my sweet, sweet little girl

An oldie but a goodie...

i love my friends!

We are so lucky to have good friends who take such good care of us and bring us dinner! Thanks Jess, Pete and Nora. :)


It was delish!

is it 'someday'?

Reading back in the archives of my blog I came across THIS post. I keep hearing, "Kris, there never is a right time..." But I'm just not so sure.

snip snip

Greg had surgery on Thursday. A 2nd repair of his hernia. No fun. He is doing well, resting, complaining, wishing he could go #2 or we are going to have to go back and visit the Dr., enjoying some time off work and so happy to have little to no responsibilities of housework and kids. :) I'm almost jealous.

the blog drought

Gosh I feel like facebook has become my sounding board and this blog has severely taken a back seat!

Anyone out there who isn't friends with me on facebook and would like to be leave me a message or email me at nelliesnook2@gmail.com.

busy, busy, busy...

Ahhh... so much going on this time of year I can hardly see straight.

I am busy with work... these kids always keep me on my toes. I am in the process of hiring an assistant which is SO awesome! I am thrilled that they are allowing me to do it because it will take a little bit of the stress of the job off my shoulders and will allow me to share it with someone else! :) I've had 2 excellent interviews and one more on Monday. I believe it is going to be a tough decision.

I have been home sick since last Sunday. Monday I seriously thought I was going to die. I had a fever and was achy. I had a terrible head/chest cold and could not stop coughing and sneezing. It was so bad that Greg slept on the couch for 3 nights! He didn't even want to be near me.

Monday was the WORST though because I had the kids home with me. That is THE worst thing ever for a parent. Having to take care of kids when you are sick yourself. I only wanted to lay on the couch. I cried all morning. I was so angry at Greg's work for not allowing him to have the day off. Ugh. I hate days like that.

Tuesday he was able to call in and stay home, thank God. Ellie had a parent breakfast at preschool and I just new I couldn't take her and I also felt terrible that she would have to go alone. So Greg was able to go and had someone else watch Cooper while they were there. I had the entire day to myself to lay in bed and rest. It was beautiful!

Wednesday we took our first trip out of the house in 5 days (!) to Trader Joe's. I instantly fell in love. I wish we had one closer. I'd be there every other day. We bought so much food and 10 bottles of wine for $38! I'm going back again on Wednesday and can't wait. I think it is going to become a weekly habit and my main grocery store. Everything was so much better than the stores in the town I live in. It's well worth the 50 mile drive.

Since my last post we had Ellie's preschool screening. She did excellent. She is such a smarty pants. I am so proud of her. I'm a bit nervous in that she will be starting Kindergarten and will have to go all day 5 days a week. Preschool is only 2 days a week for 2.5 hours. It is going to be culture shock for her and I'm so afraid of what it will be like. She still needs a nap or is a wretched brat by 4 pm. I can't imagine what she is going to be like at 3 pm when I pick her up from a day of so much stimulation. Ugh. I am dreading this change. I know it'll all work out, am just worried. And honestly it'll probably be harder on momma than her. :)

Oh and all this snow is just ick. I am so over it already. They are saying another storm is coming Monday which will bring 6 more inches. I think 20 is already enough. I need May to get here FAST. We got rid of our 4 wheel drive vehicle this fall in order to have enough room for a 3rd baby sometime in the future. Foolish. I could have crammed 3 car seats across couldn't I have?

What a jumbled mess of a post.

Bread making is going well. I am looking for a recipe for something not quite so dense. Anyone have one? I'd like something light and fluffier for sandwiches. I am going to try a new one right now but am open to other suggestions.

Time for naps and more bread making. Have a good weekend all!

frugal living

While I just can't seem to grasp the concept that a latte for $4 is to much to pay for something of the sort... =) I am trying to scrimp in other areas. I recently have been researching recipes for making my own laundry detergent. I am going to give that a try on Sunday. Wish me luck! Another way I am trying to save is when it comes to buying bread. Our family goes through 3 to 4 loaves of bread a week. My kids LOVE toast and Greg takes sandwiches to work almost every day. You can view the complete instructions here: "the simple dollar."

So today I made my first loaf. It was a process, I'm not gonna lie. It took hours because in between mixing and beating and beating again you have to let it rise twice, for an hour each time. I was so excited to get started that I blew through the first few steps before I realized, dang it, I didn't take pics for my blog. So let me catch you up to the pictures.

The ingredients:
The dough waiting to be beaten =)

Ellie beating the dough for me...

while Coop had a snack.

In the bowl for the first round of rising...
It grew a bit after that first hour...
More beating/kneading and then flattened into a rectangle...
Rolled up and placed in a loaf pan set out for another hour to rise.
After another hour of rising.
After baking at 400 degrees for 30 minutes...
Beautiful! I think my first loaf turned out so good! I can't wait to try it at dinner and see what the real judges think. =)
Although it did take some time it was very easy, much cheaper and much, much healthier than a loaf of bread from the store. I am also looking to learn some variations in flavor. Garlic, wheat, parmesan, etc.

I'm back.

And totally happy to be. I really missed my blog and the correspondence here with everyone. Just had some issues come up with extended family not real happy with what I had posted after my grandpa's death. I have since deleted the post at the request of my mom. She's just to darn nice and doesn't want to cause a ruckus. I prefer to not be a pushover. But whatever.

I will not talk about this again, just wanted to give you all a reason for my absence the last few months.

On to bigger and better things.

Welcome back my friends =).