Why God Gave Us Playpens

This sweet angel and I have spent some quality time at home together the past few days...

We have both been under the weather and stuck inside for way too long.  How do I know it has been too long?  This is what transpired in about a 15 minute period this afternoon...

Lily trying to eat my shoe...

Lily trying to eat the lamp base...

Lily trying to eat the lamp cord (don't worry it wasn't plugged in)...

Lily reaching for the phone that you can't see on the bed...

 Lily getting mad and showing her teeth because she can't reach the phone on the bed...

She then took a little breather on Hannah's tool set...

If Lily is not getting in to something these days you can find her on the nearest stool/toy/etc. swinging her foot back and forth.

Then it was straight back to business.  Here she is exiting the bathroom which is a definite no no on the list of places we play...

Please don't worry.  I usually have the door closed so she can't wander in but today it happened to be open and I promise I was watching the whole time.

Also, please know that I have tried teethers, toys, books, you name it to entertain this child.  If it does not involve chewing on cords or shoes, playing with a phone or in the bathroom she is really not interested. Each time she does one of these things I gently say "Lily no no" and she replies with a great stinker smile and goes right back to what she is doing.  I personally think this is just a small preview of what is yet to come from this little one.  We are definitely in for some fun and I can't wait!  Thankfully we are both well and ready to resume life in the outside world tomorrow.

Oh and finally I have to share her new trick...

That's right she is standing on her own.  Next up walking.

Something Blue and a Date

It has been a whirlwind of a week which is nothing new around here. I won't bore you with all of the details but I will give you a few highlights. While Hannah was in school Lily and I took a little road trip to Hartselle, Alabama...

We met my mom and bride-to-be sister, Bekah, to do a little wedding dress shopping.  I know I can't share pictures but let me just tell you - my sister is going to make a beautiful bride.  Bekah has several great choices for dresses but has not made a final decision yet.  I was fine with that because it just means another dress shopping day for me.  I think that looking for a wedding dress was one of my favorite parts of planning my wedding and it was really hard to not sneak in the dressing room to try on a dress or two myself while we were there.

Lily had a great time.  She spent some time in front of the mirrors practicing her standing...

She is really working on standing up by herself and my favorite part of watching her practice is seeing her little tongue stick out as she concentrates.  Sadly, this is where my camera batteries died.  I was not prepared so that was the end of picture taking for the day.  We had a fun couple of hours after we left the dress shop shopping, eating and visiting.  I am so glad that we will get to do it again soon when we go back for final decision time!

Now that Hannah is a big sister and is in "real school" there is not a whole lot of just Mommy and Hannah time around here.  Today, however, Hannah's school dismissed early and, since Lily was at Mom's Day Out, Hannah and I went on a "date."  I picked her up from school and we made our first stop...lunch...

 
We sat outside and enjoyed a beautiful afternoon - just the two of us.  There is nothing better than a conversation with a 3 year old if you ask me.  She kept me thoroughly entertained.

Our next stop was her favorite...

Now, if you know me then you know that candy is a VERY rare treat in our house but this great store was just around the corner and who can resist this...

 

I loved seeing the amazement in Hannah's eyes...truly a kid in a candy store moment.  Hannah chose these...

and I chose these...

Mine are dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds - two super foods I might add.  They are wonderful!  The time spent with Hannah, though, was the best treat of all.

We are getting ready for a big yard sale on Saturday so I will be back soon with a report.  Keep your fingers crossed that we sell sell sell!

A Little Batty...

The rain has finally ended (and finally brought us some cooler weather!) but not before trapping us indoors for almost an entire week.  We tried to make the best of our indoor time with a Halloween project. 

While Lily napped Hannah and I got to making some links from construction paper...

This is a great project for a 3 year old because it involved quite a bit of gluing.  Hannah loves to glue and was great at weaving the rings through each other.  We added some bats that we made from tissue paper...

and our Halloween garland was complete...

New Photos and Recipe

I don't think that I have shared with you all that Lily's 9 month photo slide show is ready.  If you would like to view it you can click here...http://www.jenniferhaglerphotography.com/files/hannahlily9m/iframe.html.  We had this session taken at the Botanical Gardens and I was really pleased with the results.  Hope you like them too!

I have been meaning to post the recipe for the oh so easy apple tart we made last week.  Sorry for the delay (Bekah).  ***I substituted green apples because that is what I had on hand.***

Quick French Apple Tart: from Eat Drink Live

Ingredients:

8 ounces ready-made puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten
3-4 red apples
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly butter a baking tray.

Roll out pastry to a rectangle 12 x 7 inches. Put on the baking tray and brush all over with the egg.

Cut the apples into quarters, removing the cores. Slice thinly and arrange in rows on top of the pastry, leaving a 2-inch gap around the edges. Drizzle the melted butter over the apples, sprinkle with sugar, and dust with cinnamon. Brush the edges of the pastry with the remaining egg wash, then fold inwards and gently press down.

Bake the tart in the oven for about 30 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 15 minutes, until the tart is well risen, crisp, and golden all over.

Serve hot or at room temperature with whipped heavy cream, clotted cream, scoops of good-quality vanilla ice cream, or homemade custard.

Enjoy!!

Hello Kitty

We had a special visitor at our house this past weekend. Last Thursday it was Hannah's turn to bring home the class pet from her 3-K class. Meet Kitty...


Kitty stayed with us until this past Tuesday and arrived at our house with her very own suitcase of fun...


Her suitcase was filled with clothes, toys, blankets, a napmat and a toothbrush. Kitty comes with instructions telling each hostess that Kitty must wear a seatbelt in the car, be wrapped in her favorite blanket for bed, get lots of snuggles and brush her teeth morning and night. Now I have to tell you that for this 3 year old class there is nothing more fun than being responsible for Kitty, particularly for making sure that Kitty brushes her teeth.

Kitty and Hannah had quite a busy several days and I made sure to take lots of pictures. Hannah was very excited (though you might not can tell from this picture) that Kitty packed her purple princess dress...


and her butterfly wings...
Kitty and Hannah baked...

They relaxed...

They ate...

They played...Hannah had a great time and was a little sad when it was time to take her friend Kitty back to school. I am sure that she is keeping her fingers crossed that Kitty and her suitcase will come back again.

A Dream Come True

Throughout my life I have always dreamed big. I have had big aspirations for a career, family, home and happy life to name a few. I have been very lucky in so many ways and Matt and I have, with the help of others, been able to reach many of our goals. There are certainly other aspirations that have not been met but now that I am a mother my big dreams no longer seem to focus on myself and my life, they are now centered around my children. My dreams for myself these days would probably seem small and mundane to many but they are still fulfilling to me. For example...


That's right a porch swing. I have for several years now wanted one and I happened across this swing on Craigslist a couple of weeks ago. I snatched it up immediately and Matt installed it for me over the weekend. I envision our family sitting on this swing curled up under a blanket this fall watching the leaves blow and our neighbors walking by. I can't wait to have a cup of tea on this swing in the morning and enjoy the quiet or a glass of wine at night while Matt and I talk about our day. Yes, porch swing, I have big plans for you and I look forward to enjoying my little dream fulfilled.

Welcome October

It is with much excitement and just a twinge of sadness that we welcome October and, with that, fall into our household. I think that the crisp air, warm foods and beautiful leaves bring a sort of rejuvenation to the soul, don't you? You might think I am a little crazy but October is the start of the holiday season for me...first comes Halloween, then Thanksgiving, then Christmas and lastly New Year's. I love preparing for each and every holiday with gusto! October is literally the month that Daddy and I began Raney family Christmas plans every year. He was the only one who would jump on the bandwagon with me this early and looking at him I could always tell that I came by my love of the holidays honestly. October is when I begin preparing for parties, updating my Christmas card list, and thinking about Christmas gifts for family and friends. If my father had had his way everyone would have had their Christmas lists submitted to him by the beginning of this month. Thankfully I have given birth to a 3 year old who is more than happy to oblige my love of the holidays and continue with our traditions.

We have already picked out several pumpkins and I have big plans for them...


our fall wreath is hanging on the door...


and we are celebrating fall's apple harvest today with a homemade apple tart topped with brown sugar and cinnamon...

Delish! Have a great weekend!