Wednesday Randoms

Last night this little family went for a walk! It was really nice. Despite the impression you may get from the looks on my boys' faces in this picture.

We walked downtown, poked around a couple shops, then walked all the way around the dam and beyond! It was a wonderful walk.. the first time around. 

I bought Jack new shoes yesterday, among other things. I really like these new shoes (They are from Old Navy.. my new favorite place to shop for baby clothes - they are reasonably priced and cuter than Carters)

Cute, right?!

Well this darling child of mine likes to kick his shoes OFF. Unfortunately we didn't realize he was missing a shoe until we got back home. I quickly turned right back around, claiming to John that I was going to retrace our steps! I thought that it must have JUST fallen off. WRONG. It was all the way back where we turned around. 

A nice stranger put it on a park bench. Apparently Jack felt I needed a little extra work out. Oh well.

Today I took advantage of Jack's three hour morning nap and made lots of baby food. Including my latest endeavor, sweet potato french fries. 

I used a mandolin to slice the sweet potato.. in hindsight I should have peeled it first but I quickly/easily did it after the fact with a potato peeler

I cut the slices in half and baked them for 25 min at 350 degrees 

They came out firm enough to hold but soft enough that Jack can gum them without choking.

I think it's safe to say that he likes them

It was a gorgeous morning/early afternoon here (now it's cloudy/windy). Once Jack was up from his morning nap we moved all of his toys and a blanket onto our back deck and he played while I FINALLY finished my St. Patrick's Day craft. 

Bubba was pretty perplexed about being outside, but I think he liked it! What he didn't like was the sunscreen. I'm just trying to protect that pretty Irish skin :) 

Here's the ::almost:: finished product. John just needs to drill a hole in the top so that it can hang on the sign/flag post we have in our front yard. I didn't take step-by-step photos because I really just wanted to get this done. The minute I started painting the letters I was reminded of making a paddle during my pledge term for my sorority big sis. I hated that craft and I hated this craft. Basically I bought a plain wooden square/wooden letters/wooden shapes, painted them with acrylic paint, gave everything a coat of polyurethane, and hot glued it all in place. It turned out pretty but I will not be making another project like this (at least not in the near future!)

I'll leave you with a little clip of Da Bubba in his bounceroo.. he loves this thing, probably more than he loves most anything else. He screams (as you can hear) with delight, chews on everything he can get his hands on, smiles, and jumps (the adult version of this thing would sell millions, hello comfy cardio!). I'm also dying over his hilarious hair lately. It's soft and feathery but sticks straight out of his head. John wants to take him for a haircut but I sort of love it and think it has character.. 

Untitled from Kay M. on Vimeo.

Craft Cray

It has been a busy day over here!

We enjoyed our morning, with lots of playing and fun - Jack is feeling so much better! We have a full length mirror at the bottom of our stairs (random I know) that Bubba LOVES to sit in front of (apparently he finds himself as cute as I do).

Bubba got a bath - my little froggy prince LOVES splashing his feet down so hard that the water goes EVERYWHERE .. we also tried out the whole sitting up thing in the tub, he loved it! He's such a grown up, sigh. 

A blog I just started following, iHeart Organizing, did a post today about some drawers that a reader DIY'ed - I fell in love and decided I needed to do them RIGHT AWAY. So out the door we went (completely forgetting about that other craft I already bought all of the materials for..)

Well while I was at JoAnn's I started second guessing the drawers.. I don't think that they are right for my space. But almost everything was between 30-50% off in the store so I got COMPLETELY A.D.D. and starting going craft CRAY. I ended up getting several materials for a couple of other projects I have found on Pinterest. First on the agenda? This pretty DIY wreath:

Source: teachcraftlove.blogspot.com via Kay on Pinterest

What You Need:

-Wreath

-Wreath Hanger

-Whatever fake flowers you want and as many as you want covering the wreath

-Wooden numbers

-Acrylic Paint

-Wire

-Hot Glue Gun/Glue Sticks

Total Cost:

$39.68 

Step 1: 

I painted my wooden numbers white with a sponge brush. I didn't really like the numbers I ended up buying- I really wanted the small, skinnier ones like in the Pinterest picture, but these were the only ones they had (and I went to TWO stores). 

Step 2:

I stuck the stem of the fake flowers through the wreath until they were all placed where and how I wanted them.

Step 3:

I used wire to hold all of the stems in place, then cut the stems. 

Step 4:

Once the numbers were dry I used a hot glue gun to glue the numbers in place. 

All in all I think the end product turned out great! I am really happy and think that it makes our front door look so welcoming and homey :) I am proud that I created this all on my own.. even though it probably would have been cheaper to buy a pre-made wreath and glue the numbers on it. I also sort of felt like, "Who do I think I am??" ... I am not a crafter... yet I really want to get better at this stuff because I think it will be so helpful when my child(ren) is (are) older. This was a perfect "practice" craft because it was easy, simple, and only took me about an hour start to finish :) 

After perusing through TWO craft stores, we still needed to go grocery shopping... Jack was such a trooper the whole time. I don't think I can express in words how happy I am that he is sitting up and I can put him in the cart.. the limited visibility that putting the infant carseat in the cart causes honestly deterred me from leaving the house to run errands. I also get to use a baby shower gift that I think is absolutely genius, my shopping cart cover. It's easy to put on, easy to throw in the washing machine, cushions the shopping cart so Jack is comfortable, and even has attached toys for him to play with! He was a happy camper the whole trip - I am so lucky! 

I have been in the best mood all day. This week is really feeling like a turning point for me. I have more energy and more drive to get up and do something with my day. I can tell the difference in John's attitude when he comes home to a clean house - that is motivating all on its own! Tomorrow I am hoping to get done my St. Patrick's Day craft. I am also due to update you all on "What Jack's Eating" now that he is no longer in the 4-6 month category and moving right into the 6-9 month category (Wahh he needs to stop growing!!) and also an outline of his daily schedule (now that he is successfully on one!). 

Tonight I am looking forward to Modern Family and a long, restful sleep!

Happy Hump Day :) 

The Best Valentine's Day EVER

This is going to be a long post - but after having the BEST Valentine's Day ever, it's worthy of sharing all the details! Yesterday I tried to get the house spotless, grocery shop, and have everything perfect for when the hubs arrived home. ESPN was on the TV, I was baking a pie... I'd say that is a housewife success :)

What the table looked like when John got home

I also finished John's gift! I really got my cheese on. That is something that's not easy for me.. John loves it, and I am BAD at it. But he deserves it, and although it's not craft perfection, it's something that we will have forever!

Once upon a time...

 In a faraway land called East Lansing (Home of MSU)

There was a lonely Princess (I was Sleeping Beauty Halloween 2010)

 She had many friends...

 And attended MANY "Balls" (more like bars)

 But she never found what her heart desired MOST. Her one TRUE love.

 Little did she know... there was a handsome prince searching for the same thing (in ALL the WRONG places).... (John was a "king" Halloween 2007)

 One ::magical:: night there was a party in the Princess' castle. She wandered into the dungeon and there he was!!! They danced & laughed. The Princess put on the Prince's hat, it had magical powers that made the 2 inseparable! (You can't see these pictures very well.. but it's us on the night we met, me dancing in his hat & the two of us in the background of someone else's picture looking like we are in love)

 They fell in love INSTANTLY!

 Then... A MIRACLE happened!!

 Many obstacles were thrown in their way...

 But the Prince & Princess were brave

 FINALLY they were rewarded for ALL of their struggles

 Their marriage was celebrated

 Throughout the land. They were KING & QUEEN of their castle

 The King, The Queen, and their little Prince...

Lived happily ever after!

I wrote John a note on the last page. He seemed to really love it so it was worth all of the hard work! Lucky for us Jack decided to go down for a nap around 6.. I usually don't like to let him nap so late but it was a special occasion so I didn't argue with it! John decided to give me the rest of his surprise. This requires a little bit of a background story: 

Bubba puked on my computer about 2 months ago so I have had to use John's (Which is on it's LAST LEG) I accidentally came across a powerpoint his high school girlfriend's little sister had made about the couple. I fake got all huffy with John about why WE didn't have a powerpoint documenting our love story.

So when John finally got me to walk away from the kitchen and sit down on the couch he had his computer open to a powerpoint he had made about us. It was funny and cute and made me smile from ear to ear. He ended the powerpoint by singing me a song with the guitar (MY FAVORITE!). He has such a beautiful voice but will hardly ever play for me. He changed around the words to the song The Show by Lenka to be about us and it was funny and sweet. I wanted to make him play it over and over! 

Once presents were done it was time to get started on dinner. Our original menu was Cedar Plank Salmon, Creamy Orzo with Asparagus, a side salad, & Upside Down Apple Pie for dessert. Well - the grocery store didn't have cedar planks. This is usually the ONLY way I like salmon so I was a little dissapointed- BUT, we were able to make our own recipe and it turned out delicious!

Lemon Garlic Baked Salmon

INGREDIENTS:

Salmon Filet

Garlic

Pearl Onions

Lemon Garlic Seasoning

Lemon Juice

Olive Oil

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. On a piece of tinfoil put a tablespoon of olive oil & 3/4 c. chopped pearl onions

3. place salmon filet on top of the onions & brush with olive oil

4. Brush Salmon with 1/2T of lemon juice

5. Rub 1T of lemon garlic rub onto salmon

6. Top salmon filet with 1/4 cup chopped garlic

7. Bake for 40 min or until the fish flakes off easily with a fork

8. ENJOY!

Creamy Orzo with Asparagus & Parmesan

I found this recipe on pinterest. You can find it here!

 It was SO yummy - will definitely make it again! 

We also made a side salad with pearl onion, tomatoes, shitake mushroom, crumbled feta, and a blue cheese vinaigrette.

Our table ended up looking so beautiful! I put on a dress and heals, John threw on a tie and sport coat, and our kitchen was transformed into a fancy restaurant. We enjoyed our food, drank some wine, & it was romantic and fun and PERFECT. 

It was fun to use our wedding presents - beautiful candle holders and serving platters. ALL the wonderful kitchen appliances that made cooking this dinner a breeze. Getting married is the best for SO many reasons:) 

After dinner was done, we woke up Da Bubba, cleaned up the kitchen, and fed him a dinner of bananas and rice cereal. We changed into sweats and ate pie on the couch. Jack was HYPER. We didn't get to go to sleep until later than normal because Bubba was jumping around in his saucer and yelling out just to hear his own voice. When he finally went down, we snuggled into bed (I just washed the sheets - is there anything better than going to sleep in fresh sheets?!). We both agreed it was the best Valentine's Day ever. I am more in love with John this year than I was a year ago. A song on the guitar was more precious to me than a diamond (I know, I know - crazy right?). Making dinner was more romantic than an elaborate (and expensive) gourmet meal. And snuggling with Bubba on the couch as a family was more fun than a wild night out. Oh how things have changed! 

I know I left out one very IMPORTANT recipe - and that is the Upside Down Apple Pie. This is a SPECIAL pie that deserves it's own post.. so stay tuned :) I hope everyone had wonderful Valentine's Days. It's always nice to make the people we love every day feel EXTRA loved one special day a year!