Celebrating Chinese New Year Coloring Style

 Our favorite media specialist, Miss Kristine, loaded Pip up with a set of coloring sheets to celebrate Chinese New Year. We hadn't planned on celebrating the year of the snake, but with a tower of markers, takeout from Panda Express and new coloring sheets we gladly joined the festivities. 

 

 Mr. R. and I made up pretend fortunes for each other based on our astrological signs. FYI: Mr. R. will enjoy spending more time in the kitchen and laundry room this year. Aka, I hope the year of the snake gives him a strong desire to love folding laundry and doing dishes

. Mr. R. told me that the year of the snake will bring a strong desire for me to close cabinet doors and squeeze from the bottom of the toothpaste. Ha!

 Gong Xi Fa Coi (Happy New Year)  Friends!

A "Pin-cess" Castle

Miss Pip fell in love with Princesses this fall and this Christmas Mr. R. and I decided a Princess castle should become part of our household. We cashed in a few gift cards for the little people Disney princess castle and hid it away in the pantry. 

Miss Pip was so overwhelmed with love and loot this Christmas that we decided to save her Castle for a fun Valentine's Day surprise. Thursday afternoon she woke up from her nap to see Cinderella's castle on our coffee table. 

Upon first sight, she ran right to the castle yelling "pin-cess! pin-cess!". She loves to knock on and then open the doors. She loves the elevator and how she can make the princesses dance on the outdoor patio.

And if we are being honest, I love it to! I love that she babbles dialogue to me as we play. I love that she kisses her princesses good night when she puts them in the bed. I love that I am seeing her blossom before my eyes. 

Happy Valentine's Day Mr. R.!

I was down and out on Valentine's Day this year. What I thought was the stomach flu on Saturday turned into a kidney infection by Sunday. I was out of work on Monday and Tuesday and in survival mode for the rest of the week. I was feeling better, but not up for anything other than working and coming home to take up residence on our couch.

We decided to postpone our Valentine's Day celebration until later that weekend. My gift to Mr. R. this year was a food passport. I found the idea on pinterest and did a bit of research on urbanspoon and yelp to find the best foodie recommendation in our neck of the woods.

Mr. R.'s passport includes 40 places. Some require us to enjoy a full meal, while others specify a dessert, drink, or wine and cheese pairing.

I included a few rules to keep it interesting and make sure we don't give up.
1. Whenever we are stumped for a place to go on a date with refer to the food passport.
2. We must include the date when we went to the restaurant and what we ordered.
3. We must rate the meal/snack/drink using the sticker system. (green= amazing, I want more! yellow = good, we will be back, pink = not worth a second trip)
4. We cannot return to a restaurant in the passport until we have completed the passport.

And if you are wondering about Mr. R's v-day gift to me; He did good! Kendra Scott, Elle earrings in mint.

Happy Presidents' Day, February 18th 2013

Mr. R. and I are getting really good at savoring and enjoying our days off. 

For the first time in years we actually had Presidents' day off on the same day. On Monday we took full advantage of a chance to sleep in and then headed to our neighborhood park. We had the park to ourselves for a bit and enjoyed unlimited slides and swings. Pip even tried out the upright top with Mr. R. She loves to spin in circles. The weather was cold, but the wind was mild so we headed to the doc to see the fish, bivalves, and birds. Pip loved waving to the boats as they passed by.

Blogging & Running

I am finding that blogging is very similar to running or exercise. When I am in my groove I make time daily to upload pictures, blog, and run. I feel great and accomplished after I have finished my routine. And yet I so easily fall out of my groove due to a new schedule, a fussy toddler, a sickness... and it is so hard to get back into a routine.

The month of January I completed a 30 day running challenge and each day in January I dutifully jumped on the treadmill, laced up my running shoes, and ran at least one mile. After my run I would cook dinner, we would have family time with Pip, and I would blog before bed. It was a perfect easy to follow schedule and yet when February graced us with her presence I stopped. Running became less of a desire, blogging fell behind, and let's face it, dinner is not my favorite part of the day. Where is that chef that will cook and clean for free?

Now that March is on the horizon I am trying to force myself back into a better schedule complete with daily exercise and more regular blogging. I am already three days into my March/birthday challenge and I have my photos organized in hopes that blog posts will be a bit easier and faster to roll out.

So in short I guess this is my apology/explanation why you have heard so little from Casa Republican in February 2013. Perhaps March will be a little kinder to us all.

31 workouts for my 31st

On March 19th I turn 31. I am honestly utterly stunned that I am all of sudden IN MY 30s! When did this happen? I recently read an article that said the best gift we can give ourselves is exercise and less stress. Because of the world we live we are constantly ON, we are connected to each other through technology leading to constant communication and little chance to think and reflect. The article said that exercise allows us to practice concentrating on the task at hand letting our brain actually rest and refocus. Meaning exercise actually calms our bodies while making them healthier and stronger. 

For my 31st birthday I am giving myself 31 workouts. I decided that the workouts must last at least 45 minutes and include strength training and cardio. They can be done in the house with the help of workout videos, I can run outside, I can do them solo or in a group. I have decided that while I am working out my phone is off and Mr. R. is in charge of wrangling Pip. 

Tonight I finished workout #3 of 31, a 4 mile cardio walk with walking guru Leslie Sansone.

Workout #2: Tae-bo Fat burning cardio

Workout #1: Tae-bo Tae-bo Dedication DVD 

Homemade Pizza Challenge #3

A blogger friend created a challenge in 2012 to stop ordering pizza. She and her husband are self-taught foodies who love pizza, but did not love the selection or price tag of delivery pizza. They spent the better part of 2012 baking 40 pizzas in their kitchen. Along the way they claim they perfected the thin and crispy pizza crust and found a way to cut calories and still make and amazing pizza. 

 You know I love a good challenge and that Mr. R. likes to save money. When I asked him about cutting out pizza take-out budget he was skeptical, but three pizzas in we are enjoying our stint as pizza makers. Tuesday we tried a recipe from Jessica at How Sweet Eats. Bacon, roasted brussel sprout, balsamic vinegar, and cheddar pizza. 

 It was amazing. Mr. R. and I each had two slices and Pip ate a whole slice herself. The Brussel sprouts are roasted in the oven for 15 minutes at 425. I toss them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season them with salt and pepper before there stint in the oven. The crust is Pillsbury thin crust dough topped with Kerrygold Irish cheddar cheese. The bacon was cooked on the stove top until crispy and then added to the pizza. 

This one is a keeper!