Pizza Dip

1 jar or can (14 oz) pizza sauce
3/4 cup chopped turkey or regular pepperoni
4 green onions, chopped
1 can (2 1/4 oz) sliced black olives, drained
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
 1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened

1. Combine pizza sauce, pepperoni, onions, olives, and oregano in a 2-quart Crock-pot. Cover; cook on low 2 hours or on high 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until mixture is hot.

2. Stir in mozzarella and cream cheese until melted and well blended. Serve with warm breadsticks.

(I stole this recipe from Amanda because I can never find it when I want it :p)

Bad Toddler Day

Today I had one of those 'toddler from Hell' days. She's usually so sweet and well-behaved that days like this completely throw me off. 

We went shopping and she had a few whiny moments. Then she started to do a lot of little things. Kicking the big mirror in a dressing room, even though I told her to stop three times. Later she had her boots off and started banging those against the mirror. She hit me a LOT. So much slapping. She ran away in the mall. The kind of running away where I needed to drop my things and run after her. I hate when any kid does that. So I carried her from then on, no longer trusting her to walk even though she's usually great. And so when I was holding her in one arm and a bunch of bags in the other, she decided to hit me across the face. Great. 

Besides that we had three different meals get thrown on the floor, whether accidentally or on purpose, it was still three plates/bowls that hit the floor. Oh the mess. 

Luckily we got past all this once we got home from shopping, the day got a bit better, but ugh what a day. 

Not so wedding planning

Wedding planning is not my friend. It really isn't.

 

I don't really know what I want in terms of colors or décor.

 

I've picked my venue, but I keep having doubts. I can't think of an alternative spot to have the wedding, and this place is gorgeous and we got a great deal. But I still have doubts about it.

 

And I have doubts about our budget. I'm not sure we can afford this wedding, even with the great deal we're getting. Even if we switched to a cheaper location, what we'd save in money we would lose in quality and decorations.

 

I finally picked my wedding party, and I feel good about that. I only wanted 4 people to stand with us on each side, 8 total, but we've ended up with five. Just couldn't think of anyone to cut.

 

I'm waiting to see how our tax return goes before I start making any payments, just in case we can't swing it. It's a sad way to live.

10 Facts About Chloe

1 - She's 100% a mommy's girl. She's my little shadow, my best friend. I love the way her face lights up when she sees me.

 

2 - She's such a caring, helpful little girl. Always bringing us our phones, the remotes, etc. That makes us sound lazy :p In reality, if I leave my phone anywhere that she can reach it, she brings it to me. Over and over.

 

3 - She's so polite - all about the pleases, thank yous and you're welcomes.

 

4 - She often asks to go to bed, so naturally she goes to bed without a fight.

 

5 - She's been in a toddler bed since December, and is doing great with it. Only two nights did she get up and play. Usually she doesn't move.

 

6 - She sweats a lot when she sleeps.

 

7 - Usually she'll wear anything, but when it's really cute 'I no yike it' she says.

 

8 - She sings like crazy. Jingle Bells, ABCs, Bingo, Old MacDonald, Row Your Boat, Wheels on the Bus, and so much more.

 

9 - She's still obsessed with the Bubble Guppies and Dora the Explorer.

 

10 - Her favorite toys are her dolls, closely followed by her Little People sets. I'm constantly finding her dolls tucked into her and Madi's beds. It's adorable.

A review of 2013 and the beginning of 2014

Bam, just like that 2013 is done. I'm not really sad about it. A lot of good things happened, but a lot of super stressful things happened. I'm ready to move on. Before we move on, let's review a little bit of 2013, shall we?

 

It started with a pretty great New Year's celebration. The Chloe was admitted to the hospital with the Flu and Pneumonia at the end of January. So scary. Eric and I had our first anniversary. We found our Madi was moving in with us, full time starting March 1st. A very old friend of mine had her St. Patrick's day baby. We upgraded to 'adult' bedroom furniture. A typical weekday for me, back in May. I got engaged on June 9th (6/9/13). I suffered from so much anxiety from around February up until recently. Lately I've been so much better. My sweet girl turned two years old, and an old friend had her baby boy that day! In October my temporary job ended, and I've been blogging a lot less. I started a new job at a coffee joint. Yay. We lost custody of Madi, and soon after decided to move to a cheaper place. We moved, and then it was Christmas.

 

New Year's eve was a little less exciting this year. I worked 6:30-11am, then 3-11pm. It was a long day, but Eric picked me up at work and I had a couple of drinks while we played South Park Monopoly with one of his work friends and his girlfriend. I knew it would be a decent night, but it was a lot more fun than I'd expected. We only left to go home after 2am, and weren't going to sleep until after 3:30am. We were up at 7:30 to pick Chloe and Madi up at their other parents houses. Well, my lovely fiancé picked them up while I stayed in bed until they got back.

 

I was tired.

 

After a good breakfast, we let Madi and Chloe open the rest of Madi's presents. Some we bought for the two of them we saved as well. They loved it. They each got a pj and bathrobe set from Eric's mom. Madi opened hers today and immediately wanted it on, so Chloe cried for hers. The pictures that followed were a bit funny.

Now I'm at work again, until 11pm on New Year's day. I can't wait to get home and get some sleep. There's still two more days of work left until a weekend off with Eric. I can't wait.