Best. Present. Ever.

So, I guess I have to admit that yesterday was my (gasp) 35th birthday. We had a nice day. My mom came to visit and we went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner, took in a really nice evening church service, and had my birthday celebration. The kicker of my celebration was a gor.ge.ous. new KitchenAid Stand Mixer! I love it. We tested it out today. I was actually nervous. It felt very fancy to use it. Isn't it pretty?

Our Family Rules

Remember this post about the cool Family Rules canvas idea I saw on the Pleated Poppy blog? Well, I finally did it. AND, it turned out pretty cool. It didn't take me as long as I thought it might and it was probably easier than I thought it might be. I followed most of the directions from the the Pleated Poppy. If you are interested, I would suggest following the link to my first post about the project.

So, here are my supplies. When I started, I tried buying sticker letters and paint pens because I wasn't real sure how the lettering was going to work out. I had a lot of fun picking out paper. I tried to balance feminine and masculine colors so that Matt wouldn't totally hate it. Once of the pieces of advice I read was to try to pick papers that didn't have a lot of contrast in them because it makes the lettering hard to read, and I have one or two that I might have changed if I could after the fact.

I used 12 different papers and my canvas was 24 inches long, so each strip was 2 inches wide (showing). I chose not to paint the canvas ahead of time and I am glad that I didn't waste the money on paint because I don't think it would have made a difference. Here is what it looks like part of the way done...

I decided that the paint pens looked REALLY bad. I'm glad that I tested them before using them on the real project. I ended up buying gobs of sticker letters, which probably isn't the most cost-efficient method, but looks really good.

Here is the finished project! We have it hanging in the kitchen. I love it!

I, of course, needed a Vanna...

Also, for those of you who are interested, here are our Family Rules:

be kind, have fun

thank God for this family

sing, hug, dance, snuggle, say I love you

always tell the truth

family comes first. always be there.

use magic words: please, thank you...

there is no "mine" in this house

husband, adore her always. wife, love him forever.

have an open mind

make good choices

say what you are sorry for

celebrate together

An Average Morning

Before I start this mini-photo journal of our average morning, or more specifically, THIS morning, I feel as though I should say don't judge the breakfast of champions that we offer our children. :)

Here is Miss Lily, enjoying her favorite PopTart. Doesn't she look happy to be eating such a healthy breakfast?

And here is Miss Abby dining on her Lucky Charms (When she runs out of marshmallows, she declares herself done. This morning, I did force her to eat 3 bites without marshmallows. I am sooo mean.)

Matt's choice is a Kashi cereal...

... and, of course, coffee.

I usually wait until Abby is safely on the bus to start my breakfast because, inevitably, the mornings I attempt to eat early, something happens and I end up eating cold toast. Yuck. My standard is Peanut Butter Toast, which by the way, Matt thinks is disgusting. How I married a man who thinks this is gross is beyond me. Love the plate. We had these growing up and I found some on eBay a few years ago and bought a full set. They easily get used everyday at our house.

Breakfast is over, but we are still in morning mode. Lily is playing while I watch Good Morning America (I love my Sam Champion). Here, she is trying to get her baby to ride the school bus.

And, here, for you grandparents and other assorted relatives, is Lily "reading." Enjoy!

Banana Bread

I tried out a new recipe for Banana Bread this week. I should really precede that with the fact that Matt and I can't really seem to find a scratch recipe that we like. This recipe is a little different, so I thought I'd try it out. We liked it. You'll have to try it out and tell me what you think.

So, without further ado...

Banana Bread

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
3-4 ripe bananas
-
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cream butter and brown sugar.
Add eggs and vanilla (yup, a whole tablespoon).
Mix in bananas.

In separate bowl, mix dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt).
Mix into wet ingredients.

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 50-60 minutes at 350. (mine took less than an hour)

Yum!

Girl's Day

Abby and I had Girl's Day today. We heading out this morning to the salon to get our hair done. We were both very overdue for haircuts.

She just needed a trim, I got mine highlighted and trimmed. We arranged it so that she came with me and hung out while Nicole (our stylist) put in my highlights, and then she cut Abby's hair while my highlights "set." Then Matt came and picked Abby up so that she didn't have to sit through my cut.

We had a very good time. For most of the beginning, Abby sat on my lap and played games on my iPod. Then, when it was her turn, she was the queen of silly faces, particularly when Nicole sprayed her hair or cut her bangs. When Matt picked her up, she told him she felt like a model. I would imagine it feels pretty fancy to go to here, rather than the kids cut place. It was fun girl time.