Dating After Dark

I love our nights. I love that Nate is home, and that he is able to help me get the kiddos down for bed. While one of us does the dishes, the other is in charge of getting Ava and Halle ready for bed. There's a rule in our house... Mama doesn't work after 8:00 p.m. After 8, I don't do dishes, housework, laundry, bills, budgeting.... no mommy stuff. So, if Nate and I want to spend the night together, then it's a team effort to get things done before 8 pm. I know that rule may seem harsh to some of you, but it has worked wonders for me. I get to have time to relax and do stuff I enjoy, which makes me a happier mama during the day. :) Another reason I don't do mom stuff after 8 pm is I want to spend that time with Nate. We don't have a lot of chances to go on dates, so we date after dark. We don't do anything fancy..... We usually spend time playing "Words With Friends" against each other, and we love, love, love to watch TV shows together.

Parenthood

Boy, oh boy, do we love Parenthood! I am bound to tear up every single episode, and it is a show that Nate and I feel like we can relate to.

The Voice

We also love "The Voice". Since Nate and I can't really sing, we like to pretend that we can sing when we watch this show. If there is somebody we don't like, we mock them. Rude, I know, but it never fails to send Nate and I into a fit of giggles. We particularly love Cee-Lo and his cat. We love Cee-Lo's little arms, and his big white teeth. We also make several comments each episode on how Miss Xtina should cover up her womanly assets.

Shark Tank

Nate and I both have a love of finances and investing, so we are beckoned to this show each week. There are some products that people come up with that Nate and I will just roll our eyes at, but there are also some great products. We love it when the "sharks" go into a feeding frenzy and start making crazy deals.... 

Drop Dead Diva

Oh, how we love Drop Dead Diva. We came across it on Netflix, and were instantly hooked. We're totally sad that this is only a summertime show, because now we have to wait until June to see Season 4! Argh! 

Bones

Bones, sweet Bones. I have literally watched every episode of this show, and have been anxiously awaiting its return in just a couple of weeks! I don't think Nate shares my enthusiasm for this show, but he will at least watch it with me. What I love about Bones is.... Bones aka Dr. Temperance Brennan. She never ceases to make me giggle at how awkwardly social she is... and I love Special Agent Seeley Booth. In fact, if we ever have a boy, I am 86959404% convinced his name is going to be Seeley. :) Yes, I'm a goober, but I don't care what anyone else thinks. I'm in love with that name... and now I just have to convince Nate to be in love with that name..... hahahahahah.

Modern Family

One of our little guilty pleasures. Love it... laugh every time.

New Girl

We. Love. New. Girl. I love Jess. That's all.

Spy

We recently came across Spy on Hulu... I love British humor, and naturally, I was drawn to this show! There are only 6 episodes (bummer) but they are coming back this fall!! Holla.

Now it may seem like there are a lot of shows here.... and there are! But we haven't seen most of them in awhile because we're waiting for them to come back from their little breaks. Some shows are on when the others are off, and vice versa... 

Why do I like watching TV with Nate?

1. Because we laugh at the same things.

2. Because he laughs when I tear up. He should know that I tear up very easily, but yet, it always seems to surprise him.

3. It's free.

4. I get to sit next to him and hold is hand. Or he puts his arm around me. Or we just sit side by side. 

I love dating Mr. Nate after dark. What can I say?

An Awesome Ward

     We have been blessed with an awesome ward. It was a little tricky making the transition from a student ward to a family ward, but I honestly couldn't ask for better people to be surrounded by. I was put on the Enrichment Committee, and my specific calling is Super Saturday, but I love helping out with every Enrichment activity. I have become close friends with the other members of the committee, and these are the girls that have become like family to me.
     I am also grateful for visiting teaching. The ladies I visit teach are just amazing, and I have really enjoyed getting to know them. I have tried to take visiting teaching beyond just going once a month and giving them a little lesson... I have tried to be more aware of their needs, and have tried to help them whenever needed. They are all in the same boat as I am... no family around, so I have wanted to make sure that they know I am there for them.
     I have loved getting to know our home teachers as well. Nate and I just got a new mattress, and needed some help bringing it in to our apartment. For the first time ever, we called our home teacher to help us. Although he was busy (he's in dental school), it felt good to know that we have somebody who can help our family.
     I am so grateful for our ward. They have become our family up here, and we have relied on them a lot. Although I have always had the desire to go to church and to serve in my callings, I never really felt part of a ward. The ward members were people I would see on Sunday and say "hi"to in the halls, but I never felt the need to really socialize with other ward members (except for a few close friends) because we had other friends and family. However, the members in this ward are my lifeline. I see many of them outside of church, and I love that Heavenly Father has blessed me with such great friends.
     I recently auditioned for the Portland Ensign Choir and Orchestra, and made it into the 1st violins. We rehearse every Tuesday, and since that's the night Nate has Young Men's, he has had to take the girls to YM's with him, but no one seems to mind. They understand that we don't have anyone else to take our kids, so they help Nate with the girls. I had a concert last night and tonight, so I had an extra rehearsal on Thursday. Well, on Thursdays, Nate plays basketball, so we needed to have someone come sit at our house for about an hour an a half while Nate and I were both gone (Nate's games are at 9:15, so both of the girls would be asleep while we are gone), and I was able to ask our bishop's wife to come over and be with our girls. She told me she would be more than happy to come.  Nate also had a scout campout to go on this weekend (yes, a campout... the one weekend I'm busy. Go figure!), so I needed someone to come watch the girls last night. I was able to call my friend and she said she would be more than happy to watch our girls.
     I am so grateful that members in our ward are willing to help us out. I would be utterly lost if it wasn't for my ward family. They have made our lives so wonderful up here, and have welcomed us with open arms.

Happy Birthday To Me!

    Ok, ok... my birthday isn't until May, but Nate got me my present a little early!

We found a killer, I mean KILLER, deal on Amazon, and he has wanted to get me one for a long time.
There were several colors to choose from, but we ended up picking this light buttercream yellow.
It's my favorite color, and I knew it would brighten up my kitchen!
Plus, it now gives me an excuse to redecorate my kitchen from the red we've had the past 6 years...

We were so excited to open it up!!!
The first thing we made?

Chubby Hubby cupcakes, inspired by Ben and Jerry's ice cream!
(Oops... sorry for the Pops & Podge mark in the corner...
I will be blogging about these cupcakes in a few weeks!!)

These were cupcakes that had a vanilla cake, with a chocolate-pretzel ganache filling, topped with peanut butter frosting.
I have to say, these are probably one of my fave cupcakes so far.

Mixing everything in my new KitchenAid was a dream! It makes baking so much easier.

I do have to say, Nate is one fabulous gift giver.
He picks up on little details and remembers them long after I've forgotten that I've even mentioned something.
Every year, I'm surprised at what he gets me, and it's always exactly what I wanted!

Our Life, In Pictures

We haven't really had much going on the past couple of weeks,

but I have enjoyed snapping pictures of our girls.

We got a new DSLR camera (we got a killer deal off of Craigslist),

and I love how fast it takes pictures!

I can actually catch some of the funny faces Halle makes,

without having a blurry picture!!

Every day is an adventure with them...

Ava practically turns everything into a microphone!

Here, her microphone is composed of her fishing pole,

and a little medicine cup at the top.

I love Halle's little faces, and I love, love, love her wild hair.

It cannot be tamed!

Halle loves to wear her "cap" shoes everywhere.

She also loves wearing her Barbie backpack everywhere.

And she loves to make her "scary" face.

And she loves to wrinkle her little nose at me...

Remember how Ava loves to sing into homemade microphones?

Here she fashioned a microphone out of a plastic cup and an empty Diet Coke can...

She was singing "Adele" to us.

Ava has an amazing ability to hear a song, and instantly memorize the words.

She absolutely blows my mind away with how musical she is.

The other day, she was playing the piano, and Nate thought it was me tinkering around with a melody!

Continuing on with Adele, Halle loves to sing "Set Fire to the Rain".

She gets super fiesty as she sings the song...

And ever mischievous, she loves to tease Ava...

like taking the Diet Coke can when Ava isn't looking...

And after hearing Halle giggle and squeal, Ava finally decides to find out what Halle's laughing about...

And then they fight over the can....

Last weekend, Nate and I got a new mattress.

We had been sleeping on a mattress we bought from Nate's sister when we first got married.

Neither Nate nor I could ever get a decent night's rest, and we always woke up with sore muscles...

so we decided it was time to get a new mattress.

For the time being, we put our old mattress in the girls' room,

and they love jumping on it.

I'm seriously considering keeping it in there until it stops raining.

It's a great way to get their energy out, and it keeps them highly entertained!

Halle loves to eat chips and hummus.

But she calles it "chips my thomas".

She loves it so much, she licks it straight out of the tub...

And if Halle ever wants something, she'll find a way to get it.

I had this nail polish set up high, 

and she went to extravagant lengths to get it.

She is obsessed with painting her nails (and with wearing several different pairs of shoes a day).

I love her neon colored socks paired with her brown shoes.

Her sense of fashion cracks me up!!

Dr. Seuss

     In preschool this week, we learned about Dr. Seuss. (I've gotten together with a group of ladies in my ward, and we do a preschool co-op. We take turns teaching, and order our curriculum through Funshine Express. What I love about this company is they send you a monthly curriculum with daily crafts to do, and they even send all the crafts pre-cut and ready to go! I love doing it! So, I was ecstatic when it was my turn to teach during Dr. Seuss week!)
     We read tons of his books and talked about rhyming, making up silly words, and how to use your imagination. On Thursday, we had a "Green Eggs and Ham" theme. The girls made their own green eggs and ham, and I actually made green eggs for them to try. I simply love that book because it has helped my kids to learn to try new foods.

 After we talked about the book, Halle started reciting "I don't like green eggs my ham. I don't like them, Sam I am" in a funny voice. It was so funny, we had to get a video of it! P.S. don't be weirded out that I started out asking Halle to show me her toes. She's obsessed with her feet, and she had them on the table... heee hee ehe ehe...

     I decided to throw a little Dr. Seuss party on Friday. I made up little invitations for all of the preschool kids, and we watched "The Cat in the Hat". It was so fun to have all of these little girls over, and it gave me a couple of hours to get caught up on some cleaning! We had popcorn, and juice, and I had made some cupcakes the night before, so I made some mini cupcakes for the girls. It was a fun little afternoon, and I'm glad the girls enjoyed it!

I just love the look on Ava's face! It cracks me up.

We spread out blankets all over the floor, and they all lined up by the couch to watch the movie.

As usual, Halle does her own thing, and she wanted to lay over by the back door.

Do I Have A Mark On My Face?

Halle has been known to get into stuff....

Remember Vicks Vap-O-Rub all over our new comforter and window?

Or how about dumping cherry red Kool Aid all over the kitchen floor?

Or how about the time she tried to drink Nate's consecrated oil?

Nothing is safe around our house,

not even mascara.

What gets me is that she is more concerned about the hair clip

"biting her finger" than she is about the black streaks on her face....

Whatever.

She's just too stinking cute!

Skype-ing

     I love Skype-ing with our families! Every Sunday night, we hop on the computer, and chit chat with our families. Over the past month, we have even had the chance to Skype with both sets of my grandparents... that was pretty awesome...

Nate thought it would be great to take a pic of me...

This is the face he gets... 

Ha!

My dad and I share a love of photography, and I was telling him about our new 

DSLR camera we bought. 

Can I just say that I love having it?

Taking pictures has no longer become a chore for me...

especially when I take pictures of Halle.

I can just click away, and looooove it.

Anywho, back to Skype-ing.

It has made us feel close to home,

and has allowed us to stay connected with our Utah world.

P.S. After getting our camera on Saturday, I spent hours reading tutorials and reading up on how it works.

Nate just picks the camera up, fiddles around with it for a second or two,

and is able to take amazing pictures.

He's so techy savvy, it makes me crazy!!

But, I love it. :)

How Incredibles Should Be Watched

     So after the last gloom and doom post, I thought I should share a little fun post. I love my girls, and they seriously make me laugh every single day. Halle is going through a phase where she refers to me as "Claudia" but she changes her name daily. It's either Miss Incredible, Jack-Jack, Dash, or Violet... all characters from "The Incredibles". In case you haven't guessed, it's her fave movie at the moment. She begs to watch it every day, and I let her. It's the only TV she watches, and it's cute to watch her quote it... Oh, and just so you know, "The Incredibles" have to be watched while wearing pink Barbies sunglasses, that are upside down. You must also be surrounded by various blankets and stuffed animals...If you don't watch it with that way, you're not getting the full effect...

     Ava now has another name... it's Natalie. But, she's only Natalie when her hair is "wrinkly" (you know how hair is after it's been braided. There's a technical term for that... it's called "wrinkly"). It's hard to keep straight when she's Natalie and when she's Ava. Today she told me that Natalie has wrinkly hair, painted nails, and glittery shoes. She's very pretty... I don't argue with it, I just go along with it. Just for the record, today she is Natalie...
     Ava has also been learning about choices and consequences. Nate and I believe that we should teach our kids that they are free to choose for themselves, but they can't choose the consequences. When we present something to her, we often say "Choice #1 is: You can choose to take a nap, and the consequence is you are able to have a sucker and computer time after nap. Choice #2 is: You can choose not to take a nap, but you don't get a sucker and you don't get any computer time." On one particular day, Ava was throwing a little fit about not wanting to take a nap, and I explained the consequences to her. She came out of her room and told me to read what she wrote...

     I was really puzzled because I just saw the letters "IHOSTUNAP", but then she read it for me. It says,"I choose to nap." Let me translate for you ... "I" (pretty self explanatory) "HOS" (choose) "TU" (to) "NAP" (nap)... I choose to nap. While her spelling is a little off, I was proud that #1. She chose to nap and #2. She thought about how to form her sentence and what letters she needed to spell that sentence.

     I am so grateful for Miss Incredible and Natalie. They enjoy the simple things in life and I am learning that I need to learn from them.