More Birds

Every year it seems like we get another bird I either have never seen before or at least have never had the chance to photograph.

The first one is a Purple Finch (although there is nothing purple about it). He looks exceptionally puffy because it was so windy outside.






This is a House Finch (the reddish one) and a new one for us this year, the Pine Siskin. He was a little tricky to figure out, but the yellow wing bars are quite distinctive.









This last one is a Red Bellied Woodpecker... the female of the species. The male still visits the feeder on a regular basis, nearly every morning.

Girls Night

Friday night is usually our Food Party Night, but Ryan ended up rescheduling a fishing trip for today, so Rachael and I had a Girls Night instead. We bought a frozen pizza, got on "matching" nightgowns (they were both blue), watched a movie, and made pink cupcakes. We had plans to paint our fingernails, too, but the evening got away from us. (Difficult to paint your nails when they are covered in pizza sauce).

I'm glad to have my best girl for a pajama party!

McDonalds Toys

McDonalds really has the best toys with their kids meals - Happy Meals. Right now we have a digital bowling game from about a month ago; it lives in the car on a mostly permanent basis. It has entertained every single kid that rides in the car, including Rachael. The best part? I don't even know how it works, so I don't have to answer questions about it.

Financial Peace

We are 10 weeks into our Financial Peace University classes, and we were reviewing some of our numbers.

- We have $1000 saved in an emergency fund
- We have eliminated one credit card
- We have dumped nearly $3000 in debt so far
- We are doing really well with our zero-based budget
- We have a plan in place for at least the next six months

It's been hard to tighten our belts but when I look at the progress we have made, it seems worth it. And we still get to go to the Bahamas in July!

Chocolate

Because any day you end up covered in chocolate is a good day.

Yum.

(She didn't blink because of the camera flash. Her eyes were already closed, enjoying her chocolate fingers.)

Grandma

The first day of spring always reminds me of my grandma's birthday - it was March 20 so sometimes they were the same day (like today). She passed away four years ago, when Rachael was just six weeks old. Although I'm sad that she is not around to watch my adorable daughter grow up, I was so happy for her to return to Grandpa and I know I will see them both again someday.

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Silly Sleeper

Last night I went to check on Rachael before I went to bed, and when I opened her door my heart did that little stop-panic motion it does when she's not in the bed or sleeping on the floor where I can see her. Of course she had fallen asleep on the other side of the bed, out of sight of the door. I scooped her up and put her back to bed.

Maybe it's time to move the bed so there's nowhere she can hide...

Spring

I love that first day in the spring, when the grass is really starting to look greener, things are starting to bloom, the skies are blue, and the temperature is over 70 degrees. That day was today. When I was working full time, those days gave me spring fever in a bad way. Now I'm home to enjoy them, and it's definitely one of those perks of being home all the time.

Tonight we took advantage of the lovely evening and worked in the garden, getting it all cleaned up and ready to plant. Rachael spent all her time digging for worms. When she found them, she held them in her (gloved) hand for a few minutes, then buried them back in the dirt. We all smell like dirt and Ryan and I will probably be sore tomorrow, but it was fun.

Spring is definitely in the air!

Our Woodpecker

This is our red-bellied woodpecker that visits every morning. He defends the bird feeder like he owns it which is fun to watch.

Sharing

One of the great things about being a parent is sharing something special for the first time with your child. Today was one of those moments... I decided Rachael was old enough to share one of my favorite Easter treats, Hershey's chocolate marshmallow eggs. Yum! She made a sticky mess of it on her fingers but enjoyed every last bite.

The Birdfeeder

I just love our backyard this time of year. There are still not any leaves on the trees yet, but the birds know that spring is on the way and they are out in force. I really enjoy being able to watch the birds just in our backyard alone. A couple of years ago we got a birdfeeder and last year we moved it up to the deck, so now we get lots of feathered visitors.

This one is my favorite so far this year. He is a red-bellied woodpecker and he spends a lot of quality time at the feeder. He even hassles the smaller birds that try to stop by while he is enjoying his breakfast. He's been outside in the mornings for the last three days now, if he is back tomorrow we might have to come up with a nickname.

Smacked Pecans

Today Rachael and I made some brownies for a treat. On the top I like to put mini chocolate chips, toffee pieces, and chopped pecans, but the only pecans I had were whole. No problem, we put them in a ziploc bag and got out the rolling pin to "chop" them into pieces. I was showing Rachael how to do it, and she said, "Can I have a turn smacking them?"

Brownies topped with hand-smacked pecans... does life get any better?

Motivation

Someone is coming over on Tuesday and will go through every room in the house. It's just the motivation I need to work on getting it all cleaned up! Then my mom is coming for a visit at the end of April, so hopefully I can keep everything in great shape.

Then I'm sure we'll go back to being our usual disaster area in May...

Blogging Break

One whole week without blogging on my own blog... how have I survived? I'm sure my electrons have missed me. Some random things I have thankful for in the last week:

* Daylight Savings Time - spring edition
Because Rachael has been getting up earlier and earlier. On Monday everything will be an hour later.

* Electronic Bill Pay
How did I ever sit down and write checks for all the stuff I have to pay for? Of course, my checkbook is accumulating dust...

* Preschool
I had three and a half lovely hours to myself on Thursday morning with no interruptions and nothing else on the schedule. I'll admit I squandered them on housework but I have another Thursday coming this week. Rachael comes home so happy and bubbling about all the things they did, so I feel like it's great all around.

* A visitor
My mom is coming to visit the last week in April because flights are really cheap right now. I'm excited to have her come! Not quite so excited to clean the guest room up, but I'm glad for the motivation to get it done.

* Potty training won't last forever.
Well, it better not. Rachael was doing really really well in February but has fallen off the wagon so to speak every day this week. One day she will get the hang of it. Probably in time to start dating.