Start of the Week Stuff

Well, it's been a few months! I had surgery at the beginning of November and I've been spending all of my free time on the couch with my iPhone. As great as that phone is, I wasn't about to try to make a blog post on the tiny keyboard.
After 6 weeks of doing as little as possible around here I'm needing to work my way back to real life, which means menu planning. I know it's the week before Christmas and things are a bit crazy right now, but I can't put it off anymore (we ate pasta and crock pot chicken way too many times last week!). I'm still getting tired really easily, so I'm trying to stick with quick, easy recipes, but that's not easy this week.


Menu:
Monday- tacos
Tuesday- Easy crock pot potato soup
Wednesday-
Thursday- Crockpot Italian Chicken (over pasta)
Friday-
Saturday-
Sunday- strata (for breakfast), bringing stuffing, cranberry sauce, and peppermint rice krispies


To-Do's:
Monday- grocery shopping
Tuesday-
Wednesday- getting eyebrows done
Thursday- bake cookies with the kids
Friday-
Saturday- cook, cook, cook
Sunday- Christmas!

Catching Up...

I went to a woman's retreat last weekend with my church and wasn't home to post my usual posts. I actually did get home Sunday night, but I took yesterday "off". I still had to do all the kid taxiing and care, but I didn't do much of anything else productive.


Scrapbook Friday:

Britt's new kit this week is her Halloween kit, Frightfully Delightful. It's super cute, but I had no Halloween pictures left to scrap (going back quite a few years). Luckily almost every Halloween kit has orange and black in it, so I can always make it work with anything Giants themed (and there's always a lot of that). I decided to scrap these pictures that Megan took of us last spring, and I'm loving how this one turned out!

full credits here

*This layout got a Gallery Standout at SM, check it out. :D

Start of the Week Stuff:

This week has become a little crazy. Monday I was too tried to think about meal planning, we had leftover pizza for dinner. Tuesday we were supposed to have family over for dinner, but that fell through at the last minute. Then R got sick, so M and N had pb&j and Matthew and I had tomato soup that I happened to have in the fridge. Now I can't take a sick kid to the grocery store, and we're really running out of food! M took the last banana in her lunch today which caused N to throw quite the fit when I had to tell him he couldn't have one for breakfast. We're out of yogurt, almost out of apples, and I have nothing left in the house for dinner other than pasta. I may have to try to run out tonight after Matthew gets home from work, bleh.

R seems to be feeling better today, so I'm hoping he's over it and nobody else gets sick! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning, and a dinner to go to tomorrow night, soccer on Saturday, and we were planning on going to the pumpkin patch with our friends on Sunday.

Anyway, not the typical start of the week post, but it has not been the typical week.

Start of the week Stuff

Menu:
Monday- crock pot salsa chicken nachos
Tuesday- pizza and salad
Wednesday- crock pot salsa chicken quesadillas
Thursday- cowboy casserole and salad
Friday-
Saturday-
Sunday-


To-Do's:
Monday- parent teacher conferences, dance, soccer, soccer (soccer canceled due to rain)
Tuesday- grocery shopping, dinner with dad
Wednesday- soccer for M
Thursday- errands in town (??)
Friday- woman's retreat :)

Scrapbook Friday

Britt has a new flashback kit for this month, Incredi-Boy, a collab with GG Digital Designs. When I saw this was going to be the flashback I knew I had to scrap these pictures from Halloween '09. I've been trying to work on 2010 and 2011 mostly, but how could I not scrap these now? Look how little my babies were! *sniff*

Start of the Week Stuff

Menu:
Monday- crock pot bbq chicken sandwiches (which are still stuck to the crock pot even after soaking and scrubbing with everything I could think of, ugg!)
Tuesday- family dinner here, pizza!
Wednesday- tacos
Thursday- tomato soup and grilled cheese
Friday- ?
Saturday- something easy peasy
Sunday- same...


To-Do's:
Monday- dance, soccer, soccer (R's was canceled due to rain, M's was not, but we skipped it)
Tuesday- take the car to shop (not planned, but when it started acting up this morning I had no choice), laundry, clean house, bake dessert, family over
Wednesday- soccer for M
Thursday- small group
Friday- pumpkin patch field trip for R, soccer for R, Mack High's homecoming game??
Saturday- soccer for both kids (on my own, games at the same time again)
Sunday- church, work in nursery

Scrapbook Friday

Britt's new kit this week is Nom, Nom, Nom (and a cute coordinating alpha). This kit is perfect for all those baby in the highchair photos (and so much more!). It also coordinates with Britt's Signature Style kit for one mega kit!
I love these pictures of N, and I love how the layout turned out. :)

full credits here

My Little Man

Just a couple cute shots of my little 2-year-old. It was surprisingly warm yesterday so this favorite outfit of mine got another chance to be worn. Of course I just had to snap some pictures while I had the chance. :) Enjoy.




*A funny little note that doesn't really have anything to do with these pictures:
I decided today to try again with making his pacifier be only for naps/bedtime. He asked for it after nap today and I told him I put them up and they were for sleeping only now. He looked at me and smiled and said, "You teasing Mommy!". Sorry Buster, I'm not teasing.

A Little Bit of Fall & Some Fun Finds

Well, it's almost October (HOW is that possible?!?) and my bin of fall decorations is up in the "attic" still. Matthew built a storage space above the garage back when he drove a van with a latter on it. No problem that we don't actually own a latter, he always had one with him. Well, he doesn't drive a van anymore, and the latter that use to be in the back of his new work rig is no longer there. Problem.

So, my fall decorations are looking a little sad right now. I have two shelves that are a little confused as to what season it actually is.
First is my very fun candy corn tree and my cute Target clearance bird that I painted aqua blue (I waited out the clearance so long that purple was all that was left). I love the color, but it looks a little out of place next to that candy corn.

My other shelf has my super exciting Ross find, a great big lantern! When I brought it home it was bright pink and actually matched the canvas we have over the couch (which is what it's next to), but I knew I didn't want to leave it pink. I stood in the spray paint section of Home Depot for a good 10 minutes before I decided to just be "safe" and go with red. I knew red would work well in my house, and I also knew it would match most of the holidays I decorate for. I would have loved to go with lime green or something totally fun, but it would look just as out of place as that bird if I'd done that, and I love it too much to only have it out some of the time. I put some leftover party decor up there next to it for the time being and I do think it works better than the other shelf.


My poor bookshelves in the dining room are so pathetic I won't even show them to you right now. There's very little up there, and what is there isn't really arranged at all.
I'm hopeful that Matthew will find a latter to barrow this weekend and get my bin down for me, but I'm not holding my breath. Soon enough I'll be able to start putting out Christmas stuff anyway, as long as he gets the bins down by then I'll be happy.

Start of the Week Stuff

Oops, I didn't blog at all last week, sorry!! I have some posts in mine, just no time to post them. Maybe this week. :)


Menu:
Monday- Easy Crock Pot Potato Soup (until this triple threat of after school activities is over Monday is officially crock pot night)
Tuesday- tacos
Wednesday- grilled cheese with bacon and apple (I cannot get enough of this!)
Thursday- not sure yet...
Friday- pasta
Saturday- breakfast
Sunday- Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos and Quick and Easy Black Beans


To-Do's:
Monday- dance, soccer, soccer
Tuesday- grocery store
Wednesday- soccer for M
Thursday- small group
Friday- soccer for R
Saturday- soccer games, birthday party for M?
Sunday- church

The week doesn't look as crazy when I write it down, but I'm sure things will come up.

Start of the Week Stuff

The kids have an in-service day today (or as they're called nowadays, a "professional development day") so they're all home with me. It's actually been kind of nice to have a lazy start to our crazy Monday. We still have dance and double soccer practices this afternoon, but I'm enjoying the calm before the storm.
The apartments behind our house are having some trees cut down, so we've been watching that on and off all morning, those guys are impressive! While N napped I helped the older two make some props for their Halloween costumes (that sure brings back memories!). Toilet paper tubes, cardboard, and some tin foil and we now have a microphone for Hannah Montana and a dagger for the Ninja Turtle (speaking of bringing back memories...).
This week is going to be just as crazy as last week was, but I feel like it hasn't really started yet. Guess I better get ready for it soon!

Menu:
Monday- Chicken Enchilada Soup (in the crock pot) and maybe some corn bread if there's time
Tuesday- mac-n-cheese for the kidlets, pizza for me at the PTO meeting
Wednesday- meatloaf and mashed potatoes
Thursday- enchiladas
Friday- leftovers
Saturday- something easy
Sunday- ...and again :)

To-Do's:
Monday- dance, soccer, soccer
Tuesday- grocery store, PTO meeting
Wednesday- N's 2 year appointment, M's soccer practice
Thursday- picture day for kids, cable guy here
Friday- R's soccer, mom's night out
Saturday- soccer games for both kids
Sunday- church

Scrapbook Saturay :)

Britt has some really fun end of summer goodies out (yesterday)! I'm loving the bright colors! End of Summer Goodies (which was a chat prize a few weeks ago), and a new coordinating paper pack, End of Summer Papers. Here's what I scrapped with them.

full credits

I can't wait to use these goodies more with all the pictures I took over the summer!



Editing this post to add another layout I just finished, just for fun this time. :) Yesterday I tried to scrap all of our camping photos on one page and quickly decided that was not going to work. I'm thinking the summer may need it's own album with all the pictures I took! :)

credits here

Fall Recipes

It's been cool and gloomy here this week and I'm in the mood for some yummy fall recipes! I'm sitting here drinking hot cider and searching Pinterest for soups and casseroles to try soon.
Here are a few that I plan on testing out in the next few weeks:

Easy Crock Pot Potato Soup


Chicken Enchilada Soup


Tortellini Sausage Soup


Savory Straws (to go with the soup) LOVE that these can be made ahead and then just popped in the oven!



Sweet Chili

What are your favorite fall recipes? I love this time of year for cooking!

N Turns 2 (brought to you by Pinterest)

Pinterest in the greatest thing ever! Okay, well maybe not ever, but it's pretty awesome! I pretty much did all of N's birthday party from ideas I found on there.

I went with a camping theme, mainly because I thought it would be fun and unique, but still easy enough to do. I loved the idea of a red wagon theme, but I couldn't find much out there, and everything I did find looked like it would take a lot more money to pull off.

The cake: This was a mix of a few different cakes I saw on Pinterest. I wanted to do two trees, but I ran out of green frosting and barely got that one tree covered, so that had to do. I love how the campfire turned out though!

The food and decorations: I had the kids collect some sticks and pine cones when we were camping last month and just stuck them in jars I already had (gotta love free!). I added some tags from a digi scrapbook kit I bought when I made the invitations with string I already had (that was my idea, one of the only things I didn't find on Pinterest, lol).
I also made a little "Don't feed the bears" sign and put one of the boys' teddy bears next to it (another Pinterest idea), and grabbed the lantern from our camping stuff.
For food I made a s'more trail mix (mini marshmallows, chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate), and golden grahams cereal), and then just did goldfish crackers, and watermelon. I also put out the rest of the giant marshmallows that I bought for the party favors.



I didn't take a picture of the favors (although I still could, I have a ton left!), but I did giant marshmallows, graham crackers, and mini Hersey's bars with a tag that said "s'more fun for later". I thought they turned out super cute!

Okay, on to some party pics of my birthday boy! :)

N loves marshmallows, and once he figured out he could reach the bowl he kept picking them out of there. He was too cute, so I didn't stop him. I love how he has one hand shoving them in his mouth and the other hand still grabbing them from the bowl!

On his very tippy toes!

He was so cute opening his presents this year! It makes me excited for Christmas (now I just have to figure out what to get him).

He loved being sung to!


He started off trying to use his fork like a big boy...

But quickly went with the quickest and easiest way to get that cake into his mouth!


It was a fun little party! N loved being outside and running around with all the kids!

Start of the Week Stuff

This week starts the full-on crazy Monday schedule. I just keep reminding myself that it's only for 7 Mondays and then soccer will be over, and one of those Mondays the kids don't have school, so that will help a little bit. In the mean time I'm just hoping I don't go completely crazy.

Menu:
Monday- crock pot chicken nachos
Tuesday- grilled cheese with apple, cinnamon, and bacon (my new fav!)
Wednesday- crock pot chicken quesadillas
Thursday- pasta with homemade sauce
Friday- chili cornbread casserole
Saturday- something easy
Sunday- again, something easy


To-Do's:
Monday- grocery store, M's dance (4-4:55), M's soccer (4:30-5:30), R's soccer (5:30-6:30) I'm stressed just thinking about it
Tuesday- back to school night
Wednesday- M's soccer
Thursday- errands in town (Target, Costco...)
Friday- R's soccer
Saturday- soccer games for both kids (games at the same time, me by myself)
Sunday- church

Scrapbook Friday

Look at me all on the ball today! lol

This week Britt has a new flashback kit, Jackpot. The kit and coordinating word art are 30% off through September, and she's running a fun challenge on her blog with it as well!

I didn't have any Vegas pictures that I wanted to scrap, but I had been meaning to take pictures of everyone playing games when we were with Matthew's family, and this was just the push I needed to do that. It's something we do every time we are with them, so I really wanted to get a page scrapped about it. I love how this one turned out, and it was fun scrapping something other than my kids for once. :)


Happy Friday Everyone! I'm off to get ready for my baby's 2nd birthday, I can't believe he'll be 2 tomorrow!

Summer Recap

Well, Labor Day weekend is over, and so is summer for us. I'm sure we still have plenty of warm sunny days ahead, we usually don't get our nicest summer weather until September and October around here, but as far as the vacations and schedule-less days, those are behind us until next year.
I think we did really well on our summer list this year!

Luckily my kids consider those popper things you throw to be fireworks, and the slide at the pool in Sunriver was good enough to cover our "waterslides" activity, they're not too hard to please. :) I only changed one thing, and that was the Crabs game. Their season is so short, and we figured a Mariners game was probably a bigger deal anyway. Of the things we didn't do, almost all of them were desserts I was wanting to make with the kids, and although I was super excited for Cars 2 to come out at the start of summer, once I read the reviews I wasn't so excited to see it. We'll catch it when it comes out on video. About those toys that needed cleaning out... that probably shouldn't have been on there, but I did get to some of them, and I think the rest will get done now that the kids are back in school (just as soon as I finish up the 1000 other things I haven't gotten to yet). :)

As sad as I am to see this summer go, I am looking forward to getting my house put back together. I think we spent the whole summer either getting packed up to go somewhere or getting unpacked from somewhere. I've had two suitcases sitting at the foot of my bed for the last 4 months and it will be nice to get them put back where they belong for a bit.

This was by far one of my favorite summers ever and we made lots of fun memories.

We kicked it off in May with a trip down to see the Giants with the kids. Looking back I'm so glad we got to go early in the season before everyone ended up on the DL, we actually got to see Buster play this season!

At the Giants game with Nana and Zack

The boys and I visiting my dad who was also at the game

The next weekend was Memorial weekend and we headed over to Redding. We were going to bring the boat, but the weather was still so yucky that we decided not to. We did a kayak tour of Wiskytown lake on Saturday morning and then spent the rest of the weekend hanging out and relaxing with Matthew's family. Lots of fun, food, and games.

In June we were swamped with softball, t-ball, dance, worship practice, and end of school year activities for the beginning of the month.

the kids last day of school

We headed back over the Redding and the lake the weekend the kids got out of school. More boating, relaxing, eating, and games that weekend.

The next weekend my mom and I headed down to Santa Rosa for a shopping weekend. We had a blast and definitely shopped until we dropped! I found lots of new clothes for myself, and my mom bought me a new purse and wallet that I love!! It was so much fun to get some one-on-one time with her, and we decided to make it a tradition.

We also did some fun projects...

In July we spent some days up at my mom's swimming in the pool.

Matthew and I went down to another Giants game and weekend away for our Anniversary. We went to a game on Friday night, and then spent all day Saturday watching movies and eating yummy food. We went out to one movie, and watched 3 more in our hotel room. It was very relaxing, something we don't get to do together very often!

We came home Sunday and then got ready to head over to Redding on Wednesday of that week (Matthew had the whole week off). We hooked up with the rest of his family and then headed up to Sunriver for the family reunion.


When we got home from that my cousin came to visit, and we spent a couple days up at my mom's hanging out with her and swimming.

In August we went camping with Matthew's family at the lake.

When we got home from that weekend we got ready to head up to Seattle for our biggest trip of the summer. Lots of family, fun, and relaxing were had there.

We got home from Seattle with one week left before school started and I spent the whole week just trying to get back to "normal" life.
One week of school and then we headed back over to Redding for one last boating weekend.
We celebrated the August/September family birthdays (including Mr. N's 2nd birthday) on Saturday and then spent Sunday at the lake.

It was a nice way to cap off the summer.

I'm feeling very bitter-sweet about it being over. I wish we could do this all year long, but at the same time I'm ready to have everyone back on a schedule and not have a toddler sleeping in a pac-n-play at the foot of my bed every weekend. I just hope that next summer is as much fun as this one was!

Playing Catch-Up...

Scrapbook "Friday"

I totally meant to post this on Friday, but I had more to do than time to do it in and I didn't get to it. So, here is my LO from Britt's new product on Friday, Build-a-Princess. These are so much fun to play with!!

full (long list of) credits here

Start of the Week Stuff:

We had one last weekend of "summer" and went over to Redding to hang out with Matthew's family, spend a day on the lake, and celebrate the August/September birthdays. We left right after the kids got out of school on Friday afternoon and got home last night. I ran to the grocery store this morning for some staples, but didn't have time to plan a menu before I went, so I'll probably end up going back later this week. We stopped at my mom's on the way home yesterday and brought home tons of fresh tomatoes, so I know we'll have lots of meals with those this week! Okay, here's what I have for now...

Menu:
Tuesday- pasta with sausage and peppers (and fresh tomatoes/basil!)
Wednesday-
Thursday- pizza with fresh tomatoes and basil
Friday-
Saturday-
Sunday-

Yeah... I'll probably be heading back to the store later. lol


To-Do's:
Tuesday- grocery shopping, laundry, clean up and unpack from the weekend...
Wednesday- soccer practice for M
Thursday- Costco and other errands in town
Friday- soccer practice for R
Saturday- N's birthday! Soccer games for both kids (not sure when yet)
Saturday- church and N's party


I'll be back soon with our summer list update and a recap of our summer fun. :)

Start of the Week- 1st Day of School Addition

That's right, my babies went back to school this morning, meaning I got to go to the grocery store with just one kid in tow (things I never thought I'd look forward to before I had kids). lol

Here are the standard photos I took before we left this morning:

R's first day of 1st grade

M's first day of 3rd grade (this is the first year ever that she's worn pants for the first day of school. I could not talk her into a skirt or dress, she's in love with her "super skinny jeans" *sigh*)

All 3 kidlets (ages 8, 6, and almost 2)

N had a bit of a hard time when we got home this morning. I think he forgot what it's like to take them to school and be here with just me. Hopefully it won't take him too long to adjust.


Menu for the week:
Monday- crock pot salsa chicken natchos (which I totally forgot to put in until just now, luckily it only took me 4 minutes from start to finish, including washing my hands 3 times because I'm a freak about raw meat)
Tuesday- BLTs with garden fresh tomatoes, yum!
Wednesday- crock pot chicken quesadias
Thursday- something with squash (I've found a few recipes on pintrest, just not sure which I'm going to try yet) and something else (lol)
Friday- ??
Saturday- Mexican potluck, bringing 7(ish) layer dip
Sunday- ??

To-Do's:
Monday- school, grocery shopping, soccer practice for both kids
Tuesday- shopping in town with my mom (and only one kid!)
Wednesday- soccer for M
Thursday- nothing at the moment! :)
Friday- Redding
Saturday- Family party
Sunday- lake! :)

That's it for now. I'm off to start exercising again while N is napping (I quit during the summer because I hated having the older two kids sit and watch me). lol

One More Layout

Can you handle another scrapbook post?

Britt has this kit on sale through the end of August, but I'm just managing to scrap a page with it now. Almost everything is from I'm Yours (with Decrow Designs) which is 30% off through the end of the month. This is such a pretty kit, perfect for weddings, showers, or baby/little girl pictures!

full credits here

All Aboard!

Welcome to my stop on the blog train! I have another quick page for you using goodies that can be found in Britt's Grab Bag. I hope you enjoy it!

Download no longer available, check Britt's shop if you missed them

You should have just come from Kat's blog and next you're headed to Heather's Blog.

Scrapbook Friday

Britt-ish Designs is one year old this weekend, and Britt is having a party!


You do not want to miss the grab bag she has for the celebration, it is packed with goodies!! Here is the layout I scrapped with the stuff inside:

full credits here

Be sure to check out Britt's blog tomorrow for more fun and surprises!

Trip Report

Day 1:
Driving. We left at 5am, and as much as I'm not a morning person, I have to admit that is the way to do a 12 hour drive! R and I were the only ones to go back to sleep (and I only slept because I took Dramamine, I cannot sleep in the car!). I dossed on and off until we stopped for gas in Grants Pass, and the trip felt so much quicker because of it! N and M didn't go back to sleep, but they were still waking up and pretty quiet for the first couple hours. N actually didn't go back to sleep until we were in WA, and then it was only a 20 minute nap, not good for him!
We managed to only make 3 stops on the way up, once for gas, once at a rest stop where we grabbed a quick picnic lunch from the cooler, and one more time for gas. We would have made it in 11 hours but we hit traffic when we were SO CLOSE.
All in all, it was a very easy drive, and the kids did really well.
We got in right at 5pm and had a yummy dinner and visited with some of Matthew's family before bed.

Day 2:
Matthew's cousin who's a fire fighter was working that day so we headed in to visit the station. We tried to visit him when we were up there 2 years ago and he got a call right as we were getting there, but he told us this station was much slower and we should have better luck. When we were just about there we got a text that he had gotten a call, but luckily it got canceled and we ended up spending almost 2 hours there checking everything out. I'm not sure who had more fun, the kids or Matthew. :)
I took way too many pictures while we were there, here are my favorites. :)

I'm not sure what was so funny, but I love her face in this picture :)

The boots were bigger than N's legs, but he had to have a turn too. :)

After the fire station we went over to the mall and had lunch at Red Robbin and then did a little bit of shopping. :) Then we headed back to the house and hung out for the rest of the afternoon/evening.

N thought it was so funny to dunk his head in the hot tub, and he made this face every time he did it.

My boys had so much fun in this little pool!

Matthew's cousin and her new husband got back from their honeymoon that night, so we got to visit with them a little too.

Day 3:
I found out about a month before our trip that American Girl was opening a store north of Seattle right before we were going to be there, so I just HAD to take M. :) We drove up there in the morning and M and I checked out the store and she did a little shopping.

M with Molly (my old doll) and Emily in front of their display at the store

Done shopping

After that we met back up with Matthew and the boys and went to the Macaroni Grill for lunch. Oh my goodness that place was GOOD!! I've never been there before, but I'd heard friends talk about it before, and I'm so glad we tried it!
After lunch we did some more back to school shopping and then headed back to the house.

I had to play with this great light for a minute. :)

The kids playing pickle ball

N thought maybe he should swim again and drug the pool out of the garage :)

Day 4:

Matthew took the older kids on a hike with some of his family and N and I hung out at the house in the morning. After lunch we headed into Seattle and walked around for a bit. We went through Pike Place Market and then headed over the the Mariners stadium.

M waiting in line with Gloria to see how fast she could pitch

Pitching to a Yankee

The kidlets at the Mariners game. We were all in our Giants gear, but Matthew got the kids each a hat. We decided it wouldn't be a problem unless both teams made it to the world series, and that's not likely to happen anytime soon. :)

Day 5:
We went with Matthew's cousin and met some of her friends at the zoo. The kids had fun looking at all the animals they had.

Trying to get the tiger to wake up (lifting his head was the most we got)

After the zoo we went back to the house and hung out some more. By that point we were all pretty tired of going places every day. lol Matthew's mom and Zack got in that night, so there was lots more visiting and hanging out.

Day 6:
This was party set-up day. I can't remember what all we did other than set things up, play, and hang out with everyone.

Matthew playing baseball with R in the yard

Day 7:
The wedding reception was in the afternoon, so in the morning we did all the last minute things to get ready, and then there was more hanging out and visiting, and lots of eating. :)

Day 8:
More driving. It felt like much more. We didn't leave until 8, I didn't sleep, and we stopped at least 6 times if not more. It felt like it took forever to get home! We didn't hit any traffic on the way home, but with all the extra stops it actually took a little longer.
We got home a little after 8 and less than 24 hours later I was grocery shopping and running around to soccer practices. Welcome home I guess?


We had a great time and were totally spoiled! I don't think I fixed a meal for anyone the whole week, and it was so much fun to hang out with family that we don't get to see very often!