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over the weekend we got up early (shocking, i know) and took advantage of the not too hot, not too humid, just right sunny day. that morning i threw out taking parker to lone elk park to see the ‘wild’ animals. we piled into the car and off we went.
we drove around the park. not seeing a whole lot. until we got into the buffalo area. lots and lots of buffalo. doug grabbed parker from my lap and placed him on his and i watched as parker’s eyes lit up in excitement as he was fascinated by the gigantic (and smelly) buffalo. they were within arms reach. he stood on doug’s lap, grasping the window, while giggling and pointing.
and then it happened.
doug sat parker on his lap and parker grabbed the wheel and steered as though he was a professional indy driver (like his mother). so my husband slowly pressed the gas as parker ‘steered’ the car. he squealed uncontrollably. i could see the wheels turning. he thought with all of his heart that he was making us go.
he concentrated. hard. checking his surroundings. making sure no deer were in the road of course.
he laughed. a lot. so did i. so did doug.
he even took his eyes off the road a few times.
he even checked his mirrors.
and like any good driver he needed a nap. driving is hard work afterall.
as a mom there are plenty of times in which the last thing i want to do is cook. between working, running errands, laundry, so on and so forth then take into account that my kiddo doesn’t eat all that much at meal time. then to top it off my husband works a lot of nights. needless to say that cooking for 1 and 1/2 isn’t exactly easy. so a few nights ago i ‘cooked’ pb & j’s and lucky charms for dinner. and ya know what? it was a hit. parker went nuts. so did i (secretly).
and yes, i know i know. not the most nutritional dinner on the planet and quite frankly i’m ok with that. he eats good all the time. once and a while a little snack won’t hurt him. or me. i love cereal and pb & j’s. it was a win win for the both of us. not to mention that clean-up was a breeze.
on sunday we decided to just lay low. the three of us. dinner at home. relaxing. climbing into our pajamas at 6:00. we have been talking about making chicken and dumplings for a few days at this point. so to the store we went. i only needed a few things to make a big ‘ol pot of dumplings. and if you haven’t had my (semi) home made dumplings, well ya should. they are delicious. quick. easy. and if you know me, i improvise. everything. especially when it comes to cooking. i follow directions, kinda. i don’t typically measure. i don’t typically open a cook book. i wing it. and everything i make (for the most part) turns out great. great enough that it gets put on the ‘make it again’ list. so less talking. more cooking.
what you will need (again, i improvise everything).
carrots (4). celery (4 stalks). red onion (1). chicken (4 breasts). chicken stock (2 boxes). milk (about 1/2 cup). 2 cans of biscuts. salt. pepper. celery seed. garlic salt. white pepper. and really whatever else you like. just toss it all in to desired flavor.
start with the carrots. i like to peel them then take the peels and cut into small chunks. then the celery. just cut them up to desired thickness (or crunch factor). same with the red onion. while doing this pour your 2 boxes of stock into a pot and bring up to warm. toss in your veggies. while all this is going on get your chicken going in a skillet. cook through. when finished dice up and toss in the veggie bath. at this point dump in the milk. then pop open your cans of biscuits. take each biscuit and flatten. then tear into pieces. toss each piece into the pot. bring to a boil. toss in your spices. stir. and once you’ve had a steady boil for about 5 minutes you should be good to go. i typically bring back down to warm and let simmer for a little while.
viola! chicken and dumplings. as good (if not better) than what mom used to make.
then if you’re really lucky (like me) to have a husband (like mine) you will get a batch of hot and fresh cupcakes made for you. that’s right. my incredible husband, on a whim, whipped up not one but two kinds of cupcakes. cherry chip vanilla and mint chocolate chip. talk about bliss. pair that with a big glass of ice cold 2% – call.me.done. welcome to my sunday. my little piece of life. my very own heaven.
sorry there aren’t any pictures of those little beauties. i was too busy licking the beaters and bowls to pick up the camera and snap them and all of their delicious glory. they were good. trust me.
for the fourth this year we headed downtown to my work. see. i work in an old loft building. on top of that building is a penthouse. and when you walk through its glass french doors and out to the roof you are eye level with all of downtown. you feel as though you could touch the arch with your fingers. what a better way to celebrate. rolling coolers filled with frosty beverages. camping chairs. throw in the ability to avoid the massive crowd and the traffic – wow – you could not ask for a better way to celebrate.
my boys begun the day with a quick nap before the festivities.
then it was time for the airshow. i’m not sure who enjoyed it more. parker or doug.
we waved to all the planes. it melted my heart. each and every single wave followed by ‘bye bye’ made me weak in the knees.
paw-paw must be one heck of a funny guy.
still waving.
happy fourth from my family to yours.
ah. the three day weekend. i love it. i love having an extra day tacked on to a weekend. what’s not to love? an extra day to sleep in (which my child did every morning – hallelujah). an extra day to run errands. an extra day to do nothing in particular. not to mention that the following work week is now a four day work week. hello happiness. bliss. hearts. rainbows. unicorns.
this past three day weekend was in honor of the fourth of july. so how did we spend it? bbq. bbq. and more bbq. friday we bbq’d over at my sister and brother-in-laws home. they have a gorgeous and gigantic backyard so needless to say the boys ran wild (along with their imaginations). they got dirty. sweaty. smelly. they’re boys. i could not and would not expect anything less.
then for the fourth we celebrated with doug’s entire family at his aunt an uncle’s house. they host it every year. delicious bbq. cold beer. kiddos begging to get into the pool. what could be better? it was a great time as always. we left sun-kissed, waterlogged and tired.
this is emma. doug’s god-daughter. the.cutest.thing.ever. she is just so happy. so chubby. so good. i just love her so. and i loved snapping photos of this little beauty. and judging by the photos she didn’t mind so much either. she was so content and so quiet all day. passed from one lap to the next. never once making a peep. a fuss. nothing.
this is emma’s big sister, josie. this skinny little things loves the camera. every time i turned around she was looking right at me. almost as if she was hunting me. peering around squinty eyed until she found me. and find me she did. usually just in time to squeeze her cute self into the shot. usually yelling out ‘cheese’ from across the yard.
charlie. he’s emma and josie’s big brother. he’s so quiet and smart and charming. just a sweet little man. he’s going to be one heck of a heartbreaker with his big blue eyes (not pictured – he he) and blonde hair.
can we just talk about the picture on the left? the hair? the curls? i.love.them. is it sad that i am refusing to cut that boy’s hair? i just can’t do it. i won’t do it. his hair is out of control and i adore it. each and every single hair on his head makes me swoon. makes me want to squeeze him harder. hug him longer. love him more. curl after endless curl. perfect.
my little boy had such a great day. he floated in his blow up whale all day. laughing. kicking his feet. splashing. considering i’m the in-house photographer and i was in the pool floating around the first half of the day no pictures were snapped. but i did manage to get this one of him right before he put that rock in his mouth.
we had a great time. wonderful weather. wonderful people. wonderful food. happy (belated) fourth, everyone. more pictures to come.
i love our home. it’s cozy. it’s comfy. it’s us. this home is the home we became a family. first a family of two. then three. counting the cats – five. 10-foot ceilings. a brick fireplace. molding. it’s just right. i adore this home. the memories these walls hold are irreplaceable. i’ll never forget where i stood when i told doug we were pregnant. i’ll never forget walking through the door after stepping off the place from our honeymoon. i’ll never forget the day we heard a tiny drip that turned into a massive flood. i’ll never forget the day i moved in. i’ll never forget the laughter. the tears. the everything. this house holds our lives.
this house is also messy. lots of people come into our home and comment how beautiful it is. how inviting it is. how clean it is. clean? yes, clean. by that i am normally shocked. i must admit i have my moments in which i will clean every square inch. i also have my moments in which, well, i don’t. i don’t life a finger. and that’s alright. a home is a home because it is lived in, not because it is for show. i love the worn in coushins on our couch. i love the cheerios i find from time to time hiding under the coffee table. i love finding sticky spots when sippy cups lay slowly dripping apple juice. that’s home. my home. our home.
so to all the non-believers who swear they have never seen our home a mess, i would like to showcase our home on a typical thursday night. well, friday night. monday night. thursday night. you get the picture.
without further ado. home sweet home.
in the picture on the right you will see a bowling pin, a bowl that was full of bananas, a pillow, a blanket removed from the arm of the couch, a controller for the ps3, a stuffed puppy, a stuffed monkey, a sippy cup of apple juice, a bottle of milk, pat the hammer, another bowling pin, a bucket and shovel, a pretend steering wheel, a tiny ball that goes in the green dragon, a bouncy turtle, and a ride-on elmo airplane. oh. and my child. what you don’t see are the 5 bowling pins, 2 bowling balls, 3 tiny balls that go with the green dragon set, a book about animals, a rubber chicken and another stuffed monkey hiding under the couch.
the infamous toy basket. this is normally dumped completely out. probably takes a good half hour to clean up when all is said and done.
who doesn’t have a 4-wheeler in their dining room?
and last but not least. things we keep up high. like shoes. if we didn’t keep these out of little fingers reach we would never have a pair. at least not a matching pair.
keys, sunglasses, phone, valuables. all out of little sticky hands reach. my phone is beat-up. that’s the third pair of new sunglasses. and keys are never a good thing for kiddos. do you know how many times he’s hit the panic button and i’m the one running around in a panic trying to first find the keys and second, to shut the alarm off?
enjoy my beautiful mess. i do.
not for parker. not for doug. for me. and i am so excited. it will be on my doorstep in a few weeks and i cannot wait.
what is it you ask?
the proof will be in the pictures in just a few weeks.
stay tuned.
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