Hildebrandt, the Baby Prince

Just some pictures of my little prince

Me and My Gal

I love when we have company over for dinner. It means setting up the pack'n'play in our bedroom and putting Fiona to bed there as well.

Then, when we want to go to bed, I take Fiona and snuggle with her under the covers of my bed while Hero takes the pack'n'play into Fiona's room

Last night, whilst Hero was moving the pack'n'play and after I whispered, "I love you" to my little lady, she sleepily replied, "I love you, Mama"  and gave me a kiss

Currently she is trying to wedge herself between me and the computer peddling one of those books I've read a thousand times to her.

and I love to read to her.

The Case of the Missing Puzzle Pieces

I was cleaning up the play pen with Fiona when I found this puzzle board and only one puzzle piece

And this is what was left in the play pen: 

hhmmmm...wonder where those other letters were?

Thanks again Papa for showing little Fiona how to stuff things down her shirt :)

Family Get-Togethers

Some love them, ...some hate them, ...and others just don't know what to think

SNOW!!

It's the first SNOW DAY of the season here in Rixie-burg, and it so happens to be a Saturday. Such an event calls for nothing less than playing outside all morning and shoveling the walks then coming inside for some Homemade hot chocolate with freshly whipped cream

A deliciously gluttonous breakfast (at noon)

And a simply roaring fire in the fireplace

We love snow days

The Life I Want to Live

Remember those old Walgreens commercials about a fictional town called "Perfect", a Norman Rockwell-ian paradise where all was pleasant and quaint.

This place does not exist.

Sometimes I feel that my homemaking career is in some tidy little bungalow in Perfect.

While I was finishing up my bachelors degree, I daydreamed of playing with children, making cookies and homemade bread, crafting curtains, quilts, and placemats with love in every stitch.

The fun things about staying at home.

Yet I struggle to get past the drudge of it--laundry, dishes, diapers, groceries. By then I'm exhausted and tired and everything seems so taxing.

I just replaced my lost copy of Betty Crocker's Cookybook. It was the first cookbook my mom bought me when I was a tween. As I flipped though the pages, perusing potential Christmas cookies, I couldn't remember the last time I made a batch of cookies more demanding than chocolate no-bakes.

Time, always slipping through my fingers, always so elusive.

So what is eating up my time?

We're closing in on the end of the year. Now is the perfect opportunity to look at my life and change my priorities. Figure out just what kind of day I want to have and live it.

The Happy Taco Tip # 4 : Wet Wipes

Do you have wipes?

I have many.

So, if you're like me, you may have noticed how the last few wipes in a box or cylinder are particularly soaked and sometimes the top wipes (if you haven't used that case in a while) are dry nigh unto uselessness.

Solution: when I have my wits about me, I alternate the case between sitting right side up and right side down. This helps prevent the water from seeping out one end of the wipes and pooling at the bottom.

Exercise

Today I started on my goal of waking up at 5am to train for a 5k. I was tired from tra elling so I gave myself an extra 15 minutes of sleep when I set my alarm clock last night. Of course I failed to lay out everything so it was 5:30 by the time I left, so I ended up with about 15 minutes of exercise time and not wanting to strain myself--knowing the demanding day ahead-- I decided to simply power walk today. Then I ran into a friend from the ward who teaches college english.

I always enjoy talking with him and his wife. He was walking at slower, cool down pace than what I intended keep. I debated whether to settle for just a polite "good morning " salutation over slowing down for conversation. I remembered that people are more important than things. I slowed down

We was curious about Hero's plans for after graduation and I told him about our plans for grad school and then about the children. I did most of the talking. We parted ways at the same time, and immediately I regretted being so chatty. My friend mentioned that this was his last semester teaching english, there are so many interesting things he knows. I am trying to be a good listener, so my chagrin over that conversation was double measure.

If I had but askd more questions I could have had much more from that interaction