Simple Things

"For it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all..." Laura Ingalls Wilder.  

A winter sunrise outside my bedroom window

Oh, I almost forgot... music!  

Daddy leading Bible time

(kind of an interesting picture.  He's listening closely to Anna) 


Dinner



Friendship



The look in my six year olds eyes says it all,  Deep connections and friendship are such a blessing. We all long for that in life.  I feel blessed to have a few of those myself... just a few (you know who you are... all of you!) who give me that look Abigail has in her eyes.



Homework help



And may she always stay so little that she needs help with The Little Red Caboose...



Wishing you a simple things kind of weekend.  This weekend my simple things are our Saturday morning trip to the little library around the corner, a first birthday party for my nephew, a cozy Saturday night at home, Mass on Sunday morning, and decorating for March in the afternoon.  Add some baking, lots of cooking, helping with viola and other odd tasks and you've got yourself a simple weekend.  I can look at the big looooong list (we all have one) or I can choose to keep it simple.  Sometimes I choose the big looooong list.  This weekend I choose to enjoy one moment after another whatever I'm doing.  Try it, it works!  Happy almost March friends!  xoxo 

Dating You Six ~ Slumber Party for Two!

It's really cold here in Connecticut.  The wind is whipping, the temps are dropping more in the days to come, and there's snow storm coming this weekend.  You know what I think of when the weather is like this.  Yeah, time to cozy up the house even more!  What can I cook?  What should I bake?  Maybe I should redo out game basket under the coffee table in the family room... I get all excited.  I love each and every season.  And blogging this date on a cold weather day like this seems fitting.  After all it was a cozy, at home date in front of the fireplace, oh la la!  (music for ya) 

Here's what the date card looked like :



And then I made these...



Ready to go in the oven



Is there really anything better than whipping cream for cream puffs?



Really dark room... just some twinkle lights on



Anna, who came down after we had tucked her in wanted to take a picture





Our view opposite the fireplace





We ate pizza and played this game. So much fun to go back and relive all the old memories. It had us laughing so much we were crying!



PS ~ I won!

Six more dates to go!

Get In the Frame

I'm 41. So if you're 61 or even 51 and reading this you just might roll your eyes. To you I look young.
  (music because I just have to have optional music and this has been my soundtrack lately)

I've never really been that into my appearance. Sure, I wear makeup. I have to 'put my face on' (my grandma used to say that when I slept over her house when I was like 8) every morning. A bit of concealer, a powder, some blush and I'm not happy without pink lipstick. But I've never put make up on to cover up my age, my wrinkles. I just like putting it on, and I like the way it looks when it is on. So I was never hung up on wrinkles, or questions to myself like am I looking older.  I never really cared.

Actually I never really noticed anything. Maybe it's because Scott and I have always looked younger than our age. People would say when we were in our first married years, "you're married?" with a look like we should still be in high school. But anyway, I never really ever noticed anything. Until very, very recently. I'm not sure if I saw a photo of Scott and I when we were 20. Everything was tight, in it's place, just where it should be. (insert really cool photo of Scott and I looking young in your head) Or maybe it's this awesome blog because Caitlin and her husband remind me of Scott and I years a and years ago. There's just something in that sweet couple. First years married, so young, loving their Catholic faith, finding their way and on that beginning journey together.

But whatever the reason I looked recently for the first time and I have aged. My hands, my face, just a bit. Any ya know what? It's all okay with me. I don't want to look like I did when Anna was put into my arms. That was almost ten years ago. That would be strange to still look 30 right now.

So along comes this assignment for a photography class I'm taking. Get in the Frame. That's right. It's time for me to be behind the camera.  I wanted to do something different. At first I thought I'd set up the camera on a tripod and get the girls in the photo with me.  But they took one look at the weather outside and thought back probably to the cupid session when it was soooo cold in sleeveless dresses.  So I was solo on this shoot.



And it was fun!  I got all the settings right, plopped a chair in the snow and Scott snapped the photos.  Authentic, real, pearls, pink, me.  (okay, so having tea in the snow outside in a chair is not exactly realistic) but the whole look of it... that's me... with signs of aging and all.

A First and what I found on the little camera

We have a new frozen yogurt place near us. And they claim to be very 'allergy safe'. So I investigated and yes, they do have two flavors that are dairy free, nut free, and soy free. And I was assured that no dairy has ever gone through that particular machine.

So it was the FIRST TIME Abigail has ever gone out for icecream and it was a big deal! A big, big, big deal.

The lady offered her a sample of the two she could have. You've got to love the look on her face.



She's frightened of trying anything new, even a frozen treat like this.

So one little lick and she was able to tell us which one she wanted. (kiwi strawberry)



And so of course we filled a bowl right up.



Here's Daddy checking about the sprinkles. The manager even called the 'experts' but no sprinkles because they have soy in them. Oh well...



And of course she took a few more licks from her spoon and said, "I"m full" which is her polite way of saying, "no thanks, this is not for me"

But we sure were happy for her!





Sometimes we hype things up in our minds, us allergy parents. Ohhh it'll be so great that she can be included; that she can have 'icecream' too. You wait for years for a place to open like Sweet Frog. You research the safety of it and then low and behold she really wasn't missing anything anyway.

These Anna took on Valentines Day.





Gotta love us cooking in the kitchen. This is no average Friday night I tell you.



And this weekend we took a little trip to a little town in NY (such a beautiful drive) home of Harney and Sons tea. Such a pretty place.



And I love anything tea!

Wordless Wednesday

And There You Have It

Music first...

"Nothing is more importanter than love."  
~ Abigail Baker

I started my day when it was still dark so that I could have some quiet time in the Word.  



And then cooked pink pancakes... oh my goodness... greatest recipe I've ever tasted from 'the pioneer woman' (her holiday cookbook)





And then the girls and I did a little craft.  I was so happy when I remembered I saved it.  Perfect for a snow day!







Anna only wears skirts now; it's her thing.  And this twirly one is her favorite.





We had Valentines Day tea.





And made cupcakes for after dinner.



I did a ton of cooking that day.  When dinner was just about ready the girls and I ran upstairs to get all dressed up for dinner.  And they opened their Valentine envelopes.





















And we ate, yum!  I followed The Pioneer Woman Cooks Valentines Day romantic dinner plan start to finish!



And the night ended with a late night playing in the snow with flashlights.  They needed a little "recess"





Daddy was building an ice castle and I made all kinds of paths through the backyard so Abigail would stop falling through.



After baths it was time for 'decorate your own cupcake'



And right before they drifted off to sleep Abigail was telling Scott all about Valentines Day. When I grabbed my phone to record it was her second time explaining so it lost some of it's charm.  But I thought it was so sweet.



And friends, there you have it! Valentines day... that's a wrap!