We're 4 for 4

I can remember the day vividly. It was a beautiful September day, much hotter than anyone expected. I slept in, ate some breakfast, stopped by the reception hall and then ran off to the salon for my pampering. In all that time I felt excited and content.

I met N in our high school youth group 12 years prior. He was a skinny band geek. Yet he was always wanting to hang out, always wanting to be near me. I was a girl who had never had that kind of attention. It totally freaked me out that some guy would actually like me. He convinced me to go to two dances with him. To this day, those were some of the best memories from high school.

He was also my first real date. We went to see The River Wild. He insisted on holding both my hands. I found it odd and annoying. It was actually one of the things that caused me to break up with him exactly 24 hours later.

He's also the one who kissed me after that movie. He made my knees go weak and my stomach jump all over the place.

For some reason all the fun we had together was overshadowed by so much and God's timing wasn't right.

Until 12 years later when I would be getting into my wedding dress and commiting to love, honor and obey him.

It was a perfect ceremony. It was personal and fun. Even though I don't remember too much of the specifics, I remember feeling safe, loved and home in N's arms. At the time I didn't think it possible that my love for him could grow. These last 4 years have brought with it a fight: a fight to love one another, a fight to stay alive, a fight to keep our marriage progressing. All that fighting has paid off.

Neither of us are the people that were at that altar 4 years ago. We're better and we're more a team than I could've ever hoped for.

N, thank you for loving me, for not giving up on us, on me. You have shown me more about love than I knew was possible. It is my honor and privilege to walk this life next to you. I fall more in love with you each day. You are my hero, my partner and my love.

Happy anniversary. May the next 4 years be full of more adventures and less snakes! I love you.

A little pampering can feed the soul

Last night I thought it would be fun to play salon with Zoe. We've never played before and she's entirely interested in combing other people's hair. Plus she's at the age when she understands things like "don't pull on the comb, it's stuck in mommy's hair" and "gentle, be gentle with the brush."

I like all things related to my hair. Unless you count that unfortunate time in junior high when I found mystery gum after sixth period. I'm getting that same queazy feeling that I experienced every day of junior high, so we'll move on.

I love having my hair played with. It's the ultimate relaxation. There could be some selfish motive in teaching Zoe to play salon. If I was that kind of mother, that is.

We started by getting out all our accessories.

Then, while Zoe organized and color sorted the bin (she's totally in herited my OCD tendancies, I even caught her making sure all the frogs faced up), I did her hair.

I actually can't believe how long it's getting. I can actually put in pig tails that are lower on her head. Which is perfect for fall/winter hat seasons.

Then it was my turn. Apparently I needed some extra conditioning or a perm. She wasn't real specific on my kind of treatment. If it doesn't involve gum or one of those comb curling irons, I knew I would be fine.

The she finished instructing me where to put the accessories. Her feeling isn't less is more.

Maybe next time I can teach her about a scalp massage.

Here comes the Muffin Girl

Zoe isn't really a breakfast girl. She's like her dad that way. When we find something that she will eat for breakfast, we make sure we have enough on hand for that week. At least for the next few days she'll be eating it.

What's even better in her world is if she can help you make it.

As she was "cooking" in her kitchen, she saw that I was getting ready to cook in the real kitchen. She dropped all her fake spices and ran as fast as her legs could go. I seriously hope this enthusiasm continues into other areas like dishes and putting away her shoes!

We have gotten into making mini-muffins. What's best is she can help with all aspects of it.

From the pouring of ingredients...

to the stirring and even the spooning into the muffin tin.

I would get an actual picture of the muffins, but when you live with Muffin Girl, it's hard to get a good picture.

What kid-friendly breakfast is a staple in your house?

Wordless Wednesday

A few bowling lessons for our guests

To start off our Labor Day weekend, we had Luke and Angela over for some dinner and Wii bowling. It's one of Zoe's favorite things to do.

She loves when we have friends over who are fairly new to the Wii bowling. It gives her a chance to show them the ropes. She's such a dedicated teacher that she will even bowl right next to you to ensure you have proper form.

I have no idea what we're going to do with her at a real bowling alley.

After it was time to get jammies on and get ready for bed, it was time for the real action to start. What do you get when you pit a husband and a wife against each other in a tennis match?

A little friendly competition that eventually leads to throwing down of a gauntlet called Mario Kart.

Thanks for coming to visit Luke and Angela. Next time it'll be some enchiladas and some curling.

Because you can never have too many dips in one place

To say I was delighted when I read BooMama was doing a whole post dedicated to dips is an understatement. If you've ever been to our house you'll know we are a fan of any and all kinds of dip. In fact it's a little known fact that we can get Zoe to eat twice as many nuggets if she has a bowl of mashed potatoes to dip it in.

There may have even been a few Saturdays of watching The Wiggles for the 753rd time that I found comfort in some French Onion Dip.

I thought I would participate because we have a dip recipe that I have been making for my whole life. It was the job my mom gave me in the kitchen. I took the making of this dip very seriously. I have no idea where she got the recipe, but it's been a staple for our family on all holidays, sporting events and quilt group afternoons. Because I've been making it so long, I actually have no idea on exact measurements of some of the ingredients. I'll do my best.

Kathy's Dill Dip

1/2 C sour cream
1/4 C good mayo (we use Blue Ribbon or Best Foods)
1 1/2 palm fulls of dried, minced onions
2 dashes of Beau Monde (or Bon Appetit) seasoning
4 dashes of dried dill weed

Combine the sour cream and mayo in a bowl. As long as you have a 2 to 1 ratio of sour cream to mayo, you can make more or less of this recipe.

Pour in the dried, minced onions into the sour cream/mayo mixture. It should give a slightly lumpy look to it. You can always add more of the onions if you like that kind of thing.

Then add the Beau Monde seasoning. I like to make the mixture look slightly freckled. You don't want it to look like the dip is peppered with brown flecks, but slightly freckled. 2 dashes is about the amount I use no matter the size of the batch. Unless you're feeding an entire football team, then feel free to add a couple additional dashes.

Finally add the dried dill. I am of the mindset that you cannot have enough dill in this dip. You can go hog wild with you dill weed and make the dip part green if you wish.

The best thing about this dip is you can't overdo it with the seasonings. Don't fret too much about the measurements, they are really more guidelines.

We serve it with a veggie tray and some crackers. It is equally delicious on both.

Enjoy!

For more amazing recipes, visit BooMama's blog for Mr. Linky and enough dips to last at least through the first month of football.

Snakes and frogs and all on the blog

N is all boy. He can fix anything with the house and he can assemble anything without looking at the directions. These are two qualities that I never knew I'd love so much.

He also has another quality that I knew about, but wasn't entirely too excited about. He loves all things reptile, slimy, hoppy and cold-blooded. This is a quality that has come in handy around our house. The backyard, as I've mentioned is a haven for frogs.

If there is anything I am fearful of it's all things reptile, slimy, hoppy and cold-blooded. I'm happy to admit that the frogs have grown on me. I don't touch them or get within 24 inches of them, but I don't scream near as much.

That was until this weekend when we learned that the front yard was a haven for all this slithery.

We had a garder snake slither it's little, freaky body into our garage. Behind a stack of tires, which is the easiest thing to move and find a snake.

Because N is all things boy, he was up for the challenge. He actually found the little slitherer in the broom. Swept that little guy across the street and into the dirt field.

To say he is my hero is an understatement. Let's hope that the little guy doesn't have any friends.