{February in Review}

February was a good month. We had all been sick for the majority of January, so I almost did a cheer when I flipped the calendar page to a new month. Since I didn't have this blog running in time to share all the neat things that happened over the last 28 days, I'll do a month in review instead. This could get long (and picture heavy), but here we go!

February was a month full of fun. We kicked off the month with a Superbowl party at our house. I made all of Cory's favorite finger foods and then some, and we all chowed until our guts hurt. I couldn't tell you much about the game itself other than certain people were quite pleased at the outcome and others left in a huff. That's the way it goes!

I got to enjoy a rare treat during that first week of February as well - I went out to dinner with some friends! My girlfriends Mariah and Theresa and I met at a local restaraunt, Sollenberger's, and had a really good time together. The food was just ok, but our conversation was totally enjoyable. We'd love to do this once a month, but we'll see how that goes.

Old Man Winter took it easy on us for a day or two and we took full advantage of the nice weather. The girls haven't ridden their bikes in months, so that's exactly what we did on this gorgeous Saturday morning.

Perdy and Jasmine played tirelessly in the backyard while the girls rode their bikes and played on the swingset. They definitely are warm weather dogs, so they were in their glory as they ran and tussled with each other in the heat of the sun. I think they would have stayed outside all day if we had let them. I can hardly wait until we get the fence installed so they can do just that!
At the beginning of the month, Sasha started to complain that her tooth hurt. She was eating an apple the second time she mentioned it and I thought she just had a piece of skin wedged between her teeth. Nope! When I looked in her mouth I saw that one of her bottom teeth was wiggly! This was not what I was expecting - not yet! I was really glad that I had bought a fairy door for their room for Christmas so that the Tooth Fairy had a way to get inside their bedroom.

A week later on February 11th, Sasha lost her first tooth while at school. She was so excited, and so was I! It's hard to believe that she's old enough to start losing teeth, but it's happening!

It's hard to get a good picture of a missing bottom tooth, so I apologize for this funky angle.
I had no idea how much a tooth goes for these days, so I polled my friends for their opinions. It turns out that pretty much anything goes with the Tooth Fairy. Some of my friends are quite creative with that fairy and her gifts! Sasha's Tooth Fairy ended up giving her $5 for her first tooth, plus she left her a little note that was rolled up and tied with a ribbon. At four in the morning Sasha woke Cory and I up to let us know that the Tooth Fairy had been there. Now her other bottom front tooth is loose, so I imagine the Tooth Fairy is going to be visiting her again soon.

Valentine's Day was awesome this year. I decided that we would have chocolate with every meal of the day, starting with pink heart shaped pancakes with chocolate chips. The girls love pancakes and got a kick out of these special ones.For lunch I made a fantastic sandwich - I HIGHLY recommend it! I got a crusty loaf of bread and thinly sliced it. Then I spread mascarpone cheese on each slice and filled the sandwiches with sliced strawberries and chocolate chips. I grilled them like a grilled cheese sandwich, but Mama Mia, these were over-the-top delicious!The dance studio where both Sasha and Clara take lessons offered incredibly cheap babysitting for Valentine's Day evening as a dance team fundraiser, so Cory and I made reservations for Nick's Airport Inn and dropped the girls off at the studio. We had a wonderful dinner of steak and crab cakes. We were too stuffed to order dessert, so we then headed to the Valley Mall and got a blizzard at DQ. Not real classy, but it was tasty enough and fulfilled our need for chocolate!

When we got home we decided to take a few pictures of the family. Cory got to feel the love of his girls.

One of the cool, fun things about being a Tastefully Simple consultant is that we get to go to conferences and connect with awesome people while learning and celebrating together. This year the regional Tastefully Simple On Tour (TSOT) that I attended was in Richmond, VA. It was a great conference and I got to cheer on many team members as they were recognized on stage for various accomplishments. My sister, Jen, was a rock star that weekend. She was on stage quite a bit and the article she wrote for her team newsletter on having a wealth mindset instead of a recession mindset was read at all 15 TSOT locations. You ROCK, Jen!

Here's a picture of the ladies on our team who attended the Richmond TSOT. I'm one of the few who didn't wear a team shirt because my big preggo belly wouldn't fit into one! It was incredible to see so many of these gals again and to meet many team members for the first time. What an inspiring group of businesswomen! I can hardly wait for Nationals in August!

Finally, I took the girls down to southern Maryland to celebrate my nephew Aidan's seventh birthday. He's SEVEN! Wow! On Friday night we all went to a Japanese restaraunt and had a wonderful meal. Our chef was a lot of fun and really catered to the kids. Sasha was a champ at using her chopsticks!

Then on Saturday we went to Solomon's Island to the Marine Museum for the birthday party. The kids had a blast making fossils, learning about sharks and dinosaurs, and watching the various stages of stingrays as they grow in their eggs.Aidan had a big group of school friends there and they all seemed to have a great time. I think all the boys were impressed by the Mario cake - it was really nice!

Well those are the highlights of Febraury. Like I said, we did a lot and had a fun month that was largely illness-free. Yay! It seemed like the month flew by, and I hope March does, too. I'm ready for spring!