Simplicity...

It's no secret to any of us that we are living in hard times...one of the best things about having a kid is that it teaches me on a daily basis that it doesn't matter. Mason has tons of toys, but if you have kids you know that he'd take a regular household item any day over the best that Leapfrog has to offer. So for this blog I thought I'd share just a few pics of some of his favorite things. (Watch out Oprah.)

If you have kids and you haven't used food coloring yet in your nightly bath...it's a MUST DO. RED, BLUE, or YELLOW... it's a blast! Not to worry, it won't stain baby or the tub. I have to admit. With water that looks this tropical and blue I've been tempted to try this myself after a long day. 

The squirt bottle...he must have played with this for a good hour straight. Although I have to admit that the dog was BEGGING me to take it away. He just kept spraying her and laughing.

Ok. I will admit this did take some serious cleaning up afterwords. Who knew shredded paper could be so much fun. I hear it's even better when your Mom, let's you wear your Christmas pajamas in April. :-)
We were at a Spring Training Game here. Forget cotton candy, forget the game, forget the free cookies. All he wanted to play with was this little ball.

So just remember... it's all in the simple joys of life that we find the most happiness.

Now I gotta get going...I'm bidding on a Kindle on Ebay. (Just kidding.)

We've Been Workin' On The Railroad!

Most of you have either noticed that I dropped off the face of the planet about two months ago...or you've heard me talking about this HUGE project I took on with my Dad, either way I thought you would all enjoy to see the final outcome.

For those of you that don't know, my Dad has been living with us for the past two months and building our son Mason the most amazing playroom. It all started about 6 months ago when my Dad retired. He needed a "project" to do for me while he was visiting. He casually asked me if I needed anything built for Mason, a playhouse? a bed? So I thought about it overnight and we dreamed up a "train" playroom. Mason got a railroad crossing piggy bank for his first birthday and that's where our inspiration came from.

What an amazing experience. Not only did we end up with an unbelievable room...but spending that time working, dreaming and hanging out with my Dad was priceless. I will never forget it and I know that Mason won't either. Just being able to see them together was something I will always treasure. Now when I pull up to the house with Mason in the car and open the garage, he sqeals "Gam-pa!!!!" It will be hard when we come home for the first time and he's not there working in the garage. 

Some fun facts about this room:

*Each car's number symbolizes one of our birthdays. The engine is my Dads. The Ball Car is Masons, the toy chest Neils and the Caboose is my birthday.

*The fold out Art Table is actually a chalk board as well.

*I wanted to put something in the room that was a tribute to my Dad. So I took him and Mason to the railroad tracks and got some GREAT pictures. They are hanging in the room so he'll always remember time with "Gam-pa!". The second slide show shows these ones.

THANKS DAD!!! We'll miss you!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Would you survive?

Neils and I just watched the 20/20 special on survival. I thought it was extremely interesting. There was a test offered online, which I have posted to the side. Kind of a fun, and enlightening test to take. What was most interesting about taking this test with Neils, was how we answered some of these questions the same and how we differed on some of them. 

Hope you enjoy it. 

Next time....hopefully a post with some pictures and an update. After all....wasn't Christmas like forever ago! :-)

Naughty or Nice?

Today we took Mason to get Santa pics with his friend Sofia. (Who we jokingly say is his future wife.) They've gone together to get pictures with Santa, both of the years of their lives. They are four months apart. It's so cute to watch them grow every year. I had to post the picture of Sofia who cried. I LOVE the pics of kids who cry with Santa. There is just something about the innocence of it that is just funny and sweet to me. We were hoping that Mason would be afraid...but nope. He just wiggled a lot and wanted to get down. We're still waiting to see if he made the naughty list or the nice one. 

Happy Holidays everyone!

Calling All Pumpkin Fanatics!!!

YEEEEESS! It's that time of year. Pumpkin pie! Pumpkin Lattes! Pumpkin Ice Cream! 

Ok, I know it's crazy to get this excited about an orange veggie, but there's just something about pumpkin anything that makes me get excited about fall and the upcoming holidays. 

So with Thanksgiving fast approaching I thought I'd share my new favorite, unique pumpkin recipe with ya'll. It's an awesome meal for the family that no joke will be on your plates from start to finish in 15 minutes! (A great easy meal for this week before the cooking marathon this weekend!)

Pumpkin-Sage Cream Sauce

Ingredients

1 cup(s) heavy cream

1/2 cup(s) pumpkin purée

1/4 cup(s) fresh-grated Parmesan

16  fresh sage leaves, sliced into thin strips

1/2 teaspoon(s) salt

1/4 teaspoon(s) fresh-ground pepper

1 tablespoon(s) unsalted butter

Directions

Combine the cream, pumpkin purée, Parmesan, sage, salt, and pepper in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Simmer the mixture until slightly thickened -- 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Toss with cooked pasta and serve immediately.

* I buy the pre-made cheese ravioli packages in the refrigerated section at the grocery store to go with this. It's awesome! This sauce also freezes really well if you wanted to make extra. EVEN MORE TIME SAVING! 

HIP HIP HOORAY FOR THE PUMPKIN!

Happy Fall & Thanksgiving everyone! 

My Little Model...for a day.

Now everyone can be famous! This is a fun time-waster. Thanks to my friend Alisha for showing me this site. The link on the picture will take you to the website where you can create your own! 

Have a great week!

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com

Ghost's, Goblins & Chickens???

Growing up in Utah, I remember cold Halloween nights. A hot bowl of chili or stew before we went out and hot chocolate when we came back. This was the first year that Mason could really take part in Halloween, so the costume had to be right. I guess I should have remembered that Halloween in AZ is 80 degrees. The poor kid was sweating to death in this WOOL suit! 

A whole new meaning to "CHICK" magnet!

Trick or Treating! 

Heading out with my friend Sofia.

Goin' through our loot...

Makin' Halloween cookies with Mom.