free time

The kids are napping and I still have a few minutes before it's time to fix dinner so I thought I'd take a break from surfing the blogs and post about our morning/afternoon. First I should say that I found a pretty funny blog today that you might want to check out in all your free time. The Lawson's Did Dallas The author of the blog is pretty witty, funny and has a 2 year old son. I guess we have somethings in common. I'm a bit disappointed that my blog is not as witty as hers...maybe I'll work on that.

This morning I wrote out the weekly menu and made up the grocery list while Matt and the kids played "crash cars" in the basement. They love to play crash cars with Daddy. Tyler is still a bit afraid of the noisy cars (they rev up when you shake them and then take off on the track when you set them down.)

At 10am I took off for my hair appointment. It was time to get rid of the 2 inch dark brown grow out that is oozing out of my head. I would think after high-lighting my hair for so long that it would learn...but then Miss Cary would be out of $125 every 6 weeks. Anyway, I love my color and cut (the cut is the same as last time.) I took 4 pictures of myself but according to me I looked way too tired to post them on the blog. I'm also lacking make-up today so that might be part of it. Anyway, imagine your favorite movie star (tired and without make-up) and it pretty much looks just like that.

While I was getting my hair done the kids and Daddy watched the movie "Cars" Lauren said that Tyler really likes this movie and she wanted Daddy to play it for him. She's so sweet...most of the time.

After I got home we had lunch and then headed to Home Depot and the grocery store. I had them drop me off at the grocery store to save some time. I gave both Tyler and Lauren the option to go with me or go to Home Depot with Daddy. Lauren shouted out an adamant "DADDY!!" but my sweet darling favorite little boy in the world, Tyler happily chose me and the grocery store. How I love that boy! =) Although it was slightly more difficult with him (he kept telling me "I need that" to everything he saw and wanted to put everything I took off the shelf into the cart himself...which was fine but just took some time and mommy finesse to make sure nothing was broken) he was for the most part wonderful and I felt so special to be chosen over the almost-always-preferred-over-mommy-DADDY. After we were done Daddy and Lauren picked us up. They found a sink faucet and shower head for the basement bathroom.

sink faucet

shower headthe basement bathroom that [obviously] is nowhere near ready for them. ha ha ha

Just a quick jab at Matt. But knowing him...this unfinished project will burn a hole in his pocket? and he will finish it in no time at all. ...after his work trips and after our summer vacation of course.

Back home now the kids are napping and Matt is mowing the neighbors' lawns. He mowed ours yesterday so he only had 2 to do today.

And finally to close (as I hear movement upstairs) I'd like to share my disgusts at 1) unleaded gas prices and 2) our over-sized and yet NEEDED big gas guzzling vehicle by re-posting this picture from the gas station yesterday.

"it's not fair," says Tyler

Tyler has been talking a lot more recently...or maybe it's just the fact that he's more understandable now. His favorite phrases are "it's not fair" (regardless if it makes sense) and "don't do that." It's funny and scary at the same time. I don't want my baby to grow up quite yet but apparently he's doing it anyway.

This morning we had our Friday playdate. This week we were at Miss Cynthia's house.
She has 2 boys, Kyle (about 4) and Seth (about 2). Miss Nicole was there with Abigail as well. For the first hour my kids played right by my side but the second hour they relaxed a bit and played in the play room and also played with their friends.

After playgroup we all held our breaths as I drove to the gas station. The "low fuel" light has been on for a couple of trips now. Well I made it to Kroger where I get a 10 cent per gallon discount, keep in mind. The fill cost me over $90. I never thought this would happen...maybe I'm dating myself but c'mon....I remember thinking it outrageous when we spent $50 to fuel up when we first got the denali. Here's proof of our purchase. I was in shock and had to document the event with a picture.


On our way home we picked up some Taco Bell for lunch. My last batch of bread didn't turn out and so we didn't have much at home for lunch. I had bean burritos and the kids had TB's newest item...the cheesy roll-ups. Yumm and yuck at the same time.

While the kids napped I did a GH workout and then made a new batch of bread. I'm happy to say that this loaf turned out much better.

After the kids woke up Joshua (he's probably 5 years old and lives across the street..Morgan's little brother) came over and asked if he could play. I sent all of them outside to play in the sandbox and later had them come inside to have a snack...apple slices and animal crackers. Lauren really enjoyed his visit. She stuck by his side the whole time. Here's a picture of her watching him play her Leapster video game.

Tonight was my Bunco night so I told Matt him and the kids were on their own for dinner. He opted to take them back to the Mellow Mushroom. I sent the camera with him to take a few shots but he said his hands were full the entire time. I guess the kids did okay but they weren't quite perfect angels for him. I'll have to ask him for more details later.

I had a good time at Bunco. I didn't win any money but enjoyed the time chatting with the ladies.

And for the last shot on the camera....
Matt discovered his Father's Day present which wasn't hidden well enough and so we let him open it. The kids (I) got him some Molasses Clove cookies from Dancing Deer Bakery. I heard about this bakery from one of the blogs I love to read and wanted to try them out. Matt enjoyed his present even though it was a few days early.


And now I'm off to brush my teeth and get to bed. We have a lot to do this weekend before Matt heads out of town.

wednesday & thursday

Yesterday we went to DixieLand Fun Park. I knew this was close to our house but I didn't realize how close until I went on this Mom's Club suggested activity. It was crazy hot but we were able to enjoy ourselves none-the-less. We did a couple outside rides and then went inside to play on the toys in the air-conditioned room but after our brown bag lunch of PB & honey sandwiches & raisins & crackers we had a new wind and Lauren wanted to try out some of the other rides. She really enjoyed them but Tyler was a bit too scared to go on them. We'll go back very soon, however, and let Lauren go on as many rides as she wants.






Later that evening we had a massive thunderstorm. While the thunder was rumbling, I noticed Tyler kept peeking out the window.


Shortly after we got some serious rain.


Shortly after that the power went out for about an hour or so. Tyler did okay but Lauren was a bit freaked out. We brought down many many candles and tried to have as much fun as possible during the outage. Even Miss Dana came over to enjoy the excitement since her kids were at Grammy's house for the week. Matt stayed late at work so as not to drive through the torrential downpour but he got home in time to put the kids to bed.

And today was a typical Thursday. I volunteered at church and both kiddos played in the adjacent room while I helped out with the Sunday school preparation. After being overly busy for the most part of this week, the kids and I were all exhausted, We all took a nap this afternoon. Mine only lasted 1 hr. while the kids napped 3 hrs. plus. I'm so jealous.

This evening we had homemade pizza with ricotta, sauteed asparagus, green onions & sun-dried tomatoes.

After dinner I started a deep clean of the house while Daddy and the kids played outside. The kiddos enjoyed a lemonade pop and had fun cruising around in the wagon.


Hope everyone had a wonderful day and love to all.

busy busy day

This morning I woke up before Matt did!! He did his usual "sleep in Tuesday after the Monday night poker game" routine. I got up early because I had to get ready to do an Intro to Cycle class at the YMCA at 8:15am!! Instead of bringing the kids along I had Morgan come over to the house to keep them instead. She's been such a good sport about requesting baby-sitting jobs that I love to oblige whenever possible.

So come to find out, this "intro to cycling" is no intro class at all. It was T-U-F-F. I looked at the clock only 15 min. into the class and thought there was no way I was going to be able to finish it. But somehow I persevered. I felt awesome afterwards...but it was sure torture to get to that feeling. Honestly though, that feeling is a bit addictive and I can't wait until I can do it again. (not tomorrow though...tomorrow will definitely be an easy workout day.)

Back home I paid Morgan and then showered, leaving just enough time to meet Dana at the Mellow Mushroom for lunch. The kids had a HUGE piece of pizza each and I had a half of a greek salad and a half of a tempeh & feta hoagie. It was all delicious. We all were basically licking our plates clean. Dana was pretty surprised at how much Lauren and especially Tyler ate. She said he ate enough to "put a horse to sleep." How right she was because Tyler was asleep by the time we got home...a 15 min. drive at the most.

Here are pictures of my big kids getting into their car seats by themselves. Lauren has been doing this for awhile but this is new for Tyler. He climbs in while saying "me do it" over and over. He's gotten pretty good.


Back home the kids went down for a nap and I got ready for yet another adventure. At 2pm Morgan came back over to watch the napping kids while I rode along to the Atlanta State Farmers Market with some ladies from church. I was in awe at this market. Kyndra and Stacy told me that the market was no where near capacity but I still saw so many aisles (street size aisles) of different fresh produce for very little money. (i.e. red bell peppers for 75 cents; whole watermelons for $3) I didn't buy anything since I already purchased the weeks produce at the grocery store but I plan on going back asap. Kate and I are already figuring out how to fit our double strollers and all 4 kids w/ car seats into my car. It can be done!

At home Morgan had filled out another baby-sitters report card and said the kids did great yet again. They played hide-and-seek and also in the sandbox. I'm so relieved to hear that they don't just watch tv the whole time.

After Morgan went home I made a quick dinner. Hummus and Vegetable Wraps.

Take a 10in. tortilla and spread with 1/3 c. hummus. Add sliced raw yellow pepper, sliced tomato, sliced avocado (I left out on mine of course), alfalfa sprouts, salt and pepper and roll up tightly. It was quick, easy and very good. Matt, however, thought it could use some chicken. (as expected...grain of salt [wink])

Shortly after we finished dinner one of the neighbor boys came over to do a "no obligation to buy" presentation about Cutco Cutlery. He did a good job and we ended up buying a little something. We were pretty impressed with the quality. And we sure made his day with our purchase!

After he left, Matt and I switched things up. I gave the kids their bath and Matt read them their bedtime stories. We thought we'd try alternating who gives the baths since Matt has been the sole bather ever since I've been pregnant with Tyler.

Here's some pics of story time.

After the kids were in bed and the temps cooled into the 80s, Dana and I did an after dark walk around the neighborhood. We even jogged a couple of times. I love having a partner in fitness...be it Dana or Kate (she's a new friend from church). This way I'll be sure to lose the last of the baby-weight that technically can't be called baby weight anymore.

where did this thunderstorm come from?!

I just left Dana's house and the lightening was flashing like crazy and the thunder was rolling. Luckily I was able to make it home in between downpours. I've come to learn that this is a typical southern weather pattern. Hot Hot Hot during the day with an evening (9pm evening) thunderstorm. It will be dry and hot hot hot again tomorrow. This is how I prefer my rain....at night when I'm sleeping.

I was pretty lazy all day today. I didn't even lift up the camera to snap any shots...that's how lazy I was. I did pick up the pace in the evening though. We stayed home and did a lot of playing with Lauren's babydolls. We changed Baby Sam's clothes a couple of times and seeing this Tyler brought me another baby and wanted to take all of its clothes off. Unfortunately the baby he brought me didn't have a change of clothes so we just had to put the "dirty" clothes back on her. We then tried on all of Lauren's dress up shoes (Tyler too because I'm an equal opportunity kind of person.) The kids also made a couple trips outside to play in the sandbox.

At about 4 o'clock I picked up the pace and made up our dinner. I prepped the pork chops and when Matt got home we broke out the charcoal grill for the first time this spring/summer season. Dinner turned out delicious and I was so hungry that I didn't get any pictures before I devoured it. You'll just have to check out the links to see pictures. I made Peach and Red Onion relish to put over the grilled pork-chops and also a Watermelon and Feta salad to compliment. I really liked it and so did Daddy and Lauren. Lauren ate everything...even her salad (once I topped it with Ketchup) she did have a couple extra spoonfuls of feta. Unlike Lauren, I don't think I ever asked for "more feta cheese please" as a kid. =) Tyler on the other hand started off eating all his watermelon. He wanted more but I told him he had to have a piece of pork chop (1/8 by 1/8 in. piece) but he refused so all he had was a small bowl of watermelon. He'll eat a good breakfast tomorrow.

After dinner I talked Dana into going to the YMCA with me. I talked her into doing some cardio and then she talked me into doing some weight machines. If I can only talk her into getting a membership I think we can really compliment each other by going together. At the gym Dana and I rode the Expresso bike and I LOVED it. This was a 3-D experience and had I wanted to I could link up the to internet and possibly race other riders. I chose a coastal ride and I will definitely be doing this again.

The kids were in bed when I got home and Matt was/is downstairs playing the Monday night poker game so I haven't heard how their evening went. I'm sure it was bliss for the kids because they sure love their Daddy.

At home I showered off and then went to Dana's house to help her dye her hair. I almost had her sign a waiver saying she still had to be my friend if I botched it but as far as I can tell (her hair was still wet) I did a good job. We'll see tomorrow as we've agreed to go to lunch together.

Tomorrow will be a busy day so check back then. I'll try and take some pictures to share too. Sorry about the text only post tonight. Be sure to check out the links for some visuals.

just keeping cool

It was a warm weekend in Atlanta. Highs were in the upper 90s and it was HoTTT. We did our part to stay cool by enjoying various indoor air-conditioning systems. On Saturday we separated; Lauren and Daddy went to Home Depot to buy some more plumbing/bathroom items and Tyler and I went to Old Navy to use Matt's birthday gift card. We got Daddy a couple pairs of much needed flip flops and then got Tyler 3 pairs of shorts and some shirts. Unfortunately, Tyler doesn't get any hand-me-downs from the neighbors so his wardrobe is always falling short.

Back home the kids napped, I did a good hard workout and Matt worked on the basement bathroom. Later we had Morgan come over (she had previously called and asked if she could baby-sit...so we just had to oblige.) Matt and I went to Mama Lucia's. We tried out their new location and although the food was delicious...the atmosphere just wasn't the same. Their old location felt more quaint and intimate while this new one seemed more generic and chain- restaurant-like. I guess we're just becoming foodie snobs in our old age.

After dinner we walked down the outdoor mall "Ashley Park" and stopped in DSW shoes. Both Matt and I found some flip flops we just couldn't do without. After that stop we weren't quite ready to head home so we met some friends at Taco Mac for a night cap.

When we got home Morgan had filled out a "Babysitter's Report Record." In this, she jotted down what the kids did and ate and basically wrote 3 paragraphs describing their evening together. It was pretty cool. Sounds like the kids had a lot of fun and did a lot more than just watch tv all night.

Today was a typical Sunday for us. I made up the weekly menu and then did the weeks grocery shopping. Of course Matt had to make his (almost daily) trip to Home Depot. For dinner I made Chicken and Pasta with Asparagus and Lemon. It was delicious. I love the lemon flavor to the sauce and it wasn't too overwhelming at all. This is from my Cooks Illustrated magazine I get. (I can't find the recipe on-line but will scan and e-mail if requested. We also had some left over Bisquick biscuits as a side.
After dinner I gave Lauren a tattoo and then we headed outside to have our snack.
We had the last of the chocolate bars. Good thing we ate them outside because Tyler got his all over the place. It was such a huge mess that we ended up hosing off the back deck and the kids when they were finished.

Afterwards it was bath and bed for the kids. When the kids were down I met Dana outside for a sweltering walk around the neighborhood. It was oven warm and a bit humid but compared to the temp from the day it was a perfect time to walk.

Now it's about time for me to get comfy in my pjs and call it a night. I hope everyone had a great weekend.

it's not fair....

says Lauren every chance she gets. Regardless of whether I won't let her play with Tyler's favorite dump truck or whether I won't let her wrestle with him when he's crying out. It doesn't matter..."it's not fair." This is usually followed up with a cried out "Mommmmmeeeeeeee."

And with that said I'll describe our day....

I was so tired that I didn't hear Matt's alarm this morning. I didn't realize he had slept in until I woke up with a panic at a quarter to seven this morning. I turned to him and asked if he heard his alarm. He said he did and that he was going into work late. He eventually got up, showered and then made us egg sandwiches for breakfast. Yumm!

After breakfast, and after Matt headed off to fight rush hour traffic to work, I showered and then the kids and I headed off to our play date with Miss Nicole and Lauren and Tyler's friend
Abigail. The kids played so well with Abigail that Miss Nicole and I had a great time socializing and hanging out. It was a great playdate. The first of it's kinds since normally my kids prefer to hang out on my lap the whole time.

After the playdate we came home and I made up a box of Macaroni and Cheese for lunch. I served this with a side of applesauce. Lauren only ate her applesauce and informed me that she didn't like Mac-n-cheese. Tyler on the other hand ate all his applesauce, all his mac-n-cheese and then finished up Lauren's un-eaten mac-n-cheese plus the rest of the box. When it was all said and done he ate the entire box!! of mac-n-cheese. Unbelievable!

After lunch I gave the kids a bath since Tyler is suffering from a major case of diaper rash. He had a hard time relaxing in the bath but eventually he was able to settle down and hopefully it helped his sore bottom.

While the kids napped I went into the basement and did a low-impact aerobic dvd (rented from Netflix)...which I considered too low-impact to qualify as a work out so I decided to do a treadmill workout (3 min walking offset with 3 min of incline jogging) during my 60 minute soap opera "General Hospital." After this workout I felt pretty good.

After my workout and after a quick shower I started to make dinner. On the menu tonight was a warm double bean potato salad. I can't find the recipe on-line to link to so you'll have to ask for the recipe or depend on the picture. It was very filling and would have done fine as a single dish meal but I made some Bisquick biscuits to compliment (not pictured.)


The kids got a pickle to compliment their meal however they just had kosher dills. I did find these Jalapeno pickles at the store which are very good and I thought I'd share. After dinner we got our swim suits on and headed down to the bath-water temperature water of our neighborhood pool. Tyler was a complete daredevil and kept insisting on jumping in all by himself. We eventually put a second pair of "floaties" on his to keep him above water.

Lauren on the other hand prefered to play on the side of the pool or on the very first step. Maybe she'll learn from Tyler not to be afraid of the water....someday.

While we were at the pool, Matt got a call to play poker later in the evening.
So when the time came we headed home and got the kids ready for bed so Matt could go...hopefully win some money and ....play poker.

Now they are in bed and I'm watching Ghost Whisperer as I write this post.

Enjoy your weekend y'all.