A slice of my domestic side

Adam went to a meeting at a neighbor's house on Sunday and was given a fresh, warm slice of homemade wheat bread. Upon returning home, he requested I get the recipe and give it a try...and so that became my quest for the week and I'm happy to report, it was a success...so much so that I want to share the recipe with all of you. It is delicious and "easy as pie" (which I've actually never tried to make). I surmise that the secret to my success is my fabulous KitchenAid mixer, which I LOVE! I only had to mix the dough for about 5 minutes with my machine but I left the regular instructions for you to adjust according to whatever equipment you may have. I hope you'll give it a try. You won't be disappointed with this one!

Another fantastic recipe full of homemade goodness is freshly squeezed lemonade. Perhaps I was so excited about this because it made me feel like a kid again, getting ready to go out to my lemonade stand and sell it. Adam's co-worker brought him a recipe and a couple bags full of lemons (these are special I might add, they are orange colored lemons. I don't know their official name, but they are delicious and sweeter than a regular lemon). We went out and got a "juicer" and squeezed lemons all weekend so we now have a freezer full of frozen lemon juice to use for our new pleasure. This makes the best lemonade! Such simple pleasures. Adam and I love that in Fresno, people bring you bags full of grapes from the vineyard, peaches from the orchards, and lemons from the fruit trees in their yard. In Utah, you get zucchini.

Aubrey turns two!

We had a fantastic day! We had a "fish party" for Aubrey, complete with a cake made by mom and grandma and fish hanging from the ceiling. Aubrey was most enthralled with her birthday balloons. She loved her presents and her many birthday phone calls. Thank you to all! She is definitely a joy to our family!

The turn around

Alright, so it turns out that you were right Keri, I threw away my expectations for the day and lived the second half of it spontaneously. It turned out to be a really nice day in the end, perhaps better than I'd originally planned/imagined it. Aubrey and I decorated Adam's car with hearts while he was at work and left a little gift on the seat for him, which I was delighted didn't melt by the end of the day. :) Lexi had a great time at her Valentines' party at school. We had to reschedule our planned date night due to a conflict with our babysitter so Adam suggested we get a heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphys, which we did and we rented a family show to watch with the girls that they were really excited about and one for us to watch after the girls went to bed. (By the way, if any of you haven't discovered the beauty of "RedBox," you need to! $1 movie rentals -even new releases! Also FYI, "No Reservations" -which we watched last night -is a very cute show. ) Adam came home with chocolates for me (See's -my favorite!) and little baby rose plants for the girls to take care of and eventually plant outside. He helped to save the day with our surprises! Thanks Adam! :) The night was full of delicious unhealthy food and I loved every bite. Valentines Day is now second to Thanksgiving on my list of "the best days to be pregnant" -for the guilt free eating factor. :) Hope you all had as delightful of a day as I did and next year...I have no plans and plan to keep it that way. :)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

Happy Valentines Day! Valentines Day for me is perhaps one the strangest days of the year and that is due to the love/hate relationship I have with this day. It is one of my favorite holidays to decorate for, I love the "lovey" stuff about it...all the hearts, kisses, etc., etc., and I love thinking of ways to surprise people and have a special excuse to do something fun to brighten someone's day. Yes, I'm fully aware that you can do special things anytime but for some reason, I like the idea of making Valentines Day fun for people. Every year however, I end up asking myself, "why do you love this day? Nothing ever works out like you wanted it to and you are in someway disappointed every year." Trying to convince myself that I don't like Valentine's day is futile. I would compare it to the idea of convincing myself I don't like chocolate or roses or late night chocolate chip cookies. Some things are just part of your make up and simply can't be changed. Every year I approach this day with a brighter hope that "this time it'll work out" and as I sit and type this very comment, my day is slipping apart, as it always inevitably will. It started out great...and I will now make what I hope is not a vain attempt to forget all expectations of what I hoped this day would be and appreciate it simply for what it turns out to be. After all, it is still a day for "loving" and that couldn't be all bad, could it?!

Dancing the days away

Alexis recently completed a fun session of dance at "The Little Gym". She had a one hour class, once a week, that included 15 min. of tap, 15 min. of ballet and 30 min. of gymnastics. She had SO much fun there! A few weeks back, they even held a recital to show off their skills and did the most adorable little dance numbers I've ever seen. As you can see, they also got to get "fancied" up for the event. All the other girls in her class are sporting the $50 dance costume offered through the "little gym." I just couldn't see spending that much on an outfit for a 3 year old to wear for an hour! Nevertheless, I didn't want Lexi to feel completely left out so I did my best to create something similar. She is wearing the $5 homemade alternative and I think it turned out pretty well. She didn't seem to feel misplaced at all. How grateful I am to have some sewing skills! They are coming in handy!
(By the way, I have Lexi's dance routines on video and had such great intentions of posting a few clips, but clearly have not gotten to it. Perhaps, in some future post.)

*02*02*02*

Happy Sixth Anniversary!
What a wonderful six years it has been. I love you Adam!

I thought it would be fun to include the group photo from our wedding so those in it could see how much they've changed! How cute and little we all looked!

Fire Safety

Alexis's preschool class went on a field trip this week to the fire station. (Aubrey and I got to go too.) Although she was nervous to go for some reason at first, she was really excited about the things she learned. We talked all about fire safety when we got home, with the aide of the activity book the firemen gave her, and discussed a safe place for our family to meet outside if there were ever a fire. I was grateful for the reminder of the importance of teaching my children about fire safety. I take for granted what I know, forgetting at times that little ones have to learn everything! (Even how to eat a Popsicle -Aubrey gave us a hilarious show with her first attempts at that last week!) How overwhelming as a parent! I hope I don't forget to teach them something important!!! Thank heavens I have a good community, and a fantastic family, that helps me along the way, reminding me when it's time to teach new things to my kids.