Monday, March 29, 2010

Books

I am at "work" today (a long-scheduled day in the office for a freelance editing job) while Jon is home sick. And Nate is sick too. :( I'm feeling terrible about that but am glad Jennifer was able to come over to watch the kids so Jon can stay in bed.

Meanwhile, to make myself feel better about being absent, I used my lunch break to find a couple of cool books I'm getting Nate for his birthday. I got three of the Nate the Great books. I hope they are good!

Saturday, March 27, 2010

2 wheels

We finally took off Nate's training wheels today. He was so proud!




Wednesday, March 24, 2010

D-land

We had a great time at Disneyland yesterday. I started the day thinking Lucy wouldn't make it past one hour in the park before one of us would have to leave with her, but Casey also pointed out that that has so much more of an impact on a child than missing the event entirely (better to have them see what fun it would be and then have to leave it). Lucy did pretty well, considering what "normal" has been the past week or 10 days. Still, I got plenty of these pictures (prompted by, "Lucy, smile!"):






After the lines to park and the lines to take the tram and the line to buy Nate's ticket, we went through the line to get in the park, and we made our way back to the teacups, which were a hit.




Everyone loved It's a Small World:





Even though it was a crowded day (spring break for some schools already), most of the lines for the children's rides weren't more than 30 minutes. The longest wait we endured was the line to meet the princesses, but it was sweet watching Nate and Lucy go up and meet them together.






We even found a place in the park that had fries Nate could eat. Woo hoo! After we ate dinner at that place, we decided to call it a day; Lucy and Nate were tired (Lucy especially--she's used to a 2-hour+ nap every day) and we had already spent 8 solid hours inside the park. We saved plenty to do for next time!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

March 17:



Daddy, decorated by Lucy:



Stuck:



Newish haircut (bangs):

Monday, March 22, 2010

Update

Sorry for the nearly-week-long blogging break! I guess we've just been out enjoying the great weather. OH, and we've been dealing with a way-more-difficult-than-usual daughter. Remember that wonderful week she had a few weeks back? Well, it is long gone, and this past week was full of unnecessary tantrums, constant whining/crying, and lots of discipline. Yuck. I took her to the doctor this morning just in case it's an ear infection or something I would later blame myself for not noticing, but apparently she's in tip-top shape. Just a case of the very bad attitudes.

Despite the above info, we are planning on taking Nate and Lucy to Disneyland for the first time tomorrow. Jon and I got free tickets through the "give a day, get a day" promotion, so we only have to pay for Nate (Lucy is free until she turns 3 next week!). It might end up that one of us has to leave the park with Lucy to drive her back to Janel, who is watching Levi for us all day, if her (Lucy's) behavior is poor. We'll see! Funny story: the kids knew we were planning a "special family trip" for tomorrow, but they didn't know the destination. This morning at breakfast, we told them it was Disneyland. Lucy jumped up and down and announced with glee the things/rides she wanted to see/do (princesses! the splashing water ride!). Nate started crying. "I don't want to go to Disneyland!" he said sadly. When we asked him why, he said, "I don't want to see Mickey!" Nate doesn't like dressed-up characters (like Chuck E. Cheese, or the cow at Chick-fil-a). Poor kid! We told him he won't have to see Mickey and it'll be a SUPER fun day.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Craigslist finds

I found a plain bookshelf through Craigslist for $5, and today (with some Mod Podge-y "help" from Lucy and Nate) I finished putting on all of these papers. I really like how it turned out. The shelf is for toy storage, so it will never again look this pretty. ;)

The black cabinet is also a Craigslist find, and I am so excited about it: it's my sewing cabinet! I finally have a place for my machine, iron, fabric, tools, etc. Up 'til now, they'd been neatly stored (haha---more like piled) in the corner of the dining area.

Both of these pieces are in between the dining area and the kitchen, tucked underneath the bar area of the countertop.


Monday, March 15, 2010

Friday, March 12, 2010

Great giveaway

There's a giveaway over on this blog this week for a gift certificate to Mikarose, a website with stylish, modest clothes. I like the Cynthia dress. :)

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Levi pictures

It seems I've only been taking pictures of Levi this week. :)



Friday, March 05, 2010

Recipe: Cabbage & bacon over rice

This is one of those recipes where the combination of ingredients sounds a bit strange. But the results are really delicious! I love that there are so few ingredients, and I love that cabbage is really good for you. Another bonus for our family: this recipe is already gluten-, casein-, and soy free.

Cabbage & Bacon over Rice, originally from Jon’s Grandma Capps (his dad’s mom)
1 large head cabbage
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic
½ lb. bacon
8 oz. can tomato sauce
Salt & pepper to taste

Slice bacon into ½” pieces and put into large skillet with onion. Chop cabbage into bite-size pieces. Cook bacon & onion over low/medium heat until onion begins to get tender. Add 3 cloves garlic, crushed. Stir, adding small amount of water (maybe ¼ cup). Add cabbage over top, pouring 1 can tomato sauce on top of it (swishing a little water in can & pouring it in). Cook, stirring until cabbage cooks down & is tender over low heat (can cover the skillet to make cooking go faster if necessary). Add salt & pepper to taste.

Serve over rice.

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Getting crafty

My mom is coming to visit in a few weeks (yayyyyyyy!), and she has promised to help with a project. (Remember when she wallpapered my bathroom?). I think I'll have her help me paint our bedroom (April Mist is the pick! I bought a sample can and love it), and in preparation for that I've been doing some projects that will complete the room. I sent off my quilt to be quilted. I'm redoing a lampshade. And when I came across this on Etsy, I thought I could recreate it myself.

Here's the inspiration:



The Etsy listing is for just an 8x10 without a frame, but I wanted to go bigger. I found a 16x20 frame for $7 at Goodwill and spray-painted it black. The burlap is from Joann's for about $1. I got the buttons on Etsy for about $8. So, for less than the cost of the Etsy version, I made my own just how I wanted it. I'm so happy with how it turned out!


Monday, March 01, 2010

Toddler belly

I just love the toddler belly. These were taken yesterday so Lucy could model the flower pin I made for her shirt (she was so proud).