Not Your Typical Saturday Morning

It is so wonderful when you get to the point where you are no longer woken up to crying. Now, we are usually woken up to sweet sounds of laughter and squeals. But within the cuteness of it all sometimes I wish I had stayed in bed a bit longer. Only because opening the door to this:

...makes me want to pull out all my hair while screaming uncontrollably. At least until I see this:

...and then all is better once more. Because who is not going to laugh at this? 

Those two stinkin' cuties are just too stinkin' cute!

10 Goals

It's been a good week! It was extremely busy over the weekend, so nothing in the Home category got touched. Oh well, I'm gonna embrace this quote while I can:

 

"Please excuse the mess. The children's are making memories." 

~ Unknown ~

 

 

FAMILY/MOTHERING:

1.  Read a chapter from Winnie the Pooh & the Hundred Acre Wood each night, plus 1 book chosen by Andrew.

2. Work on ABCs and numbers 1-3.

3. Bedtime prayers.

PERSONAL:

1. Finish Bake Sale Murder. Start The Reapers are the Angels (from A Good Story... Podcast)

2. Get the necessary info from Church on becoming a Eucharistic Minister. I have some comments on this.

3. Zumba I just started this again today :) 

4. Go to bed by 11. Let's see if that will work instead.  YAY ME!!

 

HOME:

1. Get Andrew's window replaced.... That will be fun story to share later.

2. Fix pantry light.

3. Yard maintenance - We will have a few nice days this week, so hopefully I can get the yard taken care of (final mowing, weeding, trimming, etc...)

4. Start getting Christmas gifts! Can you believe it!? I have started! Just not finished :)

 

This week's goals:

 

Family/Mothering:

1. Bedtime story

2. Bedtime prayers

3. Continue working on ABC/123s

 

Personal: 

1. Finish The Reapers are the Angels. Start Between Heaven and Mirth

2. Eucharistic Ministry - I plan on calling the person in charge by Wednesday to get this going. I just have some concerns (not religious. that wouldn't make sense. this explanation may have to wait...)

3. Keep up the work out!!

4. Keep getting to bed by 11 - I've been good at this so far.  

Home: 

1. Fix Andrew's window

2. Pantry light repair

3. Yard

 

 

 

Let the Halloween Festivities Begin!

Happy Halloween from Dino Dan aka Andrew!

Andrew is Dino Dan this year, as you can see. 

Complete with Dinoculars - for getting a better look at the King of the Dinosaurs.

Which I think he may have found...

Yep! He found the King of the Dinos aka the T-Rex aka Alex!

Such a cute dinosaur, too!

But don't get too close...

Dino Dan checks his Dino Dan Field Guide to make sure that he has in fact spotted the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Nope. His field guide say he is only Alex - LOL!

Best Halloween costumes yet! And for a pretty cheap penny, too!

Dino Dan outfit - had the t-shirt, had the shorts (has khaki already just in case it is colder). Vest $2 from consignment sale. Binoculars $5 Toys R Us sale. Dino Stickers to make the binoculars the dinoculars , I had those. Field Guide $1 Spot at Target over the summer. $8 TOTAL

Dinosaur Costumer for Alex - on sale $15 at Children's Place back in August. Sweet.

Happy Halloween!

Wordless Wednesday

A Mini Clay Matthews HEHE!
Y'all remember the commercial I shared a few posts back? He just saw it and started to copy! Love it!

Happy Fall Y'all - From Andrew!

Andrew brought this home from school today! See the tractor? That's his footprint! Very clever!! 

Funny Face

LOL That's my sillypants!

Mellow Mushroom

After Sunday Mass, we headed over to Mellow Mushroom for lunch. Love that place. I swear it's the best pizza ever. And, Sundays are the days to go it seems. We were one of, like, 3 other tables there until the rest of the churches around town were done. 

Anyhoo! Andrew LOVES watching the pizza guys throw the pizza. Wish I had gotten a pic of that - oh, well. But the waitress LOVED Andrew! She brought him some pizza dough to play with  while waiting for ours. Fun!

10 Goals

Well, it was a pretty successful week, I believe. Here are last's weeks goals:

FAMILY/MOTHERING
1. Read 30 mins a day (pretty easy since they both love books)
2. Read 1 bedtime story from Best-Loved Tales 3 Minute Stories (Actually finished the book. Andrew loved it!)
3. Work on the ABCs
4. Start saying a bedtime prayer. (well, sort of. Andrew has learned "Amen" while folding his hands. He only touches his head for the Sign of the Cross, too. Good job, little man!)
5. Date night with my hubby (ended up being family night - still fun!)

PERSONAL
1. Finish reading Something Borrowed by Emily Griffin; start reading Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner and Power Foods (Whole Foods/Martha Stewart) (I did not like the first 1/3 of Then Came You so I ended it)
2. Finish valance for playroom/office (sorta)
3. Stop staying up so late! Riiiiigggght

HOME
1. Fix pantry doors.
2. Organize the boys' closet - again...
3. Menu Plan/Grocery List

Now for this week's goals:

FAMILY/MOTHERING:

1.  Read a chapter from Winnie the Pooh & the Hundred Acre Wood each night, plus 1 book chosen by Andrew.

2. Work on ABCs and numbers 1-3.

3. Bedtime prayers.

PERSONAL:

1. Finish Bake Sale Murder. Start The Reapers are the Angels (from A Good Story... Podcast)

2. Get the necessary info from Church on becoming a Eucharistic Minister.

3. Zumba I just started this again today :) 

4. Go to bed by 11. Let's see if that will work instead. 

HOME:

1. Get Andrew's window replaced.... That will be fun story to share later. 

2. Fix pantry light.

3. Yard maintenance - We will have a few nice days this week, so hopefully I can get the yard taken care of (final mowing, weeding, trimming, etc...)

4. Start getting Christmas gifts! Can you believe it!?

What are your plans for this week? Link up here!

 

Freezer Cooking Fridays

Yes, this is Sunday... I know this. And, I baked a little tiny bit on Friday. I also cheated and did some freezer cooking during the week.

But, see, once you get the hang of the whole freezer cooking thing, it suddenly happens when it isn't the scheduled day.

Anyhoo! A wonderful friend of mine, Kendra, had beautiful Baby B at the end of September, but was not able to come home with her in the very beginning. But, due to a numerous about of loving friends and family keeping Mama and Baby B in their prayers everyday until she was able to come home. So, about 3 weeks later B was home!! YAY! So, while they are getting used to routines and whatnot, friends and family have been cooking and/or whatever else to help. This week was mainly for you, girl!

This is what I made for the new mama the past few days:

Chicken Taco Chili
Tortellini Soup
Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread
**All of the sides and things I will have for her, too. :) YUM! What was awesome was that these recipes were so large that ended up with 3 meals of the dinner. So, we had ours the night I made it, I have hers and another night in the freezer. Sweet. Thank you, OAMM!

The other reason for my freezer cooking this week is for my Church's Bake Sale! So, I have a loaf of the cream cheese pumpkin bread and a batch of chocolate chip muffins for that. If you are a local and are interested in the bake sale, please head over to our Facebook page. I will have more about information about it later this week.

I will be making a lot more yummy items this week. The holidays are coming up and I plan on bringing the goodies. So, stay tuned!

Alex the Crawler

There is another child on the move in the House. It is OFFICIAL! Alex is a crawler! Just a few days after the 6-month mark - just like Andrew. So far he has done everything like his brother. Uh-oh. That means I only have 3 months until he's gonna try walking. Nice. :)

The Simple Things

Brothers = Best Friends.

Tidbits - Chick Peeps

On the days Andrew has school, I ask him where he would like to go for lunch. 

Some times it is "hot dog"- meaning Sonic.

Sometimes it is Donald's - for the famous golden arches.

But the best days are when he asks for "Chick Peeps" - When he asks to go to Chick-Fil-A, Please :)

There's a Giraffe at a Playground

On the way home the other day, Jason and I caught a glimpse of a park that had a giraffe. This morning we took the boys there. 

 

Pretty random, huh? There are no signs for the animals either. But, Andrew was pretty excited to see a baby elephant, a giraffe, and a larger-than-life fish!

He is so much more confident on the equipment now that he is in preschool. I wish I had gotten a picture of him climbing a ladder! I had no idea he could do that! WOW!

Alex's first time on the swings!! There were 4 swings here and Andrew pointed to each saying, "Daddy. Mama. Andoo. Alex." I wasn't too sure, but he is crawling so why not?

He loved it! You can see him smiling, but I wish you could hear him! He would giggle and squeal on his way back to me. LOL

 Tired after swinging.

 Off to one side of the park was this little river that was lined with some huge rocks. Andrew was super excited about this since he LOVES rocks!

Leaping over for a better look.

Looking for fish since Jason told him that giant fish jumped out of the water.

Watching the water.

Trying to catch the bubbles made by a mini whirlpool from the mini waterfall.


Gorgeous. This maybe our new favorite.

Tips for Baby Feeding Magic #feedingmagic #spon

Thanks to Plum Organics for sponsoring my post about tips for baby feeding magic. What if you let baby choose what's for dinner? Check out their cute "Quest for Yum!" video and see what happens!

Welcome to the world of solids, baby! 

Tip #1: Baby will let you know when it is time to add in the solids. Between the ages of 4-6 months, your baby will be eating like crazy and will be much more active. If he/she is sitting up and rolling all over the place, then it is time to start the cereal. Now, if you happen to have baby on the move, like I do...let's start filling in the rainbow!

Tip #2: Eat a Rainbow! Really!
Red: Apples, Strawberries
Orange: Um...oranges! Pumpkin (it's that time of year!)
Yellow: Lemon (mixed with other fruits), Bananas
Green: Peas, Spinach, Granny Smith Apples, Greens beans
Blue: Blueberries
Purple: Eggplant, Plums, Raspberries, Blackberries
I am pretty sure that the possibilities are endless when trying to eat a rainbow. But, if you start now with this idea, you will find yourself with a super start eater in the months/years to come. 

Tip #3: Keep trying...Don't Give Up! Any "Yo Gabba Gabba" fans in the House? Just because your little one isn't interested in the bananas today doesn't mean a thing. Remember, that is a tiny little person who is just now learning how things taste. They never had a banana until now. Things like this take time. Try it for about a week and if still no, then try next month. 


Tip #4: Food allergies, eh? Go organic when you can. With my oldest, this was an issue. We had no idea what he was allergic to since he was eating everything in sight. The allergist said eggs and nuts. Not true. This may hold true for some children, yes. So speak with your doctor before trying things out. I, however, knew that it could not be possible. We stayed away from those foods for a year, and then gradually introduced them again. What do you know? Andrew is NOT allergic to eggs or nuts - he is allergic to HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! What?! See? Your body DOES know the difference between corn sugar and cane sugar. Let's have the real stuff! So, when you can - GO ORGANIC for baby foods and toddler snacks. Ever since the "Adventures in Allergies" with Andrew, we have bought organic baby food. 


Tip #5: Have fun! So what if there is a mess? Isn't that what this is all about? Take pictures of that adorable 1-tooth grin with a face covered in smashed carrots. Eat ice cream in your diaper. Enjoy these moments, parents. These times are going to fly by. 

 

If you think my babies are pretty cute, then you will like this little video about a baby on a quest for something yummy!

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. To learn more about Plum Organics, visit their Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/PlumOrganics.

Wordless Wednesday

Guess Who I Met Last Night?!

PAULA DEEEEEEEEEEN!!!!!

 Oh, my gosh! Rach and I met PAULA DEEN! And her hubby, Michael.

It. Was. AWESOME!

And, yes, they are even cuter in person! You can totally see how much they are in love with each other.

Thank you, Rachel, for getting this pic! I wish I could have gotten one of you, too.

I have never met any one for-real famous. Ok, an astronaut, but not Neil Armstrong or anyone like that. Anyway, this was my convo with the Fabulous Paula Deen:

Me: "I just. I just. I just LOVE YOU!" (lots of nervous laughter)

Lame-o guy moving me along. It's not like I was the girl who was 4 people ahead of us telling her life story... Seriously. 

Paula (in her buttery -ha!- Southern accent): "And I return that love to you, sugar!"

That's right. Paula called me SUGAR! 

Can I just say for the 500th time since yesterday afternoon....

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

That was the highlight of this week!! WOOT!!

Paula's autograph and her hubby's, too!

 Paula's awesome tour bus! Again, thanks, Rachel for this pic, too :)

Ah, what a great night! And, yes, starting next month I plan on making EVERYTHING in this book until it's all been done. Good thing the holidays are right around the corner...

TIS THE SEASON FOR EATING!!