Snowmen and Sledding!!!

Sunday morning the girls and I woke up to snow on the ground.  Even though Brooke as seen snow before, you could see the excitement in her eyes as she looked out the window as if it was the first time.  She wanted to make sure everyone in the house saw what she saw.  She even bent over to Dora (the cat) and pointed outside and said "snow?"  to make sure Dora was as excited as she was.

Since daddy was working Saturday night and would be home at any moment the girls patiently waited for him so they could go outside and play.

Daddy finally got home after a very rough night on shift but was able to power through to get some snow time in with his girls.

First on Morgan's agenda.....
Yep, daddy better watch out!!!

Brooke wasn't as eager to jump right into the snow once she was up close.  She decided to stand on the sidelines and watch.

Next on the agenda - Build a Snowman.

After a little coaxing, Brooke decided she didn't want to be left out of the fun.

And they are finished.  Morgan was very proud of her snowman.

Even Brooke got to have her own little snowman.

Trying to get both girls to just stand and smile didn't happen.  Oh well, captures the moment, right?

And last on the agenda - Sledding.

Lucky for us, we live very close to our neighborhood retention pond.  This little hill is just the right size for our little snow bunnies so off we went.

See all the grass and dirt poking through?  There was just barely enough to sled on, but the girls were thrilled anyways.

I love seeing those rosy checks and runny nose on my girls, definitely a sign of good times in the snow.

Beer Tasting Party

This past year my husband and his friend started brewing their own beer.  They have hopes of some day opening a tap room attached to a small brewery.  In the meantime, they have lots and lots of friends eager to taste the latest that Top Rung Brewing has to offer.

The turnout was great with about 40 friends and family stopping by to give their feedback.

Since this was an open house style, we wanted the flow to be casual but informative.  When guests entered, they were given a beer tasting glass (aka 8oz mason jar) with six feedback forms to be turned in.

Because Casey and Jason had been brewing up a storm, we had a lot of beer for everyone to try.  Six types of beer to be exact:  Hosechaser Blonde, Irons IPA, Smashed Pumpkin', "no name" vanilla porter, Box Alarm Amber and Good Jake CDA.  The fun started in the diningroom with three stations set up.

The buckets were from our local party store, in red of course.  Each station was labeled with the name of the beer and a short description as well as the alcohol by volume, IBUs and OGs info.

Burlap under the buckets turned out to be a great idea. They absorbs the moisture/sweat from the buckets.

Jason's girlfriend, Morgan was able to re-furbish these old six-pack boxes to use at each station.  She used a little spray paint and stickers from local craft store. We asked guests to return their feedback forms in these boxes.  They worked perfectly!

Next on the list was a little food. 

The most popular food was by far the Stoltz family rice casserole.  Unfortunately, since I didn't know it was going to be such a big hit, I didn't take any pictures.  But I will add the recipe at the very end of the post.


Good food, family and friends....what could be better? 

We really got lucky on the weather.  The day of the beer tasting it was literally, the nicest day of the week.  We were able to have a few more beers outside and a fire going.

The "no name" vanilla porter is on the sweeter side, we suggested folks eat a piece of Snickers or Brownies while sipping.  It definitely changes the taste of the beer and is a different idea for some people.  We were excited to see people try it and like the combination!

We also added a few bowls of jelly beans.  We don't have any scientific facts regarding this, but we've heard it is considered a palette cleanser for beer tasting.  Not sure if it's true or not, but a few jelly beans never hurt anyone.

Having such supportive friends and family is so important to Casey and Jason.  They were overwhelmed by the positive feedback they received and were inspired to keep on brewing.  Stay tuned for future beer tasting events.

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As promised, here is the "S" Family recipe:


Rice Casserole1 large onion, chopped fine
1 cup rice
2 cups chicken broth
1tsp salt
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup butter or margarine

Melt butter and add onion, cook until onion is clear and soft. Add rice, salt, sugar, and raisins. Pour into baking dish and add chicken broth. Cover and bake at 350. Usually done after 1 hour.

A Day of Motivation

It's been two years since I've had my second baby and I'm still holding strong onto that baby weight.  There have been moments when I catch a glimpse of myself and in the mirror and think "whoa, I look pregnant!"  I have great intentions and I think I know all the "answers" I only need time to accomplish my goal. 

I find myself often running around during my lunch hour.  It seems I always have some place to go, and I usually just say "I'm running errands."  It's so much easier for me to run into a store by myself than to take both kids with me.  Me "running errands" once in a while has turned into an everyday chore which is now accompanied with eating on the run.

In an effort to slow down a bit, I have been bring my lunch to work and staying in.  Not everyday, but a few days a week.  It is December after all, I don't dare take the kids to the mall with me.  Today as I watched the lunch hour get closer and closer, I noticed the sky getting bluer and bluer.  I thought to myself, I should go for a walk at lunch.  I quietly ate my lunch, checked emails and looking for an excuse to quickly run out of time to go for a walk.  I decided to see what was happening on Pinterest.  This is the image that first popped up. 



As I scrolled along to see what else all the "pinners" were up to, I couldn't help but think about this quote.  I looked at my watch and with a half hour left for lunch I headed outside.

I always know how I'll feel after I get my blood moving it's just getting past that hurdle I needed help with. 

Strike a Pose!

Recently I had Brooke's 2nd Birthday portraits taken.  Trying to corral a two year old for pictures is an adventure and if you add a very "helpful" six year old, the fun doesn't seem to end.  Lucky for me I found Crystal Ball Photography.  Crystal is so patient and full of all kinds of ideas.  She seems to get the best smiles out of my girls.  It's always so much fun to receive my envelope in the mail with a disk full of special portraits.

This is Brooke's "show me your teeth" face.

I saw a fun idea on Pinterest and since Brooke is always playing with my jewelry, I thought it would be fun to take some jewelry with me for the photo session.

I especially love this one.   She's our Rock Star Princess!

Yep, looks sweet and innocent, but don't forget about the previous picture. 

Who says girls can't be superheros?

Turning TWO!

Sometimes looking back over the past two years, it feels a little fuzzy at times.  It literally feels like yesterday when I was waddling around trick or treating with Morgan hoping my little lady would come.  But look at her now, she's a big two year old. 

Now



Then

 For the past several months whenever she sees a cupcake she starts singing "happy birthday to you..."  Since we knew she had the song down pat, we decided to teach her to say how old she is.  Today was her day and all about having fun.

The kids did a little arts and crafts by coloring their own mask.

Next was a little pin the nose on the clown.  I think Miss Morgan may have a future as cruise activity director.

After playing around on Pinterest I got the idea to do a photo booth.  With a bowlful of goofy glasses, their newly colored masks and an a little sense of humor, we had some fun. Who knew the kids would get such a kick out of dollartree junk!

Morgan, Rylee, Kenny, Landon, Allie, Sophia, Taylor, Jackson and Brooke.

Mr. Jackson is such a little cutie and you should see his face light up when he sees Brooke.  He recently came by our house when Brooke wasn't here and he looked for her for almost a 1/2 hour saying "Where's Brooke?"  It's been very exciting to see these two develop a friendship and grow-up together.

Grandma Diana and Mamma.... These are two very special ladies who decided to have a little fun with the photo booth.  Besides the dollarstore glasses I also made these fun cutouts found (via Pinterest) on Oh Happy Day.  The images were free to download and the instructions were pretty easy to follow. 

Thank you ladies for putting up with my crazy idea and having your picture taken in the photo booth.  I know you had a good time!

TWO:

Someday soon, I'll get to do your Birthday Interview but until that day comes, I'll just go ahead and list some of your favorites....

    1.  Your big sister Morgan.  I recently saw you grab for her hand as you walked towards your room.

    2.  Your baby dolls.  You love to take care of them and if you had a room full you would be the happiest ever.

    3.  Singing.  You love Casper Babypants.  After a small concert this past summer with some friends, we have been hooked.  Me and my Echo is one of your favorites.

    4.  Dancing.  You love to dance and dancing with Morgan is probably the funnest for you.

    5.  Falling.  I know this is a little crazy but you make yourself tumble from your little chair and then get up laughing at yourself.  You are entertained for at least 15 minutes.

    6.  Lego Blocks. We have a big tub of Lego Quatro blocks that use to be Morgan's.  We sit and build as tall as we can and once all the blocks are gone, you push it over.  And then we start over again.  You have recently started matching up the colors and shapes together as you build. Sitting and building is probably one of my most enjoyable times with you.

     7.  Coloring, play dough, or anything arts and crafts.  I think you probably had a crayon in your hand before you were walking.  Having a 5 year old around means these are easily accessible.  Lucky for us you have resorted to paper instead of the walls.

     8.  Helping in the kitchen.  It doesn't take long for you to grab a stool or the chair to help me prep for dinner, snack or even dishes.  Recently you were helping me put the broccoli into the steamer when Morgan came to help, you quickly reminded her that was job.  Yes, we found something else for Morgan to help with.

Happy Birthday Baby Brooke, we hope you had a great day!