Archive for June 2012

Friday, June 29, 2012

Friday Five

It's Friday! 
I'm celebrating making it through the week with these 5 things today.


1. Early morning workout while watching Pregnant in Heels.

2. Juicing with my buddy Vance. (celery, carrot, apple)

3. Library trip with the kids. (they've finished the first level of their summer reading program and are excited to get their first "prize".)

4. Toenail painting with my buddy Vaughn.

5. Pepper Harvesting. Possibly more pepper roasting?


Happy Friday!




Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Stressed Out Kids.


The stress of the summer is really getting to the kids.

The commitments, the deadlines, the late nights and early mornings. Can't a kid be a kid? 

I kid. 

This is what happens when Fancy Nancy's Oh La La, It's Beauty Day! gets brought home from the library.


...............


We're nearing that stage of summer where it's getting too hot to be outside and I'm running out of good ideas to keep my associates busy inside so that headquarters keeps running smoothly. 


I Bet You Didn't Know...


-that my tomatoes are finally starting to turn red


-that my pepper plant has a gazillion peppers on it

-that I don't know what to do with a gazillion peppers


-that I ordered fabric for Vaughn's curtains yesterday


-that I'm test driving new contacts. Have tried 4 types
 and picked up 3 more yesterday. Starting to think
 contacts just aren't for me.


-that it's supposed to be 108 degrees here tomorrow


-that I have a hard time writing when a 4 year old is sitting   
 next to me trying to design my wedding dress and is annoyed 
 that I won't stop typing and tell her if I want orange sleeves
 or red shoes


Like right now


I must go. Have a great Wednesday! 


Ole! It's Taco night for us - what is it for you?





  


Monday, June 25, 2012

Weekend Update: Purina Farms!

Over the weekend we went to Purina Farms. Yes, they have farm animals but the main attraction is the Dog Show. 

(Dog Show! Anyone remember the SNL skit?)

Vance had seen the dog show at a school assembly and he was excited to see them again. Together we were telling Vaughn about it and I mentioned there were animals there that you could pet. 

"But can we cuddle them?", she asked.


However, 30 minutes before leaving the house that morning, the wanna be animal cuddler started screaming that her ear hurts, which more than explained her whiny behavior for the days recently. 

I knew it was Swimmers Ear. She gets it easily and I always put drops in after being in the water but I guess they're not fool proof. Quickly, we left the house, took her to a Take Care clinic, stopped and got gas, drove to another pharmacy to pick up her meds, and still managed to make it to Purina Farms on time. 

A freaking record for an urgent care trip. 



(Mommy Rant: She's 4. She can tell me when she's hungry, when she's thirsty, even when there's a hair on the inside of her shirt and is tickling her back, but ignores ear pain until it gets to the point of screaming and crying.) 

Onto the Farm!

                                                         

Did you know that visiting Purina Farms is free? Parking is free too. The only thing that you have to do is call ahead and make a reservation. I liked this place because there's no stress involved. It's small, fun for the kids, and doesn't have to be an all day affair. 

The dog show was amazing! It was the highlight of the day.


We rounded out the day with a little fishing, a little lounging, and rounds of Tylenol and ear drops for Vaughn.

And because we like to live on the edge, we riskily took the kids out to dinner, knowing a Vaughnie-meltdown could happen at any moment. But all was well! Lettuce wraps were eaten and the chopstick drumming was kept at a minimum. 


What was the highlight of your weekend? Hope it was a good one!


Friday, June 22, 2012

Kids and Their Made Up Words



Barkative  
(bark-a-tive) adj. A dog who barks a lot. 

"Daisy was not very barkative."

This is the newest made up word that the kids have come up with. I've heard them use it more than once and find it hilarious, especially when Vaughn says it. "That doggy is very barkative!"

Have your kids come up with any other good ones?

...............
Other nonsense:
Silly me wore my good running shoes on the day that we unknowingly got into poison ivy. Remember that? I've washed them once but still can't bring myself to wear them, touch them, or even look at them...until this morning. Growing tired of not being able to work out I almost bought a new pair yesterday but couldn't do it. Throwing away perfect shoes with pricey inserts and chucking over all that money was ridiculous. I sucked it up,  double gloved myself and scrubbed my shoes (again). Now I just have to wait for them to dry and put in the new shoestrings. I did splurge for those :) 

It's Friday! Happy Weekend!

(next week I'll be talking Kahlua Cake and hopefully will be ready to give an update on the furniture that I'm painting for Vaughn's room. On the edge of your seats, I know!)






Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Salt Art!


Looking around for a quick project for the kids yesterday I came across this one from Our Big Earth. Click HERE to go on over to see how it's done!

The tutorial didn't say if they let the glue dry before painting, but that's what we did. The kids had fun squeezing out the glue onto the paper and sprinkling the salt. The salting is a little messy so we did that outside. Vance said it looked like minerals and he was right, it did.

It was a fun, quick little project but it's one of those that's hard to keep around as the salt keeps falling off. It's a Make and Toss!

It's Wednesday!
.................
  Upper 90's today where we live, so it's going to be a hot one! 



Sunday, June 17, 2012

What We Haven't Been Doing This Summer

Last week I didn't post as often as I usually do and it felt nice. It was one of those weeks where it felt busy but looking back we really didn't do too much. Which I guess what's summer is all about. 

We weren't inside doing laundry, we headed outside and made bubble prints. 


We didn't run to the store, ate leftovers instead and stayed inside playing Trouble.

     

I didn't mop the floor, because chalking outside is more fun. 


I didn't sit in front of the computer and attempt to write a post, so there was time for fishing.


The dry cleaning pile didn't get dropped off to the cleaners because we took advantage of a cooler day to have a picnic and enjoy the butterflies.


We always look forward to Vance's games. 


We could have done yard work but going to the park seemed like a better idea. 


What are you doing or not doing this summer? 


Monday, June 11, 2012

Beating the Heat with Michelob ULTRA Light Cider


I don't know where you live, but where I live?

It. Is. Hot.

High 90's and it's only early June. Looks like I better get used to the heat because it's not going anywhere soon! Time to make lemonade out of lemons or (cider out of apples!) and embrace summer!

I'm a fan of Anheuser Busch's Michelob ULTRA product line and was excited to hear about their newest addition to the family: Light Cider. When I first saw it at the grocery store I was surprised to see that it was light in color. Silly me, I was expecting it to be darker in color like your typical ciders!


Believe me, there is nothing typical about this Light Cider. There is a crispness to the flavor that's distinct and while I think it would be great in any season, it just seems to go hand-in-hand with summer. It's so very light and refreshing! To me, when I think of cider 3 adjectives come to mind: heavy, dark, and too sweet.

None of these refer to Michelob ULTRA's Light Cider!

The Light Cider features a more subtle sweetness than traditional ciders. The taste comes from hand-picked apples and is naturally sweetened. And keeping with the ideals of Michelob Ultra and how they cater to active, fitness oriented adults, the Light Cider is of course low-cal and low-carb. It's perfect for those watching calories because it has one-third fewer calories than the average leading hard ciders. As an added bonus it's gluten free too! All these attributes make it the perfect beverage for swimsuit season!

I can tolerate the heat when I have something cold and refreshing to drink that makes it all worth while. The Light Cider can be enjoyed straight from the bottle or over ice, which is perfect for me because I like to have options. (I preferred it over ice.) Speaking of options, the Light Cider would be a refreshing, lighter alternative to white wine.


Here's a picture of me. Excited to be outdoors and embracing the elements with a frosty Michelob ULTRA Light Cider.

So let me hear it - Which favorite summer meal or activity do you think would go best with Michelob ULTRA Light Cider? I'd love to hear!

P.S. Click here to go to the Sponsor's site! Also, find out more and visit the Michelob ULTRA Light Cider page on BlogHer.com.

   

Thursday, June 07, 2012

Summer Bucket List - 2012

Here it is! Our Summer Bucket List!






(See last summer's list HERE.)

I was happy with how much we were able to get done on last year's list. It definitely served its purpose and got us up and moving and doing things that we normally don't do around this city.

I just read a post over at Nesting Place, where she talks about how many summers she has left until her three boys leave for college. (Go over and read it - you'll be glad you did!) She's figured that she has a total of 18 summers left before her youngest leaves for college and is determined to make the most of each of them. Her perspective got me thinking and I'm determined to do the same.

It really hit home yesterday when I told the kids we were going on a picnic and Vance said, with a clenched fist, "Yessss! Awesome!" and I laughed to myself because he got so excited about a picnic. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I bet a can count on one hand how many years I have left until picnics, bubbles, popsicles on hot days, and simple things like that loose their luster. Truth is, I'm going to miss it when that happens.

So! Here's to having fun and making everyday count! 

The kids had lots of ideas, so looks like we're going to be busy! I left room just in case we want to add anything too. 


Are you like me and need a list to keep you going through the summer? How does your family do Summer Vacation? I'd love to know!

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Who's Eating Our Birdseed Now?



We bought a new squirrel proof feeder which seemed to have solved the problem. But! We started noticing that the feeder was always empty. I'd fill it in the afternoon and the morning after it would be gone. "Wow, that was fast. The birds must be hungry!" It didn't seem like a crazy idea - we have a lot of birds.  

Ha! Silly us.

We also have a lot of deer. 

We've been noticing more of them lately and have seen them in the morning and sometimes even in the afternoon wandering around the backyard. Which is just a bit weird. (It could be that word has spread about my salsa garden. Do deer eat tomatoes and peppers? How about cilantro and basil?)

I went out to fill the bird feeders yesterday and found 3 large piles of poo right under the feeder. After Googling I found out that it's deer poop. The deer are eating the bird food! 

I like my birds. Why won't nature let me enjoy the birds!?!

So, to all the deer out there, I'm onto you. And know this - I'm not buying the fancy pants bird food anymore. Your 2 bag a week addiction is breaking me. From here on out it's the cheap stuff and you better hope that the birds like it too. 

 

Anyone have tricks to keep deer away from bird feeders? I've read that you can put deer food in a different location to keep them away but I'd rather not do that.

In other news, it's Wednesday. Enjoy it.

UPDATE:
I snapped this picture this morning. Proof! 






Tuesday, June 05, 2012

Baseball and Butterfly Birthday Round Up

Birthday Month is over for us and here's a quick round up on the festivities.

(If you're new here: Both my kids have birthdays in May and it gets a little nutso.)

We kicked everything off with Vaughn's birthday with non-food classroom treats. We wanted everyone in her class to be able to join in on the birthday fun and with a classroom full of allergies and diet restrictions this was what we came up with. The kids loved it and so did the teachers! (No mess to clean up!) Also, it came out to be cheaper than ordering cupcakes! Click on the picture for the tutorial.


Next up was the cakes for her real birthday celebration. Click on the picture for the tutorial. Click HERE for her birthday post.


This was Vaughn's cake for the family birthday celebration. She wanted a chocolate cake with pink icing and butterflies, so that's what she got! There was purple icing on the inside as a surprise!


Vance wanted the Oreo cake just like last year and the year before that, so that's what I made for him.

Next up was Vance's friend party. Here's some of them climbing - they had a great time!


A bunch of 7 year old boys move pretty fast and I hardly took any pictures because of it. Not pictured were all the cupcakes that had baseball rings and St. Louis Cardinal picks in them. They were cute!


Here's the party favors that I made for the kids. I cut grass scrapbooking paper to fit at the bottom of the cupcake box, then filled it with a few baseball themed items. (Baseball pool toy, St. Louis Cardinal disc launcher, and St. Louis Cardinal vinyl anti-glare eye stickers) I printed the cards on red card stock, then cut, and punched a hole in each of them. I used black and white bakers twine to finish them off. 


I lucked out and didn't have to do classroom treats for Vance this year. School got out before his birthday and with all the birthday stuff and end of school year to-do's going on I forgot to ask his teacher if I could send something in early. Don't worry - no one missed out on anything! 

That leads us to Vance's real birthday which I wrote about here. He asked for Oreo brownies. 


So, as you can see, it's been a revolving door of desserts around here! Time to detox! 

Birthday Month, see you again next year!

  

Monday, June 04, 2012

The Time That We Invaded Dallas

For the past 4 days I've been surrounded by people I love the most and always have the most fun with. I'm a little sad and am missing them all today. 

It's been quite some time that my immediate family has lived in the same city. 7 years to be exact. 

We're a close family and the time that we lived near each other is so full of great memories that it's easy to get caught up in thinking about what it would be like to be that way again. I have to stop myself before I get too deep in thought about that because as much as I'd like it to be that way, I know the chances are extremely slim that we'll ever live in the same city again.

I have to believe that everyone else feels the same way because of times like these when we go out of our way to just to spend a few days together. I've learned that family is what you make of it and I feel fortunate that we always make the most of it.

So...  

My cousin's son graduated from high school and we used this occasion for a mini family reunion. Resourceful we are! And always up for a party! As I've said before, "We don't just show up, we invade!" I didn't get a lot of pictures, but here's a few that sum up the trip.

Breakfast as a group.



The girls lunched and shopped at American Girl, while the boys played Laser Tag and other boy stuff.



Can you imagine how much fun these 4 had being together all day long? Plus having ADJOINING hotel rooms? Non-stop action night and day! 


Graduation pool party!


At the end of each day we'd pile into two cars and head back to the hotel. I laughed so hard that I cried on this particular trip that included a drive-thru stop at In-N-Out.  


And just like that we're back on a plane, looking forward to the next opportunity that we have to be together again. 


An extra thanks to my cousin and her family for hosting and including us in the celebration! We had more than a blast! 

(Also, Justin and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary while we were there. We spent most of the day apart and I didn't even get a picture of us together. He went out of his way and snuck a present down for me after both agreeing to not get each other anything. I'm a lucky lady to be married to him! It's a busy week and weekend for him, but hopefully we'll get to celebrate next weekend. Looking forward to it!)

Happy Monday Everyone! 




 

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