Tuesday, March 29, 2011

MESSY

Little Miss is SUCH a messy eater.
But at least she eats.
(unlike some other munchkins I know)

Monday, March 28, 2011

REMEMBER THIS?

 Remember this?
Our icky, moldy tub?


 .
.
.
Well, it has transformed.
It has been a couple of weeks..but hey, better late than never.
Right?



The toilet was also turned at the same time.



Daddy's helpers!



There is still more we want/need to do in there,
but its a big improvement. 

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

SPRING INTO SPRING

 Last Friday evening, we went to a "Spring into Spring" event at Fairview Lake..not what I expected it to be, but everyone had fun anyway.  Plus, the weather was so nice it was great to spend time as a family outdoors.
We started off inside with some snacks.
 Next there were some games/relay races on the field.
The kids didn't really get the concept of the relay...
we let them have their own turn (as you can see there was quite an age difference between our bunch and most of the other kids) after the bigger kids ran their relay, so as not to slow anyone down.
It was cute and they had a blast.




 Next we went to the fire pit and cooked some s'mores..

 Yummy!!



 After that we went to the stream to look for "critters."
The kids each got a net and had to scoop up some water and see if there were any interesting creatures in it..
It was getting pretty dark at that point.


Finally, we went back to where we started to make some windsocks..and use the potty.


I think we were the last ones to leave.
It was a nice time.
Now, today it is snowing pretty hard.
Lets hope Spring is here for the season soon!!

BETTER-THAN-BEEP BROWNIES

I made the brownies.
The recipe made it sound like these were just the BEST brownies ever--totally over the top.
Well, they were okay.
I expected better.

In fact, I liked the Layers of Love Brownies much better.
So there.
I also ended up making the apple cider donuts..
the donut part was good..we didn't like the glaze.   So I whipped up a cinnamon/sugar coating instead and it was soo much better.
Thats that.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

FAMILY TRADITION

 My little biker-wannabe.
Too cute.
Hi, Everyone!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

BATH

Somebody loves his bath!!

"I'M DONE!!!"

"I'm done!!" is about the only thing I've been hearing around here lately it seems. 
Rian is on day #2 of wearing underpants (during the day only). 
She is doing a great job!

Thursday, March 10, 2011

UP TO


So what has my big boy been up to?
Travis is 3 months old..
he first rolled over on March 1st.
The hard way.
Back to tummy.
He is finally over his sickness--THANKFULLY!!
It was/is horrible watching him (or any of them) suffer and not being able to do anything..
He is also becoming quite vocal, squealing and cooing, laughing.
While he was sick, he was not sleeping through the night, which was understandable..but I think we're just about back on track.
Last night he slept 8 hours.
He is such a wiggle-butt..he wants to GO!!
He nearly climbed out of his bumbo seat yesterday!
I think he needs a reminder that he is only 3 months old.
He is also very alert and wants to see what is going on all around him.  He has discovered his fingers and sucks on them constantly.  He is also learning how to grasp onto things and beginning to show interest in toys. 
He loves his play mat!
At last measuring (which was a couple of weeks ago) he weighed 14.5 lbs and measured 24 inches.
Pretty much everyone who looks at him manages to work in a comment on how big he is.
Overall, he seems like a pretty happy guy.
:)

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

FOR THE VIEWERS AMUSEMENT

You can find this photo at the Lakeland Bank website.
And on various billboards around the area.
Why am I sharing?

Well, yesterday Mike came home and handed me a piece of paper..with a picture of this.
A co-worker of his actually stopped and took a photo of the billboard, printed out a bunch of copies, and hung them around the shop..its now the "talk of the town" how much this remembles Mike.
Funny.
Funny.
Ha ha ha!!
It made me laugh.
I guess you can see a resemblance..the billboard one is a lil better, but I couldn't get a clear picture of the picture.
What do you think?  Any likeness??

Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

THIS.

This has been getting a lot of use lately.
For some odd reason,
I've been compelled to bake lately.
I mean, a lot.
Well, a lot more than I normally would.
A lot more than I have in the past 5 1/2 years of marriage.

My husband's place of business gets quite a good sized portion of the results.
He tells me that we have a "love-hate relationship."
They love that I send things in with him, but hate the extra weight gain (though I don't really think I've sent in THAT much!).
Really, why do you think I send it in with him?
I certainly don't need it with all my extra baby weight hanging on..
and hubby certainly doesn't need it with all his extra... uh, baby weight.. hanging on..and the kids can only eat so much.
I think I've been baking rather than cooking simply because I have most, if not all, of the ingredients necessary for the recipes..whereas for cooking, I always need to go purchase at least 3 or 4 ingredients  that I don't have in the house.  So it could get costly.
I like trying new things.
Two recipes I tried recently (independent of each other) that we didn't like..potato soup and balsamic chicken..
Some winners?

No Knead-Bread
Mini Nutella Cheesecake
Chewy Brownie Bundt Cake
French Toast Casserole
Layers of Love Chocolate Brownies
Skadoodlhoppers
Dream Bars
Homemade Girl Scout Cookies--Samoas (of course!!)
Coconut Cream Pie
Roast Pork and Vegetable Stew
Buttery Dinner Rolls
French Crumb Apple Pie
Crock Pot Pulled Pork
Impossible Coconut Pie
etc..

They are all easy and tasty.
The verdict is still out on the Meatball Casserole.  I think I went a little too heavy on the garlic..

I got most of the recipes at various food blogs or other sites, so if anyone is interested in trying any, I can add some links at another time.

A few that are on my "To Try" list:
(you are warned LandRover)

Apple Cider Donuts
Sweet Potato Soup
"Better than Beep Brownies"
One Pan Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie

Any simple, yummy recipes on your table tonight??

Monday, March 7, 2011

HEADLESS

Michael lost his head at breakfast.
Don't worry. 
He found it again later on.
Silly boy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY




March is full of Birthdays...
This past Thursday was Mike's birthday.
Last year in the twenties..
Above is a cake that he had at work.
I didn't make him a traditional cake this year..
I made good ol' apple pie.
And the kids got to stay up late so we could all eat together and
open a few presents..







Happy Birthday, Daddy!!
We love you

We had a joint birthday celebration for all of the March birthdays--Mike, Mom, Sherilyn, and Steven--on Saturday.
But I didn't take any pictures on my phone..
Happy birthday to all!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

BLURT

I figured the first of March deserved a post.  The sun is shining..the snow if melting (!!)..even a few birds out there singing.  Spring is on its way!!!!!  I cannot wait!  So, I'm done with the "Love Month."  Something of a relief..though it made for quick, easy posting.  Nothing profound to say.  I'll just let you in on a few happenings lately and upcoming.

  1.   In the next 12 days, we get to celebrate 5 birthdays.  Starting with hubby and his twin.  March is jam packed!  June must be a good month.  ;)
  2.   We will also be celebrating a birth soon--no family, just friends.
  3. Our tub is finally tiled and lookin' good...someday we'll be able to finish the entire bathroom...and move on to the entire house :/ Its unfortunate that these things require $$ and time.
  4. We've been sick for the past couple of weeks..still working on getting better.
  5. Nothing worse than seeing an infant suffer and not being able to do anything about it
  6. I've been battling with the insurance company and finally got things straightened out (whew)
  7. We've decided to go ahead and commit to a year of homeschooling.  We'll see how it goes.
  8. Mike is treasurer of his FD and now has an even bigger work load than before
  9. I'll stop there because my baby is beginning to fuss.
  10. Happy March everyone!!