Today

We had a playdate today.

It is 40 degrees, sunny, the snow is turning into puddles. And we had a playdate.

After a bowl of cheerios for each of us we got dressed and read some books. Then we watched a Peppa Pig because, that's what we do sometimes. It's possible I straightened my hair in there too. After we threw some juice, a bag of fruit snacks and some diapers into my purse we set out. 

C was very excited. And we got into Bess for our first outing in her. C was kind of perplexed by his new seating arrangement but he was contented quickly and we drove across town to our friend's house.

We had a great morning playing cars, trucks, balls, bubble mixture, tools and kitchen with our friends Owen, Mason, Olivia and Baby Caitlin. C especially enjoyed Mable the dog and the toy food. It's interesting, we have a whole bunch of soft food but he doesn't seem to like it as much as his friends wooden and plastic food. Oh well, I am not buying a different set!

We came home to a grand lunch of PB&J and peaches and now it is rest time.

Later we will make some chicken soup and Kathryn is coming over. I made a chicken last night for dinner with carrots, sweet potatoes and rice. I made chicken stock for tonight's soup. Then later this week we are going to have chicken tacos and chicken and stuffing. 4 meals from scratch out of one chicken. Obviously it's easier for us with 2 people and a toddler to make a chicken stretch that far. 

Look at all that melting!! 

For a Monday... it's a pretty darn good day! 

Though let me for a second express my sadness in the news of Hilary Duff's separation. She says it's because they "drifted apart." And I get that I really really do. She was married the exact same day as Husband and I. And their Luca is just 2 months older than C. So I understand how their marriage and relationship has changed in the past few years. I get it. 

But for goodness sake, splitting because you've grown apart is NOT what God intended and is the reason people don't regard Marriage as the Holy Sacrament it is. So you're currently drifted away from each other... give it some time to drift back! Marriage is all about ebbs and flows. I'm still hoping they'll figure it out and be a strong marriage example for their son, their fans (he's a hockey player) and society in general. 

Theme Thursday: Bear/Bare

If you are reading this, you need to participate in Theme Thursday this week. Cari's lovely linkup needed some new people to join in so she made a post this week count for her anniversary giveaway. Do you like $60 to one of many delightful places? Then go get your camera and join on in!

I say this because I love looking at photos and not because I really want more people to ruin my chances of winning. I'm going to get an entry for this post after all. And don't let Cari's technically perfect picture scare you, she accepts all kinds into her fold on Thursdays. I promise.

So the theme is Bare or Bear. Either way.

Have I ever told you about my brother P? Well he's really into board games. Or maybe we've just decided he is. Anyway, he got a lot of board games for Christmas. Well other brother S got him some CRAZY obscure board games. Like an Agatha Christie VHS mystery game. On VHS. I'll be honest I was impressed there was still a VCR so we could play it.

Then he got these two, I didn't get the honor to play Huggermugger or the National Geographic Geography game circa 1990.

I however was, um, lucky enough forced into playing Greenfingers. The tag line is "Whether you're interested in gardening or not this is a game that will literally grow on you."

They were kinda right.

Don't get me wrong. It was painful. The rules alone are so complicated they recommend having one person to be in charge of following the rules and reading questions. For real. Then there are trivia questions about gardening. And seasons. And plants. And weeds. And the garden center you can collect items in. And "Sun, Rain, Cloud" like rock paper scissors.

And I am not making any of this up. It took 2 hours. And the game ended in a Hail Mary pass kind of way not because we actually finished.

So here we were 6 of us playing this game, 2 of us knowing anything about gardening much less the answers to the questions they were asking. (I was not one of the smart ones in case you were at all curious.) And because I was literally trapped in the seat where I was sitting, there was nothing to do but to grin and bear it.

But it was so ridiculous and so complicated and so long (2+ hours) that it suddenly became really really funny. So while I do not recommend you running right out to actually buy Greenfingers, if you stumble upon it, it may be worth a laugh.

So go link up and wish Cari happy six years! 

In Which I Post Twice In One Day and Show How Susceptible to Advertisements I Am

I love the Olympics.

Love it. One of my favorite memories was going to the 1996 Olympics. It was amazing. To attend another Olympics is absolutely on my bucket list. There will not be any screen time limits when Sochi starts. (29 days!)

Then I saw this commercial:

Now, in all truthfulness, I had JUST been lamenting that I NEEDED a new pair of mittens. So I am not completely crazy. But I would say within 10 minutes of seeing that commercial I had gone ahead and purchased those GO USA mittens. (The rest of the time had been spent clicking around the rest of the merchandise to see if there was anything else that looked fun. I resisted. I only got the mittens.)

I mean they were endorsed by Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. I love them. And well... I love the Olympics.

So they came today. I am pretty darn excited.

So the Go USA are actually on the palms which is kind of fun. The back is cable knit. 

Totally over exposed but you couldn't see the cable knit without the flash.

Then as an added bonus they also have the cutest little tags. I am a sucker for small details. They won't tell you about this online or in the commercial but now you know. 

The front and back of the tags.

So these are my Go USA mittens that I will wear and love and enjoy. But I will be especially rocking them in 29 days! Can't wait!!

WWRW: My Mother is obsessed with her Kindle Books.

My dad got a Kindle for Christmas 2010. He liked it. It was the first time I had ever held an actual Kindle in my hand and I really really really wanted one.

I made it happen early February 2011 the day before a blizzard in which I had a snow day to just sit and read. I think I read 4 books that day. I was in love like never before.

My mom, not to be left out, received a Kindle for Christmas 2011. And her love for her "Kindle Book" has no bounds. The iPad and iPod? Yeah they just don't matter in life quite like the "Kindle Book." And for all the Kindle gift cards she gets, and the fact she has a job and a library card she's not afraid to use, my mom is obsessed with Free Kindle Books.

Now I went through a "What's free on Kindle" period too right after I got mine. But it wore off after I decided the free books fell into one of two categories. (Sometime's both.)

• The first book of a new series. (I caught on to that one because I am a SUCKER for series and I could not spend oodles of money on random series all the time.) 
• A Christian love story where a young lady has lost all faith so opts finds a new job/town/life path then meets a man who rides a motorcycle/really big truck. It turns out he is a Christian bachelor who is well known at one particular diner/restaurant where they know his order. The two will subsequently fall in love while rekindling her love for Christ. (I absolutely used rekindling as a pun.) 

Yeah. 

But my mother has been trying to get me to read some of her books. I was resistant. Because, well see my above categories. But in all her "find out what's free today" she found books that did NOT fall into those categories. She has been loaning me books for the past little bit here, and I have got to say that I have found some free or really cheap books that I have not disliked. 2 in particular were actually pretty good. 

This book DOES NOT meet my criteria for a book I will read because it is the first book of a series and the second book is not out yet. But I really (surprisingly) enjoyed Port Honor by T.S. Dawson.  

Most of the free kindle books are underwhelming. And when my mom sends me books sometimes you just know you're in for a quick read that isn't great. Not the case. This book was delightful. The characters Dawson created are real, witty and smart. She knows how to write. (Not always the case in the free book world.) 

I will say that while the price is not longer ALL free, it qualifies for the Prime Free Book of the Month if you are a Prime Member. I get NOTHING back for recommending you become one. I love my Prime account. It pays for itself in free shipping 2-Day shipping alone. (And steeply discounted one day shipping, which I have used a few times. I got my steam vac the next day for $3.99.) Plus you get a free book every month (and it works on iPad and your computer too I think) and Prime Instant Video. 

The book is not clean or Christian but it is really well written and I enjoyed it. I am a little mad I can't continue to story immediately. But I am hooked.  

I would write a blip about The Mill River Recluse by Darcie Chan but I have a toddler who keeps shoving books in my face and I can't say no to a little dude who wants to read. This book was really great too, with a healthy dose of Catholicism, tender moments, back story, small town antics, a creeper and some romance to boot. (Though that seemed a little bit forced if you want to know.) Anyway, it is also no longer free but still good. 

Anyway, that's all I have time for. Linking up with Jessica. 

And hey I made it this far and only had to read 2 books out loud. (Little Pink Pup and Elephant and Piggie: I am Invited to a Party.) 

The Recap and Update Post You've All Been Waiting For

So a charming and delightful recap post for you. Let's see starting with Christmas(es)

Christmas #1 had us traveling to Husband's immediate family Christmas. It was really a nice time. I was pleasantly surprised. They surprisingly picked out wonderful gifts (not that it's about that) and we had a really good evening together. (Not always the case. Sometimes I want to claw my eyeballs out.)

BIL's family rocking the awesome sunglasses we got them as part of their theme present of theme park tickets.

Christmas #2 was Husband's mom's side extended family Christmas. To make a long story short, there were 43 out of 59 possible attendees there. This particular gathering graduated from Grandma's house to the Knights of Columbus Hall years ago.

Christmas #3 was just us at home. It was a party with Christmas Eve Fajitas and Christmas morning orange juice, eggs and homemade doughnuts. I got a matching lamp set for our bedroom. One for each bedside furnture piece. (Husband has a nightstand, while I am still rocking the Sterelite storage plastic drawers from college.) Since we have been married I have never ever had a lamp on my side of the bed and my side of the bed has never been by the overhead light switch either. I feel VERY grown up and powerful to have a lamp. I don't want to turn off my light yet? No problem! Next step is getting an actual dresser or something not plastic.

Our festive Fajitas.
They're Christmas colors and a great change of pace from Ham, Potatoes, Rolls. 

Christmas #4 was Christmas afternoon celebrating with Husband's aunt and uncle and their other side family. The other side family is richy rich rich rich. In the driveway were 2 Audis, a BMW, a Honda and then our car. It was funny.

Christmas #5 was that same day for dinner we had a birthday party for baby Jesus, with chicken nuggets and other kid food. Along with Twinkies as Jesus' birthday cakes. We are going to continue this in years to come. It was fun. Next year we're going to add Pin the Tail on the Donkey in the stable! 

Christmas #6 was spent with my my family and it was a delight.

I beat my brother. I had a 3 star handicap but even without it I beat him by 20 coins.
This has never ever happened before. It will never happen again I'm sure.

Then New Year's Eve brought me cleaning one of the bathrooms at my parent's house, Cards Against Humanity and Helen Keller jokes. We also were gifted our final Christmas present from my parents which was a new to us Mini Van named Bess!

My brother had been driving Bess but he didn't need her anymore since he's at college. Husband's car has been just a stream of bad luck for us since we got married: timing chain, fuel pump, new tires, 3 (yes 3) new windshields, new battery, vacuum leak and I am sure I am missing something. Lately we haven't even been driving it because the last time we did it died going down a hill. It's home for now but it won't live here long! We are very thankful and happy to have Bess join our family.

Obviously as a family of 3 Bess is even  a lot more car than we need but hopefully we'll grow our family at some point and a mini van is a great step up from Husband's little car. 2014 started out great!

My word for the year is Focus. (Coincidentally, the name of the car I would very much like but will hopefully not need to buy with the addition of Bess.) I am hoping to focus this year on a number of things. Finding the big and little picture when needed. Sometimes I think too far in the future and pre-worry. Other times I focus too much in the RIGHT THIS SECOND LIFE IS HORRIBLE and should look ahead a tiny bit more. This is my year to work on this. There's plenty for me to focus on and I am looking forward to it.

Our other "resolution" of sorts is the 52 week savings plan. Every Saturday we will each transfer the amount of the week into our separate savings accounts. Week 1 is $1 all the way through week 2 being $52. By 2015 we will have put $2800 into savings.

So that's what's been happening here. Kind of great stuff. We are looking ahead with excitement towards the continuation of 2014.

13 of 13: My Year In Pictures

Alternatively titled: *crying* My baby is so big. Fair warning a VERY C centered post. 

Most, but not all of the pictures were taken for Cari's Theme Thursday. Want to take more pictures in your life? Start participating! Even just once or twice a month will garner you more pictures. 

I was going to say that nothing spectacular happened in 2013. But it was full. Full of precious moments and first steps. Life happened in 2013 and sometimes the day to day battles are even more strenuous than BIG life events. (And we really didn't have any BIG life events in  2013.) 

January 2013

 February 2013

This was the Caps for Sale photo shoot. He is sad the monkey's took his caps. 

 March 2013

April 2013

How crazy that he started walking only a month ago in this picture. 

May 2013

With one of his birthday presents.

June 2013

July 2013

Never mind we moved in 9 months ago. The house is finally settled.

Mischief. 

 August 2013

September 2013

C ran his first race!

 October 2013

November 2013

December 2013

Over the river and through the woods. 

All in all, it was a pretty good year. Nothing dramatic happened really, but gosh I think that's okay. I have NO idea what 2014 has in store for us. We're only 3 days into it at this point. But I've got my fingers crossed for some good things. 

Linking up with the 13 pictures link up of Dwija's. Nice gal that one, to invite us over to wax poetic about our past year 2 years in a row.

Now seriously I promise and update, non-link up post soon. (It might be Monday if I am being honest.) 

Theme Thursday: Ridiculous

I'm back. We're home. Christmas(es) were good. New Year's was good too. It's 2014.

Theme Thursday. Cari's place. Ridiculous? 

That my 19 month old is probably an artistic genius? Or I am reading way too much into the scribbles? Probably the latter because, get real, but I'm still impressed by my Magna Doodle champion. 

It says Mom

It's a snail

Stay tuned for a real post coming soon to a computer screen (phone/tablet/etc.) near you.