First night in a hotel... as a family of four!!!

We dared to be adventurous this Christmas break.... we took a mini-vaca to visit family outside of Austin. We also decided to go down a night early and stay in Fredericksburg, all FOUR of us, in ONE hotel room, result.... it wasn't that bad!

C-baby (2 yrs)  K-Man (3 1/2 yrs)

 New books and hat provided a lot of entertainment- no iPhone, no DVD, not much else required!!!

 Only potty stop needed (yep we travel with a port-a-potty, most brilliant idea ever!!!)

 Fredericksburg had a very pretty little Christmas light area to play around in- kiddos loved it!

 

 The "new" thing lately is T-Rex arms, they are hilarious- this is jammie breakfast at the hotel the morning after everyone slept super well in the hotel together... except momma! We were right next to the stairwell on the 2nd floor (of 3) from 9:45p-12:30a all I heard were the elephants that paraded up and down the stairs and over head, anticipating our light sleepers to wake up - no one did. I got three hours of sleep. :)

 We let the kids watch cartoons while we got ready- this was the host of one of the shows.. could this be Josh Hamilton and Will Ferrell's love child? We think so!

 The cousins!

 K taking C for a ride in the barbie jeep -they had so much fun with the cousins, jumping on the trampoline, playing games and running around. The big girls are so great at playing with the little kids which allows the adults to have conversations!!!

It was such a great trip, the kids did just as well driving the 5 hours home as they did on the way down - the first movie request came an hour from the house! This has released us to be able to travel more now and I couldn't be more excited. Although a second hotel room for myself would be nice...

No-Knead Bread

http://www.frugallivingnw.com/frugal-homemaking/amazing-no-knead-bread-step-by-step-recipe/

Following her directions step-by-step yielded the best bread!!! It is a little time consuming and does require planning ahead (12-18 hours rise time), but the results are so good! 

New Direction

2013 New Direction- I'm going to try to start writing about my "pin" experiences along with any other random musings I feel inspired to write about! :)

"Homemade" Microwave Popcorn

http://www.squawkfox.com/2010/07/27/popcorn-recipe-gourmet-popcorn/

I followed this to the "T" (I did read somewhere that microwaving water first helps, but I haven't found that it makes a difference)- WE GET AWESOME TASTING AND GOOD FOR YOU popcorn everytime! WE no longer have store bought microwave popcorn in our house!!!

When did I get old?

Yes, my kids are only "almost" 2 ½ and 1, and to some I know I don’t look my age (34 in Dec.), however, I can’t hardly pick up a toy off the floor without my knees (or back) giving out.

I have friends who are younger than me, with kids older than mine, and they are so energetic! And some have more kids!

So what has happened?

Have I gotten old?  (Kale would say, "Nooooo, Mommy thas sillee!") :)

I mean, I work out and all, but I can’t seem to capture any more spunk… ok, well I have attitude spunk, but no energy spunk. Ugh. Ok, more prayers, more sleep, because more is coming tomorrow.  :)