patio post

Here's the patio! I still have to plant some planters and figure out patio furniture but we enjoyed a weenie roast and smores out there this past week end!

Yesterday my sister came for the day. It's like having a vacation day during the week when she comes. The kids are excited and happy I have an extra hand to help out. We went to Aiden's swimming lessons together and then we had a few hours to kill before t ball. It was raining and miserable outside. I had the brilliant idea we should go to the Children's Museum in Mt. Vernon. 2 adults + 2 kids = museum manageable. We drove down to the museum never thinking to check on their hours. When we arrived I found out they are closed on Mondays ( just like Bellingham). Luckily there is a kids play area right beside it Aiden and Amelia had a ball playing in there. We walked past Chuck E. Cheese (that was open) as we were leaving and Aiden didn't say a word about going there instead. But you have to wonder how their sub conscious mind works because this morning 2 minutes after he woke up he asked if he could have his 6th birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. "We'll see."

t ball, turf, tulips

that about sums up our day. Aiden had his first t ball practice this morning. The weather was gorgeous and it was cute to watch him out of his element. He's never played t ball before but when the coach asked if "there were any left handers?" Aiden replied " I've got one right here!" and presented his left hand for everyone to see. Later when the coach announced they would be doing a warm up, Aiden replied " I already did my exercise video this morning with my Mom I'm all warmed up!" Too funny.
Then it was off to the turf farm to replace the grass we lost when the patio was poured. We were stuck in some heavy duty tulip festival traffic and I was trying to talk Dale in to stopping off at the fields since we were already there but... then we found a cute family farm beside the turf farm. Good enough. I didn't get the pics I wanted but we all got some ice cream and that's good too!

uhh oh

Last night Dale checked on Amelia when we went to bed and she had taken her pyjamas off before falling asleep. Great, now I'm scared she will figure out how to take off her diaper and that could be very unpleasant. I know someone that had to duct tape their daughter's diaper to keep it on. I hope it was just a random act and not something she starts doing. Luckily she slept through the night in just her diaper and a few extra blankets. But she was awake at 5:30a and I'm sure it was because she had no pj's on. When we came downstairs Aiden was sitting on the couch. "The owls chirping woke me up" he said.

50 Ways to Help the Planet

Click on the title for a nice reminder on ways to do our part. I learned a few new things and I especially liked that an automatic car wash is better for the environment than doing it yourself!

kitchen neccessities

Awhile ago I was thinking about what kitchen tools I really do use on a consistent basis. Last year I put all my unnecessary kitchen gadgets down in the basement pantry ( I think I have gone downstairs to retrieve one item once in the past year) That's probably a sign to let them go but I'm not quite ready. Here's a list of my favorites:
1) I love my OXO apple corer/slicer, it makes an apple snack super quick
2) the pampered chef pizza cutter and pizza stone ( we received this as a wedding gift and it's been used once a week ever since

3) the pampered chef microwave vegetable steamer, I love how quick steamed vegetables are to make and the lid has a built in strainer (kind of a 2 for 1 deal)

4) corning ware french white casserole dishes. I love their simple look and they can go from the freezer to the oven, microwave and dishwasher. I love versatility.
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5) I love my Wustof chef knife, it was also a wedding gift that has gotten daily use and I firmly believe life is better when you have a great knife.

6) my cheese slicer, I hate cutting cheese with a knife and this makes it so much easier.
What's your favorite kitchen gadget?

snow, sushi, concrete

That about sums up our week end. Saturday we woke up to snow! We had planned to pour our new patio never thinking to worry about snow in April. We went ahead as planned and everything turned out fine. A big thanks to everyone that lent their husbands Saturday morning, very appreciated. We had Tracy and Martin stay for dinner Saturday night and we made up a huge platter of sushi. We didn't one piece left over! The kids had a blast in our tub with some spray foam soap that took a long time to clean up today. It was worth it to see them having so much fun. Pictures of our new patio coming soon.

lil miss sunshine part 2

spreading joy and happiness wherever she goes. maybe she doesn't like her hairdo? or maybe she didn't like being told she's not allowed to stand on tables?

the boy likes pink...

Today I broke out a 2 pack Disney princess sippy cup pack for Amelia. I was showing Amelia the package and she was getting very excited and then Aiden pipes up from the kitchen table "that's great there's two, we can each have one!" I looked at him and asked "really?" He paused and then said "uhh,no." Aiden went through a pink phase for quite a few years it was his favorite color he insisted on wearing his cousins' Disney pink princess bibs, had a pink fleece blanket, always wanted the pink plate or cup, etc. Right around the time Amelia was born he decided he no longer liked pink but sometimes I think he still does.

toothbrush bandit

Amelia has a new obsession, toothbrushes! I found her in our closet chewing furiously on my toothbrush this morning and then... I was trying to get out the door to take Aiden to school and couldn't find her anywhere. I found her with the door closed to the powder room sitting in the sink with two more toothbrushes.

baby bellies and bottles

After dropping Aiden off at school today I heard on the radio that the FDA is planning on listing BPA on the danger list tomorrow. I've dragged my heels long enough I need to replace Amelia's bottles. Doing internet research has been hard because for every study that finds the chemical dangerous there's some expert saying it isn't. I went to Target and they have a full aisle of baby bottles all with BPA in them. I just can't believe it. I finally found some Medela bottles (5 oz) was the biggest I could find that are BPA free. I think Amelia will need free refills with her bottles. Aiden had stopped using bottles at 14 months but Amelia loves them and I think we'll try to stop around 18 months. Does anyone know what sippy cups are safe?
Here's a photo of Amelia's newest obsession, her belly button. And it's not just hers, if you are a guest at our house expect to have your shirt lifted up for a belly button inspection and poke.

custom jeans

ETA: My friend Kori found a code to get at $15.00 discount at check out enter agirlmustshop in the coupon code section. The company doesn't deliver to Canada.

Want a pair of jeans that are made to fit your body exactly for the low low price of $135? Then click on the title. It's fun to go through the process but I would want to talk to someone that has ordered a pair before purchasing. But I still think I might try it, someday.

run fat boy run

Last night I want to the movies with my sister. It has been so long since we've done anything just the two of us. I picked the movie because I'd heard it was pretty funny and I love to laugh. It was good, not rush to the movie theatre and see it, more like wait till it's out on video and you want a few good laughs. There are parts that still make me giggle and one part that makes me gag and that doesn't happen easily. It definitely started out slow but in the end I'm glad I saw it. Tracy, I know have no questions about "ball-o" powder it definitely exists! Without thinking ahead I told the "portly" border guard I had been to a movie and when he asked the title I hesitated and couldn't think of any other movie title so with a little giggle I said "Run fat boy run" and for a minute I thought I was going to get pulled in but he just laughed and sent me on my way.

maiden voyage

We took the boat out yesterday for the first time this year. The weather was beautiful and it was a nice way to enjoy the sunshine. Amelia toddled around exploring the boat and didn't seem to mind her life jacket (maybe it reminds her of her housecoat?) She makes me a little nervous because she wants to head to the back of the boat and climb out. Definitely won't be relaxing on the boat this summer. Then we headed home and had dinner out on the deck. Happy spring!

chilvary....

isn't dead. This past week Aiden was concerned Amelia was too cold outside and he offered up his sweatshirt to her. Sweetness.

picture proof

that Amelia likes the pumpkin yogurt!

mystery cereal

"Aiden, what would you like for breakfast?"
"I want the cereal that looks like the bread you put on a hot dog."
"What?...Oh you mean these."

How Many of Me

Here's something fun. Click on the title above and it will bring you to a website where you search how popular your name is. There are only 7 people in the US that share my name. But my first name is the 21st most popular first name, big surprise. I searched Dale's name he is the only one in the US, pretty cool.

doll cradle

My Grandpa made me this doll cradle when I was young. When I was pregnant with Amelia (not knowing if she was a boy or girl) I asked Dale to repaint the cradle ( it had turned a nice dingy yellow over the years). I thought it would be a cute spot to store baby blankets or toys. Amelia slept 2 or 3 nights in it as a newborn but then she was just too long for it. It briefly stored her blankets but I didn't have time to cutely roll the blankets to be displayed like I had with Aiden. So it became the catchall for the all her stuffed animals and dolls. I saw this cute idea at PBK of displaying your daughter's name and birth weight on her doll cradle. Perfect! My wonderful(and hot) friend Elizabeth had offered to do some custom vinyl for Amelia's birthday! I love it, thank you. You to can have your vinyl dreams come true at www.decorate-your-life.com!

food stuff

Yesterday I had a vegetable break through with Amelia. She loves raw vegetables but won't touch anything cooked, I don't think she likes the texture. It's terrifying to watch her eat a raw carrot so I don't do it too often. I had made pumpkin muffins a few weeks ago hoping to slide some veggie nutrition her way. She didn't exactly love them and I still had a leftover can of pureed pumpkin so yesterday -

Pumpkin Yogurt Parfait
mix plain yogurt with pumpkin puree, sprinkle cinnamon and a tiny sprinkle of brown sugar
both kids ate 2 bowls and Aiden proclaimed it "the best yogurt in the world!"

I still haven't done anything with my deceptively delicious cookbook but I did get some smug satisfaction in watching Amelia unknowingly gobble up some vegetables this way.

Tonight I am making this spring panzanella from www.smittenkitchen.com. Aiden likes asparagus so it might go over well!(photo from smitten kitchen)

cute homemade dollhouse

Last week I picked up a piece of foam core board hoping to make this (click on title). Amelia is a little young but I can put it away for later!

Hovander Park

Saturday after my 20 hour crop we headed out to Hovander Park. I was hoping the baby farm animals would be there as both my kids are crazy for animals. No such luck but we did get to see the chickens, geese and bunnies. Amelia was very intrigued with the noisy geese and really wanted to pet the bunnies. It was nice to get out as a family as I feel like Dale and I have been doing a lot of tag team parenting lately! Sunday we headed up to Tracy and Martin's for a visit. It was good to see everyone and Tracy is able to drive again! All her testing has come back negative. Sometimes negative is a good thing.

psst

me (whispering): psst- Aiden, you're my favorite boy
Aiden (whispering): you're my favorite Mommy

cheeky monkey part 2

Today Aiden was playing with his cars on the coffee table. He started to throw them off the table and narrowly missed his sister's head. I told him if he kept throwing the cars off the table I would take all his cars away for one week. Aiden stopped, looked at me and replied straight faced " If you take away my cars, I will take away your scrapbook supplies." I turned around, silently giggled and then turned back around and explained "who's in charge around here."

Amelia's endearing (annoying) habits

Lately Miss Monkey has been up to all sorts of new tricks. Here's some highlights:

1) if I leave my car keys where she can reach them she hits the panic button and then I have to track her down which leads me to her next trick
2) she closes doors behind her and will be very quiet for about 5 minutes and then becomes panicked and screeching until you locate her (I'm just waiting for her to lock herself in the bathroom by accident) by the way the car is still honking this entire time from the panic button {I think this trick is getting really annoying for the neighbors}
3) she loves to turn on the water taps to our bath tub, this used to be a mildly irritating waste of water but now she has started to add some of my favorite things to the tub; shoes, books etc.
4) she loves to pump lotion or soap out of the bottle onto the carpet ( I try to make sure all lotion is out of reach but somehow it ends up in her little hands at least once a week
5) she wants her butterfly housecoat put back on at least 12 times a day (why do you take it off then?)
6) she is insistent on wearing a pair of black patent shoes that are too small for her but she will dig them out of the closet and scream until I stuff her chubby little foot into it and she can clomp around with hard soled shoes on the hardwood

* I realize this post sounds like I don't supervise my children very well which isn't true she's just tricky that way!

love letter from Daddy

this morning I woke up to this note on the counter. pretty cute.

crock pot bean burritos

This is a really easy year round crock pot recipe

1 can diced tomatoes
1 can beans (white or black) drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn or 1 cup frozen
1tbsp chili powder, 1tsp cumin, dash of cayenne or chili pepper flakes

Add all ingredients to crock pot, cook on low heat for 8 hours or high for 3 hours. Mash beans with potato masher. Put a scoop of bean mixture on a tortilla, top with your favorite toppings, roll up burrito style and enjoy!

6 flour tortillas
sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, chopped green onions

shadow boxes

I am on a crafting kick! Yesterday I almost asked about sewing lessons when I was buying vacuum bags. But I think I will wait till next fall. I have been wanting to put these shadow boxes together for a long time. The blue booties were Dale's when he was a baby and Aiden wore them. The pink satin shoes were my Mom's and Amelia wore them. I think this is a really cute way to preserve these precious keepsakes.

seagull sighting?

No, just Amelia rubbing cream cheese in her hair.

hair clip storage

This is so easy and quick. I mean like so easy and quick you can put it together in less than 10 minutes and it looks so cute! I bought an 8x10 picture frame, picked out some patterned paper from my stash (it's so cute I can't believe I hadn't used it already!) cut the paper to 8x10, used double sided tape to affix to the glass, cut two strips of ribbon, attached them at the back with double sided tape, and reassembled the picture frame. You can attach hair clips, flowers and bows and have them prettily displayed and organized! If you have a lot of bows I would use an 11x14 frame and 3 strips of ribbon.

this is what goes on...

when I'm at work. Who I am kidding, this happens every day at least twice!