2 years

2 years ago (from yesterday) we closed on our first house!  

We've loved the time we've had here, our neighbors are fantastic.

And hey...in only 13 more years we'll have it paid off!

1 Funny Story

Wes has always been a great sleeper, but he was going through this phase where he would wake up every night and want us to tuck him back into bed.  

ANNOYING.

Finally we told him that if he came INTO our room in the middle of the night he was going to get a spanking.  

Around 2 in the morning we hear Wes right OUTSIDE our room yelling DAD, DADDY! 

He is only 2 and he is already thinking about how to get our attention without technically coming in our room?!

Needless to say the next night we had to reevaluate the rules to be more specific.  

He got a spanking for 3 nights in a row but then went right back to sleep.

He hasn't bugged us since (fingers crossed).

That crazy kid.

Slump

I've been in a bit of a blogging slump lately.  

Actually I've just been sort of in a slump. period.

Maybe it is all of this crappy weather we've been having lately.

I miss the SUN.  

Enough with all that depressing stuff, here is an update on what we've been up to the past month or so.

SCHOOL.  Todd decided to go to school this semester!  He is taking 16 credit hours and is almost constantly working on homework or studying.  Having him in school has been an adjustment, that is for sure.  He built himself a desk in our master closet and usually when he gets home from school he'll go in there to study.  If he isn't at school or studying he is down the street working at our neighbors finishing their basement.  It has been such a blessing to be able to have him work so close to home, even if it is just for a few hours a week. 

SEWING.  I think I'm addicted to sewing.  I love it.  I've sold a few of my temple bags which was exciting.  I've also got my substitution certificate so that I can start subbing at the school. I'm not so excited about that.  

Wes has been working on learning all of his letters, shapes, and his counting.  He does really well counting to 29 but has some issues with 13, 14, 15.  He's also been working on memorizing the names of the prophets.  He is doing really well with those too.  Every night before he goes to bed he makes sure we look at the pictures!  It is so cute.  He can also spell his name, but lets be honest, WES isn't that complicated haha.

Happy Birthday Sydnie

She had a birthday shout hooray!
You should be very grateful this isn't a video blog entry. haha
Nevertheless...Sydnie had a birthday last week and it was great.  Todd has school ALL DAY on Monday (as in his last class doesn't get out until 9:30 p.m.) so I was able to spend the entire day with her.  She was thrilled I'm sure!  

I made her this headband.

She LOVES strawberry cake so I made her three!

Okay, Okay so it was really just one cake mix divided into three pans.

Do you know how long it would take us to eat three whole cakes?

Probably not at long as it should...but still.

Anyway...strawberry cake with strawberry icing.  The icing was my favorite.

 1 pound butter

2 pounds powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

8 oz strawberry syrup (the kind you use on pancakes)

I've also made this frosting with raspberry syrup on a chocolate cake

and the combination was divine. 

Please be smarter than me and realize that a frosting recipe that requires an entire pound of butter will make way more frosting than you will need for 1 cake mix (even with 3 layers!).

I maybe used HALF.

Back to the cake...

There is something I should tell you about me and frosting cakes.

I don't do so hot with the sides I'm horrible at frosting the sides.

Notice how there are no pictures of this cake from the side?

This cake had not 1 but three sides, I was destined to fail.  I really should have just left them bare.

I didn't, they looked ridiculous, and Rachelle and I were left with the awkward task of trying to cover them up some how.

Sprinkles.  When in doubt add sprinkles.

Somehow they make everything look prettier.

And candles, 19 haphazardly positioned candles.

Finally, why not throw a butterfly cookie you happened to decorate that day on top?

Ah, who cares?  We're getting ready to eat it in 10 minutes anyway right?

Right!

Happy Birthday Sydnie!  We sure LOVE YOU and are glad you're part of our family forever!

Christmas

You know when Christmas is all done and over and you don't think you have anymore presents coming and then BAM someone totally random gives you a gift that you weren't expecting?

 Ya, that's kind of like this blog post.

I know Christmas was forever ago, but I've been lazy we've been busy hanging out with family so I just haven't gotten around to it.  SOO Merry Christmas!  I hope yours was as awesome as ours!

Check out this SWEET banner that Todd's Grandma made us!  I LOVE IT.  She sewed all of those teeny tiny sequence and seed beads on by hand.  It had to have taken forever and I think it rocks.

Every year on Christmas Eve we make sugar cookies.  I guess technically you could say that they are for Santa, but really I just like to make them because I think they're fun.  This year it was extra fun because Wes was able to help!  He had a blast, and it was fun to watch him.  After they were all cooked I was running around trying to get everything ready so we could leave ... so Todd frosted and decorated the cookies!

I've got to say he did a pretty awesome job too.  The snowmen had faces made out of sprinkles and everything :) 

This is what Santa Clause brought Wes.  A bunch of random things I got on clearance throughout the year, a color set handed down from Mike and Joe, and a set of building blocks Todd picked up, a stocking full of fruit snacks, and some new toothpaste and a toothbrush!

Wes walking in to see his presents in his new pajamas he got from Grandma Hart.  Aren't they adorable?

Wes with his stocking.

Check out how little he was last year...

...and how teeny tiny he was the year before that.  Aww.

Alright back to his year.  Here we all are (huh I'm not sure what that ladder is doing there).

Hey I got some dental floss! Wahoo.  No, seriously, I am obsessed with flossing my teeth.

Of course you'd never know that by how horrible my teeth are.

I'll blame my mom for that, she has horrible teeth too.

Wait, I thought this post was about Christmas, not my dental records.

And finally, Wes opening a present, with his mouth full of candy of course.

OH...maybe that's why my teeth are horrible.

We really did get spoiled this year.

I LOVE CHRISTMAS and usually start thinking about what I want to give everyone in the middle of summer.  Somehow I always seem to forget that we GET presents too, and then suddenly one day right before Christmas I remember and get really excited all over again.

BUT...and I know this is cliche...the best part of Christmas was probably watching Wes get soo excited.  It was great, and I can't wait for Christmas this year!

Happy New Year!

Just a quick update to let you all know we're still alive!  We made it home before Christmas with enough time to set up a tree, wrap all the presents I'd been working on since June, and make lots of Christmas goodies. 

Christmas with Wes was a blast and he even stayed up all the way until midnight on new year's eve! 

Things have been pretty CRAZY since we got home, but hopefully this week things will settle down and I'll be able to give you some pictures from Christmas, a recap on our 2009 and a few goals I have for 2010.

Have I told you about...

My friend Stephanie!  She does things with a paint brush that are just AMAZING.
No, I mean really they are awesome.
Anyway, to celebrate the Christmas season she is doing a 12 days of Christmas and is giving away a painting everyday from now till Christmas.

If I don't win one I'll probably cry.

I really wanted to just keep it to myself so I would have a better chance of winning...BUT...that didn't seem very Christmas like.

SO...go check out her Blog and maybe if you're lucky you can win one of her paintings.

Merry Christmas!

New Shop = GIVEAWAY!

I've decided to start selling a few of the things I enjoy making! I've created a website like BLOG at TerriannHart.blogspot.com and opened an ETSY shop at TerriannHart.etsy.com. Things are very much still in the beginning stages but I thought to give it a jump start I would GIVEAWAY one of my bags! There are 4 different styles and the winner gets to choose which one they like best. (Pictures solely to show bag design, I may or may not be able to purchase the same fabric as seen in the photos although I already have the top right bag finished and in stock.)

To enter once go check out my new blog and leave me a comment telling me what you think (suggestions for improvement?).

To have your name entered twice post a link on your blog and then leave me another comment with a link to your blog so I can go check it out too.

If you really want to win you can post a link on Facebook then come back and tell me about it so I'll know to enter your name a third time.

I will announce a WINNER when I get back home to Missouri on SATURDAY, December 19!

Good Luck!

I can't get him to take them off...

Wes has worn these boots EVERYDAY since his birthday. If I ask him to grab his tennis shoes he throws a fit and wants his boots. I did manage to get him out of the house today without them but that was only because I was dressing him when he was still half asleep.

He can't wait to get home to show "papa Wilkins" and the "Moo-Cows" his new boots!

THANKS UNCLE RICK (seriously) He loves them!

No Onions

Yesterday we rolled down Wes' window in the car and he started "ordering" his food.
"Chicken nuggets, drink of water please, no onions."

We assured him that chicken nuggets don't come with onions.

I think we eat out too much!!!

Approximately a week and a half until we're home and I'll have a kitchen again :)