fun new toy!

So, my super husband left work a few minutes early the other week, and stood in line at Best Buy to get me an iPad2.

He must love me, or something ;)

At any rate, we have been having lots of fun with it, and although it is mine (it has a pink cover!), I did notice a new basketball app installed... And JJ is sort of into Angry Birds...




alanna rose

these sippy cups are killing me

On Saturday I am hosting a Super Hero Birthday Extravaganza.
I should be sewing super hero capes (complete with lightning bolt monogram).

My town is slowly recovering from some pretty awful flooding.
I should be making meals for my water-logged friends.

Instead I am dealing with this.



Because a sippy cup full of milk leaked on the couch in my office.
And then it sat.

The cushion has a down top.

Mega GROSS.

I'm hoping I can resurrect the cushion, and that the cover will dry quickly. But all sippy cups have now been banished (well, I'm hiding away two for long car trips). He's turning three - he'll just have to make do with real cups, and learn to sit at the table when he wants a drink.

He'll probably deal with this change better than the next one I'm planning...

bye, bye binky

a little sunshine

It's snowy and cold today.

My neighbor took care of our sidewalk! I shall pay him in baked goods! (take that, other neighbor who prefers to watch me shovel during nap time. no treats for you!)

I finished a project, it's making me happy :)

ooh, bunting!

Heather inspired me.

And I was totally going to make little fabric roses, but my goal was to use yarn from my stash, and when I finished wrapping the wreath form, I felt like bunting was more appropriate.

Plus, I can do this:

all decked out for Valentine's Day

Next week we have a birthday at our house - I'm thinking a pic of the birthday boy will be pretty fantastic pinned to the wreath, and a shamrock after that, etc...

Happy Friday! Hope you've found your sunshine!

I'm linking up at Amanda's!

 I'm joining the Wreath Party at The Nesting Place!

the current state of my mantle

Don't laugh.

please excuse the duplos, and umm, everything else

Yep, that is totally my mantle.

The real one. In my living room. The one visitors see.

Surprisingly? I sort of dig it.

I think John Cusack is kind of dreamy

Jenny posted an interesting discussion about being overexposed to design. I have to say I feel it, and I'm not even a real designer. I really want my mom to put up lovely Ikat drapes in her bedroom, but I keep thinking -

"Is Ikat over?" If we do that, then in 2 years will I look at the drapes and say "Wow, that is so 2010."

But if Mom loves it, then does it really matter?

So does it really matter that my mantle is currently decorated with our gag-gift presents from Christmas?

I say nope. These things make me laugh, so they are staying for now. We'll call it Frat Chic - an eclectic assortment of items you might typically find in a frat house (although much cleaner). Who knows, maybe I'll add to the "collection," maybe I'll start thenextbigthing (yeah right), maybe I'll find proper homes for these items (GW box?) before our next party.

I still love that kitty oil painting.

m

he's pretty perfect

even though he still won't even attempt to sleep through the night


he's teething - always...5 teeth and counting

cruising along the furniture

crawling so fast that I lose him multiple times every day

drooling and chewing on everything


obsessed with the oven's warming drawer (just like his big brother)

has an incredible amount of blonde hair

I just trimmed it so he can see,
we aren't calling it a haircut, though;
he's just not old enough for one yet.

expert snuggler

looks just like daddy, but he belongs to mommy

wants to be just like his big brother


we love him

the problem with bowling

J is a bowler.

Like, I think he seriously would really enjoy being a pro bowler (I know - I'm thinking I wouldn't fit in very well with the pro-bowler wives). He's in two leagues (at one point he was in three), and his name shows up pretty regularly in the sports section of our local paper.

Yes, they print high bowling scores in the local paper.

Anyway, the problem is that the 6 or 7 nights a month that he does bowl, I am not happy. He leaves for work and then he comes home after bowling. So I take care of the bebes all day without reprieve (super fun when they decide to tag-team their naps) and handle bedtime by myself. I have to say it's easier now that it was when Max was a few months old - that was really tough.

I go back and forth on how I feel about this. I want him to have time to enjoy something, but I feel like bowling is inferior to a whole bunch of activities.

It's not even aerobic.

Today I decided that one of the main issues I have with bowling is that I am alone all day with our little guys, and once I get them both in bed I have maybe 30 min to myself before he comes home.

And 30 min is nothing. I barely finished folding a basket of laundry before he came home - I had big plans to blog, and vacuum, and dust, and polish my nails and take a super long shower. I'm beginning to think I should tell him to stay out longer, but I think that plan will backfire.

And that is the problem with bowling.

there's a hole in the ceiling

When we bought this house, 4 years ago (I know! I can't believe it's already been 4 years!), there was one thing I really wanted to change.

The skylight in our entry. Specifically the shaft because it was lined with plywood (instead of drywall) and when it was painted the grain rose and looked really bad.

J said he would fix it. No problem.

Well, it's been four years. The skylight itself has been replaced (we had that done when the roof was replaced in 2007), but the shabby-shaft remained.

swede in a hole

But now it. is. gone.

There is a giant hole in the ceiling, because no project is ever as easy at it seems, but there is progress.

And it makes me happy.

friday randomness

First: how do we feel about my green polish?

Sew Psyched by essie

The only opinion I could get around here is from JJ. He said "Cool mommy. Like a army guy."

* Muffin Friday! - I threw the boys in the car and we got drive-thru muffins from Biggby for breakies. And coffee, of course coffee!

* I got to dress up for an actual business meeting this week - I felt like a grown up!

* JJ just convinced me to paint one of his nails - he thinks it's pretty special.

* I think I'm going to merge my two blogs, the other one is sort of blah. I think I'll just stick it in here. Maybe that way I'll update more often.

Probably not ;) but maybe.

* I'm out of dish soap, and I have no desire to take the kids to the store. I think it's a pretty excuse to not do dishes today.

* I have a lot of stuff to do today, but I really just want to clean and organize the house...

* JJ is starting preschool in the fall. I have issues with this, and yet, I love it!

* Someone keeps stealing my camera and taking pictures (and touching the lens).

at my house

this guy loves prunes

this guy still loves building rockets

and these two have still got it
(ps - j does not have a double chin,
he just does that every time we take self portraits)

Sunday Confessional

This week, I forgot to defrost the chicken ahead of time.

I know. Someone needs to take away my Girl Scout badges.

Sometime around 4PM on Tuesday I realized that the whole chicken I was going to roast for dinner was, unfortunately, still in the freezer.

So I called my mom (because that is generally my answer for everything, call mom - she always knows what to do). She had no words of wisdom, but as we were chatting she told me about a vegetarian tamale pie she had made the week before. And as she is talking, I am digging through the kitchen cupboards.

Wouldn't you know I had all the ingredients?

pantry cooking. yes please.

And it was really good, and really easy. And the 2 year old ate it. I know.

So make some Tamale Pie!


Tamale Pie

1 cup instant polenta
1 can of beans (I used red kidney, black beans or pintos would also be great)
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup jarred salsa ( fresh would make a soupy mess)
seasoning (I used an ancient pack of taco seasoning - next time I'll use cumin, oregano, cilantro, chipotle and some salt)
1 cup cheese (I had Italian blend - I would have preferred cheddar)

preheat oven to 350

1. Prepare your polenta and spread into a buttered casserole (bonus points if it has a lid!).
2. Dump beans with liquid (bean juice?) into a bowl and mash with a potato masher. Mix in 1 cup of salsa and seasonings.
3. Spread bean mixture over polenta. Top with frozen corn and sprinkle with cheese. I sprinkled the cheese with chipotle and cilantro just to give it some color.

polenta and beans. noms.

4. Bake covered for 15 min, uncover and bake for 15 minutes more.

*I really think this would freeze well.

I Lied

Yesterday I said I had no real resolutions.

I lied.

Based purely on the amount of chocolate I consumed today, it is safe to say that my resolution for 2011 is:

To make sure that every single Christmas treat is eaten by Jan. 5th.

That is all.

Yada Yada Yada

Happy New Year!

It's been so long since I've blogged that I feel like I've forgotten how to type - let's all say a collective prayer of thanksgiving for the all-important spell-check.

Done? Super.

I'm not making any real resolutions this year, I'm just planning on continuing to nurture my family, take care of my home (as time allows) and volunteer until I can't breathe (seriously, I need to start sitting on my hands so I stop signing up for everything!).

That's it. I'm not even going to strive to write here X times per week, because that's just not how my life is going. Except I am super excited for the second season of Worst Cooks in America to start tonight. I loved it last season, so I'm going to do some recapping here, I'm hoping a few other fans will chime in? It'll be much more fun that way.

I'll be back tomorrow - or the next day...

big news!

From my local paper:

"Three frozen cheeseburgers and a sweatsuit were missing Sunday from 532½ S. Main St., 111."

Better lock up the freezer, there's a cheeseburger thief on the loose!

i figure it's about time for a new post

What can I say? Life is freaking busy.

Boys - both are adorable and wonderful. Except that ever since Max hit 4 months, he has decided it is super-duper important to wake up at least 3 times a night. So I could totally live without that.

Also, he can't decide if he is a happy and round baby, or a really upset and round baby. He is for sure round, especially when compared to JJ.

Max stats - 4 months
15 pounds - 50th percentile
25 inches - 50th percentile

I'm pretty sure JJ always hung out around the 10th percentile. What I know for sure is that JJ is still wearing size 4 diapers (I'm sure he could do 5's, but hello?! they cost more!), and I just stuck Max in a size 3 for bedtime (because if I have to change one more sheet at 3AM, I am going to scream. Also, all of the sheets might be in a giant ball in the washer...). Draw your own conclusions, I think Max is going to give JJ a run for his money one day ;)

you can tell it was a momentous occasion because my hair is in a towel
and I'm wearing a bath robe

Last night Max had his first bites of "food." It was a big step for me. JJ had food for the first time at 6 months, and he had delicious mashed banana - unprocessed and wonderful, he's been a total fruit-arian ever since. Giving Max rice cereal at 4 months sort of made me a bit uneasy. Maybe I'm just crazy (probably). Anyway, he managed to ingest a little bit of it, and he seemed to like it (no tears, lots of grunting), but he hasn't pooped since he ate it, and he didn't magically sleep through the night after eating (I was totally hoping that would happen) - so I'm still on the fence. We ended up at a corn maze/pumpkin patch for the evening and came home too late for baby mealtime, so I just nursed him :)

I know I have more, but coherent-sentence-formation is eluding me. So here are JJ and J running through the corn maze.

ps - JJ is totally wearing his sunglasses upside down

Busy Bees

We have been swamped the last two weeks!

September brought a new Service League year, and has been consuming a large amount of my free time; the rest of my time is consumed by these two little monkeys.

Peanut and Bun
Hiking Monkeys!

Last week Hubs was out of town. And this week Bun has been a sick little baby :(

In fact, Wednesday night (midnight-ish) I came this close to taking him to the ER. He was crying so hard that I had no idea what else to do. Then, just as I was changing out of my pj's he calmed down and went to sleep (Hubs was holding him and patting his little back). A few of my friends suggested Gripe Water, and we have used it a few times in the past two days and it has been amazing!

We have our happy little baby back!!

Anyway, we have a busy weekend ahead:
* 5K in the morning - the one I mentioned here
* Wrap up the Service League Garage Sale Fundraiser - I cleaned most of the closets and moved a bunch of stuff out of the house!
* Put out the fall decor
* Tidy up the master bedroom - it *might* look like a tornado went through *maybe*

Do you have any exciting weekend plans?

PS - Welcome to my new followers!

A Bright Baby Shower

A bit ago I mentioned a baby shower I was throwing. The baby arrived last week (my incredibly-adorable-first-ever-nephew!) so I figured I should probably get to recapping the party. As luck would have it, The CSI Project is having a Party Ideas Challenge this week. So I'm linking up!

When I think of my SIL I think of bright colors; I decided that would be my "theme" for the shower.

Not exactly a theme, but it worked for decorating. Since this shower was thrown eight weeks after my son arrived, I purchased almost everything months in advance and planned to add either bright pink or turquoise accents (depending on baby's gender). This worked out great!

For invitations I simply purchased note cards, ran them through my printer and added "It's a Boy!" tags to personalize them.

so simple!

Inside:

Blankets and Booties, Diapers and Pins,
This is where the love begins!
Onesies and Bibs, Toys and More,
This is what baby showers are for!

Please Join us for a Baby Shower Honoring
Super Sister-in-Law

The tables were set with white table cloths, a runner made of turquoise tulle, a centerpiece, and small gift bags with turquoise tissue paper.

bright centerpieces on an overcast day

The guests filled their gift bags with candy from a small candy buffet to take home as a favor.

I think Buddy the Elf would approve

I kept the menu simple, my philosophy with parties is not to overwhelm people with choices. Instead I like to offer a well-planned meal that most people will enjoy. I got lots of compliments!

Michigan Salad
Assorted Mini Quiches (I totally cheated and bought these at Sam's)
Fruit Salad
Rolls and Butter
Punch
Cake

nom nom nom

my MIL turned a watermelon into a bowl shaped like a baby seal :)

I have played enough shower games and won enough bath sets/picture frames/stationary to stock a Hallmark store. I am OVER shower games.

Instead, I purchased an 8 x 8 scrapbook and everyone made a page. This was a great activity, and I hope that my SIL will enjoy filling the pages with pictures of her new little guy :)

Unmade

It was a hectic week.

So hectic, I didn't make the bed yesterday.

chaos

I love making the bed because I love getting into a made bed each night. It feels more comfortable and relaxing than climbing into a mess of blankets and trying to make them right (which never works).

I like to keep our bedding simple; fitted and flat sheet, duvet with cover, two pillows each and a throw pillow to finish. Much more feels like overkill.

And, seriously? Stacking up loads of decorative pillows takes time, and they collect dust and feel so very... 90's in aesthetic. At least to me.

I prefer my streamlined bed :)

How many pillows are on your bed?

we're back!

We're back from our week at Houghton Lake. On the way back we even got to stop at Laura's farm! I love her pigs! And her bebes, of course ;)

I want a cottage. "Want" is not strong enough...I need a getaway place about two hours from my house. On the water, no tv, lots of board games, a live in nanny would also be helpful ;)

fishing

Anyway, right after Max was born one of my friends gave me a copy of Mitten Strings for God by Katrina Kenison, I had a chance to read it while we were gone, and it was wonderful! I highly recommend it for all parents. In fact I'm ordering a whole bunch of copies for my expectant friends. I'm really thinking of doing a read along on the other blogg-o, if you are interested please let me know.

Energized!

On Sunday we came back from a week at the lake.

I am refreshed and energized!

drool factory

I read an awesome book while on vacation, Mitten Strings for God by Katrina Kenison. It was wonderful. It's not a book about God, it's a book about slowing the pace of life down and letting your children soak up childhood, being happy with what you have, and appreciating all of the little things that make life so amazing.

I was thinking it would be really fun to do a read-along here on the blog. If you are interested let me know.

More later :)

Plans and Things

I had great blog plans this week. I was totally going to implement a new "schedule" for my posts; Monday for cleaning and organizing, Tuesday for cooking and entertaining, Wednesday for decorating, Thursday and Friday for whatever else is running through my brain.

You'll notice I only posted on Monday.

Ok, and Friday ;)

this was supposed to go on Tuesday's post

That's just how it is some weeks.

Today I am packing, for we head to the beach tomorrow :) Hooray!

And maybe I will finally make a concerted effort to figure out Live Writer. Maybe.