Happy Fourth!

Our fourth was fun filled with lots of family, friends, and food. Not necessarily in that order.

Ahem.

For reals--we had some awesome weather, even better food, and the best company. 

I learned several years ago when the Peanut was nearly three that if I wanted a special family picture to document any type of occasion, it's best to get it at the start of the event.  Everybody is rested, clean, hair all combed, etc.  Everyone is also typically in the most solid emotional state they will be in that day.  Not that we've ever had any type of temper tantrum.  No, not me us! My family has never done that.   

Sorry, I couldn't seem to find the sarcasm font.  

That said, we got family pictures first thing when we got to my parents.

It was nice enough to go swimming, and these four girls bonded (L-R: my cousin's little girl; my best friend from high school-her little girl; my other cousin's little girl; and of course, our little Peanut) rather quickly and were busy playing with each other ALL day. 

And I do mean, ALL day.

Our little guy had his own activities, including getting into absolutely everything and keeping all said adults on their toes, blowing bubbles, and even having his very first sucker.  They weren't a kiddin' when they say you are always more lax with the second one.  Peanut?  I think she was pushing three and half before I let her have a sucker.  This little boy?  Not even a week into two and he had more than one this weekend.  I know. 


There was also baseball with some of the kids and dads.  Peanut has been practicing on choking up on the bat correctly with lots of instruction by those who have come before her.  My friend's little boy was so sweet and patient with Peanut.  He's such a good big brother to his own little sister and it's evident in how he treats our Peanut.  So very sweet!

We also had horseshoes, yummy Sangria, and this dessert made by yours truly.  All not pictured, because either a) blogger fail or b) I was having such a good time, I didn't get pictures.  You decide. 

We had one small kerfuffle with the Peanut, but she bounced back in no less than two minutes.  Because you know, she might miss something. 

At the end of the day, we had a pretty awesome fireworks show (thanks Grandma and Grandpa!) and it was proven once again that boys will be boys.  Not that we ever doubted that. 

Cough, cough--dad, hubs, my uncle-cough, cough. 

Even our boy thoroughly enjoyed the festivities.  So much so that he has asked for fow woks {fireworks} each night since the 4th.  The noise did startle him a bit, so we got out Peanut's ear muffs for him.  Poor kid.  I'm thinking this a great one for the future graduation/wedding slide show?
 

I even got to play around with the camera and I actually got some pretty good fireworks shots.  Finally, three years and counting and I finally got some worth posting!  Third time's a charm, right?

Last, to close out the evening my dear sweet cousin camped out with the four girls in a tent....and captured this sweet moment of the girls before going to sleep in the tent.  

Blessings abound. 

The Last Two (Ahem....) Months

Crazy that it's been nearly two months since I've posted.  I mean, aside from our fabulous (why no, I have no shame!) Christmas card I posted a couple of weeks ago.  Oh, and a little more on that.....we had this great opportunity to get custom family pictures for a SCREAMIN' deal through my husband's auntie. 

And we got to keep the images.

And they turned out great.

What more could this cheap momma ask for??!?!?

Anyhow......I was talking to my mom a few weeks ago about this poor neglected blog of mine.  I feel so bad that it's been pretty much put out to pasture.  Because I like my blog.  I do.  But I like my pictures better than my writing (and I am NOT saying I have photography figured out--not by a long shot!), so I feel I always need to include pictures in my posts.  However, by the time I get the photos edited and sorted and ready for posting, I have no energy-much less time!!!-to get it all done.  And let's face it, the blog requires that I think.  And at the end of a L-O-N-G day, I don't want to think.  I just want to veg out and watch my mindless TV shows and call it a day.  Ya' know?  That and then the only time I have for this blog is after both the kiddos are in bed, and that is usually when my hard working husband is getting home and I'd rather spend those few precious minutes with him before we head for bed to get some sleep before it all starts over again.  

And I am not complaining.......I'm really not.  I guess what I am saying is that my priorities have shifted.  I used to blog during Peanut's nap time.  And I don't have that anymore......plus I have two littles that occupy my time, along with all my other home-fires-burning-responsibilities.  Plus, we are home now, so family occupies my free time too.  How blessed am I???

I would love to say I am going to consistently post three times a week, but I know I won't.  Hopefully it will be better than every eight weeks, but who knows?  I definitely will be around and I'm not throwing in the towel, but for now, please know that if I am not here consistently, that I am enjoying life! 

Now that my sparseness in posting has been addressed (for the final time!), here are a few of the highlights from the last few months. 

The Sunday before Thanksgiving I finally, finally got over myself (my fear of getting up in front of more than 5 five people) and I got baptized at our church's Thanksgiving service.

It was nerve wracking and wonderful.  

At the beginning of December, we got to attend Peanut's preschool Christmas program.  It was precious. 

I couldn't stop crying. Are we surprised? 

I think it was my favorite part of the Christmas season. 

Oh, and case in point about getting photos ready to post and then never getting them posted:

Peanut got QUITE the kick out of her little brother and herself having froggy jammies.  So I snapped this at bedtime when I realized he was about to retire his pair. 

We had a great Christmas celebrating with lots of family.  It was fabulous.

Peanut received a pink Princess guitar from my aunt and then proceeded to entertain us for as long as we let her on Christmas Eve.  Thinks she's Maria Von Trapp, she does.  If only we didn't have to wait until she is five for CYT. 

Finally, our little guy is growing up so fast.  He was over 21 pounds at his six month appointment. Yes, I know.  He is rolling over as his main mode of transportation at this point, but I am sure he will crawling soon just to keep up with his sister.  Speaking of Peanut, well, he adores her completely.  CANNOT take his eyes off her when she is around.  (yes indeed, more I never got around to posting....)

He started solids this week and is enjoying it immensely.  He is sitting up really well too.  Still sometimes topples backwards, but he'll go 5-10 minutes at a time before he does topple.  His little ear tufts are nearly gone and he has graduated from the carrier car seat to the big boy car seat (still rear facing of course).  I miss the carrier.  Although he was SO heavy in that thing, they are SO convenient.  Now I am using my shopping cart cover or stroller all. the. time. to avoid as many germs as possible.  But he loves it.  Stimulation overload I think. Plus, he is such a smiley baby, he has the other fellow shoppers eating out of his hand. 

I kid you not. 


 He is my sweet boy and she is my spirited girl.  I can't wait to see what the new year has in store for us. 




  

The View From Here

My poor, sweet, innocent girl has no idea that normal people don't take pictures of their food before it is eaten.  She has an old digital camera of ours (no battery for it, so it's a play camera for her) that she runs and gets every time she sees me pull out my camera to take a picture of some new creation.  And then I am almost always requested to take a picture of her plate before we sit down.  Hopefully therapy won't be too costly....

Please ignore the she-just-had-a-nap-shortly-before-this-picture-was-taken hair. 

She is obsessed with her cell phone lately.  It's a toy one, lest anyone think we are those people.  Anyhow, Daddy made a phone call as he was sitting down to dinner the other night and she had to run and get her pink princess phone. And she proceeded to have a one sided conversation that included, but was not limited to, "Um, yeah [listens] mmmmm, no [listens again] 'kay, bye!"  Followed by a quick shut of the phone and then tossing it on the table.

Really, do I do that?  

Apparently I do.

Ouch. 

Oh, and check out Hubs' new goatee in the background.  I finally got him to grow one on our trip.  Corporate changed the rules at his work and now employees are allowed to have facial hair.  Verdict?   

Me likey.  

A lot. 

Nearly one year after she got her glamorous dress up trunk from Grandma and Grandpa, she is finally fully "into it."  She comes up with all sorts of new and interesting fashion combinations. It's a blast to watch.

Guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

She is very much into the markers I picked up for her.  She draws nearly every day.  She's not naughty with them at all, but sometimes she gets a little um, over zealous.  Some got on the table (which is what happens when you color over the same exact spot on the paper 462 times and the ink bleeds through) and she got some on her hand, which she promptly wiped on her shirt.  Oops.  But it washed out no problem.  God bless the chemists that came up with washable ink.

Have a happy weekend everyone!

Year in Review: This Year's Top Ten

I thought this might be fun for some of you who are newer here. I use Google Analytics to monitor my blog traffic. Let me tell you--it is always interesting to see what brings readers over here.  Some are surprising, some not.

And yes, I am a nerd like that.  

So for this year (actually from February until now--when I started Analytics) here are the ten most popular links that brought readers this way.

1. Recipes ~ wow...that's flattering...hopefully no one was disappointed!

2. White Enchiladas ~  this is such a good one!

3. Homemade Vanilla Wafers and Banana Pudding ~ thank you, Alton!

4. Best Ever Muffins ~ I don't even care to admit how many times we've had these this year.

5. Homemade Ranch Dressing ~ thank you, Mom, for introducing this one to me (us)!

6. Homemade Enchilada Sauce ~ a close friend of mine from my former job introduced this to all my former co-workers and they are in love with this sauce just as much as I am (and apparently everyone else too!). 

7. Fresh Cherry Muffins ~ awww, shucks, this is one of the first recipes I posted here.

8. Spicy Pickled Carrots ~ thank you again, Alton!

9. Chocolate Chip Cookies ~ this one just makes me laugh.  Really?  But they are pretty good.  ;)

10. Brown Sugar ~ More of a tutorial, but a good tip nonetheless! 


Here is to another fun year in blogging! 

New Domain

I finally broke down and purchased my own domain name on the good ol' world wide web.  Blogger says it will take care of redirecting, but just in case it doesn't--for any of you who have this site book marked or saved in a feed reader, the new site is  lovingmydomesticlife.com.  No more lovingmydomesticlife.blogspot.com  Just wanted to let y'all know. 

I don't even know where that y'all came from?  You'd think I just got back from Texas or something.  Weird. 

Family Time

Peanut is napping right now, getting some much needed rest after her fun filled weekend with her Grandma, Grandpa, and Auntie.  So, while the laundry is going, I will try my best to convey the fun we had over this last too, too fast 48 hours.

I know, I am such a multi-tasker.  I don't know how I do it.  

First, it seemed like it took FOREVER for them to get here.  I was just soo excited, and of course, they ran into to inclement weather (also known as torrential downpours), two car accidents, AND construction on the way here.  Needless to say, I was antsy, and according to them, so were they--so it felt like it took an extra two hours, but in reality, probably took an extra 30-45 minutes.  {Sigh}
 
As soon as they got here, I received a run down from Peanut (who was looking out the front window) of each of her visitors.  Papa! {Grandpa}  Geeni! {Auntie} (who were both sitting in the front seats)  And last but not least,  GaaMaw!  {Grandma}

Peanut was quite ecstatic, as she had three new playmates. Much more appealing than Mommy--rest assured, I know she loves me, but hey, she gets me 24-7. They played with the blots {blocks} and Grandpa built some pretty amazing structures.  Auntie built some forts with the furniture and blankets and Grandma let Peanut discover the joys of quilting looking through all her quilting tools and threads.  

Peanut was entirely pleased with herself when she figured out what a thimble was for.  (Peanut placed the one on Grandma....)

I know how much I enjoy Peanut, and it is even more special to see our family cultivate their relationships with her.  I just love it.

We also spent some time at the park, which of course, is always lots of fun for the Peanut--and it was fun for all of us too--the weather was FAB. U. LOUS.   We couldn't have asked for a nicer day.  

They blew bubbohs {bubbles} and collected pine cones for some Christmas crafts my Mom already has planned.  I know.   And Auntie swung Peanut in the air for lots and lots of giggles.

And just for the record, the biting the tongue thing is COMPLETELY a Papa thing (my Grandpa)--it totally helps to bite your tongue when concentrating really hard.   

Oh, and I will have you know that all of these pictures were taken with the camera on full manual mode, with me determining the best shutter speed and aperture.  

Which is why I took over 500 pictures this weekend, and in editing, whittled it down to about 90 pictures.

However, according to Scott Kelby, that is absolutely to be expected--even with the professionals.  So I wasn't even discouraged. 

Even though it was cut short, we had a wonderful time....I we CANNOT wait for the 4th of July.

And in other news, Happy Anniversary to me.  It's my one year blogiversary.  I have over 200 posts under my belt....here's to many, many more! 

********************

Oh, and Auntie--just so you know, I have since gotten Peanut up from her nap and she is walking around saying "Dude" right now.....

Nice.