Lunch

Lunch is always a difficult meal for me. My girls don't really like sanwiches or leftovers, so...I finally made a list of things they do like, and just rotate through those things.

As for me, I love sandwiches and I love to try new "flavors." This week roast beef was on sale at Henry's, so I got some along with some cilantro. I never would have thought to combine the two in a sandwich until my husband introduced me to Lee's sandwiches. YUM!! It's a Vietnamese sandwich place and all sandwiches are on super fresh baguettes with cilantro, pickled carrots, and pickled daikon radishes. They are so yummy! If we had one close to our house, I think I would eat there at least once a week! They also have delicous iced coffee, but it is so full of caffeine that it makes me feel a little light-headed!

Glorious Day

"I lift my eyes up to the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord; the Maker of Heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you will not slumber." Psalm 121:1-3

Can I just say we had a glorious day? Look at the mountains behind our house. Of course, I always think of this verse when I see them, and today was no exception! What truly made this day special was PRAYER and time in GOD'S WORD! God has been asking me to get up early, but I have been waking up super early with Natalie and not having time to myself. Today, the girls slept-in until 6:20, and I was awake by 5:45. I laid there a while explaining to God why I was too tired to spend time with Him, but alas I gave-in. What a difference! Here are a few highlights:

• The girls played by themselves nicely most of today. (very rare!)
• Natalie asked to take a nap.
• We enjoyed a nice jog and almost 2 hours at the park.
• We made smoothies, baked cookies and homemade pizza, and had a picnic dinner outside.
  

Hope you have a glorious day, as well!

All dressed and ready to go!

Somehow my sweet Natalie's clock got turned back to waking up at 5:40am. I am not opposed to waking up early, but before 6:00am I am a little grumpy! So, this morning my awesome husband got up for me. (I slept-in until 8:40am!) I am so blessed!

Of course, that meant that he was in charge of the morning routine, including getting the girls dressed. I hate to tease him after he was so sweet to me, but I just have to! Bless his heart, he thought that brown pants and a totally different shade of a brown shirt matched, and gray pants with a totally different shade of a gray shirt matched. Check out my girls: (Allison didn't want her picture taken)

Feeling Thankful!

Now that Christmas is over, I am thankful for the following:

• a clutter-free house
• the fresh start of a new year
• all the new toys that my kids get to play with... especially THIS:

Thanks again, Grandma and Grandpa Grimstvedt!

And, if you still need to send thank-you's of your own, check out this site for an adorable FREE New Year's thank you card download, as well as some other cute downloads.

Meal Planning

I know around this time of year everyone starts thinking about eating healthy, and that's great! Personally, however, I am just happy if I can come up with a balanced meal that my girls will eat. About 4 months ago, I began using a calendar to plan my meals each month. I'll be honest... I hate making the calendar, but once I have it up on the fridge I LOVE not having to think about what to make!

So, where did I get this cool calendar? Click here for your own "typeable calendar;" (in both Word and pdf formats).

On another note, I'm not much of a thrifty shopper when it comes to groceries. I do look at what's on sale and try to be frugal there, but I don't cut coupons or make meal decisions based on grocery store sales. Perhaps I should! I did come across a few blogs that give some awesome coupons and tips that I'll pass on to you coupon cutters.

Check out http://www.thriftyandchicmom.com/ and http://www.fromdatestodiapers.com/

Happy meal planning! And, don't forget to share your yummy, easy, kid-friendly recipes with me :)

Clay Push-pins

Aren't these homemade push-pins adorable? Do you think my 2 and 3 year olds could make them? (I didn't think so, either... bummer!) Oh, well! Perhaps we'll try, but at least I've got a project for the future. Thanks, Martha!

New Years Snow Trip!

What a wonderful mini-trip! Every time we do this we ask ourselves why we don't do it more often. It was a short 40 minute drive from our house to the cabin. We got to sled, talk by the fire with friends while the kids played downstairs, and just totally enjoy the New Year. Hopping out of the car... Look at the snow! How exciting!

Natalie all bundled up. (We had to wake her up from a very short car nap!)

Sweet Kylie helping Natalie walk.

The family shot before heading down the long hill.

Confession

So, what was the last thing I wrote on my blog? Something like "No champagne...yuck!" Well, after the girls went to sleep, look what my husband popped out! Oops... And, it was actually yummy! Hope you had a happy new year!

New Year's Eve

How do you celebrate New Year's Eve with toddlers? Of course, we had to celebrate somehow. I definitely know what not to do; we're definitely not staying up until midnight, and definitely not drinking champagne. (Yuck!) Instead, we used some festive plates with sparkling cider for dinner, and said "Cheers" about 50 times.

We also talked about all the fun things we were thankful for this past year. After dinner, we headed out to our outdoor fireplace for some marshmallow roasting. I think that could become a fun tradition! The girls were certainly excited

about it. We're off to the mountains tomorrow for a little snowy getaway with some friends. (Just one night, but I'm excited!) See you next year!

Fun New Blog

I recently came across a blog that I really enjoy, and thought you might, too. The author seems to collaborate fun ideas from all over, and updates her blog often; (like several times a day!) The title is fun: "Be different. Act normal." Check her out: http://bedifferentactnormal.blogspot.com/

Stolen Idea

One of my favorite MOPS meetings this past fall was a speaker named Tracy Klehn. The title of her message, (and her book to go along with it), was Prayer Starters for Busy Moms; How to Pray all Day and Still Put the Laundry Away. Silly me: I went in thinking, "How good can this be... I don't need any special prayers! I can just talk to God like a friend whenever I want to!"



Well, that's not what the book is about. It's filled with awesome ideas on how to pray; not what to pray! So, I bought the book! And, I would like to share one of my favorite ideas, stolen from her. (She said we could steal!) Every year, she saves her Christmas cards in a basket, and each week she has her kids pull a few out of the basket and then they pray for those families. Isn't that an awesome idea? So, if you sent us a card this year, know that we will be praying for you! (And, if you haven't... it's not too late!!)

All look same?

I often get asked the nationality of my husband. (Especially when he's not around, and it's just me and the girls!) But, for those who see him, he is often mistaken for a Fillipino because of his dark skin. Of course, I love to tease him, saying "You all look the same, anyway!" (My husband just happens to be the handsomest!) Well, this Christmas my brother introduced us to a website called All Look Same. There you can take a test to see how well you know your "Asianalities." Why am I blogging about this?

I scored better than my CHINESE husband!

Want to see how well you can identify the difference between Japanese, Chinese, and Korean? Take the test here: and, if you don't do well, don't feel bad. You're in good company!

Christmas in pictures

Allison's look says it all; Santa shopped the dollar section of Michael's this year, and found the quality to be far less than a $. (i.e. stamps that fell apart, puzzles that wouldn't come apart, and "play doh" that was icky sticky... Oops.) Now I know!

Good thing grandma and grandpa skipped the dollar store. This was the "hit" present; a vintage red kitchen! We now "bake" cookies every day! I'll hae to show you some after pictures! Thanks to my sweet husband for building it!

Uncle Nate grilled the prime rib and lamb. Personally, I don't like lamb, but the prime rib was awesome! My bro is a gourmet cook, and by all accounts apparently the lamb was delicious, as well!

The "Yeh" side of the family... do I fit in?? (Smiles!)


Grandma enjoying her wine.

Forget waiting in line to see Santa; grandpa works great for us!

Merry Christmas!!

Natalie and the 12 days of Christmas wishing you a Merry Christmas!

Carrying on a tradition

Growing up every year I had the tradition of gathering with our neighbors on Christmas Eve for breakfast. The menu:

• Brundy casserole (a.k.a. yummy cheese, egg, sausage, and sourdough bread casserole!)
• Sweet breads
• Fruit

This year... it was our turn to carry-on the tradition! We called the neighbors, and they happily agreed to join us! What an awesome morning! It was the perfect start to a beautiful Christmas Eve! I wish I took some more pictures of our morning, but here are just a few. (I'll post pictures of our evening and our Christmas in days to come!)

Allison and Nicholas




Our awesome neighbors

Uncle Nate reading "Walter the Farting Dog," to his nieces

Grandma and Allison doing their Christmas wreath craft

Christmas Duet

Turn up your volume! This is Alllison and Natalie singing their favorite Christmas carol, "Away in a Manger." It was taken on the drive home from a Christmas party, so there is no picture... sorry! It was also round 2 of them singing, so Natalie stopped half-way through the first verse. But, as a mommy, I still find it sweet! I hope you do, too!

Our First Bloom

Birthday Details

Thanks to some good friends for the idea, we have a tradition of the girls opening one gift under their bed first thing in the morning on their birthday. Here Natalie is opening her "mix'em markers."

Of course, the girls had to try them out right away! They were a big hit!

Here is the first snowman cupcake I made for her snowman party... they were a lot of fun! Click here for the recipe!

The "spread"

More of "the spread"
We attempted to have 3 pizzas together make a snowman pizza, but the people at the pizza place didn't know how to make a snowman face out of pepperoni. Oh well... at least it tasted yummy!

The calm before the storm... or the clean before the mess, I should say!

Natalie working on her snowman craft. Anything with glue makes her happy!

Allison working on her 4th snowman!


Little Miss C. pinning her snowhat on the snowgirl... Isn't she adorable?


The best idea of all... fake snow! We ordered this off the internet, and it is very cool. It expands 100 times its original size, and really feels like snow. It's slippery and cold, too! (It does leave a big mess, though!)

Opening presents!

And, of course, trying the cupcakes. This is Allison with her special friend Miss G. who is just hours older than Allison!