As I watch SpongeBob SquarePants...

We've been babysitting our nephews since last night and it's definitely not the easiest thing. They are mostly well-behaved, but we do not have a "child-proof" home. There are many delicates. I feel like a broken record: "Don't touch that", "Put that down", "That's not a toy". They listen, though, which is more than we can ask for!

I think Mr. P and I have figured out the best babysitting tactics: pizza, Disney movies and SpongeBob. It's pretty much scientifically proven by now.


New baby boy should already be here in the world! We are waiting till my sister-in-law is out of recovery {c-section} to go up to the hospital. {I'm sure it wouldn't be very easy entertaining a 5 and 3 year old for long in a hospital waiting room!}

We can't wait to meet him! Here's my sister-in-law and the new daddy last night - her last day of the baby in her belly:


Can you believe she was kind enough and up to giving both P and I haircuts! {She's a hair stylist.} We were super thankful - we both needed it lol.


I hope to have a post up by tomorrow of the baby's arrival! My camera is charged and ready to go to take lots of pictures of this new little one.

My sister-in-law is very, very pregnant.


Her due date is January 18th - less than a week now! She has a planned c-section since she's not able to deliver naturally due to problems the doctors discovered during her 1st birth. This will be her 3rd boy!

So who will be watching the other 2 little ones while their mommy is in the hospital for 3-4 days?

Yep, Aunt Kiki and Uncle Phil.
{Yes, "Kiki" is my actual nickname that adults use as well. "Kiks" for even shorter.}

I'd say this is going to be as close as we'll ever get to having a true "test-run" for having children. Nate is 5 as of yesterday and Troy is 3.

Philip and I haven't discussed them coming to stay with us. I'm not sure what there is to discuss, but there must be something. I've been getting a little direction from my sister-in-law and asked her to leave us with some notes. I've told him to remember these things as well, but that's it.

These aren't our children, so, we'll {for the most part} have to discipline and care for them the way his sister does. Does that leave any room for discussion about how this experience could relate to our family down the road...?

I wonder if the opportunity for us in this situation is opening up the door to conversation about how we'll raise our children - more of the nitty-gritty. We already know our timeline, how many we want, roughly how to reward, discipline and have fun. But I know there has to be more - what would you talk about? Maybe about who will be responsible for what {with our nephews and later with our own kids}? Any suggestions for us? And please, any advice on long-term babysitting? I haven't babysat in 10 years!

I think we're just going to wing it.

Everyone knows it's freezing outside, even in Florida! Here is our house's blog debut covered in a thin sheet of snow...

I've recently mentioned I started digital scrapbooking and that's how I came to create our family holiday card this season.

Here is my Halloween page. Philip and I, along with our friends {who just got engaged Christmas Eve!}, dressed in the Batman theme.


There are lot of beautiful parks in the suburbs of Atlanta, where we live. We love walking around sometimes for the scenery that follows the Chattahoochee river, especially in the fall.


In the beginning of October, my sister-in-law had her baby shower at her mother-in-law's house. I haven't spoken about her pregnancy on this blog yet, but she is due in 8 days! January 18th she'll be delivering and her 3rd baby boy will be born in the morning. I can't wait to meet my new nephew!


I also scrapped a page for Thanksgiving. I was difficult getting all those pictures in, but I did it! I love that little turkey die-cut - so cute.

We are officially in our first week of meal planning.

We are planning dinners only and last night was my night to cook. Along with planning meals comes some great advantages like saving money at the grocery store and eating healthier. I plan and hope we benefit from both of those things.

For our first meal-planned dinner, I tried a new recipe: Healthy Angel Hair Alfredo. {Yes, it's technically supposed to be fettuccine, but we had angel hair on hand already and Philip prefers it anyway.}

I LOVE fettuccine alfredo. I will try it at all Italian restaurants we go to and Olive Garden's is hands-down my favorite. Yep, Olive Garden, a chain, not the authentic mom-and-pop.


I have Olive Garden's recipe from the 1st volume of Top Secret Restaurant Recipes, but I have not tried it yet. I wanted to try this healthier version I came across instead since both Philip and I are trying to lose a couple pounds. It's a great, easy recipe since I always have all the ingredients laying around in my kitchen anyway except the heavy cream. It came out good and I added some spinach leaves and cut-up chicken to make a hearty meal out of it.

Healthy Eats Fettuccine Alfredo


Serves: 4
8 oz. fettuccine
1 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/4 heavy cream
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
4 oz. light cream cheese
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese


Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg.
Simmer for 2-3 minutes as the sauce thickens.
Add cream cheese and mix well with a whisk until smooth.
Add cooked pasta and grated cheese. Toss well to combine.
If mixture appears too dry, add small amounts of reserved cooking liquid until the sauce is smooth and pasta is well coated.


Nutrition Info (per 1 cup of pasta):
Calories: 400
Total Fat: 16.5 g
Saturated Fat: 10 g
Carbohydrates: 47 g
Cholesterol: 56 mg
Sodium: 538 mg
Protein: 18 g
Fiber: 6 g


I calculated the Weight Watcher's points myself at 9 points.
Original recipe from Healthy Eats Blog.

Compare to Olive Garden's Fettuccine Alfredo nutrition facts:
Calories: 1,220
Fat: 75 g
Saturated Fat: 47 g
Sodium: 1350 mg
Carbohydrates: 99 g
Fiber: 5 g