm going to shoot myself
*Not really, you don't have to call a suicide watch on me
*It just takes f-o-r-e-v-e-r to set up the 300 little guys so meticulously so they don't fall over just to have your 4 year old and 2 year old knock them over in milliseconds
*Can I say this again?
*Yes, I'm totally lazy...
*Today
*Ok, sometimes twice a week
*Ok, sometimes a lot more than that
*Final confession: 
*This was a ton of fun! :)

Snow...in ABQ!!

One day the boys and I were going through our normal routine, when all of a sudden I looked out the window and saw this:

I know you probably can't tell because of my wonderful photography skills, but it was snowing!!  Not only were we excited to see snow, but these flakes were the biggest I have ever seen.  They were just wistfully floating down from the sky.  I have never seen it snow like this before.  It was breathtaking!

The kids were ecstatic and, of course, had to go right out an play in it.  It snowed pretty hard and fast, so there was a lot to play in.  This is where you can tell we're desert folks, because I didn't have any warm-weather gear to dress them up in.  We did our best, but when they came in I was sure I had given Ty frostbite!!  They had fun and that's all that mattered.  Usually, we're told, snow in ABQ doesn't stick around for very long, but this snow lasted for a couple of days.  I cannot tell you how many times I was asked to go outside and have snowball fights!!  Overall, it was great fun, and a good experience 

for my boys.  I would gladly welcome snow any day :)  (Don't hate me for saying that!)

 Watching if fall (he never wears pants!).

 See, told you they were huge flakes!

 View from our front window.

 View from front door.

 Having fun :)

 Dad is such a good sport to have a snow ball fight. 

(I think he likes it just as much as the boys, though!)

One of the many times we played outside in the snow ;)

Easiest Pumpkin Muffins EVER

For those of you who are not sick of pumpkin, and who do not think it's a sin to eat it after Fall, here is the easiest pumpkin chocolate chip muffin recipe ever:

2 boxes of spice flavored cake mix

1 30 oz. can of pumpkin

12 oz. of chocolate chips

(I prefer mini chips because there's more of them in each muffin!  Sneaky, I know :).)

Bake at 350 for 22-25 mins.

Don't mind the one on top with a bite taken out of it :)

(I know, I really need to take a photography class!  You get the idea, right?!)

Thank you to one of the fabulous blogs I stalk.  You made my night ;)

New Year's Eve

Growing up we had the tradition of having appetizers for dinner on New Year's Eve.  Being the fabulous mom that I am (can you sense the sarcasm?), I have carried on this tradition in my family, so that I can enjoy all the yummy food they can enjoy it like I did and pass it on to their families.  I didn't plan too well for NYE, but I wanted to have some kind of theme, so I gathered all of the white bowls/plates I could fine (which wasn't much) and served the food up in that.  Honestly, it was quite sad, but the kids didn't care or notice.  Next year I will definitely plan ahead!

Told you! Sad!!  It was a seriously sad spread, but the more food we had the more I would've been the one to end up eating it all.  We still have a TON of dip left over.  Anyone want some?

Here's to a better year!

(Honestly, it better be better than last year.  How could it get any worse?  Actually, it could get worse, so I shouldn't even say that.  Knock on wood!)

Christmas Day

This was the first Christmas in probably 10 years that we haven't been with family for Christmas.  I hadn't really given this too much thought until Christmas day.  It was really sad!  I didn't think we would notice or really even mind that our little family was on our own, but we did.  I told Alain that next year we have to be with family.  Isn't that what the holidays are about?  (We've sent out the invite for 2011, that's how sad serious we are about this.)  I think it would make for a much more enjoyable Christmas.

 Ty is obsessed with Mickey, and he needed new sippy cups, so ta-da!

 Isn't he too stinkin' cute?!

 SO excited!

 HaPpY DaY

 More ships to fly around the house-yippee! (Did you sense the sarcasm in that?)

 Again, he loves his "mouse" as he calls it.  He loved on him all day, and Mickey hasn't left his side since.

 More ships to fly around the house!  (YAY!!)

 See what I mean?  Those are all ships :)

Here's the loot.  They were all happy, so that's all that matters :)

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve this year was very low-key.  We I ended up baking all day, so by night time I was done.  Luckily we had my besties, Pei Wei, cook us up some yummy dinner.  Afterwards we opened up our traditional Christmas Eve present (pajamas) and sent the kiddos to bed.  Alain and I had wrapped most of the presents a couple of weeks early, so we just had some final things to do.  We wanted to go look at the Christmas lights around our neighborhood because we have a doosy of a house by us (the picture is at the end of this post), but Ty didn't have a nap, so you all know what that means:  early bed time!  Overall it was a very busy day, but a nice, relaxing, night.

 Boy, Ty sure got the hang of opening presents really fast!

(He got Mickey Mouse pj's-his favorite)

 For some reason I don't have a picture of Cole opening his pj's.  Probably because he ripped through the wrapping like a Tasmanian devil.

(He got Star Wars pj's- his favorite.)

Oh, there's Cole opening his present!  

I just love that Logan is happy with everything he gets :)

(He got some from Old Navy.  I couldn't find his favorite-Star Trek- at a reasonable price.)

Here it is in all it's glory:

I think it's better than the National Lampoon's House!!!  Isn't it awesome?!

Christmas Baking

I love to bake, and I am definitely better at it than I am cooking (like by far, just ask Alain).  So, during the holidays I <3 trying new recipes that I have stalked found from different blog sights.  My favorite was these chocolate peppermint cookies.  Oh, heaven!!  I also attempted to make rolls for the first time in 14 years (bread is not my thing, I always kill the yeast).  I always have fun baking everything, and guess what's even better?  I get to partake of it all!!

 Don't they look fantastic?  (Thanks Jana for your famous recipe!)

 This was the coolest looking jello salad on the blogosphere.  Too bad mine didn't turn out so cute.  It was super-yummy though!

 LOOK!  Delicious!!!!

Sugar cookies.  The dreaded required holiday baking tradition.

I need to make a list of the cookies I made so I don't forget for next year's extravaganza:

chocolate peppermint (divine)

ginger softies (also divine)

peppermint

sugar

white chocolate cranberry

butterscotch

gooey chocolate

I think that's it :)  

(I can't believe I ate baked all those cookies.  Maybe not so many next year.  In all reality, I'll probably end up adding more to my repertoire! YUM!!)

Bye Bye to my BFF

I have had the absolute pleasure of living next to one of my oldest friends (we've known each other for 17 years).  Sadly, this past month, she had to leave me :(  I know it was for the best for her and her family, but dang, I MISS her!!

Here are a couple of fun things we did before she left.

 Went dumpster diving looking for moving boxes.

 See, we found a lot of good ones!

 Isn't she cute?!

She dyed my hair.  

(Can't believe I'm posting this pic!)

 Ty <3's Liz!!  He still asks about her every day :(

Rivards 'n Evans

(They got along so great!)

 We had to take one of just these two because we have one of just them when they were less than a year old.

 :)

 These two are like two peas in a pod!

 Just bugging the heck out of Liz's mom, Dianne. 

(Don't worry, she's used to it.)

 Dora was so good to Liz and her family.

 I know Monique is going to hate that I put this up, but Liz loves you!

Here we all are.  

(Liz did have more friends, but they weren't invited into the kitchen. (Inside joke-ha ha!))

Liz, I love you and you are definitely missed.  Insert sulking here_______.

A Sad, Sad Day :(

This was the day where I could not take it anymore.  I had had enough.  So, I caved and did what any mother would NOT have done.

 I chopped the curls :(  He was looking more and more like a girl, and it was getting in his eyes.  I had to clip it back everyday and it made him look like a girl Bam-Bam.

 It doesn't look like a lot, but believe me, it was.

 He loved showing it off!

 See, here he's saying, "look at the top."

"

What a stud.

  (Don't mind the crown of a Christmas tree.)