On The Road Again

The moving road that is. Street actually, since we are moving just down the street! We just found out that our bid for a HUD owned home was accepted so let the inspections/ contracts/ packing/ stressing begin! I cannot tell you how excited this makes me. Jazzed actually. For once I am moving into a house that actually needs work. Our first house being brand new and all was beautiful, but I couldn't justify painting walls or replacing light fixtures when they were brand spanking new. Our second house, while not brand new, had been recently painted and we knew this was a short term place to live, so again, no painting/ redoing. This house is only 7 years old, but needs all the fun stuff...paint (like to cover up the baby poop colored faux finished walls-no exaggerating here friends, its lovely, flooring (as in, it's missing), fixtures, etc. I can't wait! No clue how long this will take seeing as we are going to be buying from a government program, and if you have ever tried to get a new social security card, you know what I'm talking about! I have been scouting out new design DIY websites/ blogs and am coming up with some great ideas....now the hard part of getting them to become a reality. My mind is racing with ideas and to do lists to get the new house ready, and ours ready to sell. Should be a crazy interesting couple of weeks/ months ahead.

Wish us luck!

Wildflowers

You belong among the wildflowers
You belong somewhere close to me

Far away from your trouble and worry

You belong somewhere you feel free

-Tom Petty

Egg and Hash Brown Pie Recipe

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Egg-and-Hash-Brown-Pie/Detail.aspx

I made this casserole for Easter brunch and it was oh so good!  A few modifications I would make:

-brown the hash browns and some of the green onions in a little butter before adding to the mixture.

-add a little dash of ground mustard, salt and pepper to the egg mixture for flavor.

Now if I could just figure out what’s for dinner!

Egg Hunt

Today was the neighborhood egg hunt, and as you can tell Olivia had a lot of fun collecting her (four) eggs.  They had a band, moonwalk, and of course the eggs.  It was really neat for us to see so many familiar faces, whether it be neighbors, people from church, etc.  We stayed and played on the playground for a bit to wear her out before church this evening, which doesn’t start until 8pm and will last until about 10pm.  (there are several baptisms and confirmations tonight, Greg included!)  Wish us luck with that!  Ps. Please take a minute to notice Olivia’s skirt (and bow) that I made.  My first decent sewing project that I wasn’t embarrassed to claim…haha!

 

I Is For iPod

So lately Olivia has been absorbing everything we say or do like a sponge. We decided that we should take full advantage and really work with her on her letters, numbers, colors. There are a few of each that she knows really well and others not so much. She loves to read so we continue to point these out in all of her books. She is particularly fond of the number seven, can say the word, organize all of the sevens together on the fridge (yeah we are sporting the magnetic number decor on our fridge) etc. She recognizes the letter A and can say it. We are slowing working on a few at a time. Frequently, we will ask her where the B is, and we get either a blank stare, or a babbled response in a language we are not so well versed in.

Then there are some things that she picks up rather quickly. Insert the iPod Touch. As a decoy while grocery shopping or long drives in the car, I have relied on my iPod to distract Olivia and keep her entertained (I'm thinking parent of the year award?). I downloaded several kid friendly "aps" and she enjoyed playing the piano, looking at the animals and hearing their sounds, etc. What I didn't know, nor did I teach her, was her ability to navigate the menu and play songs. Imagine my surprise when she began playing the same song as the song that was on the radio. Coincidence? This happened a few times before I was convinced that she knew what she was doing. Then I began quizzing her....I would sing a few lines from a song and she would play the song I was singing (and lets be honest, if she can tell a song from MY singing, that's impressive!) ABC's.....is there an ap for that?

Warm Weather = Park Time!

I am oh so thankful for this nice change in weather. Olivia and I have been spending most of our days outside enjoying the sunshine. Today I decided to take my camera with us to the park...so glad I did. I got some pretty cute shots!

March is proving to be a busy month for us. Lots of family visits, Greg busy with his class for church and Olivia is just plain busy! She doesn't sit still for a minute....constantly in motion. We checked out a mothers day out program for her this week and I can't wait for her to get to go! Hopefully there will be room for her to start in the fall. It is only two days a week, which will be a nice transition for both of us. We were able to meet some of the teachers and check out the classroom that she will be in....can't believe how grown up she is getting. She is as sweet as ever. She is due for her 18 month check-up on Monday so I am anxious to see how big she has gotten in the last few months.

More pictures

I should have added my camera to the list of things I am obsessed with. because i am. obsessed. with my camera.