Sweet Date

Yesterday we had a bit of a Valentine play date. My beautiful friend Toby came over with her adorable kiddos for an afternoon of cookie decorating, a yummy lunch (my first time ever having Turkey hot dogs - yum!), and letting the kids play while we talked about life ... only like girlfriends can.

Here's the love story I really want to tell:

  

Malik is watching Toby scrape green frosting into a bottle (or something?) and then he goes in for a smooch. A "just because" kiss. Just cuz he loves his Mama. So dang perfect. She needed that.

 

How did I not get the actual moment of contact? I think you see where it is going, though.

And look at her reaction. Awwww.

Notes:

1. Put the frosting into squeeze bottles found at Michaels. Brilliant! The kids had so much more control over their decorating. The cookies turned out awesome.

2. It is time to paint my dining room. I'm prepared to throw samples up onto the beadboard to get something going today. Can't stand it after seeing it in pictures.

3. Reconnecting with old friends that become new friends makes me so happy. So happy.

Dum Dums

I thought craft time was going to be so dang fun yesterday. I had Caeden all worked up into a frenzy when I grabbed the suckers ...

Not even hunting for scissors (that were not where they were supposed to be) for 20 minutes took away from the excitement of our craft. I had a big dumb smile on my face as I got the paper and pencils ready for Caeden. At this point, I was pretty sure I was going to win some sort of award for craftiness.

I should have known better. I never win anything, people.

I watched as Caeden silently ran for the junk drawer where he gathered his own supplies. Tape measurer, half of a hammer (???!), some Burts Bees chap stick, and a pink tape dispenser with no tape in it. 

And no eye contact. I think he could sense my deflated enthusiasm as he got to work on his own project...

No matter. Not bothered by my son's utter lack of vision, I got to work, cutting out petals and making little flowers. 

I peek a glace at Caeden to see if he realizes what he is missing out on. Nope, not interested. His eyes are glued to his piece of paper ...

And Claire is freaking out because she wants a sucker, the permanent marker, some sharp scissors ... something!!!

So I figure the choking hazard of a sucker is better than the scissors.

Plus, I just brushed up on the Heimlich maneuver online so she's completely safe.

 More Dum Dum Flowers (which would have been so cute with glitter around the petals!).

We've got an exploding volcano spewing green lava over here. How could I possibly compete with that?

Sensing my defeat, Caeden feels sorry for me and offers to hold a flower. 

Then he says, "Give it to Claire.  She'll like it, Mom." 

The boy is visibly relieved to have a sister to keep his Mom (and her girlie ideas) busy ...

The Beatles Said It Best

 

  

  

  

 

Love is all you need.

Weekend Update

We had a really fun weekend.

We ran errands galore, went to the park (it was freezing but the fresh air felt wonderful), worked out at the gym, went to Rio for dinner (thanks for the suggestion Melissa & Chris!) and learned why their margarita's come with a warning and a 2 drink maximum.

Okay Bunny, let's make the best of this horrible situation that Mom and Dad think is fun. Who goes to the park when it's 40 degrees ... and windy??

Not so bad when I'm hanging with Dad ...


And I'd love to show you some of Caeden (who loved every minute of it) but he ran away each time he saw the camera.

Organizing Your (Ahem, My) Home

Mom sent me a link to a Martha Stewart web page full of practical and pretty ideas for organizing. Here were my favorites (all of which I plan to implement/have implemented).

 

To start, I will give you the link where you can find the answers to "How do I do this?" question.

Martha Organizing Link

Coffee Filters to prevent scratches when nesting your pots and pans. Brilliant!

A cake stand full of the every day essentials: salt and pepper, olive oil, and maybe a few favorite spices. Never hunt for the things you reach for the most often.

Grommets to hang towels and gloves inside the door. Seriously, why didn't I think of this??

 

Labels for the frozen things in your life. 

 

Dishtowel that doesn't fall off every. single. minute.

 

The spring loaded dowels are such a good idea for utilizing shelf storage. Love this.

 

Lid organization is an area I need help with. Please, someone help me!

Old dresser drawer, wine crates, or whatever with casters on the bottom. Think of all the stuff you would never have to look at ...

 

This is my favorite idea. The kids' towels are always a wet, messy pile. Three towel bars attached to the door look fantastic and would really work well.

 

Just when you thought your bathroom had no storage. Look up! Attach a shelf to the top of your door. Cute and practical. 

Bye bye blow dryer and straightener mess under the sink. Attach to hooks and hang from doors. 

I just adore Martha.

Sweet Potato Fries

I have a thing for sweet potato fries. I also have a swimming suit that I need to get into in 3 weeks. My life is a paradox, I tell you.

Enter this recipe. Making it tomorrow and probably every day after (my plain grilled chicken breast and cheerio diet needs some variety).

Link to recipe here: Annie's Eats.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients:
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil greased with cooking spray.
Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into long spears.  (Soak in cold water for 20-30 minutes before continuing for crispy texture outside.  Drain well and pat dry.)  Place the potato spears on the sheet pan and toss with olive oil.  Spread them in a single layer.  Combine the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on the potatoes.  Bake for 15 minutes, then turn with a spatula or tongs.  Bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned.  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and serve hot.

This recipe was adapted from Barefoot Contessa - who just happens to be my favorite, favorite, FAVORITE author of cookbooks.



P.S. I ate chips and salsa and guac today. When I start freaking out the bikini issue, please remind me that my will power tends to suck. Thanks.

Serious Stuff.

Top 10 Cookie Decorating Tips

Found this today and thought I'd pass it along since I have nothing else to say today.

Sweetopia top ten list for decorating with royal icing.

Is it too early for some Valentine Lovin'?

I am sucker for Valentine's Day! Even more so since I've had Caeden and Claire. I feel like their own personal cupid and I can't help but start to think about how to make Valentine's Day special for them (and I have even already got Wayne's present figured out. I am an over achiever like that. Love me anyway, please.)

So look at this sweet swimming suit. It has nothing at all to do with Valentine's Day, but it reminds me of it with that sweet color. And look at the matching swim cap? So cute I can hardly stand it. Both found at Janie and Jack. I hope Target makes a cute knock off of this. Target, are you listening??

I have a confession. I bought Caeden a gingerbread house to decorate for Christmas, but we ran out of time and never got it out of the box. I am so glad I found this picture! We will be turning it into a "love shack" instead!! Sometimes procrastination can be brilliant. I am not sure where I found this picture? I think Twig and Thistle, but I am not positive.

Here's my favorite idea so far. Are these little treat bags not the cutest? The best part is that the graphic is free, so you can download it and print it on paper bags, a large sticker (to adhere to another bag or whatever), etc. Guess what is inside? Heart shaped brownies. Adorable!!

Get the free download here. Get the adorable striped straws (other colors available, too) for .05 each at Garnish. Get the paper bags (sets of 25 for $5) here.

You know, if you don't want to go to the trouble of downloading the free graphic, you could always break out the stickers or stamps or glitter glue or whatever your little munchkin is into and have them decorate their own (use paper lunch bags) and use pinking shears to snip off the tops for that same cute look. That's probably what I will end up doing.

Last year, I posted about the kids' felt Valentine envelopes (can be found here on Etsy). I write them a love letter every year and it's waiting for them Valentine's morning. They may not love it now, but I hope someday the letters will be just another tradition that come to look forward to (and love letters to have forever). Mine came super fast last year, so I think there is still plenty of time to order/get them before V Day.

Let the Colors Whirl

Caeden loves color. He'll take it in any form whether it be markers, crayons, colored pencils, water colors, paint ... and most recently: food dye.

It isn't enough that I run after him all day long, trying to make sure the markers stay on the paper, paint on the brush, crayons on the coloring book ... and all out of Claire's eager fingers. Now, we've got permanent color whirling in the mixer with water and sounds of pure joy as red and blue turn into purple and purple with lots of green turns to a murky brown ... I just made sure to stand back...

Caeden stood at the counter most of the afternoon playing with different colors. He knew this was sort of a taboo thing to be doing, and he loved it all the more that I let him do it anyway.

Claire was happy as could be watching the mad scientist and eating raspberries. (I am happy every time I open the freezer and see stacks of local, organic raspberries piled into bags from our late summer harvest outing from a farm north of here. They taste sooo good.)

And you know, she was stained from head to toe with pink juice. Caeden - not a speck on him (and he emptied all 4 bottles of dye).

Weekend Update

We had a nice weekend.

We did things like:

Made homemade playdough. It turned out so well I decided to give it to Caeden's classmates in lue of candy for Valentine's Day (in pink).

Wayne said, "Do you really want to be THAT Mom who doesn't give candy?" Ironic a couple of hours later when Caeden was bouncing off the walls and he suggested Caeden needed to go through sugar withdrawl.

Had sweet potato fries at The Counter. Got on the scale and freaked out to learn I am up 2 pounds over my "my diet starts today" weight. Apparently sweet potato fries aren't a health food no matter how I try to spin it.

Got Wayne hooked on Lululemon hoodies. Super thick, comfortable, and have a "scuba hood" for our vacation coming up (he is diving a couple of the days we are there).

Watched our wood floors buckle from our leaking dishwasher (this is not part of the "our weekend was good" statement).

For the Home. For My Family.

Claire doesn't turn 2 until May, but I had to order this sweet cupcake topper for her birthday. I am big on tradition, and have a special plate that I serve Caeden's birthday cake on each year, but nothing for Claire. This sweet little "Claire" was custom painted and her sign can be swapped out each year. Adore.

Found here on Etsy.

With Spring and Summer around the corner (or so I keep telling myself), this bottle opener would be so cute mounted by the fridge for sodas. I love it's charm. And for $34, it doesn't break the bank.

Found here at Fluffy Co.

I've been looking for inspiration for a decorating scheme for the dining room. It needs paint, a rug, something on the walls ... so far it has a table and that's it. I found this bowl at Anthropologie for $8 and thought the green was refreshing.

Lastly, last night I stumbled upon a really great link put together by the creme of the crop design bloggers. It lists "daily reads," inspiration, best "up and coming" ideas, "do not miss blogs," etc.

Check it out here.

Home Again

I made it home from Virginia yesterday. Mom & Ken are getting more settled by the minute and have narrowed down their housing choices quite a bit. I wish I had taken my camera so I could share where they are a bit better.

We drove through the smokey mountains, if that tells you anything. So rural! The terrain reminded me of Missouri and the trees (tall, skinny and EVERYWHERE) reminds me of Georgia.

Mom and I had so much fun house hunting and discovering the area. We ate at cute places for dinner, we drank wine with Ken by the fire at Martha Washington Inn (amazing!), we used Google Text for everything (gives you addresses and phone numbers for everything for free via text on your cell), and our GPS for everywhere we went. Discovery has never gone so smoothly, but I will share a story with you tomorrow ...

I flew in yesterday and Wayne and I traded the kids in the airport (he went to Redmond). I brought the kids home and found:

1. laundry all done
2. house spotless
3. groceries in the fridge

It made me miss Wayne all the more! What a sweet man to take care of everything so I can just be home and not worry about a do-to list.

Feels good to be home ...

On Vacation

Be Back Next Week ...

And please, if you have anything to add to the "Being Informed" discussion (last post), please post!

Being Informed

*I know Wayne is on break. And we are not talking about cancer while he is feeling so good, but today I just needed to get this off my chest.

Since Wayne's diagnosis, I have looked at the world with new eyes. More fearful, less trusting, critical eyes.

I think about the radiation emitting from our cell phones. I think about how sarcomas can be caused by too much radiation (sarcomas can be a horrible side effect from radiation therapies designed to treat other types of cancer).

I think about the plastic we store our food in. About how harmful chemicals leach from it and into our food when heated (in dishwashers or microwaves, for example).

I think about all the things we come into contact with. The food we eat. The water we drink.

And I think of how the cancer rate just continues to climb - especially in the young.

I remember shopping for Christmas presents at Anthropolgie and seeing a large bin by the register. It was stuffed full of plush animals waiting to be adopted and sent to the children of Denver who were being treated in the oncology ward. I thought of those kids and the ones we've seen at MDA and the ones I've come across online, and I wonder why? Why Wayne? Why them? Who next??

I'm the type that tries to choose organic when the option is there. I go to Whole Foods when I can. I do not, however, bypass the conventional when it's on the grocery list and it's a lot less expensive. And then I feel guilty.

I wonder if Wayne was exposed to something toxic that caused his cancer and I wonder if I was exposed to it, too. And is it just a matter of time before I get it? What if it's genetic and what are the chances my children will have cancer? These are horrible, horrible things to think about. I obsess about all it, though.

Why this alarmist post today?

A couple of our non-stick pans are starting to show their age, the non-stick coating is coming off. They need to be thrown away. Do you need to do this too? Yes.

I use a lot of plastic to store food because I haven't wanted to spend the money by replacing everything with glass - but I am going to do it anyway. Have you thought about this? You should.

We are getting a land-line for our home phone again. We disconnected it when we moved to Rapid, and never reconnected it to save a few bucks, but our children are not going to be using or talking on cell phones until I figure out their risk. Already many publications I have read talk about the horrible danger associated with radiation exposure and brain development/or cancer.

This year I am following my in-laws lead and planting a garden for our veggies. I would have my own chickens, too, if I could. :)

Wayne has started taking multiple vitamins and drinking a lot of green tea as steps to keep his body fighting his cancer while on break.  I am so proud of him!

I don't know if any of this will help, but thinking for myself instead of letting advertising influence me- and being more proactive in my family's health - is a long time coming.

 

Glass Containers and  Food Storage found at Container Store.

Organic vegetable seeds for gardening.

I see a Bikini in my Future. And a Scuba Suit in Wayne's ...

We just booked our vacation! Remember ages ago when I asked you all for ideas on where to go? I loved all the responses (I think it is my biggest commented on post ever), and we almost went to Hawaii with the kids - but in the end, we decided to not take the kids and do something with an 'adults only' vibe.

We're headed to the Turks and Caicos Islands in late Feb!! We cannot wait!

We're staying at Point Grace Hotel - which comes highly recommended by Nik and John. Powdered sugar beaches ... water so amazing you'll want to pinch yourself (or your spouse's bum ...) ... the hotel staff brings you water and misting bottles while you're soaking up the rays ...

Cannot wait.

I pulled out my bikini this afternoon and have it laying across my bed. I plan on plastering it to the fridge as a friendly reminder that I can do ANYTHING for 5 weeks (until vacation), including not eating a single carb.

Cannot wait.

Wayne is going to scuba. We're both going to read and nap and walk around and watch sunsets and swim and swim and swim.

Five weeks and counting. I'm giddy!!

Image is from Etsy. Love this artist!