strawberries and cream

I love the sweet scent of fresh strawberries! It reminds me of glorious spring. Trees are lush, leaves rustling from the cool breeze. Flowers in full bloom with colors so vivid and bright. Ah, I can't wait.

This morning we started the day with happy thoughts of spring.




The recipe:
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1 1/2 cups milk
2 (heaping) tsp brown sugar
fresh strawberries

Heat milk in a sauce pan over med fire and bring to boil. Cut up strawberries into small pieces. Sprinkle brown sugar on strawberries and mix. Add oats and sugar coated strawberries to the boiling milk, stirring occasionally . Cook for 3-5 mins.

paper leaves

I am already counting the days to spring. If only weather.com could tell me exactly when it will come. I am done with winter and the bitter cold. Seriously, it's been four months since I last saw green!

she had us at hello

Hanging paper leaves is a clever idea to cheer up a room on an overcast winter's day . Another project to look forward to this week.

Keep warm, bunnies!

widen your vocabulary

Have you ever been called Appathetic? Nope, I did not misspell the word. It's a recently coined term to refer to somebody who is not up-to-date with the latest innovations in technology (duh).

spot.ph

Hey, if you want to be on top of things, click here to brush up on the 10 buzzwords you ought to know in 2011.

my spring wish list

Here are some pieces I'm currently lusting over with Spring just a few more weeks away (keeping my fingers crossed).

J. Crew Chambray Utility Jacket

Chloe snakeskin and cork wedge sandals

Fleabags The Original Flea

Banana Republic Sailor's knot necklace

To my fairy godmother, if you are reading this, i hope you get the hint :P

thank you berry munch

Snow is still falling...I'm planning to spend the next hour of peace and quiet curled up on the sofa with a cup of hot chocolate and these bite-size pieces of giggles.

assorted girl scouts cookies

What's your favorite girl scouts cookie?

let's sing, sing a song...

I looked outside this morning and it was gloomy! Just when I thought the bitter cold was behind us, it's back to freezing temperatures and snow. Sigh...

Here's something to brighten up the day. Let's SING, sing a song with our pals from Sesame Street.


And while we're at it, let's count too!


Stay cheerful!

crafty playtime

Looking for fun and inexpensive family activities you can do this weekend? Here's an idea!

tokketok

Have a crafty weekend!

positive discipline and clever diversions

If you have been living with a little person for a while you probably figured out by now that they are natural copycats. They try to imitate everything they see us do. Lately Bud has been showing a lot of interest in keys and opening doors. He would rummage around my purse to look for keys, bring it to the door and try to put it in the keyhole. Of course he can tell the play keys from the real keys - just like with everything else. Even if we buy them plastic laptops they still insist on tinkering with our real laptops. Sigh!

As much as possible I try to practice positive discipline. I try to avoid using the word "NO" as much as I can and reserve it only for times when I want to stress a point. I'm afraid that saying it too much would make Bud NO-deaf, as some experts so aptly coined it. Instead, I tell him what he CAN do.

This morning as P was about to leave for work, Bud was clinging on to him insisting on playing with the door knob again. He was holding the house key and wanted to put it in the keyhole. I had to look for diversion, quick! Good thing we haven't thrown out the box of our newly purchased file cabinet. I pierced a hole on the image of the lock and showed Bud that he can instert the key there. Bud was super happy with his new cardboard file cabinet. Instant new toy. Success!

i'm in love

You make my heart flutter

Owl always love you

We make the perfect pair

Happy heart's week, everyone!

books and blueberries

Sunday morning.

Sun is shining, our living room enveloped in its warmth.

Devouring a tall stack of books and freshly baked blueberry muffins.

Cuddling, tickling, and giggling.

Joy!

Don't you just love laid-back weekends with loved ones?

One of my happiest childhood memories is when my brother and I would cuddle with my mommy and papa on the sofa for some "story telling a lie". My wish is for Bud to also remember these simple times with the same fondness.

home improvement: entryway

As I have mentioned here, we've been decorating our home one area at a time. This week, the lucky part of the house to get some sprucing up was our entryway.

During our latest trip to Ikea we found a wall shelf that had hooks underneath. We thought it would be clever to mount it low on our entryway wall so that I could finally have some sort of decorative mantle without sacrificing space. At the same time, the hooks made it practical for hanging Bud's diaper bag for easy access.




Aren't wall shelves just ingenious? Now small spaces don't need to compromise on neither form nor function.

parenthood

We keep track of our children's development and celebrate their every milestone. We are in awe of how fast they grow and blossom into these amazing little people. But have you ever stopped and looked in the mirror lately? Our little angels aren't the only ones growing and maturing.

I think once you become a parent, you are altered (for better or worse, you decide).

I believe our children are gifts from God and true to His nature, God blesses us with children who bring out the best in us (but who also make us vulnerable to our weaknesses).

our little angel is growing up before our very eyes

There are days when I question why Bud is developing at a slower pace than his peers. Why he was be born at 30 weeks and why he had to spend the first 2 months of his life in the NICU. But instead of getting a straight answer, God assures me, "you and P are one of the most resilient and persevering couples I know. I am confident that you are the kind of parents that Bud needs".

I guess it wouldn't be a crime for us to celebrate parenthood and take a little credit for raising awesome kids.

Cheers!

scarf 7 ways

One of the reasons why winter is my least favorite season (aside from the frigid temperatures) is because I always found dressing up for the cold as such a chore. It was only a couple of months ago when I realized winter garb doesn't have to be as drab and dreary as the weather outside. Layering pieces and accessorizing with belts and scarves make a whole lot of difference to an otherwise humdrum outift. Call me a late bloomer.

This morning I chanced upon this blog. I was giddy with delight when I saw this how-to video.



Keep warm!

three stores

While I was vacuuming this afternoon a thought occured, "If you were in a hypothetical world with only 3 stores, what would those three stores be?". Only three stores, really??

Okay, definitely there would be an IKEA. I love Ikea! Lucky for us the Swedish home superstore is only a 20-min drive away. Have I ever mentioned that when we moved to MN over a year ago, all we had was 5 suitcases worth personal items which were mostly winter clothes? The first store we ever went to was Ikea so we could furnish our bare apartment. From our bed to our sofa to our dining table down to our drinking glasses - our home is literally an Ikea showroom. Well, it's not exactly showroom material (yet) but you get what I mean, right?

a peek at our home that is a perpetual work in progress

My second store would be TARGET. Wait, make that SUPER TARGET so I can get the Roast Chicken for those nights when I'm not in the mood to labor in the kitchen.

Third store is still a toss up between H&M and GAP. But I guess when it comes down to price and variety I would go with H&M. But wait, am I a stay-at-home-mom or working mom in this hypothetical world? Because if I were a working mom I would probably just choose GAP for their corporate chic styles that can take you from day to night. I wouldn't mind paying a little more for better quality either.

There, choosing just three stores wasn't so difficult after all.

What would your three stores be?

chic and simple

littlegreenbook

Here's a crafty way to get that fashion inspiration everyday.

You don't always have to spend a ton of money to have style.

cinnamon sugar toast

.... is the perfect pick-me-upper for someone like me who's only had a total of 4 hours of staggered sleep last night. Don't you just love the smell of butter and cinnamon in the morning? I'm having mine with a cup of hot chocolate for that extra boost of sugar to get me through the day.

Hope the rest of you slept well last night.

weekly dose

This week went by really fast. The days were spent juggling chores, errands and Bud's daily activities. Evenings were my time to catch up with friends and family (and a few episodes of Parenthood). My mini breaks in between were spent indulging in these sugary treats.

Popcorn Indiana Dark Fudge Chocolate Chip Kettlecorn Popcorn.

Found this at Walmart. Kettlecorn popcorn draped in decadent dark fudge and drizzled with chocolate chips. Mmmm.... I literally could now get enough! It's the perfect balance of sweet and salty. One bag is equivalent to 6 servings of 140 calories each. I ate half the bag in one sitting, eeeks! Mental note: include exercise in next week's to-dos.

Brookside Dark Chocolate Acai with Blueberry

Scored this 2lb bag of chocolatey goodness at Costco. It's a blend of different berries and acai juices dipped in dark chocolate. Sweet, tart and oh so chocolatey. The label says it's rich in antioxidants so that's enough reason for me to indulge.

Homemade Oatmeal Cookies

I got the recipe for these oatmeal cookies here. It's very easy to make and is great for munching anytime of the day. I also made a special batch for Bud with 1/2 the sugar and butter of the original recipe. It tasted more like a biscuit than a cookie but he ate it nonetheless. I'm really into making homemade cookies for Bud these days. I think it's a lot healthier than any of the store bought munchies I feed him - no matter how organic they claim they are.

Have a sweet weekend, bunnies!