Full Of............F

February was full of many things for me. In the short amount of days that it provides, the vast range of activities were so enjoyable.

I relish time with Friends. I so enjoy adult conversation. When you spend an evening with a girlfriend that you lose track of time with, that is truly poetic.

I just plain had Fun this month. A snow fort. The frozen landscape. Hooping it up with my daughter. Cruising a new car showroom. Pondering a new dog. Country cruising. Painting way too much!

Trying new Food. We broadened the palettes of the Grismore's this month. Somethings were a hit, the guacamole and gnocchi. Somethings were a bust; steel ground oatmeal.

The new iPhone Four. All I can say is holy Sugar Honey Iced Tea! Never thought in a million years I would have one of these things, but wow is it a-we-some.

What more can I say, Family. We pretty much have this category wrapped up! We do all that we can together, and are full of love. I am more blessed than what I should be and am so thankful.

Autumn :)

The Long Way Home

Yesterday, when the girls and I left the office, I decided we would take the long way home. On a regular day, taking the highway, it is a 10 minute drive. Ours was 45 minutes. What a country cruise (and not the kind of country cruising from high school)!

The third seat was down, so I let the girls just play and ride in the back, we drove slow, and I told them to be on the look out for cool things to take pictures of.

We were coming up on the end of our country tour, just passing Garfield's house, cresting this small hill, and low and behold hanging out on the road was this little guy. I love the look of a bassett hound. They look so dopey and lovable. We stopped and he walked right up to the Loser Cruiser. I was talking to him in my "animal" voice. I would have heisted him into Ollie Odyssey if he would not have been in front of his house. No joke, ask my husband how many random animals I have brought home.

We were not in front of their house for long. Long enough to snap 2 pictures and have "animal" voice conversation. Apparently he did not want us to leave. He followed us over the hill, just as far as his short little legs would take him. Ainzli was a little worried he might get hit or lost. I told her not to worry, he wouldn't go too far. He did eventually give up and turn around.

Here's to man's best friend and his relentless pursuit of us.

Autumn

-1 + 65

64 degrees, the high for yesterday. Today, not quite as high, but still awesome. I know this sounds really sad, but I slotted out 25 minutes to play basketball with Ainzli yesterday. Things have been a little crazy lately, just to say the least. So the fact that I even have to mention penciling my child in makes my head hurt. But we enjoyed it immensely, got our heart rates up, and I totally smashed her on the court. (That was supposed to be funny, hope your laughing now!).

Shannon is in the process of painting and doing a little updating to the "boys" bathroom. Yeah!!!!! We only have one boy (man, love you Shannon) in the house, but we have a boys bathroom (hum?).

This bathroom is just off the laundry/home office/mudroom, so things are a disaster around the Grismore abode. There is so much dirty laundry you could seriously misplace a small child. Where, where do all these dirty clothes come from? I know I don't wear them all, but those girls! I am pretty sure they pull something out of the drawer, look at it, decide no, then it lands on the floor. We have been working on this little "bad" habit, and they are doing better thank goodness. Sorry for the laundry tangent, but our housekeeper is fired!

Open Window View
The rose is from a co-worker. The bud vase is an old McCormicks grinder jar. The Dixie cup has Viola starts in it. The index card has an untried new recipe on it.
The beauty of it all: the Open Window 

So in all of the chaos that insumes my life regularly, the weather yesterday was a blessed gift. I was standing at the sink (not doing dishes, by the way, literally just standing there thinking off into space). I opened the window, a flock of honking geese went cruising by, the air was crisp and wonderful to just drink in.

2 minutes of peace.

Autumn:)

O

Oh my goodness, I just smile whenever I see this little man. Meet Oliver.............. he is my sister's son and has too much Acton in him. I have been talking about him a lot lately, and I needed a picture of him here.

I don't know how often you look back through older pictures, but I do not do it very often. So I was browsing and ran across this one, and I smiled so much that I just wanted to be able to squeeze him! He lives too far away to do that, so this little post will have to do. This picture is at least a year old and I have better ones of him (not that this one isn't good. Probably not the one my sister would like for me to put up, but I LOVE it.). He is funny, he goes a hundred miles an hour (he will tell you "I go hu-nerd miles an hour"), and he uses the word "hers" all the time (whoever is the one to correct this small grammatical error will have to deal with me in a royal way).

Above he is pictured playing at our house with too many girl things and loving it. This is his tribute to another male beauty, Lenny Kravitz!

Have an absolutely wonderful weekend!

Autumn:)

If For Just An Hour

Above is a photo by Ms. Blue. Today was one of the days, that although very filled with running around and in and out of the Loser Cruiser numerous times, I am going to miss so very, very, very (yes I could keep going), much. For about an hour this afternoon she and I enjoyed our one on one. Minus any interruptions. (Is the camera an interruption? ha!)
We were chatting, playing little games, watching cars go by, and enjoying the camera. She was really interested in the camera. Normally she could care less, but today she wanted to take a couple. I will take a couple, normally she doesn't want to do any of it.

I am excited, I think I finally found another pair of aviators that might replace these! We'll see, I have had these for 2 years, and the tortoise shell coating is peeled off half way up the ear arm (the part that goes over your ear, I'm not real sure what the official name is).................. Shannon just looked it up for me, the "temple arm". Just a bit of useless knowledge, at least for me!

If you want to have a very good lunch in the downtown area, you have got to try Two Johnny's. Yummy!

Bring on Friday..........

Autumn :)

Hey, Sugar Lips.......

Oh my, bet you are wondering where this one is going!..... Trust me, no where too risque'........
I don't know if you remember or if you even had Candy Grams at your elementary or high school, but they are back!

They are huge, colorful, sugar loaded, molded lips on sticks and Ms. Ainzli loves to give them to her friends.  I had forgotten all about them with all of the missed school and chaos. When Lillie and I arrived at school today to pick Ainzli up, she stopped, opened up her bag and handed a tangerine lip stick to Lillie. She told her, "I bought this for you Lillie, the first one." My heart melted, right there. Lillie gave her big sister a huge hug, we opened them up and they skipped out of the school both with there lip sticks in hand.

I wonder (at least I hope I'm not the only one) sometimes whether I am doing all I can to teach my girls to be good siblings. I am telling you, there are days when you think they just might never in all of eternity, ever get a long. And then, in the blink of an eye, you are picking them up from school, and the kindness and love that you pray for comes pouring out. These, these are the moments that being a parent is all about.

Have a great day, Sugar Lips!

Autumn :)

Confession of a Food Snob: #1

Ok. I admit. It is not something that is always easy or that I am necessarily proud of, but I am a food snob. There I said it. I am kidding, I have said it many many time before, just not so bluntly or with such thorough explanation. I think there may be more posts on my food snobbiness.

It was about 3 years ago that I really started to think long term on my health, you know really long term, like my 70's and 80's. God willing I make it too them. Let's go back 7 years ago.

I was a Weight Watchers member and that was the start of the portion control part of it for me, that truly was my biggest challenge. Can we say back away from the super-sized plate of food, Autumn!  So after I followed the program, made it to my optimum weight, and could have become a lifetime member (not sure why I didn't) I got pregnant with baby number 2 (Ms. Blue). The pregnancy with her was so much easier and I hardly gained any weight and I felt great. Fast forward........ 1 year. I put weight back on and just felt yucky and I considered WW's again, but I thought, I know the program I will tackle this myself. I did really good, but my body just did not look the way it should have at the weight I was at. Then I did some research. What does "low-fat", "fat-free", and all those "healthy"terms really mean. Low and behold it virtually meant chemically altered! What? Why? How? (By the way, I think Weight Watchers is a wonderful program and I would suggest it to just about anybody).

So I went another route. Along with my portion control, we (with the prompting of me) have gone as organic/healthy (I mean the true meaning of healthy) as we can.  We enjoy our raw fruits and vegetables, we are always checking on what is in season and giving it a try. Nuts, i.e. pistachios and almonds, when they are on sale. Turkey: ground, pattied, bacon, sausage. Whole wheat, always look for that nasty word "enriched" and avoid it like the plague. This is just to name a few of the habits we have changed and are really enjoying it.

Food Snob Tip #1:  Stay along the outside of the grocery store and you will more easily control your weight and we do. It is not only weight, but health.

Super Easy Guacamole

2 ripe avocados, mashed

1 container Garden Fresh salsa

2 tsps. lime juice

1 tsp. sea salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, crush and mix well. Serve with Garden Fresh (or Xochitl, yummy). If making ahead of time cover with plastic wrap so plastic is touching the surface of the guacamole. 

If I would not have been in such a hurry I would have grabbed a lime, but I was ready to exit the Meijer and head for home. Thought this would be a fun and healthy recipe to share with you for the Big Game.

Oh my goodnes, I am salivating just looking at it. And honestly, my girls like it too. 

Then look at the fun your little ones can have with the remnants. Lillie has quite the imagination, this is an island that was bombed in the Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Enjoy the weekend and the Big Game,

Autumn :)

The Ice Pile

We are on snow day number three. The Grismore Girls spent at least an hour and a half enjoying our frozen landscape. The image above is just letting you know how much I loved this day! Sis took this picture of the shadow of my hands. I have been saying it forever, get a camera in your child's hands as soon as they can hold the weight!

The Grismore Girls: Shadow Style

We have quite a large dirt pile in our backyard, at the present time it is ice covered and fun-fun-fun for sledding. The dirt pile originated from the new pool that is now in our backyard. It truly feels like we may never be able to splash around in it ever again. In fact, we were trying to see how thick the ice is on it!

They were using process of elimination to find out the best way to get down the ice pile (normally known as the dirt pile). They went bum first, head first on stomach, head first on back, sideways; you name it, they tried it. There was so much laughing this afternoon, at supper, Ainzli said her side hurt!

I am amazed at how many pictures I have that have hats and gloves in them. Hats definitely do not make it long on my girls heads, gloves typically a little longer. Did I mention how much fun we had today!

I love this shot. I feel like I could tell you that we are out West, scaling a beautiful part of the Rockies and you might honestly believe me. I can dream, right?  

So we will begin snow day number 4 tomorrow. I just pray that this will be the last one. It makes me crazy in the Spring when the kids are going to school into June. When it is nice out I want my girls home with me, but today is a day I would not give to Spring for anything. 

Here's to your snow day, cabin fever and all!

Autumn :)

A Valiant Effort by Me

Ms. Ainzli  

Mine (now that I see it here, it looks sort of creepy. I told you I am not a good artist!)

Ms. Blue's (she chose that one she did with crayon)

We completely enjoyed our first day of winter storm 2011. You see our trip to Hobby Lobby produced water color paints and a package of water color paper. The whole point of this project was to get our Valentine's card created. We do something different for them every year, and this year I thought we would do watercolors.

I love getting stuff that is personal, but I am not very artist with my hands, so this was a big challenge. We cut the paper up and got to work. I have posted our personal favorites. My girls are pretty good, see again why I love their artwork. Enjoy!

Shannon and I just got back from a trip out and about. God is amazing! Although our scenery is ice and snow covered, it is truly beautiful. The sun was dancing off of the frozen tundra. It reminds me that no matter what is going on, God is truly in control and can stop you in your tracks if He chooses. Today it did not slow down the Grismore's, we love a challenge.

*Funny story*: We were traveling down a county road that was one lane due to all the snow, a truck is coming toward us so Shannon started to veer to the right so that he could pass by. Then, just like that, the gentleman went off to his right around a mailbox out into a field with no trouble and back up on the road. It was like he did it regularly. It was cool! It is so frozen out there your truck won't break through the ice.

Well enjoy your weather, whatever it is bringing you.:)

Autumn