Welcome Summertime!

This was my day-to-day life a month ago. Cute kids. One thing we all had in common: we needed a summer (you can see it in some faces more so than others).

And now it's here! It's interesting coming to terms with the fact that my break doesn't last just three months. I've actually had a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that the only determining factor in what I will do each day is whatever I decide to do...I'm sure a certain baby girl due to arrive in one month will help.

So I have tried to make myself useful everyday. I give myself one project each day. It usually ends up being a closet to clean. I don't know about other school teachers, but if I was going to do my best as a teacher, our house had to take a little bit of a backseat. I tried to keep the living room, kitchen presentable, but anything behind a closed door was pretty scary.

I was going to take a before and after picture of each project, but I didn't know how many of you would still claim me. I'm kind of regretting not getting before shots, because I think sometimes we love ourselves a little more when we see other people have messy closets too (any men reading, please apply that thought to your own circumstance).

There's a little rhyme and reason to the order of the pantry now. Before, cereal went on top and everything else was free game.




The hallway linen closet... I open it about three or four times a day just because it feels good to see it like this. Ahhh.



The closet under the stairs. I'm not afraid to open this door anymore either. The stuff in there are things we actually use and need!

And my favorite... Gracie's room. For the

last year and a half, this room has served as the place where we put everything that didn't have a place anywhere else in the house...and we RARELY opened the door. I am so happy to report that as of today, 90% of the stuff in Gracie's room is Gracie's stuff--not my high school yearbooks, not her dad's taekwondo gear. We've got a few more things to do before she gets here, but the decluttering is just about through.

So the reason I have had the time to post 48 pictures tonight is because Danilo called the same time he does every night to tell me he's at the Front Runner station and five minutes from home, but instead to tell me that he was just leaving the hospital to catch Trax...a two-hour commute home. So that meant I was eating dinner by myself. I had tostadas planned for tonight, and while they're a favorite around here, they seemed to turn out extra yummy tonight, so I wanted to share. They're kind of pretty once they're all made up, but I'd already eaten a whole one and only had room for a half once I decided to take a picture.

On one tostada, spread:

One layer of rice (I cooked the rice with a little bit of chicken boullion)

A few avocado slices

One layer of ground beef (I seasoned it with two cloves of garlic and some dried onion)

Chopped tomato

Squeeze a lime segment over the top

Top with cheese.



Here is what a tostada looks like in and out of the package.

If you made it to the end of this post, thanks, you're really nice. I will try to be a little more brief next time.

Spring Break is a Sweet Thing!

One week. No school. Beautiful. It's been going since Monday and I've attempted to fill it with out of the ordinary things. Danilo took one day off for us to spend together and we used it to do a session at the Logan Temple. Neither one of us had ever gone there before, it was neat. We had a yummy lunch afterwards.

Tuesday afternoon we got a treat. One of Danilo's radiology instructors had offered to sometime do an ultrasound for us as a sort of demo for some of her students. We jumped at the chance and got to see how much our baby girl had grown (quite a bit!) in the month since we'd last looked. We got some close-up images of her face. I don't think I'll get used to having ultrasounds. I think you can plan on continuing to see posts on how exciting it was after each one.

Spring break offers a wonderful change of pace and scenery, and what I tend to enjoy most during times like these is the extra time I get to spend with people that I love and love to be with. My mom and sisters and I especially have visited all of our favorite stores and then some.

Christmas Trees and Extended Family

Last Saturday we ran up the mountain with my family and cut down our Christmas tree. It's been an Achter tradition that has become a Collado tradition as well! The tree has added a warmth and glow to our little townhome living room.

I wanted to mention a little bit about Thanksgiving a couple days before this, too. We ate at my parents' home with Danilo's parents and sisters and both sets of my grandparents. I felt so very blessed to sit at the dinner table with so many people that are important to me! Other events that made the holiday weekend special were pie night, a temple trip, shopping, and a family home evening all spent with extended family who live both in and out of town. Needless to say, going back to school was rough. I spent all day Sunday talking myself into it so that Monday morning wouldn't be such a dreadful shock. (As I read back over that, "dreadful shock" seems a little harsh. I do enjoy being a teacher. :)