Thankfully, things have slowed down at our house. I'm having a hard time coming up with 10 items because we didn't attend 5 different parties this week. But, I am enjoying the slower pace, and I'm so glad that I've had a little extra time to tick a few things off my to-do list. Such as. . .
1. Re-caulking the bathrooms. I know, I know. It's completely pathetic that I'm getting excited about caulking the bathrooms. It was actually a pretty frustrating/lame project for a beautiful Saturday afternoon. But, I happen to have two little boys who don't always have the best aim, and the caulking all around the toilets was seriously disgusting. I could not get it clean, so it needed to be replaced, and now I'm so glad the job is done.
2. Speaking of toilets. . . (Oh! This is going to be such an exciting post! Can you tell?!) Naughty boy #3 has recently discovered the joy of unrolling an entire toll of toilet paper, shoving it in the toilet, giving it a a big stir with the toilet bowl brush, and then waving the brush in the air while running down the hallway. I am pretty Nazi about keeping the bathroom doors closed because I'm paranoid about Blake falling in the toilet, but it looks like Blake is getting better at opening doorknobs. Ugh. I don't really want to lock the door or put child proof knobs on because of boy #1 and boy #2 who also need to use the bathroom. What a pain. I might actually have to start watching the little stinker. Kidding. Kind of.
Naughty #3 also loves to jump in the mega sized pothole/swimming pool that is currently located at the base of our driveway. He's officially joined the polar bear club.
On a positive note, last week Blake made big steps in his vocabulary. He started to repeat sounds when I asked him too---which he usually refuses to do. This week he learned "Nana," "Drew," "Ball," and "Ni-Ni" (translation: binky ---BTW, Reed has informed me that it is spelled binky---not binki---why didn't someone else mention that?). I'm pretty sure he is also trying to say please "Pssss!"
3. More exciting to-do list items. . . (In case you couldn't tell, I really like lists. And, I love to cross things off my to-do list!). Buy a needle. I don't have one single needle to my name. My mom came over yesterday and helped me with some mending projects. We finally fixed the skirt the was ruined in this little incident. When she left I decided to try and sew on a few buttons while I had all of my sewing things out. I didn't get far, because I could not find one single needle in the entire house. Pathetic. I know. I'm not much of a seamstress, can you tell? My Mom gave me a sewing machine as a gift when I graduated from college, and I'm so glad I have it. . . although, I would be even more glad if I really knew how to use it. That is why I am really trying to figure out this whole sewing thing. Yesterday I actually wound a bobbin and threaded my machine all by myself. No help from Mom, and no cursing. Baby steps, people. Hopefully this pillow project will get underway soon, and I can take my skills to a new level.
4. Still more exciting news. . . The valentine mix is here!
1. Re-caulking the bathrooms. I know, I know. It's completely pathetic that I'm getting excited about caulking the bathrooms. It was actually a pretty frustrating/lame project for a beautiful Saturday afternoon. But, I happen to have two little boys who don't always have the best aim, and the caulking all around the toilets was seriously disgusting. I could not get it clean, so it needed to be replaced, and now I'm so glad the job is done.
2. Speaking of toilets. . . (Oh! This is going to be such an exciting post! Can you tell?!) Naughty boy #3 has recently discovered the joy of unrolling an entire toll of toilet paper, shoving it in the toilet, giving it a a big stir with the toilet bowl brush, and then waving the brush in the air while running down the hallway. I am pretty Nazi about keeping the bathroom doors closed because I'm paranoid about Blake falling in the toilet, but it looks like Blake is getting better at opening doorknobs. Ugh. I don't really want to lock the door or put child proof knobs on because of boy #1 and boy #2 who also need to use the bathroom. What a pain. I might actually have to start watching the little stinker. Kidding. Kind of.
Naughty #3 also loves to jump in the mega sized pothole/swimming pool that is currently located at the base of our driveway. He's officially joined the polar bear club.
On a positive note, last week Blake made big steps in his vocabulary. He started to repeat sounds when I asked him too---which he usually refuses to do. This week he learned "Nana," "Drew," "Ball," and "Ni-Ni" (translation: binky ---BTW, Reed has informed me that it is spelled binky---not binki---why didn't someone else mention that?). I'm pretty sure he is also trying to say please "Pssss!"
3. More exciting to-do list items. . . (In case you couldn't tell, I really like lists. And, I love to cross things off my to-do list!). Buy a needle. I don't have one single needle to my name. My mom came over yesterday and helped me with some mending projects. We finally fixed the skirt the was ruined in this little incident. When she left I decided to try and sew on a few buttons while I had all of my sewing things out. I didn't get far, because I could not find one single needle in the entire house. Pathetic. I know. I'm not much of a seamstress, can you tell? My Mom gave me a sewing machine as a gift when I graduated from college, and I'm so glad I have it. . . although, I would be even more glad if I really knew how to use it. That is why I am really trying to figure out this whole sewing thing. Yesterday I actually wound a bobbin and threaded my machine all by myself. No help from Mom, and no cursing. Baby steps, people. Hopefully this pillow project will get underway soon, and I can take my skills to a new level.
4. Still more exciting news. . . The valentine mix is here!
5. It's been awhile since I've been able to sit down and watch TV in the evenings. Which is okay since I've been busy and there hasn't really been anything on that I'm interested in. But, I have to say that I'm a little bit excited for American Idol to start tonight. Really, I'm not an AI fan. I usually lose interest once the real competition starts. But, I always find the auditions hysterical/unbelievable, and I'm looking forward to a good laugh.
I am also totally excited for the premier of LOST next week. Wahoo!
Also, 24 started this week. I haven't seen it yet. Last season was pretty lame, so I'm not sure if I want to get sucked in again. But, so far the reviews have been good, so I'll probably give it a chance.
6. Last week the dinner group went really well. Yeah, it was a pain to cook on my day, but I was amazed at how much time it freed up for me the rest of the week. Usually by dinner time I am cooking and all of the kids are hungry and want my attention. Not my favorite time of day. But last week instead of messing up my kitchen and ignoring the kids, I was able to help them clean up, look through their backpacks, and relax until dinner time. Beautiful! Once dinner was over, the kitchen was already clean! Which translated into extra free time for me in the evenings. Beautiful! The food was good, and we had leftovers for lunch all week. So far, so good. Last week I made Chicken with Pasta and Sun dried Tomatoes. Tonight I'm making Chicken Fajitas with Fresh Pineapple, Chips and Cowboy Caviar. Yum! Wish me luck! I love this recipe for Chicken Fajitas, so I thought I'd share:
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/8 cup vegetable oil
2 chicken breasts
½ chopped onion
Flour tortilla ( I love the uncooked ones from Costco)
Lettuce
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Salsa
Trim fat and cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Mix marinade and add chicken and onion. Let sit in refrigerator if desired. Cook in skillet until chicken is done and marinade has reduced. Serve in warm tortillas with your choice of toppings.
1/4 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/8 cup vegetable oil
2 chicken breasts
½ chopped onion
Flour tortilla ( I love the uncooked ones from Costco)
Lettuce
Shredded cheddar cheese
Sour cream
Salsa
Trim fat and cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Mix marinade and add chicken and onion. Let sit in refrigerator if desired. Cook in skillet until chicken is done and marinade has reduced. Serve in warm tortillas with your choice of toppings.
7. This is the newest addition to my kitchen counter. No matter how hard I try to clear off my counter, somethings always fills the empty space. My kids are pretty excited about watching Scooby Doo's hair grow. Oh the wonders. . .
Speaking of Scooby Doo. . . Ty loves his Scooby Doo t-shirt that he wears to bed. The other night he asked for it, and I accidentally gave him his Lightning McQueen shirt instead (they are both light blue). Apparently he didn't notice. . . at least not until the next morning when he woke me up screaming that he wanted Scooby Dooby Doo! Oh the joys of being a mom.
8. Overheard at my house this week :
3 minutes after I put the boys to bed.
Ty: Mom, I'm having nightmares.
Me: No you're not. Go to bed.
Michael: Ty, if you don't want to have nightmares, say a prayer. Or, just lick your finger and stick it in your ear.
Later.
Me: Laughing at Michael's response.
Reed: I might have told him to do that once. . .
The next morning. I was up before the kids. Rare. Trying to get ready for 9 am visiting teaching appointments.
Michael: Huh? You're out of bed? I thought you were a morning sleeper?
9. This Saturday was Michael's much anticipated 1st basketball practice. Reed decided to coach, and he spent a couple of hours on Saturday looking up basketball drills on the Internet and typing up an agenda for their 1st practice. He even went to the library and picked up a book on coaching youth basketball. When it was all said and done, Michael had a great time. Reed, not so much.
Reed: It was pure chaos! What was I thinking volunteering to be the coach?! I was going to teach them some skills! What a mess! What are we going to do during a real game?!
Me: Um, yeah?! They are five years old.
10. I was thumbing through a book that I got at the library and there were tons of pictures of "inspiration boards." I liked them, and decided to make one in my kitchen. It's been fun.
I also have been thinking for awhile that I would like to start a new blog where I can keep things that inspire me. Things I like to look at, think about, dream of, or listen to. Not really a place for funny stories and pics of the kids (like this blog). So this week I finally sat down and created a new blog, but. . . I'm having second thoughts. I don't want it to be a drain on my time---I don't want to feel pressured to post regularly. I just want a place to keep pictures and links when I see something I like. And, I guess there is really no good reason I can't keep it all on this blog. So, for now I'm just going to keep one blog going, but you may find that my posts are not all as family-memory-oriented as in the past. We'll see. So, how about we start with . . .
This.
This is where I'd rather be right now. In the sun and fresh air. Relaxing with this fabulous book that I can't seem to find time to read.
Maybe that's because I've been blogging for half a century trying to get this post out. Hmm. BTW, I accidentally posted this about half-way through, and I couldn't figure out how to un-post it without deleting the post. Any suggestions?
13 comments:
Valentine mix?? What the heck is that? Can I buy it or do I make it myself?
It's just the "Sweet's Quality Candy" mix. You can buy the mix or choose your favorites. They sell it at Smith's in the back of the store by the dairy stuff.
I'm going to try the "lick your finger and stick it in your ear" idea the next time my kids have a hard time going to sleep.
I absolutely loved The Book Thief! We read it for book club and I too had a hard time putting it down. As for the sun, come to my house - it's 90 outside!
Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia! Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia! Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia Pet! Oh, and I think you can the candy mix at Bowmans too.
That candy looks delicious.
The Fajita's were delicious.
I am really jealous of your Chia Pet. I have really always wanted on since like 1985 and my mom wouldnt let me get one.
I'm afriad I got the list-making genes as well. After school got out I sat down for literally an hour writing down all the stuff I've been wanting to get done but haven't had time. All I've been doing for the past two weeks is checking things off my list.
I wonder what else Reed has told your boys... :) Funny, funny!
I swear there is always a reason to have candy in the house - Christmas, Valentines Day, Easter...I've got to stop somewhere! We're still working on our Christmas candy!
That's funny that Michael already knows you so well to know that you're a "morning sleeper!" Hilarious kid.
And I can't believe you can pull off these meals each week. How many people are you cooking for? I imagine it's a total of 4 families if you cook one night and have the rest off all week.
Love checking things off the to do list. I did not have caulking the toilets on my list but now it is.
ok seriously i just lost it. first over the vision of blake waving your toilet brush around the house and then "just lick your finger and stick it in your ear" hahahhahah. i'm in the library getting some weird looks again. . .
You know how to chaulk? You're pretty handy, I might have to hire you to fix some stuff in my house. Will you work for valentine mix, ha ha?
I laughed so hard at Reed's response to Michael's first basketball practice. I still feel like that with the 8th graders I coach! It was just great fun to hear someone else expressing it! Thanks!
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