A little early Christmas Present for All....

So Christmas came a little early for the WHOLE Harper Family......Grandpa, Daddy and Uncle Joel headed out to do some Christmas shopping and here is what they brought home.....

It is a 20" Trailblazer Smoker w/Fire box on Cart w/Wheels....made in Texas and finished in SA....We are talking top of the line....this is what happens when men are left up to their own devices.....Needless to say, I LOVE it and they are seasoning it as I type this......We are so looking forward to our Christmas Brisket and have planned on Smoking some Salmon, Ribs and possible a Turkey....We might have to add a ham to that list......Oh man!

Today we also wished Grandpa Harper a "VERY Happy Birthday!".....The girls and I made him a Red Velvet Princess Cake....we even used his mom's recipe (Great Grandma Harper is the best cook!).....

We like Surprises....

So here is what was delivered to us today......

Thanks Mom, now our house truly feels like Christmas now.....It even smells like Christmas! We love it.....

Back to square one......

So after having the Library, Parlor, Red Room.....(Whatever you want to call it) painted now for almost a year, I finally decided to move the Hutch out of there.....it was just too big for the square room.....of course now the walls look a bit DULL, but artwork will come later and I still need a good floor lamp too.....Shawn and I are both pleased with the results and think we may actually sit out there now.....I think we just wanted it to feel more spacious.....So my lovely antique like hutch is now in the garage and I think I will be creating a crafting center out of it and maybe even add some lighting under the top part.....maybe that will help me get my crafty ways back.....well that and actually having time to do it.....

This weekend has been a low keyed one for us.....We took the kids on a nighttime walk around the 'hood w/ hot cocoa to look at Christmas lights.....They liked it so much I think we are going again tonight! The twins went to a snowflake birthday party yesterday morning down the street and had a really good time.....they were so excited to give their friend her present.....So cute! We spent the rest of the weekend cleaning, organizing, pruning, trimming and just anything and everything to get ready for the Harper's on Friday!! We are looking forward to the week to fly by as I know it will.....since I have a bunch of work to do and still more cleaning.....Oh well. Hope everyone had a great weekend! I have included some pics of daddy and the girls gathering some rocks for momma, which seems to be a monthly trip for daddy and the twins....They love it!

Dec 08

Sometimes I forget about me........

Well I have spent the last few days on me, I wish I could say I spent the last two days at the spa or getting my nails done or shopping but it was more for health maintenance.....I get so wound up with all the scheduling of appointments for my kids that I have been leaving myself out.....SO yesterday I went to the dentist.....it was my first time going in a long time....note to all of you try to get to the dentist every 6 months and floss everyday! It actually wasn't that bad, I just had to have a deeper then normal cleaning....I must say my hygienist was great.....I will going back for a normal cleaning in a few months and also get lovely enjoyment of having REALLY OLD fillings replaced.....can not wait to see what all that is going to cost......We have dental insurance but you know how that goes they usually only cover at 80% for most stuff.....and 50% for some stuff.....blah blah.....I am getting my treatment plan today so we shall see....

Today I went to my new Doctors office and met my new Doctor....She is awesome, I knew from the moment I met her that I was going to like her....She is similar to me in a few ways, she has 5 year old twin girls, she also has a 3rd daughter who is two and they even have a female dog....Too funny! Anyway I had a good check up and so far so good. I have to go back when I fast to do blood work (which is standard) but other then that a clean bill of health.....I did weigh more then I thought I would....I now I have renewed drive to hit the gym daily....since lately I have been averaging 1-2 times week...

So finally after being down here a year I have found a great dentist and a wonderful doctor for me and Shawn (he goes to the same dentist and I think he is going to join my Dr's practice, not to mention, the girls excellent doctor and dentist....This is all we have been up to this week....Boring I know...

1 Year and 1 day......

Yup....it has been 1 year and 1 day since I arrived down here in San Antonio with the girls....So much to reflect on that has happened this past year....and so many new great memories....I must say I feel at home in my new city....it has been great exploring the ins and outs of this new great place to live, the shopping, the restaurants, the neighborhoods....So much culture for us to experience....Shawn and I celebrated tonight with a good bottle of WA wine....Yummy....

Tag I'm it......

So I was tagged by MaryCatherine at Peaches and Posh, so now I must list 6 things about myself and then tag 6 other people.....I am going to list Random things....it's is always more fun...

1. High Heels are my favorite shoe choice especially when worn with jeans and a tank, although working at home I do not wear them as much as I use too...my girls dress up in them more then me...

2. I want to start a non-profit company, something to benefit and help children in the USA; I am still brainstorming but have lots of ideas...

3. I love music; I could listen to it night and day and am pondering guitar lessons….I would love to learn how to play....

4. I was a tomboy & athlete growing up, I hated skirts/dresses….Now I would rather where a skirt then shorts (I hate shorts)……

5. I went to college to major in Chemistry and ended up getting a Business Degree instead, I am thinking now I should have stayed with Chem.....

6. When I am sick, I like to watch Pride & Prejudice (the BBC Mini Series Version) I am easily sucked in to good romance stories....

Tagged.....any and all of my girlfriends that blog....Erin, Molly, Jill, Lorrie, Charity, Miranda.....

We've been Elf-ed

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

So Tired.....

Man after a quick trip to Costco and Wal-Mart this morning we spend most of the day outside....and I mean most of the day.....today we put up the lights on the house and man when you do it right (with clips) it sure does take a long time. I am pretty sure that Shawn was on the roof for 5-6 hours or so.....But it is so worth it. Our house looks great, it has 15 strands of LED White lights (25 bulbs to a strand) we have them going from the back of the house down the side around the front and part way down that side....Then we decided since you can see the back roof line when you come into the neighborhood we also put them along the back of the house.....so all but one side....it looks pretty sweet.....plus most of our neighbors have put theirs up too....I love Christmastime......While we were putting up the lights Lila napped (for a part of it) and the twins played with the neighbors.....I simply LOVE our neighbors....they our little corner of the 'hood totally rocks!.....Heather even took the girls on a bike ride around the 'hood with her kids.....So awesome and Carlos came and helped out a bit with the lower lights when he was taking a break from their lights.....Carlos and Heather's house looks so great too....they have so many cool light structures in their lawn.....Anyway here are some pics of our house....and the tree.....oh and few of Lila climbing the ladder....I swear she would have climbed onto the house if I let her.....

Christmas Lights 08

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all.......

Ahhh so I am finally sitting on my bum.....we had a wonderful day filled with family, food, fun and football......and now we are resting watching the end of the Seahawks.....we had dinner at 4.00pm, our usual Turkey Day time....I cooked another 21lb bird.....my usual size of choice.....We LOVE leftover turkey...so much you can do.....we did go with less sides this year since it was just us and Joel.....Juicy Roasted Turkey basted in wine and butter, Cornbread Sausage Stuffing, Cauliflower Gratin, Gravy and Rolls....Simple but sooooo good.....the usuals we didnt make, Steamed Green beans w/Balsamic, Corn Bread Pudding, and Mashed potatoes.....I must say I didn't miss any.....I did love the new Cauliflower dish....soo tasty, it had panko bread crumbs and Gruyere Cheese......So good....I plan on posted the Recipes up on the Breezy later this week.....We hope everyone had a great holiday....Love and miss all.......Here is a glance at our dinner.....and dessert....(homemade pumpkin pie)......

Old Friends.....a random post......

I have been thinking about old friends as of late.....Probably due to Facebook as I have been able to catch up with so many......There are people that have come and gone in my life that I may or may not have kept in contact with, shared great times with and now for me am missing their steady friendship....I could being feeling this way because we are heading into the holiday season.....the time for being thankful and the time for giving, the happy time of family and friends.....or maybe its because I am in Texas and have not made as many close connections with my friends down here......do not get me wrong I have met some wonderful friends down here.....and I know I will continue to find those gems.......So anyway if you are an old friend of mine....just wait I will find you and start a dialog again.....Here is to all those old friends.....

Apple Cup Saturday....

Woot Woot! So the Cougs pulled out a win in double OT, so we are no longer at the top of the list for the bottom 10 teams in College Football.....The Dawgs 0-11 record should put them at the top of that list......Ahhh, Sweet Victory!.....

We have not been up to too much as of late.....same old, same old....this morning I managed to slip away and get the grocery shopping done for Thanksgiving....I am so glad it is done and it was nice to go by myself......but boy what a zoo......I was surprised to learn how much more Turkeys are down here compared to Seattle....I remember spending 100.00 and getting a free turkey or finding them for 49/59 cents a pound.......Today I paid 84 cents a pound....there were some for 77 cents but I didn't find the size I wanted......Go big or go home I say....We will be cooking another 21lb bird....I think this will be my 5th or 6th year cooking a bird that big....and I think I have it down.....

Today, we also got to watch the Coug game...So nice that we were able to get it down here....and nice to see the Cougs win.....but man just two crappy teams on the field today....and here I am sitting on my computer at 10.00pm blogging and facebooking (can we say addicting)......so funny how Saturdays have changed as we get older....

Yesterday the girls and I went to the Texas Air Museum for our MOPS play date. It was pretty cool, lots of old planes and war paraphernalia.......The girls loved the big old war planes outside....I thought the old wooden planes were pretty cool.....We didn't stay too long as the hanger was pretty cold....it has actually felt like fall around here lately.....I am loving the colder weather....It is so nice to finally be COLD!....

Empty House :(

We just said good bye to the Coffer's......We had such a great week with them. All of the girls got along famously, no fighting, no yelling, no nothing.....just a whole lot of playing, playing, playing.....and they even included Lila most of the time....it was fun to watch Lila chase after them and try to do what they were doing....too cute...We loved having a boy in the house....so fun, especially since Shawn and I were showered with girls.....Brodie is such a good baby, so adorable....I just love his BLUE eyes and his happy smile! Natalie and Kiara traded off on being the ring leader.....one day it would be Nat and the other day it would be Kiara....while MJ just tried to keep up with them.....I am still pleased at how well they all played together.....They are all really going to miss each other.....It is really making me think that the girls and I will need to head to WA this summer, hopefully for the whole month of July if we can swing it.....great month since its SUPER hot down here and just perfect up west.....

So Friday Shawn got a day off and we headed out to the SA Zoo......So much fun, the zoo was bigger then I thought it would be.....it will be nice when they are done with phase 2 of the Africa Live exhibit, but we were still able to see all the animals....I really think the girls favorite part was the Butterfly Exhibit. They loved trying to get them to land on them and just overall really enjoyed it...The best part was the butterflies LOVED Todd, they landed on him the whole time we were in there......before leaving the zoo we took a trip on the Eagle Train around Brackenridge Park......It was pretty funny the Coffer kids took a rest on the train while the Harper Girls took it all in.....it was fun for all.....a nice little 20 min loop.....After the zoo it was back to the house to figure out dinner plans.....we ended up going out for some steak...and had a pretty good meal until the check came....whoa....talk about fiasco......but the boys got it squared away....

This morning we got up and headed out for some Breakfast Tacos....Todd really wanted to hit this place he heard about on the Food Network and we had been trying to figure out when we were going to go there as they are only open from 7am-2pm....So we finally decided on Breakfast Tacos, which I have to admit is probably my favorite thing to eat for breakfast.....So after about 15-20 min wait outside (brrr it is cold today) we were seated at separate tables (we broke up to get seated quicker) and were ordering food at Taco Taco Cafe.....The place is small but I must tell you I really enjoyed my breakfast tacos as did the kiddos....I can see us going there again as it is good and super cheap.....just need to be prepared for it to be a little bit crowded on the weekends.....I just love their homemade tortillas...as do the girls.....They really enjoy their breakfast tacos....probably as much as they enjoy pancakes......So we had another good meal with the Coffer's......I am sad to say it is tooooo quite in the house right now....no girls running around screaming having fun.....no Lila trying to stick Brodie's binki in his mouth.....no Brodie chatting away......we already miss Melissa, Todd, Natalie and Brodie......it's strange, I knew I missed seeing them every week (in WA we had weekly playdates) but I didn't realize how much I truly miss being with the Coffer's until after they left today.....Good Friends are sure hard to find......Sure hope they had as much fun as we did......

Coffer Trip SA

Enjoying our friends too much to blog.....

So Melissa, Todd, Natalie and Brodie arrived on Sunday afternoon and we have been having so much fun that I just have not had the time to sit down and put a post together.....Melissa and I have been great friends since we were in junior high.....and I must say it is so nice having them all down here. We have had a good mix of getting out and doing stuff to Monday the girls played all day....dress up was the choice of the day as was bike riding, the girls did great sharing.....that night we headed down to the Riverwalk and did the boat tour ride and dinner....it was fun to go down at night which I do not think Shawn and I had done before......Tuesday we headed up to La Cantera and did a bit of shopping.....I swear I just love that mall, must be because it is outdoors and has so many nice shops...and the extension they added is pretty sweet....with another good mix of stores we finished the night with some Texas BBQ and Pizza.....Wednesday the Coffer's headed up to the Natural Bridge Wildlife Park......it is a drive through place where the animals come up to the car.....sounds like they had a great time.....it allowed me to get some much needed work done....when they got back we let the girls do some swimming in the backyard.....and some playing & bike riding.......Today we headed back downtown to see the Alamo and do more riverwalk activities....it was nice to be down there on a Thurs morning when it was pretty empty and easy to maneuver....we were downtown most of the morning and ended up having a lunch too and got some shopping done....then we did some chalk drawing and beauty salon (Melissa painted all the girls toenails...so fun!), we finished up tonight with an Ice Cream Sundae party......the girls loved it......all and all a good fun time.....Tomorrow we are off to the zoo and dinner and I am sure we will find more adventurous things to do.....for now enjoy some pics....

Coffer Visit 1

Harper Twins Tagged by Jackson.....

Then........and........Now

Kiara:

Mikiah:

Name/Meaning:

Kiara- (kee AHR ah) in Latin is means: Clear; bright; famous and in Irish it means Dark

Mikiah-Our orignal spelling was MIKAIA until Nanna made a quilt with her name on it misspelled (Its ok Nanna I like the new spelling), American not really sure the meaning...We liked Kia....but it was becoming too popular to we found a twist on it.

Age: 4

Nicknames:
Kiara- Kiara Bear, KB
Mikiah- MJ

Activities:

Kiara-Riding Bikes, Playing Tag, Playing Outside

Mikiah-Riding Bikes, Reading, Puzzles

Favorite Foods:

Kiara-Mac n Cheese, Hot Dogs, Broccoli, Apples, White Chicken Lasagna, Mandarins

Mikiah- Mac n Cheese, Breakfast Sausage, Creamy Pasta, Pizza, Apples, Bananas, Mandarins,

Favorite Music: Both-Anything from a Disney Movie or Barbie Movie, ABC Song, Wheels on the Bus, Kid music CD ANY (They sing along with most songs)

Favorite toys:

Kiara-Board Games (Candy Lane, Memory, Chutes & Ladders), Kitchen Toys

Mikiah-Princess Dolls, Barbies, Princess Dresses for Dress up, Books, Kitchen Toys

What Makes You Happy:

Kiara-Friends & Family Visiting, play dates, Chocolate Milk

Mikiah- Friends & Family Visiting, going places, Play Dates, Dressing up like Princess

What Makes You Sad:

Kiara-Shots (her answer, just had 4 year boosters)

Mikiah-When her sister falls asleep before her at bedtime

She is a climber.....

Ok, so just a brief post about my middle of the night craziness......So last night Lila woke up around 3am crying pretty loud.....So I go up to get her and I open the door and who is standing on the other side Lila, standing and crying and wanting Mommy.....I was in total shock.....I looked at her crib all the sides were up.....I looked at her no bumps or bruises.....Lets just say I was totally thrown off guard as neither of the twins ever tried to climb out of their crib.....Since I was sleeping I didn't hear a thump or her fall.....But after a Mommy hug and cuddle in my bed she seemed to be ok......I suppose her jump in height has helped her to climb a bit higher.....Just crazy.....I am still baffled....Oh well....

So today will be spent finishing up cleaning the house, laundry and yard work.....We are getting everything ready for the Coffer's arrival tomorrow....We are looking forward to their visit and are super excited to have them here for the week!!! Well I better go make some B-Fast and get moving!

Ahhh, so great!....

So we of course stayed up like most and watched our candidate win the election. Obama's speech was moving and presidential......of course the panning camera's catching teary eyes caused tears in our household. The waterworks of Jesse Jackson and Oprah were priceless.....What an amazing moment in history. So fortunate that Shawn and I were alive and well to see it.....And we look forward to the years ahead under Obama's leadership.....definitely time for us all to unite.....

Today we had a low key but busy day......the twins had a doctors appointment the poor girls each got 5 shots (would have been 4 but down here they get Hep A shots) and Flu Mist (since they were getting 5 shots I decided 6 was way over the top)......I felt so bad for them......MJ went first and boy she was so strong, no crying just a grimace look on her face......Poor Kiara she did great through the first 3 but those last two she yelled out and screamed.....on top of that she is my bleeder.....I had to put on two extra band aides....So both girls are doing well....growing great and progressing well.....All good news, but we knew that!...... Afterwards I felt so bad that I called Shawn to tell him I was taking the girls to get some shakes and then realized it was already 5.00pm so we picked up some dinner too.....nice to have a night off from cooking.......I feel like posting a few pics....So you are in luck.....gotta love the bruise on Kiara's forehead.....

Random Nov 08

Vote, Vote, Vote......

If you do not do anything else today or if you haven't already....You need to get out and VOTE! Shawn and I early voted as you all know.....and "What a feeling"..........We will be at home to tonight tuned into NBC and MSNBC for our election coverage.....I will be sporting my Obama Tank while the girls run around in my Obama tees!!! Hopefully we will wake up on Wed with our first African American President!......

Halloween Madness.....

Ahhh, so yesterday was super fun, the girls are at such a great age for Halloween. They went trick or treating with daddy and walked the whole 'hood, it took about an hour and half.....I counted our trick or treaters at home and we had and average amount of 40-45 plus or minus a few I am sure I missed....we had a little bit of candy left but oh well....it's the good stuff, peanut butter cups!!.......One of our neighbors had a Haunted garage and it was pretty sweet.....they are already talking about how to make it better next year....So fun.....After trick or treating around 9pm we headed out to the our neighbors houses for a little block party, brawts, dogs and beer.....the girls ran around with all the other kids and had a great time, they ended their night with a bowl of mac n cheese and the Bee Movie....while all of us adults hung out and chatted. We had such a good time....Lila feel asleep on me, but was still up pretty late......We finally headed back across the street around midnight....YES, the twins were up until then.....Late, Late, Late, but hey it was Halloween on a Friday!.....They had such a good time playing with their friends.....they went straight to bed when we got home and woke up this morning around 9.30am.....So nice to sleep in....Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Pumpkin Carving time.....and a check up....

So today I took Lila to our pediatrician for a check up on her Collarbone, it is still bent pretty well, looks a bit strange and sore to touch, although Lila has not been acting in any pain and she still climbs on EVERYTHING.....Lila is doing well and it will take about 4 more weeks to heal.....so she is still has to wear her sling, but now she likes it, so it must help....We did learn she is a skinny girl who just shot up a few inches in a short amount of time....She is 33 inches tall while weighing in at 20lbs 9oz (3%)....Our doctor is not concerned about her weight because of how active Lila is, I just need to keep giving her instant breakfast in her milk and yadah, yadah, yadah.....She seriously only gained 1 lb in 6 months....but she is getting to the age of growing a bit slower.....

Tonight we finally carved our pumpkins.....we have been busy around here, Shawn went the Spurs game last night, and so today was the only chance we had to do it. I must say I totally have "GIRLY" girls.....I was assuming they would love cleaning out the pumpkins, boy was I wrong....I asked MJ to clean out the inside of her pumpkin and her response was "But Mommy, I will get my hands all dirty".....Holy Cow did she just say that....Get her hands dirty....Wow.....So I did manage to get them both to clean them out, but it took some coercion......Last year we let them draw faces to cut out on the pumpkins and planned on doing the same this year, but I bought a pumpkin carving kit that had patterns on in it and they liked them so much that they picked out what they wanted carved......It was fun....and they love the end results......Some pics for your viewing....Lila is not wearing her sling cause she dipped it in the Homemade Tomato soup at dinner and in some of the pics you can see that we didn't even wipe their faces after dinner.....too funny...Hope everyone has a great Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving Fun...

My Precious Things......

So on Shawn's trip they had an afternoon at Universal Studios (Orlando) and he picked these up for the kids. Dr Seuss is a family favorite at our house.....