More Birthday Fun

On Thursday we met Grandpa Roger and Grandma Candice at the Mandarin in Bountiful. They wanted to take us out to dinner for my birthday. I have to say that is the yummiest Chinese food I have ever had. It was so fresh and full of flavor. Usually places will overdue it with the sodium, the spices and way too tangy sauces. This was perfect! We had pot stickers, coconut Thai chicken, golden roasted duck with duck sauce, sweet and sour shrimp prawns (the size of my hand) orange beef and vegetable chow mein. I had a raspberry lemonade smoothie and then for desert we had raspberry creme brulee and the waiters brought me ice cream and sang to me. It was fun. Sadly after a nice dinner my car wouldn't start and we had to abandon it there. There were no warnings, before it ran as smooth as butter, then out of the blue it wouldn't start but had power. I believe the alternator is out. Such fun!

On Saturday we celebrated mine and my sister's birthday at Grandma Bev's house. Our friend Jan from California was here visiting. Grandma Bev went all out and decorated for St. Patrick's Day. Everything was green. She gave out cute little shamrock prize bags with chocolate gold coins. I made a yummy layered banana cream pudding (I like it better than banana cream pie) We used it as the birthday cake. Grandma made mexican pizza that we topped with lettuce, avocados, olives, tomatoes, and sour cream. Very good! We went to the park and played games. Gabe accidentally broke a giant lid on Grandma's giant ceramic vase and he was very worried that she would be mad. He confessed and apologized. I have to say that I was proud of him for being honest and making it right. Later that night Manuel accidentally dropped one of my presents when carrying it into the house. It was Lenox crystal from grandma Bev. He felt bad and to make it worse when cleaning it up he cut himself. I felt bad too but I think Grandma Bev was the saddest of all. When I told her it broke she cried. I guess there is no such thing as a perfect day (at least in our family). Despite the many other incidents that happened we had fun.

Lindsey's Birthday

OK - so you'd think that I'd have pictures to share of my birthday. Nope, I completely forgot to get pictures of anything. The camera was sitting right there and of course it never crossed my mind.

Well, Wednesday night my friend (that I go way back with) Jessica, picked me up and took me out to dinner. We went to MacCool's in Layton (to go with the Irish theme for the month). It was so much fun catching up. Then on Thursday Manuel gave me my present in the morning. It was a gift certificate and membership to the spa club. Yes, I was in heaven. He worked from home that day. For dinner he bought take out from our favorite restaurant in Syracuse. It was sushi. So yummy. Then he and Gabe made me a cake. I'm so sad I didn't take pictures. Then on Saturday I went out with my girlfriends to the Olive Garden and to a movie. We celebrated two of our birthdays. Sunday my mom and our friend from Cali paid us a surprise visit after church. They brought dinner and it was so nice. It was a nice week even though we were crazy busy with so many other things going on.

I hired a PR company from Texas for my book and it has been insane (in a good way). I'll be traveling the country on and off throughout the next few months and I'm excited, nervous and sad to be away from my family. Manuel is very supportive and I could not do this without his encouragement and help. Thanks honey!!

Next week we'll be celebrating mine and my sister's birthday with all the family. Should be fun!

March is Here!

I'm excited that March is here but not so excited to be turning 28. I look forward to celebrating though (love a reason to eat yummy food and see family) and I'm looking forward to spring. I can't wait to take Paisley and Gabe on fun outdoor activities. Trust me my list is long this year, we're going to be busy! That's what happens when you spend your winter dreaming about the summer.

A quick update: We are keeping our dog. Those who know her know that she's not a normal dog and has always had a lot of issues. We have to say she has come a long way since we adopted her. During the first year she was very frightened of all people and sounds. She would act out violently by trying to be scary and threatening. The first vet appointment we took her to, the vet told us to put her down. Because of her unknown background and psychological issues the vet didn't think it was safe to have her as a pet. We didn't listen of course and decided to really work with her and give her a good life. Since having children its been hard to give the same amount of attention we used to, to our dog. Then on days when she has more accidents in the house than our two children put together and refuses to come when called, its easy to just want to be done with having a pet. Not to mention the endless amounts of shedding dog hair and the damaged carpet. In reality she is a sweet dog and we feel that no one else would have the patience with her that we have. If we were to give her a new home we know she would end up in the pound or put to sleep. So we have decided she is with us for a reason and we'll stick it out with her.

Grandma's Birthday

This weekend we celebrated grandma Bev's birthday. She turned 55. We took her to Texas Road House, a movie and then she watched our kids while Manuel and I went to a Jazz game. He got tickets through his company so we had a catered suite. It was so much fun and yes, the Jazz won.

Some sad news, we are looking to find a new home for our dog Mitzie (jack russell terrier). Though we love her tons, we discovered right now is a time in our life we'd do better without a dog. Having two kids, busy schedules and being gone a lot makes it hard. As mean as it may sound we also miss having a clean home and yard again for our kids to play in. Jack Russell Terriers shed all year long. She's a sweet dog though. If you know of anyone who might be interested let us know. We put an add on KSL today.

Valentine's Day

Grandma Bev came up this weekend so Manuel and I could go out for Valentine's Day. We made valentine cookies and pizza on Friday night. Grandma made a surprise entrance by knocking on our door and running away. When Gabe opened the door there were Valentine gifts and balloons on the porch. It was cute.

On Saturday we took Gabe to My Gym over by the mall and he had about an 1 1/2 gym class with other toddlers. It was so fun for him. Grandma helped Paisley join the class and Daddy watched from afar. After gym class we went home, had lunch and then Gabe and Grandma played in the snow. Gabe took valentines to the neighbors and got some in the mail. That night Manuel and I went to Imperial Asian Cuisine and Sushi Bar in Syracuse. It just opened. I ordered Japanese and Manuel ordered Chinese. I loved it! Manuel of course will always like Panda Express better than any other Chinese restaurant. I am such a fan of sushi rolls, so I was excited when a place finally opened up close to our house. The salad and soups that came with it were good too.

Afterwards we went and saw He's Just Not That Into You at the Syracuse theater. We were not a fan. There didn't seem to be any good movies out this weekend. Oh well, just getting out for a night without kids was well worth it.

Okay, its officially decided that our blog posts will no longer be written in 3rd person. Though we're together when they are written I (Lindsey) am the one writing them and speaking for all of us. I decided today that it just feels more normal to write in first person. So here we go....

Manuel made the most delicious cake today. Mmmm mmm I was so proud I took a picture. Yes, I know we always take pictures of food but whenever my husband makes something by himself and it's really good I just have to applaud him. It's a German cake and it has cherries in the middle.

We had a busy, stressful yet boring (imagine that) week, so on Saturday we took the kids to Classic Skating to make up for it. Gabe had a blast and Paisley just enjoyed watching Gabe. They were both worn out when we left. Today at 6:30 Gabe turned in for the night on the couch and Paisley came down with a cold. Poor kids.

Life is great and we're doing good! :)

We Made it Through January!

This was a pretty uneventful week for the Rietzsch family (hence the uneventful pictures). We did however witness another very beautiful sunset and made a lot of desserts. After all, desserts will always add excitement to any day. Yes, we took pictures of some of our desserts because we did not use recipes they were complete Rietzsch family creations. From home made donuts, to red velvet cake to some kind of pudding/cake spawn. It was all delicious. To justify this sweet kick, we have been working out a lot in the basement. Each family member has a youtube play list and we take turns playing our videos while we dance, lift weights, and do sit ups all together. It's a lot of fun.

A good news tidbit is that Lindsey was asked to be a relationship expert for a Utah non-profit organization called Crazi Beautiful Women. This will be a lot of fun, make sure you check out her section on the website each week. She will be spotlighted right before Valentine's Day. The website is www.crazibeautiful.com