Livy's birthday cake

Alright, so two posts in one day....Sadie went to bed REALLY early, Daniel won't be home from work until 9:00, and I'm tired of working. Plus, I think blogging counts as social interaction, yes?

Do you want to see a really cool Safari cake?

My sister, Amber, made the cutest cake for my niece's 8th birthday. She always makes the absolute COOLEST cakes for Livy. First there was a clown head for her 1st birthday (made by using a stainless steel bowl) and a fairy cake for her 6th birthday that was so magical set in a forest with fairies and tree stumps and mushrooms. Livy is one lucky little girl!

Amber FINALLY posted the pictures from the safari cake ******HERE******, and now I'm FINALLY going to link to them. I had been so anxious for her to get them posted. It is such a cute cake. Check out the exploding candle too! Wowzers!

I on the other hand make cakes like this....

Can you tell which one of us wore white undies growing up and which one didn't?!!! Ha! :)

Hummus, eggs, and vermicelli

Sadie's been eating alot of hummus this week for snacks and lunch.

When we tried it before, she wasn't that into it. She really likes it now. Can you tell? I don't know if you can see in the pictures that it is all in her hair and on her arms, head, dress, etc. and all over the high chair tray.

This is her "squinting because I'm trying to not smile at you" face.



These pictures are actually from dinner last night. She had hummus because she had had a bigger lunch at Chic-Fil-A with our playgroup, and Daniel and I were having this.....




Eggs and vermicelli with fresh homemade salsa! Yum! This is definitely not an Indiana type meal....so hopefully I won't gross anyone out. Trust me, it is GOOD! I didn't grow up with this either, but Daniel did. Some of their ranch hands that were from Mexico would make this. So I guess it is a Mexican dish? I don't really know, but I think it is great, and I crave it.



Here's a rundown of how to make it, because I know my sister was asking about it. It is actually quite a frugal dish to make, it consists of ingredients that we always have on hand, and it's QUICK! Bonus!



What you need:

onion

oil (we use Canola oil)

vermicelli (last night we used whole grain thin spaghetti cause that's what we had)

canned tomatoes

water or broth

seasonings

egg (and butter to fry the egg)



Saute some onion in oil in a deep skillet. After starting the onions, break up some vermicelli into the pan and brown the vermicelli with the sauteing onions. When the vermicelli appears browned and the onion is translucent, add a can of tomatoes (we used Rotel last night, but any can of diced tomatoes would do) and some liquid (water, chicken broth, etc.) to cook the pasta. We add a little liquid at first to cover the pasta and generally have to add more as the pasta cooks. You can season it with a little chilli powder, garlic salt, black pepper, or whatever seasonings you choose to give it flavor. If you use chicken broth, you don't really have to add any salt/garlic salt. While the pasta is cooking, fry up a couple of eggs in butter (or whatever you want...we used lowfat margarine last night and it worked fine) with salt and pepper, and serve the egg on top of the cooked vermicelli. Yummy! Last night we had the ingredients for fresh salsa on hand. So Daniel whipped that up while the vermicelli was cooking. It's good with or without salsa on top though.

Mad equestrian skilz

Look at me, I got up on my pony all by myself.

What's that? You don't believe me?

Huh? I can't HEAR you!!!!




Yeah, that's right!





Who's laughing now?!





Not you!





Me...I'm laughing!






I'm a big girl horseman now. Don't let the ballerina pajamas fool you.





I can get on and off my horse whenever and wherever I want (and whichever side of the horse I want....do you hear that Daddy?!). Watch me!

(Mommy aside.....in case you're wondering (which you're probably not), the rocking chair is on the back of the couch because Sadie is hard of hearing (it's genetic); and therefore, doesn't here me when I explain to her that rocking chairs are for sitting not standing....poor girl! She'll learn.)

A Fun Weekend

We had a great three day weekend, and hated to see Daniel go skipping off to work this morning (I say skipping because HE was probably ready for a break from Sadie and I after three days! ha!). It was nice and warm most of the weekend. So again we spent alot of time outside. I think when it finally warms up here and isn't raining (it really been raining WAY too much for me), then there's a sense of urgency to get outside and enjoy it before the fall comes. Maybe that's just Daniel and I, but summer is all the more precious when you spend so many months of the year inside.

Sadie helping Daniel fill the bird feeder

Our friends, Kyle and Marilee came down from Chicago to visit. Sadie had alot of fun playing with them on Saturday evening....Kyle played fetch with her :) and showed her how to play dress up like Marilee......

Marilee is pregnant with their first baby, and we are so excited for them! They are going to be great parents soon!


We all went for a ride down the Monon Trail on Sunday afternoon, riding down to Indy city limits, then back up, stopping for pizza at Bazbeaux on the way back. Sadie did alot better than I thought she would for such a long ride. She actually fell asleep for a while in her trailor. The Althoffs left around 5:00 that evening, and we headed out for a little more outdoor activity, because Sadie just loves being outside.


Happily clapping for yet another walk around the block.


Yesterday it was much cooler. So we spent a little more time inside doing laundry, making rice krispie treats, and running some errands. However, we got back out yesterday evening and fed all our plants and let Sadie run....

UP....

....and DOWN...

the sidewalk. This is really one of her favorite past times. Amazing.

In full bloom

Spring has finally sprung in Indiana. We have had such a nice week with warm temperatures. Needless to say, we have spent alot of time outside....going for walks, both long and short, taking bike rides, watering the plants, and walking UP and DOWN and UP and DOWN our driveway. :) We do this until Sadie is out of breath. She LOVES being outside as much as Daniel and I.

Warm weather means the flowers are starting to bloom....and the peonies here are now in FULL bloom. They opened up this week.....

Aren't they beautiful? This grouping is in our subdivision, located along our walking route. Spring is very different in Indiana than Texas. There aren't wildflowers here like in Texas, but we have these beauties.

And they are SO very fragrant.

I love them.

I also noticed today that I have two little tomato babies. I'm really hoping I'm going to grow lots of good tomatoes this summer on this plant. I've never been successful before (I think I've only tried once though), but I'm dedicated to it this year. :) I mean business! We will see.

And I don't want to leave pictures out of this little growing beauty.....

Sadie's newest trick

Updates

Guess who came to visit Sadie this weekend!!! Mamaw is in the house! :) Sadie has been having a ton of fun soaking up the extra attention. She thinks EVERYTHING Mamaw does is funny....absolutely everything. Daniel and I love having Mamaw here too because it's giving us free time to do other things, like updating the blog!

Here are some pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Sadie REALLY likes going outside. She will take my hand and pull on me until I follow her to the front door, and then she stands there looking out the window until I take her outside. She gets really excited (and cooperative!) when you put her shoes on because that signals that we're going outside.

Mother's Day weekend Daniel and Sadie humored me by going shopping with me both Saturday and Sunday. While at Target, we got Sadie this ball. Daniel was totally against buying this very inexpensive ball because it has princesses on it, but we got it anyway (because it was Mother's Day, and I thought Sadie would like the ball....it was the perfect size for her!), and Sadie LOVES it. She carries it all over the house. It has easily been her favorite toy this past week.

Sadie hugging her baby on the way to the airport to pick up Mamaw.....


...and giving kisses.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day last weekend. Mine was absolutely wonderful. We went garage saling (is that a word?!) in the Village of West Clay (one of my favorite neighborhoods) Saturday morning (I'll have to post pictures of some of our fabulous finds...one man's trash is most definitely another man's treasure!) and followed that up with brunch at Cafe Patachou's new restaurant in Clay Terrace, Petite Chou....I had a crepe with berries and chocolate ganache....mmmmm....heaven! Then we went shopping for alot of nothing the rest of the day and took a late evening walk. Sunday was full with a couple of activities, but we all took a long nap that afternoon and then went to Target, Panera for dinner, and Trader Joe's. It was really my definition of a perfect weekend. Thank you Daniel and Sadie for so thoughtfully loving me last weekend. I am so very blessed.

Happy Mother's Day!

I have always known that mom's have a big job, but after the past 13 months, I really know how much mom's do for their families. Sadie and I are soooo grateful to Amanda for everything - she is a wonderful mother. She is caring, loving, fun, attentive, compassionate, and so much more. We can't say thank you and we love you enough.

Happy Mother's day to Mommy and to all other mothers!

PETA's future, or maybe not

Daniel says Sadie is going to work for PETA when she grows up.....



Last week she kept putting her animals (a cow and a tiger) in her swank little car and putting the people (that go with the car) in the back of her rougher safari truck/trailer.

Very scary thought! We're not too worried though.

Sadie LOVES eating meat!

Don't Blame the Pigs....

Influenza A(H1N1), yes, the virus that was formally being called ‘swine flu’, is making headlines around the world. It is something that we need to be cognizant of in our daily activities as it is a health threat; however, we believe that we must also all be rational in our thoughts and actions in regards to this virus. We would like to address a couple of quick topics:

What can we do today?

• Follow a healthy lifestyle
• Wash our hands with soap and water or an alcohol-based sanitizer
• Cover our mouth when coughing and sneezing
• Eat properly and exercise regularly to maintain a strong immune system
• Stay home if you are sick

• Stay informed with facts and follow public health advice
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• World Health Organization

About the virus?

• The Influenza A(H1N1) virus is a new strain of flu
• Consists of a mixture of genetic material from avian, swine, and human influenza viruses that have previously existed
• According to the CDC in 2006, approximately half all of flu infections were caused by H1N1 strains.

• Did the virus come from pigs?
• Nobody knows how or where the virus started
• There is lots of speculation (especially by the media), but no facts
• The first and only known instance of this virus in pigs is in Alberta, Canada and was just detected this weekend in a small herd. That is over 45 days after the first confirmed human cases!

• Can we get it from eating pork
• No, no, no!!!
• Other than the single case mentioned above (which is in quarantine) there are no pigs known to have the virus
• The virus is not spread through pork – please make sure everyone knows this!

Let’s stop the misconceptions about Influenza A(H1NA)!

• Don’t stop living your daily lives!
• Go to school, church, malls, grocery stores, and so on unless public officials suggest otherwise
• The WHO has said that travel restrictions will have very little effect on stopping the virus but would be highly disruptive to the global community.
• Our global economy is hurting as it is today and illogical behavior onlyhurts things worse

• Don’t refer to it as ‘swine flu’ any longer!
• The WHO and CDC are referring to this virus as Influenza A(H1N1)
• Don’t blame the pigs….

• Swine producers are not at fault!
• Pork producers have taken a financial beating because of misconceptions
• Modern pork production practices are designed to protect both animal and human health and safety
• Swine producers have increased bio-security protocols to keep this virus from infecting their herds

Bottom line is we need stay informed about this virus and rational in our decisions and actions. This subject hits home with me as I work with pork producers every day who are passionate about their industry and concerned about the world’s population that they feed. If you have any questions, concerns, or thoughts, let us know.