Track season

Hunter did awesome this year in track. I'm so proud of him. The thing that makes me the most proud is not how great he is at a sport, but the dedication he puts forth. Last year he ran the mile and the relay. This year, he was strictly working on the mile. All his times were average- about 7 minutes, 25 seconds each meet. A few mishaps here and there (shoe fell off during one run, he fell during another run) but he kept on at it. Towards the end of the season, for the last 5 meets, only the top 5 runners in the mile could participate. You would think that meant that his season was over- since he was never top 5 on his team. It didn't. You see, he volunteered to run the 400 (1 lap around the track) because there were only 2 participants. And you know what? He was pretty good at it. He had been averaging about 1 min, 25 seconds. His last meet, he ran it and came in 2nd with 1 min, 10 seconds. He has a meet on Monday- and if he finishes second, he gets to go to conference finals. This kid is psyched... and I couldn't be more proud!

10 years later and still in style

When my parents came over last weekend, my mom brought a box of Hunter's old clothes. When she first mentioned it, I chuckled in my head. Surely nothing would still be in style. I was so surprised to see my good, name brand clothes that Hunter used to wear! So- into the washer they went and today was the first day that Owen was able to wear his brothers hand me downs. He looks so cute in them- and so proud. All he wanted to do was show Hunter!

Hunter's fleece Old Navy pullover

baby gap long sleeve baseball t shirt

Weekend Recap and a Recipe

We had such a nice weekend! I had to work very late on Thursday (about a 15+ hour day) so took Friday and worked from home. It was so nice to sit in bed with my laptop and work, while watching my dvr of the Royal Wedding. I cleaned a little and Sean's parents came over for dinner.

Saturday was a busy day for me. I had one of my closest friends baby showers- it was so nice- and I am so excited for them to have their little boy and then I rushed to see some of my sorority sisters! Our friend Michelle was in town from Washington (her husband is in the Army so they are stationed there) and she made her way for a visit while he is serving in Afghanistan. I brought the babies with me so they could play with the other kids. They had a blast! I left there about 8pm and came home, put the babies to bed, and Sean and I took advantage of having Hunter home to babysit while we went to a local bar for drinks and wings. So nice to get out with just the two of us.

On Sunday my parents came over for a visit. They hadn't seen the kids in about 2 weeks since we were out of town for Easter and the kids loved it. Quinlin could not stop giving kisses when they left. For dinner I tried a new recipe to serve and it was a hit. Hunter loved it- both he and my dad took seconds, so I knew it was good!

Chicken Pot Pie
INGREDIENTS

Crust
1 box (15 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 3/4 cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
1/2 cup milk
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey (I used about 2 1/2 chicken breasts)
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
(my recipe didn't seem to have enough creamy mixture so I also used 1 can cream of chicken soup and it was perfect)
DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 9-inch glass pie pan.
2. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.
3. Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables (and cream of chicken soup if you desire). Remove from heat. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust.
4. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Delicious!!!

The Royal Wedding

I just finished watching the Royal Wedding where Prince William married Catherine Middleton.  What an amazing display. I was too young to remember the Prince Charles/ Princess Di wedding but everyone would talk about it for years... so i knew this was something i definitely wanted to DVR.

i will say, I was amazed. I couldn't even begin to imagine what she felt... every little girl's dream marrying Prince Charming.

I love this picture:

amazing...

Lucky for me, I married my Prince Charming too.

Madden and Draft!

Lots of happenings for Cleveland fans...

Congrats to Peyton for making the cover of the 2012 Madden game... woot woot!!!

Who would have thought? Makes Hunter even more excited to have this for the memory bank:

And- in honor of the NFL Draft tonight... Go Browns!

More Pictures

More pictures from our Easter Weekend- really for the grandma and aunties who like to read my little bloggy blog!

Owen Fishing

New froggy boots

they started the hunt for the baskets but Quinlin was missing her pants and sock. Oh well.

 admiring the goods

new crocs!

 Hunter enjoying his basket

Owen emptied his to see if there was more

she liked the reese cups... or because it was gold and shiny (smart girl)

new crocs!

you weren't getting anything out of her hands

Gosh- he looks so old!!!

crocs not coming off!

our very last binky picture- yay Owen!

and just because she looked cute yesterday morning

Hunter and Owen

Weekend Recap- Easter 2011

We had such a nice weekend! It started on Thursday night- Hunter had buddies over for the night and we had consoled a friend who had gone through a bad breakup. We drank wine, ate pizza and hung out. I did have plans to go out to dinner with a few girlfriends but this took priority so I rescheduled for May. Friday morning I had all intentions to scrub my house from top to bottom while the babies were at daycare. At least I thought about it. I took the boys to McDonalds for breakfast, went grocery shopping, did a quick return at Old Navy and settled at home while the boys played. Hunter's friends stayed all day Friday and Friday night too- it was like they were permanent fixtures at our house. I love that we're a house the kids hang out at!

While they played, I prepared our jello mold for Easter and a new cookie recipe. They were fabulous. Sean said the best cookies he's ever had. So- that means a lot because he likes cookies!

I found a blog a few weeks back and had been dying to make this yummy goodness!

They looked a little messy but were fantastic. Must try them if you never have. From the picky-palate.com:

Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Pudding Cookies2 sticks softened butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 oz box instant chocolate pudding mix
10 oz bag peanut butter chips
1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or line with a silpat liner.
2. In a stand or electric mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla until well combined.
3. Place flour, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl, mixing to combine. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate pudding mix, peanut butter chips and marshmallows. Mix until just combined. With a medium cookie scoop, place onto baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until cooked through. Let cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring.
Makes 3 dozen cookies

Mine made about 2 dozen (if that) cookies but my scooper may have been a little large. Also- next time I make them, I'm really going to try to keep the marshmallows inside the dough more. It melted out if they were on the outside of the cookie.

We woke up Saturday morning and drove to the farm. Jennifer (Sean's sister) rode with me as Sean had a fishing tournament and planned to meet us down there. We took a ride and stopped in Amish Country to pick up a gorgeous toy box that Sean's mom bought Quinlin for her birthday (it took 12 weeks to make). It's so nice- I'm afraid to put toys in it. I put it in Quinlin's room and am moving blankets into it for right now along with a few stuffed animals.

We did an Easter egg hunt (Owen raced and tried to steal all the eggs) on Saturday and the kids played outside. Sean took Hunter turkey hunting and let him practice shooting for the first time. He loved it. They went out Easter morning in the rain and camo gear and hunted for a few hours. He had a blast! Owen fished for the first time and really had a nice time down there.

Owen looking for frogs in the creek

with cousin Gracie and Grandma

Easter Egg Hunt!

Admiring his prizes!

Quinlin just wanted the candy inside

Gracie took Quinlin's basket

Daddy loves his baby girl!

Sean's brother Chuck and his family

The kids got matching sleeping bags

fishing!

We had Easter dinner on Sunday and got home about 6pm. Sean told Owen he left binky at the farm. So- last night was night 1 of no binky- and it was such a success! He's counting the days until he sees Grandma to get it back so we're hoping he forgets about it by then anyway. (he didn't really leave it- so it's high up in a cabinet for now...)

I have more pictures but on the regular camera. Will post those this week!

Take Me out to the Ballgame

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

Dear Quinlin- 15 Months Old

Quinlin turned 15 months on the 11th and I figured it was time for another milestone post. These last few months have been amazing. First the stats:

• 26 lbs, 1 oz of goodness! My little princess has tipped the scales in the 88% for her weight.
• 30.5 inches- 48%
• head was 50%- not quite sure what the measurement was

So- she's short and chunky- but I really feel like she is starting to slim down a bit. She still has an adorably huge belly and feels like she weighs more than Owen, but I do think she's starting to lose a little. In a month, she gained about a half a pound, so I'll take it. Her pediatrician is not concerned at all, so I wont be either. I do laugh about it though!

Her doctor was very impressed with her language development. In the last few months, Quinlin has been talking more and more. She repeats everything. Her favorite word is bow- and she asks to wear her bows all the time. We leave her room and she pulls one off her bow holder and we style her hair. I love it!

At the appointment, the doctor was using the one tool to look in her ears and Quinlin sounded like she said "can I see that?" and reached out for it. I know she really didn't say it, but she'll have full conversations with you and really think she's talking.

• She loves itsy bitsy spider. She doesn't sing along but she does all the motions while you sing it. Sometimes I change her diaper and there she is laying on her table motioning the words ready for you to sing.
• She has really been into playing with her brothers lately. She loves to get in on the wrestling and has really been into antagonizing Owen. She takes anything that he has and runs from him laughing. He hates it. We have been known to break up a few fights here and there because of it. And- we'll tell Owen to go say he's sorry to Quinlin and give her a kiss. he'll be stubborn and do nothing- and Quinlin will come running over to him with open arms giving him kisses.
• She says mama, dada, owen, hunter, ball, bow, hi, bye, night night.
• Size 4 diapers and size 18 month clothing
• size 4 shoes- though I think her nikes are getting a little snug.
• She is in full walking mode and has even recently added running to the mix.
• She loves to play outside and loves to walk. Freedom!!!

It's been an amazing few months of milestones! And- just an amazing year. I am so lucky and feel incredibly blessed to have this little girl in my life!

Weekend Recap

Another weekend has come and gone. I feel like I live for the weekends and count down my week until the weekend, just for it to end so quickly. We had a low key weekend. The weather wasn't the greatest, which probably helped in the low-key, didn't do much aspect.

Saturday morning we took the two babies to an Easter Egg Hunt in our development. Hunter's friend Michael slept over Friday night so we left the older kids at home and brought Owen and Quinlin. It was cold and rainy and just a miserable morning.

Owen did enjoy himself, even though he didn't seem to show it. All he talked about afterwards was the egg hunt and his eggs.

We came home and Quinlin played with her hair bows...

Owen waited for the rain to stop

And then it finally did and Sean introduced him to a baseball mitt...

We went to my parents house for dinner on Saturday... Owen and Poppy played with blocks

and we had a nice dinner and watched UP. Well most of it anyway. We didn't get to finish it as it was getting late and I started to not feel well.

Sunday we went to Sean's friend Ed's son's 2nd birthday party. it was fun- until I accidentally smashed Quinlin's fingers in a door. Poor little thing cried and cried- I felt awful. Low key rest of the night. I watched Desperate Housewives while Sean and Hunter gamed out in the basement. And- I don't know why I keep watching. It's one of those shows that I have watched for years, even as the story lines get worse and worse.

Oh well- on to the week. This week brings us Quinlin's 15 month doctors appointment, a night out with girlfriends and the Easter holiday weekend. Lots to do- and no time to do it!