2 Weeks

Wow, it's been 2 weeks since I posted.  Part of that is because I haven't really taken pictures, and I like to have pictures to upload with my posts.  Since this blog is also a family record, however, I figure that I better write down what's been going on around here lately, even if I don't  have pictures. 

On the Saturday before Valentines, Cole and I left the kids with Kyle in charge and snuck away for a few hours.  We headed to Outback, one of our favorite places, for dinner.  Of course, since it was Valentine's weekend, they were packed.  We got our name on the list, and our pager, and decided to head over to Target for a few minutes to pick out a little something for our kids for Valentines.  We found the perfect little gifts, and then went back to wait.  Once we got back, we really didn't have to wait too long, and we enjoyed great food and good, grown up conversation.  We always enjoy getting time to ourselves. 

On Valentines day, I got up early to set out the kids' Valentine's from us, and to make pink, heart shaped pancakes for breakfast.  (I am NOT a morning person, so this was a big deal).  I  also found a very, sweet, loving Valentine from my sweetheart waiting for me.  When I got the kids up, they were so surprised and excited with their Valentine's.  The boys each got a new Hexbug Nano, and a habitat to add on to their collections.  Talia got some more Littlest Pet Shop pets to add to her ever growing collection.  They were all thrilled with the pink heart pancakes as well.  It really started my morning out on a high note, and was worth getting up early. 

I spent Wedneday afternoon getting all my housework done, so that I could play all day Thursday.  I spent Thursday afternoon happily crafting with my beads, "borrowing" some designs from some of my favorite jewelry catalogs and personalizing them for myself. 

Friday Cole and I had the day off together.  I got my hair done in the morning, then he and I took Talia out to lunch at Rumbi Island Grill.  We've only been there once before(it's not something that we normally consider), but we had a gift card.  I had the soup this time, and it was soooooo yummy!  I definitely want to go back soon. 

I took advantage of the holiday on Monday, letting Kyle be in charge while I slept in after working.  The kids really did pretty good at getting along...if only they would learn not to talk at the top of their voices all the time. :)

I felt rested enough to mess around in the kitchen that afternoon.  I've been dying to try this cake technique. with this frosting technique.  I made the 2 cakes Monday afternoon, and put them in the freezer.  Yesterday, I pulled them out.  My yellow cake turned out perfect.  My chocolate cake, not so much.  I used our family recipe chocolate cake that is sooooo yummy.  However, I've never baked it in round pans before, and although I cut 8 minutes off the baking time, it was still overcooked.  I pressed on with the technique, however, and although the chocolate cake part was dry, it all came together appropriately.  The Rose Icing technique was super easy, took only about 10 minutes, and looks sooooo amazing!  It's a LOT of frosting...I doubled my mom's basic vanilla frosting recipe (which is still my favorite buttercream recipe) and it barely covered the whole cake.  I will definitely try this technique again, I may just have to use a different chocolate cake recipe (which pains my heart) or watch the baking time a little more closely. 

Today is my last day off this week, and I have plans to digi-scrapbook all afternoon. 

"I Need Somefing Choklat Mama"

How could any Mama resist that statement? Especially since I totally understand the need for a girl to have her chocolate :)
Talia is definitely a girl who inherited the Coop family chocoholic gene from her Mama.

I had the MOST WONDERFUl Valentines day. We don't go all out for Valentines, but we do like to spend the day showing our affection for each other.

I came home from work Sunday morning to find a surprise waiting for me...

From February 2010

...awww...that put me in a very loving mood! ;)

I put out our Valentines for the kids (the M&M tubes) and the cards from their Grandma and Grandpa, and went to bed.

When I got up, I got Talia and I ready, and decided to try an experiment with some new curlers I bought.

From February 2010

From February 2010

Talia liked them a lot....

I even decided to try them in my own hair.

From February 2010

I've been struggling with my natural curls lately. Since I've been growing my hair longer, the problems I had with my hair as a teenager (that I had really forgotten about) have come back. It's been coarse, unruly, and frizzy. I hoped that maybe using a curler to form curls would help. I liked the results (a pic of that in a minute) except that it was still frizzier than I would like. I guess it's back to the heavy duty frizz control stuff for awhile. Oh well.

I post this next picture to give you a reality check on my hair situation..

From February 2010

NO, that is not the flash bouncing off my hair. Those are my very white roots. My haircolor(well, really to have any color in my hair), which I love, is very high maintenance. This day was close to 26 days from my last color appointment. I have an appointment this week, on day 30. I use a root cover up from 2 weeks out until I can't stand it any more. Someday, I'll go to my natural white, but not yet. :)

Back to Valentines...I had seen these really cute cookies online on Saturday night. I really wanted to make a treat for our families for V-Day, so I decided to try it.
They turned out cute, but I overcooked them a little(I kept forgetting to set the timer) so they weren't as yummy as they might have been. I will definitely try them again, though.

From February 2010

We went out to dinner at Goodwood. YUM!

From February 2010

From February 2010

From February 2010

From February 2010

We had a good time. Then we delivered our baked goods, and hung out at my brother's house for awhile. He showed me some tricks for using photoshop that I have yet to be able to try, considering that I have been working and have had other projects to occupy my time. Soon, I hope.

I felt very loved on Valentines. I hope everyone else did too!