What life is all about

Marisa: "Mommy, you are special."

Me: "I'm special?"

Marisa: "Yeah, you're special."

Me: "You're special too, Marisa. I love you."

Marisa: "I love you."

Me: "Good night."

Marisa: "Good night, Mommy."

Trick-or-Treat

If you watch Playhouse Disney in the morning, can you guess who Marisa was for Halloween?

Marisa was June from Little Einsteins! No one really knew who she was, but Marisa knew exactly who she was! She loves the Little Einsteins and has always loved them since she was old enough to watch tv!

Doesn't she look just like her? (Thank you Liesl for making the costume! It still fits!) And Natalie was a cute little black cat. The tail on the costume was my favorite.



Halloween this year was extra fun with Marisa. Mainly because this was the first time she was able to understand and enjoy the Halloween festivities and grasp the concept of trick-or-treating. Marisa has been looking forward to knocking on doors and getting candy for weeks now. She has probably worn her June outfit in the house everyday since October started.

Marisa went trick-or-treating with her cousins. She was pretty scared and unsure about Cade's scary skeleton costume!





I really love these pictures above of Marisa. It totally describes her. Before we even started trick-or-treating she managed to get a hold of a lollipop, which is her favorite type of candy, and knocked on doors with a lollipop in one hand and a pumpkin bucket in the other!







Whenever Marisa was allowed to pick out a piece of candy at someone's house she always went for the lollipop. She has a lot of suckers in her bucket!
Also, Tim said that at one house she picked a plastic spider ring and when the lady told her she could pick a piece of candy, she went for another plastic spider ring, and when the lady said she could still have another piece of candy, Marisa went for a third plastic spider ring. haha Marisa obviously doesn't understand the value of candy yet. =o)



Happy Halloween!

For the Love of a Best Friend

Georgie has been a part of Marisa's life since she was around 7 months old. If you have been following my blog you are very aware of how special Georgie is to Marisa.
With that said, you can imagine how much he has been loved by an ever growing little girl. As you can also imagine, Georgie isn't looking like he once did.

Right before bedtime Marisa came to me a little concerned and said, "Mommy, can you fix Georgie's shirt?" I took one good look at Georgie and said, "He needs a lot of fixin' right now."

So Marisa and I went to work.

I let Marisa pick out the buttons she wanted on Georgie's shirt. (And as you can see from this picture Georgie has no buttons on his shirt, his bear is not attached to his pjs anymore, his mouth is falling apart, his stuffing has slowly been leaving him, and his pants are saggy. All good signs that he has been really loved.)

Of course, Marisa picks the biggest pink button I have. I was able to guide her to pick two smaller buttons and she picked two pink ones again. =o)

After a few minutes of TLC, Georgie is all better, and Marisa is a happy little girl again. Georgie is not exactly back to normal, but looking much better for many more years of love.





Good night you two!

Little Miss Giggles

Last night, Natalie giggled for the first time! Tim was reading a book on the couch, Marisa was already in bed, and I was waiting for Natalie to get tired so I can put her to bed. I had Natalie on my lap just playing with her and I held her hands in my hands and then I would suddenly raise them up and say in my baby high-pitched voice, "You're still smiling!" haha

And she just cracked up.

Natalie kept laughing everytime I did it after that. She got lots of laughs out of Mommy and Daddy too.

I even got two more giggling episodes later today. Listening to your baby laugh is the sweetest sound in this world.
I love it.

The Holiday Jerks

Since Tim was 14 years old he has been known as the "Holiday Jerk" in his family.
Let me explain.
At that ripe age of 14, Tim was at the mall shopping with his family, and the story, according to his family, is that Tim just sat on the mall bench so grumpy during the whole shopping outing. Then his own mother calls him a "Holiday Jerk" for not getting up off his bum. haha
Anyways, recently Tim asked why I don't decorate for the holidays. (Except for Christmas, of course.) And I simply replied that I think decorations in the house are tacky, cheap-looking if not done right, and I just don't have the space for more junk. I would rather wait until we have a house where I can know exactly where I want things and decorate the home to where it looks good. It was at that moment where Tim jokingly called me a "Holiday Jerk". haha So, hi, Happy Halloween, we are the "Holiday Jerks". =o)

Instead, I would rather spend the money on holiday kitchen items.

Halloween Pancake Molds from Williams-Sonoma! Yummy!
Highly recommend getting them. This is something that is more than just a paper ghost hanging from the ceiling in my home. It is time spent cooking something fun and memorable with Marisa in the kitchen, eating yummy food, and starting traditions. Every Saturday since October started I have used these molds with this yummy pumpkin pancake batter from Trader Joes, chocolate chips, and this pumpkin butter spread also from Trader Joes to make a delicious breakfast. Marisa loves it! And I love starting a tradition for the Halloween holiday.

Oh! How I love this little girl...

Old McDonald had a farm...

One of my good friends introduced me to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. It is a program where consumers can buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. And boy, am I so happy about it! Yes, feast your eyes on this!







I signed up to receive a basket every other week filled with ultra-fresh food. Yesterday, I took the girls to our local farm to pick up our first loot and let me tell ya, I'm like a giddy school girl. I can't wait to make my diet 100x better, eat flavorful, vitamin-enriched fruits and veggies, and expose myself to new vegetables and new ways of cooking! Everything in my cute little basket is organic, local, and seasonal. LOVE IT!

To pick-up your basket, you enter a little barn where there are tables full of colorful, eye-candy baskets. You find the basket with your name on it, put it in your car, and drive home intoxicated by the overwhelming sweet smell of your fresh produce. Oh heavenly...





An added bonus is that Marisa looks forward to going to "her" farm. It is such a cute little farm and fun place for her. Because of the season, they had a pumpkin patch that Marisa just loved!

You can see exactly where your food is being grown. Isn't that great? They grow it and pick it for you and you just have to pick it up! I just get to eat their hard work!

My fridge has never looked so appetizing nor has it ever been so filled with veggies. On the bottom shelf I have gallon sized ziploc bags filled with leafy greens that reach all the way to the back of my fridge. I'm beyond excited and this will be a great change in our eating habits and it will help me teach my girls about healthy living. I'll keep you posted on the new delicious meals I'll be serving!