So I found a new blog recently that I'm enjoying immensely. Lots of things to enjoy about this blog, but one of the best things? Her Top Ten Tuesdays. Random lists from random people. Love it!
I'm a list person. Lists make me happy. You'll never find me listless (haha). I make lists of my lists. I'll find a reason to make a list about almost anything.
So, for Top Ten Tuesday, in no particular order,
a top ten list of my favorite lists:
1. to-do list (duh)
2. grocery list I love making the list... not in love with the grocery shopping itself.
3. christmas gift list prepared early, always broken up by family, complete with brainstorming, budget and finally the outcome
4. projects around the house huge list
5. wish list for the house even huge-er list
6. christmas card list this is my probably my favorite list... all the people nearest and dearest to us. Even if our only communication is to exchange Christmas cards every December, I love that certain people are important enough to us to keep on the list year after year. (and to stay on theirs :) )
7. list of items to pack for a trip and of course I break that down into a dozen separate lists too... clothes, toiletries, meds, other necessities, broken down by each traveler, naturally!
8. camping list see #7... only usually more necessities!
9. blog post ideas even if I never use them, jotting down ideas for blogging is second nature to me
10. other people's lists is it strange that I'm so enamored with list making that I love perusing other's lists?!? I love other people's to-do lists, grocery lists, gift lists, and especially top ten random lists. Did you see the movie High Fidelity?? Part of my love for that movie is the fact that they randomly blurt out top five songs/albums for whatever topic. Love stuff like that. I love seeing what's on other peoples' minds.... and in list form is nice and tidy!
Oh gee, look! More lists!!
(add yours if you're feeling listy)
What about you... Any lists you can't live without?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
recipes
I've fallen a bit behind on sections and reminders for the Recipe Gathering (and somebody really needs to help me come up with a name for the cookbook!). I added salads to the list in the sidebar, but never put an actual call out for salad recipes.
So here's the official call.
I'm looking for any of your favorite salad combinations.... and also any other veggie/side dishes you've got in your repertoire. A twist on green bean casserole? A favorite fruit salad?? Let me have 'em.
As usual, email me your recipes (along with pics please if you have them or can take them) for your salads or veggie sides to share, as well as any of the past categories I've suggested already. You'll always find the list in the side bar over here ------>
So here's the official call.
I'm looking for any of your favorite salad combinations.... and also any other veggie/side dishes you've got in your repertoire. A twist on green bean casserole? A favorite fruit salad?? Let me have 'em.
As usual, email me your recipes (along with pics please if you have them or can take them) for your salads or veggie sides to share, as well as any of the past categories I've suggested already. You'll always find the list in the side bar over here ------>
Monday, March 30, 2009
decisions, decisions
Ryan and I are having a hard time making a decision. We're dancing between things we want to do and things we should do and the lines between those are not so black and white.
So I want to know what you would do.
Not that I'm looking for someone to tell me what to do, I'm just curious as to the decisions other people would make. Who has more practical personalities and who might be more inclined to throw practicality to the wind and go for the fun.
So here's the lowdown:
My parents are coming for a visit and they're going to be here long enough this time that Ryan and I should take advantage and get away without the kids. We've done this a time or two with grandparents in town, but for some reason we always end up with a "group getaway" or to visit friends. When we lived in Michigan we took a trip (with Sawyer in tow) to Nashville to see friends and their toddler. A year ago we got a condo at the lake and ended up inviting and sharing the weekend with the Laughlins. This past winter we got away to the lake again, but this time it was a fabulous six-some. No kids, but no real just us couple time either.
So this time we said, this is it. I really cannot remember the last time we went somewhere on our own. Honestly. Somehow we always end up being more practical (making it a trip to see someone we want to visit) or more inclusive (hey, who wants to join us for a fun weekend away?!). I think the only time Ryan and I took any sort of real vacation, just the two of us, was seven years ago on our honeymoon. We don't have the opportunity very often, without family in town to help us out with the kids.
So we've been looking at places to go. We (I) wanted it to be somewhere different... we've gone to Chicago, we've been to the Ozarks. I'd love to see some new city I've never been to, but city usually equals spending more money... shopping, eating, shows, etc. So I was leaning more towards making a longer drive (and we don't mind the drive, we like road trips) down to the Gulf Shores or maybe to a cabin in the mountains in Tennessee or South Carolina. Or the east coast. And we can find good places to stay... right on the beach (or by a lake in the mountains) for less than $100 a night. So it'd only be a few hundred dollars. A few to five I'm guessing.
Or. Our other thought was to go to Las Vegas. My sister lives there and we thought maybe we could find some cheap flights. Yeah, not really. It'd cost us more to fly there, plus then there's the tourist in a city costs... in about THE most expensive city. And then again, that's visiting/staying with other people.
And our favorite thought... the one we keep coming back to... the one that my mom would probably kill me for if we did... is heading back to Portland for a long weekend. It's cheap to fly from here to Portland right now ($99 each way), and we'd have a few days without the kids to visit with dear friends we miss, see my sister pregnant, meet the niece we've only seen pictures of, and get to spend some time in our old stomping grounds without having to drag the kids around or worry about them splitting family time so much while we're there. But again, that's not so romantic. And like I said, my mom would I'm sure kill me if we attempted to make a trip to Oregon while they were here.
Anyway, that's not where we really trip up. It's not just a matter of deciding where to go.
We both keep thinking of that $500 we would be spending to go somewhere and while we could afford to use it for us, for fun... all the other things we should be using it for won't stay out of our heads.
-My laptop has been on it's last leg for a few months now. I honestly am surprised each day I find it still running. Barely, but it's running. It's a source of frustration and cuts to my last ounce of patience almost daily. We could buy a new one with that $500.
-We really want a deep freezer. I've made great progress in my meal planning and stocking up on great deals with the warehouse stores and sales around here, not to mention the produce co-op and I always find myself thinking, if we just had an extra freezer, it would be even better. We have some friends in the neighborhood who's family owns farms and specifically produce beef and pork. It's a great opportunity for us to stock up on splitting portions with our friends at cost, stocking up enough meat for essentially the whole year. If we had the freezer space. But it's buy a $200 freezer or take a trip.
-We want to replace our stove someday soon. It still works, but again, it's probably not too far from deciding to quit. And it's ugly.
-And there are plenty of other little things around the house that I could find and add up and think, yes, that money could be better spent here. Gah.
So what would you do?
Would you forget about grown up, practical, responsibilities (that aren't exactly needs at this point, but pretty big wants in the big picture) for a minute and take some relaxing time out with your husband for the first time in seven years? Or suck it up, maybe take a nice night out somewhere close, forget about a romanticized getaway and be smart with money put to a better use.
So I want to know what you would do.
Not that I'm looking for someone to tell me what to do, I'm just curious as to the decisions other people would make. Who has more practical personalities and who might be more inclined to throw practicality to the wind and go for the fun.
So here's the lowdown:
My parents are coming for a visit and they're going to be here long enough this time that Ryan and I should take advantage and get away without the kids. We've done this a time or two with grandparents in town, but for some reason we always end up with a "group getaway" or to visit friends. When we lived in Michigan we took a trip (with Sawyer in tow) to Nashville to see friends and their toddler. A year ago we got a condo at the lake and ended up inviting and sharing the weekend with the Laughlins. This past winter we got away to the lake again, but this time it was a fabulous six-some. No kids, but no real just us couple time either.
So this time we said, this is it. I really cannot remember the last time we went somewhere on our own. Honestly. Somehow we always end up being more practical (making it a trip to see someone we want to visit) or more inclusive (hey, who wants to join us for a fun weekend away?!). I think the only time Ryan and I took any sort of real vacation, just the two of us, was seven years ago on our honeymoon. We don't have the opportunity very often, without family in town to help us out with the kids.
So we've been looking at places to go. We (I) wanted it to be somewhere different... we've gone to Chicago, we've been to the Ozarks. I'd love to see some new city I've never been to, but city usually equals spending more money... shopping, eating, shows, etc. So I was leaning more towards making a longer drive (and we don't mind the drive, we like road trips) down to the Gulf Shores or maybe to a cabin in the mountains in Tennessee or South Carolina. Or the east coast. And we can find good places to stay... right on the beach (or by a lake in the mountains) for less than $100 a night. So it'd only be a few hundred dollars. A few to five I'm guessing.
Or. Our other thought was to go to Las Vegas. My sister lives there and we thought maybe we could find some cheap flights. Yeah, not really. It'd cost us more to fly there, plus then there's the tourist in a city costs... in about THE most expensive city. And then again, that's visiting/staying with other people.
And our favorite thought... the one we keep coming back to... the one that my mom would probably kill me for if we did... is heading back to Portland for a long weekend. It's cheap to fly from here to Portland right now ($99 each way), and we'd have a few days without the kids to visit with dear friends we miss, see my sister pregnant, meet the niece we've only seen pictures of, and get to spend some time in our old stomping grounds without having to drag the kids around or worry about them splitting family time so much while we're there. But again, that's not so romantic. And like I said, my mom would I'm sure kill me if we attempted to make a trip to Oregon while they were here.
Anyway, that's not where we really trip up. It's not just a matter of deciding where to go.
We both keep thinking of that $500 we would be spending to go somewhere and while we could afford to use it for us, for fun... all the other things we should be using it for won't stay out of our heads.
-My laptop has been on it's last leg for a few months now. I honestly am surprised each day I find it still running. Barely, but it's running. It's a source of frustration and cuts to my last ounce of patience almost daily. We could buy a new one with that $500.
-We really want a deep freezer. I've made great progress in my meal planning and stocking up on great deals with the warehouse stores and sales around here, not to mention the produce co-op and I always find myself thinking, if we just had an extra freezer, it would be even better. We have some friends in the neighborhood who's family owns farms and specifically produce beef and pork. It's a great opportunity for us to stock up on splitting portions with our friends at cost, stocking up enough meat for essentially the whole year. If we had the freezer space. But it's buy a $200 freezer or take a trip.
-We want to replace our stove someday soon. It still works, but again, it's probably not too far from deciding to quit. And it's ugly.
-And there are plenty of other little things around the house that I could find and add up and think, yes, that money could be better spent here. Gah.
So what would you do?
Would you forget about grown up, practical, responsibilities (that aren't exactly needs at this point, but pretty big wants in the big picture) for a minute and take some relaxing time out with your husband for the first time in seven years? Or suck it up, maybe take a nice night out somewhere close, forget about a romanticized getaway and be smart with money put to a better use.
not what I pictured
Yes, I wanted to break up my wordy posts as of late with a few snapshots...
but this isn't what I had in mind.
We woke up Sunday morning to
about three inches of wet snow.
And a broken tree.
We're assuming it was a combination of the really windy night and the wet heavy snow on the newly bloomed tree. Either way, it makes me really sad. These trees on the side of our house were so pretty. Now this one's half gone. Of course, the one on our corner, the one everyone sees when they first pull into our neighborhood.
I hope it survives, but regardless, it'll be awfully lopsided for a long long time. :(
(And yes, we had a crazy few inches of snow, but it was gone by noon and we're back to full-on spring weather. 65 degrees today!)
but this isn't what I had in mind.
We woke up Sunday morning to
about three inches of wet snow.
And a broken tree.
We're assuming it was a combination of the really windy night and the wet heavy snow on the newly bloomed tree. Either way, it makes me really sad. These trees on the side of our house were so pretty. Now this one's half gone. Of course, the one on our corner, the one everyone sees when they first pull into our neighborhood.
I hope it survives, but regardless, it'll be awfully lopsided for a long long time. :(
(And yes, we had a crazy few inches of snow, but it was gone by noon and we're back to full-on spring weather. 65 degrees today!)
Saturday, March 28, 2009
make up your own title
I was feeling in the mood this weekend to play with my camera and also to break up some of my blogging wordiness with some pictures; I had plans to coerce my children into some sort of fun photo session.
Alas, Sawyer is NOT in the mood, it's a dark dreary day, and I lost my motivation after a bummer phone call this morning. (a big fat negative on the babysitting thing... last minute decision that location wasn't as convenient as hoped?)
So guess what you get today? More words!!
We had a pleasantly nice spring break week.
I remember thinking last Sunday, when two certain little people in my house were both on my last nerve, that it hadn't dawned on me to dread spring break. And that if Sunday were any indication of a week at home with these two kids to myself, I should be dreading it. That it would be a lot of work to keep them entertained and keep us all enjoying ourselves.
But really I was looking forward to spring break. I was looking forward to the break from routine and having more time to do things and not be restricted by any schedule.
We did a lot of fun stuff and the kids actually got along really well together and I think we all had an overall great week.
Monday, as I said, we went to the zoo just us three and we had a great time, followed by a fun lunch out and us taking our own sweet time getting back home.
Tuesday we were at MOPS all morning, went to the library and just hung out all afternoon.
Wednesday we were back at the zoo with friends and we had a great (albeit chilly) morning with lots of chatting and strolling around much of the zoo. We had a nice leisurely picnic lunch, followed by more chatting and strolling.
Thursday morning someone finally took our riding lawnmower off our hands, Savannah had a birthday party to go to and Sawyer and I spent some time at the grocery store.
Then finally on Friday, we picked Ryan up at work for lunch and then all spent the afternoon at the Science Center together, finishing the day up by going out for ice cream. Also picking up a couple of fun things at Target.
Today we spent the morning cleaning up the playroom and getting the rest of the house in order for the family that didn't end up coming by. Yeah, I'm bummed about that being a wash. Really bummed.
I've been trying to cheer myself up this afternoon by researching/planning a trip for Ryan and I to get away while my parents are here in a few weeks. It's not working too well as I have a lot of ideas of where to go, but keep thinking things like we should probably spend that money on something more practical like a freezer or toward a new stove or just plain not spend it. So that's not turning out to be the cheeriest way to spend my afternoon. Unless I won the lottery this weekend. Then it'd be a lot more fun to plan a trip.
Although it'd be pretty tricky pulling off that win, considering I didn't buy a ticket.
Alas, Sawyer is NOT in the mood, it's a dark dreary day, and I lost my motivation after a bummer phone call this morning. (a big fat negative on the babysitting thing... last minute decision that location wasn't as convenient as hoped?)
So guess what you get today? More words!!
We had a pleasantly nice spring break week.
I remember thinking last Sunday, when two certain little people in my house were both on my last nerve, that it hadn't dawned on me to dread spring break. And that if Sunday were any indication of a week at home with these two kids to myself, I should be dreading it. That it would be a lot of work to keep them entertained and keep us all enjoying ourselves.
But really I was looking forward to spring break. I was looking forward to the break from routine and having more time to do things and not be restricted by any schedule.
We did a lot of fun stuff and the kids actually got along really well together and I think we all had an overall great week.
Monday, as I said, we went to the zoo just us three and we had a great time, followed by a fun lunch out and us taking our own sweet time getting back home.
Tuesday we were at MOPS all morning, went to the library and just hung out all afternoon.
Wednesday we were back at the zoo with friends and we had a great (albeit chilly) morning with lots of chatting and strolling around much of the zoo. We had a nice leisurely picnic lunch, followed by more chatting and strolling.
Thursday morning someone finally took our riding lawnmower off our hands, Savannah had a birthday party to go to and Sawyer and I spent some time at the grocery store.
Then finally on Friday, we picked Ryan up at work for lunch and then all spent the afternoon at the Science Center together, finishing the day up by going out for ice cream. Also picking up a couple of fun things at Target.
Today we spent the morning cleaning up the playroom and getting the rest of the house in order for the family that didn't end up coming by. Yeah, I'm bummed about that being a wash. Really bummed.
I've been trying to cheer myself up this afternoon by researching/planning a trip for Ryan and I to get away while my parents are here in a few weeks. It's not working too well as I have a lot of ideas of where to go, but keep thinking things like we should probably spend that money on something more practical like a freezer or toward a new stove or just plain not spend it. So that's not turning out to be the cheeriest way to spend my afternoon. Unless I won the lottery this weekend. Then it'd be a lot more fun to plan a trip.
Although it'd be pretty tricky pulling off that win, considering I didn't buy a ticket.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
boys, birthday and bows
I'm feeling guilty about not blogging much lately.
I keep thinking I need to be writing here.
I want to be writing here.
It's just been this odd combination lately of being busy with life, things not all that much of significance to write about, but yet there are things I do want to write about a.) to record them here "journal-like" and 2.) to just say them "outloud" to someone and get them out of my head.
So I'll just start with the randomness.
I may be getting a part time job. I've been looking for a month or so... obviously nothing that would require me paying for any kind of childcare, but I'd still like to make a little something extra.
I've been watching craigslist for mostly part time babysitting/nanny situations. Not much works out though between Savannah's school schedule and some of our evening commitments. Any afterschool hours things often require shuttling of kids from school or to activities and I just don't have room in my car for much more than my own kids. Even many childcare situations in our home were a stretch... lots of people are looking for certified in-home care givers, and if given my ideal situation I wouldn't have extra kids here in the morning trying to get Savannah off to school or too late in the afternoon because my husband gets home on the early side and it's nice to have that family time. Not that I'm not flexible with that; I'm just saying Ideally.
Well after weeks of frustration (and many many listers not responding at all!!) I finally heard back from a family that seemed almost too good to be true. They have two boys, a three year old (who's actually just two weeks older than Sawyer) and a six month old, and they're looking for someone to watch these little guys during the week from mid-morning 'till about 4 in the afternoon Monday thru Thursday. In my home. Well, whoever they decide on's home, but let's just pretend that'll be me!
How perfect is that?! Not only would I get a sweet little baby to love on (and tide me over until we can get this adoption stuff really going), but finally a little boy friend for Sawyer. -I tell you, this kid is so girled out it's not even funny any more. I was beginning to think other three year old boys don't exist in this part of the country!!-
Anyway, the mom and I have emailed back and forth a bit and they're all coming by this weekend to meet and talk more details. Yay! I'm oddly excited about this.
On one hand it'll be strange to be somewhat tied down to the house (again with the not enough room in my vehicle thing!). And to go from two kids to four kids four days a week. But then again, it's getting into reliably nice weather time around here and we can take lots of walks and go to the playground and feed the ducks and play outside a lot more. I'm hoping the boys would actually play together and we would find lots of stuff to do around here.
I'm trying to keep myself from thinking how perfect it would be... Sawyer would be happy with someone his own age and of his own interests to play with, I would be more than happy to have a baby to take care of again, and the extra money would be so nice.
So we'll see how that pans out.
Hmmm... what else.
I'm afraid this is turning into way too many words for one sitting.
I'd like to say the reason I need to be updating here more regularly again is to keep my posts short and sweet. But let's face it; we all know that's not true. It doesn't matter whether I write every day or just once a week, my blog posts are too lengthy regardless...
Oh well.
SJ's birthday party plans are in full swing. She's having a pajama party in a couple of weeks. I made the mistake of showing her some cake ideas weeks ago, but now I thought of the (much easier) idea of a simple pancake cake and I'm having trouble talking her into it. She's picturing a cake with girls in sleeping bags on it... which would be completely cute, albeit lots of fondant and work on my end. So now I'm picturing giant pancakes piled high with whipped cream frosting in between and maybe some chocolate or strawberry sauce drizzled over the "cake" with whipped cream and berries and tall candles to top it off. Savannah loves pancakes, and wouldn't that beso much simpler cute for a pajama party??
I'm just trying to convince Savannah of that.
What would you vote for? Some sort of pajama/slumber party theme fancy cake or a pancake cake?
Anyway, everyone'll be in their pj's and we'll have some games and snacks and of course watch a movie in their sleeping bags and stay up late. It won't be a sleepover, but we'll make it a "late" night. She's been talking about it for months! I think it'll be fun.
Oh, and one other thing that I've been meaning to post.
My lovely bloggy friend Kim in Canada (yes, that's actually what I call you, Kim, when I recall any of your stories to to my husband or anyone who doesn't know you... you know, Kim, in Canada? With Morgan? haha!) ... she started up her own Etsy shop with some adorable bows and clippies for little girls. Perfect for the fine baby hair, even if there's not much there! Check out her shop if you have any little girly heads to buy for: http://bittybowsandclippies.etsy.com
I keep thinking I need to be writing here.
I want to be writing here.
It's just been this odd combination lately of being busy with life, things not all that much of significance to write about, but yet there are things I do want to write about a.) to record them here "journal-like" and 2.) to just say them "outloud" to someone and get them out of my head.
So I'll just start with the randomness.
I may be getting a part time job. I've been looking for a month or so... obviously nothing that would require me paying for any kind of childcare, but I'd still like to make a little something extra.
I've been watching craigslist for mostly part time babysitting/nanny situations. Not much works out though between Savannah's school schedule and some of our evening commitments. Any afterschool hours things often require shuttling of kids from school or to activities and I just don't have room in my car for much more than my own kids. Even many childcare situations in our home were a stretch... lots of people are looking for certified in-home care givers, and if given my ideal situation I wouldn't have extra kids here in the morning trying to get Savannah off to school or too late in the afternoon because my husband gets home on the early side and it's nice to have that family time. Not that I'm not flexible with that; I'm just saying Ideally.
Well after weeks of frustration (and many many listers not responding at all!!) I finally heard back from a family that seemed almost too good to be true. They have two boys, a three year old (who's actually just two weeks older than Sawyer) and a six month old, and they're looking for someone to watch these little guys during the week from mid-morning 'till about 4 in the afternoon Monday thru Thursday. In my home. Well, whoever they decide on's home, but let's just pretend that'll be me!
How perfect is that?! Not only would I get a sweet little baby to love on (and tide me over until we can get this adoption stuff really going), but finally a little boy friend for Sawyer. -I tell you, this kid is so girled out it's not even funny any more. I was beginning to think other three year old boys don't exist in this part of the country!!-
Anyway, the mom and I have emailed back and forth a bit and they're all coming by this weekend to meet and talk more details. Yay! I'm oddly excited about this.
On one hand it'll be strange to be somewhat tied down to the house (again with the not enough room in my vehicle thing!). And to go from two kids to four kids four days a week. But then again, it's getting into reliably nice weather time around here and we can take lots of walks and go to the playground and feed the ducks and play outside a lot more. I'm hoping the boys would actually play together and we would find lots of stuff to do around here.
I'm trying to keep myself from thinking how perfect it would be... Sawyer would be happy with someone his own age and of his own interests to play with, I would be more than happy to have a baby to take care of again, and the extra money would be so nice.
So we'll see how that pans out.
Hmmm... what else.
I'm afraid this is turning into way too many words for one sitting.
I'd like to say the reason I need to be updating here more regularly again is to keep my posts short and sweet. But let's face it; we all know that's not true. It doesn't matter whether I write every day or just once a week, my blog posts are too lengthy regardless...
Oh well.
SJ's birthday party plans are in full swing. She's having a pajama party in a couple of weeks. I made the mistake of showing her some cake ideas weeks ago, but now I thought of the (much easier) idea of a simple pancake cake and I'm having trouble talking her into it. She's picturing a cake with girls in sleeping bags on it... which would be completely cute, albeit lots of fondant and work on my end. So now I'm picturing giant pancakes piled high with whipped cream frosting in between and maybe some chocolate or strawberry sauce drizzled over the "cake" with whipped cream and berries and tall candles to top it off. Savannah loves pancakes, and wouldn't that be
I'm just trying to convince Savannah of that.
What would you vote for? Some sort of pajama/slumber party theme fancy cake or a pancake cake?
Anyway, everyone'll be in their pj's and we'll have some games and snacks and of course watch a movie in their sleeping bags and stay up late. It won't be a sleepover, but we'll make it a "late" night. She's been talking about it for months! I think it'll be fun.
Oh, and one other thing that I've been meaning to post.
My lovely bloggy friend Kim in Canada (yes, that's actually what I call you, Kim, when I recall any of your stories to to my husband or anyone who doesn't know you... you know, Kim, in Canada? With Morgan? haha!) ... she started up her own Etsy shop with some adorable bows and clippies for little girls. Perfect for the fine baby hair, even if there's not much there! Check out her shop if you have any little girly heads to buy for: http://bittybowsandclippies.etsy.com
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
break
Spring Break is off to a good start so far.
It was nice and warm yesterday (over 70) and I took the kids to the zoo. We may be going again later this week with friends, but Savannah was really impatient to get there so I agreed to go planning on getting there early so we could do the Children's Zoo (which is free admission the first hour the zoo is open) which we never do (have never done in the two years we've lived here). The kids had lots of fun; we spent the entire morning there, just in the Children's Zoo and playground, and then had a nice lunch out together.
Then in the evening Savannah had her first soccer practice. She has just seven other girls on her team and I think she'll really enjoy it. She had fun last night... in fact on our way home she commented that it was so short. Um, practice was an hour!
Anyway, she has practice every week now through May and a game every Saturday. I'm looking forward to it!
Today we have a special MOPS day for spring break and Savannah is so excited to go with me and Sawyer! It's supposed to be stormy this afternoon, so I'm thinking we'll pick up a couple of movies at the library and just hang out on the couch all afternoon.
Wednesday we'll hopefully spend much of the day out and about with friends, Thursday Savannah has a birthday party to go to, and I think Ryan may be taking the last couple of days of the week off work so we can do a little "staycationing" around here. There's so much to do in St Louis that we haven't done yet. Free stuff. So I think we're going to do a little more touring of our own backyard, so to speak.
Either that or yard work in our own literal backyard. Yeah, we need to fit that in somewhere!
I'm enjoying the break from routine this week and so far we're having a blast hanging out together. It's fun to have a full week planned, but I know that means it's going to fly by so fast!
It was nice and warm yesterday (over 70) and I took the kids to the zoo. We may be going again later this week with friends, but Savannah was really impatient to get there so I agreed to go planning on getting there early so we could do the Children's Zoo (which is free admission the first hour the zoo is open) which we never do (have never done in the two years we've lived here). The kids had lots of fun; we spent the entire morning there, just in the Children's Zoo and playground, and then had a nice lunch out together.
Then in the evening Savannah had her first soccer practice. She has just seven other girls on her team and I think she'll really enjoy it. She had fun last night... in fact on our way home she commented that it was so short. Um, practice was an hour!
Anyway, she has practice every week now through May and a game every Saturday. I'm looking forward to it!
Today we have a special MOPS day for spring break and Savannah is so excited to go with me and Sawyer! It's supposed to be stormy this afternoon, so I'm thinking we'll pick up a couple of movies at the library and just hang out on the couch all afternoon.
Wednesday we'll hopefully spend much of the day out and about with friends, Thursday Savannah has a birthday party to go to, and I think Ryan may be taking the last couple of days of the week off work so we can do a little "staycationing" around here. There's so much to do in St Louis that we haven't done yet. Free stuff. So I think we're going to do a little more touring of our own backyard, so to speak.
Either that or yard work in our own literal backyard. Yeah, we need to fit that in somewhere!
I'm enjoying the break from routine this week and so far we're having a blast hanging out together. It's fun to have a full week planned, but I know that means it's going to fly by so fast!
Monday, March 23, 2009
shut. up.
It seemed that was all that would come out of Kasey's mouth when she and Mike showed up for our game night this past weekend.
Yes, we had a game night here on Saturday. But we had an extra fun twist this time... we wanted to take some time out to celebrate this long awaited, highly anticipated baby boy of theirs due this spring. And I thought, what better way than to gather some of their favorite people for one of their favorite occasions; a good old fashioned game night. And as far as they knew going into it, that's all it was. Just a regular ol' game night at the Morrisons.
But the rest of us went in knowing it was more than that-- we wanted to get together specifically to celebrate this special couple and this exciting blessing in their lives. We totally suprised them with cake and presents and faces they definitely weren't expecting to see here!
So they walk in the front door and they of course notice the cake and presents and decorations in the front dining room. And we (the rest of us were all in the back of the house, family room/kitchen) hear a big "Shut. Up."
And then another "Shut. Up." as they realize what's going on.
And then yet another "Shut. Up.", as they peek through the entryway and see Mike's brother and sister-in-law who drove down from Indy just to surprise them.
Then they finally made their way back to the group and saw more food and more friends and Kasey just had the best bewildered look on her face, still just repeating to herself "Shut. Up. I can't believe this!" as I explained this was no ordinary game night... we were most definitely having a Celebrate Baby night, all about them! All she had to say? "Shut. Up."
I was half-expecting her to shove me just like the signature Elaine "get OUT" push on Seinfeld.
We had a ton of fun. We played a couple of extra "baby" themed games as a nod to the baby shower itself, but we also played some old standbys and mostly just had a fabulous time hanging out and telling stories and chowing down on plenty of food.
Here are a few snapshots of the evening...
Starting out with the cake after someone's kid *ahem* got a little too excited about cake time.
Yes, that's a full,Sawyer sized, bite out of the cake.
The happy couple...
Kasey explaining to Sawyer who the heck all these presents are for...
It's been awhile since the Laughlins had been able to join us for a regular game night, so it was great fun to have them back and having the 'Indy Laughlins' here too, just made it that much more memorable. Thanks so much, Dan and Amanda, for driving down, hanging out and being a part of our surprise!! We loved having you here, and you're welcome anytime!!
Mike and Kasey, we hope you know how much we love you guys and that we can't wait to meet your new little guy :)!
Yes, we had a game night here on Saturday. But we had an extra fun twist this time... we wanted to take some time out to celebrate this long awaited, highly anticipated baby boy of theirs due this spring. And I thought, what better way than to gather some of their favorite people for one of their favorite occasions; a good old fashioned game night. And as far as they knew going into it, that's all it was. Just a regular ol' game night at the Morrisons.
But the rest of us went in knowing it was more than that-- we wanted to get together specifically to celebrate this special couple and this exciting blessing in their lives. We totally suprised them with cake and presents and faces they definitely weren't expecting to see here!So they walk in the front door and they of course notice the cake and presents and decorations in the front dining room. And we (the rest of us were all in the back of the house, family room/kitchen) hear a big "Shut. Up."
And then another "Shut. Up." as they realize what's going on.
And then yet another "Shut. Up.", as they peek through the entryway and see Mike's brother and sister-in-law who drove down from Indy just to surprise them.
Then they finally made their way back to the group and saw more food and more friends and Kasey just had the best bewildered look on her face, still just repeating to herself "Shut. Up. I can't believe this!" as I explained this was no ordinary game night... we were most definitely having a Celebrate Baby night, all about them! All she had to say? "Shut. Up."
I was half-expecting her to shove me just like the signature Elaine "get OUT" push on Seinfeld.
We had a ton of fun. We played a couple of extra "baby" themed games as a nod to the baby shower itself, but we also played some old standbys and mostly just had a fabulous time hanging out and telling stories and chowing down on plenty of food.
Here are a few snapshots of the evening...
Starting out with the cake after someone's kid *ahem* got a little too excited about cake time.
Yes, that's a full,
The happy couple...
Kasey explaining to Sawyer who the heck all these presents are for...
It's been awhile since the Laughlins had been able to join us for a regular game night, so it was great fun to have them back and having the 'Indy Laughlins' here too, just made it that much more memorable. Thanks so much, Dan and Amanda, for driving down, hanging out and being a part of our surprise!! We loved having you here, and you're welcome anytime!!
Mike and Kasey, we hope you know how much we love you guys and that we can't wait to meet your new little guy :)!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
randomly
Has anyone got a good eggplant recipe? We got two eggplant in our produce basket this week, I've never had it or cooked with it before and I haven't the slightest idea. All I keep hearing is 'eggplant parmesan'... is that going to be my only option??
I hit up The Children's Place yesterday... came home with 10 things for $30... score! Lots of cool new tee's for Sawyer, some tops for SJ for next winter for -get this- $1.22 each, plus a couple other springy shirts and dress for her.
We have A LOT going on this weekend and I have a to-do list a mile long.
We're hosting a game night, I have a baby shower I'm doing the cake for, we're having overnight guests and I'm hoping to find time to make and deliver a meal to a couple with a brand new baby at some point this weekend. Sawyer has a project due at school tomorrow, I have to get groceries, I still have four loads of laundry to put away from yesterday, three bathrooms to clean, two gifts to wrap and a partridge in a pear tree.
Butt I have this horrible headache today and all I want to do is go upstairs and nap with my kids all afternoon.
Why don't Craigslist people respond??? Seriously, if the item is already sold, if the job is already taken, if you no longer have the services that you listed available, how hard is it to reply with a five second e-mail of sorry, it's taken or sorry, that's not going to work for us. Is that too much to ask?? Frustrating.
I hit up The Children's Place yesterday... came home with 10 things for $30... score! Lots of cool new tee's for Sawyer, some tops for SJ for next winter for -get this- $1.22 each, plus a couple other springy shirts and dress for her.
We have A LOT going on this weekend and I have a to-do list a mile long.
We're hosting a game night, I have a baby shower I'm doing the cake for, we're having overnight guests and I'm hoping to find time to make and deliver a meal to a couple with a brand new baby at some point this weekend. Sawyer has a project due at school tomorrow, I have to get groceries, I still have four loads of laundry to put away from yesterday, three bathrooms to clean, two gifts to wrap and a partridge in a pear tree.
Butt I have this horrible headache today and all I want to do is go upstairs and nap with my kids all afternoon.
Why don't Craigslist people respond??? Seriously, if the item is already sold, if the job is already taken, if you no longer have the services that you listed available, how hard is it to reply with a five second e-mail of sorry, it's taken or sorry, that's not going to work for us. Is that too much to ask?? Frustrating.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
happy orange day!
... which is what comes after "green day" (known to the rest of the world as St Paddy's Day) according to our resident three-year-old. I was informed this morning that it is now Orange Day and that I wasn't celebrating correctly as I'm wearing a only a black t-shirt and jeans rather than the requisite orange that I somehow missed the memo on. Good thing Sawyer's in the know!
Me, I'm all color celebrated out from yesterday...
Speaking of green, I love love love how spring just bursts here! Just over a week ago (when Josh was here in town -I remember because he commented on it) everything was still sleeping from winter... the trees were bare, the lawns were drained of color and flowerbeds were desolate. Now, today, I can no longer see my neighbors front window due to the blooms filling the tree in her front yard. The grass is almost bright green again and flowers are blooming and opening everywhere. There is no ease into spring here... it's like one day the alarm clock goes off and everything just springs to life. It almost seems overnight.
We have been outside what seems like non-stop for the last five days. And you know I love me some serious spring weather, but I'm about ready for maybe just one cooler, drizzly day right about now to just lay low and stay tucked inside; that's how much we've been out of doors. I have neglected absolutely any and all housework that needs to be done. The gorgeous weather has just been too much to resist. Shorts and flip flops have been the norm all week. We've been out with neighbors what seems almost morning noon and night, we've been to the park, done yardwork, had picnics, we've been grilling every night, and the kids have, more evenings than not, been out till dark coming in just to collapse into bed with their dirty little summertime reminiscent feet. We spent the evening last night with good friends in the backyard eating and visiting until finally, at almost 8 o'clock, I realized -um it's a school night and the kids have been running hard outside all day, I suppose I should get them into bed-. And it was still 70° outside when I went to bed at 10pm.
Did I mention I love spring time??
Of course, next week is our spring break and what's on tap as of now? Scattered thunderstorms and/or showers all week long. Oh well. Maybe that'll be our chance to take a breather, stay in, lay low and re-coop a bit from this week of go go go!
Me, I'm all color celebrated out from yesterday...
Speaking of green, I love love love how spring just bursts here! Just over a week ago (when Josh was here in town -I remember because he commented on it) everything was still sleeping from winter... the trees were bare, the lawns were drained of color and flowerbeds were desolate. Now, today, I can no longer see my neighbors front window due to the blooms filling the tree in her front yard. The grass is almost bright green again and flowers are blooming and opening everywhere. There is no ease into spring here... it's like one day the alarm clock goes off and everything just springs to life. It almost seems overnight.
We have been outside what seems like non-stop for the last five days. And you know I love me some serious spring weather, but I'm about ready for maybe just one cooler, drizzly day right about now to just lay low and stay tucked inside; that's how much we've been out of doors. I have neglected absolutely any and all housework that needs to be done. The gorgeous weather has just been too much to resist. Shorts and flip flops have been the norm all week. We've been out with neighbors what seems almost morning noon and night, we've been to the park, done yardwork, had picnics, we've been grilling every night, and the kids have, more evenings than not, been out till dark coming in just to collapse into bed with their dirty little summertime reminiscent feet. We spent the evening last night with good friends in the backyard eating and visiting until finally, at almost 8 o'clock, I realized -um it's a school night and the kids have been running hard outside all day, I suppose I should get them into bed-. And it was still 70° outside when I went to bed at 10pm.
Did I mention I love spring time??
Of course, next week is our spring break and what's on tap as of now? Scattered thunderstorms and/or showers all week long. Oh well. Maybe that'll be our chance to take a breather, stay in, lay low and re-coop a bit from this week of go go go!
Friday, March 13, 2009
it's friday
How about random Friday questions again...
On second thought, let's keep it simple this week.
Tell me the 3 best things that happened to you this week. Since it seems many of us have all had loooong weeks, pick out three things that made you smile. Anything. A good hair day, getting in touch with an old friend, a package in the mail, someone did something nice for you, or maybe your toaster simply popped out the perfectly toasted piece of toast. Best things.
Despite the week we had, there are quite a few on my list.
Top 3: I got some projects that had been sitting around finished up, I've been party planning (always one of my favorite things to do!!), and I'm feeling like Spring is really here to stay; besides the random wacky temperatures we've been seeing, our grass is getting greener every day, there are buds on the trees and it was bright and sunny outside last night until 7 o'clock in the evening. Good stuff!
Your turn.
On second thought, let's keep it simple this week.
Tell me the 3 best things that happened to you this week. Since it seems many of us have all had loooong weeks, pick out three things that made you smile. Anything. A good hair day, getting in touch with an old friend, a package in the mail, someone did something nice for you, or maybe your toaster simply popped out the perfectly toasted piece of toast. Best things.
Despite the week we had, there are quite a few on my list.
Top 3: I got some projects that had been sitting around finished up, I've been party planning (always one of my favorite things to do!!), and I'm feeling like Spring is really here to stay; besides the random wacky temperatures we've been seeing, our grass is getting greener every day, there are buds on the trees and it was bright and sunny outside last night until 7 o'clock in the evening. Good stuff!
Your turn.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
done and done
If you're talking about your husband's sister and her husband... would you say "my sister-in-law and brother-in-law" or do you say "my sister and brother-in-law"?
If I were talking about my husband's parents, I think I would just say "my mother and father-in-law", not "my mother-in-law and father-in-law"... but with the siblings if I just say "my sister and brother-in-law", isn't that meaning simply my actual sister and her husband? But is seems redundant to say "my sister-in-law and brother-in-law".
Should I just say "my sister-in-law and her husband"?? I guess that might be the most correct.
I confuse myself.
Boy I'm glad the week's almost over. We have all been in rare form this week.
I'm blaming it on the time change. Isn't it funny how in B.K. years (before kids) you could care less about Daylight Savings time, but when you become a mother... after you hit that first daylight savings switcheroo, it becomes a tool of the enemy. Like the devil himself created it to make our lives hell.
We have had some horrendous mornings around here this week. Oh and it's not just confined to the mornings; it just starts with the mornings. And it's not even completely the fact that it's darker in the mornings or that anyone wants to sleep any later (although I'd volunteer for that job!); all of us just seem so off. Often I'll think we're getting through our mornings just fine, nobody's in a rush, there may have been no big issues or scenes, but then never fail; Savannah has been in tears about something or other in the last 10 minutes before the bus comes every. single. day. this week. Maybe I didn't do her hair like she wanted, or maybe I did but I was hurting her by brushing it, maybe she isn't agreeing with me on what shoes to wear, maybe she can't find the note she wrote to one of her friends or maybe Sawyer accidentally knocked her with a toy... it doesn't matter what it is, the point is the girl is on the verge of a breakdown.
And I won't mention the boy and the fall-apart-in-tears-at-every-little-thing-habit he's developed this week. Oh, did I already mention that after all?
As soon as we get Savannah out the door, unfortunately he and I have had someplace to be each morning this week. Ask this three year old to get dressed?? The nerve! Require that he use the bathroom before we get in the car?? How dare I. He protests every time anything is asked of him, and when he wants something, every single answer I give him is met with whining and and argument. I don't even think half the time he realizes if I give him the answer he wanted... he's already in fight and whine mode.
I don't really get it, because it's not like their sleeping has been that screwed up... this shouldn't be due to lack of sleep or change of schedules... but they're both just way out of sorts. We've tried buckling down and being more consistent, we've tried ignoring their irrational behavior, we've tried not tolerating their attitudes (Savannah was sent to her room approximately 34 times yesterday) and we've tried fun distractions (we got goldfish) and nothing is saving us from ourselves.
I'm also blaming it on the weather. Going from 80° to 30° in one afternoon just isn't normal. The kids were outside in shorts on Tuesday and then a little confused when I made them bundle up in their snow coats and hats the next morning.
I'm just counting this week as a loss and waiting for the weekend.
Spring Break a week early anyone??
If I were talking about my husband's parents, I think I would just say "my mother and father-in-law", not "my mother-in-law and father-in-law"... but with the siblings if I just say "my sister and brother-in-law", isn't that meaning simply my actual sister and her husband? But is seems redundant to say "my sister-in-law and brother-in-law".
Should I just say "my sister-in-law and her husband"?? I guess that might be the most correct.
I confuse myself.
Boy I'm glad the week's almost over. We have all been in rare form this week.
I'm blaming it on the time change. Isn't it funny how in B.K. years (before kids) you could care less about Daylight Savings time, but when you become a mother... after you hit that first daylight savings switcheroo, it becomes a tool of the enemy. Like the devil himself created it to make our lives hell.
We have had some horrendous mornings around here this week. Oh and it's not just confined to the mornings; it just starts with the mornings. And it's not even completely the fact that it's darker in the mornings or that anyone wants to sleep any later (although I'd volunteer for that job!); all of us just seem so off. Often I'll think we're getting through our mornings just fine, nobody's in a rush, there may have been no big issues or scenes, but then never fail; Savannah has been in tears about something or other in the last 10 minutes before the bus comes every. single. day. this week. Maybe I didn't do her hair like she wanted, or maybe I did but I was hurting her by brushing it, maybe she isn't agreeing with me on what shoes to wear, maybe she can't find the note she wrote to one of her friends or maybe Sawyer accidentally knocked her with a toy... it doesn't matter what it is, the point is the girl is on the verge of a breakdown.
And I won't mention the boy and the fall-apart-in-tears-at-every-little-thing-habit he's developed this week. Oh, did I already mention that after all?
As soon as we get Savannah out the door, unfortunately he and I have had someplace to be each morning this week. Ask this three year old to get dressed?? The nerve! Require that he use the bathroom before we get in the car?? How dare I. He protests every time anything is asked of him, and when he wants something, every single answer I give him is met with whining and and argument. I don't even think half the time he realizes if I give him the answer he wanted... he's already in fight and whine mode.
I don't really get it, because it's not like their sleeping has been that screwed up... this shouldn't be due to lack of sleep or change of schedules... but they're both just way out of sorts. We've tried buckling down and being more consistent, we've tried ignoring their irrational behavior, we've tried not tolerating their attitudes (Savannah was sent to her room approximately 34 times yesterday) and we've tried fun distractions (we got goldfish) and nothing is saving us from ourselves.
I'm also blaming it on the weather. Going from 80° to 30° in one afternoon just isn't normal. The kids were outside in shorts on Tuesday and then a little confused when I made them bundle up in their snow coats and hats the next morning.
I'm just counting this week as a loss and waiting for the weekend.
Spring Break a week early anyone??
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
review
Sawyer on his way to the bathroom this morning:
I have to go poopy and pee pee.
We all have cracks?
Yep.
The crack is so we don't see the poopy bottom?
Sure.
Why is it built that way?
Built??
How did we get built that way? -
God built us that way... he made up what our bodies look like and so they work just like they need to.
Oh yeah, I forgot. Silly God! Him's a good builder. Him makes me a good bottom! And a good big crack so I can do BIG poopies!
I have to go poopy and pee pee.
Okay, thanks for letting me know dude.
Poopy comes out of ours back-bottoms (pointing to illustrate) and pee pee comes out of ours front-bottom (grabbing himself).Yep, you got it.
Let me show you.I already know buddy, you really don't need to show me... how about you hurry up into the bathroom and do your job?
I want to show you... (pulling his pants down) here's where the pee pee comes from (pointing), and the poopy comes out here at my back-bottom from my big crack...(interrupting him as he's spreading his little cheeks)
Thanks for the review bud, now get that naked bottom out of the kitchen and into the bathroom, please.
Yep.
The crack is so we don't see the poopy bottom?
Sure.
Why is it built that way?
Built??
How did we get built that way? -
God built us that way... he made up what our bodies look like and so they work just like they need to.
Oh yeah, I forgot. Silly God! Him's a good builder. Him makes me a good bottom! And a good big crack so I can do BIG poopies!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
i do take pictures of grown-ups too
{edited to add my little award....}
I Heart Faces so much (hehe), I thought I'd throw a shot in there for the adults faces category too...
Here's a pic I was playing with last year to print up for my sister and brother in law (before they announced they were having a third baby)(after that I just couldn't bring myself to give them a framed "family picture" that would be missing one of their girls...)
and just for reference, here's the original, pre-crop:
the kind of morning we've had
It's the kind of day where (apparently) all you want to do is bury your head and cry.
About everything.
Naked.
i heart faces- cropped
This week at I Heart Faces, the theme is "Creative Crop" and although I had high aspirations of taking that challenge and creating a new picture, I ran out of time and am resorting back to this one in my files of SJ.
I thought of this one for the "Creative Crop" theme because I remember snapping it and thinking, "Great, I got the four-year-old-uber-cheesy smile...". Here's the original:
And while there's nothing wrong with that -after all, uber-cheesy smiles from four-year-olds are to be expected- I did end up playing around with it (I liked the flower stuck casually in her hair) and really like the closeness of just getting the wide open expression of her eyes, making them much more the focus.
This is now one of my favorites of her... I don't know what it is, but something about this shot of this girl and her bright eyes and the simple flower in her hair always makes me smile.
I thought of this one for the "Creative Crop" theme because I remember snapping it and thinking, "Great, I got the four-year-old-uber-cheesy smile...". Here's the original:
And while there's nothing wrong with that -after all, uber-cheesy smiles from four-year-olds are to be expected- I did end up playing around with it (I liked the flower stuck casually in her hair) and really like the closeness of just getting the wide open expression of her eyes, making them much more the focus.
This is now one of my favorites of her... I don't know what it is, but something about this shot of this girl and her bright eyes and the simple flower in her hair always makes me smile.For more creatively cropped images, check out I Heart Faces this week!
Monday, March 9, 2009
tubbin'
weekend documenting
Our weekend seemed so busy, yet thinking back on it we didn't really do that much. I guess it just seems more full when you have house guests all weekend...
Friday was the most awesome day, weather-wise, of the year so far. Days like this are such a treat... especially in March!! It got up to 82* and was absolutely gorgeous. Ryan took the day off since his friend Josh was here visiting from Portland and the two of them spent the morning on the golf course. I spent the morning shopping :). Spring weather calls for Spring shopping, right?!?
After Savannah got home from school, we picked up Sawyer earlier than normal and all went over to meet the Swinigan girls at the park. The boys played soccer and football in the fields and the girls ran around the park while us moms got to chat.
Eventually we headed home to figure out some dinner and while the kids played outside some more, we marinated some steaks for an awesome Grilled Steak Salad. It was the perfect summer -er, spring evening.
Saturday was busy. Savannah had an all day soccer clinic/evaluation for her soccer league starting up this month. I was so proud of her; she had drills and evaluations the entire morning and she totally hung in there and did a great job with everything. They didn't even break until 1 o'clock for lunch and she didn't complain at all. After a quick lunch, she ran right back in to a scrimmage game and to ourshock delight, she was actually playing (as best she knew how)! Now I don't remember if I noted this here last year, but her week of soccer camp last summer was kind of a bust. She did pretty good with the lessons and drills, but when it came to the hour of scrimmage play at the end of the morning... she could care less about soccer. She'd be out there on the field twirling her hair, watching the clouds, talking to her friends, anything except for paying attention to the task at hand. The ball could roll right into her feet and she wouldn't notice. She was just not all that in to it. To say the least.
But this past weekend, I was amazed to see her running around, running after the ball, and even getting a few kicks in there during the scrimmage games. And she was enjoying herself! It was so fun to watch. I can't wait till her practices and games start. I hope she decides she really does like it enough to continue to put in this effort!
Anyway, we were camped out there all day. After an early morning start, I left the soccer fields to run over to spend some time with some friends for a brunch late morning, then I returned to relieve Ryan and Josh so they could go grab some lunch (Chick-fil-A of course) before Ryan had to be back for a basketball game he had at the same campus at 1. Phew!
Yesterday we skipped church, slept in a bit with the time change, took Josh* to the airport, spent some time at Costco and ran some other errands between the storms rolling through here, and then ended up crashing in our basement for our Sunday night movie night... we watched Beethoven. Sawyer loved it.
*It seems Sawyer also loved having Josh here with us. When we left him at the airport Sawyer gave a wistful sigh and said, "I love that guy...". HA! I think he really did like having him around... our visitors usually consist of family (with lots of females in the family) and the friends that visit have been mostly either mine (again, female) or whole families of friends. Meaning the guys have their own kids to play with, there are lots of people to share the "fun daddy" attention. This was the first guy friend to visit on his own and Sawyer was basically attached to his hip much of the time. A second daddy for the weekend, what fun!
Friday was the most awesome day, weather-wise, of the year so far. Days like this are such a treat... especially in March!! It got up to 82* and was absolutely gorgeous. Ryan took the day off since his friend Josh was here visiting from Portland and the two of them spent the morning on the golf course. I spent the morning shopping :). Spring weather calls for Spring shopping, right?!?
After Savannah got home from school, we picked up Sawyer earlier than normal and all went over to meet the Swinigan girls at the park. The boys played soccer and football in the fields and the girls ran around the park while us moms got to chat.
Eventually we headed home to figure out some dinner and while the kids played outside some more, we marinated some steaks for an awesome Grilled Steak Salad. It was the perfect summer -er, spring evening.
Saturday was busy. Savannah had an all day soccer clinic/evaluation for her soccer league starting up this month. I was so proud of her; she had drills and evaluations the entire morning and she totally hung in there and did a great job with everything. They didn't even break until 1 o'clock for lunch and she didn't complain at all. After a quick lunch, she ran right back in to a scrimmage game and to our
But this past weekend, I was amazed to see her running around, running after the ball, and even getting a few kicks in there during the scrimmage games. And she was enjoying herself! It was so fun to watch. I can't wait till her practices and games start. I hope she decides she really does like it enough to continue to put in this effort!
Anyway, we were camped out there all day. After an early morning start, I left the soccer fields to run over to spend some time with some friends for a brunch late morning, then I returned to relieve Ryan and Josh so they could go grab some lunch (Chick-fil-A of course) before Ryan had to be back for a basketball game he had at the same campus at 1. Phew!
Yesterday we skipped church, slept in a bit with the time change, took Josh* to the airport, spent some time at Costco and ran some other errands between the storms rolling through here, and then ended up crashing in our basement for our Sunday night movie night... we watched Beethoven. Sawyer loved it.
*It seems Sawyer also loved having Josh here with us. When we left him at the airport Sawyer gave a wistful sigh and said, "I love that guy...". HA! I think he really did like having him around... our visitors usually consist of family (with lots of females in the family) and the friends that visit have been mostly either mine (again, female) or whole families of friends. Meaning the guys have their own kids to play with, there are lots of people to share the "fun daddy" attention. This was the first guy friend to visit on his own and Sawyer was basically attached to his hip much of the time. A second daddy for the weekend, what fun!
Friday, March 6, 2009
right now...
...it's 81 degrees outside.
...we're marinating steaks to throw on the grill in a few minutes
and then toss on a fresh yummy salad.
...my husband's neck is slightly sunburned from a golf outing this morning.
...my kids have dirty faces, grimy hands and filthy feet from spending
an entire afternoon at the park.
...all our windows are open and there is a soothing spring breeze flowing through the house.
...the neighborhood is bustling with activity; kids all over the place, adults gathered at miscellaneous mailboxes or in driveways sipping drinks and chatting away.
...it's a perfect 81 degrees outside. (oh, did I already mention that?)
...we're marinating steaks to throw on the grill in a few minutes
and then toss on a fresh yummy salad.
...my husband's neck is slightly sunburned from a golf outing this morning.
...my kids have dirty faces, grimy hands and filthy feet from spending
an entire afternoon at the park.
...all our windows are open and there is a soothing spring breeze flowing through the house.
...the neighborhood is bustling with activity; kids all over the place, adults gathered at miscellaneous mailboxes or in driveways sipping drinks and chatting away.
...it's a perfect 81 degrees outside. (oh, did I already mention that?)
Thursday, March 5, 2009
just a thursday
Not much to report on around here. Sawyer's got a cold and a cough and a double ear infection, so we've just been laying low all week.
We took the kids swimming last night at the city pool. It wasn't great timing; with Sawyer being under the weather I was a little worried about getting his ears wet, but I owed him. Savannah's doing soccer this spring (starting this weekend) and since Sawyer's too young for that league, he's been asking me (out of the blue, all on his own) if he could do swimming instead. Sure! I was impressed and pleasantly surprised that he thought of and wanted to do that (swimming lessons are nice and cheap!!). Well, that was more than a month ago and I completely dropped the ball on it and forgot to get him registered for the sessions that started this week. We ran in there this week, hoping to still find an open spot in a class, but all of their March spots were full. So now he's all signed up for April. But he was so disappointed. He was so looking forward to his "swimming practice", as he calls it. He wasn't very happy that we have to wait our turn and not go till next month. He keeps telling me, "but it IS next month already!". Add to that the fact that I keep talking about going to my class (aquaerobics)(and that sometimes he's expected to go with me and hang out in the childcare) and he's not too thrilled with me.
So while we had a great day yesterday and he seemed to be feeling pretty good, as soon as Ryan got home from work, we all went over for a romp in the pool. It was fun; we were about the only ones there! The kids did the lazy river dozens and dozens of times and played on the water play structure. There are waterfalls and fountains and hoses to play with, a slide and ropes and pulleys to activate showers and dump buckets from up high. Savannah would have spent about the whole evening in the vortex pool; she just loved donning a life jacket and simply swirling around and around and around. Sawyer was jumping in like a madman, swimming around like he was last in the pool yesterday. You'd never know he hasn't been swimming since last August. Ryan and I were saying last night that we can't believe we've lived here for almost two years, this place is practically around the corner from us, and we've never taken advantage during these winter months! It'll definitely be an outing we'll keep in mind for the future. After all, we still have almost three more months until our neighborhood pool opens.
Anyway, we had a great evening together. And then we all slept well!
Poor Sawyer might be paying for it today though. His cough seems worse (although that's probably my imagination... it's always worse in the morning) and he is pretty darn cranky this AM. Well, hopefully after we get Savannah off to school, I can just park him in front of a movie and I can get motivated while he rests anddisinfect clean up this house as one of Ryan's best friends from Oregon is arriving this afternoon to spend the weekend with us. A busy weekend it will be!!
We took the kids swimming last night at the city pool. It wasn't great timing; with Sawyer being under the weather I was a little worried about getting his ears wet, but I owed him. Savannah's doing soccer this spring (starting this weekend) and since Sawyer's too young for that league, he's been asking me (out of the blue, all on his own) if he could do swimming instead. Sure! I was impressed and pleasantly surprised that he thought of and wanted to do that (swimming lessons are nice and cheap!!). Well, that was more than a month ago and I completely dropped the ball on it and forgot to get him registered for the sessions that started this week. We ran in there this week, hoping to still find an open spot in a class, but all of their March spots were full. So now he's all signed up for April. But he was so disappointed. He was so looking forward to his "swimming practice", as he calls it. He wasn't very happy that we have to wait our turn and not go till next month. He keeps telling me, "but it IS next month already!". Add to that the fact that I keep talking about going to my class (aquaerobics)(and that sometimes he's expected to go with me and hang out in the childcare) and he's not too thrilled with me.
So while we had a great day yesterday and he seemed to be feeling pretty good, as soon as Ryan got home from work, we all went over for a romp in the pool. It was fun; we were about the only ones there! The kids did the lazy river dozens and dozens of times and played on the water play structure. There are waterfalls and fountains and hoses to play with, a slide and ropes and pulleys to activate showers and dump buckets from up high. Savannah would have spent about the whole evening in the vortex pool; she just loved donning a life jacket and simply swirling around and around and around. Sawyer was jumping in like a madman, swimming around like he was last in the pool yesterday. You'd never know he hasn't been swimming since last August. Ryan and I were saying last night that we can't believe we've lived here for almost two years, this place is practically around the corner from us, and we've never taken advantage during these winter months! It'll definitely be an outing we'll keep in mind for the future. After all, we still have almost three more months until our neighborhood pool opens.
Anyway, we had a great evening together. And then we all slept well!
Poor Sawyer might be paying for it today though. His cough seems worse (although that's probably my imagination... it's always worse in the morning) and he is pretty darn cranky this AM. Well, hopefully after we get Savannah off to school, I can just park him in front of a movie and I can get motivated while he rests and
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
office musical
I love these fan-made set to music YouTube videos of The Office.
This one is by far the best. Three minutes of the Office-ers bursting into song (although I can't believe Andy's Rockin Robin cell phone didn't make the cut!!) all mashed together in a great little soundtrack of life in The Office.
It got me smiling along, singing along, and makes me want to re-watch all the seasons...
p.s. don't miss the last 15 seconds.
This one is by far the best. Three minutes of the Office-ers bursting into song (although I can't believe Andy's Rockin Robin cell phone didn't make the cut!!) all mashed together in a great little soundtrack of life in The Office.
It got me smiling along, singing along, and makes me want to re-watch all the seasons...
p.s. don't miss the last 15 seconds.
Monday, March 2, 2009
spurty
We're working in spurts today.
I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning and we struggled to get Savannah ready and off to school on time.
But after she was off, Sawyer and I (emphasis on I) emptied the dishwasher, cleaned up the kitchen, cleaned up and cleaned out and organized the pantry and played some letter games with a box of Alpha-bits dumped out all over the island counter.
Then Sawyer turned on the tv and got sucked in and I stopped for a minute on the laptop and got sucked in and we spent probably an hour just vegging and dinking around on the couch.
We finally went upstairs and got dressed and we cleaned up Sawyer's room and he helped me sort all the laundry and he single-handedly matched the mammoth basket of clean socks that has just been piling up in my bedroom for the last couple of weeks. We vacuumed upstairs and put everyone's laundry away.
Then we came downstairs and I sat down to make a meal plan a grocery list for this week. Sawyer sat down with a pad of paper as well next to me, but then I started looking up recipes online and we just ended up dinking around on the couch with the laptop and the tv on again for way too long.
We snapped out of it to make some lunch and get Savannah off the school bus, I cleaned out the laundry room and we all went through some school piles and papers.
But then I sent the kids up for naptime and got on the computer to draft a couple of email while waiting for the kids to get settled and somehow ended up in an online scrabble game. Three of them to be precise. Not sure how I ended up sitting here playing game after game but I did. And eating way too many girl scout cookies.
What a productive way to spend a Monday afternoon, no??
I'm waiting for my next bout of motivation to kick in, although there's a good chance the Thin Mints buried it for the day.
I had a hard time getting out of bed this morning and we struggled to get Savannah ready and off to school on time.
But after she was off, Sawyer and I (emphasis on I) emptied the dishwasher, cleaned up the kitchen, cleaned up and cleaned out and organized the pantry and played some letter games with a box of Alpha-bits dumped out all over the island counter.
Then Sawyer turned on the tv and got sucked in and I stopped for a minute on the laptop and got sucked in and we spent probably an hour just vegging and dinking around on the couch.
We finally went upstairs and got dressed and we cleaned up Sawyer's room and he helped me sort all the laundry and he single-handedly matched the mammoth basket of clean socks that has just been piling up in my bedroom for the last couple of weeks. We vacuumed upstairs and put everyone's laundry away.
Then we came downstairs and I sat down to make a meal plan a grocery list for this week. Sawyer sat down with a pad of paper as well next to me, but then I started looking up recipes online and we just ended up dinking around on the couch with the laptop and the tv on again for way too long.
We snapped out of it to make some lunch and get Savannah off the school bus, I cleaned out the laundry room and we all went through some school piles and papers.
But then I sent the kids up for naptime and got on the computer to draft a couple of email while waiting for the kids to get settled and somehow ended up in an online scrabble game. Three of them to be precise. Not sure how I ended up sitting here playing game after game but I did. And eating way too many girl scout cookies.
What a productive way to spend a Monday afternoon, no??
I'm waiting for my next bout of motivation to kick in, although there's a good chance the Thin Mints buried it for the day.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
good deals, good weekend
Did a little shopping yesterday.
We all ran over to Kohl's for a big sale day yesterday and walked out with six pairs of jeans and three shirts between the four of us for $85. Score! I wore my new jeans today and got two separate comments about looking thinner. Great deals on clothes that make me look skinny... gotta love that!
I don't know if I was more excited about my new jeans or our other purchase yesterday. It makes me feel really old to be so happy about an appliance purchase. But I guess it's not just the appliance itself, it's the deal we got on it! We've been hemming and hawing about buying a new dishwasher. While we knew we could definitely use one with more room, and were eager to lose the loud buzzings and noises coming from our old one, ours did still work and we were holding out I guess until we pretty much had to bite the bullet and get a new one.
It hadn't stopped us from shopping around though. We'd picked out the one we wanted awhile ago, we were just waiting to HAVE TO spend the $400.
Then yesterday, I happened to find Lowe's had the one we wanted on sale... for $150 off! So we ran over to pick one up. And they were all out. As were all the other stores they called. They were literally selling out as we were on the phone with each of them. They found one floor model left in all of our area. We were on our way out of the store to go check it out when the store associate we were talking to informed us that one of the stores called back and they ended up having one in the color we wanted left in a box. So we had them hold it for us and we headed over there. When we got to that store to pick it up, less than half an hour later, the guy said that he had recieved three more calls with customers wanting to claim that one if we didn't pick it up. Sheesh!
Anyway, after lunch at Chick-fil-A (Ryan's favorite part of the day), just $250 and aquick lengthy self install later, we have a gorgeous new dishwasher (my favorite part of the day). Tonight we're listening to it run right now as we're sitting in the living room and both of us have said, several times, "ooooh that's so nice and quiet!!"
Luckily, we aren't so hard up for excitement that a new dishwasher was the only highlight of our weekend. Ryan and I went out last night for a neighbors' 40th birthday. It was a surprise party at Dave&Busters and it was fun to spend a couple of hours out with friends for dinner and drinks. We left early (at 9) to pick up the kids from the babysitter and get them to bed. Another neighborhood couple left the party then too and after all the kids were in bed, they joined us here at home for a little more chatting and sipping. It was fun to visit. We see so much of our neighbors all spring, summer and fall, and then it's like we all hibernate for the winter... it's too cold to be outside in the yards much being friendly!! So it was nice to catch up a bit.
It was a lazy day around here today. After church and lunch we all crashed and spent a couple of hours napping. Then an early dinner and our Sunday movie night with the kids.
It was a good weekend.
We all ran over to Kohl's for a big sale day yesterday and walked out with six pairs of jeans and three shirts between the four of us for $85. Score! I wore my new jeans today and got two separate comments about looking thinner. Great deals on clothes that make me look skinny... gotta love that!
I don't know if I was more excited about my new jeans or our other purchase yesterday. It makes me feel really old to be so happy about an appliance purchase. But I guess it's not just the appliance itself, it's the deal we got on it! We've been hemming and hawing about buying a new dishwasher. While we knew we could definitely use one with more room, and were eager to lose the loud buzzings and noises coming from our old one, ours did still work and we were holding out I guess until we pretty much had to bite the bullet and get a new one.
It hadn't stopped us from shopping around though. We'd picked out the one we wanted awhile ago, we were just waiting to HAVE TO spend the $400.
Then yesterday, I happened to find Lowe's had the one we wanted on sale... for $150 off! So we ran over to pick one up. And they were all out. As were all the other stores they called. They were literally selling out as we were on the phone with each of them. They found one floor model left in all of our area. We were on our way out of the store to go check it out when the store associate we were talking to informed us that one of the stores called back and they ended up having one in the color we wanted left in a box. So we had them hold it for us and we headed over there. When we got to that store to pick it up, less than half an hour later, the guy said that he had recieved three more calls with customers wanting to claim that one if we didn't pick it up. Sheesh!
Anyway, after lunch at Chick-fil-A (Ryan's favorite part of the day), just $250 and a
Luckily, we aren't so hard up for excitement that a new dishwasher was the only highlight of our weekend. Ryan and I went out last night for a neighbors' 40th birthday. It was a surprise party at Dave&Busters and it was fun to spend a couple of hours out with friends for dinner and drinks. We left early (at 9) to pick up the kids from the babysitter and get them to bed. Another neighborhood couple left the party then too and after all the kids were in bed, they joined us here at home for a little more chatting and sipping. It was fun to visit. We see so much of our neighbors all spring, summer and fall, and then it's like we all hibernate for the winter... it's too cold to be outside in the yards much being friendly!! So it was nice to catch up a bit.
It was a lazy day around here today. After church and lunch we all crashed and spent a couple of hours napping. Then an early dinner and our Sunday movie night with the kids.
It was a good weekend.
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