3 P's in a Pod

Bradley and a Fancy Cake

2012-01-26T23:50:00.003-06:00

Just an update on what we've been doing this week...but first, here is a picture of my boys snuggling!

Last Sunday we went to our niece's 3rd birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese in the city. Brad had a great time playing with all of the rides and of course stuffing himself with pizza!

I have been seeing this zebra cake on Pinterest so I finally looked up how to do it! The instructions didn't seem too complicated so I decided to try it out tonight. Basically you take a plain white cake mix, prepare it, then divide it into two bowls. You use food coloring to make one of them dark (mine ended up being kinda dark grey). The darker the better so that you can see the color definition after it bakes!

Then in a round (greased) cake pan you drop a big spoonful into the middle of the pan. You do it again but with the other color right on top of the first dollop in the middle. You just keep doing this and it will spread out and reach the edge of the pan. You do this with 2 round pans and use up all the batter:Then you bake according to the box and remove from pans to cool....

....then frost and stack like a basic two-layer cake...

...but when you cut into it it looks amazing!!!!

Mucho impressive. If you could get the colors dark enough, it would look great with green stripes, or red stripes...or any color really! Or if you wanted to make more than one cake at a time you could prepare 2 different flavor cakes mixes and alternate them for more flavor. I put cream cheese icing on mine. It was a big hit! I will definitely be making more in the future.

Party Planner

2012-01-20T23:45:00.004-06:00

My little guy turns 3 in June, but his cousin Zoe turned 3 today! That really got me thinking about his birthday party. He hasn't had a favorite before so his previous birthdays were just cute but generic with no specific theme.

Well he has a favorite now! He just loves the cartoon "Cat in the Hat". It is on Netflix so he can watch any episode at any time. I ask him in the morning what he wants to watch and he says "Cat!". He would also watch WordWorld, Sid the Science Kid, Curious George, and Sesame Street but Cat in the Hat has become his favorite.

Naturally I decided to plan a Cat in the Hat themed party for his next birthday! I bought him the book....

...then found a party website where I ordered plates, stickers, favor boxes, and a tablecloth!

I have been pinning a lot of ideas for this theme on Pinterest also, so I will be looking through those links in the next few months to add several handmade touches to the party. I haven't decided if I'm going to do a cake, or cupcakes again. I really like the idea of cupcakes for a child's birthday because they can eat it with their hands, and you don't have to cut slices for everyone.

Sunday is our niece Zoe's birthday party at Chuck E Cheese in OKC, so that means tomorrow I will be wrapping all of her presents! Have a great weekend.

Latest Projects

2012-01-14T12:33:00.002-06:00

Here is something I know I will cherish for a long time! You have heard of people "bronzing" their baby's first shoe? Well this is a take on that I had seen on the internet awhile back. It is a shadow box with different sizes of shoes that Brad has worn:

All of the regular shadow boxes with glass were not deep enough to accommodate the shoes so I had to get creative! I got an unfinished wood frame and painted it. Then I cut out a piece of stiff cardboard for the backing. I cut a piece of scrapbook paper to fit the inside then glued it to the cardboard. Then I glued the whole back piece to the frame and used stickers for his name. I stuff the shoes with some paper for shape, then glued them to the backing and wrote his ages with marker!

Here are the embroidered bibs I have been working on for a coworker! They will be added to my craft website for examples:

That's about it for now! My brother's birthday is Monday, and our anniversary is Tuesday so we will be busy the next few days!

Catching Up

2012-01-09T20:59:00.000-06:00

Not much has been happening the last few days, just life. I have been eating healthy however! I got some rice cakes and apples for work snacks, and have been eating a lot of salads. I'm going to the market tomorrow to pick up some sweet potatoes so that I can roast a bunch of veggies to eat on.

I have also been exercising and taking walks almost every day. Brad loves to get out of the house so I take him on walks with me. The exercises are ones that I pinned on Pinterest--mostly just a variety of jumping jacks, squats, crunches, pushups, etc. I could really feel it today! I am surprised by how many different muscles groups I worked without realizing it. Hopefully over the next few months I can tone up as well as lose a few more pounds!

Nick is still working away on the Mustang trying to get the kit parts to line up. He is making progress though! We are aiming to have enough body work done by Spring so that we can get it painted.

Our anniversary is next week! It will be our 9th wedding anniversary, and I am already in full swing of planning the big 10 for next year! It is going to be fun. Man how time flies!

We are planning to fly to Washington in a couple of months to see some family and check out the NW coast. No dates are for sure, maybe in early March. We have been itching to go on another trip though! It seems like about every 6 months we get the urge to make a break for it and go see somewhere new. It is too bad that we have already seen all of the good stuff within driving distance.

I have been working on some custom embroidered bibs for a coworker, so after I get those done I will take pictures. Otherwise, check back later on!

Juice Fast Day 5--Last Day

2012-01-05T17:53:00.003-06:00

Yes, you read it right. I ended the fast tonight with a spinach salad. Why? Well partly because I am weak and love food. But mostly because I have been feeling pretty sluggish these last couple of days with sore muscles. Not the best when I have a busy 2yr old and a very active job. I always do better at things when I have a partner so when Nick had to quit that made it harder on me to go it alone.

We both weighed in the morning and neither of us had lost anymore. I am very happy with the 7lbs I lost and will try my hardest to keep it off by eating better and incorporating more veggies into our meals. I kind of feel like a failure for not sticking out the whole 10 days, but then again my body was telling me that it needed something else. It's not like I got weak and hit up Burger King!!

I actually have a pot of split pea soup cooking right now, and this weekend I have a bunch of veggies I'm going to roast in the oven.

Juice Fast Day 4

2012-01-04T21:46:00.003-06:00

Remember how I said yesterday my muscles were sore? Yeah, last night was hard. I rubbed Icy Hot on my calves and basically writhed in pain until it started helping. They are still sore today but much better.

Brunch juice:
2 pears
4 apples
1/2 cucumber

This made about 20oz with a lot of foam on top. This was my first time juicing pear and it was a nice subtle flavor. The cucumber is pretty strong though so you could still taste it over the fruits.

Dinner Juice:
2 apples
6 carrots
1/4 beet
4 celery stalks
thumb size ginger

This made about 24oz and tasted ok. Nick of course did not like it, and actually ended up vomiting later in the evening. He had some soup and crackers after so he is no longer fasting...but he said he will juice in the morning with me. And then there was one! Now for weigh-ins!

Me--7lbs
Nick--5lbs

I am still shocked by how quickly mine is coming off! Keep in mind that we weigh in the morning, but I don't post until evening. Nick will probably weigh in one more time tomorrow morning then quit after that since he is off the fast. I am doing surprisingly well and have developed amazing will power being around other people eating delicious looking food.

I did some grocery shopping tonight to get some more fruits/veggies and to start restocking my fridge for when the fast is over. We had eaten all of our meat and perishables to prepare for it so now I need to replenish the supply! I am definitely going to make an effort to cook healthier meals and use more veggies. I cooked pretty good before--using ground turkey instead of beef, cooking from scratch instead of box dinners--but we really do need to work on more veggies and whole grains. I heart pasta and I'm not giving it up so it will be whole wheat pasta now!

Tomorrow is my halfway point and I will be counting the minutes!! I really hope that when I break my fast I won't regain a bunch of weight all of a sudden. My major goal with this fast was to quickly get rid of those last few stubborn pounds that I have trouble losing, then modifying my lifestyle to maintain the loss.

Tune in tomorrow!

Juice Fast Day 3

2012-01-03T22:29:00.002-06:00

Today was a little rougher for multiple reasons. I went back to work so I was on my feet all day. We drank a breakfast juice around 11am but I only drank water until I got home from work around 9:30pm when I could have another juice. My muscles were pretty sore and I was pretty sluggish.

Our brunch juice:
5 oranges
2 carrots
2 slices of pineapple

This made 24oz and we both loved it! My son even took a few sips.

Nick had an upset tummy after this drink and for most of the day so he declined a dinner drink. I however needed something in my belly so I made one more suited to my tastes:

1 carrot
1/4 beet
2 slice pineapple
2 stalk celery
handful spinach

This was just right at 12oz and tasted pretty decent. I had been wondering how the pineapple and beet would be together and I was pleased with the outcome. The sweetness of the pineapple helped to drown out most of the strong earthy beet taste. Nick sipped it but said he didn't like it.

Now for the {cumulative} weigh-in!

Me--5lbs!!!
Nick--1lb

I couldn't believe my eyes this morning when I weighed and had lost 3lbs in one day! It kind of makes me wonder if it will really slow down now. Nick is still staying strong after a pep talk from me earlier today about how we are doing this together and his body really needs the healthy break. I am off the next 2 days so hopefully it goes easier without being on my feet all day. Wish us luck and check in tomorrow!!

Juice Fast Day 2

2012-01-02T19:14:00.003-06:00

Two days down, eight to go! I don't FEEL hungry but I still WANT food. It's tough, but it just shows how dependent our culture is on food. We use it for everything--reward, boredom, birthday, anniversary....but I'm staying strong and heading for my goal of 10 days. Nick is still hanging in there too I am happy to say!

Since we never really eat breakfast, we decided to just do two juices a day. I guess you could call this our "brunch" juice:

1/2 cucumber
4 apples
1/2 pineapple

It made about 24oz and I thought it tasted pretty good. Nick did not like it. Even with just half a cucumber in there I could still pinpoint the flavor. The pineapple was nice! I still have half of it plus another whole one to use.

Our dinner was:

5 carrots
2 apples
2 stalks celery
1/2 beet
thumb size ginger root

That beet is some potent (and staining) root! I never bought fresh beets before this, and I'm glad I only used half of one. This combination made 24oz and smelled like dirt. It tasted alright to me, Nick said it was the worst so far. HA!

As you may see, I am trying to do fruity stuff in the morning and more vegetably stuff in the evening. I sip mine slowly but Nick chugs his and is done. I drank about another 3 glasses of lemon water today. I haven't noticed any unusual symptoms, but Nick says his tummy has been rumbling...as for weight loss:

Me--2lbs!
Nick--0

If that keeps up it will be worth it (to me)! We will see in the morning.

Here is a taggie blanket I finished tonight for a friend at work. I am also working on a 1st birthday bib for her.

Juice Fast Day 1

2012-01-01T20:02:00.002-06:00

One day down! So far so good. I have been pleasantly surprised at the ease and taste of juicing. However I have been thinking about food (mainly pasta) way too much!

Our "breakfast" consisted of:
5 apples
5 carrots
1 cucumber

This made 32oz of juice which was a bit too much for our glasses. They were filled to the brim!

It was a nice smooth drink with a hint of cucumber taste. Nick didn't like it but I did. I am not drinking coffee on the fast, but I am drinking hot green tea.

Our "lunch" was:
1 kale bunch
5 carrots
2 apples
2 handfuls spinach
thumbsize ginger root

This made about 24oz which was just right. I was surprised how strong the kale taste was. Nick said he liked this one better, but appeared to have more trouble drinking it. I thought it tasted like apply grass. The ginger was a nice addition.

So far our Waring juicer has been amazing. Easy to use and easy to clean. I just can't get over how it turns everything into sawdust almost! I clean it right after juicing so that the food doesn't get a chance to dry and cake on.

We didn't do a dinner juice--Nick went to a friend's house and I didn't want to get everything dirty just for me. I'm not feeling that hungry right now so I will save it for the morning. I have had two glasses of my lemon water today but I'm sure I should drink more. Nick hasn't had hardly any. I don't think he is handling the lack of food very well...

Don't worry, I am still feeding Brad normal food! I'm not making him juice with us. I did make him a big batch of split pea soup to eat on but he has liked that since he was a baby. If Nick does fall off the bandwagon I hope he doesn't expect me to cook for him!

In other news I got my Christmas decorations down today and the house is almost back to normal! I don't decorate for any other holiday until the fall so all of the totes are going into the attic.

Tune in tomorrow for the results of day 2!

Juice Fast 2012

2011-12-31T00:54:00.003-06:00

I'm ready!

I have all of the initial fruits/veggies purchased and ready to go. And don't worry--the leftovers in the fridge will be gone by Sunday! Nick and I are pretty excited to see how this goes, and to see how we feel after detoxing and fasting for almost 2 weeks.

The book you see in the second pic above is one I purchased from Amazon along with my juicer. I have already scanned thru most of it and there is some pretty interesting information in it. There is info about how the body detoxes, which plants help which organs, good combinations of fruits/veggies to use, etc. Very informative!

Here is the plan:

We are going to juice our "meal" 3x a day with lots of water in between. I am going to keep a pitcher of filtered water with fresh sliced lemons in the fridge at all times.
I am going to blog daily about which juice recipes we used and how we liked them
I will also weigh daily and post how much weight I have lost (but not what I weigh!)
I will post daily about how I feel, and any other symptoms/side effects

I am pretty competitive (and stubborn) so I am confident that I will complete a 10 day fast. I may even extend it if all goes well! Nick is aiming for 10 days also, and I will give him my full encouragement. I think he has a slightly more emotional attachment to food so it may be harder for him to fast.

In other news, here is a baby blanket I finished for a friend at work:

I used a special pattern from a book for the middle, then just continued the rounds outward until it was the desired width.

And here is a onesie I embroidered for friend's baby due in April:

I am very much looking forward to this weekend and my goal is to get all of my Christmas decorations taken down and the house put back into order. Don't forget about the juice fast--it starts Sunday and I will blog daily about!

My 2 1/2 Year Old (and Christmas)

2011-12-26T19:52:00.004-06:00

It is here, Bradley's 2 1/2 year post! I refuse to call it "30 months". When he hit 1 we quit counting months!

Weight: 26lbs
Height: 35 1/2"

As you can see, I had a fun time trying to get him to stand still and look at me. He seems to be getting better though! I would have bribed him with candy but it was right before bed time. Now for his milestones!

At 2 1/2 years old you...

have almost outgrown size 5 shoe
wear size 4-5 diaper
wear 2T clothes
have 20 teeth
are using toothpaste now (and getting better at spitting it out)
know tons of words and better at communicating
can say 3-4 word sentences
can identify many things/animals correctly
sleep from about 8pm-9am
take one nap from around 1pm-4pm
absolutely love anything sweet or chocolatey
have become slightly picky but still eat almost everything we do
drink milk and ovaltine every morning, then 50/50 water juice the rest of the day
know how to ride your tricycle with a little help
recently starting saying "I yuv you"
sometimes ask for your paci (but you don't get it)
love to play outside and take walks
like to sit on the counter and watch me cook
love watching the Incredible Hulk
use a spoon easily and getting better with a fork
sit at the table like a big boy for meal times
tell us when you pooped (but only after the fact...)
sit in the grocery cart and say HI to everyone you see

We had a wonderful and busy Christmas weekend and spent time with lots of family. I had to work Saturday afternoon, but we spent the evening at home and Nick's family came over to share our tradition of Arby's roast beef sandwiches on Christmas Eve. We exchanged gifts with them and had a good visit.

Christmas morning we all got up early and headed over to my mom's house for our annual Christmas breakfast of biscuits and sausage gravy. We came home for a couple hours, I cooked several things after we opened our presents, then we headed back to her house for a chili and baked potato lunch. We got home from that around 2pm and after I threw the turkey in the oven we all took a nap!

I cooked the rest of my big dinner and had 10 people over to our house for a traditional turkey dinner around 5pm. We saw some family we hadn't seen in a long time and had a great evening catching up and exchanging presents by a roaring fire.

^watching cartoons Christmas morning over my shoulder

I worked most of today but after I got home we all went to the store and picked up Brad's last Christmas present--a beautiful red betta! It is his first pet!

We put the fishbowl in his room and *hopefully* he learns how to feed it correctly and doesn't mess with it too much. Just ignore the tape and scissors....we've been having diaper issues.

I have a few more orders to fill and after that I MUST catch up on scrapbooking! I have all of the photos developed and organized. I just have to sit down and get started.

One thing I am pretty excited about is a "project" Nick and I are going to do together starting January 1--a juice fast! My juicer is supposed to arrive this Friday and we are aiming for 10 days. I plan on documenting the whole thing on here so keep an eye out for that!!

Christmas Treats

2011-12-22T01:36:00.002-06:00

I spent my Sunday (after working a bit in the morning) baking up a storm! Every year for the last several years I make a bunch of treats and put together cookie tins for all of the family and close friends in my life in lieu of presents. This year I made marshmallow fudge, mini banana bread loaves, oatmeal raisin cookies, and for those with dogs--homemade doggie treats!

Nick helped me the whole time in the kitchen, and even wore a Christmas apron with me! He is too cute. I was able to get everything done all while little Brad was taking his nap! I can't find the recipe on my Pinterest, I will have to get back to you on the link. But so far the 3 dogs that have tasted them LOVED them!

I was able to get my Grandma and Aunt's goodies all boxed up and shipped early Monday morning so hopefully they get there soon! I just have a few left to hand out.

I colored my hair Saturday--don't worry, nothing crazy! Just dark brown again to cover the never-ending grays. I swear every time my roots grow out they are worse than before! Thanks dad.

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend and remembers the TRUE reason from whence our celebrations stemmed (yes I just said whence). We have lots of family coming over Christmas evening and I am in charge of a big turkey dinner! I can't believe Christmas is only 3 days away now! If only we had snow....

Keeping Busy

2011-12-17T23:35:00.003-06:00

In the last couple of weeks we have gotten a couple more things knocked off of our 'to-do' list for our house. I didn't take of a picture of it, but Nick installed a whole new sink faucet in our kitchen. My only request was that it be tall (for filling up things) and it is! I love it. This week he rebuilt the shower faucet and regrouted the entire shower!

The picture may not show much, but trust me--it looks great close up!

I finally finished up one of my hat orders today. It was for 5 custom hats. Here are 4 of them:

Today I got to do something I have wanted to do for years--go to the Nutcracker ballet! I assumed I would go with my mom or someone, but she wasn't interested. So Nick offered to go with me, and he ended up loving it! We had the best time and enjoyed getting all dressed up.

The dancers, music, and set were amazing and we can't wait to go to another show! I am already planning on going to their Wizard of Oz performance next April!

I started wrapping all of the gifts I've accumulated throughout the year today, but Brad didn't take a very long nap so I didn't get them all done. Most, but not all. I only have a few people left and they are the hard ones. I found really good prices on kid stuff through the year so I got several presents for all the children in my family for dirt cheap!

I intended on doing my holiday baking tomorrow but I don't know how that will work out now--I am on call tomorrow and they let me know tonight that there are already 3 surgeries scheduled in the morning. Looks like I'll be spending most of my Sunday in the PACU!

Rolls and Crafts

2011-12-12T21:00:00.002-06:00

First off is a new recipe I tried tonight that I found on Pinterest and loved it! They are called 30 minute rolls and are yeast rolls from scratch with NO kneading!

They plumped up nicely in the oven and I'm sure if I had made them smaller I could have gotten about 20 rolls from one batch. Here is the recipe (and link to original poster):

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1 C plus 2 Tbsp warm water

1/3 C oil

2 Tbsp yeast

1/4 C sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

3 1/2 C flour

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

In your mixer bowl combine the water, oil, yeast and sugar and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. Using your dough hook, mix in the salt, egg and flour. Knead with hook until will incorporated and dough is soft and smooth. (Just a few minutes)

Form dough into 12 balls and then place in a greased 9 x 13 pan and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees or until golden brown.

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To go with them I baked onion-crusted chicken and steamed veggies. It was so good and entire dinner took about an hour to make. YUM.

Last Saturday was my last craft show of the year. My mom came to help me run it and we had a great time! There were tons of people there all day and I sold several items. Hey as long as I break even I'm happy! I have recently gotten a lot of orders from the internet and right now I have 9 things to make for 3 different people with more possible orders on the way!

Here is an item that I made today (without a pattern!). I know they would have sold like hotcakes at the craft show but I didn't think about it until a few days before, and didn't have any of the right colors. Hopefully I'll get some sold before Christmas!

As you can see, I have been staying very busy! I work the next 3 days then Friday evening is my work Christmas party at a restaurant on the north side of the city. We are going to get all dolled up and have a great time! Now if we could just get some snow....

Getting Things Done

2011-12-07T09:29:00.002-06:00

I have been a busy girl! You might notice I marked a few things off of my list -----> but unfortunately they will not all be done by January 1. But I'll get back to that later on!

I had been working on these crocheted stockings for a couple of months but I kept putting them down to get other things done. Well I finally finished them last night and they are hanging on the mantel! I had a spot saved just for them and look marvelous.

Somehow they all turned out a different size, even with the same pattern! I think it was because I used a different hook for each one but who knows! I gave the big one to Nick, the medium one for me, and the little one for Brad--kinda like the 3 little bears. These stockings (and my new advent calendar) will remain in my Christmas repertoire for years to come!

We wanted to go get our tree on Saturday but after I worked in the morning it started raining and continued to be mucky all day. We did go get it Sunday though and here it is after we got home!

Nick got it all ready to bring into the house while I cooked lunch for everyone. Then while Brad was napping I got it all decorated so that he could see it first thing when he got up! He points at it and says "lights!". It looks so pretty in the corner of our dining room and smells wonderful too! I always put the tree on a timer so this year it is set to come on around 5:30 and go off around midnight.

Last week I got an order for a few custom hats from a lady. Two of them were to look like "Ernie" on Sesame Street for her little girls' birthdays that weekend....

She is very happy with how they turned out and already wants to order some more!

My next craft show is this Saturday so I have been trying to squeeze in getting ready for that in between Christmas stuff and other projects.

I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and got a few things to start some more projects soon including a baby shoe shadowbox and a birthday question album!

You Know It's Christmas Time...

2011-11-28T00:18:00.002-06:00

...when Crisp has his Santa hat on!!

Today was my *6th* day on call in a row and yes, I got called in every single day. Twice on Saturday for a total of 10 hours and twice today for a total of 4 hours. Needless to say I have felt a bit discombobulated these last few days and have pretty much lost track of what day it is. I really wanted to get my Christmas decorations up this weekend so I was very happy when I had time today!

We recently got our new router and streaming media device all hooked up to our TV and I discovered how awesome Pandora is! Any artist I love is on there--Charlotte Church, Robbie Williams, Bryan Adams, Michael Buble....on and on! So I listened to my faves while I transformed my house. It is 100x more awesome than the digital music channels were that we had with cable.

Here is the finished advent calendar I have been talking about! It is hanging on a wall right in my entry way so it is the first thing you see!

It is all felt and handmade by me! It took a LOT of time and patience but I am very happy with how it turned out and I know it will last for years to come.

I also made a little plush Santa (Nick said it looks like a voodoo doll) to move along in each spot while we are counting down to Christmas.

Now I just need to make one more crocheted stocking and put our names on them, then they can be hung on the mantle! It is so funny how every single year I forget how I decorated the year before and I end up putting things in all different places! And it is always a test to recall how in the world I got everything to fit into the totes...

I also have a couple pictures from our Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's on Thursday:

Brad was really good and had a blast playing with the older boys! We were planning on heading down to Foster to see Nick's family but had to cancel b/c I got called in that evening and Brad was cranky.

Tomorrow will be my first official day off since last Monday so I plan on enjoying it! I am going to finish up the decorating, maybe bake some bread, do some couponing, crochet some presents...

Soapbox

2011-11-25T20:37:00.002-06:00

Black Friday seems like an appropriate subject to relay some of my opinions on! Feel free to not read if you don't like other people's opinions...

Those who know me are aware that I am a pretty traditional, old-fashioned kind of girl. I value holidays, traditions, family time, dinners at the table, etc. Now that we have a son I feel these times are even more important for him to experience and remember growing up.

It saddens and angers me how it seems that every year becomes more centered around money, presents, gadgets, the latest and greatest...keeping up with the Jones' you could call it. I think it is ridiculous that almost every store opened at midnight (or earlier) last night just for black Friday sales, but almost equally ridiculous that there are people out there who are waiting in line for hours or days, spending hundreds of dollars going from store to store.

When did Christmas become this evil monster that people try to appease by blowing their budget on useless items that will be forgotten by February? When did businesses become so callused that the common employee who can't spend the holiday at home doesn't matter? When did shoppers become so blinded that physical harm is done in the name of a good deal?

I'm sure my opinions are in the minority--they usually are! But I employ the sentiment that the path of least resistance is not always the best path to take.

To play devil's advocate, I can empathize why some people feel compelled to be so materialistic--it is because that is what society jams down our throat every second of every day. Commercials, billboards, circulars, sales and gimmicks....companies are forever trying to make it "easy" to stay up-to-date and have the world at your fingertips. Almost every adult and now almost every child has the mindset that they can not live without their "**insert device name here**" and there is no end in sight.

Keep in mind that even just TWENTY years ago cell phones were rare, computers were for the rich, people would physically visit each other and write letters instead of just social networking. It is scary to think where we will be in another twenty years.

I realize that I have brought up two different subjects here but they are both part of the same entity--materialism. Christmas is NOT about the number of gifts you get or give, and life is not about how many different portable electronic devices you have. If you are able to afford tons of gifts for everyone on your list then good for you! If you don't have trouble keeping eye contact or conversations going without pausing to (rudely) check your smart phone for updates then congratulations! You are in the minority.

I'm sure if I had the fancy gadgets that I would love them, but I'm also sure that I would soon get to the point of feeling like I NEED them. And that is why I am putting up such a big fight. Thankfully Nick and I are on the same page with this about our own lifestyle and about Brad, so we will do our best to enjoy a simpler existence and all of the things in life that can't be replaced!

A Recipe and a Gift

2011-11-23T14:21:00.002-06:00

Some of you may have heard of Pinterest....some may not have. You will see a link -----> to follow my boards if you do have an account! Anywho I found this neat recipe for 2-ingredient Lemon Bars and decided to try it! (I also had a coupon for the pie filling)

You only need a box of Angel Food cake mix and a can of lemon pie filling:

You gently mix them together in a medium bowl (I used a spoon to mix).....

...then pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until done!

The original recipe said to bake for 20min but mine were still gooey. I ended up baking for 35 min total and that was perfect. Sprinkle with powdered sugar then serve! YUM.

I have been working on handmade gifts for family and friends this Christmas. The most recent one I finished is a hat and mitten set for my almost-3-year-old niece Zoe!

My Turkey Dinner

2011-11-21T22:50:00.004-06:00

Yesterday at 5pm I hosted an early Thanksgiving dinner for my dad and my inlaws to join us in. I always do one of our own, and then we travel to my mom's for her dinner with the rest of my family.

I cooked the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes/gravy, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, cheesy cornbread, deviled eggs, and a pumpkin cheesecake. My MIL brought rolls and a cherry cheesecake, my dad brought Italian mac and cheese, and his girlfriend Virginia brought cherry pie! It was a feast and we were all stuffed afterward!

Here is little B eating an extra hard boiled egg...

It was finally cold yesterday so we decided to build our first fire of the season for everyone to enjoy!! It was lovely to sit by.

^My MIL Penny, SIL Sarah and niece Zoe

^My dad holding hands with his new girlfriend, Virginia (I hooked them up ;)

^Nick's best friend Terry also joined us in the festivities!

We all had a great time and after everyone left I hurriedly got the kitchen cleaned so that I could relax and digest!! My mom's dinner is Thursday at noon, then that evening we are driving down to see the inlaws and have dinner with them.

I have been working on some crafts lately that I will be posting about soon. I finished the advent calendar! It turned out marvelous and as soon as I get the rest of the Christmas decorations on the wall I will take a pic.

Friends and Crafts

2011-11-15T23:39:00.003-06:00

I didn't personally take any pictures of my friend's birthday party, but here is one that they took of us trying to get the kiddoes up on the gladiator game. Me and Brad are on the right!

Here is one of Brad in his room...he was being quiet in his room so I went to check on him and he had snagged one of Nick's extra keyboards and was playing with it.

I don't know if had mentioned the project I was working on, but it is a handmade Christmas advent calendar! It is all out of felt. I took features I liked from ideas on the internet and put them all together in my own design.

In the picture of the tree, it is not sewn down yet but I have since sewn it all together on the background. It was very labor intensive and took all of my patience, but it was worth it knowing that this will be hanging on our walls for many years to come!

The squares are going to be pockets and I'm going to make a plush felt Santa to move along in each pocket as we count down the days to Christmas. I'm sure I will end up putting chocolates or something in each pocket to eat as we count! If the boys can keep their hands off, that is.

Where Were You on 11-11-11?

2011-11-12T15:22:00.004-06:00

I worked an early shift yesterday so that I could make it to a friend's birthday party in Shawnee. He is also a veteran so it was a double celebration! Brad went with me, but Nick couldn't make it because he was at a wedding rehearsal that he is Best Man in.

My MIL and SIL watched Brad until I could get home from work. They got him a BK happy meal and this is him enjoying his toy before we left for Shawnee...

My friends had rented a paintless-paintball setup and an inflatable gladiator game so the adults had a blast with those! The paintball was crazy--we all came out with more than a few wounds but it was worth it! They also had a bunch of good food, and I stayed late afterwards to help them clean up and get the babies ready for bed. As you can see, Brad passed out on our way home!

Nick left early this morning to do prewedding pictures and we joined him at the church at 11am for the ceremony. Here is Brad being good before we had to leave the auditorium when he started fussing....

We rejoined them for the reception and enjoyed some food and chat at a table with mutual friends. I don't get to see my hubby all fixed up very often!

Here is the bride and groom:

...and here is Nick and his longtime friend Brian. They have the same birthday (one year apart) and have been close friends for over 15 years. When Nick and I started dating we spent a lot of time all hanging out so even I have known him for almost 10 years!

Brian is also an avid guitar player so of course the groom's cake had a picture of one on it!

After the wedding I went to my mom's where both of my brothers were and Brad had fun playing his cousins for a bit. I plan to relax and enjoy the rest of my weekend!

My Week Late Halloween Post

2011-11-07T22:48:00.005-06:00

I was really busy right after Halloween and didn't get around to posting, then we got a virus on our computer and I LOST my pictures! Thankfully I had uploaded these few to Facebook so they were saved.

Up until the last minute our plans were up in the air! We wanted to meet with friends and trick-or-treat together but I had to work late and one of them had a class. But we both got away early and all met at my house just in time for after dark fun!

We all got in our costumes and started hitting up the neighbors all around us. There weren't as many participating as I remember from last year, but we did get a late start and they may have already closed up.

This pic is my favorite of the night: Nick in his ape costume holding Brad's hand ♥

After a few houses, Brad got pretty good about keeping his hat on and carrying his bucket (until it got too heavy).

Here we are at the house getting ready to head out: Me and Brad, Rachel and Jet, Zoe and Sarah

These are the kiddos waiting at a door for candy!

This is my sister-in-law Sarah and her little girl Zoe.

The Winn family

We all had a great time and the weather was just perfect. I threw a couple pizzas in the oven when we got home and we stayed up late watching a scary movie and snacking together!

So I'm sure most people have heard but we had a pretty big earthquake here in OK Saturday evening. It was actually the biggest in the state history--a 5.6! There was a 4.7 real early Saturday morning but I was asleep and did not feel that one. For the big one I was crocheting on the couch while Nick was at the gym and first I heard the cabinets rattling. Then when I started to feel the shaking I knew it was an earthquake. It lasted for at least a minute and got the chandeliers swinging back and forth. Nick missed the whole thing b/c he was on the treadmill :)

We had another one tonight and this time Nick and I were together in the kitchen. It wasn't near as strong--no swinging lights. The cabinets rattled for a bit and we could feel a little shaking. It was a 4.7 aftershock. Such craziness! I looked up the strengths of the last couple months' worth of earthquakes in CA and they are all 2s and 3s on the scale. So ours are way stronger than theirs! I did see on the news that several people in OKC had severe damage to their houses unfortunately.

In other news, I have been busy recently with several custom crochet orders! It is that time of the season that I love! Yesterday I actually made something for myself--a crocheted cowl scarf. I really wanted to make a grey one but didn't have enough yarn so I made it brown with an accent of green. I will take a pic of it soon for you! Next I want to make my little boy one!

A Halloween Inspired Gathering

2011-10-27T20:23:00.005-05:00

Yesterday we hosted a little get-together of our friends over some creative snacks, spooky music, and a nasty looking drink only for the brave! Almost everyone wore their costume and we had a good time laughing and talking.

While I was in the kitchen, Nick carved a beautiful jack-o-lantern for the porch!

I found most of my snack ideas on the internet (or more specifically--Pinterest). Here are "eyeball carrots"

"Witch's Hat cookies"

"Mummy wraps"

I made an ice hand for the punch, but a finger broke off putting it in :(

And the drink of the evening was called "Brain Hemorrhage". Disgusting to look at and a little chunky to drink, it was not for the light-hearted!

Nick's costume was an ape...

My {homemade} costume was Jane of the jungle....

...and Brad was a zookeeper!

This is Chris who came as "chicken cord on blue"

Brad's cousin Zoe was there too

We had a good night with our friends, and hopefully they had a good time with us! We love the holiday season!

The New Addition

2011-10-25T22:19:00.002-05:00

The Bentley that we bought a little while ago is all done and has been on eBay for a few days. The auction ends tomorrow so we have been keeping our eye out for the next project to flip! We have looked at a few cars but they were all duds. Until this one!

It is a 1968 Mustang GT in great condition! We got a really good deal on it and were able to drive it home. Our plan is to buy a Super Snake kit to put on the body then get it painted gun-metal grey with black stripes. Here is a pic of the *hopeful* end product:

We actually used to have a '68 Mustang in the past and Nick put a similar kit on it. He is completely able to do it all himself. We will have a shop paint it, but he can do the stripes. But we won't be doing anything until the Bentley sells! That was my only stipulation. So for now, both of our cars are out of the garage and in the driveway...

Here is a pic of my boys playing in bed one morning...

And here is another plain shirt of Brad's that I thought up some embroidery for...

That's about it for now! Say a prayer that the Bentley sells tomorrow! We are having a fun little Halloween party tomorrow evening so I will be busy cooking all day while the boys carve a jack-o-lantern!

Sharing Recipes

2011-10-21T21:40:00.002-05:00

I made a soup tonight that I had forgotten how delicious it was! I have made it several times before, but each time is like the first time tasting it. It is yummy, easy, and has lots of veggies in it! I must share it with you. I have no idea where I got the original--I did not invent this.

Italian Pasta Canellini Soup

2c chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes
2c cooked/diced chicken
1 small onion diced
3 large peeled/sliced carrots
2 stalks celery sliced
1 can canellini/great northern beans (drain)
4 slices raw bacon diced
1c small shells
1 chicken bouillon cube

Bring broth to boil in large pot while you are chopping veggies. Add carrots/celery/onion/canned tomatoes and stir. Keeping soup at a medium boil, add chicken/bouillon/bacon/beans and stir. When carrots are fork-tender and bouillon cube is dissolved, add pasta and boil until cooked!

Serve in bowls topped with Parmesan cheese.

Soooo good. I'm not even kidding. It is so amazing how everything is flavored naturally and the only "seasoning" added is one bouillon cube!! It is not bland at all so don't be tempted to add more salt! Yum. If you make it, comment and let me know what you thought!

Busy Bees

2011-10-20T23:04:00.003-05:00

I haven't had much big stuff to blog about recently, just little everyday life happenings that seem to take up all of your time! The car we purchased recently to flip is now finished and listed on eBay! We will {hopefully} make a good sale on it after all of the hard work that Nick put into it.

Here are some hats I have been making for orders...

Brad is growing up into such a smart little boy! I'm sure all mothers think that about their kiddos. We are trying to get him used to using utensils, and here he is eating his veggies:

I recently went thru his winter clothes that were all 2T (he was still wearing some 18mo). I washed them and got them into his closet to prepare for cooler weather! I ran into a few blank shirts with no designs on them, so I am taking advantage of a blank canvas and embroidering them!

It is so funny how he acts when both Nick and I are around. If it's just daddy, Brad is quiet and plays with his toys without causing a fuss. But as soon as I walk in, he gets all excited and forgets that Nick even exists. Pretty much from then on, I have to hold him or at the very least be in the same room with him. If I leave he throws a fit (for about 30 sec) then gets over it. He doesn't really mind when daddy leaves ;)

It has gotten chilly around here FINALLY and we are loving it! For about the last 2 months we were just opening our windows at night to cool it down and hopefully not have to use the AC during the day. But we got a big cool front in this week and some areas are getting down to freezing at night! This weekend is supposed to warm back up to almost 80, but I do believe we are *almost* ready to put away the summer clothes!

I decided at the last minute to have a Halloween party next week. We kind of had one last year but it was just family over for snacks then we all went trick-or-treating together. This year I am making cute Halloween-themed snacks/drinks and encouraging people to wear their costumes! I have invited several friends from work so I am curious to see how big the turnout is!

On the subject of planning things, I have decided what day I'm cooking our own Thanksgiving dinner and what the menu will be. I love cooking for the holidays and having family over! But the thing I am MOST excited about planning is--our 10 year anniversary!! It is *only* 14 months away and will be here before we know it! I want to do it up big because I mean really--how many couples who married so young made it to 10 years!!?? No details yet, but I am working on it!

Oklahoma Aquarium

2011-10-10T15:20:00.006-05:00

Yesterday the three of us packed up the car to head 2 hours NE to meet some friends there and go thru the Oklahoma Aquarium! I had a coupon for $2 off admission so we have been waiting for the perfect day to do it. We met our good friends Rachel and James there with their two little ones and we all enjoyed each display!

They had several little open pools where the kiddos could reach in and touch the fish.

This area was a shark tank where you could walk under the tank and the sharks swam over you!

We all had a good time and enjoyed spending time with our buddies as always! Thankfully my little one fell asleep on the way home and we got to enjoy driving thru some much needed rain!

We recently came across some extra money and I have been thinking about what we are going to do with it....of course half will go into savings! The other half I do believe will go towards our next excursion! It was a toss up between California and Washington, but I think Washington will win out because we have lots of family up there to see! Neither of us have been up there before so I think it will be a beautiful place to see. More to come on that later!

In Progress

2011-10-06T15:21:00.002-05:00

Nick's progress on the Bentley is going well! He got a new intake manifold in the mail this week and pretty much overhauled the engine. Here it is all torn apart....

Thankfully my love is very good at these sorts of things and within a day he had it back to this:

Not too shabby, huh?? He test drove it afterwards and said it drives like a new car! Now he is reinforcing one of the fender supports, then just some minor cosmetic things and it will be ready to flip! We are already going to look our next project car today......check back later for details on that ;)

Another Craft Show Done!

2011-10-01T22:43:00.002-05:00

Today was my fall craft show! It was at the same venue that my last several ones have been, and almost at the same booth! My mom went with me this time too, but she was just moral support this time! She has hung her crafting hat up for now.

I pretty much had all of my supply done and ready, but I still managed to stay up until 2:30am the morning before working on--my apron!

I worked an almost-13 hour shift and got off just before midnight, then had to relearn my embroidery software to design the font, then convert the file, then get my card reader to work with Windows 7.....yuck! I was bound and determined, and I am happy I stuck it thru.

I did pretty good, but I do feel that this show was slower than previous shows here. Maybe the weather was too nice for people to waste time at a craft show? Who knows! I'm happy there are more people out there who are wearing my things and like them!

You will notice in the next picture one of my newest investments--baby heads! I bought 2 styrofoam infant heads to display my baby hats. They weren't as small as I would have liked but they still worked out well.

I added a jack-o-lantern face to one of my pumpkin heads for a display idea and it got great comments! If you want to snag one before Halloween you can email me at kandyskrafts@gmail.com .

The day went by fairly quickly and several friends and family came to see me! It was a blessing to see each familiar face come and support me at my show and I thank you! My next one is the beginning of December at the same place. I am taking a little break and going to work on crafts for myself! I have a Christmas advent calendar that won't make itself ;)

Foreigner and Journey Concert

2011-09-28T20:38:00.003-05:00

Yesterday evening I had a great night out with my dad and brother! We all went to go see Foreigner and Journey in concert in OKC. Night Ranger opened for them, but I didn't know any of their songs--sorry! The bands sounded great and it was very LOUD. I never thought an outdoor venue would be one of the loudest I had been to.

I would estimate there to have been around 10,000 people there. The weather was perfect--it was right at sunset and the temp was probably 65-70.

Night Ranger was first, then Foreigner, then Journey finished out the evening. The concert started at 7pm and we left at the last song around 11pm.

^I recorded part of this piano solo for my momma

After the 30 minutes it took to get out of the parking lot, my dad came back to our house and ended up hanging out with us until almost 2:30am! We had a great time.

I have been putting the finishing touches on things for my craft show Saturday, and I believe I am pretty much done! Here is a pic of my latest creation that is going to be for sale in my shop and at the show:

Is that not the cutest thing ever????

Our New Toy

2011-09-22T23:04:00.003-05:00

This is a 1930 Bentley (kit car) that we bought on Wednesday! No it is not a permanent addition to our family. This was purchased to fix up and flip! Nick has such a nack for that kind of thing that I gave him free reign with our savings account...he assures me this one is a gem!

It looks great, drives great, and has a clean title---all very hard things to come by with an old car! He won't need to do much to it before it's ready to go. I recommended placing an ad for people to rent it for photo props!

As for Bradley...well he thinks this is his new toy. He absolutely loves it and helped Nick "work" on it all day today. As soon as he got up and went downstairs, he ran to the back door and wanted to go out to the garage to sit in it! We have been taking him for little rides down the street to our local park and he does great.

Other than this, I have been busy crafting away for my first fall craft show of the year. It is one week from Saturday and I have 80% of my projects done. I had a few days off in a row this week so I took advantage of it!

I added onesie dresses to my stock for the first time, so hopefully they sell good. They are priced cheap and look adorable, so usually that works in my favor! I placed them in my online shop also for those who are interested...

Mobilization

2011-09-17T13:15:00.003-05:00

Here is my little one who finally figured out how to ride his tricycle this week! He got his first bike on his second birthday in June and we have been working with him since then. He could pedal a couple of turns, but would stop and not know what to do.

The other day I took him out in our cul-de-sac with his bike and all of a sudden he took off! It was the cutest thing...until he came to the street and wanted to keep going! There was a tantrum and I ended up carrying him and his bike inside...but he is getting better! I guess learning boundaries is a part of becoming more mobile :)

Today was our walk for Alzheimers downtown. We showed up about 30 minutes early and grabbed some breakfast food that they had available for participants. There were tons of people there with lots of entertainment. I wish I had brought my camera but unfortunately I did not. A lot of the walk was uphill, and I ended up carrying Brad for about the last half mile but otherwise everything went great and I am happy we did our part to support research for this disease and remember our grandparents who suffered from it.

Tonight we are having dinner with friends in the city. I am on call this whole weekend but am hoping to get plenty of time in to craft! I just realized today that my craft show is not in three weeks, but in TWO weeks!! I need to buckle down and crank up my sewing machine full blast!

A Special Post

2011-09-16T00:42:00.003-05:00

Yes this is my 300th post! I just wanted to get on here briefly and bring all of my readers' attention to the sad disease of Alzheimers.

My grandfather Joseph Lazzaro suffered his last years becoming more and more debilitated by Alzheimers, eventually ending in his death several years ago. He was incoherent, couldn't talk, couldn't stand or walk, and couldn't feed himself or take a drink.

Nick's grandmother Ella White was also stricken with the disease and was bedridden for many years before she passed away. She had to be fed, changed, and repositioned by family caretakers the last 4 years of her life with only an occasional moment of clarity and speech.

Please click here and donate ANY amount toward the research for this devastating disease and a cure. Nick, Brad, and I are participating in a charity walk on Saturday morning in OKC as part of our support for this organization. Every little bit helps!!

County Fair 2011

2011-09-12T21:53:00.003-05:00

This weekend was our Cleveland County Fair in Norman and of course we had to go! Last year was our first time going and we absolutely loved it. We loved the simplicity of it, the old-fashioned feel, the good prices, and ease of access. But last year Brad was only a little over 1 and wasn't walking so he didn't really know what was going on. This year he was able to run around, pet animals, and really enjoy it!

They had a free hayride there, so Brad got to take his first hayride! He just sat there quiet the whole time looking at everything.

He LOVED the carousel--I mean he did not want to get off. I had to peel his hands off of the rail.

After the carousel we went and got a funnel cake and lemonade that we all shared. It was a nice treat. We saved the Ferris wheel for last!

We all had a good time, even though little boy was cranky from not taking a nap. He fell asleep on the way home with a belly full of funnel cake.

I got a video of him riding his trike finally! I will post that next time....

Mowing

2011-09-11T00:10:00.004-05:00

My mom got my baby this toy mower recently and it has become his new favorite! We took him outside today and sat on the porch while he went round and round in circles pushing his little mower...

Today I had an old friend come over for a nice long visit where we exchanged crafting ideas and showed off our projects to each other. When the evening came, me, Nick and Brad all three went to our county fair for the second year in a row and had a great time! Pictures will be posted later on.

PS. Remember those today whose lives were lost 10 years ago...

Southern Florida Vacation!

2011-09-04T15:45:00.011-05:00

We had a great time on our first vacation to southern Florida! We dropped Brad off at his grandparent's house in the country on Tuesday night and we flew out of Oklahoma early Wednesday morning. This is what Florida looked like as we got ready to land...

We got our luggage and our rental car (a Chevy Cruze) with no trouble and--thanks to our GPS--found our way to our hotel and checked in!

We stayed at the Bahia Mar Resort and Yachting Center and had a very nice room with a gorgeous view of the yacht harbor and beach!!

Our first evening there we went down to the beach and were amazed at the storms that were off in the distance. You could hear the thunder rumbling on the beach.

Our hotel had it's own private walk straight to the beach just for hotel residents!

There were sea turtle nests cordoned off along the beach where they laid their eggs.

For dinner that night, we found a great little Italian restaurant right on the beach were we both ordered chicken Parmigiana. So good!!

On Thursday, our first full day there, we headed out West to the Everglades for some fan boating fun! We drove thru Hollywood, FL on the way.

I had already prepurchased our tickets online and we were able to get on a boat as soon as we arrived.

After we were done boating, we got to see a really neat wildlife show.

We had a great time seeing everything there. We grabbed some lunch and headed back to our hotel to clean up then hit the beach again. We also stopped by a grocery store called Publix and picked up some treats for us, and for the seagulls!

^See the jellyfish?

That night for dinner we went to a little Greek place on the beach and ate some yummy gyros. Nick had to have his picture taken here with the "props"....

Our last full day was Friday and we got up that morning ready for a busy day. We aimed for the Keys but stopped off at a park at Biscayne Bay to have a look. We passed several palm tree nurseries.

^Wild crabs running around.

^Driving on the long highway to Key Largo

We finally made it to the park where we bought tickets to go on the last snorkeling trip at 3pm. We boated out into the ocean about 30 minutes then spent an hour in the water snorkeling by a coral reef!

^More jellyfish....

We got pretty worn out with all of that snorkeling and hadn't eaten anything yet that day so we stopped in at a little hole in the wall restaurant on Key Largo called Mrs. Mac's Kitchen and each had a delicious burger.

We didn't make it back to the hotel that night until almost 10pm so we were ready for bed! I got up extra early Saturday morning so that I could catch the sunrise before our flight left at noon.

We grabbed breakfast at Denny's before heading to the airport and turning in our rental car. The flight to Houston was long, and our layover there was even longer. We finally made it back to OKC around 7pm where my dad picked us up and took us home. We dropped our luggage off inside then hit the road again for the hour-long drive out to the country to pick up our little boy.

Saturday was also my father-in-law's bday so we stayed over late for a dinner with the family. We didn't get home Saturday evening until after 10pm and went straight to bed after that. Today has been a very nice relaxing day and I'm glad to be home!

Thanks for taking the time to look at all of my pictures and videos, and leave a comment to tell me what you think!

Baby Talk 2

2011-08-26T22:56:00.002-05:00

So I don't know why the sound player wouldn't work after I posted the last blog....

I went with plan B and just made a video with the file playing so that you can "watch" it! You won't see anything except for my computer speaker, so turn up your volume and listen to my baby talk :)

Making Things

2011-08-21T23:28:00.002-05:00

Doesn't that look yummy??? That is what I made for lunch today. Last week I made a big batch of my family sauce and we have been eating on it since then. I love to get the whole wheat pitas and make little custom pizzas with them. Now that I have fresh basil, I made tomato/basil pizzas in addition to Hawaiian and pepperoni. They were all soooo good!

I haven't sewn much in awhile so I went in my craft room and resolved to make something. I attempted follow a pattern for a dress but I didn't have the right color of bias tape, then I sewed a part I shouldn't have....long story short I made this out of fabric and a onesie!

I hand-embroidered a lowercase "t" in the corner for the little girl who will be wearing it. I already got a request to make one for her big sister! Too bad Brad doesn't wear dresses....

Speaking of Brad, here is a pic of him right before bed last week. He insisted on wearing his novelty glasses that were party favors at his birthday. He looks like a little Elton John! (Yes my face is a bit swollen b/c this is the day after my surgery)

After my last post I ended going into work on Friday afternoon even though my boss gave me off to recover. I worked about 2pm-9pm, came home and ate dinner, then got called back in just afte 10pm! Me and the other recovery nurse ended up being there until 3am doing NOTHING just waiting for the surgery to be over. The patient ended up going straight back to the ICU and we didn't even get them. So we went home!

Today I am on-call again and was planning on having my dad over for dinner to eat some homemade eggplant parmesan with us. Well I got called in at 3pm and was there until 7pm doing two surgeries. Dad met me at the house and chatted with me in the kitchen while I cooked up two huge eggplants with spaghetti. Then we feasted at the dining table until nearly 10pm! It was a nice relaxing evening and I'm *hoping* that I don't get called back in again tonight!

Dratted Wisdom Teeth

2011-08-18T17:09:00.002-05:00

If you recall in my last post, I mentioned having a toothache? Well the pain had intensified after a couple days of me nursing it so I called my dentist first thing on Monday morning. They said they could squeeze me in only if I came in right then, and I said I was on my way! They took a 180 degree xray of my mouth, and the doc looked at my sore spot. She said yep it looked infected and wrote prescriptions for antibiotics and Lortab. I had them call a surgeon right then and get me in for a consult the next morning.

The pain continued on that day and night, and the next day I grudgingly went to work. I had to leave for a couple hours in the afternoon to go to the surgeon's office. After a bit of waiting they took me back, did another xray, then had me watch a video about wisdom teeth extraction. Then the surgeon came in to see me and looked in my mouth....she said with as bad as the infection already was, I needed to have the surgery immediately! She has seen these kinds of infections get bad very quickly and end up in the ER with abscesses into the jaw.

I have taken care of people in the ICU for that same reason so I knew she wasn't playing around. She said the antibiotics might help a bit, but they wouldn't get rid of whatever was stuck under my gum that caused the infection. She got me scheduled for surgery under general anesthesia the next morning! I signed the consent forms and told Nick the plans.

I went back to work and let me boss know the news. She was very understanding (I heart my new job) and let me off Thursday and Friday no problem. I picked up an extra day next week to help make up my hours. When I left that evening, everyone wished me good luck, gave me a hug, and said they would be praying for me! One of my coworkers also brought me a huge transplant of her homegrown basil!

My surgery was Wednesday morning at 10:30, and I was home by 12:30. I took some pain pills when I got home and Nick went to fill my other prescriptions. Later on that day I was already feeling better than before the surgery and ate a little bit of soft food. I didn't wake up once last night in pain, and I am only taking ibuprofen now instead of Lortab! I have been up and doing stuff all day, and even cooked a big batch of pea soup last night to eat on. My dad came and saw me last night and brought ice cream, then my mom and brother came and saw me this morning.

I honestly thought I would be a lot more sore than I am now, but it's not near as bad as I was imagining! The infection pain was much worse. My jaw is still pretty stiff and there is a bit of swelling but it's not too bad. I am actually thinking of going in to work for a few hours tomorrow...

Couponing "Stockpile"

2011-08-15T00:25:00.002-05:00

Don't worry--I'm not like the Extreme Couponing crazies who have an entire room dedicated to their stockpile. I just wanted to give you guys a glimpse of how I have been doing since I started couponing a few months ago.

My stockpile is probably small compared to some others, but there is only 3 of us here and I don't need more stuff than I have space for. I don't buy extra papers either. I only use what coupons I get out of mine and what stragglers my MIL hands down to me.

^In our main bathroom I keep all of our body washes, shampoo/conditioner, shaving cream, and razors.

^In our master bathroom I keep our deodorants, toothpaste/toothbrushes, makeup, lotions, hair color and hair styling products.

^In part of my pantry I keep our extra salad dressings, condiments, and snacks. (I got most of these for $1 or less)

^In the other part I keep overflow box dinners, cereal, and juice. We did have a LOT more cereal but we've been eating thru it and I am due to get more.

^Of course in my laundry room I keep extra detergent and fabric softener. I got each of these for less than $2.

I have noticed that there are certain things that go on sale very frequently, like body wash, razors, cereal, and hair color. It has gotten to the point now where I don't even buy them unless it's super cheap! I have gotten my own little system down and I feel pretty comfortable knowing that I am getting the best deals possible. I recently discovered a little grocery store right down the street from me doubles coupons, so now I have 3 stores where I coupon at including Homeland and CVS. I really don't even look at Walgreens because I never saw deals there that I couldn't get at CVS, plus they are significantly further away from my house.

I still keep my coupons organized into labeled envelopes but I am keeping my eye out for a smaller box to keep them in. Some people take their whole box/binder to the store with each shopping trip, but I prefer not to. Sure, I might "miss" a deal every once in awhile but I don't want one more thing to worry about lugging around in the store.

My system is that when I get the store ad in the paper, I generally have an idea of what coupons I have in my stash. So then I match up the sale items in the ad with the coupons that I have and if my net price is a GOOD deal then I pull the coupon out and start a shopping list for that store. But if it's not a good price (e.g. I could get generic cheaper, or it's something I wouldn't usually buy) even with the sale/coupon combo, I don't use the coupon! Sure I end up having several coupons that expire without getting used, but that is where you save money--because you aren't giving into the mentality that you are "getting a good deal" just because you used a coupon.

In other shopping news, one of my fave fabric/craft stores called JoAnn recently opened up a branch right down the street from me!!! The only other one I knew of was way on the north side like 45 min from my house. They just opened a couple of weeks ago and have been having all kinds of grand opening specials and deals. I went to check it out and got this ADORABLE reusable shopping bag to put my goodies in!

It's quite large and sturdy, but it's way to cute to throw in with my other ratty grocery shopping bags.

I have been plagued with an awful toothache this weekend. It crept up Saturday afternoon, was very bad Saturday night with no sleep, and even after "borrowing" my dad's leftover Lortab today has been pretty awful. Anything I eat comes back up within an hour. I try to catch cat naps when the pain meds are at their peak. I have known my wisdom teeth were jacked up and needed to come out eventually....but they never hurt before so I wasn't pushing it. Of course the week after I quit my job with dental insurance is when they decide to flare up.....sheesh.

I will leave you with an adorable pic of Bradley from the week--this was during a nap and he had thrown every single thing out of the crib and was just chilling in it sleeping like this:

The Final Weekend

2011-08-07T19:44:00.006-05:00

For my last two shifts at OU on Friday and Saturday nights, I took my camera with me to take some pics with! Unfortunately not all of my favorite friends were working this weekend so not everyone is pictured...but here are the ones who were there!

Driving to work Friday evening

The lovely temperature

Where we sign our name after passing our licensure board test. They started this the year I graduated nursing school in 2006 and these are hanging right by the entrance.

My name third from the top

My locker!

Me and Kimmie

Kimmie and Whitney getting meds out

Chelsea and me!

Jim, Whitney, and Kimmie hanging out in the North pod

Bobby

Bethany, Chelsea, and one of our supervisors Kelli

********************************

And now here is Saturday night, my last night there.....

I baked a couple loaves of Amish Friendship bread (will post about that later) and took one to work for my friends!

Mucho rain in the distance

Chelsea and Mike

Greg

Janice and me

Karim and Lana--two of my fave RTs!

I will miss the people I worked with and hopefully will see many of them again in the future. It is time for a break from the ICU and from working 50 hours a week! For the first time in about 8 years I will have my nights back, and for the first time in about 3 years I will have my weekends back!! I am so happy with my new work family at Saint Anthonys and I look forward to focusing on that job for awhile.

A New Camera and a New Baby

2011-08-05T00:10:00.003-05:00

Do you recall the camera that I ordered with my points from work? Well I got it in the mail a few weeks ago and finally sat down to figure it out and get the memory card set up. Here is my first batch of pictures:

The boys chilling by the pool

Cuddles watching me surf the web.

Bubba playing

Yesterday we ventured out into the 114 degree weather to Shawnee to see our good friends who just had a baby on the 29th. They also have a newly-walking one year old so I baked them a meal and took them food and diapers! We spent a few hours talking, laughing, corralling the babies, and changing diapers!

Holding a newborn is MUCH different than holding a 2 year old! I had forgotten how to do it!

The two Sphynx kitties--Tessie and Luna.

Nick loves the kitties and the kitties love Nick.

Jet giving Brad some love smacks as I try to get a picture of both of them together.

One of Brad's perches when we go over there--the toy bin.

Rachel holding her precious new little girl Tinley.

The three boys--James, Brad, and Nick--hanging out on the couch.

Brad shimmied himself into the walker then got stuck!

Jet wearing the new outfit that I made for her birthday! Isn't she a cutie!?

We had a great time over there as always and finally left so that they could all get some more rest. I remember those days of no sleep! Rachel and I won't be working together anymore unfortunately since she is on maternity leave and this is my last weekend at OU. I'm sure we will be making more trips out there and meeting for family meals!

On the way home it was so ungodly hot that we had to get Brad out of his carseat, take his dripping-with-sweat clothes off and cool him off in front of the air conditioner. GRRR! I am so completely over the weather here. Done.

Melanzane Parmigiana!

2011-07-31T20:48:00.005-05:00

...which in Italian is Eggplant Parmesan. I didn't like it when I was younger, but as I've gotten older I started liking it. I have ordered in restaurants and of course I grew up with my mom making it. I had not made it myself until Saturday!

When I did my grocery shopping I saw that the eggplants were on sale. I picked a nice looking one and bought an eggplant for the first time ever! I didn't know what to cook for dinner Saturday then I remembered I had the eggplant in the fridge.

The whole meal took about 30 minutes to make and only cost about $2! TOTAL. I usually make my own sauce but was out of it at the time so I used canned sauce. Here is what I did:

-Start skillet with oil heating up
-Slice eggplant into ~1/4 in slices (I would probably peel it next time to please the hubby)
-Get one bowl of whisked eggs, another bowl of seasoned bread crumbs

-Dredge slices in egg then crumbs and place in hot oil

-Fry until golden brown on each side--about 2-4min each side then remove onto paper towel
-Cover with a bit of sauce and eat!

They were delicious and as good if not better than restaurant quality. While I was frying them I had my pasta boiling and everything was ready at the same time. It is a great vegetarian meal and oh so frugal! My hubby loved it, and even my little boy loved it! He ate 3 slices and some spaghetti of his own. I will definitely be making it again.

Around the time Brad turned 1 I started reading stories to him at night time. He was still a bit too young for it though and would just get distracted wiggling around and trying to get down so I quit. Shortly after his 2nd birthday I started again and he absolutely loves it! He sits so quietly on my lap and points at the pictures. He gets the books out of his bookcase to hand them to me and puts them up when we are done. Here is a pic that Nick took one night last week of me reading to him (don't judge my hair--it was late):

♥ my life

Woot!

2011-07-26T23:09:00.002-05:00

We finally booked our hotel for the beach trip coming up in a few weeks! Actually it is a resort! We used hotwire.com for the first time and got a great price on what looks like a nice hotel right on the beach.

My thoughts of New York have *temporarily* been replaced with thoughts of the beach. The last time I was on one was in August of 2008 right before we started our IVF. And that trip was interrupted by a hurricane! Hopefully this one is uneventful and full of fun, sun, and sand! My friend Rachel loaned us her snorkel set with fins and everything so that we can do some underwater exploring on our own. Just a few more weeks!

After we booked this trip with Southwest I looked into getting one of their credit cards with Rapid Rewards where you earn points toward flights. I went ahead and applied for it and was approved with an awesome credit limit! With my first purchase I earned bonus points enough for one free flight! I added Nick as a joint user today so when he gets his card we are both going to start using this one instead of our other rewards card so that we can always be earning points toward free flights! You know how we love to travel ;)

In other news...I finally put my notice of resignation in at OU. I had been feeling lately that it was time so I prayed about and felt good about the decision to do it. I don't think I realized how burned out I was after 5 years until I started working at Saints and saw how different things could be. August 6 will be my last shift there, and I have already signed up for extra shifts at Saints. My boss there was VERY happy to hear this! I plan on working 3 shifts (~30hrs) a week plus call. Since all of our debt is paid off, all extra money is going into savings now!

Last Friday I actually did a little shopping for ME! I had a $10 gift card to Kohl's that was almost expired so I decided to hit the clearance racks and find some cute clothes for our trip. I went to Kohl's, Old Navy, and Charlotte Russe. I got a gorgeous blue maxi dress, some tank tops, two swim suit tops and one bottom, some blouses, a new purse, and a couple shirts for Nick. And you know me--I didn't pay full price for anything!

Have I mentioned recently how much I love my little boy? He is growing by leaps and bounds everyday. I used to think all 2 year olds were wild banshees but he is so funny, sweet, cuddly and smart! And I'm not just saying that because I'm his momma. He loves to sit on my lap and watch cartoons. He loves to be read stories before bedtime. He loves to hold my hand while walking around outside. He is my ♥

Nick Turned 30!

2011-07-21T21:58:00.002-05:00

My darling husband turned 30 today! As always, birthdays are a big thing around the Pierce household so I threw together a party for him in the short time I had. I have worked late the last two days so I only had a couple hours this afternoon to go to the store and get everything together!

I made pigs-in-a-blanket, tortilla pinwheels, veggie tray, fruit bowl, punch, cake and ice cream. My mom brought baked beans, and two kinds of pasta salad. We had a bunch of friends and family over to celebrate the big day with us!

And of course the ONLY way to beat the relentless heat here is in the pool!

The party started at 1pm, and some of our good friends hung out with us until almost 6pm. Then we dropped Brad off at his daycare and met my dad for Nick's birthday dinner at Cracker Barrel. He wanted to go to Santa Fe steakhouse, but evidently they are all shutdown?? The last part of his birthday will be our beach trip coming up in a few weeks!

Here is a cute pic of Brad in the bath this week...

In other news, I got my new camera and GPS unit! I ordered these using points I earned at OU for working extra shifts. I have played around a little with the camera and it is pretty fancy! It has this neat function for the front LCD screen where it plays a video of a cartoon so that kids will look at the camera for a picture. I can't wait to take it on our trip and use it!

I have gotten pretty well caught up on my scrapbooking. For my family albums I am caught up to June, and for Brad I am caught up to his 2 year post. I also decided to get new binders for my albums. I have been using the photo albums from the craft store but I do so many pages that I have a ton of albums. I got 2" binders and thankfully the page inserts fit perfectly! I condensed 5 photo albums into 3 binders and printed off nice cover sheets for the front and side pockets.

We have some family coming into town tomorrow from Illinois that we are supposed to be having dinner with before I go to work. They are cousins of mine that I have not met before. They are only staying until Sunday and I work this whole weekend so I won't be able to see very much of them. It will be nice to meet them though.

Hope everyone else has a good weekend!

Lap Chole and a 2 Year Checkup

2011-07-12T21:04:00.002-05:00

Evidently I haven't posted in a week! It has been a busy one--but then again, when isn't it? First of all, my dad had surgery this morning to remove his gallbladder. I was the lucky one who got to get up at 5am to take him to the hospital. In a nutshell everything went great and he was discharged by 10:30am! We got his prescriptions filled then I dropped him off at home by noon.

After that I sped back to the city for my little boy's 2 year checkup today! Nick met me there with Brad and together we took him back to the room. He always gets so shy when he is around strangers, but he didn't want the doctor to have anything to do with him! He clung to me like a baby koala and we barely got him weighed/measured.

The doctor was very happy with his growth over the last 6 months and how he is developing. We didn't have any questions or concerns to voice so it was a quick visit! Brad only got one shot which caught him up completely. No more until school-age they said! And now his checkups are once a year. My little boy is growing up! His current height and weight is:

Height: 35.5 inches
Weight: 27lb 2oz

On to other news...I am currently preparing to end my employment with OU. Yes I said it. I think my close friends knew it would happen since I have been working at Saint Anthonys and liking it there more and more. The issues at OU haven't gotten any better in the 5 years I've been there, and I'm sure they won't any time soon. But I won't be burning any bridges--I will be keeping my eye out for a special per diem contract! That is a 13wk contract position for very short-handed units to help with staffing. They are 36hr/week and *$50/hr*. You read that correctly! Every few months they open some up in my ICU and I always grumble b/c I'm busting my hump for less than half of what they make and I've been there 5 years....

One of steps to prepare is using up the rest of my reward points that I earned for working extra shifts! If you remember in the past I "bought" a home gym and also our airline tickets to NY with my points. I had about 1100 pts left so I could either get one 1000 pt item, or a 400 pt item and a 750 pt item. I decided to do that and I got these two things:

Samsung 12.1 mpx digital camera with 5x optical zoom, touchscreen LCD screen on the back, additional LCD screen on the front for self-portraits, and rechargeable lithium ion battery!

....and a Magellan GPS unit with all the fancy features for our car.

We are pretty excited about it, and hopefully both will arrive in time for our beach trip in a few weeks! We borrowed my mom's GPS when we went to NY in April and it really came in handy. As for the camera, my current one is a bulky Kodak 7.0 mpx and 3x zoom so this Samsung will definitely be a big step up! I really like the idea of the image screen in front to help with self-portraits! And of course the rechargeable battery so that I don't have to carry a bunch of AA batteries with me everywhere.

For those not living in Oklahoma, it has been hotter than Hades here the last month or so. I think we are going on 23 days in a row over 100 degrees. We finally got some rain today but we are probably going to remain in a burn ban with watering restrictions. Yuck. On the positive side, I am already hearing State Fair commercials and seeing Christmas decorations in the craft stores!! That means that fall will be here before I know it!

Family Holi-daze

2011-07-05T23:38:00.004-05:00

First I want to show you the cutest picture of Brad drawing in a book:

Isn't that adorable?? And evidently he is right-handed.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe July 4th! I worked the whole weekend away and after a short nap Monday morning, we headed over to my dad's acreage to cookout and shoot off some fireworks! We have been doing this for many years now and it is a tradition we look forward to every July!

Some scattered showers had passed thru the area so it cooled down enough for us to eat outside and not melt! I guess when you are used to 105 degrees for weeks at a time, 90 doesn't feel too bad.

Here is little boy stealing a chip from momma's plate...

It finally got dark around 9. My brother Eric and his wife joined us with a load of their own ammo. We got the party started!

After awhile it was already way past little boy's bedtime so he snuggled on me and daddy the rest of the time. I took off his shirt to keep him cool!

I can't believe this is already his THIRD July 4th! How fast time flies when you are having fun and enjoying life! The only injury of the night was one of my hubby's fingers that got burned. He was holding an extra firework when the one on the ground sparked onto the one in his hand! He managed to throw it down and run before it exploded but he burned a finger pretty good. It looks a lot better today.

In other news, our downstairs AC has been broken for 6 days and my super-mechanical husband fixed it today for us!! It broke last Wednesday, we called a guy out Thursday who told us what was wrong and wanted to charge $1,000 to fix it.....we said "no thanks" then Nick ordered the part himself for $100! Only problem was it had to be shipped here, and with the holiday it didn't come in until today. But he had the new part installed and the AC running within an hour! He's the best! Let's hope the upstairs one doesn't break before we move.

I get the next two days off so I plan to get all kinds of things done! Swimming, sunbathing, yard work, and of course--spending time with my two favorite boys!

My Summertime Plan

2011-07-01T15:06:00.002-05:00

Have I kept you wondering where we are taking our big trip to in a couple of months??? Here!

I am so freakin excited. I really wanted to take Nick to Cancun this summer as part of his 30th birthday extravaganza...but things didn't quite work out that way this year. I was going into ocean-withdrawal and promised myself that SOMEHOW we would see a beach this year! Well the time came--Southwest airlines had a huge 3-day sale on flights and I snagged us super cheap tickets to Ft. Lauderdale, FL!

Neither of us have visited Florida, we have only passed thru. I knew I didn't want to go to the Gulf side--I wanted the ocean!! I have been researching all of the amazing things there are to see and do in southern Florida and it looks like we will have a blast.

Some things on the list are....

Everglades National Forest

Riding a fanboat in the Everglades!

Biscayne Bay National Park

Key Largo

John Pennekamp National Park in the Keys

Wow! We are going to snorkel our little buns off!

And this brings me to my summertime plan! I have finally found a workout that I can "enjoy". I hate getting all hot and sweaty, I refuse to pay a gym, and my home gym doesn't really work my whole body. So what have I found? Swimming! I'm not talking about splashing around in a pool and floating on rafts...I'm referring to hardcore lap-swimming under and above water. I have done it twice this week and it works me from head to toe!

I've got it down to a pretty good system. On my days off I put Brad down for his nap around 1pm then I go sunbathe my back for about 10 minutes. By then I'm sweating my cahonas off and I proceed to kick my own butt in the pool until I'm literally panting for air and aching so much I can barely float. Then I shake off and sunbathe my front for about 10 minutes and go in! I should be able to do this at least 3 days a week, so I figure in two months I should be tan, toned, and a little lighter!

I have been wanting to get off these last 10 pesky pounds but they seem happy to stay. You may scoff when I say I want to get off only 10 pounds, but I have to work to maintain my weight. I watch what I eat, I stay active, and I'm always on my feet at work. I get amused by people who lay around watching TV all day then gripe about how overweight they are. If someone really wants to get the weight off, they can do it! A few years ago, I realized I was 40lbs overweight and I took steps to lose it and not get it back. I always support others who are PROACTIVE in their own health and follow thru with their goals.

So yeah! That's basically what I'm going to be doing this summer--working, swimming, keeping my household running smoothly and cleanly while trying to squeeze in some craft time here and there.

2 Year Milestones

2011-06-28T01:04:00.003-05:00

Evidently, in the hustle and bustle of my little man's 2nd birthday I forgot to post his 2 year stats!! I mostly do this for my own documentation/scrapbooking, but it's also nice to see how one child develops compared to others. They are all so different!

^Feeding him blueberries to bribe him to stand still....didn't work.

at 2 years old you:

wear a size 5 shoe
wear 2T clothes
wear a size 4 diaper
still have 16 teeth
can drink from a straw and kind of from a cup
can say lots of new words including "baby, peepee, two, puppy, yummy, hot, cookie" and several others
can follow many 2-step commands
are very happy and easy-going
are very gentle with animals and babies--you pet them both
sleep 12-14 hours at night
take a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon
still eat a whole banana, cheerios, and chocolate milk every morning
haven't used your highchair in a few months--you sit at the table with us!
act shy when you first meet someone, then you warm up
still have never been sick! But you do have outdoor allergies
get a haircut every 2-3 months
love to swim and be outside
absolutely love blueberries, kiwi, grapes, and strawberries
say "mmm, nummy!" when you eat something you like
do well when we drop you off at your hourly daycare

That is all I can think of for now! Let's hope I can get this all scrapbooked before his 2 1/2 year post, HA!

My Little Birthday Boy

2011-06-26T22:07:00.006-05:00

My baby turned 2 today!!! I don't know if he understood it was his special day, but we spoiled the crap outta him! I usually take his milestone pic standing up, but he wasn't cooperating much...

He slept in late this morning, then I made turkey bacon and scrambled eggs for our brunch. He went down for his nap at 1 and I kicked it into high gear to get everything done while he was asleep before his party at 5!

On the menu was PB&J sandwiches, tortilla rollups, veggie tray, fruit bowl, cupcakes, and punch. I wanted to keep it all finger food so that people wouldn't need silverware. For the sandwiches I put white bread on one side and whole wheat on the the other, then cut them into quarters and alternated white/brown in the rows. The punch was orange Hawaiian Punch and ginger ale with red koolaid star-shaped ice cubes.

A lot of my friends with young kids were working so there weren't as many people today as there were for his 1st birthday. But the family and friends that WERE here are very close and dear to my heart and I appreciated their presence!

^Brad with his uncle Eric

^Our good friends Rachel, James, and Jet

^My brother Eric and sis-in-law Teri

^My mom and sis-in-law Sarah

^My mother/father-in-law

My dad was also there, but I seem to have missed capturing him in a picture. We all ate snacks, then it was time for us to sing Happy Birthday to Brad and let him eat his own little cake. For the cake, I knew I wanted to make another one from scratch again like last year, but I didn't know what kind. I decided on an Applesauce Cake recipe from the 1950s out of my vintage Betty Crocker cookbook! It was kind of like a spice applesauce cake with raisins. Everyone loved it, and there were no cupcakes left at the end!

I made a special little star-shaped cake for Brad:

After that, daddy helped him open presents and read his cards from everyone. He got some good stuff and we are all very thankful for the gifts!

We saved the BEST gift for last though....

His very own Radio Flyer tricycle!!!! He didn't know what to think at first until we set him on it...then he didn't want to get off! I think he will catch on to the pedaling pretty quick, and we can't wait to take him outside tomorrow to play on it!

And of course we had to finish off the party with some swimming! Yes our pool is FINALLY blue, clear, and ready for action! Our new filter is 200% better than our last one and we can't wait to beat the heat in it for the next couple of months.

After our parents and family left, our friends Rachel and James stayed for awhile to hang out and chat with us. We got into the goody bags to see what the kiddoes could play with...and my little boy now has this....

He didn't even notice it was on there at first, then when he did he kept acting scared of it! But after a few seconds he got distracted and forgot it was there again. He's my tough little man!

All in all, I think the party went great and that my precious little boy had a wonderful birthday. I look back 5 years ago at how different things were--how different life in general was--and I count my blessings everyday for what God has given to me since then. I longed so much to be a mother and God helped me take a leap of faith to make it happen! My heart is full ♥

What I've Been Sewing Lately

2011-06-23T13:21:00.002-05:00

Not 'sew' much sewing as I've been embroidering, but you get the idea! I have been able to squeeze some craftiness into my crazy life. This one is a vinyl apron that I shortened and embroidered a name onto:

My mom's best friend Cheryl is a hairdresser. One day Brad and I went with my mom up there to see her. Brad was wearing some shorts I made him and long story short--she asked if I could shorten her apron. When I got done doing that I decided to surprise her and embroider her nickname on it in her favorite color! She loved it!

This next one you may have seen on my Father's Day post previously. I appliqued a '1' on each shirt then embroidered 'Dad' on top. For my two favorite dads!

You may have also noticed an abundance of things embroidered with the name "Tinley". That is because my good friend Rachel is expecting a little girl next month and I love sewing for little babies! This kimono 0-3m shirt was an experiment with some techniques I hadn't tried before. I embroidered her name on the fabric, then appliqued it onto the kimono with matching lace tucked under the edges.

These burp cloths are pretty popular right now with the fabric appliqued on them, but I couldn't resist the combination of the bright colors and adorable fabric prints! Slap an embroidered baby's name on there and you have the cutest gift ever. I know I needed a million burp cloths when Brad was a newborn, so I hope she gets a lot of use out of these. (Also for sale in my shop)

I have also shortened several of Brad's pants into shorts for the summer, but I probably won't be taking pictures of them. They turned out well though, and I have more to do so that he has a full supply of shorts to dirty up!

I recently ordered another batch of prints for me to scrapbook. Hopefully I can get caught up on that soon and then get back to more sewing!

PS. We decided on where our next big trip will be, and I'm booking it today! More about that later on...

My Two Favorite Dads and a Recipe

2011-06-21T00:12:00.005-05:00

I hope everyone had a good weekend and you took the time to show that special father in your life how much you appreciate him! My hubby (or 'baby daddy' as I jokingly call him) and my dad were treated to a delicious dinner of grilled steaks, baked potato, pasta, and cherry cheese danish for dessert!

Whenever I fire up the grill, I like to go ahead and grill up a bunch of yummy meat to eat throughout the week, and to freeze for future meals. This time, I cooked 4 BBQ chicken breasts, then burgers/hot dogs, then the steaks for our dinner!

The steaks turned out great--you just can't beat that charcoal-grilled taste!! See my two happy boys??

Now back to the cherry cheese danish--it's pretty much the best thing you've ever tasted. So easy to make too! I'll put the recipe at the end....

And here are the dads with their special shirts I made them!

And just because he is so cute...here is my little one playing in our suitcase after we got back from our trip last week:

Cherry Cheese Danish

2 tubes of crescent rolls (I use lowfat)
8oz block SOFT cream cheese (I use lowfat)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c sugar
1 can cherry pie filling

Preheat oven to 350. Mix together cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in bowl. Spread one tube of crescent rolls to cover bottom of 9x13 pan (don't separate the triangles). Spread cream cheese mixture on top, then pour cherry pie filling over. Spread remaining crescents on top then bake for 30 min! YUM.

Family Vacation 2011

2011-06-16T20:44:00.007-05:00

We are home! Our family of three spent 4 days and 3 nights in a cabin along the Illinois River with our friends Rachel, James, and their 1yr old girl Jet. We packed and brought everything we could possibly need to keep 4 adults and 2 toddlers happy and well fed. Our cabin was adorable and we turned it into our home while we were there!

^The loft where Nick and I slept

We decided the best thing would be to put the babies in the bedroom at night so that the adults could stay up late and not disturb them. Rachel and James slept on the pullout bed in the living area and we slept in the loft.

We had an amazing view of the river and lots of shade to keep us cool while we grilled out dinner every night.

I think our favorite part was the screened-in back porch where we ate all of our meals and played board games past midnight!

The babies (and the parents) got along good and seemed to have a good time.

Everyday we went down to the river bank so that the kids could put their toes in the water and play.

We also went to the pool everyday to beat the heat! One of the times there was a tiny baby bunny that we found and let the babies pet.

We all had such a good time eating good food, watching scary movies, playing games, and learning about how much we all have in common.

We even talked about doing it again next year, but that would be even more interesting because we would have three kids aged 1, 2, and 3 to bring along! We parted with hugs this afternoon and were sad to end the vacation, but I'm sure we are all happy to be back in our own beds!

I have been working on embroidered goodies for Rachel's new baby Tinley who will be here next month. I will post about that and Father's Day next time. Have a great weekend!

1/4 Century Old

2011-06-11T22:23:00.004-05:00

Yes today is my 25th birthday!! It's funny how when you are a kid, your birthday is all you can think about and it is almost better than Christmas! But when you grow up, it is just like another day and you enjoy spending it with friends and family.

My dear husband went out of his way today to plan me a party! He made a menu, cooked the food, invited the people, decorated the house, and bought/wrapped my presents. He even built us a new computer today after our old one finally bit the dust. He is the best! We had a great afternoon with our family, then a nice dinner out this evening. I am so thankful for everything!

Yesterday we took Brad to his friend Jet's 1st birthday in Shawnee. They grilled out burgers and hotdogs, plus there were lots of sides and desserts. There were several other babies there, but they were all girls and were all much younger than Brad. He did very good though! He was careful around the crawling babies, and mostly walked from person to person being cute. We stayed awhile past dark playing bean bag toss outside and talking with our friends. Next week we all go to the river together!

In other news, we also got our fancy new pool filter yesterday! It is much bigger than our old one, and hopefully more efficient. It came with a new valve thing and lots of instructions on how to do it. Nick is tackling that tomorrow so HOPEFULLY we can get our pool semi-clear by next weekend! This heat is killing me.

I wanted to do a little summary of goals I have reached in my 25 years....the next big one is 30!

College degree in Nursing
Happily married for 8 1/2 years now
Momma to a precious little boy
NO credit card debt
Growing 401k
Growing savings account
Both cars are PAID off
In good health and active
Worked at same place for 5 years now
Own my own house
Went to Italy

Some goals of mine for the next 5 years to aim for:

Move out of Oklahoma
Have another child
Visit 3 more countries
Do something big for our 10th anniversary!

Sew Busy!

2011-06-08T22:11:00.002-05:00

My schedule has been all wacky this month because of the birthdays and outings that I'm booked up with! I somehow made myself work 5 shifts in a row last weekend...that was fun. If they are only 8 hours, that is one thing. But try doing 10-13 hour shifts five days in a row. I was blessed today and got cancelled by my day job. I am on-call tonight, but so far so good! Just a few more days and we will be headed out to a river cabin for our double family vacay!

My friend Rachel's baby girl Jet is turning ONE tomorrow and her big birthday party is Friday evening. I had to sew her up a special outfit because she will become a big sister next month to baby girl Tinley!

First I appliqued/embroidered a 12month onesie...

Then made an adorable elastic-waisted skirt trimmed with lace!

And the neat thing is that the polka dot fabric is from my stepdad's late mother Wanda's fabric stash from the 60s-70s! So these are true vintage!

I had my dad over for dinner tonight and cooked stuffed bacon-wrapped chicken breast and parmigiano risotto--yes, all from scratch! I had boiled a dozen eggs earlier in the day so while the chicken was baking and the risotto was simmering, I made a big batch of egg salad for the weekend! I even used my own HOMEMADE pickles. Did I mention I made a batch of my own pickles?? They turned out so delicious. I wasn't sure what flavor they would end up being because I just kind of made up my own recipe, but I would call them bread and butter. Yum!

After we ate dinner, my dad took me shopping at a few places to pick out my birthday present that I requested--a digital waterproof 24hr watch to wear to work. I found a cute turquoise one and I will get it Saturday!

While we were out, of course I found a few things I couldn't live without...

The sunglasses I needed before our river trip so I could protect my eyes in style, and the guitar necklace is a tribute to my rockin' hubby that plays guitar!!

Hopefully I can squeeze in some pics of my party {that Nick is planning} on Saturday and blog once more before we leave for our summer vacation!

Henry Overholser Mansion

2011-06-01T20:33:00.005-05:00

This is what I saw today!

Isn't it the most gorgeous house?? I got a Groupon 2-for-1 admission on a tour several months back that expires on June 6. So I grabbed my mom up and we went there today to check it out.

Here is a snippet from their website:

Walking through the hallways of the Overholser Mansion one journeys back in time experiencing first hand life as the Overholser family did over one hundred years ago. This 1903 three-story Chateauesque home replete with original furnishings, hand-painted canvas walls, stained glass windows and lavish fixtures, the Overholser Mansion stands as a tribute to one of Oklahoma City's truly remarkable families. The 11,000+ square foot home provides a unique experience to all who visit. Nestled in the beautiful historic Heritage Hills neighborhood, we invite you to tour one of Oklahoma City's top tourist attractions.

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Because of construction downtown, we got there around 2:45pm. We thought the tours ended at 3pm, but evidently the last one was at 2pm. It looked like no one was home, so we started walking all around the grounds trying to look in the windows and see the outside. When we were about to leave, 2 people came out of the front door! Long story short, it was the tour director (who also lives on the grounds and is in charge of all maintenance and decorating) and she gave us a private tour! She said they only get about 3 tours a week so she was happy to show us.

It was so beautiful to see the vintage furnishings and to try and picture what it would have been like to live in such an opulent setting in that time. We really enjoyed ourselves, and she invited us to come back later on for a more detailed tour on the house!

Last night Nick and I went on a date! We took Brad to his hourly daycare and went down the street to Alfredo's Mexican restaurant. It was very good! I was impressed with the looks, the service, and the food. Prices are nice also! I'm sure we will be returning. Now if we could just find another good Chinese place closer to us...

Happy Memorial Day!

2011-05-31T13:18:00.003-05:00

These are self-explanatory...

(my brother Eric with his wife Teri)

(my dad)

(mouthful of marshmallow)

(licking the back of a chair...)

(jello cake!)

Hobbies and Reminiscing

2011-05-26T23:07:00.002-05:00

It's the end of the day, and I just realized it is May 26. Call me silly, but my heart still swells when it is the 26th of any month because that is when my little boy gets one month older. I always look back and remember how much my life has changed in the last two years...

One year ago I had an active baby who was almost done with his bottle and formula, was crawling everywhere, and grew closer everyday to being a toddler! Now he IS a toddler, and our life is full of the joy he has brought to us.

I'm sure all mothers look back at their babies and wonder what they will look like when they grow up, what they will become, how they will do in school, how they will treat their friends...I can't wait to see how my little boy turns out!

I have also realized that life is all about family--not about silly problems, or friends that come and go. Too many people get so caught up in their jobs or friends that they forget how important it is to make memories with your own family. When you are young, friends are how you measure your "worth", but when you become an adult and have your own family to raise--then you see how valuable a strong bond with your spouse and children is, and I want to do my best to keep that my priority.

Lately I have been catching up on my scrapbooking. I am sorry to say I had to catch up from Thanksgiving 2010! Usually I do it every couple months and stay caught up. This time with the holidays, a toddler, and having two jobs--I just have not had the free time! I always get overwhelmed when I have a lot to scrap, but once I get started I remember how much I love it and how much I enjoy sharing our memories with others.

I put my heart and soul into my scrapbooking--this are records that will last forever and generations will look back on to see how we lived and what we did! I wish I had journals to look back at what my family used to do. And I don't just glue pictures on paper and write notes in between. I carefully choose colors, ribbon, embellishments, and all kinds of other doodads to accentuate what the picture is conveying. It is truly one of my favorite hobbies!

My other hobbies are sewing, crocheting, gardening, cooking, and now--couponing! I have had my sewing/embroidery machine for a little over 2 years now and I have come very far in teaching myself how to sew. It is hard when you don't know anyone else that can show you how to do something! Thank God for Youtube! That is how I learned to knit (which I do NOT like).

Italian Festival 2011

2011-05-24T11:02:00.002-05:00

Sunday we hit the road for McAlester and attended our second Italian Festival! It is a 2 hour drive each way out to SE Oklahoma, but we have a great time so it is worth it! This was Brad's first time with us, and it was my job to sit in the back and keep him happy for 4 hours in the car...

My dad drove to our house, then he rode with all of us in our PT Cruiser from there. Him and Nick sat up front and talked about guy stuff, and Brad and I sat in the back playing, snacking, and looking at the Sunday paper. It was overcast and warming up when we got there, but after awhile the clouds cleared off and it heated up quickly to the mid 90's!

At the entrance there were several Panteras and a Lamborghini on display, so of course the guys had to go over there and gawk at them!

By then it was around noon so we headed straight for the Italian food tent and got our trays filled with delicious pastas, salad, bread, meatballs, and sausage! Brad sampled each thing we had and his favorite was the meatballs!

After eating we walked around the fair to see all of the different vendors and rides there. It seemed there were a lot more food vendors there this year than last! Gourmet Italian food, gyros, BBQ, corndogs, funnel cakes, ice cream, etc. I told dad that next year we may have to forego the food tent and just go around sampling the different vendors!

There were several carnival rides there but of course my little boy is still a bit too little for most of them! We decided on the carousel and his daddy had fun riding it with him!

After that, we went the building with all of the different craft booths and wine vendors in it. Right before we left, we had to get our usual--Nick got a homemade ice cream bar and I got an extra long corndog for the road! Brad enjoyed sampling each of these from us.

I expected Brad to nap on the way back because it was already 2pm and he had been up way longer than usual. He had a different plan! He only napped maybe 20 minutes of the trip halfway thru, but thankfully he was in pretty good spirits for me. I on the other hand was very tired and could have used a nap!

Yesterday was my sister-in-law's birthday so we all 3 hit the road again and headed out to Foster for a cookout and birthday party. There was road work on the usual highway we take so a 1hr drive there turned into a 1 1/2 hour drive. We took a different route back to avoid it, but got stuck behind a slow semi so it took another 1 1/2 hours to get home! We were very ready to be out of the car by the time we got home. No more roadtrips for awhile!

Flowers and Friends!

2011-05-21T23:42:00.002-05:00

I hope everyone is having a great Saturday today and is not too disappointed that the world did not end as predicted. Those who are TRUE Christians will know that we can not know the day or the hour that this will happen!

I want to start off with pictures of my backyard flowers! I planted them about a month ago and they are doing wonderful. I stuck with my usual begonias and spike, added more dianthus (not pictured) and also decided to try out some celosia! It is the fushia-colored spikey flower.

If you recall, shortly after our NY trip all of the seedlings I had planted shriveled up and died...so this time I bought an already growing tomato plant, then added tomato seeds in the same planter. So far they are all doing well! The big plant has a few blooms on it, and the seedlings are about 3-4 inches tall.

I was off today because we are going to the Italian Festival tomorrow. We decided to have a cookout and invite our favorite couple friends over! The weather was hot but nice and it went good for our first cookout of the year. My grilling skills were a bit rusty but it went well!

Rachel has a little girl named Jet that is turning one next month, and she is due with little girl Tinley in August! Since I have a touch of baby-fever setting in, I am fully prepared to help with baby needs (and monogrammed gifts)! Plus Brad loves playing with cute little blonde girls!

We all had a great time together just hanging out. I put Brad to bed around 9pm, and they stayed and talked with us until almost 11pm! Once Nick starts telling stories, it's hard to get him to stop, lol! It is so nice to finally find a down-to-earth couple that we both get along with, and they have a baby close to Brad's age! We are all looking forward to getting a waterside cabin together next month at the Illinois River!

Tomorrow we are getting up bright and early to drive 2 hours into SE Oklahoma to attend the Italian Festival again! We had a great time last year and this time Brad is going with us. Check back for pics!

We Will Remember

2011-05-17T22:01:00.002-05:00

Today my family went to the OKC Memorial Museum. For those out of state who are not familiar with this, it is a memorial for the 168 people who were killed in the terrorist bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in downtown OKC on April 19, 1995.

At the time it happened I was a mere 8 years old and attending a private school just a couple of miles from the site. I heard the blast and remember the chaos, but I do not recall much of people talking to me about what had happened afterward. But I do remember every year spending a moment in silence on April 19 to remember those who lost their lives. In 2001 the primary suspect--Timothy McVeigh--was executed on my 15th birthday.

There is an indoor part to the museum where you will find pictures, news footage, artifacts, debris, and countless other mementos from that sad day, and the path through the museum tells the story of the bombing, the rescue efforts, the survivors, and the capture of the criminals responsible. It was a very moving experience, and I am glad that I was finally able to pay my own respects to my neighbors.

On the outside is a reflecting pond and 168 chairs to signify a place for each of the babies, children, and adults who were killed.

As I have gotten older, and can understand a bit more how destructive this day was for the many family members and friends who were affected. And now as a parent, I can only imagine the devastation I would feel to find out my own child was mercilessly killed in a bombing. There is a popular picture from the rescue efforts of a firefighter carrying a small child out of the rubble. This child is very bloody and banged up with no clothes on. And the part that makes my heart stop is that this child was just a few months younger than my own son is now... despite efforts to save her, she was pronounced dead at the hospital later that day.

For those interested, you can click here to see their website and read more about the museum that will help us always remember those lives that were lost 16 years ago.

May Days

2011-05-13T21:12:00.002-05:00

Remember me talking about the great deal I got on a 16x20 photo canvas from canvasondemand.com? Well it arrived the other day and looks fabulous!! The colors are brilliant, and it looks right at home on the mantel:

I went ahead and pulled down the other two 8x10 canvases that I had by the stairs so that they could snuggle up next to the big one. Here is another view of the whole fireplace/mantel...

I am very happy with the order, and I highly recommend them!!

So I have started another hobby, and I recently finished a "project" for it: my coupon box! It has about 30 envelopes that are labeled with categories of coupons. Right now I have them in a photo storage box, but it is a bit too big so I am going to keep my eye out for a smaller one.

To clarify, I had been using coupons before but it was really just like everyone else--make my regular shopping list and whatever is on there that I have a coupon for then I use it. But there are two big differences in this way of couponing: 1) only use coupons for things when they are on sale 2)stockpile enough product to last 6-8wks until it goes on sale again. That is how you save big money! I have only been doing it a couple of weeks now. I subscribed to the Sunday/Wednesday paper, and also to the magazine All You (it has lots of coupons in it).

Now don't get it confused with that stupid pseudo-reality show Extreme Couponing...we in the coupon game do NOT like that show. It is so unrealistic. Nobody is going to have that many coupons, need that much mustard, or spend that much time "couponing" every week. Plus a lot of the stores break their coupon rules just for the effect of the show. Hopefully these crazy people donate all of their unneeded items to charity after their 15 minutes of fame on TV...

Anywho, I have a decent amount of coupons already and have already done 3 successful shopping trips! Two were at Homeland, and one was at CVS. At all of them I saved 60-70% off of my total bill! Right now I am just working on getting my stockpile up so I am still doing most of my basic grocery shopping at Walmart. But once I get going in a month or two, I should be saving big time! Me and my mom are each other's coupon buddy so we always talk about good sales and exchanged unused coupons. I also have a couple other girls at work who are big couponers that are teaching me tricks! Nick and I are so used to buying generic everything that this is like a luxury to finally have name-brand food, LOL!

Celebrating Mothers

2011-05-08T21:18:00.002-05:00

Today was my SECOND Mother's Day!! I worked last night so my dear hubby called me shortly after midnight to tell me "Happy Mother's Day" and see how my night was going. I *thankfully* had a very easy night and got to relax and chat with my friend Rachel! We are working on planning our joint family vacay to the Illinois River next month. More info on that later though ;)

When I got off work that morning I headed to my mom's house for--what else? Coffee and chit chat!! I wished her a happy Mother's Day and spent a couple of hours over there before heading home to go to bed. When I got up this afternoon, Nick had helped Brad "write" me a note saying that he loves me. I cut some fresh roses from our backyard and we all 3 headed down to Foster to spend the evening with Nick's family.

His mom cooked a delicious ham dinner for all of us. Some storms were close by so we spent the rest of our time there sitting outside talking while the children played and the clouds blew by. Then little boy started getting tired so we packed up and headed back home--he was asleep before we hit the highway! When we got home, I put him right to bed and while I was doing that, Nick surprised me with some fresh flowers and a nice glass of Moscato! We sat together on the back patio with a candle and enjoyed the breezy weather.

Tomorrow my mom is coming here at noon and I am taking her out to a fabulous little Italian restaurant here in Norman. Then we are going to come back to my house and work on our coupon boxes! We went to a coupon class together last week and we are both ready and gung-ho to beat the system and perfect the coupon game! We are still working on getting started, so when we make a bit more progress I will update on that also!

I hope all of the mothers out there had a fabulous day and remember--it's not really about all the gifts you get or getting taken out to dinner. It is about remembering how blessed we are to be a mother and to get the chance to earn a child's love. I am beyond blessed with my little miracle baby who has been so healthy, a great sleeper, and has his daddy's good looks! I know he loves me, and hopefully soon he will understand how much I love him!

Helping Daddy Wash Cars

2011-05-05T20:53:00.005-05:00

Tonight I got off work from my day job in time to actually see the sun AND spent lots of time with my boys!! I had a spontaneous urge to grab everybody up and celebrate Cinco de Mayo at Taco Bueno!! So that's just what we did. I knew the "real" Mexican restaurants would be packed and I've been craving Bueno since I saw a commercial the other day. It was delish (even tho they were out of guacamole) and Brad probably ate as much as we did!

When we got home, Nick decided to wash both of our cars since it had cooled down a bit outside and Brad was full of energy. We all 3 stayed outside and Brad loved running around in the water and helping his daddy out! It was too adorable. Of course I had to take a bunch of pics!

To start with, here is my beautiful grass that is sprouting up! I planted it myself ;)

Is that not the cutest thing!? I know he will have a blast this summer playing in the pool.

Needless to say he got soaked and got a bath before bed! I was very happy to snuggle him and put him to bed myself because I couldn't last night, and I won't be able to the next 2 nights either. My heart just melts when he lays his head on my shoulder and tucks his arm under mine.....*sigh*

While I was bathing him, Nick went out front and got a picture of a BAT on our front porch. Yes, a bat.

I recently had a big custom order for embroidered shirts, and on the last one my machine decided to try and eat the shirt. The thread kept getting snagged by the bobbin, and I can't get it to quit. I ended up having to hand embroider the back of the last shirt to look like the others--I think it turned out pretty good! But now my machine has to go to the doctor next week so that I can embroider a birthday shirt for my soon-to-be 2 year old!!

I'm getting up early tomorrow to help my mom with her big garage sale day 2. Fun fun!