— my little corner of randomness —
Maddie was one spoiled loved little girl this year for her birthday. We didn’t end up opening presents at the birthday party because I invited so many people. But we took lots of pictures of her opening them. If you don’t want to see all the pictures….feel free to skip this post. And if you want to see her opening your present, scroll to find yours!
Thank you again for all the wonderful gifts!
On the recommendation of a friend, I read this book. She said it was similar to Shades of Grey, but she liked it better. Since it was available through the library, I thought I would give it a try.
Here’s a link to the book on Amazon and here is a synopsis.
Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness…
He was beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I’d never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily…
Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other’s most private worlds…and desires.
The bonds of his love transformed me, even as I prayed that the torment of our pasts didn’t tear us apart…
It was, um, detailed. Since I haven’t read Shades of Grey, I can’t actually compare them. I’m a sucker for a series, so I’ll probably read the other two books. Then I’ll probably have to read Shades of Grey so I can compare them.
Have you read either of these series? What did you think of them?
For Maddie’s birthday this year (which yes, was almost a month ago now), we went to Good Times Park. It was a ton of fun and I invited so many friends and family. Everyone had a great time and I was worried about how her party would go for nothing.
Some of the kids playing with the building blocks.
Maddie and Chelsea love each other and didn’t stray too far from each other all morning.
Chelsea was sad when Maddie went to play with her other friend. Poor girl!
Jumping!
Dannie wanted to hang out with mommy.
Time to eat! We got a ton of pizza and Chuck’s wonderful math skills left us with only a small amount of leftovers.
After all that playing, everyone was happy to eat!
Then it was time for cake!
Oops…mommy forgot the crown!
Someone got a little shy when everyone was singing to her.
Dannie loved her cake and loves eating with silverware.
Maddie having cake with Grandma Vicki, AKA: “Dama Wicki”.
After cake, we made sure everyone got a goody bag, dug into our suckers and headed home for naps!
That evening, we ran a couple errands and let Maddie pick where she wanted dinner. No surprise at all, she picked Noodles…her favorite place to eat! She also wanted to dress in her new Doc McStuffins attire.
It was a wonderful day and our little big girl told us “thank you for the birthday party. It was so much fun!” And we are so thankful to all our friends and family that helped make this a great day, coming to celebrate, the generous gifts and making our Maddie feel loved!
There were so many gifts that we decided to open gifts at home. I will do a separate post of all the gifts she got so you can see her opening them. She loved them all!
I’ve been in a bit of an eating rut and decided to look up some new recipes to get me motivated. When I found this, it was FREEZING outside (today we got up to 40*!!!!!) and I was hankering for some soup.
Here is the recipe I found and used.
It was really easy to make. First you chop up the onions (I added carrots and celery, so I chopped those up, too).
Then you chop up the mushrooms. I used two portabellas and one package of baby bellas. We had a second container, but that looked like WAY too many mushrooms. I was already freaking out at the amount I was adding.
Then you add the butter and vegetables to the pan and cook until tender, add the garlic and cook for a little bit, then add the mushrooms and let them all cook together a little.
Then you add the rice, seasoning packets (we used Uncle Bens mushroom flavor wild/brown rice packages) and broth and let it simmer.
Then add the cream, stir around until it gets heated through and then eat up!
It wasn’t as soupy as I was expecting, but it was really good. Chuck said he preferred it this way. I ate mine with some crackers because I was still thinking of it as soup. I will say I was pleasantly surprised that I liked it. The recipe made a ton of food, so we ate it for dinner, I had it for lunch for two days, Chuck had some with lunch one day and we still have a bag we froze in the freezer.
Overall, we will definitely make this again. I am glad I started looking for some new recipes. Next up to try is a stuffed pepper recipe. And Chuck found a sloppy joe recipe that doesn’t use meat!
I’ve been struggling to find the right balance in my life. I am a pleaser. I do things that I think others need/want/expect me to do over things that make me happy. I found this image and have it on my phone as a reminder to myself:
It has been quite useful. I was stressed last week and upset over a multitude of different things. None of the things bothering me were a big deal in and of themselves, but put together, I exploded. I apologize if I was rude/mean/short/distant/grumpy/etc. to you last week. And thankfully, for now, my grumpy mood has passed.
But my passing grumpy mood may mean that you won’t be seeing as much of me for a while. I am taking some time to go to the gym, spend more time at home, cross things off my to-do list and do the things that make me happy (see: Do What Matters, Forget The Rest). I need to reboot myself and my attitude.
And thank you to those who listened to my whining last week and I am thankful for you listening ears, kind words and hugs.
Happy Monday!
Maddie loves dancing. The other day I got a couple videos of her dancing. She was cracking me up. She’s got some pretty sweet moves. And I love that she is dancing while watching her reflection in the fireplace. 
And Dannie even gets in a few little wiggles, too.
Oh, she makes me laugh!
Maddie is cracking me up today. Here’s a few of the things that have made me laugh.
While eating bug shaped noodles: “Hey mom, that bug went right in my mouth. I chewed him and swallowed him. Silly little buggies.” Then “He leaped in my mouth mom.”
While I was going to the bathroom, she hops into the doorway, falls to the floor and says, “I’m sad I’m not 2 anymore.”
With her fingers covered in grated parmesan cheese: “it’s fun getting dirty from my lunch. I need a napkin.”
“Dannie is a knucklehead.”
“Dannie, you are making me bonkers.”
I like playing a game with Maddie. “Guess what, Maddie. <insert something here.>” The other day I told her “Guess what, Maddie. I love you.” Maddie, being incredibly quick with her reply says “Guess what, mom. I love my daddy.” Nice.
“Okey Dokey sat on a wall. Okey Dokey had a great fall.”
“I so proud of myself.”
“Awesome job!”
While at my brother’s basketball game this weekend, my mom said “oh dangit.” So of course, Maddie walked around saying “oh dangit, oh dangit.”Whoops.
The things kids say just crack me up. And it’s so funny to hear them repeat things you say around or to them. And they don’t miss anything, so be careful what you say around them
Today, Dannie is 15 months old. And on Sunday, Maddie turns 3!!! Time is flying by. These girls are changing so quickly every day. I can hardly believe it. Maddie is a talking machine! Dannie is surprising me each day with all the things she knows.
Side note: with your first kid, you spend a bunch of time teaching them sounds, shapes, colors, everything. With your second, you just don’t have the time. Sure, I read to Dannie, but not as much as Maddie got read to. I teach her sounds, shapes, etc., it isn’t to the extent that I was able to with Maddie. It’s just different. So when Dannie surprises me with something that she knows, I am elated because (1) I know that she is learning something from me and (2) – which is more likely – she is learning from Maddie.
These girls truly love each other. They are so cute and so sweet to each other (most of the time). Maddie loves to help her sister. Maddie likes to help feed her sister and loves holding her hand to help her places. They chase each other around the house squealing and giggling. Dannie is happy as long as her sister is around.
Maddie loves to make lists on a little tablet of paper I got her. She carries her pencil around and needs to make lists of everything. Sometime they are lists for the store and sometimes they are pictures. She really gets into her lists.
Dannie has started to sit at the kid picnic table a lot. She thinks it’s great fun to sit there with snacks or toys. She sometimes falls right off, but it hasn’t made her stop going back to it.
Maddie has been a HUGE singer lately. She sings songs from tv shows, movies, lullabies, and lots of songs she has made up herself.
Maddie is also very into art work right now. She asks to color or paint or use stickers or glue all the time. She also LOVES painting her face. It has extended to her fingers as well.
Dannie has loved eating from day one. That hasn’t changed. She is currently obsessed with silverware. She is getting good with a spoon and she’s trying really hard to figure out a fork. Once in a while, she will poke something and she gets so giddy when she does!
Speaking of eating. The girls love popcorn. I think it’s in our blood. My mom and her entire family love popcorn and I love it, too. They are just so cute sitting together eating popcorn and I just love that they want to sit by each other. Maddie helps get Dannie more and even shares with her. Which is a big deal when it comes to Maddie and her popcorn.
And here’s a sweet picture of Maddie. She has changed so much in the past year. I am so excited for her birthday and also a little sad that she is getting so big. She has turned into quite a little snuggle bug and I am so impressed by her ability to learn, be independent and rationalize. She wants an explanation for everything and usually, after pondering, will accept what we tell her. She’s also witty and funny, just like her dad. She is just an amazing little girl and we are so lucky!
And then this sweet girl. I can’t believe she is 15 months old already. She has grown and developed quite the personality. She holds her own and stands up for herself. She’s a daredevil and a mommy’s girl. She is so kissable and gives the sweetest kisses in return. She loves her blanket, goes right to sleep, loves songs and peekaboo, and can light up a room with her smile.
I’m finally posting this a couple weeks late, but maybe you can find some fun, new ideas this month!
