What I'm Crushing On...At The Moment

I mean come on...I hate to say it, but you've got to be absolutely crazy if you don't think this bow pillow is to die for. I want to make them, and put all over my house. We'll just have to see what the hubby thinks. The best part is, they don't look too difficult to make. Score! You can find the lovely little instructions right here. Cute blog, huh? 

What are you crushing on?

Do tell.

FOUR

Since when did time start flying by so fast? Too fast if you ask me. Honestly people! Our little Eloise is  FOUR months old today. These past four months have whizzed by. Even though I have loved every minute of the newborn stage, this little girl keeps getting more and more fun each and every day. She is growing up right before my eyes...into such a lovely little thing. 

Here are a few things about Eloise at 4 months that I want to remember:

• She is FINALLY starting to love her tummy time...what was once a chore, is now something she finds joy in. She even got up onto her knees the other day. Maybe she'll be crawling before we know it? (I'm not so sure I'm ready for that yet)
• She has an obsession with her little tongue. But then again, she always has. She loves feeling it between her fingers...it's one of her many past times. This is why her daddy calls her his "Little Lizard."
• She could sit and stare at her feet for hours. I think she just barely realized they were on the end of her legs, and she thinks they are pretty darn neat...especially her toes!
• We get a kick out of how much she drools. Sometimes it seems like it's constant and never ending. Which brings us to the bubbles...oh the bubbles this girl can blow. 
• She constantly babbles, and even screams on occasion. I think she is going to have a very loud and proud voice, just like her mama.
• She is becoming quite the copy cat. She loves to copy the noises we make, the silly faces we pull, and she especially loves to copy us when we blow out our lips...the whole blowing out her lips things is her newest trick.
• She is a daredevil, and absolutely LOVES when we pretend we are going to drop her.
• She has the roll down...rolling from front to back and back to front.
• She loves to sing songs with actions. 
• There is no other way to hold her besides facing out...I think it's because she is so nosey and doesn't want to miss a thing.
• She is mesmerized by her Daddy when he plays the guitar and sings. Every once in a while she even tries to sing along. This is probably one of my favorite things she does. 
• There is nothing she loves to cuddle and snuggle with more than her pink silky blankey...sometimes it's a complete lifesaver. 
• Anything you give her goes straight to her mouth.
• She adores other kids! She loves to get really close to their face and talk to them. She is quite the social butterfly, and I love it. 
• Bath time has got to be one of her most favorite times of the day...she loves to kick non-stop, and occasionally tries to drink the bath water. Plus, she knows that after her bath, she gets to be massaged with lotion, which may just be her second favorite part of the day.
• She is extremely ticklish, especially under her chin and in her pits. Mommy and Daddy can't help but tickle her though, because that's when we get to hear those loud, full-belly laughs that we love so much.
• She doesn't like to cuddle on your chest anymore, which breaks my heart. The only time I can ever get her to do this is when she is very tired, after a late night feeding.
• She loves her Mama's hair and necklaces...she thinks it's pretty dang fun to pull and play with both of them, constantly.
• Her fingernails grow like weeds...weeds I tell you! I swear we have to cut them every single week. She gets this from both her Mommy and Daddy. 
• She loves the taste of watermelon and cantaloupe. Mommy likes to sneak in a lick here and there whenever she eats it. 

Oh man, I could go on and on...I sure do love this baby girl!!

Getting Caught Up

We have definitely been enjoying these gorgeous days we have been having, with temperatures in the 80's. It has been quite heavenly! I don't know how many times I have mentioned to Zach in the past few days that this is the perfect weather, and that I still have no clue why we live in a place where it snows. I am much happier in the sunshine. Let's get caught up...

Eloise has been lounging around the house in just her diaper, to keep cool.

Oh, and she has been working on flexing her muscles...as seen in this picture. She sure knows how to make her mama laugh!

Am I the last person on the face of this earth to discover Coconut Water? Umm, YUM!

Eloise has discovered the camera on my iphone, and all she wants to do is stare at herself in it. 

We spent a lot of time this weekend playing on a blanket outside.

On Saturday morning, we took a family walk over to a new restaurant that opened up in our neighborhood. Root's Cafe. It was absolutely delicious! Let's just say, I know what we will be doing with our Saturday mornings from here on out.

And of course, we have been enjoying some summertime fruit. Watermelon is my all time favorite, if you didn't already know that. And look what we found when we cut into ours...a heart. Cute, huh?

Eloise's Eye Patch

Poor Eloise...Her Mommy always makes her wear such large and somewhat ridiculous bows. I swear half of the time they go down over hear eye like an eye patch, and it usually takes me a while to notice. Oops! The things we do for fashion, right? 

You guys...It's the weekend!! I for one am jumping for joy. It is supposed to be about 85 degrees here in the next couple of days. Definitely no complaints here! 

Any fun plans weekend plans?

I hope it's lovely, whatever you do.

xo

It Isn't Pretty...But It Sure Is Tasty

My cute Grandpa turned 80 last week...So of course, we had to celebrate! His favorite dessert is this chocolate wafer and cream cake, so I made it for the party. Now I admit that I am no gourmet cook, but this dessert turned out perfect. If I do say so myself. It is ridiculously easy to make, and trust me, everyone will rave about this delicious treat for days and days. 

This is the most important ingredient...Nabisco Chocolate Wafers. I've never tried this dessert with any other kind. Take my word for it, and stick with these. 

 And of course, you will need one quart of whipping cream.

 Whip your cream until it is light and fluffy. Add two tbsp. of vanilla extract and 1 cup of sugar into the cream just as it is finishing being whipped. 

 I used plastic bowls this time, but any small bowl will work. 

With a rubber spatula, spread a small amount of whipped cream onto the bottom of the bowl. This will act as the base for the dessert, and hold the wafers down. 

 Next, place one chocolate wafer on top of the whipped cream. 

 Add another small layer of whipped cream onto the wafer. 

 Grab two wafers, and with your rubber spatula, put whipped cream in between. Don't skimp on the whipped cream...the more, the better. 

 Continue adding cookies and whipped cream, in an alternating pattern. I usually use anywhere from 6-8 cookies in each dessert. 

 Then, flip the cookies on their sides, and place in the bowl, on top of the whipped cream and wafer.

 Once again with your rubber spatula, cover the entire dessert with whipped cream. Like I said earlier, don't skimp on the cream. 

 I told you that it isn't that pretty, but trust me, it is delicious!

 Cover each dessert with plastic wrap, and place in your refrigerator. Let them sit overnight. They will become chilled, and the wafers will soften up like a cookies and cream cake. 

 I topped mine with little flags with an 80 on them for the birthday party. They also look good with chocolate shavings on top of them. 

 Enjoy!

Mondays

Why is it SO difficult to get Eloise to look at the camera? Our many attempts this weekend...

I was thinking yesterday, I'd be completely lying if I said that I didn't love Mondays. Yes, I'm sure that some of you think I'm plain crazy. Most people absolutely dread Mondays. The thought of the weekend being over, and getting back to the daily grind plagues their minds all weekend long. The ongoing weekly routine. But me being the optimist that I am, soak up Mondays. I mean come on, what's better than a fresh start? Being able to forget the mishaps from the week before, and instead focus on the week ahead. All the endless possibilities. Mondays are heavenly, in my book. Hoping you all had a lovely weekend, and a fresh start yesterday with your Monday.

Our weekend was perfect. It was jam packed with...

Birthday celebrations (My Grandpa's 80th, and my Best Friend's 23rd)

Movie night and Mexican take-out

Eloise rolling over onto her tummy for the first time

Meeting our friend's new dog

Sunday walks with the fam

Our Day at Costco

Yesterday, Zach and I decided to bite the bullet and get some new tires for our car. We have had the same ones for about 3 years, and we have put some serious mileage on them. I'm talking about driving from Utah to Florida and back, a couple of trips to California, and of course our day to day driving. Our poor tires were used and abused, but they served us well. We decided to get our new tires at the ever so trusty, local Costco. Of course they wouldn't let us make an appointment, so we had to wait while they put the new tires on...which somehow took two hours. That being said, we wasted time venturing through the store. Talk about one heck of a family outing!

First, we picked out our fancy new tires. They actually have tread, you guys! No more ice skating around town for us. Yipee!

Eloise and I enjoyed being pushed around the store by strong old Mr. Miller...poor guy, I make him do so many strange things. That's why he loves me, right? 

We wandered up and down every single isle, and decided that we could spend some serious dough there on things we really don't need. Who doesn't love a store that has just about everything? 

Eloise munched on her fingers to help pass the time...her new favorite hobby.

We just had to grab some lunch while we were there. A slice of pizza, a hot dog, a fountain drink and frozen yogurt all for under $5.00...yes please.

I resorted to taking silly pictures of myself to help with the boredom. I didn't know that pulling revolting faces was such a talent of mine. You learn something new everyday. Oh yeah, I took some pictures of our shoes, and Mr. Miller too...like I said, we were boooored.

Why is this store so great?

US in THREE

Oh, how this picture describes our relationship so well...

Personality

Him:

1. Passionate

2. VERY Sarcastic

3. Humorous 

Her:

1. Sarcastic

2. Nurturing

3. VERY Talkative and Social

Our Interests

Him:

1. Sports

2. Golf

3. Friends

Her: 

1. Entertaining 

2. Flowers

3. Family

Foods We Couldn't Live Without

Him:

1. Barbecue Potato Chips

2. Pizza

3. Bacon Cheeseburgers 

Her:

1. Ben and Jerry's ice cream

2. Edamame 

3. Pickles

Movies We Could Watch Over and Over Again

Him:

1. Shawshank Redemption

2. Forest Gump

3. Tommy Boy

Her:

1. Pretty Woman

2. Sleepless In Seattle

3. Rocky

Places We Would Love to Visit

Him:

1. New Zeland

2. Spain

3. Jerusalem

Her:

1. Paris

2. Italy

3. Tahiti

Isn't She Such A Lovely Little Tour Guide?

Eloise would like to give you all a quick tour of her fancy little room.

Enjoy...

Yesterday

I know that I'm not the first person to admit this, but I'll just come out and say it. Life is NOT perfect. In fact, sometimes it can be incredibly hard. Take yesterday for instance...Yesterday was rough for some reason. The house was a disaster, and there was a huge pile of laundry staring me down smack dab in the eyes. The hubby was gone for what seemed like years, focusing on school and work. When he got home, he had a terrible migraine and just needed to go to bed. There was nothing I could do to help the poor guy. The baby was unusually fussy. She didn't want to sleep, and had a difficult time eating. Those few extra pounds i've been trying to get rid of since having Eloise just seemed to creep up on me extra hard. Almost to the point where it was all I could think of. Like I said, yesterday was rough. I won't hide the fact that a few tears were shed. As I sat down last night feeling pretty sorry for myself, I somehow knew that everything would be ok. In the late hours of the night, as I sat there holding my soundly sleeping baby girl, I realized that everything that had been plaguing my thoughts didn't even matter. I would go to sleep, and wake up knowing that today is a whole new day. I have the opportunity to make today better. And do you know what? It already is. Here's to a better day. 

Our Easter Sunday Went A Little Something Like This...

HOPPY EASTER

Happy Easter from our family to yours!

We hope you have a wonderful day celebrating with those you love.

For your viewing pleasure, please enjoy a picture of Miss Eloise and the scary Easter Bunny that she visited at our local mall. He wouldn't give her back to me after this picture was taken. Strange? Just a bit. Poor baby looks terrified...I think it's pretty dang hilarious. Am I a terrible mother for thinking so?

Finally FRIDAY

It's finally friday...thank goodness! Even though my weeks are no longer filled with long work days and hours spent in a classroom, I still find myself craving the weekend. Maybe it's because Eloise and I finally get our Zachary back from the daily grind. He's all ours, and we sure do soak up every minute with him that we get. Here's what we have planned for the weekend...

Spending time with our 4 other kids
(the family I nannied for years)

Staying in our pj's as long as we possibly can

Taking E to her very first neighborhood Easter egg hunt

Shopping and eating downtown with friends

Catching up on our new favorite show
(How I Met Your Mother-I'm a bit obsessed)

Helping Eloise find her basket left by the oh-so-clever Easter Bunny

Easter Sunday dinner with the fam


What are your plans??

My Little Girl

Oh how I love this little girl so, so much! It still amazes me each and everyday...the capacity of how much I can love her. Everyone told me that you never know how much love you have to give to someone, until you become a parent. Well, it's true. When I hold my little Eloise, I have the whole world in my arms. Nothing compares. Sometimes it seems that when I hold her, the world around me freezes, and it's just the two of us. Nothing else seems to matter. I love that I get to spend every minute of everyday with her. I see her bright smiling face, first thing in the morning...just inches from mine.  I get to kiss her over and over again when I tell her goodnight. I love that I get to be there to witness all of her firsts, and watch as she discovers the world around her. Our world. I love knowing that I am the one who knows exactly how to give her what she needs. There is nothing sweeter than her chunky little legs, her round cheeks, her button nose, and her one dimple. Yes, one dimple just like her daddy. Her fuzzy blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and cute little toes that I could play with for hours. I love how she smells. I love her sweet voice. She is a chatterbox, just like her Mommy. Shy at times, and even a little stubborn, like her daddy. And do you know what? I love that about her. She is going to be a dare devil...I can already tell. She knows just what to do, to get her way. I think it may serve her very well in life. She is incredibly social. Her little personality is definitely starting to shine through, and I love everything about it. Her big contagious smile and loud laugh make me melt. She has her daddy wrapped SO tightly around her finger, and you know what? I think he loves it. I love this little girl with all of my heart. My little Eloise Madeline Miller...a big name for such a tiny little thing. 

ONE Reason Why Husbands Are SO Great

If any of you are as clumsy as I am, I'm sure you have the beyond terrible habit of dropping your phone. And if you are anything like me, I'm positive you have dropped it time and time again. No bueno I tell you!  Let's go back to yesterday when I dropped my poor old phone for the last time. Surprisingly, after all of those falls, my ever so trusty iphone held up like a champ. Well, that was until yesterday when my phone unfortunately bit the dust. Clumsy me dropped it smack dab onto the floor, and the entire screen shattered! Nope, it didn't just crack a little bit here and there...it completely shattered. My heart broke. I almost shed a tear. That phone had been my partner in crime for the past two years. It went nearly everywhere with me. That iphone was even in the birthing room when my daughter was born. Not many people can say that, thank goodness. I kid you not, we were pretty much attached at the hip. My poor broken phone...

Sad huh? Well this phone decided that it wasn't going to give up on me just yet...it was going to go down with a fight. Miraculously, it still worked. Yes, shards of glass were breaking off into my hand as I used it...But hey, it still let me text, call, and surf the web. It was one of the very few miracles I have witnessed in my life. I decided that I was going to stick it out, and that this phone was going to last until I had an upgrade in September...yeah right. The second I picked up Zach from work, noticed his perfect looking phone and showed him mine, those hopes were out the window. I was going to die with such a sad phone. This morning, as Eloise was napping I took another hopeless look at my iphone. Then guess what happened? With my great luck, the phone officially killed over...or so I thought. It stopped making calls, and the internet wouldn't work either. Now I admit, I am no technological genius, but I knew this didn't just happen from the phone's great and terrible fall. As I sat there trying to figure out what in the world went wrong, I heard the lock on our front door turning. This kinda freaked me out, because the hubby was supposed to be headed to work. I stood up, and ran to the door just as it opened. Thank goodness it wasn't an intruder. It was my lucky day...Zach told me that he got called off work, and was going to spend the rest his day with his girls. Yay!! I love little surprises like that. We went into the living room and I sat down on the couch, glancing over at my poor, poor dead to the world phone. Well guess what happened next? Mr. Miller, otherwise known as my knight in shining armor, nonchalantly threw a little white shopping bag onto my lap. I shyly opened it up and guess what was in there? A brand spankin' new white iphone. Yipee! I was exstatic. I don't have to use my cracked phone that gave me a headache and strained my eyes just by looking at it. Yep that's right, my wonderful hubby replaced my phone without me even knowing. It all made sense why my phone suddenly didn't have any service. He had already activated the new one and had it with him on the way to surprise his little wifey. Isn't he just the absolute best? It's the little surprises like this that put a big old smile on my face. You know what they say...a happy wife, is a happy life.