A Mother's Bliss

Nap time.

It's now time to go for a run, pick up and put away toys, fold the laundry, do the dishes, sweep the floor, eat my lunch... Pure, uninterrupted bliss.

I woke up to this...

I'm not sure what happened to the sunny weather I was talking about last week. And here I thought Spring was just around the corner - HA! Jokes on me and my tulips I guess...and the little flower I just planted in my flower pot. Oh well, the snow is beautiful. My dad brought Stella to school this morning. Jonah is still sleeping and Ava was so tired she wanted a morning nap. I think I'll just relax and enjoy my cup of coffee on this cold, quiet morning.

In case you didn't know...

...It's Sean's birthday today! He is now the big 31. It's crazy to think I've known him since he was 18. 13 years is a long time to know and love someone. It seems like yesterday when he was calling me in my dorm room singing songs he wrote for me over the phone. Burp Girl (the song he wrote for/about me)...aawww...those were the days. Happy Birthday Sean. I love you.

...My blog is private now. How does that make everyone feel? Now I can tell you all my secrets. No, just kidding. I'm glad it's private. I really don't have a problem with people looking at my blog if there is a connection. I mean, I have no qualms with friends of friends reading it, I'm guilty of doing that. So I'm open if you know of someone that wants to keep reading, I really have no problem with that.

...The Pioneer Woman has good recipes. First of all if you haven't checked out her site you have to. I love that lady. There isn't a day that goes by when after visiting her website I don't laugh at the things she writes. It's good stuff. I recommend a daily dose of her. Anyway, I made a couple of her recipes last night.
Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Fluffy New Potatoes



The potatoes were perfect, but next time I'll do things differently with the parmesan crusted chicken. I confess, I didn't follow the recipe exactly with the chicken, and I know that was the problem. It was good though, Sean said "you're the best cook ever." Jonah said he just liked the "down" parts - meaning the chicken underneath the crust :). Stella liked it, although while I was stirring together the ingredients for the chicken this was her commentary...

"Mom, WHAT is that?"
"OH Mom, I'm freaking out!"
"Who is the Pioneer Woman anyways?"
"Well she's no Rachel Ray!" Speaking of Rachel Ray...

...Rachel Ray came to the San Juan Islands. I'll admit, I was bummed I didn't see her while she was here. I'm a fan. Her and her husband were touring around the island for a few days for her Rachel Ray Traveling show. The show airs tonight at 8:30pm on the Food Network if anyone is interested. I'm going to be making her chocolate eclairs tonight for after dinner! Yum-O ;)

...Buzz is still flying through every once in awhile.
I wish I could bottle up some of Jonah's cuteness and share it with all of you. He's got a lot to give. I catch myself saying "Jonah you're cute" a lot of times through out the day. The things he does, the things he says and how he says it... it's just cute. He has said this twice now and each time I laughed. He asked me "mom when is summer?" So I told him it starts in June. Then he looked at me with a face that looked like it didn't quite understand and said "Junior??" Oh man, it made me laugh...both times.

...I just looked through the Mini Boden catalog. That was my first mistake. I love that catalog. If I could, I'd buy one of each for my kids. The simplicity of their clothes, and the pure cuteness of them....sigh...I like it a lot.

...Ava woke up with some sweet hair this morning.It suits her just right. She's wild, but I love her.

...The weather has been beautiful! It's still cold, but the sun has been shining all week. I love it. It makes me excited for working outside in the flowers and for summer to come. Although, physically I'm not ready yet. I need more time in the Parsons' gym before I'm shorts and tank tops ready. Stella and Jonah hollered down to me from upstairs the other day saying they got their swimsuits and were ready to go swimming. They were both very sad when I told them no. Mind you, it is still only 40 degrees outside!

Happy Sweethearts Day!

A night in with my Valentine...

artichoke dip
yummy steak gorgonzola salad
Izze sparkling juice for me
Henry Weinhards rootbeer for Sean
homemade card from Sean
a hilarious card from me...it's tradition
conversation hearts
heart shaped cookies with extra frosting
self-timer pictures...always good for a laugh
movie

Happy Valentines Day!

Tag Your It

4X4 Challenge...

OK, I was tagged by Jenny and Emily. I had to go through my photos and go to my 4th folder and post the 4th picture.

I recently put all my pictures on discs and then deleted them off my computer (our hard drive is BEYOND full...we need a new computer badly), but I have a few random folders I still need to transfer and haven't erased yet. I'll admit I was a little nervous as to what the 4th picture in the 4th folder might hold. I was praying it wasn't some gross picture of me that I forgot to delete...big sigh... it wasn't! Here it is, the 4th picture from the 4th folder...

This picture is of Stella with her new baby brother Jonah. Stella was going through the "cute smile" phase. She had recently turned two years old. Jonah was 2 weeks old in this picture. I wish I could go back and kiss both of those soft, squishy faces...I miss them.

I now tag......Erin (come on Erin, you have to play ;), Jorden, Tori, Molly (you too Molly), Kristy B., Kirra and Amber.... and whoever else wants to play. You know you want to.

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Sean got home last night from a 2 week absence due to work. It's true about the saying, absence makes the heart grow fonder, my heart is fond ;). It's good to have him home again.

I'm thinking that all of you may have fond hearts for my children due to the absence of pictures. So here are several pictures for all of your fond hearts...

Stella talking to dad

Stella posing...again.

Jonah's "scary" face

Jonah's cute face...well the mouth is still scary, but the rest of him is pretty cute :)

Jonah wearing "swim" goggles...actually they probably would work in the water because they are so tight!

Ava looking out the window for kitty

Ava playing outside with the big kids and riding Jonah's old scooter. It'd be much easier for her to play outside if she would just learn to walk already...but then again, it's okay that she doesn't. I really don't want her to grow up any faster then she already is.

I hope this gave you all happy hearts.

Pay It Forward Recap

Okay, the winners are Kim, Kirra and Kristy! All 'K' names! :) Thanks for participating girls! In the next 365 days I'll be happily crafting with you in mind. Be sure to blog about what you crafted for your 3 participants, after the gifts have been mailed off, so we all can see!

Pay It Forward

I am excited to be a recipient of Amber's Pay it Forward post and I'm even more excited to "pay it forward" here.

Here's how it works:

I will be receiving an item from Amber. In the mean time, the first three people to comment on this post that they want to participate, will receive a handmade item from me. I do get 365 days to complete it; I promise to try not to take that long though! The gift is a surprise and I will do my best to tailor it to you.

If you are interested, post in the comments here. If you are one of the first three people, then go ahead and post your "Pay it Forward" on your blog.

The handmade items do not have to be extensive. Do not feel you need to spend days and days on them. Just do what you can.
Fun, fun! =)

Painters remorse???

Actually, it's more like; painter can't make up her mind, or, painter freaking out about the wrong finish. Yep, I had a few problems. The first little snag was when I got my two gallons of paint and started putting it on. When I looked at it after it was dry it was way too shiny. So I freaked and had a minor break down. That was last Saturday night. So Monday morning I called Sherwin Williams and complained because I purchased the exact same finish as the quart I had recently bought and the quart by no means was shiny. Sherwin Williams graciously said they would take it back and give me new paint. This is great and all, but considering where I live it's not an easy task to just go and take it back. So Tuesday I headed to the main-land and exchanged the paint. Phew, ready to go now right?! Nope. On to the second problem. I painted all day Wednesday getting all the walls covered with one coat and when I stood back and looked at my progress, it was too dark. I told myself I'll look at it in the morning. Well, it was still too dark come morning. I love the color, but the shadows above my cabinets and in the corners were way too dark for me. When the sun was high and natural light flowed in to my house the color was great, but when night came, it was just too dark. So again, I had another minor break down. Friday I went to the local paint store and sought out some professional help. Their suggestion was add a quart of white. I probably had a gallon and half of paint left to mix it with. So I bought the quart of white and as I was leaving I said, "I'm pretty sure I'll be back to buy new paint." But when I got home and mixed it in and started painting again it was good. I liked it. It was just enough to notice, but not enough to take away from the color...if that makes sense. I have no regrets painting it this color, although I will say it isn't perfect yet. As much as I love the look of deep colors, I've come to the realization that my eye is drawn to lighter, airy, shades. This color is fun though, and I'm happy with the change. I know once I get stuff on the walls and add different pops of color it will be great and I'll like it even more.

Here's the well awaited pictures. We'll call this color, Calico with a shake of white :)

I love coming down stairs and seeing the blue in the kitchen.

The above picture is of a wall I wasn't actually going to paint. But Jonah quickly changed my mind when he was "helping" me paint and decided to start on this one...oh well, I guess it's not a bad thing.