Team Fuller

Stuffed Mushroom Casserole

2012-01-31T09:55:00.001-06:00

Every time I make mushrooms, or eat them, I think of our old neighbors who absolutely hate them. I never thought I'd be a big fan either but I am, I absolutely love them and I love stuffed mushrooms the most. Jason made the best stuffed mushrooms for our anniversary. They were the simplest ones yet and the most delicious. I don't remember all the ingredients (there were only a few), but blue cheese was used and it made them incredible.

This is not my photo. Just a pretty photo of mushrooms via google images

This weekend I found another stuffed mushroom recipe but this time in casserole form. Since we had people over Saturday night and were grilling burgers, I thought this would be more interesting than beans on the stove. Well, almost anything is more interesting than beans on the stove.

It was so easy to make and overall pretty healthy. The cheese is what makes me hesitate on the "healthy" part. But who cares!

If you're interested, here is the recipe: (I didn't take a photo of our casserole, but the original website has many beautiful ones)

Stuffed Mushroom Casserole

1 tablespoon butter, diced (plus more to grease the pan)

1 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated with a microplane (divided)

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 large stalks celery, finely diced

1 large onion, diced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 bay leaf

1/2 lb button mushrooms (or any kind you like), thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary (or 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves)

1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

4 oz sharp Cheddar, shredded (divided)

Preheat oven to 400F; lightly grease 4 individual-sized gratin dishes with butter (or use an 8 by 8-inch pan). (I prefer using individual-sized dishes; they make serving and reheating easier.)

Transfer 2 tablespoons of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to a small bowl and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add the celery and cook 3 minutes, then add the onion, salt, pepper, and bay leaf and sauté 7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until all the veggies are tender and the mushrooms are browned, about 7 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic, rosemary, and thyme and cook 1 to 2 minutes more; cool slightly.

Stir together the veggie mixture with the breadcrumbs, egg, Worcestershire sauce, the larger portion of Parmigiano-Reggiano, and half the Cheddar in a large bowl. Divide the stuffing mixture between the 4 prepared gratin dishes. Sprinkle the remaining Cheddar and the reserved 2 tablespoons of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses on top and dot on the butter.

Bake until the cheese is melted and golden brown in places on top, about 10 to 15 minutes. (Broil it for a couple minutes if you want it to have more color.)

*NOTE* I used one casserole dish instead of individuals and baked 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Also, I didn't have fresh grated cheese, I had the pizza topping in the can and it worked just fine. My mushrooms were thick sliced and Jas did say they needed to be cooked longer (a bit rubbery).

Also, I think blue cheese added in would be pretty good. Will try next time.

Opposite Day

2012-01-26T01:00:00.000-06:00

Last week Quinn's school celebrated opposite day. They were encouraged to wear crazy outfits; inside out, backwards, mismatched, etc...

Quinn was all for the mismatched but she has her limits. She said no to backwards or inside out.

Notice the two different shoes, zebra pants, leopard cape and floral top. It was awesome!

Some January Events

2012-01-24T12:53:00.001-06:00

We have been blessed with incredible weather this month. Our time outdoors has been great and the kids love playing in the backyard and having picnics at the park.

Or even picnics in the backyard!

(this photo taken before much needed haircuts!)

Here is just a cute photo of Quinn

We had a couple of birthday parties this month as well. The photos below are from our friend Jalen's 5th birthday. It was princess themed complete with itinerary! Upon arrival, each child (about 30 of them!) was able to choose their royal outfit before joining the birthday girl for activities, fashion show, outdoor play, story time with Belle from Beauty and the Beast and eventually a castle bounce house and cake.

The kids had so much fun. Unfortunately, we had to leave before the cake was served. But we did stop at the store on the way home and buy a piece so Quinn wouldn't feel cheated.

Kellen Dressed Up

2012-01-23T15:01:00.001-06:00

I dressed up Kellen in the monster costume. Someday he might hate these photos.

But seriously, how cute is he!

Guest Post

2012-01-12T11:13:00.000-06:00

I have a guest post on my dear friend Deb's blog, Dose Of Happy! Go check it out!

Meet Princess Tangle

2012-01-12T01:00:00.000-06:00

This is our newest addition, Princess Tangle

Quinn chose the name. It's a Christmas gift from grandpa Yoder. I love this plant. Kind of creepy, completely practical for the fly problem we have in the summer. Here's to Princess Tangle's health!

Kellen's First Haircut

2012-01-11T14:47:00.001-06:00

We did it! We finally got Kellen's hair cut for the first time.

You can see the length of his bangs and overall unruly baby hair

And here is our handsome man afterwards. Kellen isn't quite the model Quinn likes to be. He usually stares at the camera like it's going to attack him.

But he's darling nonetheless

Quinn also got her hair cut

And we cut most of it off!

I don't have a good front view as I was busy chasing Kellen around. But you get the idea from this photo

Christmas is ALMOST Here!

2011-12-23T01:00:00.000-06:00

We are super excited for Christmas around here! Quinn and Kellen are both in the spirit and with Quinn learning all about baby Jesus at school, she appreciates Christmas in the most wonderful way.

We are not going to get our Christmas cards out this year. I had ordered them (two weeks ago!) but they haven't arrived. And at this point, I don't think it's going to get done!

So here are our Christmas photos for 2011:

They're goofy and funny, just as we like it!

Merry Christmas!

And The Winner Is....

2011-12-21T08:53:00.002-06:00

...Gingerbread house #2!!!!!

I've tallied the votes between the blog and facebook and gingerbread house #2 wins... barely!

Thanks, guys, for voting! We had so much fun decorating the houses. Cecilia and I worked on house #2 (whoo hoo!) and Jason decorated house #1 all by himself. If you know Jason very well, you know that he likes things even and centered. So his house makes perfect sense! Cecilia and I kept coming up with different ideas to decorate and there are lots of different ideas on there! But it's not as nice and neat at Jason's, ha!

Next year, it's ON!

Well, Hello Santa!

2011-12-20T17:22:00.000-06:00

We tried to get a photo with Santa when Bruce and Cecilia were here but Quinn wasn't having it.

Then one morning, she simply wanted to! I took the kids to the mall by myself. We stood in the long "seeing santa" line that every mall has. After waiting over 45 minutes with not a complaint or wiggle out of my children, they happily sat on his lap and had their photo taken.

A true Christmas miracle I tell you!

Gingerbread House Contest 2011!

2011-12-18T14:41:00.002-06:00

We are having our first ever Gingerbread House Bake-off!

Two teams, three decorators.

YOU vote which house wins!

Leave a comment below stating which house number (1 OR 2) is the BEST gingerbread house!

Contest closes Tuesday. Winner receives nothing more than pride in decorating the BEST gingerbread house!

Laugh For the Day

2011-12-12T13:59:00.000-06:00

Like every other girl on the planet, I am not immune to Ryan Gosling's charm. I saw this photo on Pinterest today and it made me laugh.

You're welcome

Happy December!

2011-12-06T23:38:00.000-06:00

Everyone else as busy as us?! I'm sure you are, I have no doubt. This year I've been making some fun Christmas gifts. It's taking up a lot of my time! I also had a chest cold that kicked my booty last week. It's still lingering but almost cleared up.

I don't have any new photos right now. I'm slacking. But the kids have been up to a lot lately.

Quinn has been suffering from her asthma for weeks now. Almost every other week one or both of the kids has some type of cold. It's very frustrating. And colds seem to trigger Quinn's asthma. After many doctor visits, two urgent cares, an ER visit and finally a trip to the pulmonologist, we have a better grasp of how to treat her. I'm not even sure she really had croup both times it was diagnosed. I think it was an asthma flare up. Either way, they're both treated with the same steroid. But if we had known it was her asthma, we could have seen the pulmonologist earlier and made her feel better.

She's still going to preschool two times a week and she absolutely loves it. She loves her teachers and her classmates. Although, she can only tell me two of their names and both are boys. Every week she sings new songs that I do not understand and she talks about subjects that I know didn't come from me. It's great watching her absorb all the information. My favorite right now is when she talks about baby "cheezit". That's what it sounds like when she talks about baby Jesus.

We just had her 3 year appointment with the pediatrician and she's doing perfect. Her height and weight have her at 97%. She's tall!

Kellen is a rockstar. Still growing and moving. And moving. And moving. He does not sit still. Nor does he like tv. Quinn loved Dora at this point. Kellen refuses to acknowledge that tv exists. I guess that's good. But I wouldn't mind 5 minutes to myself, just saying.

He's big on pointing and saying "that". He has also started nodding "yes" to communicate. Because of the positive response he gets when he does this, he's been very agreeable to everything mommy asks of him, ha! He's a good helper and his understanding is great. I can ask him to throw something away for me or to turn off the tv when we're headed out the door. Sometimes when I ask him to get his shoes he does it. Smart kid! He'll even tell us when he's ready for bed by going king kong on his crib rails or the gate to the stairs (lets us know he wants to go upstairs to his bed).

He's still our smilely little guy. Not much of a sleeper but he's happy!

Seriously, he doesn't sleep worth a darn. Not only does he usually wake up during the night, but he's up anywhere from 4-7am for the morning. And for some reason I can't get back to sleep anymore. So I'm usually up super early for the rest of the day. It used to make me angry, to be woken up. But I'm so used to lack of sleep anymore that I think I've just given up. I guzzle coffee and catch up on dvr.

We are very excited for Christmas around here. Since Thanksgiving, we've driven around to look at Christmas lights 6 times. Quinn wants to go every night. I find it's a great way to calm the kids before bed. So I'm game!

Happy 3rd Birthday Bella!!!!

2011-11-22T18:24:00.002-06:00

Today is Bella's 3rd birthday!! The kids and I spent the day making this video for Bella.

Please excuse the misspelled "birtday" on the chalkboard. I've already slapped myself in the forehead.

Happy birthday sweet girl. We love you tons!

Love,
uncle Jason, aunt Hilary, Quinn & Kellen

Jello Popcorn

2011-11-17T13:10:00.001-06:00

My new favorite snack is jello-flavored popcorn. You may remember the post about pudding flavored popcorn, did you know you can also use jello?!

This recipe takes just a tad longer because the mix needs to be heated. But I prefer this popcorn to the pudding flavored, probably because it uses a lot more butter.

First step, choose any flavor jello you want. My favorite so far is banana strawberry. But the blue berry blast, orange, cherry (below) and lime are all good (told you it's my new favorite).

Then dump all mix ingredients into pot and start the melting process. You'll want to bring it to a boil on about medium to medium-high and stir often. After approximately 3-4 minutes, it'll thicken and is ready to be poured over popcorn.

Here's a super helpful photo of melted butter, corn syrup, water, sugar, and jello. Just kidding, probably not so helpful. But it's kind of a pretty to look at.

While it's melting, pop the popcorn and separate the good stuff from the hulls. When you're shoveling this into your pie hole at hyper-speed, you don't want to chip a tooth. And believe me, you'll be shoveling it in.

When you're ready, pour the mixture over the popcorn and stir well. Go slowly to make sure you get a good coverage on the popcorn. In fact, I think 2 bags of popcorn is too much for the mixture. I usually have a small bowl of popcorn that doesn't get used.

Then put it onto a baking sheet, flattening out as much as possible.

Cook for 10 minutes, take it out and stir it up a bit. Then cook for another 8-10 minutes. (18-20 minutes total)

When it's done cooking, stir it up again to help break it up before it hardens. After it cools on the pan, throw into an air-tight container to store. I usually put it into the fridge, eating it cold is kind of awesome. No idea why. But it'll store in the fridge for days and still be just as good as day number 1. Don't get me wrong, it won't actually LAST for days, you'll have eaten it before that.

Enjoy!

Jell-o Popcorn:

~Preheat oven to 250 degrees

~Spray foil-lined baking sheet with Pam (I used two pizza pans)

~Pop 2 bags of popcorn (fat-free or "healthier" will cut down on calories/fat)

~In medium saucepan, mix all the following well, bring to boil over medium-high heat. Continue to let boil while stirring, about 3-4 minutes, until thick(er)

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/4 cup sugar

1 TBL corn syrup

3 TBL water

Jello mix (any 3oz flavor)

~Pour jello mixture over popcorn and stir until well coated.

~Pour popcorn onto Pam coated baking sheets.

~Bake 18-20 minutes, stirring 1/2 way through.

~Remove from oven and stir again, let cool on pan.

~Break apart into pieces when cool and store in air tight container.

My Amazing Sister

2011-11-15T12:06:00.001-06:00

I've bragged about my sister before... and I'm doing it again!

Heather works as a clinical research nurse for a hospital in Nebraska. She's been there about 6 years now (cannot believe it's been that long!) and her career seems to constantly hit new highlights. This weekend she's headed to a conference as one of their featured speakers.

Please check out THIS article on her and what she's accomplished in her position with the hospital. Seriously, she's amazing. And she's kind of sexy in that librarian way in this picture too, am I right?!

Great job Heather, we are beaming with pride!

Happy 3rd Birthday Quinn

2011-11-05T19:06:00.001-05:00

Quinn,

Happy birthday sweet girl. Today you turn 3 years old! You are an amazing kid and completely full of personality. A lot like your father truthfully. You remind me so much of him in every way. Even down to the way you eat, watch tv, attitude and most of all, sense of humor.

You are a smart kid. Alphabet, numbers, counting, animal names and sounds, cartoon characters, shapes... you name it, you know it. I'm always surprised at the information you've picked up on. Your teachers at preschool describe you as "mothering". Apparently, you like to help the other kids follow directions when the teacher doles them out. I'm not sure if it's the same thing as bossy but it's walking the line. And I love that about you.

You're confident and with little fear. Not much you're afraid of. Scary movies appeal to you (you get that from me). You're a climber and explorer. Your imagination is constantly increasing and it's so fun to watch and play the games you come up with.

You're still a reader but your tastes are changing. For awhile it was all about Dora, then Golden Books. Now you prefer to grab mommy's books even though they have no pictures. I'm not sure of their appeal but you steal mine all the time.

Lets talk about singing. Unfortunately, I think you've inherited your parent's singing voices. But that does not stop you from belting it out wherever, whenever. You learn a lot of songs at preschool and we get to learn them from you when you get home. Usually it's just a remix, a couple lines from each song you know all mashed together. But they're awesome, nonetheless.

Here are some of your favorites:

Scooby Doo, Snow White, Cinderella, Cheetos, Fruit Loops, peanut butter & jelly, being outside, singing, reading, small doses of Dora, cupcakes, dancing, festivals, purses/bags and dolls

We are proud of you, Quinn. You're are absolutely amazing and we thank God every single day that you joined our family. You're an amazing sister and daughter.

We love you,

mom and dad

_______________________________________________________________

Let's review how we celebrated Quinn's birthday today:

Celina had a balloon festival. The wind was pretty fierce and they cancelled the hot air balloons. But that didn't stop us from enjoying the rest of it!

Quinn and Kellen tried a funnel cake for the very first time.

A rare, tender moment caught on camera.

In what will always be remembered as a bad choice, I took Quinn on the swinging ship. Super excited at first, she quickly felt her stomach drop and put her head down for the whole ride. Although she didn't cry, she kept her head down until the ride was over. I was so sure she was going to puke. But she didn't. Not even a complaint. And when we got off, she wanted to go on another ride. I have no idea what I was thinking. As soon as we started getting high up, I remembered how intense that stupid ship can be!

To make up for it, she spotted the bungee jump. THIS she loved!

And of course, face painting. She picked out the design all herself. Daddy tried to get her a different color but Quinn knew what she wanted. So red it was!

How stinking cute is she!

Also for the first time, cotton candy. I love this shot.

And the kids love cotton candy.

Halloween Weekend Photos

2011-11-03T09:56:00.001-05:00

More photos from our Halloween weekend!

The three oldest share a love for Scooby Doo. Kellen entertained himself and minged with the adults.

On Sunday we went to the Fall Festival at Quinn's school. It was set up pretty neat. Outside had a mechanical bull, two playgrounds, a live band, popcorn machine, huge bounce house, face painting and other activities for older kids. Inside, they had the baby to 5 yrs activities. Two bounce houses, crafts, games, etc...

Kellen tried out the bounce house. He wasn't really thrilled and only stayed in long enough for me to get a picture.

This is one of the craft tables with stamps and Halloween coloring pictures.

Towards the end of the night, the girls wanted their face painted.

How freaking cute are these two cats?!

And here's grandma with her grandbabies. Talk about some great personalities!

Florida Video

2011-11-02T01:00:00.000-05:00

music by Oh Darling "Prettiest Thing"

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:03:00.000-05:00

Happy Halloween!

We had a great, candy-filled time trick or treating! A lion, Wolverine and two Snow Whites.

Our neighborhood had an insane display up and down two different streets. The later it got, the more people showed up filling the sidewalks and street. Rows of houses had crazy set ups outside for people to walk through and around. The kids loved it!

Hope your Halloween was safe and fun!

Florida Photos

2011-10-28T01:00:00.036-05:00

Back from Florida!

2011-10-27T09:53:00.000-05:00

I lied, I'm posting before Halloween. But I'm just so excited to share a few photos and stories from our trip to Anna Maria Island this past weekend!

This trip was our first real vacation since Angie and Chase got married in Mexico 2 1/2 years ago! I haven't even flown since then.

This was also a bunch of "firsts" for the kids. Plane ride, Florida, beach, ingrown toenails, feet slivers, buried in the sand... well, you get the picture.

Our flight was 8:30am on Saturday morning. I didn't even bother dressing the kids until right before we boarded. So here we are on the moving sidewalk (a first for the kids and very exciting for Quinn), and they're in their pj's!

The morning really went off without a hitch. We planned well and the kids were excited. Here is Quinn's excitement as the plane is taking off!

And of course, Kellen and me. Sorry no pics of Jas.

The plane ride went well. The airline lost our stroller which wasn't too big of a deal. It was a cheapy umbrella stroller that would have been convenient but overall didn't seem to matter much.

We spent our days on the beach, swimming in the ocean and in the heated pool at the house. It was the greatest, lazy vacation. We didn't even eat out. Just made hundreds of trips to the grocery store to feed the clan of 10 (6 adults, 4 kiddos).

Quinn let us bury her!

So what's a vacation without a trip to the urgent care? Quinn had been complaining that her toe hurt since before we left. But while we were there she had trouble walking and we discovered it was infected and blistered. The only place available was the urgent care. So off we went for antibiotics!

She was pretty sleepy, daddy carried her in.

Don't know if you can really see the blister and infection from this picture.

When we stepped inside, this dude greeted us. Jason mumbled under his breath "looks like someone wasn't seen urgently enough..."

We were a little tired waiting for the doctor.

She got antibiotics for her toe. Nothing too big. We did discover some slivers on the bottom of the same foot that was infected. It was drama trying to get them out. Almost 3 year olds are not fans of laying still while someone causes them pain. In the end, we had to buy our own tweezers and do it back at the house. But she's all better now!

This photo is completely unintentional but makes me laugh so hard.

"Quinn! Take your father out of that sand castle right this minute!"

Here is my other pumpkin. What a doll.

One of the rare photos with both of them in it.

Love this photo. Quinn and daddy in the ocean and she's having so much fun!

Absence

2011-10-19T13:03:00.001-05:00

Hello blogland, sorry about the absence lately. The kiddos are doing better although still a bit sick. Everyone has a cold and their croup cough is still rearing it's ugly head at night.

This last weekend was busy with a pumpkin patch visit, golf outing for dad and a photo shoot for me. I have photos but it'll be a bit before I can get them up.

I won't be able to update the blog for the next two weeks with all that is going on so take care of yourselves and have a fabulous Halloween!

Croup

2011-10-13T05:36:00.000-05:00

Sorry about lack of posts this week. The kids are sick with croup, among other things. Quinn started getting sick last Thursday night and was finally diagnosed on Sunday. That night was an all nighter of steaming the bathroom and comforting a very sick child. Then on Monday Kellen started getting a cold. Doesn't take much to see that he would soon be getting croup, too. So yesterday I took him to the doctor and he was diagnosed with croup and an ear infection. This is his second ear infection in a month.

Truthfully, the kids have been sick with various ailments for the past couple weeks. Kellen had a reaction to his one year MMR shot and looked like he had measles. It was not pretty. Overall he felt ok, just tired from physically fighting off the reaction. And then Quinn was sick with some sort of stomach bug that stayed with her through the weekend.

So here's to a sick-free weekend. Both kiddos are on steroids for their cough and should be feeling better soon!

Peanut Butter as Cleaner!

2011-10-10T12:50:00.001-05:00

I suppose this is fairly common knowledge, but I truly did not know.

Peanut butter is a cleaner!

Quinn drew on our dining room chairs with crayon the other day. They're white painted wood. I figured a wet paper towel would get it off. Since I was on the phone with my mom, she heard the chaos and suggested peanut butter.

I pulled out our jar of Jif peanut butter...

wiped the crayon with my finger and voila! It came right off.

Who knew?!

(Thanks mom)

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars

2011-10-07T03:00:00.004-05:00

If it's cold enough where you live and you're in the mood for comfort, these just may do the trick:

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars

They're rich, dense and very pumpkin-y

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bar recipe found on Pinterest:

~2 cups all-purpose flour
~1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
~3/4 tsp ginger
~1/2 tsp nutmeg
~1/8 tsp allspice
~1/8 tsp cloves
~1 tsp baking soda
~3/4 tsp coarse salt
~1 cup unsalted butter, room temp (2 sticks)
~1 1/4 cup sugar
~1 egg
~2 tsp vanilla
~1 cup pumpkin puree
~12 oz chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line 13x9 pan with foil, leaving overhang on all sides.

2. Whisk together flour, spices, baking soda and salt.

3. Cream together butter and sugar on medium-high until smooth. Beat in egg & vanilla. Beat in pumpkin puree (it will look curdled)

4. Add dry ingredients and mix on low just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

5. Using offset spatula or back of spoon, spread batter into prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean (or with a few crumbs, not batter). Cool completely in pan.

6. Lift bars from pan using foil. Peel off foil and cut into squares.

Pumpkin Spiced Popcorn

2011-10-06T02:00:00.006-05:00

Oh. My. Gosh.

Feeling the pumpkin love yet this season?

That's right, pumpkin spice Jell-o. This is a box left over from last year that I found at Walmart. I don't even know if this is in stock this season but the next grocery store stop I will be looking for it.

First you pop the popcorn. Use a microwave, corn popper, campfire in the backyard... whatever.

Try to get all the hulls out now. I poured a little popcorn from the bag into a bowl, picked out hulls and threw in garbage, transferred hull-free popcorn to another bowl and repeated until entire bag was good to go.

Next you mix the pumpkin flavoring goodness that will be poured on popcorn.

(test taste to make sure it's awesome. And it will be)

Next step, put foil onto roasting pan and spray with Pam. This helps the popcorn to not stick. I used two pizza pans wrapped in foil for this recipe.

Then you want to pour the flavoring onto the popcorn and mix it up. I did this in the bowl with a Pam sprayed spoon. Lots of popcorn broke during this step but not enough to make me care. It was still looking good.

Then pour popcorn mixture onto foil lined pans.

Flatten out popcorn as much as possible so it bakes evenly.

I did one bag of flattened popcorn mixture to each pizza pan.

Then bake.

Recipe:
~Two bags popped popcorn (I used Kettle Corn, you can use anything)
~1 TBL butter, melted (not entirely sure this is necessary)
~2/3 cup Light Corn Syrup
~2 tsp vanilla
~1 (3 1/2 oz) package instant pudding (you can use absolutely any flavor)
~1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
~Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Bake 20 minutes, stirring half way through.
~Remove from oven and cool on cooling rack. When cooled, break apart into small pieces.

Great Hair

2011-10-05T03:00:00.000-05:00

Hello Static!

Planking

2011-10-04T03:00:00.006-05:00

Do you know what "planking" is? Truthfully, neither do I. I saw a brief news report on it (The Today Show) and one minor facebook mention.

But when I caught Jason laying on our kitchen island like this (looking at the ipad), I laughed and told him he looked like he was "planking".

So of course, he demanded a photo of him actually planking.

You're welcome.

*images via crappy cell phone camera*

Pumpkin Pancakes

2011-10-03T07:18:00.000-05:00

Fall means pumpkin flavored EVERYTHING in our house. And this weekend was no exception!

Pumpkin Pancake recipe found on Pinterest:

~1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
~2 TBL sugar
~2 tsp baking powder
~1 tsp cinnamon
~1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
~1/2 tsp salt
~1/8 tsp nutmeg
~pinch of ground cloves
~1 cup milk
~6 TBL canned pumpkin puree
~2 TBL melted butter
~1 egg
~1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, ground ginger, salt, nutmeg and pinch of ground cloves.

2. In separate bowl, stir together milk, pumpkin puree, melted butter and egg; fold mixture into dry ingredients. Do not mix any more than you have to. Lumpy is a good thing.

3. Melt butter in skillet over medium heat; pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes approx. 3 minutes per side.

*I found these to be a bit bland. More spices definitely needed. Perhaps doubling the spice amount?

We Have a Winner! {mymemories.com giveaway}

2011-09-30T01:38:00.000-05:00

Using random.org, the winner of the My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software giveaway is Leslie from TalesofaSuperHeroesMom! Congratulations Les! I'll be contacting you soon about your prize!

Super Duper Extra Fun Weekend!

2011-09-27T03:00:00.002-05:00

It's pumpkin patch time! And this weekend we made a trip to the Dallas Arboretum for their pumpkin patch and princess themed gardens! Can I just tell you how much Quinn's face lit up when I told her we were going to see where Cinderella lives?!

Kellen discovered his love for pumpkins. It must be hereditary because I LOVE PUMPKINS. And so does Quinn!

We tried to get a photo of the two of them. We really did. But little man was intent on walking and exploring. It just didn't happen in a "frame and put on your wall" kind of way.

And now for Quinn's favorite; Cinderella's carriage. She was so excited!

See her fists in the air?!

Peek-a-boo!

We tried again to get a photo of the two of them. Kellen just wasn't feeling the pumpkin love anymore. He was pretty tired and so we put him in the stroller to snack and rest.

But Quinn was up for posing.

Look how big some of those freakin' pumpkins are!

Each fairy tale castle had a book introducing the original story. These confused Quinn as she kept trying to turn the page. But they're flat pieces with no page to turn.

While little man rested in his stroller,

Quinn explored the castles!

Towards the end, with the temperature hitting 90 degrees, we let Quinn run in the fountain.

She cracks me up with that pure delight.

Kellen got to join as well but mommy was helping him navigate the slippery concrete and so there are no pictures of him face planting into the fountain.

Also, for the first time ever, Quinn saw a movie in the movie theater!!! When we got home from the gardens, I packed her up and just the two of us went to see Lion King 3D.

I explained to her on the ride over how movies work and that we needed to be quiet so other people could hear the movie too.

She was a rockstar. We got through concessions and found a seat. I sat her down in the chair only to discover that her little body doesn't weigh enough to keep the bottom of the seat from bouncing up (like it was folding her in two!). So she sat on my lap holding the popcorn and we watched the movie together with our 3D glasses on. It was so fantastic. We got to cuddle and laugh and dance together.

I worried a bit when Simba's father was killed, but Quinn handled it really well. She ditched the 3D glasses about half way through the movie but didn't seem to mind the blurriness. Towards the end, she was a bit antsy and wanted to sit in her own chair. I just put my foot on it to hold it down.

I'm so proud of her. We really had lots of fun. And getting some Quinn and mommy time towards the end was pretty awesome too. I needed that.

MyMemories.com {Giveaway}

2011-09-26T03:00:00.031-05:00

Holy Monday, lets kick this week off right shall we?! For the first time ever, I have been presented with the opportunity to host a giveaway on my blog! How exciting is that?!

For those of you that digital scrapbook, design your own cards, calendars, videos, photo books or even blog headers and pages, I have a treat for you! MyMemories.com is giving away to one lucky winner their My Memories Suite software!

MyMemories.com has digital scrapbooking software and scrapbook kits to help with your designs. There are so many options available. I have my eye on the "Birds and Apples Pack" as a whimsical design that would be great framed in the kid's playroom!

Here is just one example of a design that I put together. I used a photo from last year of Kellen dressed as an elf. Then, using one of their professional designer templates, created this cute Christmas card. I was able to add in the snowflakes on top, change the background color to match his hat, add wording, a new snowflake and some embellishment on the bottom. Now it's ready to be printed. And the greatest part, I can print it on my own computer at home, or send it to a professional printer's.

With the holiday season coming at us full force, there are so many reasons to use this design software. Halloween cards to send out? Check. Thanksgiving invites? Check. Don't forget about Christmas cards (of course) and Christmas presents! Start making your calendars and photo books now, before the season's festivities get overwhelming.

How to win the "My Memories Suite" you ask?

1) Visit MyMemories.com, choose your favorite digital paper pack or layout, then come back here and tell me which one you like in the comments section.

2) For an additional entry, visit their Facebook page and "like" them, come back and add another entry in the comment section telling me you did so!

It's that easy.

The contest will close midnight CST, this Thursday, September 29th. Winner will be randomly chosen and announced Friday, September 30th. Good Luck!

Our Very Own Snow White

2011-09-23T16:11:00.000-05:00

Snow White is a new obsession of Quinn's. She loves the cartoon (thank you Disney channel, I've got it on DVR!)

As cute as Kellen is in this photo, do you see Quinn with the mini broom in the background?

I asked her what she was up to. She told me, cleaning like Snow White.

Could you do my floors when you're done?

Kellen prefers to mow the lawn.

Our "New" Upholstered Chair

2011-09-20T20:57:00.000-05:00

I found this sad gal at the thrift store for $12. I could see potential!

Even with her broken back

I started by spray painting her white. I used Krylon high gloss bright white (from Lowe's)

And because her back was broken, I put batting on the back with sticky tack. It comes in a spray can that I got from Michael's. Let me warn you about something so that you don't have to learn everything the hard way, which seems to be the only way I learn anything anymore. Spray the batting only. Don't spray the back of the chair. Because then the goopy, sticky tack gets on the chair and it does not come off. And all that spray paint work was for nothing because you have to sand it down and repaint.

Don't worry, I didn't sand and repaint. Because it's on the back of the chair where no one will notice. And I'm totally lazy like that.

Then I attached foam to the front of the chair for extra cushion. I sprayed only the foam this time, not the chair. Lesson learned.

Next step was to line up the fabric.

*No picture exists, but I added batting on top of the foam before attaching fabric*

Jason stapled all the fabric in for me. I'm not good at doing that part and I have absolutely no grip. Since having two children, my hands feel almost arthritic some days. I've heard other mother's claim the same. It's difficult to open jars too. I will positively be the old woman alone in her house asking the boy next door to help open my pudding cup.

After stapling all the fabric around the chair, Jason trimmed the excess off.

Looks a bit sloppy around the edges but that's ok, trim will be put in it's place.

As for the trim, I wanted a sewn piece using the same fabric. I don't own a sewing machine, nor do I know how to sew. I enlisted my good friend Kendra who hooked me up with her skill and patience. She came over to help me attach it and voila, we have a finished chair people!!!!

I'd love to tell you how to sew the trim, but I don't have a clue. Many tutorials exist out there, this isn't one of them. Thank goodness Kendra knew how!

Pretty!

And for the final reveal, our gorgeous new chair! Gray, yellow and white. Beautiful.

The fabric is from Joann's. I bought it at 40% discount which made it around $25/ yard. I only bought 1 yard and that covered the seat, the top on the front and the top on the back. Also around 19 feet of trim to cover the whole chair. Not too shabby!

Spaghetti and Rain

2011-09-19T04:00:00.002-05:00

Quinn made dinner for us. Spaghetti. The best spaghetti in the history of spaghetti!

First she stirred sauce

Then she added the parmesan

And then added some more. It was very cheesy

Next, a little black pepper

Then she stirred again

And last, she tested the noodles

Kellen approved

To clean up, we let them outside to see what rain was like. You know, since we've been in a drought. Severe drought.

"Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, praise the Lord!" (this is what he was singing)

Quinn needed her princess umbrella for protection

And being the good big sister that she is, she offered it to Kellen.

Playroom Mural

2011-09-16T04:00:00.003-05:00

What to do with our playroom's boring white walls...

I found this picture of birds on a wire on Pinterest. Cute, right?! Simple enough. Jason and I put our heads together and decided to make the birds 3D. And the original plan was to use yard or rope for the wire and to modpodge scrapbook paper onto wood cutouts for the birds.

source unknown

I bought plywood at Lowe's for $6.

After finding the bird silhouettes I liked on google images, I printed them out and traced them onto my plywood.

I numbered each bird in case there was confusion later on. I haven't used the jigsaw that many times but I do know that it can be a bit difficult around small, round spaces. I wanted to be sure to get rid of any bird templates that I didn't think the jigsaw was good for.

Lots of birds!

After I cut each one out, they needed to be sanded.

I used 220 sandpaper because that's what I had. It worked great.

Then I pulled out my scrap paper. Lots to choose from. I wanted really colorful birds but also somewhat of a theme. I'm not really into chaos or messy (nevermind the state of the playroom).

I also numbered each paper bird to help me line them up later.

Then I painted the sides of the birds since I didn't plan on covering that part in modpodge and paper

Before I glued the paper to the birds, I wanted to figure out the wire part. Except, when I went upstairs, I wasn't feeling the wire anymore. So I switched gears and tried taping off a tree shape.

But this tree was ugly. UGLY

So back to the computer and Pinterest. That's when I saw this picture. Beautiful, simple trees that make a bold statement. True, a lot of the statement is made with color. And I do not have it in me right now to paint the whole playroom. But I think this shape would work nicely and allow me to add birds as well.

Source

So I retaped

We have lots of gray colors in our garage. Our bedroom and Kellen's room are gray. And it took about 7 or 8 tries to find grays we liked. So I have lots of sample cans. I chose Benjamin Moore's Gray Horse (greenish gray) and Smoke Embers (violet gray), along with Sherwin Williams Uncertain Gray (dark gray)

I painted each tree a different color. It didn't take long at all. Then I ripped the tape off. Some of it wasn't on quite right and there are less than clean lines. (We also have orange peel textured walls). But you can't see the imperfections from across the room. It's also the kid's playroom, anything goes if you ask me. That, and my motto is: It's good enough.

The details are what really make it beautiful

Here it is from across the room

I only painted three trees for this go around. I need to add birds. But I'm not sure about the birds I've already cut out. I want birds that are bigger, maybe a bit more majestic or at least with more detail.

I've already started two more trees on another wall. I love the subtle gray color for these. It's not overpowering and still fits in with the color scheme in our house. Plus, it's a playroom. It adds a bit of whimsy without all the crazy colors that are plentiful through toys all over the place.

I'll update when I paint some more trees and figure out the bird part. Any suggestions?!

Playset is Finished!

2011-09-15T04:00:00.001-05:00

What started out as this jumbled mess:

Has become this beauty:

Jason put on the roof and pulled off all the green plastic. I painted her last week and now we have a beautiful playset!

Still need to finish staining the fence but we're really almost there. I swear!

Congratulations Team Meyer!

2011-09-14T15:50:00.000-05:00

Please welcome Eric Clay

Baby Eric was born yesterday at 3:25 am, weighing in at 6 lbs and 9 oz. Such a peanut! Both Whitney and baby are doing great. He looks just like his older brother too, what a trip!

Congratulations Team Meyer. It kills us to not be there with you but you're always in our thoughts and prayers. We miss you guys and we send all our love!

Kellen's First Birthday Party

2011-09-13T13:13:00.001-05:00

Saturday we celebrated Kellen's 1st birthday. Bruce and Cecilia were here and helped us pull together the house, party and kiddos. It took a lot of work but we did it!

In honor of Kellen's love for finger foods, we made mini foods for the party. Many of these recipes I found on Pinterest. (Recipes found at end of this post)

Ham and Cheese Sliders. AWESOME! I highly recommend. There is a special sauce that is poured on top of these that really makes them incredible.

We also served Buffalo Chicken Bites but somehow I did not get a photo of them. They didn't last long. If you've had the dip, these taste the same but rolled in corn flakes. Cecilia made the ham sliders and buffalo chicken bites for me. She said when making the buffalo chicken bites, remember to make them a bit smaller before rolling into the corn flakes as that makes them even bigger. Ours ended up being about 2-3 bites worth each. Also, we used Frank's RedHot sauce which I think adds so much to their flavor.

Next up, mini lemon cupcakes. No secret here, lemon cake box mix and lemon canned frosting. Still delicious!

Lemon Chex Mix. So yummy.

Stacy's Pita chips served with hummus

Have to have a fruit bowl!

And of course, the awesome cake! I bought this from Market Street. Would have loved to make his first cake, but I simply did not have enough time. And look at this, it's so cute! 24 cupcakes frosted together to look like a cohesive cake, all in the shape of a number 1 in Thomas the Train theme!

Chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. For the love, you cannot go wrong.

For treat bags, I found take out boxes at Walmart on sale. I filled them with the lemon chex mix, a dum dum lollipop, sidewalk chalk and topped off with a chocolate covered s'more. I'm a fan of the chocolate s'more. Super easy to make, just a bit time consuming. I also used mint chocolate marshmallows in the middle and mint chocolate candy melts for the outside chocolate. So delicious.

Having so many little kids over for a party was great. I don't have a picture of everyone playing in the yard but since we were blessed with great weather, that's where most everyone was. We had the playset with swings and a slide, the little playhouse, outdoor cars and toys, softball and bats, bouncy balls and the picnic table for people to sit at. It felt great to have a functioning backyard for all the work we've been putting into it.

And now for the cake smash. We gathered around and sang happy birthday to sweet Kellen. Quinn was a big helper and blew out his candle.

He loved it. Hardly a hesitation before digging in.

Later that night, after the party, we let Quinn help Kellen open his presents.

He's just so overwhelmed and thankful for his friends and family!

Happy first birthday baby boy. We love you.

Recipes:

Buffalo Chicken Bites: HERE

Ham & Cheese Sliders: HERE

Lemon Chex Mix: HERE

Chocolate Covered S'mores: HERE

Happy 1st Birthday Kellen

2011-09-09T04:00:00.000-05:00

Today you turn one. It's a big day. For the past year you have given your family so much joy. A snuggle bug; a big smiley light-hearted boy who loves his mommy, daddy and especially his big sister. You really do love bubble baths, singing, music, dancing and especially food. Boy, do you love food.

Most mornings you and mommy get to cuddle with each other in front of the tv while you drink your bottle. Sometimes daddy gets up with you but more often than not, it's me and you kid. Same with middle of the night. For some reason, you're still hungry at 3am but that's okay, you're a growing boy. And this time doesn't last long. Soon enough you'll be sleeping until noon and out with your friends all day. But for now, you need mommy and daddy and we love being here for you.

As for your sister, you can't keep your eyes off of her. She must be the most fascinating person in the world to you. She makes you laugh with her crazy antics and wild behavior. You follow her everywhere she goes, all over the house and through each room, wherever she may be headed.

I catch her crawling into your crib with blankets and all the stuffed animals from the toy box to play "naptime" with you. Whatever toy she has, you want. And vice versa. The two of you always play together, best buds. You like to play with the fisher-price little people in her room. Mostly you just put them in your mouth. But the two of you also play musical instruments. You're a fan of the recorder and guitar; Quinn mostly likes to dance.

I have no idea what job you may want to pursue when you're older, or what kind of friends you're going to have. Will you play sports? Will you love books or graphic design? What about traveling the world and the many adventures you might go on? Maybe your interest will be in history like daddy or photography like mommy. What I do know is that if you keep that sweet disposition and smile, you'll get to do anything you want.

We love you Kellen,

Love,

mommy and daddy

Quinn's First Day of School

2011-09-06T19:56:00.000-05:00

Such a big day!

Quinn's first day of school at her new preschool. Two days a week, 5 hours each day. 10 classmates, 3 teachers and SO MUCH ACTIVITY!

We have been talking about school for a couple of weeks. We needed a new backpack, nap mat and lunchbox. Quinn also learned about her new teachers and got to meet them last week.

Waking up this morning she was excited! Getting ready went very smoothly and we got out the door without any hiccups.

But preschool only allows 1 hour for naptime. And our little girl is used to 2 or 3. She'd take a four hour nap if mommy let her. She even fell asleep in the car on the way home. Eventually, she collapsed on the floor by the couch. Don't worry, she was carried to bed for a short nap before dinner.

But she loved school. And that's what's important!

Big Steps For Kellen!

2011-09-05T14:41:00.003-05:00

Kellen has had quite the weekend! Not only has he said his first word, "Uh Oh" (two words?), but he is WALKING! Well, sort of. See for yourself!

Who doesn't clap when they've accomplished something new?!

My Favorite Art

2011-09-01T04:00:00.008-05:00

Have you seen this work by artist Majalin? This is the type of illustrative art I want hanging in my children's rooms and playroom. I'm in LOVE!

Her prices are fantastic, but I don't see large prints. Perhaps if I asked sweetly she would sell a large print? I have a few empty frames these would look perfect in!

She has so many different illustrations to choose from. Some are just that perfect mix of innocence and creepiness that we love about fairytales. Check out the red riding hood on her etsy site!

And if you're feeling "spendy", feel free to send me a print!

Quinn's Photos

2011-08-31T04:00:00.003-05:00

Here are a few photos I got of Quinn. They're all taken in the garage using natural light. We had been playing dress up when I convinced her to model for me!

She starts her first day of school next week. We are all very excited. For us and for her. I believe she will absolutely flourish under a teacher's guidance and direction. She'll love her classmates and daily activities as well. This kid needs creativity, she needs activities and she needs someone other than mommy all the time. I think different points of views are very important to a child's development.

Can't wait to see how her first day goes. My baby is getting so big!

Thrift Store REDO

2011-08-29T04:00:00.000-05:00

I found this sweet little table at the thrift store the other day

I'm not entirely sure what it's intended purpose is; coffee table or kid's table? But either way, I've been on the look out for a table to put in the playroom. Something bigger than what they already have. And for $7, this wins!

First, remove that awful fabric. And how nice of them to NAIL it to the furniture.

After using pliers, a hammer, a screw driver and lots of scrunched up faces, the nails are going to stay in... for now. You probably can't tell from this photo but they're strangely shaped. Not perfect circles and the thickness of each nailhead is uneven.

After checking the ikea.com website, searching "Leksvik" didn't show any furniture resembling this piece. I'm not entirely sure what it was worth retail.

I removed the fabric and found a well used kid's table. Crayon marks, dents, bubbled up mdf and tape.

I wiped it down and removed all the tape I could find. Then I coated it with Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch Primer.

Um... what's the sand texture that keeps blowing off the paint? I wiped it down and put on another coat about 10 minutes after the first. Same thing. And not just on the furniture, it was covering the garage floor. A strange, dusty film that simply blew off the furniture.

After using THE ENTIRE can of primer and still not covering all the crayon, I went ahead and put on the Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Satin paint. Hey, I'm lazy.

Same freakin' dust. My garage floor is officially "dusty". And guess what?! After using the ENTIRE can of satin paint, the piece looks like this:

See the uneven paint surface?

That's using an entire can of primer and an entire can of paint on one small piece of furniture. You can even see the dust layer all over my garage floor and the garbage sacks. The dust did not exist before the paint cans were used!

Change of plans. I grabbed a can of Krylon Gloss from Hobby Lobby. This is what it looked like after three quick coats:

Beautiful. And the can of paint isn't even empty!

Moral of my story:

Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch: Thumb's down

Krylon Gloss: Thumb's up!!

Lemon Crinkle Cookies

2011-08-25T04:00:00.000-05:00

Found a recipe on Pinterest that demanded to be tried out:

Lemon Crinkle Cookies from LDSLiving.com

They claim it's a recipe contest winner. I just happened to have two lemons begging to be used.

So I grated them for lemon zest

Then squeezed their sweet, citrus-y guts out

In my mixer, I creamed butter and sugar until fluffy. Then added vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice.

Scrape sides and mix again. Stir in dry ingredients slowly, until combined, excluding powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again.

Pour powdered sugar into separate bowl and roll heaping teaspoons of dough into balls and roll in powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

This was a great activity for Quinn. She loves helping mommy cook. Having her roll the dough in powdered sugar made her day.

Bake 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown and cookies lose the shine. Remove and let cool for 3 minutes before placing on cooling rack.

After a taste test, they were given the thumbs up!

We finished off the cooking with one more batch (total of two). By this time, Quinn was licking the powdered sugar off her fingers and table.

Here is the final product. Not bad! They are really good. Very fresh and light. And all the ingredients were in my pantry. Always a plus.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1 tsp lemon zest (I used the whole lemon)

1 TBL fresh lemon juice (again, used whole lemon)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 baking soda

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Grease baking sheet with cooking spray (I didn't and was fine).

In large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla, egg, lemon zest and lemon juice. Scrap sides and mix again. Stir all dry ingredients into bowl slowly, just until combined, excluding powdered sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and mix again. Pour powdered sugar into bowl and roll heaping teaspoons of dough into ball and into powdered sugar. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.

Bake 9-11 minutes or until bottoms are brown and cookies lose their shine. Remove to cooling rack after 3 minutes.

Anatomy of a Photo Shoot

2011-08-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

The anatomy of a photo shoot starts with an idea.

The idea has to be tested out before the model arrives. Everything in place to make it go faster and hopefully, easier.

It started with a bear.

Then my assistant brought in the model

But the model wouldn't sit still. Not even for a moment.

The assistant tried everything.

Even hanging the model upside down.

But it didn't work.

After running after the model...

And running some more in the hot, hot heat of the garage, the assistant worked up a sweat.

Seriously

So we brought out another model to help reel it in.

But all we got was attitude.

In the end, I did ultimately capture a photo that I like. And that photo will be showing up on September 9th, 2011.

How to Clean Stove-Top grates

2011-08-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here is another cleaning tip, brought to you by my boring old self!

I just learned how to clean the grates on my stove-top. We have been scrubbing, soaking and yelling at these stupid things since we bought the house. All to find out one simple ingredient, 12 hours of waiting and rinsing off would do the trick!

Ammonia. It's a dollar.

Here's what you do:

Put grates into plastic baggie, pour 1/4 cup ammonia into bag. Close tight, set in pan (in case it leaks) and set outside (it smells super gross, like getting your nose hairs permed)

Let it sit for at least 12 hours. Then bring inside, empty out bags into sink (hold nose and make scrunched up face at horrible smell). Rinse off the grates and smile that you didn't have to do squat for beautiful grates! Elbow grease? Ha! Don't need it!

It's not the liquid that eats the grime, it's the fumes.

Let's look at this bad boy again

Oh heck, just one more time from another angle.

Beautiful.

On another note, I'm in the process of planning Quinn's Halloween themed birthday party. I have decorations in mind, a theme planned out and now looking for costume ideas.

So we decided to play dress up and try on her first Halloween monster costume that I adore.

I don't think it fits right. Maybe adding a tutu helps? No? Well, ok. Quinn doesn't like it either, she asked me to "TAKE IT OFF!" (lots of feet stomping and pulling on head mask).

Making Laundry Detergent

2011-08-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

Would you believe I made my own laundry detergent?! After seeing it all over Pinterest, I had to try it.

These are the three ingredients I used. I looked at many different recipes on the internet and had trouble deciding on a brand of bar soap. After discussing with Jason, we wanted something with scent so I went with this Dove bar with nectarine and ginger.

Then all I had to do was grate it.

Throw it in a pot with 1 gallon of water and cook until the soap dissolved

Next you add 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of Washing Soda to the pot. Bring to a boil and remove from stovetop. This is where you need to watch the pot. Just like boiling anything, it boils over. Oops.

After removing from heat, add in 1 gallon of cold water and let cool.

Then pour (with a funnel) into your container(s).

I didn't want to make as much as the recipe called for so I tried to make a half batch. But I messed that part up and used more water than called for. I ended up using these two containers that are probably equally full. You can tell on the apple juice container that it's not entirely full. When filling the containers, there were suds making it difficult to tell how full it really was. Ultimately, I have just over a gallon of actual detergent.

I let it sit for over 12 hours before using. The consistency was almost exactly like store-bought detergent. I saw many comments on the detergent becoming hard as jello or staying more like water. Apparently it can depend on the type of soap you use. But almost all of them were still usable.

After trying the first load this morning (on towels and one pair of shorts), I find it to be ok. The towels feel a bit harder to me. Almost like they're missing fabric softener which I never use. Perhaps it's necessary with this? Also, there is no fragrance whatsoever. That's okay, the clothes don't smell AT ALL. Not dirty, not perfumed. They just smell clean. Apparently the fragranced soap is not necessary.

Jason is much pickier about his laundry so I'll check his opinion on the clothing. Hopefully this is something we can use for the future because it's so cheap.

Pancake Recipe

2011-08-18T11:00:00.002-05:00

Our morning routine has changed recently. Quinn doesn't seem to want breakfast right away and Kellen's sleeping habits are all over the board.

Since we usually get out to do things in the morning before the heat hits us, I have found myself in the McDonald's drive-thru ordering pancakes. No sides, just plain pancakes. Such an easy thing for both children to eat. However, they're $3 for 3 simple pancakes which is stupid.

But this morning we didn't have to be anywhere. And by 9:30, both kids were screaming for food. Literally crying and pulling on my clothing like I had been starving them. Kellen had already downed two bottles of formula and Quinn had only been awake for an hour. Geesh!

So I pulled out my trusty pancake recipe.

Pancakes:

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

2 TBL melted butter

1 cup flour

1 TBL sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Beat egg fluffy. Add milk and butter. Add dry mix. Stir with fork just until mixed. Leave it lumpy!!

Note: I usually add in more sugar and pinches of cinnamon for flavor.

Not beating the batter until it's smooth is the secret I learned for fluffier pancakes. I also heard you can leave the batter sitting for an hour to help but who has that kind of organization and time? As soon as one of these bad boys is cooked it's in a baby's mouth! I'm practically throwing them at the kids to make them happy.

I kid.

If only I had taken a picture of Kellen before his belly was full of pancakes. Grumpy!

This is the happy pancake coma.

I always strip Quinn down before eating messy foods. I also give her syrup to dip in. I find it so much less messy than pouring it over them.

Ahhhh, now everyone is happy and well fed. Time to clean up the baby and the floor...

Eating Habits

2011-08-16T15:06:00.001-05:00

Does your toddler sit like this at the table, too?

Dad's Visit!

2011-08-10T10:13:00.004-05:00

This past weekend my dad was in town for a visit. I can honestly say that we didn't do all that much but relax and just spend time together. Dad babysat the kids for me twice while I got to run errands and have an afternoon date with Jason. The kids got lots of time with their papa and Quinn even got to go to the store and have a donut with papa one afternoon!

I don't know how photo taking is going for everyone else and their 11 month olds, but Kellen is all about the open mouth in photos

Here he is popping up in the corner

Look at that, another open mouth photo!

At least he's smiling big in this one!

Quinn is practicing her cheerleading and Kellen is practicing with her... I guess

And now for Quinn's update. She has impetigo. On her face, no less. I only post this photo so that maybe someone else can reference in case their child gets it. She's had it for a week and I didn't realize that's what it was. We thought it was dry, irritated skin from her allergies. So we gave her an antihistimine on Saturday and it took away all the itching she was doing. We continued through Monday but by Monday night, it was spreading to her eye and other cheek. So I took her in yesterday and now she's on antibiotics.

I'm anxious for them to kick in because both eyes are infected as of this morning and her face is just covered. I feel for the kid. But she's doing great overall. Doesn't seem to be too bothered by it. She's an awesome little girl and even smiling through it all!

Girl's Trip!

2011-08-03T15:03:00.005-05:00

Girl's trip to Austin, y'all!!

There are a limited number of photos to show you from the trip. Why? Well, because we were BUSY! Too busy to stop and take photos, I guess. Not only did we go to lots and lots of places, but we ate, and ate... and ate... and ate just a bit more.

Here is the rundown:

We left Friday morning and fought Dallas traffic for awhile. After getting "on the road", we stopped in West, Texas at The Czech Stop for kolaches. Lots of you already know about this place. But my mom loves kolaches so of course I had to take her here! They did not disappoint!

Then we stopped in Hillsboro to go shopping at the outlet malls. Um... no signs indicating what time they're open. But people were waiting outside the doors... um, when DO they open? We finally found a sign, not until 10. It was 9:30 and we were not about to kick around waiting for lame outlets to open. Sorry Hillsboro, your loss! So we kept heading south.

We did a quick jaunt into the Round Rock Ikea before hitting up Vivo's Mexican in Austin. I was excited to show them the orchid you get in your margarita. But, oops, that must be the LARGE margarita that they serve that to you? We didn't get one in our little margarita, oh well.

Then we drove all over downtown Austin, courtesy of my GPS. Seems the little GPS that couldn't was guiding us. All we wanted was a post office. First we were led to a library. Then it lead us to the place where a post office does not exist. Finally, after giving up and heading to our hotel, we drove past one. HA! who needs a gps?! (sidenote: just found out it was Jason's gps in my car. I KNEW mine had never led me astray!!)

The rest of the afternoon we headed to South Congress to look at shops before checking out the bats on the south congress bridge.

First up: Hey Cupcake! I've never had one of their cupcakes before. It was AWESOME! Dare I say better than Dimples or Sprinkles? I do dare say!

We're total goofballs

Friday night we headed to the south congress bridge to watch the bats. If you've never heard of this, it's the largest urban colony of bats in the world. I may have my facts twisted but I believe this to be true (without actually doing a fact check since I'm writing all this while my babies nap and we all know that isn't long!)

This photo shows how many people show up to watch it every night at dusk. And I only captured the ones on the bridge. On the grassy knoll where we're at there are many more people!

After the bats, we headed back to the hotel. This is where I'm going to tell you part one of a two part story. It seems Heather is famous in Austin. We haven't yet figured out why, but an 8 yr old girl on the hotel elevator could not quit gawking at her. I mean GAWKING. She stared so hard I about elbowed her parents. If it weren't so funny of course. And if you've been to Austin and done the people watching thing, you know Heather doesn't even register on the people watching meter. Unless normal is the new abnormal. In which case... whatever.

After cleaning up and making ourselves smell more like perfume than sweat, we headed to a tapas restaurant downtown, Malaga. It was great. And that pretty much ended our first night!

Saturday morning I took them to Magnolia restaurant on South Congress for breakfast. I'm loving their eggs benedict. And good thing, mom and Heath did, too! Then it was on the road to Fredericksburg and wine country.

Our first stop was at a roadside farmer's market. Mom got some sauce, Heather picked up some bread for our wine tour and I think I realized I may be allergic to lilac. It's not for sure, but I'm pretty sure.

The first tour was at Pedernales Winery. The sommelier that helped us was probably the best part. Don't get me wrong, the wine was fantastic. But he taught us all about the basics and even got my mom to appreciate a glass of wine. Lets not get carried away, she's probably not stopping after work to buy a bottle, but she drank MOST of hers (I helped with the rest). Thou shalt not waste wine.

The next tour was at Becker Vineyards. We didn't do the traditional wine tasting. At this point, we'd have eaten a goat on the side of the road (they really had them. I thought they looked like dogs though). So we each got a glass, bought a wedge of cheese and broke into that farmer's market bread. I think that may be one of my highlight moments on the trip. Just sitting, enjoying each other's company and fantastic wine.

Here is proof that mom had a glass!

After our wine, we headed into Fredericksburg. It was busy! We didn't get to see all the shops because of the people and well, we didn't get there until 2pm. So we wasted some time grabbing a table at a restaurant that we didn't even end up eating at. But we did get to do just enough window shopping to make us happy.

Oh! Can't forget that we tried chocolate covered pringles and bacon! Yes!!! chocolate covered bacon! I'm in love.

Heather even found a "Fred" shop! Or should I say, his tool shed

For dinner I insisted we try a little out of the way dive, Alamo Springs. I'd read about it online and it was featured in a magazine. Has to be worth trying!

On the way, we spotted Fred!

Can you hear my tires screeching as I yelled out "It's Fred!"

I backed that car up, I tell you! Then I made Heather get out and pretend to kiss him. Notice the barbed wire.

And back on the road to Alamo Springs restaurant.

As we pulled up, I said "That's it! We are taking a photo of the three of us!". So I set the camera on the hood of the car and set the timer.

Then we noticed lots of people pulling into the parking lot so we rushed it and said for the photo "It'll do!"

See the red hood of my jeep?

Okay, so here's the deal on Alamo Springs: yuck. We tried it, we didn't care for it. When I say dive, I don't mean it in a quaint way. That place was a flippin' dirty dive. I ordered the portabello sandwich. It was so greazy I found myself squeeging every single bite off in a napkin before eating. And I didn't even eat the bread. But mom said the burger was good, which is what they're famous for.

So we headed back to Austin. Of course when we arrived, I was hungry again. Portabellos are good but I needed more! So I took them to Home Slice on South Congress. First we stopped and shared another cupcake from Hey Cupcake! (Awesome 2nd time around, too!)

And this is where our part 2 of the 2 part story comes into play. Another little girl spotted Heather! We were sitting inside the to go part of Home Slice when a family, and little girl, sat outside the window we were facing. She was turned around and staring at Heather THE WHOLE TIME. So you know what I did? I took a picture!

Heather totally cracks me up. Her face adequately conveys "What the H.E. double hockey sticks is going on!" And the little girl looks WAY creepy! She was truly sweet. Kept knocking on the glass and waving, pointing, whatever she could do to get Heather's attention.

Who watches Disney? Is there a character that Heather looks like? We're stumped.

Sunday we drove back after getting breakfast at Kerbey Lane. Seriously, their friggin' pancakes are the best! Last time it was pumpkin (all time favorite). This time gingerbread. In LOVE!

And now back to reality. My kids missed me, I guess. I think having a weekend with their father was more fun than they're used to. Mean mommy is all about rules and schedules. However, little man is sick this week. Not sleeping worth a darn, either. But he'll get better eventually, right?

Can you see those red rimmed eyes? Gah. Sleep already little one!

Surprise Visit!

2011-07-28T10:15:00.003-05:00

This week we got the biggest surprise! Jason's uncle Curt and grandpa came to visit! They came down to surprise Angie for her birthday and stopped at our house first to say hi!

Quinn refers to uncle Curt as Santa. It's really cute.

Uncle Curt was kind enough to feed Kellen during dinner

everyone hanging out on the couch

Quinn got grandpa to play play-doh with her. He taught her to mold a snake

Their visit was brief but meant so much to us that they made the trip down here. Grandpa has not been down to visit since I've known Jason which is what makes this trip so special. I know it's a long way but we're so glad they were here!

My mom and sister are flying into Dallas today for our girl's trip to Austin this weekend! I cannot tell you how excited I am for this. A girl's trip, grown-up time and the chance to just enjoy my mom and sister. Whoo hoo!!!!!!!

Headboard

2011-07-27T11:01:00.003-05:00

Here is the fallen fence after it was cut on both sides with a jigsaw, sanded until smooth, and stained with 3 coats of stain we had in the garage:

I love the detail. The greenish hue is from the old gray paint that wasn't completely sanded of. It took this color from the stain.

Last night we installed the headboard to the guest bed. What do you think?

A 5' by 6' piece of old fence cut down to approx. 5' by 5' 6" and three coats of stain.

That's it!

My little "quirk" of the headboard. See... not really noticable.

Since the outlet is behind the headboard, it's not quite flush with the wall. To help movement with the top of the frame, we plan to nail a piece of wood between the middle vertical board and the wall which will bridge the gap. Jason simply put screws through the metal frame of the bed into the vertical posts of the fence. I guess it's lucky that the vertical fence posts measured the same distance as the metal railing (btw, this is a queen sized bed).

The room still needs color and personality but we're getting there. For now, the room is simple, natural, beautiful and full of window light. I love it.

Weekend Projects

2011-07-25T08:02:00.005-05:00

Happy Monday everyone! It's going to be 105 degrees here today. Don't be jealous! I hear it's going to be hot for you as well! (well, at least most of you).

So here are a few projects we tackled recently:

In Kellen's room, I added the 3 framed prints on his wall. They're from a free alphabet flash card printables collection you can find HERE. I tweaked them a bit in photoshop to suit the frames. I love these, they're vintage illustrations with modern colors. And I chose K, M, and F for Kellen's initials.

(sorry it's not a better photo, I'm using my simple point and shoot)

I already had the frames. They were the black frames I painted white awhile back. We had other intentions for them but cannot find anywhere in this house to hang them up. I know that sounds impossible but seriously, NOWHERE! So this is their new, beautiful home!

Here is a close-up of the "K"

We also got most of the fence stained this weekend. I say "we" because I helped on Saturday! It's not much relief for Jas but I pitch in when I can. We still need to do the back fence but it needs to be power washed first.

Now for my big project that I'm really excited about.

Remember that we put up a new fence because the old one was blown over from a storm? I had Jas save one of the sections so I could make something out of it. I thought at first I'd make a table but after spending too much time on Pinterest I had another idea!

A headboard for our guest bedroom!

Isn't it beautiful? Okay, I know it doesn't look like much right now. But it started out as a gray (see above fence that needs to be powerwashed) broken fence with rounded edges. I jigsawed the ends off (yes, me!) and then sanded it down. In the process, one of the boards broke. But I don't mind the broken piece. I think it could be a quirk of the headboard, plus, it'll never show the way the headboard will be placed.

After gluing some pieces together, I applied 3 coats of stain. Yesterday we bought some polyurethane to apply so it could be sleek and glossy, but after looking it over, I don't think it needs it. The wood is gorgeous.

Here is a close-up of the grain and color

I'm so excited about this piece. And the best part, the cost is absolutely NOTHING! (once I return the polyurethane, brushes and sandpaper).

Hopefully we can carry this piece upstairs to the bedroom within the next couple of days. I can't do it myself, the piece is still a section of fence and very awkward and heavy.

Okay, one last thing, you have got to try this recipe! I found it on pinterest.com and made it yesterday morning.

image via CookingWithMyKid.com

I already had all the ingredients on hand. Mine didn't look this gorgeous, of course. I didn't use enough bacon for the pretty topping but it was still awesome! Kellen ate a whole one and Quinn even ate one (with syrup).

You could easily reduce the fat by buying lower fat biscuits, turkey or veggie bacon, egg whites, skim milk and low fat cheese. Seriously, you have to try these!

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit Muffins

Ingredients:

1 package biscuit dough (10 biscuits)

3 eggs

3 TBL milk

1/3 cup shredded cheese

4 slices bacon

salt and pepper

-Cook bacon until almost done. Chop into bits, set aside.

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

-Whisk eggs and milk together, add pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

-Roll out each biscuit until slight bigger than muffin cup (will need flour to help roll out).

-Grease muffin tin with lots of Pam and push one biscuit into each cup. Push down on all sides and bottom.

-Divide cheese evenly into each cup and pour egg in, only filling to 1/2 way. They look empty but you have to account for biscuits puffing up. Egg will spill over if filled too much.

-Sprinkle bacon on top of biscuits. Some will sink into egg mixture so add as much bacon as desired for visual prettiness.

-Bake 10-12 minutes (mine took 12)

See recipe HERE

Gma & Papa Visit

2011-07-21T15:22:00.007-05:00

Jason has been working on getting our fence stained. It's still 100+ degrees outside. Has been for a record amount of time. My man is amazing.

And this morning we fed bread to the ducks.

Since we had to do it early to beat the heat, I grabbed McDonalds pancakes for the kids. They're kids, so syrup and butter not required.

Even Kellen loved them.

This weekend Jason's parents came to visit! While Jas and his dad went golfing, Cecilia, me and the kiddos went shopping. Quinn got to ride with grandma. Seriously, she was so excited to ride this thing!

Here's a photo of grandma feeding Kellen. Not exciting but I feel compelled to add it.

Quinn convinced papa to play play-doh.

Now that the swingset is up, we put the pool in front of it to slide into. It's pretty cool. I even tried it once. Super glad no one was watching. I went down so fast that I barely made it into the water. Sort of just skimmed over the top as I flew off the slide. Would have been totally embarrassed if it was anyone other than my children watching. Needless to say, It's better left for the kiddos.

Productive Weekend

2011-07-11T08:57:00.009-05:00

Hope your weekend was great. Our weekend was very productive! Saturday night we got to celebrate Liam's 1st birthday!! Happy birthday sweet baby!

We also got two large projects mostly knocked out. First up was the baby gate at the bottom of the stairs. I've been using an inadequate solution until we could get the permanent one up. Kellen had a few spills because of it. But now, after my crafty husband worked on it, we have a gate! And an inexpensive one at that.

The gate was Cecilia's that she gave to us awhile ago. All we needed to figure out was how to attach it to the two banisters. Jason wanted to drill into them but I really did not want too. And the banister solutions you can buy are $40 a pop. We bought one for the top of the stairs but it was going to cost us $80 this time around because the bottom has banisters on both sides.

After looking at options online, it occurred to me that we could totally build this ourselves! DUH. (again, if I had asked my mother in law, she probably could have saved me the online research time and we could have had this done long ago). But since I was left to my own devices, it took me awhile to figure out. Either way, we did and it's awesome. Granted, it could be prettier, but I really don't care. That's not my goal. After all, if I was going to start a diy blog, I would name it something along the lines of "it's good enough" or "it'll do". I'm not a perfectionist.

So here is what we came up with to avoid drilling holes into the banister:

Here is the final product. Not too shabby.

A close up of the banister solution. Two wooden blocks on either side held together by a long bolt with a nut at the end to tighten down. I put some felt that I had left over from a previous project on the inside of the wood to protect the banister. Then a long wooden piece was attached vertically to both banister solutions (top and bottom of each banister) for the gate to attach to. Make sense?

Here you can see the whole thing.

Onto our big project: The swingset. It's almost completely built! The photo below is of the swingset on Friday.

And here it is as of last night! The swings are up and most of it is complete. There are two end boards that need to be attached to the top clubhouse. Also, the roof needs to be completed. It came with one of those ugly green plastic roofs and we're deciding between building a wooden roof or canvas. Both have pros and cons.

We did change some of the structure. There was a climbing wall on the front but our kids are too young for it. Plus, it left part of the top clubhouse without a safety wall and we felt better having more wall than not. So Jason built an extra wall up top.

Also, the bottom only had boards on half and the other half was for a sandbox. Sandbox= dirty mess. So we built the entire floor in.

We have some ideas for how to pimp this thing out. But first we need to power wash and then stain it. So we're almost there.

And for fun, Quinn has been asking to feed the ducks lately. We have a pretty pond by the house. The ducks must be fed often because they are on us as soon as we park the car. They knows what's up.

On this particular trip, Kellen slept through the whole thing. Maybe because it was 100+ outside?

Quinn yelling "come and get me, duckies!"

Swing Set for the Kids

2011-07-07T08:52:00.004-05:00

Two weekends ago I naively accepted a used swingset from a neighbor. Even though we have the park across the street, we really need something in the backyard that Quinn can play on while Kellen is sleeping/eating/whatever. And she loves to swing and slide! However, new playsets are expensive and hard to justify when you have one so close by.

And we love projects around here! What's life like without 400 projects hanging over our heads? (seriously, what would it be like? we really do take on a bit too much at times). So when a neighbor posted a free swingset on our neighborhood website, I grabbed that baby up! The catch? We had to disassemble and haul off ourselves.

Luckily I married a man that is absolutely incredible. He went over there himself to take it down in the morning while I got the kids ready. Our old neighbors were kind enough to look after the kids for us that morning so I could help him as much as possible.

Here is Jason walking the roof part to the house. He didn't have to walk very far, it was just very funny watching him walk through the neighborhood with it over his head.

The parts are laid out in the yard while we try to figure what we got ourselves into

Here Jason is pondering if I should be banned from accepting free things in the future

And here he is, hard at work piecing it together while Quinn explored the slide

Quinn enjoyed some watermelon and pool activity, too

It's really a mixed blessing. A free swingset is incredible. But we don't have any help whatsoever to assemble it and so much of it was rotted out that he is basically rebuilding much of it.

Jason also has to build it himself because I have to watch the children. With rotted boards and rusty nails in the yard, they can't really be out there. Not to mention, we've had over 100 plus degrees everyday. It's hot. So he can really only tackle the project for a couple hours at a time before he's beat. And you know the kids don't nap at the same time. No, that would be too easy.

After working on it for 5 weekend days and just a little over a week, we really are almost there. A few more parts need to be rebuilt. Then powerwashed, stained and ready to go!

Queso!

2011-07-06T10:32:00.006-05:00

Sean, Whitney and Grant have moved to St. Louis. They packed up and drove off over the weekend and we miss them very much. But before they left, we got together one last time for a paparazzi shoot with the kiddos and Team Pace (Will, Wendy and Liam).

Group shot with camera on timer. Had I been behind the camera, Will's face would be more prominent, I would not be bent so funny, Wendy would be shoved to the side and the chair would have been pushed out of the way. Other than that... perfect :)

Family Photos

2011-06-30T12:22:00.002-05:00

Amy Doggett from SimplyCaptivatingInc.com took our family photos awhile back. I am only now getting around to posting them!

I love the mustache photos. They're definitely a fad right now but SO MUCH FUN!

Kellen's 9 Month Checkup & Lawes' Visit

2011-06-24T15:02:00.006-05:00

This week Kellen had his 9 month checkup. He did great, this was the first time he didn't cry when the nurse and doctor handled him. He didn't care for his shot but handled it like a little man.

Stats:

Wt: 20 lbs, 3 oz (40%)

Ht: 27.25 " (13%)

Hc: 45 (37%)

Our little man is short and chunky. Love it! He seems to have a peanut head, just like his sister. I find it funny, neither child looks like they have a small head.

And finally, here are some photos from Drew, Sarah and the boy's visit.

Remember when a blow up pool was all you needed or wanted?

Kellen is checking out Cole, stroller to stroller bro!

We took them to Ft. Worth Stock Yards to get a feel of the "real" Texas. Cowboys, longhorn cattle and horses are plentiful. The food is great too.

Everyday, twice a day, they drive through the stockyards on horse and hold a mini cattle drive.

Jason introduced the kids to candy necklaces. Sarah and Drew were a little more strict on the boys getting to eat theirs. Quinn on the other hand, would have fought anyone to the death had they tried to take hers away.

3 kids enjoying necks wrapped in candy

Sexy beasts, eh?!

This is the only photo out of all of them captured where all children's faces are visible.

Good Times!

A Few More Pictures

2011-06-15T14:04:00.003-05:00

The following photos are from my phone. I'm so sorry.

However, they have a story to tell. My children are getting bigger with every passing day. This is evident by their simple, day to day accomplishments.

While at the grocery store, Quinn insisted on carrying the basket. I appreciated the help.

She spotted a Mickey Mouse juice cup. Good one marketing department. Just at my child's eye level. Genius. How could I possibly say no to $3.50 juice in a Mickey Mouse container when my little girl is so adorable? (Marketing department, you owe me $3, that juice couldn't have cost you $.50 to make!)

But she's worth it

Then to my horror, I caught my just turned 9 month old boy, who has only been crawling for 3 weeks and pulling himself up for 1 week, climbing the stairs. I blame the phone. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, looking at my phone emails, I didn't see him start to climb. He got up 3 steps before I noticed!

We now have a diy gate at the bottom of the stairs, the banisters have a plastic sheet guard and I bought some more interlocking foam mats to cushion the hardwoods while he learns to move around through trial and error (lots and lots of error).

I apologize for the next photos taken on my phone. They don't in any way relay what we actually saw. They're form Joplin, MO. We drove down the 75 road this time instead of I35 for a different view. It's 75 miles shorter and we just needed something different. Joplin was on the way. You only have to travel a short distance into the city to see the devastation.

It's scary, frightening, heartbreaking, surreal, etc... Both of us had tears in our eyes looking at the wreckage. On some streets towards the outer part of the wreckage, you'd have the north side demolished, with homes in tact on the south side. It's incredible. I think what really hit home was the amount of tents by the river. Volunteers in town to help? Maybe. Probably lots of people without homes though, as well.

We didn't stop the car to get out and look. That felt wrong. It felt wrong to even drive through and gawk. To witness other's bad luck while we're in the comfort of our car on our way home seemed wrong. The photos are what I could capture quickly while driving in the car. We didn't even want people to see us taking the photos.

But it's not the ruined homes we were curious about, it was the destructive power a tornado can have. I was curious. I've never seen the aftermath. Now I have. Scary.

The building below was an Academy Sports Store. For those of you that don't have these, they're a superstore of sports gear. About as big as a Best Buy, or a Target. And now...nothing.

Memorial Day & Visit Up North

2011-06-14T23:23:00.005-05:00

It's been a busy 2 weeks! Memorial Day weekend we were blessed with a visit from Sarah, Drew and their two boys. Sarah called me the week before and asked what we were doing, I told her to get to Dallas, pronto!

Of course, my photos are on my other camera which I have to find. It's packed away somewhere in my suitcase from our trip up north last weekend.

So on to the trip up north. We were in Nebraska to visit my family first. My grandpa was married on friday night and we were not going to miss that for anything! He married a very sweet and kind woman, Maria. My grandpa has found someone to spend his time with and we are truly happy for them both. I don't have a single photo though! I was so busy corralling kiddos that I didn't take a single shot. Boo.

The rest of the weekend was super busy and super fun. Saturday we took our family photos.

Here is an outtake photo that makes me laugh. Don't worry mom, there are others that are cuter. This was just kind of funny. Trying to get 4 children 4 and under to smile is impossible.

We also got some photos of our whole family which I'm still working on editing. Gimme time, nothing gets done quickly around here anymore.

On Sunday we went to Grand Island for Wyatt's 4th birthday! It was all about dinosaurs and spiderman. Again, not a single photo. Boo. But it was so much fun spending time with everyone and my niece and nephew are getting so incredibly big. They're gorgeous children and have so much personality. I just love them so much!

The rest of the time was spent meeting up with grandpa and Maria, my uncle Bruce and just trying to hang out at my parent's house. Quinn got to visit the park pretty often, my mom and I got the chance to see a movie, and the kids got to swim in a little kiddie pool.

So then we headed to KC. I have more photos of the cousins playing together in KC than I got in Nebraska. I wish I had more of Quinn and Kellen with Wyatt and Bella. Heather, that is our priority next time!!!

So if you have a Target store by you, let me give you the head's up to their $1 section right now. I don't know if it's true for all Targets or the ones in KC but they have the most awesome mustache, party glasses selection! Alexa and I found these and were all over it! We really wanted a whole family photo with everyone wearing some version of the glasses but it didn't happen... this time. I have saved them for the future though!

How awesome is this photo of Quinn and Addison? I LOVE IT

And this might be one of my new favorite photos of Quinn. She gives me this expression all the time. It's the blank stare/ generic response face when she knows I'm expecting an answer but she doesn't know the question. Too cute!

We really tried to at least get the 4 kids to wear the glasses for a picture but Cassidy wasn't having it. I don't have any photos of her from this camera, only video. Hoping that my other camera has photos of her because she needs to be represented! She is so stinking cute.

Since Cassidy walked off, and Quinn walked off, that left Addison and Kellen on the blanket playing.

Our last day there we went to Deanna Rose Farm in KC. Grandma and Grandpa are great sports when it comes to my photo suggestions! Look at Quinn's tiny head with sunglasses poking through. ha!

There is so much more to tell you about. I'll have to save it for another post!

A Month of Firsts

2011-05-23T22:07:00.003-05:00

It has been an exciting past few weeks in terms of "firsts" for the kids.

Let's start with Quinn. She got to see her first pro baseball game with daddy a couple weeks ago. He managed to capture a few pictures as they were getting rained out. She was able to enjoy peanuts, her new baseball glove and ball, and visiting with daddy's coworkers (mommy and Kellen stayed home). Jas said she loved it and did so well!

She's getting rained on and loving it

This photo makes you wonder if anyone else went to the game

And today Quinn finally had her very first haircut! This is 2 1/2 years in the making, people!

You can see how long and shaggy the back of her hair was. In the middle, the photo shows her enjoying a good read. And on the right, we have a new, short, sassy do!

The haircut place was recommended by over 10 moms in our neighborhood. It's right around the corner from us (convenient) and they had plenty to keep her busy. The stylist was super quick in cutting Quinn's hair. All while she enjoyed sitting in a barbie car, watching a barbie movie, eating a lollipop and being told how beautiful she is. Then they follow it up with a hairstyle, new barrett, painted fingernails, balloon, glittery star on her cheek, before and after photos of the haircut, certificate of accomplishment and a lock of hair in a baggie!

And since she was such a rockstar about the whole thing, mommy bought her a brand new book

She's reading the book before we even get in the front door

And now for Kellen's first: he's crawling!!! It's still wobbly but he goes forward instead of backward, that's an improvement! He's not fast yet so he doesn't really accomplish much. But give him a few days and he'll be all over the place!

8 Month Photo Shoot

2011-05-16T21:28:00.002-05:00

You've probably seen this pose before. Perhaps many times before. But I've never done it with my own children. And since Kellen is at the perfect stage for it, I decided I had better hurry and capture this before he's crawling (which will be very soon).

Kellen Turns 8 Months old on the 9th!

2011-05-07T16:54:00.005-05:00

Kellen, look at mommy!

We're going to take some pictures of you for your 8 month photos!

That's right baby, you're 8 months old! You're such a big boy!

Oh wait, mommy put the wrong month sticker on your onesie...

I'm sorry! I swear!

I didn't mean to

We'll just do this photo shoot again with the right sticker!

or not...

Versatile Blogger Award!

2011-05-05T08:59:00.005-05:00

Toni, from Breaking for Big Red has awarded me the versatile blogger award! This is kind of fun, and thank you Toni! She started the blog to journal their upcoming move to Nebraska. She is married to my dad's cousin and although we have not yet met (at least I don't think we have), I just know that we would get along famously! Not only is she a great writer, but I detect a great sense of humor as well.

For those of you that I am awarding the versatile blogger award to, there are 3 tasks to complete upon acceptance:

1. Thank the person who awarded you

2. Share 7 interesting facts about yourself

3. Award 15 bloggers you've recently discovered

I agree with Toni on the 15 bloggers, that seems like a lot. I only *know* a few of the bloggers I have listed on the side. Most of them I read on a daily basis but have never left so much as a comment.

I present to you, recipients of the Versatile Blogger Award:

Runge Times

Cal Slayton

Holz Herald

All Because Two People Fell In Love

Mumbo Jumbo

Enjoying This Moment

And now for 7 pieces of information about me:

1. I have a younger sister. We fit the labels of older and younger sibling while growing up but we both agree that if you met us today, you'd think she was the older one. Somehow, my sister matured and I just sort of... stopped. I think it's a compliment!

2. I love salmon. Could eat it in any form for every meal. Almost. I tried smoked salmon once and had to end up trading meals with my father-in-law because it was just too gross.

3. I think in terms of photos and movies. Everything I observe is somehow "captured" in my point of view as a photo or part of a movie. It's an obsession. I'm just glad that most of the time, the movie is a comedy.

4. Goals are my motivation. Without goals I find life depressing.

5. I read. A lot.

6. Somedays, when life is going smoothly and a smile is plastered on my face, I want a third child. I think a third would complete us. Other days, when everyone is crying and bills are laying on the counter and sleep is a long lost memory, I don't want a third.

7. I plan to visit every continent except Antarctica in my lifetime. I'm not against Antarctica, it's just not a "goal". I've been to North America (duh), Africa and Europe. Next year, for our 5 year anniversary, we are going back and forth on South America vs. Asia. Any opinions out there? We're saving Australia for the future, when we have the proper time and money to devote to it.

Update on Kellen

2011-05-04T14:56:00.003-05:00

A small rash has broken out all over Kellen's body. Right away I had a hunch what it was. And in no way am I claiming to truly know what this rash is. At least not without seeing the doctor. But since he's in a good mood for the first time since Saturday and doesn't seem to be bothered by the rash, I don't feel it's necessary (at this time) to rush him to the docs.

In my previous post, I mentioned he wasn't feeling well. He had a low grade fever, slightly lethargic and a smaller appetite than usual. But overall he seemed to be okay, just not feeling 100%. And he really did have a tooth coming in. You can't see it in this photo but he now has two chompers on the bottom!

But today he's happy again, almost back to my normal Kellen. He's eating more, has more energy and absolutely no fever. Then the rash broke out. It's not raised, doesn't seem to bother him at all and doesn't have me too concerned overall.

I'm guessing roseola. A virus that is common in babies his age. If he gets worse or starts to not feel well again I'll call the doctor. Until then, I think he's starting to get better!

WWCD

2011-05-04T08:31:00.003-05:00

My mother-in-law, Cecilia, is a crafty and clever problem solver. I've told her this before, and she usually just laughs. However, Jason and I have adopted the saying "what would Cecilia do" when we encounter an obstacle.

For example, when we were moving into this house a year ago, Bruce and Jason were moving furniture in through the garage to the house. It opens to the laundry room and then into a hallway (two doors to go through that open towards each other). Bruce asked if we could hold open the door. I rushed over to hold it open, only to realize that my large pregnant belly was blocking the way.

I was stumped. There wasn't anything to put at the bottom of the door to hold it open, that would just be in there way as they tried to squeeze through. Obviously I couldn't hold the door open myself because I would be blocking the way.

And then Cecilia had one of her clever ideas. She grabbed a plastic bag (like the ones from the grocery store), and wrapped one plastic bag handle around the door to the garage, another plastic bag handle around the hallway door so that they were held open together. Voila, genius!

She definitely had it wrapped around the handles better than I can do.

I just wanted to provide you with a visual

There are many more examples to share but I think the example above sums it up nicely.

So the other day when Jas told me that he went into the garage to tackle something and he thought to himself, "what would Cecilia do", I pictured this in my head:

I would totally wear this and reference it often

Rainy Weekend

2011-05-02T21:50:00.004-05:00

Last week's storms blew part of our fence down. Not really the worst thing to happen since Jason had already gathered quotes to have a new one put up anyway. But while he was "on the fence" about it (forgive me, hehe), this took it from maybe to definitely.

Before the rainy weather started, the contractors arrived Saturday morning and had it finished by early evening. Pretty impressive. It looks great and is nice to have. Now we have the staining left to do.

The landscaping is part of our neighbor's yard

Here are some quick photos of Quinn and Kellen playing in his crib. Quinn likes to get in and always wants him to join her. He gets a kick out of it.

I love how he watches her

On Saturday, my cheerful, smiley pumpkin stopped smiling. He has a new tooth popping through on the bottom. With a low grade temp, some drool, lots of fussiness and a mass amount of sleep, this is the most I got out of him the whole weekend, including today.

He's miserable. So rest assured, his mommy gave him lots of snuggles and kisses and love.

Garage Full of Good Intentions

2011-04-28T13:41:00.004-05:00

In a nutshell, here are the projects that I've been working on:

We're painting our black frames white. I'm making a magnetic chalkboard for the playroom, I've converted a mirror from freecycle.org into a magnetic chalkboard for my office, and I'm making the white oval tray into a chalkboard for the kitchen. I know, lots of chalk talk (excuse me, I'm in a mood today. It's gorgeous outside and I'm feeling giddy).

Oh, and that gray silhouette in the middle? That's my project I'm super excited about. I just about thought of it all by myself. Almost...

See, I found a tutorial online about making a wooden silhouette to hold jewelry. Specifically, necklaces. And since mine are tossed in a canvas basket in the bathroom closet, I could really use something more... stylish.

The tutorial used an old victorian silhouette and they propped it on a desk. Cute, but I had something else in mind!

Since Quinn's hair has finally started to grow, I love the little curls that form at the base of her neck. And this isn't going to last forever. After her first haircut, they'll be gone. So I wanted to capture that girly cuteness somehow.

This is perfect! I took a photo of her profile, put it through photoshop, printed it out to size, cut out the template, traced it on some wood and jigsawed the shape out. Now I'm painting and finishing! I think I'll add a frame around it and hang it in the bathroom. When it's done, I'll show you pics!

Do you guys have this many paint cans in your garage too? It's borderline ridiculous. But I swear I use them all!

And here is what drives Jason nuts! My frames.

I keep finding them at garage sales for super cheap. Seriously, only $1 or $2 each!

The white one is what will become the playroom magnetic chalkboard.

It was originally a dresser mirror. It almost looks like Pottery Barn's version doesn't it? I'll show pics when I get it finished!

See the chandelier? (It's by the back of the blue car) I got that on freecycle.org, too! We don't agree on what to do with it. Obviously it needs to be painted. I'd like to put it above our table where the world's ugliest light fixture currently resides. Jas says it's too big. We'll see.

On another note: I want this cookbook

I've seen two different interviews featuring his recipes and I'm anxious to try them. I'm not necessarily on a diet, but I'm always interested in healthy foods. Betty Crocker is great but I always feel a little guilty when cooking with shortening. I think I even apologize for it when I serve the food. Plus, this cookbook on my counter would make for some acceptable eye candy. (what?! I'm married, not dead!)

Week In Review

2011-04-25T13:38:00.005-05:00

Let's start with this morning's activities:

I made playdough for the first time. I randomly found it online and decided it looked easy enough. Quinn absolutely loved it. It wasn't even messy to make... or clean up!
The recipe I used:

Play dough

~1 cup plain flour

~1 cup warm water

~1/2 cup salt

~1 TBL cooking oil (I used canola)

~1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Add all ingredients to room temperature cooking pan. Turn the heat on lowest setting and stir ingredients, non-stop, until it forms a ball (took less than 5 minutes for me). Scoop out and put onto counter or cutting board. Divide into any number of sections that you want to color.

Then add drops of color into middle of balls and fold dough until color is mixed.

Here is my masterpiece. It's Jason. See the resemblance? He does have green eyes, you know.

Last week I took pictures of Quinn dancing to Bubble Guppies. She is IN LOVE with this show.

She doesn't sit and watch the show, she dances and sings along. The side table next to our tv (it holds up the dvr and wii station) has a cabinet underneath that houses her props. Microphone, guitar, hat, baton, clipboard... you name it. If it's used as a prop by the bubble guppies as they sing, she has it. Then she just gets them out as she needs them.

We are exploring the wonderful world of hair. It's getting so long now that it's in her eyes and I have to figure out some way to keep it back. I present to you: the pebble 'do'

Kellen is rocking the solid foods

Loves to eat!

Saturday we had our family pictures taken. SO EXCITED TO SEE THEM! I made a few props for the shoot, including mustaches. Jas helped me cut them out. In the process, we made a quick goatee and 'stache for Kellen. Handsome, don't you think?

And now for Easter. We started the day with German pancakes and Peeps.

And we ended it with Jason's masterpiece: Pecan crusted pork tenderloin, roasted red potatoes, Pear and Gorgonzola salad and my all-time favorite, stuffed mushrooms.

The tenderloin was so amazing I'm going to pass the recipe to you. It's Paula Deen (of course).

Pecan Crusted Pork Tenderloin

1 cup ground Pecans (I put mine in food processor)

1 cup bread crumbs (Panko is my favorite)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp ground red pepper flakes

2 large eggs

1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed

~Preheat 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and grease the foil. In shallow dish, combine ground pecans, bread crumbs, brown sugar, salt, pepper and red pepper.

~In seperate dish, lightly beat the eggs. Dip tenderloin in eggs to coat. Dredge tenderloin through pecan mixture and completely cover. Arrange on baking sheet until internal temp reaches approx. 160 degree, about 20 minutes.

There was leftover pecan mixture b/c recipe is for two tenderloins. Jas used this as the stuffing for the mushrooms. He added a bit of the gorgonzola to it. AWESOME

Kellen's First Tooth

2011-04-20T12:31:00.004-05:00

We've been seeing a lot of this lately

And this

And then this little guy popped through!

It's been about 3 weeks. The tooth started poking through while he was 6 months (he's now a whopping 7!). It's not fully through yet but it's close. And there are a few coming up as we speak!

What the Kids Have Been Up To

2011-04-15T13:39:00.006-05:00

Here is an update on what the kiddos have been up to:

Both of them were lying on the couch under a blanket together. No arguing, no screaming. Just sharing a blanket.

Quinn even gave Kellen his binkie so he could go to sleep while she watched a movie. How sweet

Both got new sunglasses for summer

We're about to go for a walk in the perfect weather we had at the beginning of the week

Quinn got a new tricycle. What are hardwood floors for if not to ride your new bike on?

I'm fascinated by what she must be thinking. She opened every egg and laid them out in a pattern around herself.

Our Rug has Arrived

2011-04-15T12:35:00.005-05:00

The orange and cream zebra print rug arrived yesterday. It's GORGEOUS! After cutting it out of the wrapping, we put it in the front living room. However, it's WAY too small for that room. The rug is a small square that is lost in the middle. We then moved it to our bedroom where we are very happy with it. It's such a punch of color in there!

Perhaps this cute little pillow from etsy and some new lampshades would be great additions?

We have a long way to go on our bedroom. It's an awkward shape that we're struggling to figure out with the furniture we have. What you don't really see is the alcove with all the windows (to the left, that's where the gray rug is). We haven't agreed yet what to do with the space. In front of the bed is a large blank wall. We currently have an old tv there but that needs to change. The tv is outdated and bulky. On the right side is the entrance to the bathroom and our vertical dresser. We don't have much choice there. And of course, above the bed, we have nothing on the walls. We don't agree how to decorate it either. I'd also like new side tables. Ones with drawers and shelving and the ability to hide lamp cords. Cords that show are a pet peeve. How ugly.

Decor For our Home

2011-04-08T12:49:00.008-05:00

I've got projects galore being worked on in the garage and in the house. Last weekend we tackled so much Saturday that we lost steam come Sunday. This weekend we're pretty booked with social activities so I'm not sure how much will get done. The wainscoting in the dining room is so close to being finished. I need to sand and add one more layer of paint to the ledge and moulding and then Jas has to install it. That's about it for that one!

We're also thinking of hanging lots of photos in the front living room. But they need to be white frames, not black. That means more painting. No biggie, just time consuming.

Last Saturday morning I headed out garage sale-ing by myself, early in the morning. Craigslist told me of a neighborhood garage sale that rocked last fall so it had to be good this time around too, right?! The postings on Craigslist said they'd open at 8am "NO EARLY BIRDS"! Well, I'm often up at 5am to feed Kellen and don't see the point in going back to sleep when I can just kick it with morning coffee and DVR. But I had to wait... and wait... and wait... to get on the road to garage sale-ing. So I watched a movie. Finally, around 7am I decided to head out to the neighborhood and canvas until they opened. Um, hello people! I was LATE! The home owners told me that people started showing up at 6:30 with flashlights. So when I got there at 7:30, some of the good stuff was gone. Boo!

I did score some great stuff though. A white tray for $.25, an awesome mirror for $15 and a great dresser mirror that I'm turning into a chalkboard for the playroom for $2! I started painting the chalkboard piece last week, will definitely post when it's done. It's too cool.

Here is a rug that I found on overstock.com today that I absolutely have to have!

And guess what? I bought it! So excited to put this in either the formal living room or our bedroom. Not sure yet.

I found this gem of a pillow on VintageRevivals blog (see side bar). This pillow belongs in my house. It's not that my ego is big, it's that my sense of humor is firmly in tact.

Plus, it totally goes with our gray-themed bedroom.

The original idea for our bedroom is to use gray as the base color and add in... something else. I'm loving yellow. (Note: I'm not claiming to be original here. I just really love it!)

I found this pillow on etsy (Urban Fringe) . I love it. I love it. I love it. It's so completely me.

I think this would make a beautiful accent in the room as well!

In case we decide to use the zebra rug in our room, then these orange pillows have a fighting chance

Tutus are the Best

2011-04-06T12:41:00.004-05:00

Quinn wasn't tired enough to take a nap yesterday. After finally giving in, I told her she could get up if she helped mama take photos. So we played dress up and she got lots of bunny shaped marshmallows as a bribe.

These chubby toddler legs kill me

She just doesn't look like a two year old. So serious!

Kellen The Cabbie

2011-03-31T15:59:00.004-05:00

Hey you! Yeah, you! Ya need a ride?

I got room in tha back here

Just hand me yo stuff. I'll put it in. You go's ahead and hop in back.

Don't gimme that look. I knows how to drive.

I gots both hands on the wheel, see. Just like I was taught.

Don't tell me you don't trust this face.

Celebrating Jason's Birthday

2011-03-30T19:45:00.005-05:00

Here is a recap of Jason's birthday celebration the other night:

Quinn helped me make cupcakes. She helped me make the batter and pour it into the cupcake papers. When they were all done, we had a cupcake decorating party!

It took Quinn the longest to decorate. Not only did she decorate Kellen's for him, but she had to lick all the frosting off her fingers in between each application.

Probably not necessary to label owners of cupcakes. I'm sure some of it would be obvious just looking at the frosting...

Since we had just celebrated Dax's 3rd birthday at Chuck E. Cheese, Quinn knew the birthday song and sang it well!

Happy Birthday Daddy

Papa and Grandma Fuller Visit

2011-03-30T19:17:00.007-05:00

Jason's parents were in town this weekend.

The babies were SPOILED

We went shopping and had ice cream

Bruce and Cecilia even babysat the kiddos while Jason and I took our first date night in over 6 months!

On Sunday we had a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese (or Charles E. Cheese as Jas calls it) for a friend's 3 year old son. Quinn and old Charles got along like two thieves.

We tried a couple of times to capture a photo of the three of us. But the mini cupcakes won Quinn's attention.

On the way home I made Jas stop at a bluebonnet field by our house. These are sometimes hard to find but always highly coveted by anyone wanting to capture the annual bluebonnet photo of their child. I only had my point and shoot on me so I grabbed a few, quick photos of Quinn "hopping" along.

Literally.

She's yelling "Hop" in this photo.

"Hop"

It's always lots of fun when grandma and papa visit. Quinn is still telling me all the things that she did with grandma and papa. Especially putting change into the piggy bank. She doesn't make me do it, I guess that's just a gma and gpa thing. But she tells me about it every time she finds a coin!