Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

achille’s first encounter with snow.

~ Etc.

we didn’t get any snow while my sister and her family were visiting for christmas , so we went near the sundance ski resort to see some snow.  it was achille’s first time seeing snow and it was so fun to see him play in the snow, which he loved!  he also loved getting all the attention where ever he went.  i think there wasn’t one person that passed by without stopping to either just look at him and comment how cute he is, to pet him or take pictures of him.  he’s been quiet the crowd pleaser where ever we go and i mean, can you really blame him? 😉 

going through the car wash.

~ Etc.

we went through the car wash for the first time with our girls and well,
can you tell from these pictures how much they loved it?
they’ve been asking everyday since if we can go to the car wash again,
and this is how the conversation usually goes.
adi: mom, can we please go to the car wash again today?
me: no honey, the car’s not dirty yet.  you only go when the car’s dirty.
adi: (pointing to a tiny water spot on her side window) look mom, see?  it’s dirty!
we need to go to the car wash again so it can be clean!  

b-day with my husband

~ Etc.

on my birthday, we went to the tree room restaurant in sundance.  it was pretty fancy, and the food, service, and the atmosphere was really nice.
but for some reason i didn’t enjoy it as much as i thought i would.  i felt a little guilty to be honest.  i still feel guilty and i wish i could take the time back.  i mean, i loved spending time with my husband and he was cracking jokes left and right and making me laugh the whole time and i had a great time with him, but i felt a little guilty we were spending so much money on food!  okay, it wasn’t like a ridiculous price or anything but i couldn’t help but think as we were eating and paying, we could feed at least 20 people with the money we just spent…1 in 7 kids in utah go hungry… kids just like adi and ana… i’ve been looking into volunteering and am particularly interested in homeless shelters or the utah food bank, and i wanted to go volunteer on my b-day instead but it wasn’t very well planned on my part so we ended up going with our original plan.  
anyway, i don’t think we’ll be going out to over-the-top fancy restaurants anytime soon.  the tree room was somewhat reasonable i thought, but i’m talking about the fancy, fancy places that are over $100 per person.  hopefully never.  unless someone else is paying for it hahaha.  i always tell my husband how i want to help the poor when i make lots of money, and one day my husband said to me, “you always say you’ll help the poor once you become really rich, but then you spend all this money on clothes.  why don’t you help the poor now instead of buying clothes?  you can start now by donating a little, instead of waiting until later.”  ouch.  he was so right.  i can start now.  what makes me think i can donate large sums of money later when i can’t donate a little now?  so that is my new year’s resolution which i wish to carry throughout every year of my life.  to help/donate now.  instead of buying/spending money on things that i don’t need.  to think next time i want to waste my money like on clothes which i have plenty, “how many children can i feed with this money i’m about to spend on ?”  and hopefully it’ll change my mind.  i know it won’t happen every time and i have a looooong way to go since i can be a pretty materialistic person at times, but hopefully i’ll get better as time goes by.  and i have my wonderful husband to remind me if i get side-tracked. 🙂

crepes on a saturday morning.

~ Etc.

on saturday morning we had crepes for breakfast.  i always use this recipe that’s so easy, it never fails!  we enjoyed our crepes while achilles just watched with his cute puppy eyes.  that’s one thing  with having a dog, you can’t share the joy of food together!  and food is one of the greatest joys in this life!  at least it is for me anyway.  but he enjoyed his milk bones and didn’t seem to mind too much.
he’s adjusting to his new environment so well and fits into our family so perfectly.  we kind of love him a lot.
crepes recipe via
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
  2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
  3. Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

sledding time!

~ Etc.

we’ve been promising the girls that as soon as it snows enough, we’d go sledding.  so we woke up this weekend and there was snow!  so off to sledding we went!  
towards the end, ana refused to walk because she was so hashed from all the uphill walking.
and sometimes i get questions about what i use on my skin, and you know what my favorite winter item is for me and my girls?  vaseline.  i use it year round but especially more so in the winter.  i recently read this article on 14 beauty uses for vaseline and i had no idea i could use it in so many ways!  now i use it to tame fly-aways on my hair, i use it as an eye makeup remover, and put it on my girls’ lips and cheeks before we go out in the cold, and i love it.   they also have a vaseline for the lips(the small one on the left-which the girls call it “aww, the baby one!”) which is thicker and lasts longer on your lips.  you should try it!