My friend has this trilogy and has let a number of friends read it. When one friend was returning it to her, I became the happy recipient of the trilogy to read. First, I think I need to read more “teen” books because I read them much faster than other books. Ha! I think it also has a lot to do with the fact that I have been walking and reading on the treadmill almost every day and reading before... Read More Read More ...

The other night I tried out a new meal. Here is the recipe. I used half as many noodles and not quite as much chicken, but used the whole amount of sauce. Chuck likes it saucy! I cooked the chicken (and shredded it) and lasagna noodles. Then I mixed the pasta sauce and seasonings together. Then layered some in the bottom of a baking dish. Then I mixed the cheeses, chicken and some sauce together. This is the stuffing to... Read More Read More ...

Here is a video of Maddie from the other day. She was just playing in the kitchen. At the end I get her to “blow a kiss.” She’s still working on the part where she has to move her hand away from her mouth and not just lick it! Enjoy! ...

I made a pot roast the other day and it was so yummy! I always forget how easy these are to make. But I forget how much food they make! I really need to make it on a night I am having people over to dinner because I have so much leftover! It’s really simple, though. Put in some carrots, onions and potatoes into the crockpot. Brown the meat on all sides. It gives it a nice crunchy outside and... Read More Read More ...

Just one more month and this little girl will be 1! How is that even possible? I’m deep into birthday planning and the invites will be in the mail soon! Maddie is learning things so quickly! It’s hard to keep up with everything that she is learning. Some of the things she has been doing this month are giving hugs and kisses, blowing kisses (getting better, but still working on this one), waving to everyone, being shy around people and... Read More Read More ...

Chuck’s mom is an amazing seamstress. She can sew anything! This Christmas, she out did herself. She made Maddie a “fun book” with all sorts of learning pages. You can remove all the shapes to match them! You can move the apples around! Yep, there’s a dog inside! And the bear comes out of its bed that has a squishy little pillow in it! Guess what’s inside.the flowers to attach to the other page! Check out the detail of this... Read More Read More ...

Last weekend we had Chuck’s mom, sister and brother-in-law over for our final Christmas celebration. We had a wonderful time opening gifts. Or watching Maddie open gifts. And here is a video of Maddie playing “swords” with Paige. We also had a birthday cake (DQ ice cream cake) for Chuck’s birthday. We had a great time seeing everyone! Especially Chuck’s mom who is in town (they live in Florida during the winter). We are also really excited that Chuck’s sister... Read More Read More ...

I thought it would be fun to make some thank-you cards from Maddie for people for her Christmas gifts. Here are some of the pictures from our craft project. ...

A little while back, I posted about Maddie going to daycare. I just came across a couple pictures I took of her the last day she was there. I picked her up during snack time. She was such a happy girl sitting there eating with a couple friends.   It was nice to see her so happy since a couple times we came she was upset because she was so tired. I am glad she had fun when she was... Read More Read More ...

I came across a picture of a project I did in the Fall that I never shared. I came across this adorable idea and knew I had to give it a try. So I went looking for some fabric and paper sacksoh, and toilet paper.and put some little pumpkins together! So you just lay down the piece of fabric and fold it into the hole of the toilet paper. I cut out some leaf shapes that had a long tails... Read More Read More ...

I have been trying to make more meals and plan ahead for them. I feel like if I write them on a calendar I am more apt to make them for dinner and not just try to wing it. So the other night, I wanted to make some baked potatoes and I wanted to try a new recipe for the chicken. I looked through my cookbook of recipes to try and came across this one. I was too hungry and... Read More Read More ...

Whenever music comes on, Maddie dances. And by dances, I mean she bounces up and down. This can be sitting or standing. It’s adorable. The other night she was dancing like crazy to some music on tv. Of course she really went to town after the video turned off, but it’s still cute to watch! Of course.please excuse me in the background being annoying. ...

I just finished this book the other day. FINALLY. I have started this book a couple times before and couldn’t get into it. This time I thought I should just commit and read it. Holy cow. It took me forever to get through this book. It wasn’t very good so it wasn’t very motivating to read. Plus, when I did get reading a few chapters at a time, I was so distracted or upset that the story kept going on... Read More Read More ...

I finished this book a while ago. Over the summer, actually. I had read the first two books in this series. I had borrowed those books from someone at work. When I was ready to read this one, Chuck had given me my iPad, so I rented it through the library. It was a really easy process. Not every book is available online this way, but there are quite a few. It will be nice when even more of them... Read More Read More ...

Here are a few more videos that I had on my camera. The first one is very typical of Maddie.walking around with veggie straws. She loves them. They are really like baby crack. If she sees them, she won’t eat anything but them. So really I use them to get her to sit in her high chair longer while I finish eating. Next, Maddie has been playing with blankets or her jacket. She likes to put them on her head... Read More Read More ...

I finally got around to uploading some videos we took of Maddie during Christmas. These were when my mom and her crew were over. Maddie with tissue paper.   Maddie being silly.   Maddie & her baby stroller.   Maddie & her baby stroller.   Maddie sitting at the table showing her arsenal of tricks & generally being cute! (After she gets over being upset.)   Hope you enjoy the videos! I have some more to share with you tomorrow! ...

I set my camera on the counter the other day and when I came back, I saw that this was on the screen. I decided to take the picture. After I looked at it on a screen larger than my camera, I thought it was kind of pretty with the reflection of the tree in the granite and the “love” in the background. Just a random photo I thought I would share. ...

I realized I never did an update on the finished porch project. Or many updates at all of the porch. I looked through my old posts and the last entry I found on the porch was in JULY. How terrible is that? Well, we got the roof finished, the porch finished, the deck finished.it turned out great! First, one of the biggest parts of the whole project was replacing a big window with a sliding door. I was most impressed... Read More Read More ...

So we had our first Christmas celebrations just before Christmas. I just found a couple pictures from when we were at my step-dad’s family’s house. Here is Maddie sitting on Dave’s (my step-dad) dad’s lap enjoying a book he and his wife gave her. The craziness of all the kids opening their gifts. The little girls playing together. So, Christmas #3, we went to my mom’s house Christmas morning and had a big brunch with them. It was a good... Read More Read More ...

First, I have to say a VERY happy birthday to my wonderful husband! He is the best and I would be lost without him. Here’s to being “old like me,” Chuck! Love you! I have some “resolutions” for this year. I hate calling them resolutions, though. They are more like things I want to accomplish or get done this year. These are in no particular order. 1. Lose a couple pounds. I have a couple pounds I would like to... Read More Read More ...