Wordless Wednesday

Watch your garden grow

I envy people who have a green thumb.  I kill everything.  Bonsai, dead.  Flowers, dead.  Herbs, dead.  Ivy, dead.  Cactus (that I was told CANNOT be killed), dead.  You see my point.

When I started making my list, I thought about some things that would challenge me.  A garden?  Perfect.  If I can get something to bloom, and actually eat it, wow thats an accomplishment for me. 

I bought some seeds.

And planted them in starter soil (my term, not theirs)

Once they budded (Is that a word?), I moved them to the garden.

To my surprise, my seeds grew.

And a little while later, produced this,

And this

The garden is still growing, but I can proudly say I ate what I grew.

I used radishes in a salad, with some cilantro and lettuce that was also grown, and I grilled up some squash for dinner.

I say this is a success, and  my brown thumb is slowly turning green.

Wordless Wednesday

Do you want fries with that?

For Christmas, Santa brought the kids a kitchen with all the food accessories a kid could want.

Cole eats, A LOT.  I really have no idea how we are going to keep up with his appetite when he gets to school age.  It was snack time, well about that time, and they were playing with the kitchen.  Apparently, Cole could not wait for food, so he made some for himself.

I guess cooking French Fries on the stove top was taking too long, in the microwave they go.

He gets it from his Daddy.

8 years already?

Im a little behind because of Christmas, but I hope to catch up pretty quickly.

On December 21, 2002 we were married.  (That sounds retarded but I dont know another way to say it)  I cant believe that the time has flown by so quickly.  It seems not that long ago, its flown by.

Because we our Anniversary is so close to Christmas, we decided  (well I did) that we do not gifts, per say.  Instead of random gifts, we go by the traditional wedding gifts.  This website is what we usually go by, but most lists are the same, give or tack.

This year, number 8, was bronze/pottery.  HARD  Doesnt seem that way but think bout it. He doesnt garden, any cooking appliance would be used by me and he does NOT want to go throw clay with me.  (Apparently its only a girl thing to want to re-enact the scene out of Ghost)

So heres what I did.  I bought a pot and some seeds.  He always says he wants to grow herbs....well there you go.  Done and Done. 

He got me a gift certificate to go to a ladys night to throw pots and get a massage.  (Told you he didnt want to go, but I do so he got it for me)  Hes always good at gifts, I suck most of the time.

In addition to these gifts, we go out to eat.  THEN he surprised me by a whole lot.

We went out to eat and ate dessert.  Cheesecake, come on I cant say no to cheesecake.

Then we went to ALOFT, which is a hotel like the W but not as pricey.

The Bar

Looks Tasty

The Bed

The Sink

(Not sure what my deal with sinks is, but I like this one)

THEN he secluded massages.

Oh yea, that happened.

He did good.

Operation Gingerbread House Fail

*WARNING WARNING, PICTURE HEAVY POST*

I love Christmas.  I love everything about it.  Now saying that, I have always said that when I have kids, Im starting traditions.  In my mind, you have to do something a minimum of 2 years in a row to make it a tradition.  This is year 1 and we built a Gingerbread house.  And when I say built, I mean I tried to shove it together before they ate all the pieces.  Here is what happens when you combine 2 19 months-year-olds and a whole lot of cookies, icing and candy.

Snowman death #1

Snowman death #2

Snowman death #3

Shes ripping the roof off

Mmm candy

Tree Death

He kept taking the candy off of the roof and shoving them in his mouth

Piece #1

Mom, do you see this?

Piece #5

#6

Piece #500

Do you notice his chipmunk cheeks?

Trying to steal the chimney

And she starts to take the candy

Chimney Death

I give up

2 kids On a sugar high

*Side note,#44 is now complete*

Thanksgiving in a nut shell

The last 4 days have been super busy around our house and yet,  nothing seemed to get done.

Thursday, of course, was Thanksgiving.  I cooked again this year, minus the turkey.  It was just me, the hubs, and the kiddos and cooking a 15 lb turkey seemed pointless.  The hubs was determined to have turkey so we compromised, we went to Dickeys.  It was so much easier.  I went the night before and bought 2 lbs (because 1 would not be enough in his eyes) and all I had to the next day was pop in in the oven to warm it up.  Easy Peasey.  The sides, which in my opinion, are the best part.  I made green bean casserole, yams, mac-n-cheese, stuffing, mashed potatoes, corn casserole and croissants. 

The kids had a blast lounging around in PJs all day but they barely ate.  I assume its because they just got over a cold.  Here are some pictures of them tasting everything....carefully.

After linner (you know lunch and dinner combine)  I jumped into the shower and put on a LARGE pot of coffee.  You see Toys-R-Us was opening at 10 and I had my eyes set on a kitchen. 

So I joined the crazies, in the cold, hopped up on caffeine.

Good thing, I got one of the last ones. 

But I got sick and laid in bed all the next day (due to lack of sleep, over-caffeinated brain cells and shivering in the cold for hours)

But it was worth it, or so I hope.

Trip to Pittsburgh

Last week, I finally got a break from work and had a chance to relax.  Every year, there is a trip planned to eat, drink, and relax with no worries of work.  I was lucky enough to be invited back this year.  So off to Pittsburgh I went.

I chose to have a layover because 1, Im cheap and 2, seemed simple enough.  On the plane, I was given a snack.

(The Biscoff, whatever that is, was on the first flight, the pretzels on the second)

I was not impressed., so I headed to the food court and got a smoothie.  It was soooo good and hit the spot.

Once I landed in Pittsburgh, I was starving but took a nap instead.  You see, I was up at 430 AM to catch a 730 flight an hour away, so I slept.  Then it was time for dinner.  I had a steak (let me wipe the drool) with garlic mushrooms and onion stings.  It looks like a mess, but it was so tasty.

It was so good but I was reaking of garlic for the rest of the night.  Luckily, so did everyone else, so I was in good company.  AND no vampires would come near to us ;)

With the steak, I had a side of asparagus.  A side. What the menu didnt say was it was a side for 10 people. I ate plenty but it doesnt look like I even touched it.  The sauce, which Im sure was filled with the not so good for you stuff, was great.  I nearly licked it clean.

After dinner, we headed out, which Im sure I drank what calories I lost this week in running, but its ok.  It was totally worth it.

When I landed back in Dallas, I whipped out my phone and brought up where I typed in where my car was parked. I tend to lose it often at Walmart so I was determined not to lose it at the airport.  So sad, lost it anyway.  After 30 minutes of going up and down isles, there it was.  On the end.  Where I left it.

All in all it was a good trip.  The best part was picking the kiddos up from my moms, she took them to a football game, and seeing their faces light up when I walked in the room.  Eyes lit up, squeals filled the room and one tiny girl clung on to my leg saying "Momma..Momma...Momma" as the boy slept despite the noise.