tell me, tell me

My little gal is spending time with my aunt today and I already miss her.  Lucky for me she left a trail of Chocolate Cheerios in my room before she went off to play.  At least I won't be hungry while she's away.

Who are you missing today?

think happy, be happy

It's Monday.

This weekend Andrew hurt his knee on a run.  He can't even walk really.  He's in pretty bad shape.

Certain future plans now lie in uncertainty because it is kind of a big deal.

Surprisingly enough he has been as pleasant as ever. Minus the broken wooden spoon which he snapped in half while in pain like it was a toothpick.  Oh and all those swear words..

And today he asked me for a bucket or an empty water bottle, because getting up to go to the bathroom was just asking for too much.

His brother bought him a cane. Andrew is mortified. I am excited.


Ellie is into this really fun phase where she not only spits out all of her food, but then hurls it across the room as if she's going for an Olympic medal.

And I witnessed her first real tantrum this weekend that left me in shock.  I just stood there staring at her flailing herself across our living room rug, because I could not believe what I was seeing.

She also drank out of a mud puddle when I wasn't looking and has somehow mastered the ability to go lifeless when I'm trying to get her to do something she doesn't want to do.  Her 25 pound body feels much heavier when I'm trying to carry her inside before the neighbors think she has some sort of medical condition.

I love these two.

Really I do.

Ellie has learned a new word.  "April".  No more "Mama" or "Dada". Her face lights up with joy when she yells "opppruulll" down the hallway.  Along with "It's okay" and "Aw man".

She has the sweetest little smile and I am so happy to be able to spend my life with her.

Andrew is the most positive person I've ever met.  He's always happy.  And he loves me.

 I am one lucky gal.

This could have been considered a disastrous weekend. But I reallly didn't want it to be.

Happiness. Gratitude. Love.

Decisions we make everyday.

So I say look for the good! Choose to be happy! Find things in your life to be grateful for!  Someone needs YOU to love them, figure out who they are and love with all your might!

This is a perfect day to start over.  Be brand new.  Your life is good.  You just need to tell yourself so and stop stressing about all the things that are not so wonderful.

Did you do it?  Isn't everything wonderful now?

Okay..let's get real ya'll. Life can be hard and it can be crappy.  But there are good things happening in your life. No matter how small. Focus on those things. 

 It's hard. But so is everything else worth doing.

So decide to be happy.



There is only one "today" so enjoy it. Seriously.

Love!

let's play the name game...

You didn't think I'd skip over these gems did you?

My husband is totally right. I am guilty of association.  As in I have this slight tendency to associate people with other people. Or things. Or places. Or nouns. Whatev.

Now I can see why that would be annoying, but c'mon people! These guys just make it sooo easy.

This is helicopter man.  Or Kalon. He likes to act cool and fly his own helicopter to impress all the other guys. Oh did Emily happen to see the action too? Win win. 

Best line? "Hey guys, I saw you were having a little party from up there. Looks like you're having fun!"

Cricket chirp. Men growling. The pretty boy "villian" has made his subtle entrance.

Booooo.

Reminds me of another pretty boy villian..

 I'm guessing they buy their lip gloss at the same high end stores. After all, Kalon IS a Luxury Brand Consultant (Whatever that means..)

Then there's Stevie. 

No this is not a scene from a horror flick.  It is in fact just the world's creepiest man carrying a boombox while he shimmies over to the lady of the hour. 

I will say this once and only once. Used car salesman and dating shows should never ever be related.  In any way.  But in this case they are. 

McStevie is a pioneer..paving the way for other creepers to find love via reality tv.  Maybe he drives a really sweet Dodge Neon.  Who knows.

So while he was bidding Emily hello guess who came to mind?

Yes I also think it's weird that the terms "creepster" and "used car salesman" cause my brain to reference Disney films.  Or Professor Ratigan, the Rat King, to be more accurate.

Unfortunately, he's holding a bell instead of a boombox.  Shame shame.

Next we have Alessandro. Oh Alessandro.

I don't know how to break this to you..but you're not really from Brazil.  I know, I know. That's what your parents told you, but they lied to you.  Straight up lied man.  Oh and they're not your real parents.  I know this, because you are really the son of that guy from Three's Company. 

C'mon "Alessandro"...tell us your real name and ditch that fake accent.

Alright. I'll do it for you.  Jason Ritter come on dowwwwnn.

And then there's Charlie.

Who doesn't love this guy?

Wasn't he the one who fell off his friend's deck and had a lot of surgeries?  Maybe someone should let him know that he looks like every guy from 98 degrees rolled into one.

Okay, you are 98% Lachey I just know it.  You should thank your friend. And his deck.

Finally,

Chris.  He fashioned some bobbleheads of himself and Emily so she'd be impressed with his carpenter skills.  It was an awkward moment when he started talking to her via bobblehead.  She managed to respond with her mini Emily and then they lived happily ever after. 

But does anyone else think he resembles a certain..

Butler. Gerard Butler.  I'm about to get real here for a minute though...G.B is waaayyyy cuter than his above look-alike.

Can I get an Amen?

Also.

I cannot for the life of me figure out who Doug reminds me of...

Help a girl out!

Tim Allen? Ryan Reynolds?

Anyone, Anyone?

bachelorette = bad news bears

The other night I hosted a little bachelorette shindig at my house.

And by bachelorette I mean Emily.

Ah yes. Beautiful girl she is.

What is that bewildered look on her face?  I can explain...

Did this guy just show up to the mansion on a skateboard and then proceed to toss it into the bushes so he could strut up those stairs to say hello? 

Barf.  If his hair wasn't enough indication of his wannabe-ness then I don't know what is.  And by wanna-be I am most definitely referring to the one and only..

David Silver. 90210.

Don't fall for this guy Emily!

Next on the list

Travis.  Of course, no self-respecting bachelor would show up empty handed and he was definitely not going to be made a fool.

So he brought an egg.  An egg that apparently was meant to symbolize his commitment and devotion.

Unfortunately I couldn't find a picture of him sitting on the porch swing. Alone with only an egg for company.

I guess that's what happens when you bring a  "Pre-Bird" (as Tom Haverford would say) to a fancy party.

P.S- Rascall Flats called and want their hair back.

And then there's..

Michael. The musician with his very own Youtube channel. Impressive. 

The only problem is that when I look at him another image comes to mind..

He just seemed a little too My So-Called Life-ish if you know what I'm saying. Depressed. Aspiring musician. Breaking innocent girls hearts with his secret drug addiction. You know the story.

Poor Emily.

She's headed for heartbreak city.  I saw the clip where one of the guys refers to her daughter as "baggage".

That southern charm disappeared faster than the guy who dressed up granny-style.

Up next! Bobbleheads, helicopters, and the guy who resembled a creepy used car salesman.

Stay tuned..

mama's weekend

For Mother's Day all I wanted was a vacation.

You know...it's a been a rough few weeks. 

Andrew came home Friday afternoon and said to me, "Honey, you need to pack a swimsuit and an overnight bag, because we are going on a little trip."

Sweeter words had never been spoken!

So we packed our bags and headed north to the glamorous city of Salt Lake.

the hotel lobby

We checked in and then headed off to dinner at my fav restaurant in Utah:

Have you been here? We discovered it on a trip to SLC last year and it's become a staple for all future vacations.

We sat at the counter and pretended we were judges on "Chopped".

Fish and Chips

The Copper Onion burger complete with housemade pickles!

We stopped by City Creek after dinner for some casual shopping.

I found a few things that belonged in my closet

Since our trip to Belgium last December we crave real french fries and only the best waffles.

Naturally this meant Andrew running over to Bruges Waffles and Frites for some dessert.

We were not disappointed!

Don't be fooled by how simple this looks...it is Divine.

Oh so good.

Our last stop was Les Madeleines, a Patisserie I've been begging to go to for months.

 

It was a little shop hidden in a corner and everything was delicious.

 

Andrew ordered the Turkey Club

 

Have you ever had real french fries? Pomme Frites at Les Madeleines are perfection.

I got the Sesame Chicken Salad in an egg roll wrap with Edamame. 

I could eat this every day.  It was so, so good.

Finally we ordered the Kouing-Aman Bread Pudding...

"The Best Thing I ever ate" show on Food Network came here to feature this dessert.  No wonder.


Shout out to my sweet husband who made the weekend soooo nice.  I feel rejuvenated and rested.

Being a mom is awesome. Especially when I get to come home to this cute little thing

Mama love

Happy Mother's Day!

if you give a girl a remodel..

She'll probably choose to sleep for a year afterwards.

Yes, people, I'm exhausted.

 I'm not positive, but I have a hunch that it may have something to do with sleeping on the couch for a week, Ellie refusing naps amidst loud banging on the other side of her bedroom wall, and spending the last day and half assuming damage control to get my house back into some sort of liveable state.

And we did see Avengers late last night, but that was completely necessary.

Everytime we remodel something I remember, "oh yeah this sucks" because it is always more work than you planned, the unexpected becomes the expected, and you really can't eat enough pizza to get you through the endless hours.

Our bathroom/laundry room was one disgusting place.

The flooring was ripped out months ago thanks to the worst sewage problem known to man.  The bathtub was a mauve-ish delight and the sink stopped working before Christmas.

Let's all chant "gross gross gross! " fo reals.

It was decided that gutting the entire bathroom was really the only way to go. Thus, this was the side of my house for several days.  Nothing like opening those french doors on a pretty day to find a toilet, plastic shelving from the 70's, and an old washer.

Both sides of the coin..Left is Andrew and his bro drywalling the new bathroom. Right is the laundry room side complete with drywall and new paint.

We had a little trouble getting our new washer and dryer set up. Jon volunteered to be the man of the hour.  Andrew assisted by holding everything steady.

My job was to paint the walls and hold the light fixtures.  I learned right then and there that if I were to ever go on Survivor I would win every challenge thanks to my incredible arm strength. Good thing it only took 5 minutes though. Seriously.

 Friday: To avoid post traumatic stress disorder we went to Cafe Rio.

Tis the coziest laundry room in all the land. I heart it.

Isn't it pretty?

Even the toilet looks lovely.

Elle loves the bathroom so much that she has pooped in the tub twice already while taking a bath and when I pulled her out of the tub she peed all over the floor. 

She really teaches me a lot about what it means to celebrate.

Now this girl is off to bed for a nice long nap..