For the Love of Yogurt

So we were over by TCBY the other day on West 11th and decided to stop in and get some Fro-Yo. Does anyone remember the glory days of Fro-Yo from the 90's? Oh the 90's, when hair was still poofy, shoulder pads were cool and Fro-Yo was the "it" dessert! Well it just so happens that Dan and I dated and fell in love over a dish of frozen yogurt at TCBY in Provo, Utah! There will always be a special place in my heart for White Chocolate Mousse yogurt from TCBY. Ahhh the sweetness, the sublime pefection!

Then it was the cookie. Mrs. Fields and Great American Cookie Company, how I miss you and the awesome Double Doozie! ( Delightfully creamy frosting between two perfectly baked cookies.) Now days its all about the cupcake. I'm sorry, but sometimes they just try too hard to make it extra-fancy and the result is a sub-par lump of cold, hard crumbs with a pound of greasy frosting on top. Blah! I'll take my yogurt or cookies any day!

To all the wonderful women in my life:

I hope you know, but if you don't or have for some reason forgotten, I wanted to tell you how beautiful you are. You all aretruly the lucky ones--people who are gorgeous both inside and out! For some unfathomble reason, I think that women don't always tell each other all the wonderful things we see in our sisters and friends. Whether it's out of insecurity or habit, I want to stop this trend and start telling people of the beauty I see in them. Since it's Valentine's Day, this is my Valentine to you: I think you are smart, talented, fun, caring, kind, forgiving, devout, loving, and sweet. I also think you are great mothers--always giving your children what they need to learn and grow. You are a great examples to me! Please don't deny this--it is true! To deny what I claim as my loving opinion of you is to call me a liar! You are truely wonderful people!

My family:
Jill, Kristen, Tiffany, Michelle and Kathy

My friends:
Angie, Tara, Kristin, Michelle, Amy, Jen, Marci, Kristine, Christie, Chelsea, Annie and all the others I have forgotten to name

A Few of My Favorite Things

In keeping with the idea of being more thankful and finding joy in the small things in life, I have decided to compile a short list of some of the things I love the most. So here's to finding the sweet delight in the pure and simple joys of life!

I love:

~Diet Dr. Pepper
~Cherry Ice lip balm
~Small hands inside of mine
~Sunny days
~Cocoa Trio at Seattle’s Best Coffee
~Blowing bubbles with my kids
~Reading a good book
~Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats Cereal
~The Muffin Mill Macaroon Moon Muffins
~Lighthouses watching over majestic blue seas
~Sweet Life Patisserie Frosted Pumpkin Cookies
~Rainbows on the horizon
~A good song on the radio and singing along with it at the top of my lungs with the windows rolled down on a warm, cloudless day
~Sledding down a big hill
~Coupons
~Mr. Clean Magic Erasers
~Bath and Body Works Wallflowers, candles, soaps, and lotions
~Inventing ridiculous new dance moves and performing them with my family
~Watching my children sleep and then seeing them wake with sweet, juicy tiredness in their eyes
~Singing bedtime songs

"...When the dogs bite, when the bees sting, when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don't feel so bad." ~The Sound of Music

A date to remember

That's right, February 1st shall be remembered as the day that Daphzilla woke up happy and stayed happy all day (well so far). She was well behaved on a long walk, eating lunch at Wendy's, shopping at Kohl's, and even when I put her down for her nap! Whoa! This REALLY is a milestone for her. I could definately get used to this sweet girl!

I just want to cry!

In fact I did just cry. A lot. Sometimes that's all I can do. All I can say is Daphne...tantrum...ordering a sandwich at Subway. Just about anyone else would have beaten her senseless by now, so I guess it's good she came to us. I'm exhaused. She's sleeping and I'm going to go lay down now.

I Love To Read...

I just do! The older I get the more I love it, and need it. Because I don't work outside my home I just need to read to give my brain some exercise.

Life is all about "what do you need sweetie?" and "okay, everybody get in the car" and "what do you guys want for dinner?" and "of course I'll play a game with you". Life is good, but most of my day is spent doing things for everyone else. Reading is blissfully, completely, and unabashedly all for me!

That being said, here are some of the books I read in the last year and loved:

The Alchemyst (series) by Michael Scott
The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Forest Born by Shannon Hale
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
The Hunger Games (series) by Suzanne Collins
Fablehaven (series) by Brandon Mull
Percy Jackson and the Olympians (series) by Rick Riordan
Guernsey and Literary Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer

I read more than just this list, but these are the ones I would recommend to others. The Red Queen, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Guernsey and Literary Potato Peel Pie Society are not as quick/easy to read, but all are great books.

Date Nights

A few months ago we started having date nights with the kids individually. I have to say that it has been more fun than I thought it would be! I think the kids sometimes feel like they don't get all the attention they would like and so they create attention for themselves, usually in ways that I don't approve of.

So we take one of them at a time and let them choose where they want to go eat and then they get to choose an activity. Savannah picked PF Changs and reading a new book at Borders. Olivia wanted Red Robin and pottery painting. Liam chose Pegasus Pizza and lasertag. (Daphne gets lunch dates with Dan and I frequently, so she will have to wait for these "grown-up dates" for a little while.) Each of the dates were lots of fun, but the best part was being together with the kids one-on-one. The funny thing is that when you are alone with each of them the usual bickering is banished, the nit-picking is nil and the fighting is forgotten and you are left with a perfectly-sweet and delightfully-charming child. Ahhhhhhh....now this is the life! :)