Fun In The Snow

In case you have been living under a rock and haven't heard...the Northeast has been slammed with winter storm after winter storm this year. Fortunately, Natalie likes to play in the snow this year, unlike last year when she only lasted about 3 minutes. Last week, she and Brad spent over an hour outside sledding and building a snowman!

Here is Natalie's makeshift snow outfit. I didn't buy a snowsuit or snow boots this year since she didn't like to play in it last year. So I had to make-do with lots of layers, fleece lined pants, and rain boots. Her feet definitely did not get wet!


Meticulously building a snowman.
Ta-da! Considering how powdery the snow was, this is a great snowman.
If you were thinking of sitting at the picnic table, taking a tricycle ride, or going down the slide...think again.
Or even if you wanted to leave the house...forget about it. It'll be a while!

Houston Trip!

I am finally getting around to blogging about our trip to Houston. Only took me 3 weeks!

As usual, we spent Christmas Eve with my mom's side of the family. Natalie had a blast with all of her cousins (or second cousins...or first cousins twice removed...or whatever they are). Love that it was warm enough to play outside in short sleeves on Christmas Eve!

We woke up at my parents' house on Christmas morning. Natalie wanted to make sure to get every last little treat out of her stocking!
This child was clearly born in the wrong decade -- she LOVES Richard Scarry's Busy Town stuff. Luckily, it is making a comeback, so you can actually find books and movies in the stores. I grew up watching the VHS tapes and now she watches them!
She was so excited to get some people for her dollhouse!
Digging into her stocking goodies at Mamaw and Papa's house.
Go Princeton!
Barrett and Jennifer got Natalie a little build-a-bear kit. She had such a good time putting the "fluffy" in it. She named him Max!
There was lots of playing outside at both houses...


And some cookie making!
Brad's grandpa (Mamaw's dad) was came to visit from Kentucky a few days before we headed back to NJ. Natalie could not have had more fun with him. It was adorable!


Who doesn't love a little cousin R&R?

We love being in Houston and always hate to leave family and friends! Fortunately, Natalie and I have a trip in April already planned to look forward to. Unfortunately, Natalie's spring break and Brad's spring break do not overlap, so we will have to leave him in NJ this time. Better leave the fridge well-stocked...we all remember what it looked like last time when I got home!

Just Call Me Betty Crocker

The picture you're looking at is my very first attempt at a homemade bread product of any kind (besides using the bread machine, which is semi-cheating). My parents got me a cookbook from one of my favorite Food Network shows for Christmas (Bobby Flay's Throwdown) and I knew that these sticky buns were going to be the first recipe I tried. It was a lot of work...making the dough the night before and letting it proof in the fridge overnight...making the "goo" and filling, rolling the buns, and letting them rise for another 3 hours...baking for 45 minutes...and managing to turn them over onto the serving platter without dumping them on the floor. We didn't have breakfast until about 11:00, haha! They were delicious, though. I definitely won't be making them frequently but they were a great treat and a successful first try at homemade bread making!