Green

Today I went out and bought a blender, FINALLY! We left ours in England because it was 220. I kept on saying we need a blender and always forgot or thought next time. I asked Nick if he wanted to drink a "green monster" with me today and he said he will try it. I got the ingredients we didn't have on hand and blended it up.

It definitely does not look appetizing but it was not that bad. Nick actually really like it, and so did Alexia. I was not loving it because it tasted like banana. I do not like bananas, not at all. I still drank all of it so I am very proud of myself. I plan on having one every morning. Tomorrow will have blueberries in it. I will look up some more recipes so we can have a pretty decent variety of options.

I have also been trying to cook healthier. I found this toddler cook book and the recipes are for 2 adults and 2 kids, so portion control is a lot easier this way.

I decided on a spinach bake for tonight. I wanted something without pasta and wtih some greens, so this was perfect.

Mine ended up looking like this:

It tasted great, and Nick said it was amazing! Usually my fatty foods get the amazing rating so I am glad I have some healthy options to turn to. I want Alexia to stay as healthy as she is and to have healthy eating habits. Who am I kidding, Nick and I need those things too so I just have to keep it up.

Getting it Done

I am actually really proud of myself for following through with getting things done and trying to better myself. The only TV I have seen this past week were a few episodes of Super Why and Yo Gabba Gabba. I don't even really mind it. I have made Alexia 2 scarves, finished the third hair bow for my friend and bagged it up (haven't quite made it to the post office yet), a valentine's day wreath, a care package for my friend's daughter with only one thing missing (who knew it would be so hard to find a cute ice cream bowl in the middle of winter in Alaska), and last but not least I am almost done with Alexia's quilt top. Oh, I almost forgot the trim in the master bedroom is now officially done as well, it is patched, sanded, and painted! Yippy!!!

We got a call yesterday and today ( I guess they forgot they called yesterday) that my camera is being shipped back here. I am so excited to get it back. All the things I have mentioned above with get pictures taken of them and posted soon enough.

I am also going to start the green movement in two days. I have to go to the store and buy the stuff for it. Nick and I are going to try it to see if it really makes a difference in the way we feel. I am really optimistic and hoping it improves my energy level and of course improves my health. I found a gymnastics class for Alexia so I need my energy to keep up with her. It is a class where the parents are involved in the classes. When she becomes three she will be taking classes by herself. She will also be able to take the dance classes when she is three as well. She already tumbles and flips (with our help of course) so she will love it to bits. I am excited just thinking of all the cute dance outfits I can make her, squeal!!! Nick said the place is near the zoo so we might be able to go there too on the days she has classes. We plan on getting a season pass for the zoo this year.

Well, I better go and try to finish the quilt top so I can take pictures of it when my camera gets here. Hopefully there will be some fun pictures the next time I post!!!

Crayons

I decided to take Alexia's broken crayons and make new ones in the shape of hearts considering Valentine's Day is in a few weeks. My first attempt was a massive fail so be careful of things you read on the internet!!! My second attempt turned out much better.

They are super cute and Alexia loves using them but the problem is I apparently used the wrong kind of crayons. These were washable and there is a wax layer on top that has no pigment so if you draw with that side you get nothing. This frustrates Alexia so I have to some how scrape off the top layer for her. How? I am not sure yet. Thinking cap is now officially on.

Trim

We FINALLY got the trim done in the living room. The flooring has been done for forever and we put quarter round moulding (well something similar because I did not like the look of it and found something that blended with our existing moulding) up a long while ago too. The last step of finishing it just kinda fell to the way side. We got our butts in gear and Nick patched up all the nail holes and I painted the trim. Since we split the job it wasn't so bad.

I have no idea how but I got paint on my butt without noticing.

When the tape came off, there was a nice little surprise for me. The tape did not stick to he floor well for some odd reason and this is what happened everywhere!!

I had to use toothpicks to clean up all the paint smudges off the floor. My knees and fingers might not ever recover from it! I also want to say sorry for the picture quality. My camera is still in the shop and our point and shoot broke too. You can't trust a one year old with anything apparently!

Better

I have completely neglected this blog since we left for Hawaii in November. Lots has happened since and I guess this is a mini re-cap: Hawaii was awesome in every which way and can't wait to go back. Thanksgiving was yummy and we had friends over at our house. Nick went TDY for a couple of weeks so we didn't start Christmas fun until he got back. Christmas was so much fun because Alexia was way more into it and opened all the presents (even mine and Nick's). New Years was pretty uneventful since we stayed at home and enjoyed being lazy. Now we are in the middle of January and time is flying by so fast.

I was thinking about resolutions for a while and making lists here and there. Nick and I made our traditional To-Do list for the year. It is not so much a resolutions list, more of a wish-list for the year. Two years ago we did really good (we did all but one) but last year was a different story. The only thing we accomplished was going to Hawaii. Everything else we kinda fell short on, oh well. This year we are determined to accomplish it all, fingers crossed.

Now back to my resolutions. After a bunch of mini lists and thinking about it long and hard I decided I only have one resolution and it will be my resolution every year from now on. I will try to be better. I want to be better at all that I do. I want to be a better cook and expand my recipe collection. I want to be better at finishing all my projects. I want to be better at keeping up with the laundry and dishes (this one is one of the blah ones). I want to be better at taking care of myself physically and mentally.

Most importantly I want to be a better mom to Alexia and a better wife to Nick. I will work better at finding things that make their lives better. I already have a lot of things planned for Alexia and I to do this year. There are plans for Nick and I to do things together as well.

As long as I try, I will succeed. And as a side note when I get my camera back I will be posting lots of pictures because I want to be better at taking pictures and using my camera properly!

Candy Addict!!!

Alexia has tasted the sweet amazingness of candy and now Nick and I are in BIG trouble. On Friday we went to a little Halloween fair at a near by park. There were games, crafts, and a make shift trick-or-treat trail. Alexia refuses to say trick or treat in public (she does it at home and in the car I promise) so she just said "please" to get the candy. She opened one of the chocolates and it was over!!! "More please" is pretty much all I have heard all weekend. Then crying when she doesn't get it. Today she surprised us all and said "pretty please" so of course Nick said she has to get candy now! Good thing we go to Hawaii tomorrow so she can forget about candy. Candy what? Candy who? Never heard of it girl. Here, have an apple!

Halloween Party

We have people over every Sunday for football so I decided this Sunday we should have a Halloween Party since everyone will be here. Everyone ended up having a good time.

This is the spread

I made regular cupcakes and I also tried cupcakes in a jar. I have made pie in a jar before and saw cupcakes in a jar from www.iambaker.com so I decided to try it.

I also made some hot dog mummies and monster noodles. I saw these in a Halloween magazine and decided to make it. I did change the recipe for the monsters so the kids would like it.

The thing that took the longest to prepare were the cookies. They were also the biggest hit. I made the cookies two days before hand and decorated them the day before. The decorating took way longer than I had thought it would. I used melted chocolate and a powered sugar frosting I made. I started going cross eyes toward the end and Nick helped by eating the ugly ones and laughing at me.

The cookies were Alexia's favorite and she would not let it go for pictures.