The Fast is Over!

Wow! That was HARD! All and all I did a pretty good job but it's good to be back and boy has a lot happened in a few weeks. A few highlights from March were Annaleigh's third birthday and her preschool spring program "It's a Buggy World." Uncle Brad came by to celebrate his favorite niece turning 3!Showing off her new big girl bike.Play dough= hours of fun+ 1 big mess!going through gifts and cards at home.

Makin' a wish.

We decided to go for a low-key play group birthday party this year. We planned to have a picnic and play at the park, but the weather was yucky so we opted for "Stroller Skating" instead. A with Ms. Stormey (aka the best 2 year old preschool teacher in the world!)No stage fright herecutest lady bug aroundpicking her nose. nice.

I have a lot more to catch up on, but I will save that for later!

Media Fast

My Bible Study small group has been studying the book by John Ortberg "The Life You've always Wanted" which focuses on spiritual disciplines. I have been reminded that I fill my life and time with so many things that are either time wasters or take away my focus from Kingdom living...now, by NO MEANS do I think blogs or Facebook is evil...but I will admit it takes up a ton of my time on a daily basis...so, I have decided to totally "fast" from them until after Easter. I pray God's richest blessings on all of you and I look forward to catching up again with you and your families in a few weeks!
Love,
Laurie

What are we doing??

We are skiing in Park City, Utah...yeah, be jealous!!! Be back soon!!

P day

Annaleigh had "P" day at school the last 2 days where they eat pancakes, pizza, peaches, and learn about all the things that start with the letter P. They also exchanged Valentines and treats so every day after school we have been coming down from all the excitement (and sugar!)

We had to get straight into the bath today! P day is exhausting!

Food of Love

In honor of Valentine's day on Saturday I thought I would post one of MY Valentine's favorite meals. It's perfect for an "at home" date night after you get the kids to bed!

3/4 package linguine pasta
1/2 cup butter
3 cloves chopped garlic
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 (6.5 ounce) cans chopped clams with juice ( you can add a can of whole clams (drained) in addition if you want more...I make it both ways!)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (use the real stuff NOT the green can, pretty please!) cheese

DIRECTIONS
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and mushrooms until golden brown. Stir in clams with juice, parsley, salt, pepper, & white wine. Cook over medium heat until hot. Toss with pasta until evenly coated. Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese and some crushed red pepper if you can handle the heat.

This picture was NOT staged!!

This is what is actually on my kitchen counter right now. Annaleigh has the flu plus her asthma has flared up, Russell has "not the flu" which is to say, he feels rotten but won't admit he actually might have the flu...and I am trying EVERYTHING in my power not to get sick!!!

One year in 40 seconds

One Year in 40 Seconds - Watch more funny videos here

I saw this video this morning and it reminded me how fleeting this life is and how every minute is precious. I hope everyone has a wonderful new year...remember to hug the people you love tight.

Annaleigh the Weather Girl and to Georgia and Back

Before we left for Georgia last week, we met our good friends the Montana's for dinner in Dallas

After dinner, we walked down to Fountain Square. Obviously, it was a very WINDY night.

I cracked up when I saw how this picture turned out. I was trying to get A's picture in front of the fountains and it ended up looking like she was on report as a weather girl in a hurricane...you know...pictures like this:She's thinking about a future career in weather like mommy's cousin Ty...except Ty isn't a WEATHERMAN, he's a meteorologist!A and Mike had fun anyway!On a completely different note, when we got to Georgia, we had the opportunity to honor the life of Beth's grandfather, Mr. Bill Moore who passed away last week. It was such a blessing to hear story after story of this wonderful man who served as an elder and a dear friend to my own Papa Moore. Beth's grandfather was a spiritual giant who touched many lives including my own. Some of my very favorite memories of childhood are of playing on the dairy farm.
In our family, we open up gifts to each other on Christmas Eve and then Santa comes on Christmas morning. A was the designated Elf this year who passed out all the gifts. she took her job very seriously.My little sis Rachel and boyfriend Ben.Sweet Mama Moore

DO NOT CALL CPS!!! A voluntarily crawled into my mom's dog's new crate after we put it together. She thought she was being hilarious!!

After opening presents, A and Mamie made some reindeer food for all of Santa's hard working fleet. She was super super excited about this task!

A and Mamie scattered it out on the lawn with care...

And then got in her new Christmas PJ's.

Mommy and Daddy put in word with Santa that she was a very very good girl this year!

and here's the loot that Santa left...and he even wrote her a note!
The first thing she did was look everything over to make sure everything she asked for was there...and, of course, it was.

I am starting her out early, right?? I PROMISE she asked Santa for a pink vacuum...thanks for the suggestion, Becky!

Russell's family is coming tomorrow for Christmas #2...more to follow...

A's Christmas party at GCS

A's buddy "Zacky"

This was as close as A would get to Santa

Good friends Olivia and Brennan

Painting her hand for their craft

Her little class eating snacks

Cheesy Smile!!!

JUST A REMINDER!!!

Sauerkraut

So about once a year I crave Sauerkraut. I don't have a complete aversion to the stuff (I am thinking a lot of you are saying "eeeeewwwwwww!" right about now) but I just don't really want it that often. Well, today is the day that I am craving it this year. Probably because its about 28 degrees outside. Here's what I am making for dinner tonight:

Fried Pork chops
Homemade applesauce
Mashed Potatoes
and Cola Sauerkraut...I have already sampled some and it is yummy!

Here's the recipe:

1/4 cup butter
1 medium onions, chopped
1 (16 ounce) jar sauerkraut
1/2 (12 fluid ounce) can cola-flavored carbonated beverage
1/4 cup water (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Melt the butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Saute onions in butter until translucent. Stir in the sauerkraut and cola.
Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour, adding up to 1/4 cup of water if necessary to prevent sticking. Remove cover and increase heat to medium for at least 15 minutes, or until most of the juice cooks down, and the sauerkraut glistens.


I know it isn't low-fat or terribly healthy...But baby, its COLD outside.

Random Thoughts

I am in a very random mood tonight. We have been holed up at home all weekend with Annaleigh sick and I have had some major cabin fever...

Have you had this stuff?? It is Evil/Heaven on earth. First taste, you are in love...5 minutes later you realize you are going to have to do an extra 30 minutes on the tread mill. R picked it up at SuperTarget awhile ago...now I buy some every time I go! I was looking at the nutrition facts tonight ( I highly advise AGAINST doing this) and saw it only had 5 grams a fat per serving...not too bad, except there are 18 Servings per container. yes 18. I am not kidding.

I was admiring my Tree tonight and looking at these beautiful ornaments my FAB MIL got us for Christmas last year. Her entire tree is full of these Christopher Radko ornaments. I drool when I look at it. My husband and his bro just threaten to auction all the ornaments off on EBAY when she croaks...yes, they are cruel!!!

She got me this one last year in honor of the Susan G. Komen 3 day event I participated in.

She got this one because...well, I am from Georgia. As a side note, I love my tree, but I HATE the way artificial trees look in pictures!!!

Lastly, my kid is a nut. She has been sick all weekend. I mean 102-fever-and-coughing-every- breath sick...and MOMMY is sick and tired of it. Yes, I realize my job is to take care of sick people...but they don't say "mommy" a MILLION times a day (and if they did, I would immediately call for a Psych. consult)

I think I will wrap up the weekend by watching my all-time-favorite, laugh-until-your belly-hurts Christmas movie and have a stiff drink, I mean, a nice warm mug of hot cocoa=)

8 Things

Hollee Tagged me for this 8 things list. I figured if she had time to do it as a mom of infant triplets, I could make time too.


8 Things I Did Today…
1. Got Annaleigh ready for school.
2. Gave her a breathing treatment 30 minutes later...her daddy brought her home because she was coughing too much.
3. Did some laundry.
4. Took my mid-term HESI (nursing boards) test.
5. Went to the grocery store.
6. Sat in a ton of DFW traffic.
7.Gave another breathing treatment to A.
8. Washed more clothes

8 Of My Favorite Restaurants…
1. Chick-fil-a (Annaleigh calls it Chicky-A)
2. Calypso Cafe in Nashville, TN (I miss that place SOOOO much!!)
3. P.F. Changs
4. La Madeline
5. Pappadeaux's
6. Uncle Julio's
7. Italian Bistro in Roanoke, TX
8. Carrabba's

8 Shows I Watch…
1. The Office
2. House
3. Gossip Girl (ok, I admit it...but I can only watch it on DVR because Russell refuses to watch it with me)
4. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
5. Stuff on The Food Network
6. Law and Order
7. Chuck
8. Stuff on Noggin with Annaleigh

8 Things I Wish For…
1. To be DONE with nursing school.
2. Annaleigh's Asthma to go away.
3. Someone to help me clean my house.
4. Gas logs for our fireplace.
5. The economy would bounce back and people would quit losing jobs.
6. People would get over THEMSELVES!
7. My cat would run away.
8. oh yeah, World Peace????


8 Things I Look Forward To…
1. Finishing nursing school (can you tell I have that on my mind today?)
2. Seeing my mom, grandma, and sister in Georgia in a few weeks.
3. Going on some fun trips this spring with friends...skiing, arizona, and to the beach.
4. Watching Annaleigh play with all her Christmas gifts.
5. Taking my mom's yoga class in Georgia while we are there.
6. Watching Annaleigh grow and change and learn...
7. Watching myself grow(figuratively speaking) and change and learn
8. Laughing with Russell....for the rest of our lives.

8 People I tag: Kylea, Suzanna, Amanda, Emily Jo, Jenn S., Ashley N., Calista R., and Andrea N.

Christmas Favorites

So, I am in the midst of finals and obviously have been neglecting the blog...however, we are getting in the Christmas spirit around here. I thought I would share with you some of my favorite things about the holiday season...

Gingersnap Lattes from Starbucks...formally known as GingerBREAD lattes. Guess Gingersnap sounded more marketable??
I love this book. I feel all nostalgic and warm and fuzzy when I read it.

No, this is NOT our house. I personally prefer lights that are a little more understated on my own home, but I LOVE to drive around and see all the Christmas lights...and I feel depressed when they are all gone in January.

AHHHHH...Bing Crosby. My favorite "crooner" of all time. I can listen to his Christmas albums over and over again.

What are YOUR favorite things about Christmas??