D...D...D...D...Dora ......."Ridiculous"

So today was a rough one. I thought it was going to be sooooooo smooth and then wham! I had just put Logan to sleep in his crib and was downstairs making a homemade pizza with Ella (pita bread, pizza sauce, and cheese) which Ella thought was fantastic. Ten minutes after Logan fell asleep, he was up and crying. And then Ella had the BIGGEST meltdown ever as the pizza was cooking telling me she only liked the pizza daddy brought home and was NOT going to eat this one. Well, mommy told her otherwise and up to her room to "tantrum" for about 20 minutes as I tried to calm Logan down. She finally decided to taste it and liked it....so as she was sitting eating her lunch and watching Dora, she said to me......"mommy, could you please put on Max and Ruby because I HATE Dora. " And I responded (trying not to laugh) , "why?" Ella tells me, " because she just does the same stuff over and over......so boring." She is hilarious. Not to worry, I did explain to her how we don't say "hate", just say "don't like"......Silly Ella

While I am sharing Ella and her 'funniness' with words, she started saying a new favorite on Saturday night......"Ridiculous" (said like dee-dic-a-less). Most of the time she gets her "words" from Grammie (such as "oh, bummer") but I really think she got this one from her daddy!

Soccer Sunday

Paul had a soccer game yesterday, so Ella, Logan, and I joined him to cheer him on! It was a beautiful day and they won 2-1. Paul scored both goals and Ella was proud of daddy!

Logan looking super cute!

He LOVES his big sis

Halftime fun

love these two!

super kick

"Silly Ella"

Saturday morning Ella was doing what she refers to as her "work" (all of her picture drawing, letter writing, etc.....) . She is really learning her letters and loves to "write." Well, sometimes she gets a little confused and instead of "E.L.L.A." she had written "L.L.E.A.". Well, here is what happened next.........

Mommy: Ella you wrote Llea......

Ella: Uh, who's Llea

Mommy: I don't know

Ella: Oh, I know. Silly Ella. She is my friend. Remember mommy. She loves to go shopping with us and loves to come to my house. She has a cat named Shannon. Oh, and Llea has a baby too. But, she has a girl baby. A sister. Her sister's name is Artie. Remember mommy.

Mommy: Silly mommy

This girl has quite the imagination and she comes up with things out of nowhere. She is so creative and smart. And most importantly, she makes me laugh everyday!

Here Comes Trouble.......

I was cleaning off our desk and found Paul's insurance carrier's monthly newsletter. Not sure why I decided to take a peek, but I am sure glad I did. There was a wonderful recipe that I may wish I had never found. It is trouble......so I thought I would share it!

5 minute Chocolate Mug Cake

you will need:

1 large coffee mug

4 tablespoons flour (plain flour, not self-rising)

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons baking cocoa

1 egg

3 tablespoons milk

3 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons chocolate chips

small splash of vanilla

Add dry ingredients to the mug and mix well.

Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high.

The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed.

Allow to cool a little. Tip out onto a plate if desired.

Add some yummy ice cream and share (one was plenty for paul, ella, and i)

And be very afraid because now you can make homemade chocolate cake in 5 minutes!

..........The End

Ella is such a princess at heart......She was "writing" stories this morning (telling her stories out loud while writing in her own cute scribble on paper) Paul and I were lucky enough to be listening closely when we heard this one....... "Once upon a time in a kingdom far away there lived a beautiful princess. Her stepsisters were not very nice and always saying, 'wash my clothes, wash my hats'......Well, until one day the prince came along. He looked into her eyes. (my favorite line) He wanted to marry her. They lived happily ever after..........The End"

Big Baths and Big Berries

At bathtime tonight, I decided to take the "sling" out of Logan's tub and he LOVED it! This little guy can make quite a splash! Paul stopped and got some strawberries on his way home and this was one BIG BERRY! It looked almost apple sized as she munched away on it! She really loved them and this is our little conversation about them......

E: "Mommy. Excuse me, young lady, may I have some more strawberries"

Me: "Of course"

E: "Thank you 'my dam' (madame)"

She makes me laugh each and every day!

Cortez Reunion Picnic

With all the fun we have all had on facebook reuniting with long lost friends from high school, we decided to get together with our families and have a "reunion picnic". It took awhile to find a date that worked for most, but we finally picked this past Sunday. It was a beautiful 87 degree day. We went to the Railroad park in Scottsdale. I think there were people from the class of 1994 back to the class of 1991. It was a great time and we plan to do it again, maybe around Thanksgiving. It was great seeing everyone's kids.......I think Logan stole the show with his drooly smiling at everyone! Gotta love Mr. Blue Eyes!

My very favorite photo of the day! Ella the bubble blower!

Daddy the bubble "instructor"

lunchtime with Bradley and Brooke

Riding the train

Prettiest girls on the train

a quick family pic