The red dress

I had this big, elaborate plan of surprising Greg when he came home last night

wearing the dress above /\

making a delicious homemade dinner (complimented with sparkling cider)

and setting the mood below \/ of rose petals and candlelight....

with Frank Sinatra faintly playing in the background.

Dreamy right?

Well, as life has been lately...Greg worked ALL day Saturday (beginning at 5am) and had no promise of coming home at a descent hour. And as I have learned in the past, there is little point in "guessing" when he will arrive home (due to the nature of the business). So, instead of trying to keep a meal warm, sucking my stomach in while wearing that dress, and watching the clock to no avail.....I decided to scrap it, and wait until I heard from him with a definite arrival time.

To my surprise, he called at 4:30 saying he was on the way home. Hooray! Except, I had no meal prepared, and as far as my appearance....well I showered at least (!) and was wearing my [nicer-looking] sweats. And on top of it, there was no babysitter lined up for the evening.

But, I have learned that Greg would rather have a happy, home(y) wife, instead of a stressed out, fancy wife.

So, Greg took a quick shower. We threw Kensie in the car seat. I brushed my hair and spruced up my makeup. And we headed out to eat at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Just the 3 of us.

Kensie fussed the last half of the meal, so we scarfed down the rest of our food, headed home and put her to bed by 7:30.

It was not what I had pictured for a special Valentines night, but at least we had some movie-watching, cuddle-couch time after Kensie went to bed :). Comfy sweats and all.

High chair cuteness and a puzzle...

Kensie has been enjoying her new high chair more than ever! It provides a much better view than the bouncy seat ever had [at only 2 inches off the ground]. I can tell she loves being a part of what's happening at the table (even though she hasn't started on cereal or baby food yet...we'll find out at her check-up today if it's time...).

Oh my!...Gesundheit!

And here's what I've accomplished the last 3 days...



Hope you have a wonderful Valentines Day!

5 months

Another month under her belt, and not a care in the world!

(must be nice)

Not much else going on these days....just lots of snow, puzzles, Seinfeld episodes, drinking hot tea, and trying to think of V-day ideas on a budget.

What are YOU doing for the day of love??

Life of a blogger

It's been one whole year since I officially became a blogger. Prior to, my first avenue to stay connected with friends and family was the ever-popular Facebook. It's a fast and easy way to briefly keep people up-to-date with the going's on in life. But, once I discovered the world of blogging, I was hooked. While I don't consider myself a "fanatic" (yet), I have enjoyed the journey over the past year. It has become a tool for recording special moments, expressing and (yes) sometimes venting about this thing called life. In my opinion, it beats FB any day of the week. There's a tendency for me to want to depict my life as perfect. And (like anyone) I only want to post the best pictures of myself on my profile. However, that's not real life. And while I have not totally given into posting what I consider "less-than-satisfactory" pictures of myself here on this blog, I DO feel free to write about my imperfect life. It's been a good way to force me to write, even during weeks I don't want to. And wow. What freedom. Things that I used to consider such a "big deal" to talk about are not so big anymore.

Blogging has pushed me to be more vulnerable that's for sure....now if only I could conquer it in person (always a bit tougher).

If you've never taken it up, give it try! You will be surprised how much you have to write about....

~adorabilatee~ GIVEAWAY!

Hey you!

Have a little girlie?

Like cute clothes??

Like free stuff????

Check out my blogging buddy and her website to enter in a free giveaway here...

And even if you don't win, you won't regret checking out her adorable outfits from her line called ~adorabilatee~

[need I say more?]

Coupon fairy

After a loooong weekend away, (full of fun, but exhausting activities) I came home to a [thankfully] clean house. However, the fridge was another story...4 eggs, 2 carrots, a lonely tortilla in the meat/cheese drawer (which had no meat OR cheese btw) and an inside fridge door stocked full of useless condiments.

Did I also mention there were literally 2 diapers left in the whole house? (I have a bad habit of not stocking up on these...EVER). So needless to say, I ventured to the nearest Meijer for some much needed groceries and other miscellaneous items (bleach, floss, laundry soap, etc...why is it that you run out of everything at once??)

With a lengthy list in hand and on a mission, I ventured into the store in full anticipation of how much would be spent in the end. Since the health and beauty section was closest to the entrance, I headed there first to check "floss" off my list. I'm usually a store-brand buyer, but floss is on the exception list. Glide. Mint Glide to be exact. And lo and behold, a coupon was taped to the front of the exact one I wanted! And a good coupon too. One whole dollar off! I skipped off with a smile, ready to tackle the rest of the list.

As I neared the end of the grocery aisles, my cart was full and getting harder to turn on the corners. I was almost done, but had one more stop to make. The cleaning supplies aisle. I picked up the laundry soap and bleach I needed without hardly stopping the cart. Now just one more thing...something to spray those icky kitchen counters with. Not knowing exactly what I wanted, I scanned the never-ending shelves of spray bottles. And...can you believe it (?!) there was yet another coupon taped to the front of one of them! I quickly grabbed it, and happily headed to check-out.

So, now you're wondering...who was the mysterious coupon cutter? And, who [apparently] thinks of wandering around Meijer to tape them on various items?? I don't know, but I'm convinced God gave me my very own coupon fairy that day. And even though I spent more than I anticipated on a whole, I saved $12.00 on in-store products, and $2.00 in coupons. Thanks fairy coupon-giver. :)

The end.

Sweet Potato Fries

I have had this for lunch the last 3 days in a row!!! It's so yummy, and I can't get enough of them! Here's the simple recipe copied here.

I didn't add any of the spices listed from the website...just salt and pepper and a little EVOO. But they are STILL amazing!

I know you will enjoy them, and I bet your kids will too!