Tomorrow!

I was right. The weekend is dragging by. To make it even better, I am fairly certain I won't be able to sleep tonight. Tomorrow, our first house will be, well, ours!

Let the waiting begin!

Our life in boxes. Everything is packed - as packed as it's going to be. We've had our final walk-through. We close on our first home on Monday. This is going to be the longest weekend EVER. 

On the upside, Aidan was super duper excited about organizing the toys into these spiffy new boxes to keep in their closets at the new house. Bless his little heart. He is my son after all. ;)

Weekend

These are not the photos I promised to share yesterday. Sorry. I'm still deciding which I want to share. :)

These photos are from our weekend in Oklahoma. We went to see my brother-in-law graduate UPT and for my niece's first birthday. I have no photos of the graduation, because I was trying to keep my daughter from licking the chair in front of her and answering the questions, "What's Papa doing?" and "Where's Mikey?" about 400 times. No amount of Goldfish could keep her completely quiet. 

I do, however, have a few photos to share from the birthday party. Here's sweet Lycie in her birthday outfit. Yee-haw!

 Here's a sweet, pudgy hand going after her first cupcake.

 And here she is eating it! Finally! It took her a few minutes to really go after it. 

 We decided to take advantage of all the togetherness and take a family photo. Everybody looks great!...except for my children, who look a little bit weird, because they're yelling, "Cheese!"

 Don't be mad, Jamie, but I laughed out loud when I saw this one. Mamas can be silly sometimes, too.

 Making Aidan sick on the merry-go-round so his Mommy can take a picture. :)

 Neely and Daddy, just a-swingin'.

 And Neely giving Papa a run for his money.

Neely Bug

We had some photos taken a couple weeks ago by our friends Bridgette & Joey over at Adaire Photography. I haven't chosen my favorites to share just yet, but this one is classic Neely. Such a charmer.

Lava Cakes

Lava cakes. With all their gooey chocolate goodness, they've become a Valentine's Day tradition at our house. I use Paula Deen's recipe, and I don't think I've ever used the orange liqueur. They are so good!

• 6 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
• 2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons orange liqueur

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Grease 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Melt the chocolates and butter in the microwave, or in a double boiler. Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and orange liqueur. Divide the batter evenly among the custard cups. Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. The edges should be firm but the center will be runny. Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates.

Valentine's Day

It's a good excuse for doing things like cutting the kids' Eggo waffles into mini heart shapes. :)

New Digs

This is it! In a matter of weeks, this will be our new home. Our first home that will really and truly be ours! You can probably tell from the overuse of exclamation points that I'm excited!

This is the first photo I've shared, because all the ones I already had were taken in the dark. We met our realtor at the house this evening so that John could finally see it for himself. It was a little nerve-wracking, but he likes it! Thank goodness!

Now, I just have to get all these boxes packed. *groan*

Lil' Cheerleader

In honor of Superbowl Sunday, the kids were supposed to wear their team colors to Tiny Town. There is something about a little pigtailed cheerleader that my camera couldn't resist. When I pulled it out, I got one of these, "Aw, Mom! Not again!"

 Then, she ran away.

 But wait? Is that Yo Gabba Gabba I see?

 Gotcha! 

She may not be looking at the camera, or smiling, but she's still one adorable little cheerleader.

Last Week

Last weekend, it was hot, hot, hot. Well, for January, it was hot. I think the temperature was in the mid-70's, and we were all having fun outside in our shorts and flip flops.

I love capturing these little boogers in their true state - in motion!

Neely Bug tries so hard to blow her own bubbles. Every once in a while, the wind would pick up and help her out.

We also had friends come to town - and get stuck at our house - this week. We had so much fun! Even though it looks like Maddie must have driven over from Texas by herself in the photos, Aunt Fanny and Lila came, too. 

Aidan:  I would share these chips with you, but it's never too early to start watching your figure.

Maddie:  Don't make me go get my mom.

Maddie and Neely's favorite pastime? Squeezing their little bodies behind the cushion on my love seat. Unfortunately, it's nearly impossible to get them both looking and smiling at the same time.

 Yesterday, it snowed! And iced. The combination left this weird frozen mass on the lawn that really wasn't good for anything. It was really tough to scoop up, and basically impossible to roll in a ball. Alas, no snowman. Aidan got out his shovel and did a pretty good job reenacting "Holes."

 In the absence of a second shovel, Neely opted for a putter. Whatever works!

Can it be spring yet?

Even though snow and ice are in abundance outside today, I'm thinking spring. I'm ready for bright colors and warm days. I've even started making Neely some fun spring pants out of this summer soiree fabric. Now, if only the weather would cooperate.