Faves

Today is "Spotlight ELLA" day! Drum roll!!!!

Here's some of her favorites...

Books: Ella likes pretty much any book that has dinosaurs, dogs, cats, bugs, bears, bunnies, birdies, or any other cute animal or fowl in it. Recently though she's been fascinated with the humorous "Fly Guy" books which I have to admit put a big smile on my face every time I read them to her. "Arthur" and  "Berenstein Bears"  are also big around here, along with "Pinkalicious," "Henry and Mudge, Annie and Snowball" series, and most recently "Charlie Brown." She loves Book of Mormon stories and we're working on a reading chart to get the habit going.

She loves to go the library and as you can tell from the above picture, we never get out of there without a HUGE pile of books and DVDs (and she scans them herself.)

Speaking of DVDs/Movies/TV shows, here are the winners in this caterogy: Disney "Looney Tunes", "Tom & Jerry", "Scooby Doo", "Arthur", "Sid the Science Kid", "Sponge Bob" (this she doesn't get to watch much of, I don't allow it as I think it's really not a kids' show), all/any Barbie movie, and Living Scriptures series. Her absolute favorite Disney movie though is "Sleeping Beauty", she is simply mesmerized by that story.

Hobbies: Ella LOVES to color. I print out a enormous number of coloring sheets almost every other day as she simple "devours" them. Drawing, cutting, and glueing are also favorite pastimes. She is extremely proud of her art that she brings home from school or makes at home and she is so happy to see it plastered all over our kitchen's walls. She loves to play pretend with her Little Ponnies sets, princesses, cars, trains, stuffed animals; she could probably spend hours doing just that in her toyland paradise (a large walk-in closet conveniently located downstairs right off our living room.) And yes, she loves watching TV (see above movie favorites) and we're working really hard right now to limit the TV time. Doing puzzles on mommy's Droid is another newly acquired hobby. [Not as "messy" as the regular cardboard floor puzzles which you have to pick up after you're done, and just as fun.]

Games: Candy Land, Pretty Pretty Princess, Wack-a-mole, Crazy Eights, Ludo. You should see her and daddy (!!) playing "Pretty Pretty Princess" together! My hand itches to grab the camera every time daddy gets to put on the earrings, crown and necklace!!

Favorite breakfasts: Flax seeds pancakes with Soyatoo whip cream and maple syrup, strawberries, raspberries, cherries, sunny-side-up eggs, toast, vanilla french toast, chocolate soy, and candy (she never has candy for breakfast but if she could, she would!)

Others in the Food category: PIZZA, of course (Amy's roasted vegetable no cheese pizza to be more precise, to which we add a boat load of toppings from pepperoni, ham, spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers to tofutti soy cheese, olives, and corn), roasted garlic chicken drumsticks (the best part is the skin), grilled wings, baked sweet potatoes, red cabbage coleslaw, steamed brocolli, green beans, peas & carrots, fresh tomatoes, and BEETS-this kid is crazy about beets! She also loves soy mac&cheese sprinkled with sugar. Seafood is also big in her book: crab, shrimp, clams, and octipus. Another one, not so healthy: hotdogs. And how could I forget ice cream??? That is her most favorite dessert: vanilla ice cream sandwhiches or just plain by Soydream.

Other non-culinary interests: posing the cutes poses for mommy and daddy, playing piano, dancing/ballet, playing at the park, and shopping with mommy (at Target.)

And I think that's about it for Ms. Ella. I'm sure I forgot a lot of her favorite things still, but let's just say these are the highlights.



Just because (and future blog post plans)

To the man who I adore: so happy you are in my life because you make my life bright and happy, because you are the best husband and father one could ask for.

I love you, baby!

I've been thinking for a while to start recording daily snapshots of our life, just the small stuff. I think it'll be fun and who knows, maybe even informative and helpful to read in a few years from now on. (Ella already loves flipping through the pages of our 2010 book and remembering things we did, places we visited, and even things we said. You know, the small stuff.) Another project of mine (that needless to say, I have not yet started) is to do a recipe blog (I love my friend's, Ioana, here!) and print it every once in a while as a family recipe book. Wouldn't that be a great way to pass down beloved family recipes? It would also make great gift for grandchildren, wouldn't it? I know, I'm thinking way ahead but I have to admit that sometimes I find myself trying to picture how our family will look like in 20, 30 years from now on, and I enjoy it! Try it, it's fun!

So back to snapshots, my plan is to create a blog post for the following categories:

Things we like to do together as a couple, as a family,
Foods we love to eat (breakfast, lunch, and dinner, of course desserts-although this last one may need its own post!!)
Games we like to play
Sport we enjoy doing (or watching)
Favorite movies (or TV series)
Favorite scriptures and other books
Favorite music
Favorite stomping grounds, etc. You get the idea...I think it will be fun and help me remember and document these seemingly small every-day-life things that make up or take up such a big part of our lives.

Texas Skies

I love the bright blue TX sky! I just can't get enough of it! I loved it from the moment we "landed" down here. One year later it is still one of the best things I love about living here. Seeing these bright blue skies lined with white scraps of clouds just makes me happy. And I'm even happier when the blue skies are accompanied by nice and cozy warm temperatures, like today. After quite a few days of mid to high 30's, it's finally moving up to the 50's. And we love it because that can only mean one thing: MORE TIME AT THE PARK after school pick-up.  

This weekend we finally got to tour the rightfully oh-so famous Dallas Cowboys stadium. Well, since I haven't visited many NFL size stadiums in my life, I trusted american football enthusiasts and expert opinions and went there with high expectations. Needless to say, I was not dissapointed and neither was Hrishi. It was simply grand: the size, architectural structure, and design of the building are simply amazing.  We tried to capture it all in pictures but they don't do it justice. Touring the place was even more exciting as the NFL final preparations were in full swing. (A good family friend was actually  closely involved with the engineering aspects of the building. Impressive.)

And the gorgeous sunny weather we had, made this outing even more fun and enjoyable!

First timer

There's a first time for everything and this past Sunday was Ella's first time to pay tithing. We've been teaching about tithing in family home evening for a while now but since we haven't really gotten an "allowance" system in place until recently, all that was just talk. Since we now do have some chores for which Ella gets small "tips" here and there, we've put the "talk" into action and after a couple of days of assidously counting all the pennies, nickles, dimes, and quarters (with daddy's help), yesterday Ella got to write her first tithing slip (with mommy's help.) She was so excited about handing it out to the Bishop which we did right after the sacrament meeting. I just don't want to ever forget the little sweet and shy smile on her face as she handed out her tithing envelope to Bishop Cannon. That smile turned huge when he complimented her and noted that she even handwrote her name on the envelope. She then skipped all the way to the Primary room. What a great day that was to see my baby paying her first tithing! So proud of you baby!

She's going to use the remaining amount to buy a beloved dog-with-a-bone-and-leash toy she's been eyeing for a while now. That's the Valentine's Day present she wants to get for herself.

Special thanks to daddy who has been such a tithing champ, teaching and practicing how to do the "one tenth" the math with her!

Work/munca/kam

Munca... that is how we say "work" in Romanian.

Kam... that is how we say "work" in Marathi.

And this is how Ella "says"/does work:

She's gotten really good at piano. We're still working on posture and round fingers but she's come long ways. We're practising every day and she's starting to see that the more she practices the better she gets at it, which makes her feel good and happy inside. She was so ecstatic last night after her piano lesson. Ms. Bell kept praising her and was obviously pleased and excited with her progress. On our drive home, she kept saying: "Did you see mommy? I did so well! It was great!"
It's really great to see the results of hard work and perseverence and if we can teach and instill these two early on, they'll hopefully be around for a lifetime. Even if Ella is still small, Hrishi and I always tell her about our experiences growing up, going to college, the long hours of work and study we had to put in to get good grades, accomplish goals, etc.

I think work is such an important and rewarding principle probably because it is actually more like a commandment:

"In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread [...]"~Genesis 3:19

"Therefore I, the Lord God, will send him forth from the Garden of Eden, to till the ground [...]" ~Moses4:29

"And we began to till the ground, yea, even with all manner of seeds, with seeds of corn, and of wheat, and of barley, and with neas, and with sheum, and with seeds of all manner of fruits; and we did begin to multiply and prosper in the land." ~Mosiah 9:9
 
And as it is with every commandment or principle that we show obedience to, the Lord "is bound" to bless us for it.  ("I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." D&C 82:10)

And while we're at it (quoting scriptures), here's one that Ella memorized  last month when she was called to give the scripture in Sharing time at church:

"And now, after the many testimonies which have been given of him, this is the testimony, last of all, which we give of him: That he lives!" ~D&C 76:22 ....Her first memorized scripture ever. And she recites it with so much enthusiasm!

And one more thing, yesterday we finally got our 2010 blog book. Absolutely love it! Making time to blog/write our family history is so worth it!

Life is good

The past few days (or maybe weeks) there's been a lot of thinking and worrying and more thinking, and analyzing, and worrying some more (yes I am a worrier), and then thinking some more, and praying too. The reasons are not relevant really- sufficeth to say that I've been stuck in a bit of a rut with my weight loss regimen/hit a plateau and then seeing a great (or so we thought) job opportunity come and go for Hrishi. But as always, Heavenly Father's will (Remember? He knows all and everything!) was done and not ours (mine.) So we continue to wait and do our best: me working just as hard but maybe smarter on my goal, and Hrishi doing the same (he already works smart!) on finding his dream job. Last night especially, I felt God's loving hand who manifested itself through peace and comfort in my heart. After a long and stressful day at work, seeing Ella's smiling face and zest for life, watching her run and skip at the park, I knew I already had so much to be grateful for and that life was good, in fact wonderful whether I were five pounds thinner or not, whether we had that dream job (now) or not. I am so thankful for such a loving Father in Heaven who does know it all and loves me (us), and watches over us constantly, and for the Comforter, the Holy Ghost. This is my testimony that He is there, always.

Bless This Home

"See that ye love one another." D&C 88:123
 as
"I know thy abode, and thy going out." 2 Kgs. 19:27 (Isa. 37:28).

"Come unto him, and make our abode with him." John 14:23

That is how we always want our home to be: a place filled with love, learning, faith, and hope. A safe haven from the world, a place Heavenly Father and Jesus can always look over and bless.

(Last night I took some pictures around our home, trying to find some landmarks of what defines us or what speaks to us and today I'm experimenting with Picnik. I can see the potential for some really neat collages.)

        
just for fun...

A couple of "funnies"

They say five-year olds are funny. Little kids are funny, they have this natural sweet humor that just cracks you up. And it just kind of bursts out of nowhere and when you expect it the least, which makes it even better. Ella was telling us this morning about her "futures" (when in fact she was talking about things that happened in the past), starting with some things that indeed happened in the past but then moving into the fantasy land of made-up happenings. I'm just amazed at how much stuff these little ones can make up. Ella has been making up a lot of stuff and it's just so funny to listen to her monologues... ! She talks and talks and talks, gesticulates and just  gets into what she's talking bout. Really funny. I wish I could just press "Record" on my Droid everytime she does that.

And before I forget, every time we play a game (i.e. Candy Land, Pretty Pretty Princess) if she happens to win, she will always make me the winner along with her! She can't stand to see me being the "loser" :-) It's so funny but I so much appreciate it! :-)

Recently, she started whispering sweet things into our ears, individually to me and Hrishi. Last night the message was: "Mommy, you and daddy are the most wonderful parents, who love me and give me yummy food, toys, and clothes. I love you so very much!" Then she'd quickly cover my mouth not to say it out loud and run to daddy and say almost the very same thing into Hrishi's ear. How cute is that?! We love you, baby!

SNOW!!!!!!

Someone at our house really wished and prayed for snow (yes, that would be Ella!) and she finally got her wish today when around noon after raining all night and morning, it decided to start seaving beautiful big snowflakes!!!! So we bundled up and got out to make the most of the moment as here snow does not last too long (not on the ground), THANK GOODNESS!!!! :) And ran and sled like crazy on the little bunny hill right across the street from us, had a little snowball fight and even made a mini snowman! Lots of fun. I loved watching Ella and Hrishi play in the snow. Hrishi made his first snowman! It was great because it was not too cold and the snow was falling down so beautifully. The best part though was seeing those rosy cheeks when we came back in and warmed up by sipping a cup of hot chocolate soy milk with marshmellows and honey graham crackers. There's nothing better than that after playing in the snow!

Tomorrow though it's not going to be as much fun as there'll be no snow left on the ground. We'll be left with the cold temperatures: below 25 F. Brrrr!

Happy Winter Wonderland (enjoying it while it lasts)!

Christmas and New Year's reflections...

Christmas... was lovely as usual, inspite of colds and runny noses that both Ella and I had to deal with (I still do.) Like every year though, we felt a bit lonely on Christmas day as we don't have parents or other extended family to visit. However, we managed to still have fun and feel the Spirit of Christmas. Christmas Eve was great in fact. We were blessed to spend it with some dear friends. Loved their company and the yummy dinner they prepared. After coming home from our friends' house, Hrishi was so wonderful and told Ella lots of Christmas stories. I especially enjoyed (and I'm sure she did as well) the made-up one where he was describing how Santa would come down the chimney, rest on the couch, look over at our tree and the pretty ornaments, walk over to unload all the goodies and carefully place them under the tree, and then before heading back up the chimney, grabbing a cookie or two and a sip of soy milk :) This year I was probably just as excited as Ella was, don't know why. I knew what Santa would bring me and all but still. And I'm glad I felt that way. Christmas day was spent talking to mamaie and tataie, aji and azoba on the phone, playing with toys, games, and watching favorite shows on TV, and enjoying a nice ham and veggies dinner. We then went and saw computerized light displays in one of the neighborhoods, really awesome.

I really enjoyed the days I had off (remaining vacation for this year) after Christmas before I got sick. Got to go to spend some time with Ella, go the gym every day, do some cleaning, and just be home. Then my cold got worse and it was not fun anymore. I tried to walk it off by getting all my energy into making a favorite must-have holiday/Christmas "staple" dish: cabbage rolls/sarmale. They turned delicious. The other yummy thing I was able to make was a berry torte with chocolate pudding and vanilla icecream layers. Yummy! Ella and Hrishi loved it! Too bad I can't just dig into the bowl, 'cause boy I wanted to! Since I was sick, my training was put on the back burner but I'm hoping to get back into it easily so I can continue to make progress. This has been my one big "life's resolution" (not New Year's :-)) that I made and started working on in 2010 and one I'm hoping to keep for a lifetime.

Some of 2010's highlights:

*Moved to TX, YEAY! This was a big one!
*Bought our dream home!
*Ella started ballet!
*Ella started piano!
*Ella changed her mind about growing her hair long and went back to her awesomely cute short haircuts!
*Hrishi got his first deer!
*Hrishi dramatically improved his golf game (it was already good but still!)
*Hrishi won the "Dad of the Year" award!
*Our backyard deck jasmine blooms all year-round (see the beautiful yellow flowers in the collage above.)
*We've become accustomed to seeing LOTS of lizzards outside our home (and a couple of them made it indoors too. Mrs. Lizzard Killer (Queen) (that'd be me) managed to "take care of the matter" right away (luckily!!!!!)
*Cris lost some twenty something lbs, and can now do push-ups and curl 25 lbs.

This Christmas's beautiful little surprise was Ella being featured in the 40th Anniversary Edition of the Friends' Magazine, our church's magazine for children. It was neat because we had no idea! Her Friend subscription expired in December and with the rush of the holidays I had forgotten to renew it right away. A friend from Church came to me and said: "Did you see?" I said, "what?" "Ella's in the Friend magazine! We want an autograph!" :-) Then later on she stopped by with a copy one of her sweet daugthers gave to Ella. I'll be getting a few extra copies to share with grandparents. This was such a surprise as I submitted her info and pic a very long time ago, maybe 14-16 months ago when we still lived in NE... glad they went through their backlog and published it and lucky Ella, to be featured in an anniversary edition.

Another highlight I want to record here is the sweet moments we had with Ella at Whole Foods Market the day after Christmas. Yes, it may seem so ordinary but it was nothing short of extraordinary for her: she was able to enjoy "restaurant" food as she calls it, from the deli section: she had mesquite smoked chicken, steamed green beans, carrots, beet salad, and latkes! You see, with her food allergies eating out is such a rarity (we only go out to one sit-down place, Hardy's Eight) other than the very ordinary McDonalds (where she can have a very few things)! Her happy and grateful smile while waiting for her food, brought tears to my eyes. I'm so happy baby that YOU could eat out! And I'm so happy and grateful for businesses that are allergy-aware and have options for folks like us.

New Year's Eve was spent playing the neverending game of "Wack-a-Mole" and "Pretty Pretty Princess" and watching lots of old Christmas cartoons and Disney favorites. We cut our berry torte and wished each other a Happy New Year and by midnight we were fast asleep. I just thought this would be better than staying up all night for no particular reason (I know, I'm a party pooper! :-) and feeling dead tired the next day.

Now onto the New Year! I'm so excited about all that lies ahead of us (whatever that is!)