Ten on Tuesday

{1}
This is what a Tuesday night looks like in our house:

{2}

Tell me you love the boots. A friend found them at Goodwill and gave them to Kendry:

Kendry loves them, but he doesn't like me calling him a cowboy.

Thank you, Sheila!

{3}

Guess what I have in store for you tomorrow?

Here is a hint:

{4}

Justin and I are finally loading all our CD's onto iTunes.

There is nothing like going through CD's from your teen years to make you feel archaic.

{5}

Justin warned me this squash would take over this flower bed.

Sure enough.

There used to be some basil in there somewhere.



{6}
The hiking boots are out and we're purchasing a Discovery Pass for the vehicle. This weekend Justin and I get to do our first hike together in four years, without the kiddo!

{7}

If you're like me and could never figure out how to make your own iced coffee at home, this RECIPE is for you.

{8}

And speaking of breakfast yumminess, steel cut oats are positively dee-lish!

Am I the last one to discover these as well?

{9}

This Weeks' Blessing #1:
Tomorrow is my Friday!!

{10}

This Week's Blessing #2:

Enough said.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Have a fun and safe 4th of July!

{2}

We were busy mixing up some concrete this week:

I will have a patio update for you soon.

The progress is coming along nicely.

{3}

As evidenced by the photo above, Kendry needs a new wading pool.

{4}

Disclaimer: We really do bathe our kiddo regularly.

Honestly.

But there is only so much you can do when he insists on attaching giant stickers to his shins.

Thankfully this mishap took place after our family photo shoot on Saturday, otherwise Kendry would have had an up close and personal experience with Goo Gone.

{5}

How much leg hair can a kid have at a mere three years of age?!

{6}

We've enjoyed watching the Olympic swimming trials this past week.

After finding out that Michael Phelps is 6'4" Justin and I have concluded that swimming might not be such a bad sport for Kendry to pursue, if the basketball and baseball options don't pan out.

Except that swimming would require regular shaving of all that crazy leg hair.

{7}

This week's Kendry-ism:
"We don't say 'butt' or 'stupid' or 'God'."

He repeats this reminder about five times a day so, in essence, he is getting to say the very words we've told him not to.

Funny how that works.

Oh, and I'm open to suggestions on how to emphasize to a three year old the difference between talking about God and taking His name in vain.

{8}

We're giving quinoa another try in our menu this week.

Thai Fried Quinoa

Our last attempt was a bland disaster.

{9}

I let Kendry watch his first Yo Gabba Gabba episode this week.

Never again.

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

My first weekend at home in a month.

Naturally, the kiddo got sick.

Stupid Murphy's Law!

"We don't say stupid, Mom..."

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Hooray for May!
A pina colada cake is on the menu for Saturday.

{2}

And a double hooray for my big brother coming home from Afghanistan this month!
Hurry home, Just!

{3}

I love this little goofball.

{4}

Baker that I am, would you believe that I don't own a standard bundt pan?

How's that for a subtle birthday gift suggestion?

{5}
My girlfriend Amanda surprised me with Martha's organizational bookazine this week.




As Amanda so aptly stated in the note that accompanied her gift:
"not everyone has organizing fantasies like us".

Girl, I love that you total get my crazy OCD self.
Love you to pieces!

{6}
View from our front yard this week:

Kendry is on cloud nine.
That kiddo LOVES heavy machinery.

{7}

Our baby turns three in one week.

I am looking forward to filling his bedroom with balloons the night before, so he wakes up to a party.

Then we're gonna make these cake batter pancakes for his birthday breakfast.

{8}
We may have home improvement projects demanding our attention these days, but do you think that stops Justin from catching every single play by play of the NFL draft while working outside?

Noooo, sir.

{9}
Rumor has it ACE is giving away another free quart of paint this Saturday, so go print out your coupon and pick out a fun paint color for that spring project.

{10}
This Week's Blessing:
A wonderful weekend with Justin's family in Q-town, specifically to celebrate this little cutie's 5th birthday. We love you, Pax!

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Flowers, flowers everywhere!

I'm just a wee bit proud of my corner flower bed.

{2}

It has even been warm enough to do this:

{3}

Go ahead and try one of these R.I.P.("rest in plank") moves.

I dare ya!

source

Folks, I'm here to tell you there is no 'rest' in 'plank'.

These moves will leave you hurtin'.

But my current exercise motto is "sore or sorry".

Do I want to be sore tomorrow, or sorry that I skipped (or skimped) my workout?

I've started pinning printables like this to keep variety in my workouts. Feel free to check out my board here if you are in need of some inspiration yourself.

{4}

Kendry and I met a new neighbor tonight while walking. I'm pretty sure she thought we were stealing her cat so she came out to stop us. In our defense, Morris used to be our stray cat - and we were just saying hi to her.

Three sentences into conversation this neighbor mentioned seeing a pet psychic.

I'm thinking the cat means more to her than it does to us, so we left Morris there.

{5}

While working with Justin on the pickup this weekend, Kendry rested his hand on Justin's shoulder and informed him: "Daddy, you're my best friend."

I'm trying not to be jealous.

{6}

For mommies of little oatmeal lovers, add this Cookie Dough Baked Oatmeal to your arsenal. Its my friend Cassie's recipe and it contains very little sugar or butter. The semi-sweet chocolate chips add just the right touch of sweetness.



I like to make a batch on Sunday (approx. 12 muffins) so we enjoy them all week long. They make a great on-the-go breakfast, or you can freeze some and pull them out as needed. I pour a little milk on top before heating it for 40 seconds in the microwave.

I have become more aware of the processed foods going into my kiddo's tummy, so I enjoy when I can offer him a healthier homemade alternative to something he already loves.

Justin likes them too!





{7}
As it turns out, we need to let the patio cure for awhile before we stain it; in the meantime Justin has started on this:

{8}
I'm still waiting/dreading for someone to walk out that back door expecting steps.




{9}

This Week's Blessing:
I told you last week we had family visiting.

Saturday morning brought the surprise arrival of two more family members...from Germany! We were so excited to see Alex and Gisela again, and heretofore they shall be known as the family members who bought Kendry a microphone with amp.

My dad already laughs at what he calls Kendry's foghorn voice. Dad, this takes 'foghorn' to a whole new level.

But Kendry loves it.

 

Danke, Alex and Gisela!

{10}

I wonder when Justin and I will be able to afford a trip to Germany...

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Augh! It feels like I am only posting Ten on Tuesdays anymore.

I have got to come up with some new material.

{2}

Our family is jumping onto the 'make your own bread' bandwagon. We have had a bread machine our entire marriage (thanks, Momma B!) but rarely use it. After listening to Money Saving Mom's new book this month, and discovering that my older sister makes her own bread as well, I was feeling inspired. So we made this beauty:

It was unbelievably delicious, and I can tell you exactly what went into the loaf - a big plus in this day and age, wouldn't you agree?

This inspired Justin to make his own sourdough starter for some sourdough bread, his loaf of choice. I'm trying not to give him a hard time for using up the rest of our yeast in the process.

If you are interested in giving homemade bread a try, here are a few links to help get you started:

Homemade Bread for Beginners

Create a Great Loaf in 5 Minutes a Day

{3}

I went to The Hunger Games with my mother-in-law, sister-in-law and nana-in-law on Saturday. It has been a long time since I've seen a movie that did the book some justice.

It has also been a long time since I've watched a movie a mere five rows from the screen.

Totally worth it though.

{4}

The date for the official 3rd birthday party has been set.

Bring on the party planning!

{5}

And bring on the concrete while we're at it.

We're working on getting our concrete patio poured before the party.

Yahoooooo!

{6}

This weekend we made our Easter garden...times two since we plan to bless someone by giving one away closer to Easter.

No sooner did we drop the grass seed on it than we realized our only spray bottle was broken. Doh! We have sinced picked up a replacement at the $1 store, but our grass seed went without proper watering for the first 48 hours.

Here's hoping we used super resilient grass seed.

{7}

If our kiddo looks a little drugged in the photo above,
thats because he is.

Not only was he running a bit of a temperature tonight, but he crashed and burned on the asphalt during a sprinting lesson with mommy and really gauged his knee. If you look closely you can see the giant band-aid on his right leg.

{8}
Parenting Milestone #244:

Sanitizing and bandaging your kiddo's bleeding boo-boo while he sobs crocodile tears, screams "Don't touch it, Mommy!" between his crying hiccups, and flails his body to keep you away.



{9}
I ♥ my Kindle Fire, and I am totally hooked on Words With Friends.
My username is jojo8082 if you want to play me.

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

A gorgeous Sunday.
We have been swamped with rain lately, so every little ray of sunshine deserves a celebration.


 

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Etsy

{2}

I love that my kiddo's teachers have nicknamed him "Smiley".

{3}

Home ownership has its highs and lows.

Buying and installing wax toilet rings is a definite low:

Bing

{4}

In 2012 I will be keeping track of books read and miles ran.

My reading log can be found in the column on the right side of our blog. I am still working on my running log widgit.

So far this year I've read almost as many books as my total miles ran.

Dang, I'm gettin' lazy.

{5}

We made these for dinner tonight.

Red Velvet Pancakes

How's that for festive?

Don't worry, we made it a healthier meal by throwing some protein-rich bacon on the side.

{6}

Confession: purchasing plastic storage totes makes my heart go pitter-patter.

{7}

The kiddo came home today with a Dip-It candy valentine. You know I have no qualms with candy, but giving a two year old a packet of sugar to eat with a stick?

Its like giving noisy toys as a gift; someday that gesture will come back around to bite ya.

I would know.

{8}

Googly eyes are one of the greatest inventions of all time.

{9}

I MY VALENTINE FOREVER!

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

Family, family, family!

This week we had my mother-in-law, my sister-in-law, our niece and Justin's Uncle Erik in town.

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

Our tulips are already poking up out of the ground.

Cah-razy!

I hope they aren't too ambitious for their own good because I don't think winter is over just yet.

{2}

We are fresh off a marvelous weekend, complete with a trip to our friends' cabin in the mountains on Saturday and a fantastic Super Bowl party on Sunday.

More pictures and video to come!

 

{3}

We have family coming to town this week (hooray!), which means another Red Velvet Cake is in order.

Yum! Yum!

{4}

I have found some crazy good deals on free magazine subscriptions lately. In the last two weeks I've signed up for 1 year of Martha Stewart Living, 2 years of Better Homes & Gardens, 2 years of Family Fun, 1 year of Fitness and 1 year of a Focus on the Family parenting magazine.

For free!

I usually find my offers on Money Saving Mom.
Follow her on FB and you'll see these deals as soon as she posts them.
Her site rocks!

 

{5}

I have a love/hate relationship with sesame seeds.

I love them in my food but I hate cooking with them.

Those little buggers end up everywhere!

We're tried this Asian Chicken Pasta Salad for dinner tonight.

 

{6}
Jillian Michaels videos are not for the faint of heart.
She is kickin' my butt, but I am pleased to see a difference in muscle tone already.

{7}
Playing hide and seek with a toddler is a riot.
He tells me exactly where he is going to hide every time I start counting.

{8}

Its been a year since our last IVF cycle.
Some days my heart still aches, like when I held a friend's newborn last weekend. But the joy of the Lord is my strength!


 

{9}
I am excited to do Kendry's Valentines this weekend!
We're going to make these little heart crayons:


Pinterest


And I think we'll make these Kiss rings for his teachers:


(source)

 

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

After staying home with a sick kiddo on Friday the hubs gave me a reprieve that evening. I went to the $1 theater and saw Breaking Dawn on the big screen.

All. By. Myself.

Ten on Tuesday

{1}

November already?!
EEK!

{2}
We are fresh off a beautiful fall weekend for which we had nothing planned.

Notice I didn't say nothing to do, because with a fixer-upper there is always something to do.  

Like our sanded but still unpainted front door.



Its not done quite yet, but it is now three coats of orange paint closer.

You heard me right - I said three coats, and still not done.

I'll explain later.



{3}
When you find yourself with free time on a beautiful fall weekend - after you've spent a half hour on your hands and knees scrubbing orange paint kitty footprints off the carport cement (more on that later too) -
why not attempt a fall photo shoot with your adorable kiddo?

{4}

FYI:
The kitty hanging upside down in the photo above is one of the prime suspects in my investigation of the orange paint kitty footprints mystery.

{5}

Just when we thought we were making progress with Operation: Play Quietly in Your Bedroom Until 7:00am, we wake to this:

And thats why you never store your filing drawer in your kiddo's bedroom.

Perhaps mommy's little paper pusher has an office job in his future?

{6}

These Cake Batter Truffles just might be the death of me,

but at least it will be a tasty death.

I've made these twice in the last month.

{7}

As an agricultural lesson, Kendry got to pick his own carrots from our friends' garden:

Thanks again, Stan and Polly!

{8}

 And the fall/harvest activities continued with a trip to the Clearwater Corn Maze:

It has been such a fun fall!

{9}

We are hosting Thanksgiving at our house this year and, believe it or not, I'm not stressed about it one bit.

Come back in three weeks and ask me how I'm doing.

{10}

This Week's Blessing:

I've already got three people checked off on our Christmas shopping list.

I am on a roll, people!