Yesterday

After Boyd's nap, we bundled up and headed out to run some errands. We dropped a few things at Goodwill, sold some books at Half Price Books, dropped off some food for the hungry at church, got McDonald's, went shopping at various stores, and went to Walmart. I loved this marshmallow lollipop from Walmart. They have the cutest Valentine's stuff there this year!


I got over my pity party about not wanting to cook. I made 2 days worth of meals yesterday. It's so nice to get that done. I made some lentils as a side. We LOVE them! If you want to make the best lentils ever, use my friend Emily's recipe, here. I cheat and only use a few ingredients.




Boyd loves to quack like a duck. In fact, he QUACKS all day long! We have a few duck things around, since Kevin started hunting. It's so funny. There was a commercial during the Super Bowl. I think it was The Simpson's. One of the characters has a funny duck bill looking lip, and Boyd quacked at him! :) We bought this blue duck yesterday at Walmart. I got to hear quack quack all the way home......



Boyd doesn't really form any sentences yet that make a lot of sense to us, but he does have the following words that he says most often. He also repeats a lot of what we say, and he copies our actions. We're at that stage now where we have to watch every word that comes out of our mouths!

elmo
ernie
doggie
daddy
hammer
cheese
{meow}
{quack}
{moo}
{roar}
boo
light
two
baby
night night
bye bye
hello
truck
bubbles
apple juice
oh no
wow
ball
apple

ps. Boyd says daddy all the time to Kevin. Very enthusiastically. It's super cute, BUT I started getting a little jealous. That is, until we were out at Walmart, and a lady passed us and Boyd pointed to her and started yelling Daddy, Daddy! ha.

Funky

It's wet and cold here. I think I'm in that end of winter funk. Winter doesn't usually bother me, but with an active toddler, it would be nice to have more outdoor days. The trees are all bare and the grass is brown and I don't like that. At least our holly bushes are pretty, with their red berries. We have some snow in the forecast for this week, but who knows if it will happen. I do always enjoy a bit of snow.

I'm trying to be positive and happy, but sometimes you just get all weird about things. Know what I mean?! I know it sounds ungrateful, because I have so much to be thankful for. It doesn't mean you're not thankful just because you are in a slump.

I've really been struggling the last few weeks with keeping up with Boyd. I know it will be better when I have all of my energy back, but I'm still a bit drained from being sick, and I go to bed each night wondering how in the heck will I keep up with him the next day. My house is clean, but it's needs a deep cleaning. AND, I'm tired of cooking dinner. How awful am I?!

I think Boyd and I will venture out later today for McDonald's and a few thrift stores. That always makes me feel better.

I know I'm rambling and this is going nowhere, so I will go for now!

...I feel very ungrateful after re-reading this, but I'm not going to delete it. We all have the right to feel this way occasionally, as long as we don't dwell on these things every single day. I have a good life and many wonderful things in my life. I will focus on the GOOD and not the bad.

The Last Few Days

Wow, this sick stuff has taken the energy out of me. I am feeling better finally, I think. I still don't feel like my old self though. Boyd and I played outside one day and I took a few pictures. It was chilly out, but the sky was so blue, I just wanted to drink it in. I can't wait for spring and summer. I'm ready for iced tea and flip flops! I'm weird and even though I LOVE iced tea, I just can't drink it when the weather is cold out.


I postponed my girl's night for a couple of weeks. I just didn't have the energy and I knew that I would not enjoy some wine feeling the way I have felt. Plus, I don't want to bring anyone else into our house with any germs that might be lingering around. I want to really enjoy my night! Emily is so great and understanding. I'm looking forward to getting together with her in a couple of weeks. Party! :)

We met Kevin's cousin, his wife and their four boys for lunch. They live in Tyler and have been there about a year and a half. They moved down from MN. We haven't seen them in 6 or 7 years. It was so nice to see them and their boys are precious. I totally forgot my camera too. Hallie, thanks for contacting us. We're glad to have gotten together.

Anyway, here are just a few pictures of Boyd playing in the backyard. I haven't picked my camera up very much in the last week.







PS. the only reason he is wearing a Tommy Hilfiger shirt is because it was a hand me down! I didn't even know how to spell Hilfiger.....lol.....

A Laugh

{I scheduled this post. I'm really still on my "blog break"}.

Just wanted to give you a laugh. Kids will do this, and there is nothing you can do about it.

It's still embarassing to the parents. :)

Cinnamon Honey Butter

I saw this recipe on Barefoot Contessa today. I had the ingredients, so I made some. Then I had it on some toast. Yum. You need to put a generous amount on the bread. I think this would be good on pancakes and waffles too. Anyway, this recipe was so easy. My kind of recipe. I think this might be what I'm making for Christmas gifts this year. She said it will keep in the fridge for a long time. She also suggested mixing different fruit jams with butter, to make other flavored butters. I love this idea.

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3 Tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
tiny pinch of salt

Mix in a bowl with an electric mixer.
This is what you get.
So good!




I know I fibbed in my post below. Now I really am taking a computer break for the rest of the week! Thank you Grandma Kathy for picking Boyd up today and playing with him for a while. I know he had fun, and I enjoyed my time also! I'm so grateful for the loving people in my life.

Good Things

1. They have started construction on the new Target that is right outside of our neighborhood. I can literally put Boyd in his stroller and walk to it once it's opened.

2. I'm over the stomach virus I had last week. Boyd is just about over his cold. Now I have Boyd's cold. BUT, it's much better than the stomach virus, so I'll take it.

3. I found this huge coloring book at Dollar Tree. Love it. It even has a full page of stickers. Boyd really likes it.



4. I also buy these curly bows at Dollar Tree. You get 3 for one dollar. I like to put them on birthday cards if I'm hand delivering them. They just make it a little more festive.


5. This sock monkey Easter basket from Big Lots. Thanks Dina for letting us know about it. Only $7!


6. I get to have a girls night "in" at my house this Saturday night with my good friend Emily. Wine, food and movies. I can't wait! We're also meeting Kevin's cousin, his wife, and their boys for lunch on Saturday at the FW Stockyards.

7. We cut our grocery budget by $100 a month starting this year, and we still had money left over last month!

8. Boyd points to several crosses we have in our house, and says, Jesus.

9. Giant chocolate bars.....



10. Kevin's mom is picking Boyd up from school tomorrow. It will give me a little extra time and Boyd will love it! Thanks Kathy!

11. Now, I know I always say this, but I'm going to take the rest of the week off the computer. It's really good for my stress level to stay off the computer and no TV for a while. We should all do this a little more often. It quiets my mind. Don't you ever feel like there is just too much "noise" in this world?!

Have a great week!

Sunday

Kevin called about 11 am yesterday and was headed home from San Antonio. He said he'd be home in about 5 hours. So, Boyd and I needed to find something to do because I was going NUTS in the house. I didn't want to get out because it was so cold, but we had to. I love shopping around at Central Market, so we headed there. I picked up some Pirate's Booty. Do you love this stuff? I do. So does Boyd.


We also went to World Market and got some more of this coffee that I LOVE!



We then went to the mall to play and walk around. There were no less than 1 million kids at the play area, and Boyd was actually intimidated by the chaos. He played for a few minutes, then we looked around, got a bite to eat, and headed home. I couldn't wait to get home and make some coffee. I haven't had any in 5 days. My stomach just wasn't up for it. However, I have been eating on the cake that my mom made. BEST CAKE EVER! She froze the leftovers for me. I just pop a piece out and put it in the microwave. It's so good. You should make it. (I wrote about it a couple of posts down). I hope Kevin doesn't see it in the freezer!

PS. Did you know that today, somewhere, a bunch of artists are getting together to remake the song, We Are The World. I can't wait to see and hear it. It's for the Haitian relief effort.

Terrible 2's

boyd has been a lunatic lately. biting, pinching, hitting.
screaming.
throwing crazy fits when he doesn't get what he wants.
how are we going to survive this?!
he is only 22 months old.
on the other hand, he's getting so smart. saying every word you can imagine.
saying "moo" when we point to the cow. "quack quack" to the duck.
he knows the name of every toy if you tell him to go get it.
i love this stage and i {hate} this stage.

I find myself getting really aggravated. I want to approach him in a calm manner but I don't find myself doing that. I know it doesn't help that I've been sick, he's had a cold, we've been inside practically all week. BUT, I wish I knew how to deal with him better. Wow. I savor the moments when he cuddles up with me because he's really tired. Those don't come very often though. I love him and I know I'm handling this all wrong. How do you get through this part?

Chocolate Fixes Everything

you guys were right.
when you don't feel well you want someone to take care of you.
and you want some chocolate.
all is well in the world!



warm chocolate cake
with a touch of cinnamon


Here is the recipe, click here. Don't forget to add a tsp of cinnamon to the dry cake mix.


thanks mom for making this cake, and for taking care of us.
we decided to splurge while Kevin was away having fun.
and only grandmas can get away with something like this...letting Boyd lick the beaters, in the bath tub!


all of your comments have been so sweet. thank you and I appreciate all of you!

Sick Day

I woke up yesterday feeling awful. I can handle a cold, but this was something nasty. I was so nauseous, tired, achy. My head was killing me. I couldn't do anything with Boyd. Kevin left work early, I crawled into bed and stayed there the rest of the day. I felt so bad that I was praying and saying, help me! Mommies can't really take sick days, and I did everything I could to feel better, but nothing was working. I could hear Boyd and Kevin all evening in the living room, and my heart kind of ached to not be with them, but I didn't have one ounce of energy. When I moved, I felt worse.

Kevin brought me lots to drink, some soup, and a cheese quesadilla. I only had a few bites of food. That is how I really know I'm sick, when I can't eat. Kevin had a trip planned for San Antonio so he canceled. I begged him to go. It's a fun BBQ cookoff that he's gone to for several years now, and I didn't want him to miss it. He decided late last night to go ahead and go. I feel a bit better today and my mom is coming for a couple of days, so all should be good!

Dinner And Stuff

We had some of this last night.
I buy the loaf of french bread that is already sliced.
brush olive oil on both sides.
top with the bruschetta mixture from Sam's.
top with cheese.
bake until cheese is melted and slightly browned.



This is what you get. Is your mouth watering?


.....................

A few bath pictures from yesterday. Boyd has been taking a couple of baths a day when we are home all day. Just gives him something to do. He loves it and will stay in there for an hour at a time. I kind of love it too!

Dill Dip For Raw Veggies

This is probably our favorite dip for raw veggies. Mix together dry dill weed, dried minced onion, 8 oz each of sour cream and mayo. So easy. We don't really have measurements on the dry ingredients. I would guess a couple of tablespoons each. You really can't add too much. Everyone always loves this. I promise you will too! I made a batch of it yesterday. I had some carrots that needed some dip. ha.



Mix well. Put in fridge. Mix again before serving.


My very favorite raw veggie is jicama. Do any of you like it? I don't buy it often though because it's so dang hard to get the peel off. But I LOVE it!

Surprise Mail

Two of my blog friends sent me packages last week. Thank you so much. I love everything. I have met some really great friends here! It's kind of like having a bunch of new pen pals. You're never too old for that. :)

Nina sent me this pumpkin mix. She has blogged about it before. I always tell her I'm jealous that she has a Trader Joe's store. We don't, but I wish we did. Can't wait to try this out. Thank you Nina!


Nichole sent me a goodie package. I love these labels she puts on her "good mail".


She made this banner. I have a few decorations for Valentine's Day, so this just goes perfectly. I love it!


She also sent some candy. yum. Some neat initial rub on transfers, and this pillow that she made. She took a picture of Boyd from my blog and made it. Boyd pointed to it and said, baby. The pillow is really special to me. Thank you Nichole!


PS. Hallie, I got your message. I replied to you in the comments in the post below. We'd love to get together!

Birthday Party

Boyd and I spent a long weekend at my mom and stepdad's. Kevin joined us on Saturday for our niece's 2nd birthday. Happy Birthday Cale. She is a cute and silly girl, and we love her to pieces. Here are a few pictures. Boyd WORE ME OUT. He has suddenly become very attached to me again and won't let me leave the room. Plus he was just super fussy all weekend. He is hanging out with Grandma Kathy for a few hours today, so I need to take advantage of it and get some rest........

The birthday girl.





The kids decorated their own cupcakes. It was cute, and messy!






It was a Minnie Mouse theme...



It was a fun weekend. We also had lunch to celebrate my grandma's 81st birthday. We had tacos and a delicious coconut/pineapple pie. Happy Birthday again, G!

It goes without saying how much I love Boyd. I know this is just another one of many, many stages he will go through. Parenting is HARD!

Green Roses

Yesterday I....

got Boyd ready and took him to school.
finished organizing my pictures.
went to Walmart.
Sam's.
The Post Office.
Dollar Tree.
{ate tacos}.
picked Boyd up.
gave him a snack.
cleaned out the fridge.
divided and froze a lot of hamburger meat and pork chops.
made dinner,
chicken salad,
pudding,
more salsa,
cut up 3 bunches of celery for Kevin. I hate celery.
cleaned marker off the floor that Boyd found.
gave Boyd a bath and got him ready for bed.
tried to be a nice and happy wife when Kevin got home.
probably did a few other things.
I bought myself some green roses. my favorite.


I use a large pickle jar for a vase. I love it! (the buds look yellow in the photos, but they are green).



PS. Happy 81st birthday to my grandmother, today!

Organizing Photos

Since Boyd was born, I think I have organized something in my house every single day. I'm fairly obsessive about it. I hate it, but it's just the way I'm made. I have had this box of pictures that I didn't want to tackle. Actually 2 boxes. My mom suggested I label a bunch of large envelopes and just start sorting. I did that yesterday. I'm almost done. I'm so happy. It is working out really well. My miscellaneous photos have NEVER been organized.


I ran across some fun memories.


I'm so thankful to have a lot of old family photos. This is my dad as a baby. Boyd favors him a lot. That makes me happy.


This wedding photo belongs in my wedding album. Not sure how it wound up in this mess.


I have one more organizing tip that I should have shared at Christmas. My mom also told me about it. Go to a liquor store when they have their delivery day. Get some empty boxes that the wine comes in. They already have all of the slots in them. You can store a ton of ornaments per box. I am going to do that next Christmas.

Quesadillas And The Devil

I finally broke out the quesadilla maker that I won from my friend Nina's blog. We love it. Thank you Nina! I picked up some fresh tortillas yesterday. That makes all the difference, I think. I put hamburger meat, black beans, cheese and salsa inside. They were delicious. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of the finished product. Boyd really tested us yesterday and I was pretty frazzled and just wanted to eat. Seriously frazzled.



Before anyone gets upset with me, I'm only kidding about the devil. Well maybe and maybe not. We LOVE Boyd. We didn't particularly like him yesterday. Oh my gosh! He bit us, scratched us, hit us, threw everything at us, fussed, yelled and cried. You go from feeling bad that something must be wrong, to just thinking.....how much longer until bedtime! And he went to bed EARLY.....he's still my beautiful baby boy though....


PS. Kevin and I have officially entered middle age. We are now proud members of The Wheel Of Fortune Wheel Watchers Club! :) My grandma will get a good laugh out of that.

Boyd

I thought these 2 pictures of Boyd from yesterday were funny. He looks surprised in the first one. In the second one, he's trying to sneak some of the birthday cake. I'll admit that I wasn't in the best of moods to really take a bunch of pictures. I just snapped a bunch and they didn't turn out well at all. I should have done better to get some good pictures for Kathy's 60th birthday.


Today I ran a few errands. We're just hanging around the house today. We should be outside, it's so beautiful. Maybe later. I just made some fresh salsa and I'm about to pop some popcorn and dip it in the salsa. My favorite snack! That's about it for now.....pretty exciting, huh?!