My new salad spinner…

Have I told you how much I LOVE MY Mother-In-Love??? She is a pampered chef representative so we are often greeted with brown boxes on our doorstep with the latest pampered chef toys or dinnerware. Well, today was a BIG day! I have been wanting the salad spinner for a while now and told my MIL I needed to order it from her. I didn’t intend for her to surprise us with it but she did! YAY!! We got a salad spinner!!! I know, you’re probably wondering why I didn’t go to Bed, Bath & Beyond and get one of those “Seen on TV” salad spinners. I’m telling you, it’s not the same. This is the mother of all salad spinners. Everyone is fighting over who gets to push down the lever and spin the spinner. Even Ellie got in on the action. Thanks Donna! We are a happy home today!!

Scowden’s Outdoor Christmas Lights

Chris worked really hard and did a great job with the Christmas lights this year! I think the house looks great! He wanted to be the first on the block to get into the holiday spirit so he worked up until the last minute before he caught a flight to Germany. Great job, Babe!

XOXO
Michelle

Thanksgiving Weekend with My Family

We had lots of activities planned for the Thanksgiving weekend. On Friday morning my sister Yvette and I were up early and off to Toys R Us for some great deals while my other sisters Veronica and Mori hit Target in McKinney. This was my first time waking up at the crack of dawn for a bargain but I have to admit…It was fun. Finding a great deal really gets my adrenaline going. I might do this every year…might.

Since all of us sisters, mom and grandma were going to be together in one place, my sister arranged for a photographer to come to her house and get some family pictures. I’m sure the photographer was going nuts with all of these people in one place but we sure did have a good time. I hope he got at least one good one.

After pictures we here just hanging out and the kids were playing outside with some bamboo sticks. Uncle Moe took Ellie on for a quick game. She did awesome!

Then the girls were off to watch A Christmas Carol at the McKinney Performing Arts Center while the guys went to Fox Sports grill to watch the college football games and a few games of Golden Tee. I was a little nervous that a play at a real theater might be too much to take a 2 year old. I had nothing to worry about though. She loved the play! We didn’t hear one beep come out of her mouth. After the play we walked around downtown McKinney and did a little shopping.

We were worn out and ready for a little vino. Daddy came for Ellie and the sisters went to share a bottle of wine. We had fun laughing and poking fun at each other.

Finally it was back to my sister’s house for some warm chili. YUMMY! My 14 year old niece Desi, spent the evening trying to teach us the latest dance moves…key word is “TRY”. We had a great time and laughed so hard at our efforts. Even my mom got in on the action. Too funny!

All and all, it was a great weekend with the family!

XOXO

Michelle

Thanksgiving at the Scowden’s

Chris woke up 6 AM after brining the turkey overnight in homemade vegetable stock and other fresh seasonings. I have to admit that I was a little nervous because Chris had never made a turkey before and found a recipe on line. We had to get it right or we would have ham and a bunch of sides for Thanksgiving. Well, he didn’t disappoint. This was the prettiest turkey I had ever seen. It looked like it had come straight out of the Martha Stewart Living magazine.

Once everyone arrived and we got settled it was time for them to open their little gift. It was so much fun seeing the reactions to the little gift I had shared with them. We had a fabulous time at lunch. It was great visiting with everyone.

After lunch some of the family left for the Dallas Cowboys Game. While they were enjoying the Cowboy’s Thanksgiving Day victory, we were slaving away in the kitchen getting everything cleaned up. So when they returned we thought they would have brought us a little something from the game….but NO…we got nothing! Here are the folks that forgot about us cleaning up at home. If you see them, give them a hard time. Just kidding. Hope y’all had fun!

Getting Ready for Thanksgiving Lunch

A few months ago my sister Veronica and I started planning our first “Thanksgiving Weekend” here in Frisco/McKinney. This meant ALL of my family would make the trip from the Rio Grande Valley to celebrate Thanksgiving together. Yes, all 5 of my sisters, their husbands, kids (only 1 niece made it) mom and grandma were coming! YAY! We had a fabulous menu planned with lots of fattening goodies and Chris took on the great task of making the turkey. Since my house is a little more spacious, we decided that we would have the lunch at our house. If you know me, you know I love to have parties. I wanted the table to look simple, elegant but beautiful. We set up the table the night before and here’s how it turned out. Believe it or not, the plates are plastic. I found them at Costco and picked them up because dishes would be so much easier on Thanksgiving day.




I also wanted my family to go away with something to remember this Thanksgiving so I asked them to send me a list of what each of their family members was thankful for and made a collage of sorts on Photoshop with their family picture. I had them printed in a 5X7 photo and mounted them on a very inexpensive black frame from IKEA. They turned out really nice. Here are an example...

What happened to my baby?

Since we weren’t successful in meeting Santa, I didn’t want to waste a trip to the mall so we walked over to the play are so that Ellie could play for a little while. Wow, it had been a while since we’ve been there! Our playgroup has had a few playdates there but for some reason we didn’t make it. Anway, as I watched Ellie play I started feeling a little nostalgic. There is this grapefruit thingy that the kids can climb on and it brought back a lot of memories. I remember taking Ellie’s picture on it when she was only a baby. (7 months) We had just moved back to Texas and our neighbors invited us to go to the Butterfly Festival at Willowbend. Afterwards we took the kids to play in the mall’s play area. Well, Ellie wasn’t big enough to “play”. She just sat around and watched the other kids play. I remember being paranoid that one of the big kids would hurt Ellie or trample all over her. I remember hoping that the older kids’ mommies would make sure that the kept an eye on their kids so that my little girl would not get hurt. I remember taking her picture sitting on the grapefruit with her chubby legs hugging a cherry in the center of the grapefruit. Fast forward a year and a half and my baby is now one of the big kids. I watched another mommy with a 6 or 7 month old baby and she had the same look on her face as I did when Ellie was that age. She was probably hoping that my big kid would not hurt her little baby. At that moment, I got a lump in my throat want wanted to cry. I wasn’t sad…I was just…I don’t know…sad. My baby girl is a big kid! I know, your probably thinking, she’s only 2! BUT it seems like not that long ago that I was that mommy. I had to collect my emotions and called my little big girl over. I asked her to sit on the big grapefruit and take a picture. Without hesitation she agreed and went back to playing. As she played I played a quick video in my head of all of Ellie’s milestones, adventures, play dates, birthday parties, bruised/skinned knees, temper tantrums, ear infections, runny noses, and everything else that comes with growing into toddler. It was then that I thanked God for giving me my baby girl. I know that there is nothing I can do to stop the clock on how fast time flies but I can certainly cherish every moment that He gives me to share with my little girl.

I love you Ellie!

XOXO

MOMMY

First attempt to see Santa

I’m up late trying to come up with something clever to write about our (Ellie & me) outing to Willow Bend Mall today. We were supposed to stop by and see Santa because I’m hoping Ellie will warm up to the old man enough to have her picture taken with him. I didn’t bother getting her all dressed up because I knew it might take a trip or two before she agreed to do this. So, on our drive to the mall, we had a conversation about Santa and how he would bring you gifts on Christams etc. She didn’t seem too interested in all my Santa hype. Well, we got in line at the Polar Express exhibit and were greeted by a very short line. Thank God! I should have known when she was apprehensive about even going into the exhibit that meeting this Santa character may not go over too well with Ellie. We got in line and waited for our turn….and waited…and as we got closer to Santa she got more clingy to me. Then she said, “Mommy, Ellie go home now.” I was going to try and convince her but I knew it was no use. She had that terrified look on her face like she did when we tried to meet the Sesame Street characters in San Diego. So, I put her back in the stroller and walked away. Belive it or not, I was very proud of myself for just walking away. Normally I would have tried to bargain with her by offering some M&M’s or apple sauce or something but this time I didn’t. I figured that she will eventually get really comfortable with Santa and beg to have her picture taken with him. Until then we will just see Santa in books, movies, cartoons or in the isles of the mall…unless a Christmas miracle happens.

My crazy husband…

Chris decided that he was going to buy a dry suit so that he could take the boat out during the winter. When it finally arrived he had to try it on immediately. He jumped in the neighbor’s pool that was a brisk 45 degrees. Brrrrrr!! Thankfully it worked so I guess he’ll be going out on the boat this winter ALONE!!

XOXO
Michelle

3 Years Ago Today

3 years and a few months ago, I was picking up a gorgeous silk gown.
3 years ago, yesterday, I was getting a manicure & pedicure and putting the final touches on the biggest day of my life.

3 years ago, today, I was wearing that gorgeous silk gown walking down the ilse overlooking the blue ocean and no practice could prepare me for the next 3 years.
3 years ago, today, I got married to my best friend.
I can not believe that it was 3 years ago. Actually I can’t believe that everything has happened in those 3 years!
2005 – Turned 30 & Moved to DC & Got Married & Got Pregnant (In that order)
2006 – Chris moved to DC & we had Baby Ellie
2007- Bought a house and moved back to Texas
2008- Loving life with our beautiful family
Well, if that is the first 3 years, here's to many more.

Happy Anniversary Sugar. I love you!

Your Bride

Celebrating Jason & Michelle Hunt

An Afternoon at the Spa














This weekend we traveled to San Diego for my sister-in-love’s wedding in San Diego. The long weekend started off with a girl’s afternoon at the Tiki Spa while the guys squeezed in some time on the golf course. I think there should be spa time at every destination wedding. We had a great time getting our nails and toes done and sipping on a mai tai. Even Ellie got to join in the fun getting her nails done too. Well, she didn’t really get them “done” she got them polished. She was such a good sport too. The best was watching her eat her snack afterwards. She would only use her index finger and her thumb to pick up the snack because she didn’t want to ruin her nails. Too cute!



















Visit to Sea World AGAIN!

Yeah, Michelle (my SIL) was great and was okay with us spending Friday at Sea World. Everyone knows about Ellie’s obsession with Shamu so we got to make a stop at Sea World to say “hello” to Shamu. Ellie cannot get enough of this killer whale. She was as excited as the first time that she saw Shamu. Unfortunately they only had one Shamu “Believe” show but we all enjoyed watching her get fired up for Shamu. It was great to share this with Chris parents and Uncle Tom too. I think they enjoyed watching her get excited.













Dinner at Café Sevilla

Some of Michelle & Jason’s guests were invited for a dinner and show at Café Sevilla. This restaurant was so neat. They served great Spanish food, sangria and had an amazing flamenco show. This was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend. If you’re in San Diego and need something to do I recommend this place.












Michelle & Jason’s Big Day
















Well, after all of her planning Michelle’s wedding day was finally here. We started off with getting our hair done by some weird lady Michelle found online. I’d love to post a picture of her fixin’ our hair but she asked that we not photograph her. Serious! We couldn’t believe it. Whatever crazy lady! We got dressed and munched on a club sandwich so Michelle wouldn’t walk down the isle on an empty stomach. While we (my MIL & SIL & me) were getting dolled up the rest of the group was going on a trolley ride tour of downtown San Diego.

The trolley would take her guest to the beach front ceremony and take them back to the hotel. I’m telling you, Michelle thought of everything. We rode down to the beach in this old who knows what kind of car. The car had a couple of buttons that would make different siren noises when you pushed them. I had so much fun startling the people at the bus stops by pushing the buttons making LOUD siren noises. We were laughing so hard all the way to Coronado Beach. It’s the little things in life.

Michelle wanted Ellie to be a flower girl but we really weren't sure if she would be up for it. It's not that she couldn't do it but toddlers aren't always on our schedule. Well, thankfully, Ellie did a fantastic job thowing the petals down the isle. We were so proud of her.













After a gorgeous beach front ceremony we hung out and took some pictures of Ellie playing in the sand. This was her first time on the beach and she loved it. Why did we wait so long to take her to a beach? I just love being around when she discovers new things. She was like a kid in a candy store in the world’s biggest sandbox. At one point I we had this very short conversation

ME: Ellie
ME: Ellie
ME: Ellie
She was very distracted.
Ellie: Yea.
ME: Mommy loves you
Ellie: Silence
ME: Mommy loves you as much as all of this sand
Ellie: Love too
***End**

She was probably thinking “Why is my mom getting so mushy right now when all I want to do is play in this sand box?”
I’m not sure why. She just brings out this mushy side of me. Honestly, I loved watching her and wanted her to know I loved her.

































After everyone took tons of pictures and enjoyed the beach we headed back to the hotel for cocktails. The reception was held by the swanky hotel pool. The hor’doervers were amazing. My favorite was the lobster club sandwiches. YUMMY! Michelle & Jason’s wedding weekend was so much fun. Chris and I are so happy for them and can’t wait for babies!!!

Last Day in San Diego

We had a late afternoon flight so we were able to head back to the beach before our flight. This was much more relaxed and casual. We walked around the Dell hotel on Coronado Beach which was really pretty. I don’t know though…I just not into old things I guess. I mean, I liked the hotel, the history of the hotel and the location but much rather stay in new, swanky, hotels instead. Anyway, we headed down to the beach front and played in the sand. As we were walking around I just kept thinking…”I could live here”. San Diego is just beautiful but so expensive! This is one of our favorite U.S. cities to travel to. Can you tell?

De Clutter

I had enough of the clutter in my kitchen drawers so I decided to clean them out. I emptied everything out of the drawers, wiped them down, vacuumed the inside and reorganized them. Now I have a drawer for my cooking utensils, cooking tools and gadgets, and baking stuff. Chris got the tour of the “new” kitchen and promised to put everything back where it belonged. I love it when everything has a space. By the way, why do I need 6 spatulas?

BEFORE

AFTER

xoxo

michelle