Wordless Wednesday- Playing in the Leaves

Sean picked up the kids from school early yesterday to enjoy the warm  November weather. I was slightly jealous as I was still at work, but I enjoyed the video that he sent me and saw the joy in Owen's eyes enjoying a simple fall day.

Ring Around the Rosie

Tell All Tuesday (a day late)

Since I was so focused on Owen's successful potty training, I missed tell all Tuesday. So-today it will be tell all tuesday Wednesday!

• I am so proud of Owen. Last night he went to bed about 9:45 (after stalling). At 10:15, I heard him in bed talking about pee and poop. So- I ran down there expecting to see he had an accident, and he had to go. So- we rushed to the bathroom and he pooped and went right to bed. Yay Owen!
• Woke up dry this morning! Such a champion
• No accidents at all (so far). We are on day 5 of being out of diapers and in underpants only. Woo hoo!
• Sick of all the potty training talk? sorry
• Casey Anthony- OMG... disgusted. Nothing says innocent to me than competing in hot body contests and being out partying when you're daughter is "missing". Stupid young mom. I was 20 when I had Hunter- and would never have been doing any of the things she did if something had happened to him.
• Edwards Pies- amazing. We just discovered them a few months ago (in the freezer section) and cannot get enough of them.. which I think is why I have gained a few pounds.
• I can also admit that a few pounds may have come from the fact that I wait for my children to go to bed before I eat "the good stuff" just so I don't have to share. Is that wrong?
• Because of those pesky 3 pounds, I attempted to start the couch to 5K workout... I ran with my sister in law, Jen, twice... She runs marathons... I can't even run 1/4 mile...
• Hunter's going to work with a golf pro tonight- he's excited! we think his clubs are too big so we'll see if they can fit him properly.

to make up for my lack of pictures last week, and my picture overload this week... check out the cuteness:

If you listen carefully, you can hear Quinlin's attempt at singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". I love her voice!

Take Me out to the Ballgame

He gets a little distracted- and it's sideways, but I had to post!

Tell All Tuesday

• I made an amazeballs dinner last night and am quite proud of myself. My friend Gia posted this recipe on her blog and I seriously licked my plate when I was finished. I made dinner, cleaned the kitchen and then prepped tonight's dinner of French Dip Sandwiches in the crockpot. Chicken is thawing now for tomorrow so after dinner, I will cut the chicken and prepare it so that tomorrow night will be easy as well. I love when I am organized and have a stocked freezer/pantry!
• Today is Hunter's first track meet of the season. He didnt run at all during spring break and they didnt run yesterday due to the rain, so we'll see how he does. He's running in only one event this season- the mile. I'm hoping to be able to scoot out of work to watch him. Though- with the weather today, it may get cancelled as well.
• I also need to get to Target. Owen desperately wants to see the movie Cars. I taped Ratatouille the other day not knowing it followed Cars on tv. So- the dvr picked up the last minute of Cars while starting to tape Ratatouille. We have watched that last minute 26 times now. I got a Target gift card in the mail through Ebates so I will only have to pay a small amount for the actual movie.
• Have I raved on here how much I love Ebates? So far I have gotten one check for $12.10 and I have pending cash of $15.36 for other online purchases. If I'm going to shop online, I might as well get cash back for it. Sign up now if you haven't!!! Link here!
• Yesterday we had the great poop incident of 2011 for Quinlin. How can someone so small and beautiful produce the craziness that she did yesterday? She didnt get kicked out of daycare like I thought she would, but holy moly!
• Check out the cute dancing machines from the other night at my brother in laws? Quinlin's new thing is to dance and spin in circles... Adorbs!

Friday!

In honor of Rebecca Black- hahaha

I am so happy it's Friday (not enough to sing about it but the song is so annoying you end up catching yourself- ick).

Anyway- it was a good week. Work was very busy and some extra playtime with Hunter, so no complaints here. Owen also worked on potty training (kind of) this week. Sean's mom bought him underwear, so every night since Sunday, he has worn his big boy underpants for at least an hour just to get used to them. Last night was the longest he was in them- about 2 hours. No accidents, but he also wont go on the potty either. Sean made the mistake of telling him that the potty ate poo poo and pee pee so I think the poor kid is afraid he's going to get sucked in and eaten as well. I have the 3 Day Potty Training Method that I need to try as soon as I get three days off in a row.

He looks like such a big boy!!!

Ok- I haven't done my TV Talk in a while- we were so consumed with selling things on ebay (7 items and $165 later) and looking for new homes, that I neglected my dvr. Now that we have decided we are not moving for at least a few more years, I was finally able to watch a few of my shows:

• Teen Mom 2- the only highlight of this week's finale was the wedding between Corey and Leah.
• Grey's Anatomy- OMG- a musical? It's not Glee. I'm thinking they jumped the shark. It was a good episode in terms of the story line- and Callie can sing, but the singing just seemed to cheesy and corny to me. Wasn't a fan- though I have the song Story in my head from it.
• American Idol- Loved Elton John week. Need to get into it more- I love Steven Tyler as a judge, but find myself watching Survivor instead of Idol if they are on at the same time.
• Survivor- loving it this season so far. Glad Russell is gone. I have my episode from this week dvr'd and hope to watch it today with Hunter.

Speaking of today- half day at work and then he and I are going to another movie. Off to see Source Code- will let you know my thoughts of it on Monday during my weekend recap. Other than that, usual errands tomorrow followed by a night out of drinks and bowling with a group of friends and finally meeting my nephew on Sunday. Have a great weekend!

Weekend Recap

We had such a nice weekend- a weekend with nothing to do and nowhere to be. I think we need more of those. It had been a rough week with bad colds and on Friday, I had no voice. It started with the sexy voice (remember the Friends episode when Monica was sick and Phoebe wanted the sick voice because it sounded better for her "smelly cat" song?). I had the sexy voice- which quickly turned to no voice which even quicker turned to a voice that sounded like an animal was dying.

My parents came over on Friday to take Hunter for the weekend so we asked for them to stay and watch Quinlin for a little while so we could take Owen to the Jumpyard. Hunter wanted to come too- I had such a great time with my boys. Who wouldn't enjoy themselves in a huge room of inflatables?

Owen looks thrilled, doesn't he?

Hunter loved trying to run up this slide.

Owen loved to bounce.

And loved this slide too.

It was a fun night- followed by lots of disinfecting when we got home.

The rest of the weekend was full of errands- Home Depot, Lowe's, Pier 1, Bed Bath & Beyond, Marc's, Sam's Club. You name it- we shopped there.

We also organized the front closet and have been compiling a good will bag and an eBay pile. If I can get things organized and sold, in addition to paying off Sean's truck (5 more payments), we can get a cleaning lady and possibly re-do our living room. Let me tell you- I am motivated to clean!

Saturday night we watched (finally) the Hurt Locker. I was looking forward to seeing it- but watched it and didn't understand the point. Oh well...

My parents came over for dinner Sunday- meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and steamed veggies- and I even prepped our chicken for tonight's dinner. After all the shopping we did this week, we shouldn't be eating out anytime soon (and that will allow us to save more). Yay!

I just love this laugh

Who would have thought a ringtone could be so entertaining?

Weekend Recap

This weekend seemed to go way too fast, as they all tend to do. Nothing really special either. On Friday night, I caught up on the dvr while Sean prepped his fishing gear for his last tournament of the season. Saturday was a day of grocery shopping and cleaning while Sean fished. He got home about 4:30pm after finishing 11th out of 41 and then we rushed up to Hunter's basketball game. We brought both babies and it was a disaster. As soon as the game started, Quinlin started fussing so Sean took her to the hallway to run around. Of course, he missed Hunter scoring his one and only basket. The rest of the game, we took turns between watching the kids and watching the game. They discovered a play room and there was no going back into the gymnasium.

Hunter's team won and have now finished their season undefeated. He has a bye this weekend and will start playoffs the following Saturday. Hunter's grandpa, Jiddo, came to the game and took Hunter out to eat afterwards. We were going to attempt to take the kids to Dairy Queen for dinner and decided against that and came home and I just made brinner. Saved us money and the hassle of going somewhere.

Sunday morning Sean's parents came over. They got there about 10:15am and stayed until about 1:45 when the kids went down for a nap. I made crockpot cream cheese chicken and it was fabulous.

Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken

Makes: 6 servings Total Time: 6 hr

What you need:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I usually just buy like a package that equals 1.5 lbs or so)
1 stick butter
1 package Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 bar cream cheese
1 pound gemelli pasta (this is the type I use but you can really use any pasta or rice)

make it:
In your slow cooker place the chicken, put stick of butter on top and pour package of Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing onto it all. Cook on low for 5 hours.
Take out chicken and shred/cut up.
Add can of cream of chicken soup and bar of cream cheese into crockpot seasoning/butter mixture and stir. Add shredded chicken back in and stir. Cook on low for one more hour.
Serve over pasta (or rice).

Sunday morning we were awoken by Owen at 4:45am who sounded like a barking seal. Croup was back- though we didn't know if it was croup or RSV. We took him outside for the cold air, gave him a breathing treatment and then brought him to the shower. He went to the doctor at 9:30 where he was diagnosed with spazzmatic croup. Poor kid cannot stay healthy. Luckily they gave him a steroid medicine and he was good as new!

Sunday night Sean and I met my friends Kelli and Carrie at Harry Buffalo for dinner and drinks and then off to the Cavs game we went. Kelli had her boss's tickets to the game and invited us to come. The seats were split in pairs- two seats 6 rows back and two seats Courtside. So, for the first half, we sat in the 6th row, for the 2nd half, we sat on the floor. It was amazing. I was spoiled sitting so close (and felt like a Kardashian). So fun. Too bad they lost.

They played the wizards so I was very focused on John Wall. Hunter became obsessed with the John Wall song (and dance moves) and got Owen into it too. So- of course, I was entirely preoccupied watching him.

It was a fun night, nice to get out. And today- nothing special planned here. I have dinner in the crockpot (bbq beef) and that's it. I did get a nice "hand" bouquet from Owen... Happy Valentine's Day.



The cutest is at the very end

Hi! I just love her...

Show Us Your Life- what are you feeding your toddlers

I'm participating in my first ever Show us Your life series with Kelly's Korner. I'm excited to finally be able to join in. Every time she has one, I think- Oh, I could do this...but then get to lazy about it.

This week's theme is Tell us what you feed your toddlers/preschoolers. I did a post on this back in October for a friend as we were discussing feeding our little ones and having such a hard time as they were either just learning to eat the real stuff or just too picky. Rather than retype it, you can click here for my post- Adventures in Table Food. I reference this every once in a while when in a rut since it gives the whole monthly menu as to what my little dude and diva eat at daycare.

I was also, coincidentally reading people.com today and there's agreat article here about an actress, Elizabeth Rohm, revamping her daughter's diet. I related- a lot- as there are times I cook a nice meal with Owen turning his nose to it and asking for "fuffins" (aka mini muffins).
and what fun is a post when it's really just a reference to an older post? So- with that, I bring you my new little walker. She's really getting good!

We have a WALKER!!!

so not a very eventful weekend- spent most of it trying to care for my never-ending sick children or cleaning and disinfecting...but- the highlight of the weekend was Quinlin walking!!! The first two videos are a little dark...but I didnt have time to fully adjust the lighting. The last video is lighter but only caught from behind.

Go Quinlin go!!!! My baby really is growing up!

Our night in review...

I got a text message from Hunter yesterday (and I think he texted because he was afraid to call) to tell me that he all of a sudden realized he had a project due for school and he forgot about it. Poor little dude started his homework at 3:30pm...

This is how he was when I got home... still smiling...

 working hard...

trying to concentrate

He finished at 11pm... the last part of his project was a brain teaser that took forever. I tried to help him- but realized I need to go back to eighth grade... I think I have lost a few brain cells since I graduated from college.

While Hunter worked on his homework, Quinnygirl ate dinner

helped unload the dishwasher

took a bath and then hungout in the kitchen while I cleaned some more

and then went to bed.

She awoke this morning in a great mood

But you know who was in a better mood? This little guy...

I promised my sister more pics of Hunter and Quinlin- but I couldn't resist the dancing machine at 7:15 this morning. He was a riot.

No pictures of Hunter from this morning... I think he had some bags under his eyes. Thank goodness we skipped basketball practice so he could get his homework done. Lesson learned- dont save things for the last minute.

So glad it's Friday. It's my half birthday- happy half birthday to me, happy half birthday to me... :)

Real quick- tv talk (what I watched this week)

• Desperate Housewives- why couldnt they just kill Paul Young already? I'm so sick of him... curious to see where the storyline plays out now that he knows about his wife. I also would like to say that I want Eva Longoria's hair...
• The Bachelor... I can't resist. Every season I get sucked in. I read realitysteve so I know the ending, but I still must watch. Hello boobs and weirdos on this season. And fang girl? Not sure why he kept her. I also cannot figure out Chantel O's ex-husband and it's killing me. I really like Emily- tragic past. Hooked.
• 16 & Pregnant- where are they now. I love that they did a recap of the girls who were never featured on Teen Mom... nice to see where thier lives have ended up. Some of them seem to really have things under control.
• Grey's Anatomy- episode was ok. Slightly predictable as even Sean was half watching and said "I bet Christina comes out of the ambulance" and sure enough, he was right. That's another show I can't give up on.

I think, sadly, that is all I watched. I seem to get one show a night (or have time for, let's say). I wanted to watch Modern Family (dvr'd) with Hunter last night (we love that show) but the homework consumed him and I didnt want to watch without him.

No big plans for the weekend. Sean is ice fishing tomorrow and I think we're going to his parents on Sunday to pick up Owen's full size mattress... I'm still on a bedding/ room decor hunt. If you have any ideas...send them my way.

A video from Christmas

ok- so I cant seem to post the one video of Owen not enjoying the beginning of Christmas... Though- I can post the video of him enjoying one of his new toys. Lets just say that I hope, for everyone's sake, that he chooses to follow a different path than a pilot...

Not much is going on with us. I am enjoying my vacation time, and sad to think it's already more than halfway over. I have a lot that I would like to get done today while the kids are at daycare and I think Hunter and I are going to do a little shopping/bonding time. Tonight- dinner with some girlfriends- and so excited because the location chosen is literally 5 minutes from my house!

On a sad note, my heart hurts for a mommy friend. Please keep Jen and her family in your prayers. I can't even begin to imagine what they are going through. :(

Weekend Recap

What we did this weekend!

We hung out with some cool football players...

We went to see Santa... but Quinlin got scared.

Owen got scared too...

 We ate some good food.

We lounged on the field...

We danced....boy did we dance.

We finally decided we liked Santa after all...

We practiced our standing.

We found the pots and pans...

We ate more good food....

We decided we wanted to shower... and stayed in there for 40 minutes.

all clean....

We baked cookies...

Boy- were we tired!

Such a great weekend. My company party was Friday night and the kids had a blast! They really did such a nice job with it. Owen couldn't stop talking about it- I know I have a little party animal on my hands. He did not want to leave the dance floor- neither did Hunter, in fact.

Saturday, my sister in law and I decided to attempt to go shopping with the kids... horrible idea. It was so crowded, I think we lost our patience after 2 stores. Needless to say, I have so much to get done this week.

Sean came home this morning from a week long fishing trip. So glad to have him home. These kids are exhausting...I now need a vacation...

Weekend Recap/ Menu Planning Monday

We had a very good, low-key weekend. On Friday, we did nothing. Hunter had his friend Evan spend the night and we thought it would be fun for them to go to the high school basketball game (so movie night in the basement went out the window). Sean dropped the boys off at the game and when he picked them up afterwards, they brought their friend Michael with. So- no decorating of the tree as I now had 3 eighth grade boys in my basement. And- note to self- next time boys spend the night, they need pillows and blankets on the couch... anybody know how to remove drool marks from furniture? (shudder)

Saturday after the boys left, we began decorating. We decided to chance it by putting the tree in our living room and just not using any of the glass bulb ornaments. Luckily, the babies like the way it looks, but do not have an interest in touching it (for the most part). owen likes to pull off the ornaments and look at them, but they are pretty good. I was nervous mostly for Quinlin, but she really hasnt shown an interest.

our finished product:

Some of my favorite ornaments...

It's so fun to pull the ornaments out every year and hang them on the tree. My mom got the last one for us this year- the first ornament to have our complete family on it.

The hand print was from 2001 of Hunter's. We had given this to my ex-boyfriend's family for Christmas that year (we dated for almost 6 years). I maintained a friendship with my ex's sister-in-law who told me one day that my ex's mom mentioned that she had the ornament in storage but knew she couldnt hang it anymore on their tree. She didnt want me to be offended that she didnt want it- and it wasnt that she didnt want it- it was more of a feeling of knowing my ex's wife would wonder why it was on the tree.... I was nowhere near offended, I was so happy that she was thoughtful enough to want me to have it back. It probably is one of my favorite things hanging.

After we decorated, I made a nice dinner (french onion chicken and roaster parmesan cauliflower) and Sean and Owen rushed off to meet Sean's buddy and daughter at Jumpyard (a local inflatable jumping zone).
Owen had a blast! I wish I could have seen him in person. Quinlin was fussy so in bed by 6:30- I knew she would never make it at one of those places.

On Sunday- our friends Sawsan and Mike came over and we watched the Browns beat the Dolphins (Go Browns!!!) and that was it. I made another good dinner (smothered chicken and baked potatoes) and cleaned the kitchen, did laundry, etc.

For our menu this week:
Sunday- smothered chicken (pan seered and then baked with onions, mushrooms and muenster cheese)
Monday- Cheeseburgers and French Fries
Tuesday- cashew chicken and rice
Wednesday- frozen pizza I think (kids on own with sitter- Sean and I to the Cavs game)
Thursday- chicken marsala and angel hair pasta
Friday- probably something on the go
Saturday- our 6th annual holiday party at our house

How cute is she?

I think aside from Mama and Dada, Owen has now entered her vocabulary!

(pardon the shakiness- this is from Sean's cell phone)

What we have been up to

We had a great weekend- well most of us...Hunter had his surgery- he was such a champion. To deal with getting 5 teeth pulled (two bottom wisdom, two upper adult, 1 upper baby tooth) and having a chain attached to the unexposed adult tooth behind the baby tooth took some strength. It was rough friday morning but then he kind of sailed through the rest of the day. I have a picture of him, but if he knew I posted it on my blog, he'd kill me. So- no image to post. He was eating pizza like a champ Friday night (of course, 10 minutes later the surgeon called to see how he was doing and specifically said no pizza- oops!) We spent the rest of the weekend home and relaxing.

Quinlin was a talking machine:

It was really cute- this one you definitely need the volume to hear Owen chiming in in the background...

And then- there is this one...Owen's laugh cracks me up:

And- she was also a mover and a shaker this weekend!



ignore my annoying voice in these- I get so excited!

We have a busy week ahead so I can't even begin thinking about a menu. This week should hopefully fly by for us.

Monday- I have a dentist appointment- yikes! I hate going- I put it off like crazy.

Tuesday- Hunter has a choir concert at school

Wednesday- open

Thursday- girls dinner with my 6 closest girlfriends. I am not sure as to location yet but am so excited to see them.

Friday- open

Saturday- My best friends 11th Annual Slumbar Party. I probably wont sleep over but its a fun night to get together in our jammies

Sunday- girls movie night (Life as We Know It) followed by dinner. I think there's about 8 of us going.

So- we'll see how motivated I am to cooking...I am more looking forward to all my girl time! I feel so forunate to have such an amazing group of girlfriends.



The Next Michael Symon?

This weekend was pretty lame. I feel like we didn't accomplish anything. Friday night, we just stayed in and played with the babies. Saturday we went to Marc's. Why is it that when you look like crap, you run into people you know? I seriously rolled out of bed and to the store and ran into one of the ladies from the daycare and another lady who I used to work with who recently retired. So good to see her and catch up, and have her meet the little ones, but I kept thinking, why did I not put makeup on? Oh well. Saturday night I went out with Kelli and Melanie to Panini's. Had a nice time- nice to get out once in a while with the girls. I need to plan more of these! And- I didnt get sick. Yay! Sunday was a beautiful day. Sean was supposed to go fishing all day but I convinced him to stay home. My parents came over and we went to lunch at Beef O'Brady's and then by the time we came home, it was naptime for the babies. So- I caught up on the DVR. Sean than took Hunter golfing with a buddy that night. So- low key I guess.

Hunter spent most of the weekend with his grandfather on his dad's side. I think he enjoyed himself. I missed having him around though. The babies were a joy though. Quinlin is really trying to form so many different sounds lately. it's funny to listen to them "talk" to each other. Owen was a sweet boy all weekend. No tantrums (until he stepped in dog poop and then was quaranteened to the house while sean cleaned up the yard and Owen's shoes). He even cooked a meal for us! Maybe if the basketball thing doesnt work out, he could open a restaurant? I want to buy him a play kitchen but may need to work the angle of it being for Quinlin...

The Next LeBron?

One can have hopes, right?