About Us

Hi! My name is Monica and that cute guy pictured next to me is my darling husband Paul.

We met when we were youngsters growing up in the small town of Helena, Montana. If you can name a single city in Montana, that would probably be the one since it's the capitol! Anyway, I wish I could say that our romance began early and only continued to bloom and grow over the years until we reached a marriageable age, but sadly that is not the case. A fateful game of "Horse" on the basketball court one day from which this girl rose victorious over her future husband (H-O-R-S-E to nothing, I might add) humiliated poor Paul to such an extreme that he could barely tolerate my presence. To be fair, I was very tall and lanky while Paul had yet to achieve the growth spurt that would catapult him past the five foot mark (a distinctive disadvantage in basketball). A young romance would not have worked out anyway since my family decided to pack up and move from Montana to Indiana when I had just turned twelve. I thought I would never see that cute, short boy again.

However, we were reunited years later as freshmen on campus at the University of Notre Dame. I was so excited to reintroduce myself to Paul and possibly reminisce about the portions of our childhood that were communal, but he pretended that he had no idea who I was. In fact, he acted as if he wanted absolutely nothing to do with me. Maybe he was still sore about that game of "Horse." Either way, that really bothered me and I made up my mind that I concurrently wanted nothing to do with him.

Our mutual attempts to ignore one another did not last long. One fateful, rainy night, Paul was "forced" to escort me home. We started chatting and found ourselves actually enjoying one another's company (fancy that!). From then on, our friendship blossomed and our affection for one another grew. Four months later, Paul asked me to be his girlfriend. Two and half years after that, he asked me to be his wife.

We were married in the months immediately following our graduation and moved far away from friends and family to begin our new life together. We have now been married for nearly nine years and have three adorable children: Matthew Patrick, Emma Rose, and Lucia Therese. God willing, we hope to continue to expand beyond our little family of five in the coming years. But for now, here is a little bit about each member of the family (excuse me as I switch to awkwardly writing about myself in the third person):

Monica is the cook, baker, and primary administrator of this little blog. She initially began the blog at the urging of her husband and sister-in-law as a way to share photographs, stories, and recipes with our families. An avid lover of bread in any form, Monica has had to demonstrate major restraint to not post only carbohydrate-centered recipes. She has successfully convinced her husband that a salad can be a sufficient main dish and vegetables are his friends. Monica enjoys chasing after her kiddos, running, pilates, drinking copious amounts of coffee, scrapbooking, and relaxing with a good book. However, her absolute favorite pastime is probably poking fun at her husband.

Paul is the hardworking, dedicated husband who is often the subject of Monica's many jokes and satirical  writings. However, don't feel too badly for him as he is actually quite spoiled and doted upon more than this little blog will have you know. He is a technical genius and has a true passion for all things mechanical, a trait that he has apparently passed on to his son. In his free time, he enjoys reading, designing his next great invention, eating cheese and ice cream, grilling, wrestling with the children, and laughing with his wife. He is also very passionate about Notre Dame Football and has been known to sulk for days following losses (and he has done an awful lot of sulking in recent years, particularly during the 2007-2009 and, most recently, the 2016 seasons).

Matthew Patrick was born at the very beginning of 2010 . Although we had a rough start with our colicky child, we loved his stubborn, strong-willed personality and hope that one day he will develop into a young man who firmly adheres to his principles and convictions. He seems to have endless amounts of energy for most of the day, but when he gets tired and grumpy - watch out! He loves to eat and this is probably the reason he enjoys helping his Mommy out in the kitchen. He has always had a weird fascination with appliances, evidenced by the fact that his first word was "coffee" in reference to our much-used coffeepot. During any given day, you can find him coloring pictures, dancing to music, reading books, researching dinosaurs or begging to watch movies. He hates cheese slices, mashed potatoes, and red meat (with the exception of bacon). His current favorite thing to eat and cook is apple pie.

Emma Rose (aka "Emma Rosie") joined the family in March of 2013. She was by far the most laid back baby and the only one of our kids who actually enjoyed sleeping. This all changed when she turned two and developed a hatred for napping. She has an amazing amount of energy (must be genetic), the most incredible vocabulary for a kid her age, a will that is stronger than steel, and quite the precocious personality. She can be the greatest little friend, assistant, or confidant but when she gets tired, angry, or upset...beware! She is an expert at ruffling her older brother's feathers and at times seems to lose the ability to use her legs judging by how often she begs to be held or picked up. She also enjoys coloring, reading, and making up elaborate pretend games to carry out with her oblivious but always receptive younger sister. She is not as helpful in the kitchen as her brother because she prefers to eat all the ingredients rather than learn how to put them together to make something tasty. Her favorite food is cheese and she dislikes every vegetable in existence. Her favorite meal is peanut butter and honey sandwiches.

Lucia Therese is our fun, sweet, and loving three-year-old. While she has a heart of gold, she has also inherited her mother's fiery temper (so don't mess with her!). As she has grown, Lucia has demonstrated her keen problem-solving skills and mischievous tendencies. If she hasn't been heard from or seen in under five minutes, odds are she can be found tearing apart her mother's bureau or her father's desk in search of candy, makeup, or coins. She loves the outdoors and at 14 months began insisting on taking the family's normal 1.25 mile walk around the neighborhood without the assistance of a stroller. She loves to sing, has a pretty great set of dance moves she loves to break out every now and then, and is in love with Elmo. She gets excited when her mother brings out the blender because she thinks she's getting a smoothie and usually ends up disappointed when salad dressing is whipped up instead. Her favorite foods are yogurt, chocolate, and quesadillas. And she loves puppies.

The newest Nistler is little Daniel Joseph, born in April of 2018. Matthew's response when he found out he had a little baby brother was: "FINALLY! I've had enough of all these GIRLS!" Sexism aside, we are very grateful that this little guy has been given to us. He is truly a gift, bringing us so much joy with his laughter and already-developing sense of humor. He adores his sibling and is probably already aspiring to be just as annoying as and loud as they already are! His current favorites are squeezable applesauce, electrical outlets (!!), the swiffer duster, chocolate, and his mommy.