Happy New Year

Happy New Year! Is it just me or did 2010 only comprised of 4 months? This year flew by but in some ways January 2010 seems so long ago. 2010 rocked our family. For the controlling, type A girl that I am, it was quite the learning experience. We lived in 5 different places this year, both changed jobs, changed states--lots of changes. If someone would have told me last January that in one years time, I would be writing from Houston, I would have laughed and told them they were crazy. Living in Houston was always one of my "I'll nevers!" (I.e..The good Lord likes to mess with this type-A girl who has said, "I'll never live in Houston!" Look where I live..For the record I also said "I'll never get married or have kids before I'm 30." Reality, I was married at 20 and had Miss Mia at 24.) One of my resolutions is to stop saying, "I'll never," because I think God is messing with me. ha!

My little, Houston based family spent our New Years Eve together. The in-laws watched Miss Mia most of the day so we could help Hubby's sister install hardware on her kitchen cabinets. Then Hubby & I had a little date to the movies. Then we all came back and stayed up to watch the ball drop and be silly with the late hour.
Today we spent the day again with the in-laws. For lunch we made a sausage and shrimp boil that was beyond fabulous. One of the best parts of living in Houston (yes, I said there are good parts) is fresh seafood and Chapel Hill, Texas sausage!

As for resolutions, which I love making, and kept 3 out of 4 this past year, I have narrowed them down to the following:
1) Make more handmade instead of buying. One of the things we tried to do this past year was make most of our gifts and it was so great. I'm already making my brother's Christmas gift for next year.
2) Finish my book- deadline is this summer, and I have book promotions in April..lots to do
3) Build and strengthen new relationships. With moving to a new city where I knew no one but my in-laws, I am so thankful that we have found a great church with amazing people. We have already made some great friendships, but I am hoping they will grow even more this year!

I also love that some people pick a word for the year and I’m thinking I will go this route too. My word for 2011 is Transform. I am in a new stage in life with many new projects in the year and I hope that I can take on these tasks. (Also helps that I just finished an amazing Bible study called Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed.)

While 2010 was the year that I learned the most about myself and what my little family is made of, I am hoping that 2011 will be a bit more gentle! Happy New Year!

Happy 'Ballentown's Day!

For the past week we have been asking Miss Mia who her Valentine was going to be. Could it be Mommy or Daddy or Bentley (our dog)? Finally on Thursday, Miss Mia announced her answer. On the way to school she announced, "Mommy, Drew-Drew is my 'ballentown!'" Drew-Drew wins, no big surprise there! But Drew-Drew does not come to school on Fridays and her party was Friday, who would choose.

The winner was the ever so adorable Mr. Wyatt.
Like Drew-Drew, Mr. Wyatt has been in Miss Mia's life since 7 weeks. He really is cute and posed for many pictures on my camera.
Ballentown's day is really hard on a girl. You need to lay down and prop your feet up.
And keep a keen eye out to make sure Mommy isn't going to still your new sucker from your other Ballentown Joby.
Miss Mia, Hubby & I wish you all a very Happy Ballentown's day!

Christmas Part II

We celebrated Christmas with Hubby's family over the New Years holiday. We had only been home for 2 days after being in Texas and thus I ran around the house like a mad chicken as I tried to finish laundry and cleaning the house before their arrival. Hubby and I went out and did some last minute shopping, hoping to find some good deals after Christmas and came across a Mary, Joseph & Baby Jesus for $2. OK, so some back story. I grew up Church of Christ and we never had a Nativity set since we don't celebrate Christmas as a "religious" holiday. Since we don't know the exact date of Christ's birth, etc etc. I have never really wanted a nativity set, but this one, was so funny. The baby Jesus is at least 5 years old. It was too funny not to buy.
Since Hubby's family is Baptist and have many nativity sets, we decided to use some of Miss Mia's toys and create one. (I hope this doesn't offend any of you. It was meant as a joke!) As you can see, there are cows and horses and a "stable." The smurf on the top has wings and is the guardian angel. Some lego men are the wise men. Hubby really got into this! = )
So the family got here, we exchanged presents, made ridiculously fabulous appetizers for New Years Eve. Oh, it was such a feast. Then we decided to play Hubby's Wii Ski that he had gotten from his parents. Even Miss Mia took a turn!
The next day we went to Myriad Gardens in OKC. Miss Mia loved it, especially the fish.
Here we are making fish faces at her grandparents!!

The holidays were so great this year. It amazes me how much more fun the holidays are with a little one. Since the holidays and turning 2, Miss Mia is talking more and more everyday. Sometimes in entire paragraphs. She has memorized two books, and quotes them so beautifully. Every night we read a book before bed and then she grabs her book, "Night Night moon, night night chair and rev (that's red) loom (that's balloon!)" Precious, precious memories!

Christmas Part I

As promised, I am finally getting around to writing about our many Christmases. When you have a big family that lives 4, 7, 16, & 20 hours away, you have to improvise on the holiday celebrations.
Hubby, Miss Mia & I celebrated our Christmas early in December with our few gifts, stockings, and some treats.
Then came Miss Mia's school party. We made gingerbread men and ornaments.
She enjoyed the chocolates given to her by her teacher more than anything. Later that evening we left for Texas for Christmas with my parents. We were lucky to get there the night before, because a few hours after we arrived, the craziest snow storm I have ever seen started.
We got almost a foot of snow-which is just unheard of for West Texas. Here is my parents front porch bench covered in the snow on Christmas Eve morning.
In my family, we have always opened gifts on Christmas Eve. Since my brother's family couldn't get to us because of the weather, we had to improvise the holiday festivities. Miss Mia was so excited about her Christmas presents from Nana & Pawpaw that included this baby and a beautiful baby bed.
On Christmas Day we went to my Grandmommie's as is custom. We walked the twenty feet from my parents to my Grandmommie's. The weather and snow was still too bad on Christmas day that only my uncle could visit us. The lack of people did not deter Miss Mia's enjoyment. In fact, I think she may have reveled in being the only small child. She got these adorable owl pajamas from Grandmommie, and the moment she opened them HAD to put them on.
The day after Christmas, enough snow had melted that my brother's family was able to come visit. Hubby & my neice & nephew built this great snowman, complete with cowboy hat and big ears. (Big ears are a trait on my father's side of the family!)
Miss Mia & her cousins exchanged gifts and she got this adorable outfit.
Then Miss Mia insisted on taking pictures under the tree. So we put her in and my neice in their matching shirts from Nana for picture time. Miss Mia even staged this picture, wanting to sit with backs to Cousin K!
With all the picture taking, Miss Mia grabbed Nana's camera and instructed everyone to "CHEESE!!"

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you & yours! I promise to post about our Christmases..we've had many, but I am currently so inspired with the new year and resolutions, that I just had to post.

In brief, we have been very busy, but the wonderful kind, that is taken up with family and friends. A small amount of family crises that always accompany the holidays, but on the whole, great. Miss Mia, as well as Hubby & I have been showered with love and gifts, and hopefully returned the favor tenfold!

Hubby's parents are currently here with us celebrating the New Year & finishing up our last Christmas. We had a great New Years Eve that included Hubby getting off work early, a ridiculous amount of fabulous appetizers for dinner. Garlic/Chili Shrimp, stuffed jalepenos, brie & red pepper jelly! Oh, it was fabulous!

Even though Christmas is my favorite time of year, New Years is a close second. I think it is because its a clean slate. I love that this is the time when everyone tries so earnestly to do right. I have been perusing my favorite blogs, and I love how Kelly wrapped up her year and how she made resolutions for 2010.

FIVE THINGS I'M THANKFUL FOR IN 2009:
1. I am so thankful for Miss Mia! Words cannot express the joy, fear, love, consternation, that this little girl brings me! I understand her so well, and yet still surprised by her quirks and new remarks. This very week, she has began to repeat everything! In this past year, I finally got a little girl with curls! She has taken up walking, talking, running, jumping, climbing, yelling, singing, dancing..I love that she is so fabulously girly and yet will play in her tutu and pearls with trains & trucks.


2. Hubby has been so supportive, as always. This year has been a great exception, as we have entered into uncharted waters. He is constantly the one person that I know will help me keep things in perspective, always offers a humorous suggestion, and listens endlessly while I drone on about school and the historiography of the Early Republic. (There is a spot in heaven for this boy on that note alone!)

3. Family & Friends My family and friends have been so dear to us this year. I have always been close to my family, but with a few unexpected turns, they are closer to me now than ever before. The same goes for friends. My dearest friends have never been dearer and I so look forward to any time that I get to spend with them, whether in person or over the phone.

4. Church Family- One of the biggest decisions this year was our changing of churches. The process, the decision was quite horrific. I will spare the details, but the result was beyond anything I could have imagined. We are now blessed with a fabulous church with some of the best leadership I have ever encountered. I no longer have to worry about the intentions of these most honorable of men & we have made so many great new friendships. We are so lucky to have found this church!

5. Creative outlets- I know this sounds silly, but I am so thankful for all the blogs, fun websites that foster creativity, better devotion, community, and sometimes most importantly those beautiful hours of procrastination that I need so badly! I have made some great friends over this blog. Who would have thought? (Just shows how many ladies love a great baragin!)

FIVE THINGS I WANT TO IMPROVE IN 2010:
1. Better wife & mother- While I have been the busiest that I have ever been, I still want to improve as a wife and mother. I want to not take out my stress on the two people who love me most.

2. Less stress with school- this goes hand-in-hand with the first improvement, but I know that if I just do the work the best I can, there is nothing more than I can do. I am trying so hard to not stress about school and to keep myself healthy..this will be my greatest struggle, I know

3. Reach out more to new friends- Since we have moved to a new and much bigger church, we have so many new friends. I really want to reach out more to these new people and develop these friendships more. I feel that with all our schedules and the business of our lives, Hubby and I could have done so much more in fostering these new relationships. I plan to remedy this in the following months.

4. Improve the health of myself and the family- I have mentioned before that I have been training for 5Ks and the like. That training continues, and I am one race down. Also, I am almost down 20 lbs since September, and 40 since January! I want this to continue for not only me but for Hubby and Miss Mia too. I have some very exciting ideas in mind!

5. Not feel guilty for "me" time- I think that as women and especially mothers, we feel so guilty for giving ourselves any time to ourselves. I will go months, umm 6 to be exact, without getting my hair cut because I feel it is too extravagant. I don't want to find a sitter, don't want to spend our family money, etc. I am really trying to not make myself feel so guilty for a few moments a week or a month that are just for me...I think this will cut down on some of the stress.


FIVE WAYS I WANT TO GIVE AND HELP OTHERS THIS YEAR:
1. Get more involved with the women's ministry at our chruch. I have always helped with the food pantry at church and it is not something that I plan on changing, but I would like to get involved specifically with more women in need.

2. Participate in a Craft Hope project. I love what Jade and other have done! Pick a group in need and have crafty people come together to show some love and compassion. I follow the projects each time, but have yet to make anything for one. I want to change this and maybe even get a few of my other crafty friends in on the projects too. Get Ready!

3. More random acts of kindess. My dad is the absolute best at this. He always talks to strangers, some funny sort of conversation starter, helps with doors or getting someone up steps. I feel I inherited much of this from him. I constantly get people, usually over 80 = ) coming up to me and telling me they feel they are supposed to hug me. (Seriously, this happens almost once a month!) But I want to do more. Whether its a card of kindess, dropping by with cookies for a friend, helping someone up steps, I want my eyes to be open to helping others more and not being too preoccupied with my own life to notice.

4. More coupon classes. While this may sound trivial, I get so many requests that it is hard to keep up. Hubby and I have been talking about me making pseudo-business cards with a link to a site set up to help. I am still working, so please don't give up on me, on a special link with the information from my class on my blog. Hubby is my tech support and he has been CRAZY busy at work..thus changes will come..but it may be a bit yet.

5. Giving- My parents and I have discussed doing more for others than for ourselves. We have everything we need, we just don't have everything we WANT. The day when we have everything we want, will not be in this lifetime. I have really wanted to start focusing our money on one more CD or shirt that no one will wear on those who are less fortunate. My family has always held various Boys' Homes in their hearts. Hubby and I sponsor a child through Save a Child, which I highly recommend. But I would like to do more. For mothers day this year, instead of a bottle of perfume (my mother's perfect gift), maybe give the money we'd use for that and give a donation in her name to the Boys Home or some other charitable organization.

FIVE SPECIFIC GOALS I WANT TO ATTAIN IN 2010:
1. Pass Comprehensive Exams

2. Complete a sprint triathlon

3. Finish book manuscript

4. Get another fellowship (need money when researching!)

5. Take a vacation with just Miss Mia & Hubby--not a vacation that incorporates visiting other family (that's all well and good, please don't get me wrong!) but one that is just for us!

A Charlie Brown Christmas

We watch a lot of movies as a family, but particularly during Christmas time. Recently Miss Mia has began requesting certain movies, but really likes a few Christmas movies. She particularly likes I Want A Dog for Christmas Charlie Brown & Charlie Brown's Christmas.

So channeling Charlie Brown, Miss Mia and I decided to decorate the one very small and quiet sad tree in our front yard for Christmas.

Here is Miss Mia with our finished product! The expression is her asking where did the birds go. (Many many geese were flying over our heads while we decorated.)

Today we leave for Texas to spend time with my family for the holidays. Before we leave, however, we have a lot to do. I have to finish wrapping the last minute gifts that we bought on sale last night, take the dog to the kennel (aka puppy camp), finish cleaning the house (laundry, bedding, vacuuming etc) & then go to Miss Mia's Christmas party at her Mother's Day Out.

Since Miss Mia is having her party, I had to dress her in something cute & festive.
This was the dress that we chose. She is pointing for the rest of her breakfast. Mean Mommy made her take a picture while she was trying to finish her breakfast.

Wondering what she's going to get at her party today...will Drew-Drew kiss me under the mistletoe? = )

Tis the season to be baking!

It will come as no surprise that I love to bake. It is also no surprise that almost every gift I get from people at Christmas goes in my kitchen. I get an alarming number of Williams Sonoma gift cards. This brings my heart so much happiness, I can hardly stand it!

This Christmas has already been in keeping with the traditions of my gifts helping me in the kitchen. Hubby, Miss Mia and I decided to open gifts early as a family since we would be with my family during Christmas, and with his family over New Years. True to tradition, Hubby got me cooking accessories. The difference, however, was that I had forgotten that I had ever mentioned wanting these things.

My gifts come from the kitchens of Martha Stewart and Nigella Lawson. Two of my favorite women!! If I could somehow combine the two--that lady would be unstoppable! From Martha, I recieved her alphabet cookie cutters, which Miss Mia & I have already tested. They work really well. Then from the Nigella Lawson Living kitchen, I got these beyond beautiful measuring cups. Seriously, how beautiful are these? They look like little pieces of art in my kitchen!

I had totally forgotten about these cups. Yesterday, while waiting for my ladies Bible study to begin, I was pursing the books at Barnes & Nobles and happened upon Nigella's Christmas cookbook. True to form, it was beyond beautiful--elegantly written, beautifully photographed & mouth-watering. I only had half an hour to devour the book, but I got some really good ideas. Oh, and did I mention that while I was reading the book, I was sipping on a Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate? I think that one of their ingredients might be some sort of addicting drug..I would have so gone back for seconds if I had another coupon. (Shameful, yes, but delicious, even more so!)

So let me leave you with one of my favorite Nigella recipes. I use this so often that I have it memorized. You will love this sauce! Put it on everything! I have even used it in a fondue pot at a party and we dipped fruit & other yummies into it!

Nigella's Sticky Toffee Sauce:

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon soft dark brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
  
• 3/4 stick unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
  
• Serving suggestion: Vanilla Ice Cream
  

Directions:

Put the sugar, syrup and butter in a pan and slowly bring to the boil, allowing the butter to melt and the sugar to dissolve. Let the mixture bubble for a couple of minutes before carefully adding the cream. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes or until the sauce is thick, sticky and glossy.

Serve with a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream.

11 days...

Only 11 days until Christmas. I am so excited, I as you can tell from the picture above, so is Miss Mia! I thought I'd provide you with an update on my advent calender "wish list" of things to do this holiday season.
So far we have:
-Exchanged a few gifts
-Made hot chocolate and home-made marshmallows
-Put up a sash for Christmas cards
-Made a gingerbread house (See previous post for the final product!)
-Listened and sang along with Dean Martin Christmas carols..(this might be my favorite thing!)
-Drove around to look at neighborhood lights
-Opened a gift (Target giftcard..which I promptly went and spent! Thank you Grandma & Grandpa K!)
-Made a traditional family dessert (Hubby's mother makes fabulous Christmas cookies with hershey kisses in the middle. I experimented this year with the various flavors of kisses, and after MUCH research, I concluded that the Melt-aways are the BEST!)
-Exchanged ornaments with the family. (This is a tradition Hubby & I started before he was Hubby. This year we let Miss Mia even select ornaments for us to be from her. )
-Watched a seasonal movie (I have yet to watch Meet Me in St. Louis, but I think we've watched Elf at least 3 times, and watched The Santa Claus with Miss Mia and Polar Express.)

I have yet to get my Christmas Cards out, which is horrible, but I will this week. We finally took Miss Mia's pictures in her Christmas dress. When we finish the card, I'll post it, but as of now, its a work in progress!
So we still have a few more things to do before Christmas, but the best news is that school is officially done for me until mid-January. Now I get the next month to sit and read and study in the relatively quite library with all the students gone home for the holiday. Then I can return home to my family and listen to "Baby Its Cold Outside." (And you're living in Oklahoma and Texas, it has been strangely cold early this season!)

Gingerbread Houses

While I was pursuing the deals at Target, yesterday- I found the gingerbread house kits on sale for $8. I thought that Miss Mia would love all the candy and the house, but what I did not anticipate is how much Hubby would enjoy the project!
She found that eating the candy was way more fun than putting anything on the house. Mr. Landscape Architect really enjoyed landscaping the house with gum drops.
Miss Mia did give up the mini-balls to Hubby. She enjoyed pulling out all the "circles."
The two posing with their beautiful creation!
Eating the last few pieces of candy!
Close up of the house! Isn't it cute?

One more chance to get candy

We took Miss Mia to my West Texas hometown for the weekend so that she could spend some time with three of her favorite things, (Nana, Pawpaw, Chickens!) and go to my old school's fall festival and trunk or treat.
Before the festival, we of course had to go feed the chickens, at least fifteen times.
Then Pawpaw let Miss Mia drive on the farm. She really loved all the buttons, especially the radio.
Then the little bee went to Guthrie CSD to trunk or treat as the sweetest little bee. She got so much candy!
Then she and Hubby went on a small walk so they could see the rest of my sweet little town.

She had a fabulous weekend, but then got really sick, and has been sick ever since. She now has the flu, poor baby. So we are staying home, drinking fluids, and watching lots of Backyardigan videos.