It's Almost Here...I Can Feel It!

Spring!! I Can't Wait!!! I love, love, love it! The colors, sunshine, birds, flowers, and even the rain is a welcome change for me from the gloom that is winter! I went out (mostly window) shopping with my mom today and the spring decor was out in full force at all the stores. I took a ton of pictures to show you so maybe it would feel like you all got to come shopping too :)

"I"ll take one of each color please!" (Hahaha, I wish!) I think I love and am always so excited for spring because of all the happy colors. Don't you think those are the happiest colors??

We saw rainbows everywhere we looked! I really like anything that gives me the feeling of a fresh start or a new beginning: mornings, sunrises, new years and SPRING!

“Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.” 

~Virgil Kraft 

What's your favorite part of your favorite season?

Easter eggs, daffodils and rainbows,

xoxo Heather

Eight Years Ago Today...

...At exactly 4am, I became a mommy for the first time. And even writing "8 Years Ago" feels so odd because it seems like just last week we were celebrating Ben's 1st birthday.

He went on a little treasure hunt this morning through our closet and found this. He then proceeded to serenade us with an impromptu concert. Not a bad way to wake up actually!

And a birthday wouldn't be a birthday at all at our house with out waffles. But these were special chocolate chip and sprinkles waffles.

Then, out the door he went. Off to school like the big (little) man that he is. <Insert mommy's pouting face here!> I wish I could have kept him home with me all day! But he was excited to go celebrate with his friends at school.

I now have to hurry myself along and get some stuff done. I have a celebratory evening to prepare for and I am bringing treats to school for his class today. So no dawdling!

Birthday's shouldn't be about how much money you spend on the gifts or how many people are at the party. Birthday's are about making sure that the person you love knows that you're glad they're alive and that you're so excited to celebrate that with them!

If today's your birthday (and even if it's not) know that I'm celebrating with you and that I'm sending you all the love that fills this house and spills over!
xoxo Heather

Wordless Wednesday~The Hunt For The Birthday Guitar

...And More Events From The Day

Rainbow colored ukeleles and Disney movies before bed,
xoxo Heather

Birthday Week

March is a super crazy month for birthday's in our family. There are 8 of them that I count. This week is my (not so little anymore) Ben's birthday. He also shares a birthday with my sister. It was a pretty cool birthday present for her.

Here they are (almost) 8 years ago celebrating their very first birthday together. It's hard to even imagine what life was like before my precious boys came along. I have never enjoyed a job more than I have enjoyed being their mom. I love planning parties for them. For the last couple of years Ben has wanted a "cowboy" birthday and I'm pretty sure that will be the theme again this year.

His 2nd birthday was all about "Elmo" who he called "Mo-Mo". Since then we've had everything from Mickey Mouse to semi truck birthday's.

This was last years cake. As you can see, very cowboy!

He is such an amazing kid! He loves to help and shows so much kindness and respect to everyone. It's a little bittersweet watching him grow up. I have loved every stage and age but I know the older he gets the more independence he's going to want. I've told him many times before, "How 'bout you live with mommy forever??" And his usual reply is, "Oh, mom, I can't live with you forever. But you can come live with me on my farm when I grow up, if you want!" Such a sweetheart. 

Love your babies while you have them home. Make their birthday's special. They have only a limited number while birthday's are still fun and exciting. Even if it's more of a hassle for you and takes more time, let them help you! It teaches them so many important lessons and show's them that they are important. Dance with them and be silly without caring who's watching or what you look like. These are all things you'll be sorry you missed out on later.

Birthday cake and huge bear hugs,

xoxo Heather 

Wordless Wednesday~My Yesterday In Pictures

My Friday Favorites

This is a list of my favorite things from the past week... Here goes:

1) Chicken Enchilada Soup

I made this in my crock pot. So easy and it turned out great!

Recipe:

Approx. 1/2 pound of cubed cooked chicken (you could of course double this)

1 banana pepper diced

1 c frozen corn

1 T mined garlic

1 can (including liquid) diced tomatoes

1 can of water

1 small can of tomato paste

1 T cumin

1 T onion powder

1 T garlic powder (only because I like things really garlic-y)

1 T chili powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

Because I started this in the afternoon I cooked it on high for a couple of hours. If you started it any earlier than about 1pm you would want to make sure to cook it on low. I also decided to add elbow macaroni to mine but I would not recommend doing this because now the noodles have been sitting in liquid too long and have gotten mushy. And I topped mine with shredded cheese. Sour cream would have been great on top too but I didn't have any and didn't feel like running to the store.

2) Unexpected Live Music

While we were out to dinner the other night there was a gentleman that started playing the guitar and singing. It was a very nice surprise especially for Ben who happens to love almost any kind of live music.

3) Finding Sparkly Zebra Print Nail Polish Strips

And so far these are sticking better than brands I have tried before. These are called Kiss Nail Dress. Love!

4) Finding A Picture That I Thought I Had Erased But Was Glad I Didn't

And last but not least...

5) Almost 70 Degree Weather

Taylor built himself a make shift sun shade using a sled and patio chairs. Cute. 

Sunshine and Zebra Print Anything!

xoxo Heather

Wordless Wednesday~Sunrise/Sunset

What's Your Dream?

I've always wanted, at least once, to live somewhere with temperatures that don't drop below 50 degrees...ever. I've had a myriad of heath issues through out my life and have noticed that anytime I vacation in a tropical climate the symptoms improve drastically.  And I'm sure, for probably a good portion of the world's population, this is also a dream. But as I get older that's exactly what I am learning to view it as, a dream rather than a goal.

I live in an area that has beauty beyond bounds. Many people choose to relocate here for exactly that reason. The local people are friendly. The opportunities for adventure are everywhere you turn. Really my only large complaint is that the winters are far too long. But I suppose when I weigh the pros and cons the benefits exceed what I view in my mind as negative. And I say "view in my mind" because the winters and the activities that accompany them are something tourists specifically seek out when visiting.

Beauty can be found almost anywhere. Sometimes you just have to look harder than others. In my case I just had to learn to appreciate the beauty that is everywhere around me.

Someday I really do hope to at least spend my winters somewhere warmer...

...But if it never happens I can be happy where I am. 

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~John F. Kennedy

Blessings and world wide beauty,

xoxo Heather 

beach and palm tree picture courtesy of www.pachd.com

Playing Catch Up And Other Games

Today is catch up day for me, mainly laundry. I actually had lots of help from my family yesterday cleaning the rest of the house so I am grateful that I didn't have to do that too. Taylor is home from school on Mondays so in between wash, dry, fold, repeat we did this...

When I was little we had a Candy Land game that came with a movie to play along with. I remember sitting and watching the movie without playing the game. Did anyone else have that edition of the game? It was so much fun and I am choosing to believe it was as great as I remember...even though sometimes your memories of toys or items you had as a child aren't quite as magical when revisited in adulthood.

I love it when we have leftover pizza in the fridge. It's what's for lunch :)

And after what I am assuming was a satisfactory morning I was given the 3-Sticker Sesame Street Award. A very prestigious honor, indeed! 

Games with gumdrops and imaginary (but still important) awards,

xoxo Heather

One Lovely Blog Award

When I started blogging it was really only for me. I didn't tell anyone I had a blog. I basically did it just to scratch my writing itch. But, I then decided to share it with my sister who lives on the opposite side of the country as me to keep in touch. She recommended I start posting links on my facebook page. Anyway long story short...I did decide to be brave and invite people (other than my family) to read it. And now one of my dear blog friends has nominated my blog for the "One Lovely Blog Award". What a "Lovely" surprise! Thank you, Summer! Swing on over to her blog and check it out------> A Happy Mum. It is one of the happiest blogs I read.

This award is personal and only given to a few bloggers to encourage each other to keep up the good work! The three guidelines:


1) Thank the person who nominated you.
2) Nominate your favorite blogs and notify them.
3) Share a few things about yourself


Here are the blogs I'm passing this wonderful award on to:


Messy Lil' Mama
Yabba Dhabi Dooooo!
A New Adventure
What We're Sayin
Livin' The MOMMY life

And here's a few things about myself that probably only the people close to me know:

1) I am a chronic procrastinator, although not nearly as bad as when I was young. My dad used to tell me I could write a book called " 101 ways to procastinate".

2) I hate complaining! And only the people very close to me will hear it when I do. I hate to think that I'm burdening someone else with my problems.

3) I've never tried (or even seen) any type of illegal drug. Nope, not even marijuana. Actually pretty proud of this one.

4) I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up (besides a wife and mommy). I would like to go back to school someday, but until the list of possibilities is shorter I think it would be a waste of my time and money.

5) And last but not least...I would be lost without my family! I live within in driving distance from many of them. They are by far one of the most important things in my life. I love you all!!

Love, surprises, and awards,
xoxo Heather