Christmas 2010

This year was our first Christmas in our new home!  On Christmas Eve, we ordered pizza for dinner (one of Sean's family traditions) and then allowed Ethan to open a gift.  He picked "Diary of a Whimpy Kid" and was SO excited!  We then surprised him by opening another gift - a special shirt we bought for him (I will get to that in another post). 

Christmas morning, Ethan woke up at 4:21AM - with much conjoling from us, he stayed in bed until 6AM, when we all got up and loaded up the car and went to my parents house.  Santa knew that we were going to open presents there, so he left all of the gifts there - there were so many presents!  Ethan had so much fun opening all of his!  After opening gifts, we all ate breakfast and I took a nap while waiting for Meg and Bobby to come over:)

After opening more gifts with Meg and Bobby, we visited where my grandma and grandpa are buried, then went to my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Bud's house.  It was so fun seeing everyone together again!  We had the traditional turkey and all of the yummy side-dishes and desserts - so good!  This year for gifts, we did something a little different... we did Secret Santa, as opposed to getting everyone a gift.  It turned out really well!  We followed that with a White Elephant (another new game this year).  It was so fun to watch everyone open the gifts and then swap!  We then announced to everyone the big news! (which will be another post).

Another great Christmas with a wonderful family!

Christmas at my parents house

Christmas Eve gift Ethan opened

Ethan relaxing in his new jersey

Passed Out on the way to Aunt Deb's House

Dad playing with Ethan's Star Wars game - he tried so hard to get that little ball to go up! (It eventually did make it to the top)

Ethan's Last Day at Lees Corner Elementary School

Yesterday was Ethan's last day at Lees Corner, so I made plans with his teacher to go in at 11:45 with treats for the kids.  I ended up getting there a little early, so I joined Ethan and his friends for lunch - what an experience being in a cafeteria full of first and second graders!  Ethan was so excited that I was there and loved introducing me to everyone and sat on my lap after he finished eating.

After lunch, I followed his class to the classroom and everyone sat in a circle.  Ethan gave his teacher, Ms. Pivarnik her gifts and then I helped him give out cookies.  It was so fun to be able to meet his friends! 

Meg and I went to Lees Corner (Meg went from 2nd-6th grade, I went K-6th) so it was fun having Ethan be at the same school we went to.  Although another McGinnis leaves Lees Corner, we look forward to the adventures that his new school has in store for him!  He will start January 3rd, after the winter holiday break.

Ethan with his class

Ethan and his teacher

Bittersweet Goodbye to My Apartment and our Move to Our New Home

On Saturday we finally moved out of my apartment and into our new home - something we have been looking forward to doing and that I've been saving money for years to be able to do.  It was FREEZING outside (27 degrees!) and snow/ice was still on the ground from the day before, but we did it (mental note - NEVER move in December again!).  Looking around the new house, it's hard to believe that everything fit into a 2 bedroom apartment!  I like how my friend Cherie, said it when I pointed this out: "You're just good at organizing" :)  We have most of the boxes unpacked except for a couple, which is mostly my scrapbooking things, which I still need to figure out how to store and where to make my 'scrapbooking station' that isn't in the way of everything (at the apartment I used a closet-unfortunately, the new house doesn't have a closet I can use for it).  Side note: packing all of my scrapbooking stuff made me go through everything that I have, so my creative juices are flowing and I can't wait to start scrapbooking again - yahoo!  Sean says I have too much scrapbooking stuff, so I need to make more things to prove to him that it is all an investment in preserving memories:)

Today my mom helped me clean the apartment one last time and we did the final walk-through -- it was surprisingly hard saying goodbye to it! (Ok, I admit, I teared up when I closed the door for the last time and drove away).  I worked really hard (both in college and in my career) in order to have a place that Ethan and I could call home and be completely ours.  When I was pregnant with Ethan, I made a promise to myself and was determined not to be another statistic - so I worked hard to be successful and the apartment was a small physical proof to us that I was not yet another number. 

We created so many memories within those walls - I know all of the stories behind every stain in the carpet (the orange soda stain from when I was laying in the chair and accidentally kicked the small table, the Hawaiian Punch stain-almost overlapping the orange soda stain-from Ethan jumping around and knocking over the same small table)... no matter how much I scrubbed at those stains, they wouldn't go away!  We created new traditions and kept some old ones, we had dance-offs with each other with music blaring (sorry, neighbors!), Sean told me he loved me for the first time, and Ethan lost his first tooth there. 

I took pictures of the apartment-before I started packing about a month ago and then today I took some of the outside of it - I will post them when I get a chance.  Ethan and I are staying with my parents tonight through Wednesday night, as being here cuts 45 minutes off of my commute, so I'm using their computer now.  (Our computer isn't set up yet and we don't have Internet yet at the new house.)

Now, don't get me wrong, I am very happy with our new home and look forward to making new memories in it just like we did at the apartment, but it is sad closing a chapter in my life.

Elf on the Shelf!

Last week when we got home from school/work, Ethan insisted that we had to "find our elf!" and that his friend Tyler found his elf on the bookcase. At first, I had no idea what he was talking about, but then (as he was searching EVERYWHERE) I vaguely remembered seeing an Elf on the Shelf book and doll at the bookstore last year.  That night, I went on Amazon and bought one to surprise him.  It came in yesterday and so last night after he went to bed, I set up the Elf with the book for Ethan to find this morning.

He was SO excited when he saw it!  We immediately sat down and read the book, even though we were running 20 minutes late already.  We learned that the Elf will report to Santa every night about Ethan and will return again in a different spot.  AND, we absolutely cannot touch him because then he would lose his magic! 
While I was getting ready, he drew two pictures of the Elf and he told me he named him Max. 

While I was getting ready and Ethan was inspecting our new guest:

Ethan:  His skin doesn't look real, Mom
Me: Well, he is like the toys in Toy Story - you know how they come alive when Andy and other people are away?  He is like that.
Ethan:  Oh, ok.

A couple minutes later as we are leaving and I'm locking the deadbolt:

Ethan:  Mom, Max is moving around in there now because we aren't there.

So cute! 

Ethan's drawing of Max

New Recipe

Monday was a big day for Sean at work, so Sunday night I made his favorite dinner and surprised him with his favorite dessert! (Thanks, Joni, for sending me the recipe!)  So here is the recipe for the dessert, as I had never made it before:

Pretzel & Raspberry Salad

Base:
2 cups crushed pretzels (not too fine)
2 Tbs sugar
¾ cup melted butter

Mix and pat into 9x13 pan – Bake 425 degrees for 5 minutes. Cool completely

Filling:
1 8 oz package cream cheese softened
1 cup sugar
1 small can crushed pineapple

mix well.  Fold in – 19 oz cool whip, spread on crust; refrigerate

Topping:
2 small pkg raspberry jello
2 cups boiling water
1 large bag frozen raspberries

Mix in bowl; cool in fridge. Then pour over filling and set.

SURVEY SAYS: It's definitely a keeper!  It took a really long time to make, though - so this one will only be for special occasions.

New Recipe

Creamy Petso Chicken and Bow Ties

2 tablespoons of butter
1 pound skinless boneless chicken breats, cut into cubes
1 can Campbells Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup prepared pesto sauce
3 cups bow tie-shaped pasta, cooked and drained.

1.  heat the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook until it's well browned, stirring often.

2.  Stir the soup, milk and pesto sauce into the skillet.  Heat to a boil.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.  Stir in the pasta.  Cook until its hot.

SURVEY SAYS...  It's a keeper!  It was so good the boys asked for seconds! I can't take the credit for this one, though - Sean cooked it, I just picked out the recipe:)

Sean

As I have briefly mentioned before, Sean has been leaving early Monday mornings and not coming back until Saturday nights for a project in North Carolina (this crazy traveling started two days after we came back from our honeymoon). 

When he actually is home, he is still sometimes sucked into working:(  I look forward to when this project is finally over! (however, the deadline somehow keeps getting pushed back...)

Sean working away...

(please excuse the mess-packing has begun!)

Black Friday 2010

Friday morning I was surprised to find post-its that Sean had left for Ethan and I to find.  You can't really see them very well in the picture, but he wrote "I am grateful for my beautiful wife!" and "I am grateful for my awesome son!"

Later on, I came home from work and found even more post-its added!  Ethan added "I am grateful for my awesome Dad" and "Mom you are awesome, Love Ethan and Dad" and then pictures of each of us.  So cute!  I love these little surprises that they leave for me:)

In the evening, we went to the Air and Space Museum - it was so fun to see all of the airplanes, astronaut stuff, and to go to the Observation Tower.  Afterwards, we met up with Sean's sister, Aubrey (who is in town from Utah) and her boyfriend, Ryan.  What a great visit!  We are trying to convice Aubrey to move back to VA... that would be so much fun!

Thanksgiving 2010

Per tradition, we went to my parents house for Thanksgiving.  My aunt and uncle came from South Carolina, Meg and Bobby, my grandparents, and our crew all enjoyed each others company. 

Picture coming soon - I forgot my camera and had to use my mom's

My Grandparents' 60th Wedding Anniversary

60 years ago yesterday, my grandparents were married.  To celebrate, we (except for Sean-he is in NC for work) all met at Lonestar for dinner and went back to Sunrise (where my grandpa lives) and had cake.  Grandpa looked so handsome and Grandpa looked equally pretty - they both dressed up for the special occasion:) 

My grandma told us a little bit about their wedding day...  At the time, my grandpa was a Private in the Marines and he didn't have enough money for the marriage license, so the night before, he set up pins in the bowling alley for the money that was needed.  The next day (which was Thanksgiving) they drove to Philadelphia because to get married in Virginia, you had to get blood taken and my grandma didn't want to do that. 

My Grandparents on their wedding day - November 23, 1950

My Grandparents' 60th Wedding Anniversary

November 23, 2010

{New} Home Sweet Home!

As of Friday afternoon, we are officially homeowners!  It was quite an experience to get to this point...  We are so excited, though for our new home and all of the memories we are going to make in it!  Over the weekend the house was scrubbed from top to bottom and the carpets were deep cleaned and then steam cleaned.  We won't be officially moving in until the second or third weekend in December and we can't wait!

Off of Private and Back to Public

About two weeks ago I turned my blog onto private after a freak-out moment when the guy who found Sean's iPhone that he lost in Miami (on our way to the airport after our honeymoon) called me asking for the passcode to get into the phone.  I was paranoid that since he had my full name and cell phone number, he could just google me or something, find my blog, and know a lot of stuff about us that I don't want random people to see. 

But let's be honest, my blog is probably really boring to those who don't know us!  SO, I don't think that the guy will really care about it if he does take the time to 1) google me and 2) read the blog.  Also, some people mentioned to me that they didn't have gmail so they couldn't look at my blog anymore, etc., so to make life simple and for everyone to be able to see what's going on in our little corner of the world, I made the blog public again.  I hope everyone enjoys reading it (and I apologize I haven't added any pictures yet from the sealing dinner, ring exchange, or honeymoon - life's been really busy, but I promise I will soon!) <3

New Recipe

Ok-I have been HORRIBLE with my new recipes New Years Resolution these last couple of months!!!  Last night I made my first new recipe in a long time...  Here it is:

Japanese Chicken-and-Egg Rice Bowl
cook 2 cups of white rice (for a total of 4 cups of cooked rice).  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Add 4 chopped scallions and saute for 2-3 minutes.  Stir in 1 cup of chicken broth, and simmer for 2 minutes.  Add 1/2 cup of shredded carrots and 2 cups of baby spinach and stir until the spinach has completely wilted.  Stir in 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1/4 cup of soy sauce.  Add 4 chicken cutlets cut into strips and simmer for 3 more minutes.  Pour 5 large beaten eggs over the chicken mixture and simmer until the eggs are cooked through, stirring occasionally, 8-10 minuts.  Serve the mixture over the cooked rice.

SURVEY SAYS:  "it's ok" - Ethan actually ate it, but it wasn't a favorite.  Maybe I will try making the eggs separate next time, as the way the recipe has you do it, the soy sauce and egg get cooked together and it just doesn't taste quite right...

Oh well - at least I tried! Only a couple more weeks and I will be able to cook in my new kitchen with a double oven!!!  Ahh-the possibilities will be endless!!! :) 

Halloween 2010

This year Ethan wanted to be an ARF Trooper from Star Wars (according to him, it is like a Storm Trooper)...  As tradition, we went to my parents house for trick-or-treating:)

Untitled.

Yesterday was my first day back at work since the wedding.  A co-worker came in my office and we were talking about work stuff and I noticed that her eyes looked so sad.  I asked if she was OK, and she broke down and told me that she wants to leave her husband - that he is really mean to her and calls her names all of the time (she told me some of the things he calls her-I can't believe anyone would say such nasty things to another person, let alone your spouse). 

My heart aches for her.  I can't imagine dealing with what she is going through right now.

I am so grateful to have found a man who treats me (and Ethan) with upmost respect, is always complimenting us, and helping out whenever he can.

Honeymoon!

6AM Saturday morning Sean and I were up and headed to the airport to catch our flight to Miami.  We arrived in Miami, took a taxi to the port, and boarded the Norwegian Epic.  It is practically brand new (just had its maiden voyage in June 2010) and is the biggest ship out of Norwegian's fleet.

We boarded the ship, walked around, and ate some lunch.  Our room was finally ready around 4 so we could drop off our carry-on bags. 

What an amazing and memorable trip!  On board, we saw the Blue Man Group, Cirque de Soleil Dream, Second City (comedians), the Newlywed Game, and so much more!  And of course, a lot of laying out in the sun getting tan! :)  There are also three waterslides on board, which we tried out, including one that is a "tube and bowl waterslide" - which was by far our favorite!

We went to St. Maarten (or St. Martin), St. Thomas, and the Bahamas.  At St. Maarten, we went snorkeling, shopping and the beach. It was definitely different than the other islands we visited.  It is a small island and it is split between the French and Dutch.  Our snorkeling excursion was fun, but because of a storm out at sea, we couldn't really see anything except rocks at the bottom, but Sean and I had fun swimming around and floating on our backs looking up at the bright blue sky.  Much to our dismay, the rest of the gang were anxious to move on to the next stop since they couldn't see anything.  We still had a great time, though!

St. Thomas was one of our favorites - it was absolutely beautiful!  A couple of people recommended Megan's Bay as a really nice place to go - so we went there for the day.  We are so happy that we took their advice!  It is such a beautiful place - truly amazing.  The water is crystal clear, the sand is really soft, and the scenery is so nice.  We will definitely be going back there someday!

The Bahamas was our last stop.  It was tied as our favorite spot (with St. Thomas).  We went to Blue Lagoon and swam with dolphins!  It was the thing that I was most excited about - I have wanted to swim with dolphins since I was in the 6th grade and wanted to be a Marine Biologist "when I grew up."  We were expecting them to just put us in with the dolphins for a couple of minutes and then make us get out, but they totally surprised both us of by having the dolphins interact with us.  We danced with them, fed them (a bird stole the first shrimp right from my hand that I was going to feed one of the dolphins!), they even kissed us!  The dolphins showed us their basketball skills and gave Sean a present (a rock from the bottom of the ocean).  At the end, the animal trainers asked each of us one at a time to float on our stomachs with our arms outstretched and our feet flat with our toes pointing to the bottom of the ocean.  A dolphin came swimming up and pushed us with his nose on our foot and pushed us about 60 feet - it was SO AWESOME!  If you arched your back up, you were able to go higher.  It was definitely something that I will never forget and hope to do again soon!

That's seven full days of fun in a a quick overview - I missed Ethan so much, it was the longest that we've ever been apart, but I'm glad that we had the opportunity to get away for a little bit and relax and have fun!

more pictures soon!

Temple Sealing, Celebratory Dinner, and Ring Exchange Ceremony

Whew - what a whirlwind the last week and a half has been for us!  I'll start with Thursday, October 21st - the day Sean and I were sealed in the temple and the celebratory dinner that followed...

Thursday morning my bridesmaids, mom, and my aunt all met me at a local nail salon for manicures and pedicures.  There aren't too many things that are better than getting together with your best friends and closest (female) family members to get your nails done!  It was so much fun and so great to see Aunt Lora again (she lives in Ohio, so we don't get to see each other very often). 

After our nails were done, we all went our separate ways... Mom and Aunt Lora joined me at the Red Door Spa to get my makeup done and we had a quick lunch before they dropped me off at my car and I headed home to get ready to leave for the temple.  It was really hard saying bye to them - it was the last time that I would see them single!  My mom started crying and it took all that I had not to start, too.  Sister McQuivey came at exactly 3PM to pick me up.  I was very nervous but she was great - we had a really nice drive to the temple and even had enough time to stop off at the LDS bookstore . When we got to the temple, Sean and his parents were already waiting for us. 

The sealing was beautiful, Brother McQuivey did a really nice job.  It was really hard without my family being able to be there, but it was comforting that the McQuivey's were there for me.  When we were walking out of the temple, my dad and Paula were there waiting for us!  I was so happy that my eyes immediately filled up with tears.  (My dad had said he was going to try and be there when we got out, but he wasn't sure, because traffic can be really bad).  But I was so grateful that they were able to make it - it really meant a lot to me.  After a couple of quick pictures, we headed to Mrs. K's Restaurant for the Celebratory Dinner.

Mrs. K's Restaurant is so cute!  It reminds me of a cottage - we had an entire room reserved and it was perfect!  Sean's mom, Joni, did a fantastic job with everything:)  All of the people who were at the sealing and our out-of-town guests were already there waiting for us to arrive.  Sean's dad gave a wonderful toast, we were able to give each person in the bridal shower their gifts, enjoy everyone's company, and eat the fantastic food!  What a great night:)

Friday, October 22 - Ring Exchange Ceremony and Reception
Friday morning Sean left at 8AM - right when Vicky, the hair stylist, showed up.  Mom, Meg, and Aunt Lora arrived minutes later - and the girls a couple minutes after them.  The fun immediately began!  A couple of hours later, Amy, the makeup artist, came.  She asked if there was a barstool in the room - there wasn't, so I called the front desk to see if they could bring one up.  The receptionist was completely caught off guard with our request and asked me to repeat it a couple of times.  A man came bearing a barstool within 5 minutes, though - and he was quite surprised by our request for a barstool - until he came into the room and saw that it was clearly a bridal party getting ready:)

We all piled into Amanda's parents' mini-van - with the guys in Bobby's car (Sean and his family met us at the temple) and we went to the temple for pictures.  (Side note - thank you Mr. and Mrs. R. for letting us borrow the rockin' mini van! haha!!). 

We wanted the first time Sean saw me in the dress to be special, so the photographer had him stand with his back to me and had me walk up to him - I'm curious to see the pictures, but at least I remember his expression and look in his eyes when he turned around.

It was really cold and windy while we were getting our pictures taken (I prayed for no rain - I totally forgot to ask for it to be warmer!), but everyone was great and toughed it out, even little Madeline!  We haven't seen our photographers pictures yet, but the few that my dad snapped turned out good and you can't tell that we were literally covered in goosebumps and shaking!! (except for the candid ones of us huddled in the few jackets that were brought along)

After pictures, we all headed back to the hotel and waited for the ceremony to start.  Sean and I snuck into where the ceremony and reception were held to see how it was all coming along.  It looked absolutely fantastic!!  The navy blue and pink looked perfect together-just how I envisioned it in my head!  (Afterward, even those who were quite vocal through the whole planning process about their thoughts on how the colors were going to look were pleasantly surprised at how nice it looked and apologized for being negative about it).  We then snuck back out and waited with everyone for the the time to start. 

Before I knew it, Lily, the Event Manager, came in and told us that it was time.  I suddenly got super nervous!  I was so proud to watch my closest and best friends go before me down the aisle and then was so honored to have my dad and step-dad walk me down the aisle.  It was an overwhelming feeling.  Brother McQuivey did another great job at explaining what being sealed in the temple means and entertwining everything together. 

The ceremony was followed by a cocktail hour and then the reception dinner.  Berwick, my finance director at work, was our MC - he did a phenomenal job!!  I had a jam-packed timeline written out and hoped that we would have time to squeeze everything in, and he did!  He was able to include everything into the dinner that I had hoped, without the guests feeling rushed or bombarded with stuff.  We did the slideshow (which I hope that Sean can figure out how to convert into a format so I can upload it onto my blog), four speeches, toast, cake cutting, bouquet toss, garter toss, and farwell send-off.

For the cake-cutting, Ethan joined us on the "cake platform" and I put a piece in his mouth before Sean and I exchanged cake.  It was really special that he was able to participate with us.  Sean was so kind and gave me a small peice, but I cut a huge peice for him - and he was a great sport and was able to eat it all in one bite! 

Sean surprised me and had rented a limo that picked us up from the dinner and took us to the JW Marriott on Pennsylvania Avenue (right next to the Willard) in DC. 

Overall, they were probably the two busiest days of my life so far, but it was all completely worth it!  Everything was just perfect!!! :)

Pictures coming soon!

Wedding and House Update!

Wedding Update
I can't believe it's next week!  The time has gone by so fast!  We have all of the vendors lined up, wedding dress is done (5 fittings later it successfully has capped sleeves and a modest back), place card settings done...  Now all we need to do is to make the programs, slideshow, finalize timeline and send out to bridal party and vendors, make table numbers, and I'm sure I'm forgetting things, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.  Considering we have done all of this in three and a half months, I think we've done a good job!

We decided to have the sealing on Thursday, followed by a dinner with the sealing attendees, and then the ring exchange ceremony and reception dinner on Friday. 

House Update
A couple of weeks ago, we put an offer on a house - we low-balled it, and they didn't accept our offer... they accepted the other couple's.  We were bummed, but continued our search for a place to call ours.  Last week (Wednesday) a house dropped in price into our price range - I saw it, called Sean (who is back in North Carolina) and emailed our realtor, Jason.  Jason immediately contacted the realtor of this house and was told that there was already an offer on it, but they would consider ours if we quickly put one together.  The following day, Mom and I met Jason at the house after a dress fitting, and we loved it!  I called Sean on our way home and told him that I was in love with it.  As soon as we hung up, Jason called me and said that he just got off of the phone with the other realtor and was told that another offer was put on the house, so if we wanted to put our offer on it, we needed to do it the next day (Friday).  That night, Sean and I talked about it and we decided to put an offer on it, too.

Friday morning we found out that the other two offers were rejected, but there was another couple that lived out of town that were getting their paperwork together to put an offer on it.  We put our offer together and submitted it.  Yup, Sean put an offer on a house he never saw in person-just through the seven pictures that are online!  He must really love me;)  That evening, Jason called to tell us that the offer was submitted, and as he was telling Sean this, he said that he just received an email from the realtor of the first house that we put an offer on, stating that the other offer fell through and that we were at the top of the list for the house!  So essentially, we had to decide which house we wanted more.  We couldn't believe it!  Although the first house had a fourth bedroom in the basement that could have been made into the office/scrapbook room, we decided on the second one that we found.  I love the neighborhood and it is completely move-in ready (and already has all of the wooden blinds, corian counter tops, hardwood floors, it even has pillars in front that Sean said he wanted to have when we first started house-hunting!).

Saturday morning I was getting ready to meet Amanda and Jill at Meg's house for our spa day (since I don't drink, they took me to a spa for the afternoon as my bachelorette party!), I quickly looked online to see if the house was still listed as available.  I noticed that it said that it was off of the market, effective Saturday's date.  I texted Sean asking him if he had heard from Jason and if our offer was accepted.  When I got to Meg's Sean called and told me the fantastic news that they accepted our offer!  Yahoo!

Our only concern was the financing, as the bank is one that Sean's company audits, so we weren't sure if there were going to be any implications with that... we found out yesterday that there aren't, so we are good to go!  We are so excited to have our very own "Prince Palace" and a fantastic home in a great neighborhood! :)

Ethan's Camping Trip

Dad took Ethan to the semi-annual camping trip at Nick's.... it was Ethan's first time staying Friday - Sunday (in the past I have picked him up on Saturday afternoon).  He had such a great time and I am so glad that Ethan and my dad are able to spend quality time together in the great outdoors!

Picture coming soon... having technical issues

Ethan Lost His First Tooth!

Over the weekend Dad took Ethan to the semi-annual camping trip to Nick's...  When he got home, he immediately went in the shower...  All of a sudden he called me into the bathroom (which is unusual because he is at the age where he wants his privacy).  So I went in to find him soaking wet, completely naked, with a tooth in one hand and a wad of toilet paper in his mouth.  He told me that he was twisting his tooth and it came out.  Once I told him that it was ok and was excited for him, he got very excited!  (I think the blood freaked him out). 

He called my parents, Poppa John, and my uncle (who also went camping and told him that if he lost his tooth on Saturday, he would give him $100).  We got the tooth fairy bag that I made a couple of months ago, carefully put his tooth in it, and put it under his pillow for the tooth fairy.

The next morning he woke up and found that the tooth fairy left him a silver dollar!  He was VERY happy about this:)

He lost his first tooth on 10/10/10 - that's very easy to remember!

My Bridal Shower!

On Saturday, September 25th, my sister and bridesmaids hosted a bridal shower for me - it was absolutely amazing!!!  Family and friends joined us at Meg's house - it was so great to see everyone!!  Beforehand, Jill picked me up and we went to Rockville (Maryland) and got our makeup done (trial for the wedding day).  It took us an hour to get there and an hour and a half to get back, but it was so great to catch up with her!  She's in nursing school full-time and so we don't get a chance to talk as much as we used to, so it was extra awesome to chat, catch up, and laugh without interruptions:)

Meg, Amanda, Jill, and Annie did such a great job with the shower - it was fantastic - there were so many little details that made it extra special.  Some are: love quotes from princess movies (since Sean's last name is Prince), personalized lollipops, pink cups, etc.

The games that they had us play were so fun and had everyone laughing!!  One game was where Meg asked me a question that she had already asked Sean, and if I didn't answer it the same as he did, I had to put a big marshmellow in my mouth (luckily, Sean and I know each other pretty well so I only missed a couple).  They also included cute and funny poems with two of the things that they did: one with our "firsts" - each with advice on our "firsts" and a bottle of sparkling cider, and then they gave me a gift bag for each day that we are on our honeymoon and a cute little poem for each of them and the gift inside. 

At the end of the shower, they surprised me and presented a special book to me that they had made...  They had each written me a letter and asked muliple other women in my life to write me a letter and also included pictures of me with each person that had been taken throughout the years.  This book is so special-I will always cherish it forever!

I am so incredibly happy and blessed to have such wonderful family and friends!!  My bridal shower was definitely a day that I will always remember:)

I don't have time to make a mini-collage and blogger isn't really coroperating with me, so these pictures aren't in order, but nonetheless, here are some of the pictures from this fantastic "fairy tale" bridal shower!

 Looking through the book that everyone made for me

 My bestest friends and me!

 Family Time! My cousin, Page, Aunt Deb, and step-mom, Paula

 Work Friends!  Katelyn, me, Holly, and Mariah

 My beautiful bouquet!

 Meg, me, and Mom

Since my new last name will be Prince, they gave me a princess tiara to wear:) 

 One of the games was where they asked Sean before the shower to answer a bunch of questions... If I didn't give the same answers he did, I had to put a jumbo marshmellow in my mouth! 

All in the details!

The Love Basket... filled with cute poems of advice for some of our "firsts"

Wedding Night: 

The night you have dreamed of is finally here

The future surrounds you with hope and yet fear

You've wanted so long to find your perfect mate

sip this wine (apple cidar) and toast this perfect date

The night is meant for you to share

Enjoy each other - the perfect pair!

First Dinner Party:

Open your hope to entertain and eat

Catch up with old friends and new ones to meet.

When the night is over share this bottle of wine (apple cidar)

But don't sit down yet - it's clean up time!

Christmas Eve:

A wise man said wine (apple cidar) is better than beer (water)

and now is the season for lots of holiday cheer

So pop the cork and relax a bit

and when the night is through,

kiss goodnight, close your eyes,

and Santa will be good to you!

First Fight:

When fights occur and tempers get hot

Pour a glass and be thankful for what you've got

if you always agreed it would certainly be a bore.

And by asking for Brenna's hand, Sean is certainly in for more!

First Anniversary:

Been married a year, where did the time go?

No longer newlyweds, now you are pros.

Hope hte days found you in good health and good spirit.

Keep saying I love you-one always needs to hear it!

Now tast this first date, it's certainly not the last.

And as you build your future-don't ever forget the past!

They also made 7 bags with things to wear on the honeymoon and included cute poems for each of those.. but I won't post any of those! ;)

Ethan's Soccer Team

Fall 2010 Soccer Team

You wouldn't believe the chaos it took to get 12 seven year old boys to stand still for 5 seconds to get this picture taken!  (and took look over and see 12 girls standing nice and quietly waiting patiently...)  These boys were quite entertaining, though, while they waited for their picture to be taken!  From silly jokes, funny faces, putting grass on each other, poking one another... boys will be boys!!

"Mom, I have a Loose Tooth!"

This is what I woke up to this morning - Ethan standing next to my bed in the dark...  I asked which one it was and reached over and gave it a wiggle - it actually moved!  (Ethan has been wanting to lose a tooth for so long that he would occasionally announce to me that one was loose, but it never really budged when I tried to wiggle it, so the fact that this tooth moved - and that it moved a lot - was a really big deal!).  I told him he was right and to go get dressed for school while I tried to drag myself out of bed.  He walked out and then walked right back in, telling me that it was 3:08AM!  (why is it that lately I am woken up at 3AM?!)  So he crawled into bed with me and we fell back asleep until it was time to get up for real:)

He is SO excited about this loose tooth - he is constantly wiggling it and checking it out in the mirror...  It won't be long until the Tooth Fairy comes!! (And thankfully I know exactly where the Tooth Fairy bag is that I made a couple of months ago).  Just in time for the wedding, too, as he will most likely be one tooth short in all of the pictures, but at least we will always remember when he lost his first tooth!

Why I NEED a big Dog

I woke up to someone knocking on my door - the first thought I had was that it was Sean coming over to go to church and that I slept in late, so I climbed out of bed and while I was stumbling to the door, I saw the clock and it said that was a little after 3AM!  The people were still knocking on my door (alternating between knocking and using the knocker - no breaks in between).  I looked out of my tiny peep-hole and it was 2 guys that I have never seen before.  I immediately woke completely up -they then tried the door knob and kept knocking and knocking - I called my parents crying and shaking - they told me to call the police and that they were on their way over.  I've never called 911 before, but the operator was nice:)  I think the guys heard me on the phone (I accidentally hit the mute button when I was dialing because at first the operator couldn't hear anything, so I was talking really loud until I realized it was on mute-whoops), because they left.  My parents came over about 2 minutes after they left so the operator let me hang up.  Then the guys came back and continued knocking!  Dave yelled at them through the closed door and after a minute or two they left again (we looked outside and they were talking to-I'm assuming their friends-in a car that was in the alley behind my apartment).  Of course, they left within less than a minute of the police coming!  We gave them a description of what they looked like and stuff...  Ethan woke up when the police came, but I'm grateful that he slept through everything else (although he did ask A LOT of questions about it this morning). 

And THIS is why I NEED (it's no longer a "want") a BIG dog!!  (And why I look forward to moving..)

Recipe

Chicken and Rice Casserole
1 to 1.5 lbs boneless chicken cut into pieces (cooked)
1 cup uncooked rice
2 cups water
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 bag frozen broccoli
1-2 cups cheese

mix all ingredients except the cheese in casserole dish.  Bake at 350º for 30 minutes or until rice is cooked.  Sprinkle cheese on top and ocntinue cooking until cheese melts.

SURVEY SAYS...  has potential...  I ended up mixing the cheese in, but it was really watery (even after I let it sit for 10 minutes after baking)... maybe next time I won't add 2 cups of water and maybe add some breadcrumbs on top...  (Ethan liked it just how it was, so I'm trying to salvage this one!  Sean is in N.C. so he wasn't able to try this recipe)

Oh, the things he says!

Ethan is definitely a very funny boy!  (most of the time he doesn't even realize it -which makes it even funnier!).  Here are some examples of how funny he is that happened today:

• we were eating breakfast together this morning talking, and he was talking about his teacher and told me (using the quatation markes with his fingers): "she thinks that they [the work stations] are fun, but they really aren't"
• We are putting our shoes on and getting everything together (bookbag, purse, lunches, etc) and he is singing "Need You Now" then switches to "Undo It" (by Carrie Underwood) - hmm... maybe I listen to those songs too much for him to know just about every single word in both of them!
• On the way to his daycare, we are listening to a country radio station and he tells me, "Mom, these are all cowboy songs - cowboys sing them all"
• At dinner with Meg and Dad tonight, he tells us "that's fantastic" about whatever we were talking about and was really trying to sound like an adult and be a part of our conversation
• After dinner, Ethan pulls his shorts up as high as they possibly could go (Steve Urkel style) and was walking around being goofy - I should have taken a picture because we were all laughing so hard!

Funny, funny boy!

Recipe

Cheeseburger Pie
1 lb. ground beef
1 cup chopped onions (I didn't use)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup bisquick
1 cup milk
2 eggs

Heat oven to 400º.  Grease a 9 inch pie plate (I don't have, so I just used an 8 x8 glass pan).  Brown hamburger meat and onion together; drain; stir in salt.  Spread in pie place.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Stir together milk, eggs, and Bisquick.  Top hamburger and cheese with Bisquick mixture.  Bake at 400º for 25 minutes.

SURVEY SAYS...  It's a keeper - definitely not a favorite for Sean and I (usually when I pull something out of the oven he says that "it looks great!" but this time, he just kind of looked at it and walked away...haha!!) - it is extremely plain, but Ethan LOVED it and asked for seconds and ate it ALL!  So, I guess this will be a recipe I use only when Sean is out of town.

Ethan's Birthday Party!

We had Ethan's 7th birthday party at Pump It Up - it was so much fun!  He had his 5th birthday there and loved it, so when we asked where he wanted his birthday this year, I wasn't surprised when he picked it again.  (He didn't have a 6th birthday party because we went on the Disney Cruise 9 days after his birthday). 

13 of his friends came, and it was really fun meeting their parents and the kids that I hadn't met before.  The adults are allowed to play, too, so that made it fun for us adults yet "kids at heart" :)  Ethan was all smiles and so excited! 

Most of my pictures came out blurry (think its time to break down and buy a new camera?), so here are the only ones that didn't turn out too blurry...

I took a video of Ethan blowing out the candles on his cake, but for some reason it won't load...  I'll try and remember to ask Sean to help me figure it out when he comes back next weekend from working (yup, he's back to working on his project in N.C. five days a week...)

Sean took a video with his new iPhone of Ethan and I going down the big slide - hopefully I'll be able to figure out how to post it on here, too.

7 years ago today...

Seven years ago today my fantastic little boy, Ethan, was born!  My water broke around 10PM the night before shortly after I laid down to go to bed.  The doctor told me that I needed to go to the hospital when the contractions were five minutes apart, so at 1:30AM, Dave, Mom, and I headed to the hospital.  19 hours (and 2 epidurals later) Ethan was finally born!  It was during Hurricane Isabel, so the electricity in the hospital kept flickering and the water totally stopped working.  A lot of the baby girls that were born were named Isabel.  Ethan and I ended up staying in the hospital for 3 nights because he had a fever when he was born. 

Where has the time gone?!  It doesn't seem like 7 years have passed since that day.  So much has happened since then - but I am so happy to have this little boy in my life!!! :)

Wedding Dress!

This afternoon was my first fitting of my dress... I had honestly forgotten what my dress looks like - but it is so pretty!!  It fits perfectly - the owner of the store even said, "wow-this fits perfectly... if it didn't need the capsleeves, then it wouldn't need to be altered at all - that NEVER happens!"  Well, it does need capsleeves, and it needs to have a lot more fabric added to the back... I'm nervous that the additions will look bad, but I'm hoping and praying that they will look like they belong on the dress-keep your fingers crossed!  The next fitting is next Friday... 

I do feel like a princess in it - and I can eat as many peanut M & M's that I want! (the other day I was at work eating them and I realized that I need to get in a wedding dress very soon and that most brides at this point are going to the gym every day and watching what they eat... clearly I haven't been doing that-maybe I should?)  Lucky for me, though - the dress is the kind that has the ties in the back, so it will be ok if I decide to continue my not-so-healthy diet:)

Church with Dad!

Today I had to give a talk in church - and my dad completely rearranged his work schedule so he could come!  I was incredibly happy that he came to support me!  He even stayed for the full three-hours of church.  As I mentioned in the talk I gave, it's all about the "little things" - and although Dad coming to church today may seem like a little thing to some, it was HUGE to me!  I am so grateful for his unconditional love and support:)

My Pops and Me after church:)

Recipes

Creamy Italian Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1 envelope Italian salad dressing mix
1/4 cup water
1 pkg. (80z) cream cheese, softened
1 can (10-3/4 oz) cream of chicken soup (undiluted)
1 can (4 oz) mushrooms, stems and pieces
rice or noodles

Place chicken in slow cooker.  Combine salad dressing mix and water, pour over chicken.  Cover and cook on low heat for 3 hours.  Remove chicken and cut into small pieces.  In small mixing bowl beat cream cheese and soup until blended.  Stir in mushrooms.  Pour over chicken and return to slow cooker; cook 1 hour longer, or until chicken is tender.  Serve over rice or noodles.

SURVEY SAYS...  keeper!  Everyone was a member of the "Clean Plate Club" on this recipe :)

Today is Grandparent's Day, so I made Peanut Butter Balls and we took them to my grandparents this afternoon-they liked them:)

Peanut Butter Balls
2 cups creamy peanut butter
2 cups crushed graham crackers
1.5 cups powdered sugar
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix the first three ingredients together.  Roll into balls (it helps if it is chilled first).  Melt chocolate chips.  Cover peanut butter balls with melted chocolate.  Let them cool on wax paper.

I learned the hard way on melting chocolate chips!  The best way is to microwave them-first for one minute, then stir, then 20 second increments after that.  Also, I put them in the refridgerator after I covered them with the chocolate - this made the chocolate hard, and not gooey.

Recipe

Last night's new recipe...

Chicken Enchiladas
4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cups cream of chicken soup
2 cups sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 4 oz. chopped green chiles, drained
tortillas

Mix chicken, 1 can soup, 1 cup sour cream, 1 cup cheese and chiles.  Place on tortillas.  Roll.  Place in a greased glass 11 x 13 pan.  Mix remaining ingredients and cover tortillas.  Bake uncovered at 350º for 30-40 minutes.

SURVEY SAYS.... I wasn't a huge fan (its pretty plain) but the boys gobbled them up - so the recipe is a keeper! (plus, it was super easy)

Luray Caverns!

After house-hunting in the morning, we headed out to Luray, Virginia to see the caverns (this was one of the few things Ethan asked to do over the summer).  It was an absolutely beautiful day!  The trip there took about twice as long as it should have (I was "resting my eyes" and we accidentally missed our exit, lunch stop, a nice encounter with a police officer-Sean had expired safety inspection tags on his car, etc) and once we got there, it was PACKED!  I never knew Luray Caverns was such a tourist hot-spot, but there were cars and people everywhere!  We waited in line for about 40 minutes, but it was worth it. 

I was there about a year and a half ago, and they have changed it since then.  Before, there were guided tours by employees... now, they give you headphones before you go down, and throughout the caverns are signs with different numbers that you punch into the headset to hear about that particular portion of the cavern (they even have two different options-the kid option or the adult option... the kid option was MUCH more fun and exciting!). 

It was so fun watching Ethan in totally fascination at all of the different formations!

A Boy, A Box, Markers, and an Imagination Part 2

After church, Ethan turned his "tank" into a Jeep, and while I was typing up the last post, he insisted that I take pictures of him in his "Jeep" - they are so cute that I had to post them! :)

the Jeep... (with the helmet)

Without the Helmet...

Ethan even added Stop and Go pedals:)

A Boy, A Box, Markers, and an Imagination!

This morning I woke up to Ethan standing in front of my bed with his "tank"...  A box that I brought home (the kind that reams of paper come in) to pack things up to give away, had been turned into a tank!

Here are some pictures of Ethan's creation...  He wouldn't stand up in it when I was taking pictures so you can't get the full effect, but at least he let me take a picture of him in it!  In the bottom, he cut out leg holes so he could stand.

Front View...  The white paper on the top part is "the shooting part" (where the bombs come out of)

Side View... complete with arm holes

Back View... the white circle things are to "make it go faster)

Inside View...  The tank is complete with controls! 

(Fire, Bombs, missiles, Retreat, and Go)

Ethan did all of this all by himself!  (ok, well I helped him color the outside to make it look camoflauge, but he did everything else-including the controls!).  What an imaginative little boy!!  (The tank has now been changed into a Jeep... Ethan is standing next to me as I type this blog post, and is insisting I let everyone know what the tank has turned into).

Fort and Game Night

Yesterday when I picked Ethan up from school, I gave him a list of choices of different things we could do... ranging from going to DC, going to a place where you can stand and the airplanes go directly over you as they take off/land, building a fort, etc.  Much to my surprise, he chose to stay home and build the biggest fort ever, play Monopoly (his new favorite game), and make homemade milkshakes!  I called Sean and told him Ethan's decision, so on his way over, he picked up the things that were needed for the milkshakes. 

It was fun (and brought back a lot of memories of the many forts I made when I was a kid!) building and playing a game of Monopoly inside of our master creation!

In the "entrance" to the fort... before playing Monopoly

Taking a break from playing Monopoly and making homemade milkshakes.... YUM!

The Fort... in all of its glory!  (Ethan slept in it when it was time for bed)

Wedding and Life Update

Wow, I haven't been very good at blogging lately!  I feel like I need to give a general update on my life!  Wedding plans are still in full force.  After a huge issue with the first invitation company, I went with a lady who started her own invitation company and only has five part-time staff (who help with assembly).  I met her two weeks ago, explained to her the predicament I'm in (huge time crunch, issue with the last company, etc) and she totally saw my vision of what I was hoping for in my invitations.  After meeting with her and picking out the colors of everything, she drew up some proofs and they were absolutely perfect!  Not only were they perfect, but her team is going to assemble them all, address them, and mail them out for me!  What a huge relief!  All within 2 weeks of our first meeting - that is such an accomplishment.  I should be getting one any day now to see the final result, and everyone's should be mailed out on Friday (September 3rd).  Last Friday we had the tasting, so we have the menu picked out, last night we had the cake taste-testing (again, the lady totally "got" what I envisioned-very simple yet elegant cake!), so that is all set.  (Sean had to miss the cake taste testing beause of his project in North Carolina). 

So a quick recap on wedding stuff:
-invitations. done.
-venue. done.
-cake. done.
-hair lady. done.
-makeup lady. done.
-photographer. done.
-menu. done.
-florist. done.
-wedding dress. done (should be delivered September 9th-then let the alterations begin!)
-bridesmaid dresses.  done.
-bridesmiad shoes. done.
-tuxes. done.
-rehearsal dinner venue. done.

What still needs to be done:
-jewelry for bridesmaids
-make menus
-make programs
-slideshow
-make book for Ethan
-a ton of the "little things"

All in all, though, things are really falling into place and I think all of the big things are done.  Whew!  We are supposed to go to Virginia Beach this Friday for our engagement pictures (our photographer lives there and can only come up for the wedding), however, Hurricane Earl is headed to the coast!  Keep your fingers crossed that Hurricane Earl will suddenly go back out to sea!  If not, we need to reschedule for another day in the near future. 

After debating between a couple of places, Sean decided on a cruise for our honeymoon.  We will be going on the Norwegian Epic.  It's a new ship, and it goes to 3 places (I think they are St. Thomas, Nassau, and St. Martin?).  I'm super excited because they have excursions where you can swim with dolphins!  YES!  I've always wanted to do that, so I'm super excited about it.

This is the first year in the past four years that Ethan and I have not gone down to our traditional Oak Island, NC trip.  We usually go the first week of August - it was so weird not going!  I miss our tradition of going and all of the places we used to go to (Alligator Adventure, the light house, outlet malls, BEACH!) and just being able to spend time together without the interruptions and other distractions of daily life. 

Ethan is doing great!  He is getting so big, I sometimes just watch him playing or sleeping and can't get over how big he is.  He's no longer my little baby, nor my little toddler - but a boy who is just so incredibly sweet!  He is going to be playing soccer again this fall - some of his friends from last season are on his team again, so he is really excited about it.  Their team name this season is "Lightning."  Next Tuesday he will be starting first grade - I can't believe it!  I'm looking forward to getting back into our normal routine again, and this year, I'm going to start the "no TV during the week" rule - which I can't wait!  The TV drives me nuts, so I'm looking forward to not having it on for 5 days (and on Sunday's its church movies only, so technically that's only one day I will have to listen to the Boomerang channel, and our Saturdays are generally busy with running errands). 

Aside from wedding planning, work and just daily life has been keeping me busy.  I've found a new favorite author: Kristen Hannah-I have read two of her books and am on a third right now.  I can't put them down!  We have also been looking for a house to buy-so that's been fun (and somewhat frustrating) - we have found two that we really like, but one is a short-sale and those take forever, and the other we are still figuring out if we like it enough to put a contract on it.  I have also been asked to give a talk next Sunday in church, so I will be working on that this week.... 

Sean has been in North Carolina Monday-Friday since early July, but starting this week (per my request) he is only going to be there Monday-Wednesday and work from McLean on Thursdays and Fridays.  Whew!  It's been tough, especially with trying to make big decisions regarding the wedding and going out with the realtor without him looking at houses and trying my best to describe them to him (and narrowing it down to show him only the best of the ones I saw).  It's going to be so much better with him just 20 minutes away, as opposed to being in a different state.

Well, that's what's been going on in my life in a small nut-shell!  I love my family and friends and am so grateful for them!!! :)

Sunday's Recipe

Bean and Beef Enchiladas
1 pound ground beef
1 12oz. can refried beans
1 12 oz. can enchilada sauce
1 pkg of 8 tortillas
cheddar cheese

brown ground beef and drain fat.  Add refried beans and 1/2 can of enchilada sauce and mix.  Place 3-4 spoonfuls of bean and beef mixture onto tortilla.  Add cheese and roll tortilla.  Place in a 9x13 baking dish.  Cover with remaining 1/2 can of enchilada sauce.  Top with cheese.  Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.

Good and SO incredibly easy!  Definitely a keeper:)

Ethan's Take on Perfume

Just a couple of minutes ago...


Ethan:  Mom, what are you doing?

Me: Putting perfume on.

Ethan: What does it look like?  Can I smell it?

[I show Ethan the perfume bottle and let him smell it]

Ethan:  Wow - that smells strong and irresistable!

I LOVE THIS KID!!! He says the funniest things:)

Ok, time to leave for church-just wanted to post this before I forgot..

Recipe Update

For the past six weeks Ethan has been going to Rec-Pac, and since it ended at 3:30 every day, my mom would pick him up for me.  We would then eat dinner at my parents and head come home.  SO, I haven't really had to cook much over the last couple of weeks!  It has really has impeded on my New Years goal of making three new recipes a month-so I have a lot of cooking to do to catch up! 

Now that Rec-Pac is over, we are starting back to our normal routine this week-including cooking.

Today two new recipes were tried:

Cheesy Beefy Corn Pie
1lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning mix (1.25 oz. size)
1 box cornbread mix (approx. 16 oz. size)
1 8-oz. can corn
1 cup chopped onion  I didn't use
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
extra 1/2 cup cheese (optional)

-Preheat oven to 325º.  Drain liquid from corn. 
-Lightly grease a 10" cast iron skillet, place over medium heat.  Mix ground beef with taco seasoning.  Brown and crumble meat in skillet on medium heat. 
-Remove meat from skillet and drain fat. 
-Prepare cornbread mix as directed on package.  Stir drained corn into batter. 
-Pour half of the batter into hte empty, greased (still warm) skillet.  Top evenly with meat, onions, and cheese.  Pour remaining batter over meat and spread evenly. 
-Bake 45 minuts or longer, until cornbread is browned.  Remove from oven.  Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting.  Sprinkle some cheese on top of cornbread after baking.

SURVEY SAYS... keeper!  It's not a favorite, but it is decent... super easy to make.

Strawberry Shortcakes
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/3 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 container (8oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

-Mix strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar; set aside.  Heat oven to 425º
-Stir Bisquick, milk, 3 tablespoons sugar and butter until soft dough forms. 
-Drop dough by 6 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet
-Bake 10-12 minuts or until golden brown.  Split warm shortcakes; fill and top with strawberries and whipped topping

SURVEY SAYS... keeper!  Warning: has a TON of sugar, so be prepared for your blood sugar levels to immediately sky rocket:)

2 out of 2 recipes in one day... not too bad:)

Why Sean is Marrying Me... According to Ethan

Ethan: Mom, I know why Sean is marrying you.

Me: Oh really?  So why is he marrying me?

Ethan:  Because you make good soup! [as he is eating Ramen noodles]