Simply Hil

Little Guy has an obsession.  Well, he actually has quite a few obsessions, but that's what defines a three year old, right?  One of those obsessions is soft pretzels.  We can not go to Target or the mall without getting either a soft pretzel or pretzel bites.  He loves them!  So, you can imagine my excitement when I came across this recipe to make our own homemade bites.  What is it about them being homemade that I feel they are healthier?  I guess maybe because I see the actual ingredients that are going in. This recipe has become an instant favorite and we have made them more than once now.  The first batch I ever made was awful, if I must be honest.  The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup baking soda added to the boiling water... 3/4 cup!!!  Holy moly.  I did as it said, and with no surprise they came out tasting like baking soda.  They were thrown into the garbage. The next time I made them, I only used about 1/4 cup b...

Our Valentine's Day was simply awesome, with simple being the root word here. I did absolutely nothing for it, which meant that I had plenty of time to play with and snuggle my boys.  It was the best way ever to celebrate our love for each other.  The hubs brought home Thai food (mmmm... curry, peppered steak and fortune cookies!) and I made him a card using computer paper and crayons.  Because, let's be honest, nothing says I love you more than stick figures. We ended the day watching a romantic comedy, eating a Wendy's vanilla frosty (with frozen cookie dough crumbled on top) out of IKEA bowls and talked about how blessed we are to have such cute boys. It was a wonderful day.

{November 2008, Zion's National Park} "Love is the very essence of life. It is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yet it is not found only at the end of the rainbow. Love is at the beginning also, and from it springs the beauty that arched across the sky on a stormy day. Love is the security for which children weep, the yearning of youth, the adhesive that binds marriage, and the lubricant that prevents devastating friction in the home; it is the peace of old age, the sunlight of hope shining through death." -Gordon B. Hinckley It's Valentine's Day (in case you didn't know)!  As for me and hubs... I'm not sure what we are doing to celebrate our love.  We are kind of the last-minute planner types (some may say we are flaky) but I love our little spur of the moment decisions. We sure have a funny way of prepping for the holiday.  Last night we had a pillow fight.  It quickly turned from the "oh cute, we're flirting" pillow fight t...

"Getting to know all about you, getting to like you, getting to hope you like me!" Sorry.  I tend to break out into song without any real warning.   But here's the deal.  The other night while I was waiting for Tiny Man to drift off to sleep I started thinking about my (wonderful) blog readers.  Recently, I have had some new commenters which has lead me to some new blogs.  I was so excited to get to know a little bit about some of the people who read my blog.  I then realized that I really don't know a majority of you.  That's the problem with blogging sometimes.  It can be very one sided.  There are many of you who have never commented which means I haven't had a chance to respond or check out your blog.  And, well, the thing is, I really would like to get to know you. So, I have devised a plan as to how we are going to make this possible.  All you have to do is go to this link here:  Hil's Awesome Getting to Know You For...

All I can say is it's a good thing the treadmill in our garage is going to be replacing the cradle and taking permanent residence in our bedroom starting this weekend. Marta's soft gingersnap recipe here . They are soo good!

It's about time for another playlist, don't ya think?  I have compiled a bunch of random love songs in anticipation for the big day of love.  Prepare to be randomized.  It has a little bit of indie, oldies and of course, Beiber. Enjoy! Love Songs 2011 You Make My Dreams Come True :: Hall & Oates Here Come Those Eyes :: Chris Rice All 'Cause of You :: The 88 My Guy :: Mary Wells Love Me :: Justin Beiber Such Great Heights :: The Postal Service I Was Made For You :: She & Him Friday I'm Love :: Dean & Britta Little Bitty Pretty One :: Frankie Lyman & The Teenagers No Ones Gonna Love You :: Band of Horses We're Going To Be Friends :: The White Stripes Love's A Game :: The Magic Numbers Midnight Train to Georgia :: Gladys Night & The Pips Rythm of Love :: Plain White T's Don't Be Cruel :: Elvis Presley The Way I Am :: Ingrid Michaelson One Fine Day :: The Chiffons p.s. while we're on the subject of midnight t...

You lay in bed at night and can't fall asleep because your head is spinning with a great idea for a blog post? Then you wonder if you should just get up and start writing it so that you can actually get some sleep before your little one decides to wake up for his late night feeding? But instead you talk yourself out of it telling yourself that is absolutely absurd.  It's a blog .  Your sleep is much more valuable at this point. Then you lay there tossing and turning for another hour or so thinking of the perfect wording and just how you want to tell it all in the morning. Just when you finally doze off to sleep, your little one wakes up, just as predicted.  You feed him and lull him back to sleep while you yourself try to fall asleep once again.  Only to think about another idea for a blog post and start the cycle all over again.  Seriously? The best part?  You wake up the next morning and don't remember anything you thought up the night befor...