Cinnamon Rolls

Last week was not so fun.  It was finals week for Matthew and so that made him pretty non-existent for the week and Austin was sick so I couldn't get out and do much.  There was lots of Mommy-Austin time at home. So I decided to try something different.
One thing Austin loves more than anything is to help in the kitchen. Whenever I start to cook something he immediately goes to get one of his play spoons and just begs me to pick him up so he can help.  So I decided to make a treat and to let me "help" me. I was in the mood for cinnamon rolls so thats what we made (don't worry, it was my day off of the wellness challenge!)
To say that he loved it was an understatement.  He concentrated so hard and did surprisingly well when I told him to do certain things.  But could I have picked a messier treat?  It took a lot of patience to not be bothered at all the sugar and cinnamon being sprinkled, um more like dumped onto the kitchen floor.  It took everything I had not to clean up messes and Austin was making them.
I couldn't get very good pictures as I had messy hands, trying to hold Austin on the stool so he wouldn't fall and trying to control how much cinnamon and sugar went flying everywhere all at the same time.

 I think Austin's favorite part was putting the cinnamon rolls into the pan as I cut them. It was really funny to watch though because he would just plop them anywhere, even right on top of another one. They turned out so yummy! I got the recipe here at one of my new favorite recipe sites.
This week is starting out so much better. Since Matthew has finished finals, this week is our spring break. So I see a lot more Daddy-Austin time in the very near future. :)

Valentines Date

Since I was out of town for Valentine's Day, we celebrated this weekend.  Matthew planned a surprise date for us and wouldn't tell me where we were going until we pulled up to it.   He took me to the Arizona Broadway Theatre.  It's a theatre that serves dinner and a show all in the same place.  Such a great idea since we both love musicals. I didn't even know this theatre existed and it was 10 minutes from where we live.  We has such a good time and we saw My Fair Lady.   

I love going on dates and this was perfect. Matthew is the best at thinking up creative ideas like that.  I love my Valentine!

Texas Visit

I love a chance to go home and see my family and last weekend Austin and I did just that. One of the best things about it was my sister Jenna was able to come from Kansas to be there too!  The reason for us going is that my high school was hosting a craft fair and we had a booth there.

Don't mind the panther eating Jenna's head in the picture.  It was so fun to be there and to promote Redd Threadds.  It was a great day and I loved seeing old friends from high school.  A big thanks to my dad for watching all 3 kiddos while we were gone all day.

While we were there, my littlest sister had her 13th birthday.  I can't believe she is a teenager now. She has never liked cake so she always has a donut tower instead.  She had her party at a laser tag/bumper car place.

Austin loves his cousins so much and had so much fun playing with them.

This was our best attempt at a group shot:

So glad we were able to go!  However my wellness challenge took a hit on this trip ie: no sleep, no exercise, and I couldn't resist Kayla homemade cookies. :)  Ah well, I think it was worth it.

The Challenge

The wellness challenge that I am doing now is 3 weeks in and I am glad to say that I am doing better than I expected overall. Things I have learned about myself so far:
-I CAN get up everyday at 6:30 to go workout if I really put my mind to it.  But there have been those mornings where losing a point sounds a lot more appealing then getting up.
- I am a sucker for desserts. I had book club tonight and totally gave in to the wonderful strawberry shortcake.
-I have realized that I really don't eat enough vegetables every day. I have to eat 2 veggies every day to get a point for it and sometimes I really struggle to do it.  I have to constantly think about it when I cook.
-Overall I am really glad I am doing this.  Even if I retain only one of these good habits, I feel that the challenge was worth it. (And a little prize money wouldn't hurt either!)

On a unrelated note, I have totally gotten into decorating for Valentine's Day.  Kind of a random holiday to decorate for but I have seen so many cute projects floating around in blog land that I had to try some of them out.  Here is what I have made.

 Cupcake liner wreath from here 

Subway art from here with the roses made from here