Tonight, Marie came over and we enjoyed a couple glasses of wine (on a Monday, woohoo!) while we put together all of the invitations for Kara’s baby shower. March 21 is fast approaching, and I really want to get the invites mailed by this weekend.
We had to make 30 invitations, but it only took us about an hour and a half.
Then Marie helped me finish up another baby shower project I’ve been working on. I just need a few last finishing touches for it and then it will be completely done. I sooo want to post pictures, but I think the mommy-to-be might read my blog sometimes, and I do want to keep some things as a surprise for the shower. :) So I will post photos of everything once the shower has come and gone.
I’m starting to get really excited about our new nephews. Michael’s sister, Melissa, is going into the hospital to have her baby on March 3. That’s only a couple of weeks away now! Amazing. And after that, May will be here before we know it and we’ll have Trevor and Kara’s little guy, too.
It’s going to be so fun. As I’m sure you all must know by now, I absolutely love babies!
We don’t “celebrate” Valentine’s Day, but yesterday, we still wanted to indulge a bit. So we not only ordered pizza (which we almost never do), but we also made dessert for just the two of us (no sharing!).
And this is not just a regular brownie. This is a brownie with chunks of chocolate chip cookie mixed in. I mean, seriously. Talk about heaven on a plate.
And I owe this one completely to Betty. Sure, you could go all out and make this from scratch. It’s not hard to figure out. Brownie batter recipe + cookie dough recipe. But Betty made it so easy.
You see, she put it all in the same box. (Thank you, Betty.)
It turned out that this Valentine’s Day was all about loving Betty.
You start off by mixing up the brownie batter. Pour into baking dish, as usual.
But THEN! THEN, my friends, you go an extra mile and you mix up the package of chocolate chip cookie dough.
And THEN (and this is the mind-blowing part), you drop dollops of that chocolate chip cookie dough into the brownie batter. (!!!!!)
If this isn’t perfection, I don’t know what is.
Pop it in the oven for almost an hour, and you’ve got yourself some kicked-up, badass brownies.
The only thing I can think of that Betty could do to make this easier? The dishes.
(Just kidding, Betty, you know I love you. Please don’t shun me.)
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We don’t buy into the Hallmark holiday, but for those of you who do (and there’s nothing wrong with that!)–Happy Valentine’s Day. :)
On our agenda today:
Gym.
Errands.
Takeout pizza and champagne.
Brownies from a box.
Wine and a movie rental.
Pretty low key. And I like it.
Do you have anything special planned? Or not special, but equally as enjoyable?
I was catching my last 20 minutes of sleep this morning when Michael came in and stood at the end of the bed and said, “Heather.”
I could tell by the tone of his voice that something was wrong, so I sort of frantically asked, “What? What?!”
“There was a plane crash in Buffalo.”
Needless to say: Not a great way to begin a morning.
When I hear of things like this, there is always that initial panic while I sort of take a mental inventory of the whereabouts of everyone I love. Since this particular tragedy happened right in Buffalo, it was particularly worrisome.
After watching a few minutes of the news on CNN, I quickly sent text messages to several friends from college to make sure everyone was accounted for. Thankfully, the people I know and love, as well as the people they know and love, are all safe. I am grateful to not have been personally touched by this tragedy.
But you know what? I’m still touched by it. Because it’s Buffalo, for crying out loud.
It still has not quite sunk in that this happened so close to home. Even though I’m 60 miles away, it feels like it happened right in my city, just because of how much time we spend in Buffalo. We went to college not too far from Buffalo, and we have countless friends and family members there. It’s like a second home.
And plane crashes that garner national news attention? Deadly plane crashes that kill 50 people? They happen in other places. Not in Buffalo.
The problem is: That’s not only naive–it’s untrue.
I pray for the poor passengers that were on that plane who had to live the last few moments of their lives in terror. And I pray even harder for their poor families and friends who were left behind, and will live the rest of their lives carrying the pain of their losses.
This has hit me slightly harder than some other incidents. Not only because it occurred so close to home, but also because we spent a lot of time on planes just a few days ago. It has made me think back to our takeoffs and landings, the small amounts of turbulence we experienced, and conversations we had with friends about fears of flying.
All of it just makes me realize that in reality, something like this can happen at any time. To anyone.
Even so, I do not live in fear of it. I mean, how can you live in fear of it? The fact of the matter is, something horrible happened last night, and people woke up this morning and boarded planes anyway. After a car crash, we still get back into our cars. After a drowning, we still get back in the ocean. Life must and does go on.
But of course, we do remember. And I feel for all of the people who lost loved ones last night. I hope that the recovery efforts and subsequent investigation give these people at least some of the answers that I am sure they are seeking–and the peace they need to move forward.
R.I.P. Passengers and Crew of Flight 3407
Today is a day that a few short months ago, we weren’t even sure would ever come. Actually, the day would have come no matter what. But the celebration would not have.
Today is Tessa’s 3rd Birthday. :)
As with all of her birthdays, I made her a makeshift birthday treat. This year, it was a cracker spread with peanut butter, with a couple of frosted mini wheats stuck to the top. Random, but she loved it. And of course, she had three little candles.
The thing that was great about this year is that she has now mastered the “stay” command, so we were able to put the birthday treat right down next to her for pictures and she didn’t try to immediately attack it. Michael kept his hand on her just in case (didn’t want her to jump onto the candles), but she did really well. It was cute.
I pulled up some old pictures tonight to reflect back on the last three years with little Tessa girl:
This picture is from the day we got Tessa (April 21, 2006). She was only 10 weeks old and 3.8 lbs. She was absolutely exhausted and I almost died from the cuteness when she rolled over to sleep on her back in my lap. Little did I know then that this would always be one of her favorite ways to sleep. She still sleeps like that (when she’s really, really tired) to this day.
Relaxing in the sun at my mom’s house, only a few days after we got her (April 2006).
Look at how tiny she was! This was within the first few weeks of her arrival, too. I love her cute little face.
Tessa’s 1st Birthday (February 12, 2007) — The birthday treat consisted of a saltine, a dollop of peanut butter, and a peanut butter milkbone. :) Michael had to hold her back from it because she was so excited.
Tessa’s 2nd Birthday (April 12, 2008) — This was the only photo we could get of her “with” her birthday treat. Every time we tried to put it closer to her, she tried to eat it. That birthday treat was made out of a tortilla chip and peanut butter.
I guess peanut butter is the recurring theme for her birthdays, huh? :)
Anyway, we are very happy to have celebrated a third birthday with Tessa today… and we hope for many, many more!
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
