Busy Life

For all my local peeps, I hope everyone made it thru these recent storms without damage. In case you haven't heard, a tornado hit today in Norman not too far from my house. Not cool! I had just gotten off of work and was heading home (fighting rush hour traffic also) when the radio cut off and said there a tornado warning in my county with a tornado on the ground. I couldn't get ahold of Nick but my mom and brother called me freaking out. By the time I got home it was all over and thankfully we didn't have any damage. Nick had jumped into survival mode and hunkered down with our little one under the stairs until the sirens went off and the worst passed!

We are supposed to have some more major storms coming tomorrow, so keep this whole area in your prayers!

In other news....I booked our summer vacation! We will be splitting a gorgeous lake cabin at Grand Lake with my dad and his girlfriend! Here is a pic:

It is a two-story cabin with a ramp to a private swimming dock. There is a deck on each level with an 8 person hot tub, grill, patio furniture, and outdoor stereo system!

It is fully furnished--all we have to bring is clothes and food! We are staying for 3 nights and 4 days at the end of June.

My last bit of "news" is of a more financial matter. I started a new IRA! In a nutshell I rolled over my 401k from OU Medical Center into a new rollover IRA which I discovered you can't really contribute out of pocket money to. So I have been on the hunt to start a new IRA that I can contribute to on my own, in addition to the rollover one that is still building mucho interest! I decided to go with T. Rowe Price after I read thru their Prospectus and IRA plans. The process was very simple, and I already knew exactly which fund I wanted my money to go into. I started it off with $1,000 and will automatically deposit $100/month after that. And it's tax deductible!

Easter Fun

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter and got to enjoy some quality family time! We spent Sunday at my mom's house for a delicious dinner and egg hunt. I tried a new technique for making hard-boiled eggs:

I baked them! (*This is not my picture, it is from the webpage) I did the same thing as shown--lined them up right on the rack and baked at 325 for 30min. They turned out great! A lot easier than getting a pot dirty, waiting for the water to boil, counting the minutes.....just throw them right into the oven and set a timer and walk away. I'm sold!

Here is little B in his Sunday best:

My brother's girlfriend brought her two kids over and Brad had fun hanging out with the big boys!

We had to do an indoor egg hunt b/c of recent rain, but the boys didn't mind! I had to get creative with hiding the eggs....

This is our 3rd week into potty-training Brad so I thought I would share our updates:

• He now tells us when he needs to go pee. He only has an accident once every few days.
• He wasn't telling us at all when he needed to poop--until today! He went in the potty for the first time!
• He has started occasionally crying wolf about going potty...he likes to sit up there and play, then throw a tantrum when I take him off.
• He still gets a gummy bear when he successfully goes potty
• He still wears a diaper during naptime and bedtime, but sometimes wakes up with a dry one after a nap.
• He has been on several outings with no diaper and has done very well!

I am so so proud of my little boy! I had been dreading potty-training, and was okay with putting it off until kindergarten! He took to it like a champ though. Such a proud momma!

Noms

I have 2 recipes to share today! The first one is Parmesan Risotto. I have made this several times and it is seriously so good we could it alone as a meal. I highly recommend it! I do not recall where I got the recipe but here it is:

3 can chicken broth
1 tbs olive oil
1 small minced onion
12oz bag arborio rice
3 tbs butter
2 tbs minced garlic
2/3 cup shredded or grated Parmesan
salt to taste

In large saucepan sauté onion in oil until tender. Add garlic, rice, and stir in 1/2 cup broth. Bring to simmer and add 1/2 cup broth at a time as it is absorbed, stirring frequently. When all broth is absorbed (takes about 20-30 minutes), stir in butter and Parmesan then serve!

The next recipe is one I pulled out of my Woman's Day mag. They are called Raspberry-Pecan Pinwheels. I did half with raspberry jam, and half with grape jelly. They were pretty easy to do and turned out great! I am taking them to a work party tomorrow.

2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 rolled pie crusts
1/2 cup raspberry jam
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a clean counter, sprinkle half of the sugar and cinnamon, then unroll one pie crust on top of the mixture and gently press the crust into the sugar. Spread half the jam onto the entire crust with a spoon then sprinkle half of the pecans on the jam. Starting at one end, roll tightly into a log. Repeat this all with the second pie crust. Trim the ends then cut log into 1inch thick slices. Stand them on end (not flat) on the baking sheet 2 inches apart and back until golden brown, 20-25 minutes. Cool on wire rack then serve!

A Craft Show and Potty Training

This has been a busy couple of weeks for the Pierce household! Friday the 16th was my dad's 59th birthday so we took him out to dinner at an Italian restaurant on the north side. We got done eating just in time for me to get called into work. Saturday we did yard work all day, then Sunday the 18th we attended a cookout in Blanchard for my nephew Cameron. Brad had a lot of fun running around outside with the big kids, and we ate a lot of great food.

Last week I worked 6 days totaling about 50 hours, then did an all-day craft show here in Norman on Saturday! The show went great and I made a lot of good sells. My mom came along to be my helper and company for the day and we enjoyed watching all of the customers and visiting with our friends who came to see us! My booth is always decorated in aqua/black, and I also wear those colors to coordinate....so I brought my aqua nail polish and did this during the slow times!

Yesterday we went to a friend's birthday party in Shawnee and Brad got to run around with some more kiddos around his age. Today we've been doing a ton of yard work and getting the closets ready for summer. It is STILL in the 80s here, and will stay that way the rest of week :(

This week I am only working two days so I decided to buckle down on potty training the little one! I did some reading on the internet for tips and talked to friends who have been thru this recently for advice. I started with supplies: potty seat for upstairs AND downstairs, gummy bears for reward, and big boy undies!

I got the potty seat that goes over the regular toilet b/c I don't like the idea of cleaning out a nasty bucket, and so we don't have to transition from the bucket to the big potty. I just need to get him a little stepstool now!

Yesterday when I got him up I put him on the potty then took out a pair of undies and explained to him that these are NOT diapers, they are big-boy undies and that he needs to peepee in the potty! From then on I just kept him in a shirt and undies and put him on the potty about every 30-45min. He didn't have an accident until around 1pm and we were about to head out of town anyways so he got a diaper for the trip.

Today we did the same thing but he has been quicker to pee when sitting on the potty. He even went outside without a diaper (he had pants on) while we did yardwork and didn't have an accident! I did take him in a couple times and he peed as soon as I sat him down. He only had one accident this morning but finished when I put him on the toilet.

In the past he would occasionally tell us when he needed to go, but he hasn't been doing that lately. Hopefully he will just get used to going in the potty and tell us when he gets the urge. My goal right now is to get him to the point of wearing undies all day except for nap time and bed time. Wish us luck!

Food and Family!

Today I tried a new crockpot recipe that I was very excited about! It was crockpot turkey meatballs and sauce! No precooking--it all cooks in the crock! Just perfect for those rushed days when you want a good dinner with no fuss. I tweaked a few things so here it is:

Crockpot Meatballs and Sauce

Sauce:
3 cloves garlic minced and sauteed in olive oil
28oz can crushed tomatoes
3tbs basil
pinch salt

Add all ingredients to crock pot (set on low), then do meatballs:

1/2lb ground turkey
1lb ground beef
1/2c seasoned bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4c grated parmesan
2 tbs basil
2 tbs parsley
1 minced garlic clove

Mix all ingredients into bowl, form into approximately 1in balls gently with hands. Drop into sauce and cook on low for 4-6 hours!

I usually use just ground turkey but with things like meatballs and meatloaf the turkey is really too soft to hold together and have a good texture. I always mix in or substitute beef with those. I had some beef leftover from making meatloaf earlier this week so it turned out perfect. You could of course do all beef if you like!

We ate ours over pasta and topped with parmesan. It was delicious! The sauce was really like a good bolognese sauce, not a plain tomato sauce. I recommend it!

The weather here has been in the 80s (YUCK) so today we headed out the park for some first-time kite flying lessons for Brad!

I think Nick had more fun with the kite than Brad did! The string wasn't very long so we may get different one that can go higher.

Brads fish (Spriggs #2) died while we were in Washington but today a coworker's roommate needed to unload a fish so long story short--we now have Spriggs #3! She came with a nice little aquarium that has a light so it will be Brads new night light too.

While we were at the pet store picking up some things for the new addition, I saw this cute bird feeder on sale! It is now hanging in my backyard waiting for some birdies!

Washington Trip Pics!!

I finally have time to sit down and upload some pictures for you! We had the best time in Washington and I only wish we had gone sooner and could have stayed longer. This has to be one of the prettiest states by far!

Our flights were uneventful and my dear mother took us to the airport bright and early last Friday morning. We arrived in Seattle just after noon (Pacific time) and got situated at the hotel after picking up our rental car (Dodge Avenger).

Our layover was in Pheonix, AZ and shortly after leaving from there we flew over the Grand Canyon! It looks just as amazing from 30,000 ft as it does from the ground.

We had some time to kill that evening so we opted to head into downtown Seattle for the Underground Tour.

After that we knew we had to eat the famous Red Mill Burgers! They were some delicious burgers!!

The next day we headed east to see Snoqualmie Falls. It was a beautiful waterfall in a neat little town!

After seeing the falls we headed south on a long drive to Mt. Rainier. The drive there was breathtaking in itself!

It is still the off-season there so the road was only cleared part of the way up the mountain. It was neat seeing the plowed snow on the side of the road gradually get taller and taller until it was over 10feet and you couldn't see past it!

The road ended at a visitor center that was partially buried and only the door was dug out. It was so foggy and snowy that everything blended into each other and we couldn't see much.

^Can you see the snow piled up above the window shutters?

Sunday we headed west for a few stops. The first stop was Aberdeen were Nirvana's Kurt Cobain was from. Nick loves that band so he had to make a mini "pilgrimage" to the memorial site.

A short distance from Aberdeen is a town called Grayland that is right on the Pacific coast. The beach there was AMAZING. We just stood there in awe of the vastness of it.

I have been to several beaches but this is the only one I have ever seen where there are no high-rise buildings in view, nothing on the beach, and the sand seems to go on forever. This view below is with the ocean on the right. See how the sand and water just fade into the foggy sky?

The beach was so flat that when the waves would crash, it would take the water several minutes to reach its peak then several more to finally return to the ocean. I would guess that it was at least a quarter mile from the grass until you reached the water. Breathtaking.

On our way along the coast we passed an abandoned farmhouse/barn on 71 acres for sale. We had to stop and check it out!

Monday morning we headed south initially to see Mt. St. Helen but ended up abandoning that when the clouds and rain did not subside the closer we got. The trip was not wasted though because Nick's aunt and uncle live close to there and we spent the rest of the day with them! They live out in a little country town with beautiful views along the way.

On Tuesday--our last day there--we had a few hours between hotel checkout time and flight time so we headed back into downtown Seattle for some sightseeing!

We parked the car and headed up the to the Columbia Center which is the tallest building in the Pacific Northwest. We were very lucky to have a clear day and had a great view of the skyline from the 73rd floor!

After that I grabbed some Starbucks (cause you know it got started here right??) while we walked to the famous Pikes Market! They are famous for their fish throwing, but it is actually a huge market with everything from magic shops and bakeries to fresh produce and gourmet pasta. We could have spent hours there!

I got some souvenirs for family, and we much on yummy pastries while we walked around. Unfortunately it was too soon until we had to return the car and fly back home...

After our fabulous experience there, Nick and I both feel that Washington could very well be a more appealing place to move than western NY! The cost of living is a bit higher but it would be worth it to have such beauty right at our feet. How neat to have the ocean, Canada, mountains and volcanoes all within a couple hour drive??? I have started doing my research on certain towns, and we look forward to what the future will bring!