Sweet Treat and a Little Sausage

I know this is something silly to blog about but with Brian working so much I am bored and needed something to do. Anyway, yeasterday I was blog surfing and came across the Picky Palate (thanks, Brooke, for having it on your blog). I found a recipe for Extreme Toasted Marshmallow Candy Bar Rice Krispy Treats. Yes, that is actually the name of the recipe. It said it was a way to get rid of extra Easter candy so I decided to make it and Lemon Bars for dessert tonight. They were a pretty big hit so if anyone ever has need of a relatively quick and easy and kid friendly dessert then give this a try. I used Kit Kat candy bars but the recipe says any chocolate candy bar. Think Snickers, Milky Way, Baby Ruth...use your imagination. For the recipe from the Picky Palate click here. I have never taken pictures of my cooking creations before but I decided to do it today. I expecially like the close up picture. Don't they look good? I'm sure all the Fila family (my side) can hardly believe that anyone would eat this stuff. I'm also sure that my dad and probably my sisters will call to tell me that I am slowly poisoning myself but who can resist a little poison once in a while? Especially poison this good. Maybe this is why I am much more plump than the rest of my family.

I also have a new favorite pair of jammies for James. I think he looks like a little sausage in them. Totally squeezeworthy. He is offically in 12 month jammies which are much more expensive but his feet were getting too squished in the old ones so I finally bit the bullet and got some. The price jumps from 3 for $10 to 3 for $25 with this size. At least the weight range is from 17 to 22 lbs. so we should get more use out of these than the other sizes that he went through so fast. I tried to get him to smile but it was bedtime and so he just looked at me like I was crazy to be flashing bright lights at him and trying to get him to smile. But he was very patient with me. Unsmiling but patient.

Happy Easter and an update

Happy Easter to everyone. I just realized that I haven't posted any new photos of James for almost a month. Oops. So I have posted a bunch for your viewing pleasure. James is offically 4 months old and is growing like a weed. He was weighed and measured on March 14th and here are the results. He weighed 17 lbs. 12 oz. He was 25 3/4 inches long and his head was 17 1/4 inches around. All in all, he is right on track. He has been learning a few new tricks as well. He is finally big enough to really appreciate some toys. He loves to put anything and everything that he can grab into his mouth. Everyone thinks he is hungry all the time since the first thing he does is try to eat anyone or anything around but I assure you all he is not starving.I mean if he was then he wouldn't be growing so well. And he is trying really hard to turn over. We have also been working on sitting up. He can hold his balance for about 5 to 10 seconds before he falls over and starts to laugh. He still loves taking his baths and being naked. James is finally ready to sit in the stroller for real instead of the car seat on top of the stroller. He likes my walks better this way so that makes me happy. But I still bring the baby bjorn along JIC (just in case). He is still sleeping well and he has been doing really well at church.
We even took a weekend trip with Brian to Austin last week and James did relatively well considering it is a 3.5 hour drive. We are planning another trip down there soon to go shopping at the outlet malls at San Marcos, TX when Brian's mom Shelley comes to visit in April. I promise that I will start posting more pictures of James. At least once a week. I sure take enough. I probably have over 700 photos of him by now so I will try to keep the blog pictures updated. After all, he is the reason I started this blog in the first place. Here are a few photos that we took today before heading off to church. I just loved this little striped blue shirt that I found at Old Navy. I got the tie at the Children's Place outlet by my house. It is a built in chew toy, or so James assumes. I think he looks extra handsome and so grown up in his church clothes. Don't y'all agree? I have an appointment on Tuesday to get his picture taken professionally so I will post those pictures this week. Don't forget to leave us a comment. We love to hear from you.

Visitors Welcome!

So, in case you didn't already know, we are moving yet again. This time though we are going somewhere interesting. We are moving to Switzerland. No, they don't speak Swedish there cuz that is spoken in Sweden, a totally different country. Actually, in Switzerland, people speak mostly German, French and Italian. Switzerland is located in the middle of Europe. It borders on France, Germany, Austria, Italy and Leichtenstein. We will be living in Geneva, which is a city that juts out into France. It is on the map. Basically Brian's work allows people to do what they call a "rotation" in a different country for 2 to 3 years. We are starting out with two and it is renewable for a 3rd by mutual agreement. This is something that we have wanted to do since we got married and now seems like the perfect time so we are doing it. Brian starts in Geneva on September 1. We will probably move right before that. After we are done with the rotation then we come back and Brian is obligated to work for KPMG for 1 year more. Basically, he gets his old job back plus whatever raises he would have received had he stayed here. I know, it is a really sweet deal. We get to go live in another country and still have a job to come back to afterward. Oh, and I know that Australia won the pole but we like Switzerland best so that is where we are going. And Brian already speaks French as he served in the Geneva mission. I plan on brushing up on French. I hope I can retain my Spanish at the same time. And like I said before, visitors are welcome!

More Hobby

So I have done a few more layouts. LOs or layouts are what a scrap page is called by the scrapping world. I have had fun trying this out. Basically I make the page before I even decide what pictures are going in it yet. I know that seems totally backward but that is how I am working it right now. As you can tell I have lots of free time to work on these. They actually don't really take too long to do. But I have to admit I have still not showered today. Mostly cuz the 3 times I have been ready to shower, James has woken up. So I have given up till Brian gets home and can deal with him if he wakes again. On the bright side, James loves his baby bjorn and is quite content to chill in there while I go shopping. I made a run to Kohls today to get something to wear for our family picture this weekend. And, to look for something for James to wear. Anyway, enjoy these. I know they are kinda cheesy but isn't that what scrapping is all about? My friend Crystal, who got me into this scrapping in the first place, says that I need to use stitches so that is what I am gonna try on my next layouts. We will see how it goes. I will be posting current pictures of James on Saturday after our family picture. So be patient with me.

My Newest Hobby

Many people have been asking me what I do all day while James is sleeping. I wish I could say that I have been keeping on top of the housework and laundry but I haven't. No, I have been learning my new Photoshop Elements program and playing with some photos and digital scrapbooking pages. I know, me, a scrapper? Who would have thought? I always swore I would never do it because it is so expensive. Well, I have news for you. I haven't spent a dime on this stuff because everything I have made so far has been with "freebies". And, being what Brian calls an "undocumented" child, I have decided to document the existence of James. It is actually pretty fun to see what I can make and to try to do different things with my program. Here is what I have come up with so far. I hope you like them. I will eventually have a book of James' first year printed out. I admit that will cost a little bit but no more than getting a bunch of pictures printed and certainly not as much as frames for all those pictures. They are in order of when I made them starting with his "birth" page. The last two pages will obviously go together in the book. What do you think? Oh, and if you have been doing this for a while and my pages look bad to you, just remember, I am a beginner.

Let It Snow!

It snowed! Yes, here in Dallas, Texas, it snowed on March 3, 2008. I almost felt like I was in Utah for the Holidays again. Brian went out and took some pictures while it was coming down because we thought for sure it would not stick for long. And then this morning this is what we woke up to. Isn't it pretty? This is my house, by the way. It was so peaceful looking and because there were so many wrecks on the road this morning, Brian decided to sleep in and go to work a little late! Bonus for me. Oh and James slept from 6 pm 'til 5 am and then from 5:30 am 'til 9:30 am. I felt like I was in a dreamland.

I thought it was a big enough deal that I made James sit outside in the cold in his bouncy seat so that I could get a picture of him with his first Texas snow. We (and by that I mean I) made a snowman and James got his picture taken with it. I am sure the little man won't last too long but it was fun making him. Doesn't James look so cute in his little hat? He is just so squeezable. Right after this he pooped even worse than last week and laughed a lot about it as I was changing him. He thinks it is funny to be naked. I don't know why. Maybe it tickles when I kiss him all over his fat, naked belly and on his chubby cheeks. Oh and on a side note I voted today in the Texas primary even though I am kinda apathetic about this election as I don't really have anyone I like really well that is running. And people wonder why we want to move to Switzerland. At least I got a sticker.