granola update

for anyone who tried this granola, it works a lot better with 1/4 c brown sugar instead of 3/4 c.  apparently, i misread the original recipe.  oops!  1/4 c makes it not so sticky, and it doesn't stick to the pan either.  wahooo!

it's a bit of a drive for us on sunday, so we usually grab some lunch before heading back home.  that way, 2 little munchkins get something in their bellies before falling asleep on the way back.  plus, it's a little treat for mama lunch too, but that's a secret.  :)

here are a couple cheeses having such a lunch at whataburger:

friday night camp out...

... in the living room, that is!  i mentioned it to thing 1 friday afternoon to see what he'd think about it.  he got pretty excited - as in, "c'mon, let's go get our jammies on!"  i explained to him that we'd wait for daddy to come home, have supper, etc first.  boo.

we had a bit of wrestling and played several rounds of "peep-ab-boo" before settling down to sleep:

eventually everyone konked out, but thing 2 ended up in her crib because she decided (a few times) that she'd rather explore the house in the dark than snuggle in with us.  she was actually quite pleased to see her bed.  i think she was a little confused by the whole ordeal, but seemed to enjoy the pre-bedtime festivities.

glad these stages are fun too, because these kiddos are certainly not babies anymore!

stickers!

someone got busy playing with stickers while i was doing laundry. she thought it was hilarious to decorate herself until it became time to take them out of her hair and get ready to pick up her brother from school.

guess it wasn't tooooo terrible, though. she searches for more sheets of them most afternoons.

spicy chicken tomato soup

this soup was quick, easy, and tasty!  didn't take a picture, but i'll share the recipe anyway.  i tore it out of some magazine at some point, but i can't tell you which one now.  i poured a little something on it...  oops.

the soup:

• 2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth
• 3 c cooked cubed chicken
• 2 c frozen corn
• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) tomato puree
• 1 can (10ish? oz - i doubt you could really go wrong with whatever size you've got stashed in your pantry) diced tomato
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 t ground cumin
• 1 t+ chili powder
• 1 t+ cayenne pepper (or less if you want)

combine and heat to boiling.

top with tortilla strips baked at 375 for 5 min or tortilla chips.

pretty yummy!  it turned out to be a 2-coke meal, tho, since i put in so much cayenne...  the kiddos were in bed when i made it, so they were spared in case you were wondering.  it was one of those chilly nights, and we did this instead of a pan of brownies.  you should be proud!

monster truck party!

this party seemed a little more last-minute than normal because:

• we weren't sure exactly when daddy would be getting home from a business trip
• we had planned to do a camping/s'mores/bonfire theme but the current burn ban had no signs of going away in time for the party
• lots of other things going on as usual

 

but, since we are getting pretty good at last-minute business around here and had the help of 4 grandparents, it went well!  thanks, guys!!

 

pix of the party:

 

a truck and a balloon for each kiddo 

pulled pork, chips, fruit, cheese, and don't forget - sugary drinks!!

ryker, jett, alivia, and jacob

reid having a second helping of cake when no one was watching.  what a lil cutie!

happy 4th birthday!

pictures from the actual birthday:

wagon ride from gram

so fun to "get stuck"

"earth-day" cake!

awwwww.  kisses from daddy!

camera!

and a purse for little missy

bed frames!

these are the twin bed frames that used to be in my room when i was a little girl.  since mom & dad are cleaning out extra stuff, we said we'd take them.  i decided to give them a coat of white paint, but it took a little longer than i thought to finish them.  who would've guessed?!?

i was pretty happy with a spray paint i found at lowe's that was a paint and primer combo.  time saver, right?  well, maybe.  these particular cans had a tendency to spit out a gob or 2 of paint when the can was juuuust about empty.  boo.

so, we ended up hauling these babies out of the garage a couple of times for a couple of sanding/touch up sessions before declaring them finished.  the paint took a realllllly long time to dry completely, and then it was hard to find time to drag everything out again.  but, at last we're ready to move on! 

they're going in a little guy's room, after all.  how long will they really stay smooth?  not long, i say.  especially because this particular little guy has a little sister, and 1 boy + 1 girl = rambunction.  (is that even a word?  hmmm.)

we finally got them finished and placed in the house just in time for our buddies to visit last weekend.  take a look!  oh wait, we had to take time to sit on the choo-choo train tracks first. 

we aren't in love with the beds in this room because they take up too much space, so we're thinking about options. they might go to sis's room eventually, but we'll keep you posted. they'll stay put for now...

you been working on anything that took tooooooo long lately? got anything exciting going on? we had a birthday at our house this week, so hopefully you'll get to see pictures soon. have a great week!

cherry berry!

a fun trip to cherry berry while mamaw was here and daddy was not.  shhh, don't tell him, because we haven't been there with him yet.  we think it'd be ok to go again, though...  mmmm.

our "fens"

so happy that our "fens" came to visit us, but now we're missing them even more!  we're trying to be glad for the time we got together, and like looking at pictures of them on the "capoo-r." 

a few pics of our fun:

it's ok.  i always focus on the scenery when i'm driving.

at the zoo -

"let's draw a choo-choo train"

(interpretation:  draw a choo-choo train!)

and there's the "moke" coming out

sunday lunch.  i took a lot of pictures, but sadly this is the only one that was worth posting.  cheesy boys!

thanks so much for making the drive!  we loved it.

happy birthday, schlotzsky's!

and, happy cheap dinner to us!!  the original sandwiches were 1.99 in honor of their 40th, and kid's meals are .99 on tuesday - which happened to be the day they threw their own party this week.  wahoo! 

we're not losing our marbles, and that's a good thing

remember that post a while ago about using marbles in a cup to reward positive behavior?  well, it's still working, so we keep plodding along with it.  lil sis has even started to ask for "arbles" when she knows she's done something nice.  it's so cute, and we just let her add a few to brother's cup for now.  BUT, i just ordered some small, clear paint cans so they'll each have one soon! 

thing 1 has been wanting to hang out with mama (i know, it probably won't last very long so i'm gonna eat it up while i can!) and do art while sis is still sleeping in the afternoons.  so, his latest marble prize was a couple of stamps and a couple of small ink pads.  he is in love! 

i'm pretty much in love too.  i have a stampin' buddy, and he made me quite a lovely collage for the fridge.

eat this, not that!

i checked out a couple of these books from the library - one for kids, and one for supermarkets. 

 

my overall impression:  pertinent info, interesting presentation, thought provoking.

 

3 things i learned: 

1.  the american heart association label on foods is something that companies pay to use.  yes, there are criteria, but the label's on crazy things like instant oatmeal - which has so much sugar it's not really that healthy, but has met a "standard" for something like saturated fat.
2. every bite contains a choice.  i found it odd that the "original sun chips" were on an EAT THIS page in one book, and on a NOT THAT page in another book.  the nutritional facts don't change.  recommended as a good choice for a corn chip, but a bad choice for a crunchy snack.  hmmm..... 
3. calorie counts might be wrong by as much as 10%!  items are packaged on the "heavy" side because the company can be penalized for having less in the package than stated.  (not that i'm a calorie counter...)

and, just for fun.  yep, something i didn't learn.  anything you make at home out of "real" ingredients is always better for you (and prolly just all around better, too) than something from a convenience package.  that tidbit was hit on 83,295 times in these books, so it's a good thing i already knew it.

cousins!

a fun, fun weekend with cousins! 

love that they play so well together, and glad they drove alllllll the way here to see us.  they're both still talking about how much fun they had, and thing 1 slept in til we woke him at 8 this morning to say bye to dad!  a tad worn out from playing, i'd say!  :)

he's loving this truck!  thanks for the early birthday present!