Card Class Cards

These are the cards we made at Card Class this month. My next Card Class will be held on Wednesday, June 22nd at 7pm. If you'd like to join us just let me know.

We used CTMH's May Stamp of the Month: Chairs To You on this card.
Thanks to Wendy for the inspiration for these two cards. 

 For this card we used the stamp set from the May National Scrapbooking Kit You and Me.

 For this card we used a fun new technique called water-coloring.

Almost Wordless Wednesday

 You know it has been a tough day when you fall asleep with a toy in your hand.

Belated Birthday

 

 We are the worst parents ever! Dodger Dog's 10th birthday came and went without anyone even remembering. How sad! He turned 10 on the 13th. We will have to make it up to him with some special treats and a walk this weekend.

Isn't he the most handsome thing ever?  He came to us when he was 4 years old named Lucky and was about 30 pounds overweight at the time.  We were his 3rd home. I was very anxious about getting him, because he was this round ball of fur who wouldn't cuddle or look at you. All he wanted to do was chase after a ball. I had no idea how he and Sadie would get along. Six years later and I couldn't imagine not having him in our family. Now he would spend all his day cuddling with you and of course chasing after a ball or two or twenty.

 Dodger Dog back before he was old and gray.

Menu Monday

I am working really hard to add some veggies and fruits to our meals. I just don't think any of us are getting enough of these on a daily bases. Last week I made yummy fettuccine with asparagus and zucchini.  Shane wasn't so hot on the veggies. But I know the more I serve them the more likely he'll start liking them.

Meatless Monday -- Pasta Salad (I'll make a similar version of this with what I have on hand.)

Tuesday -- leftovers

Wednesday -- Turkey Parmesan Pasta

Thursday -- leftovers

Friday -- Crock Pot Broccoli and Beef

Saturday  -- leftovers

Sunday -- We'll see how the week goes.....

The Farm

This week Shane went to The Farm with his preschool class for an end of the year field trip. Of course, I was there right by his side the whole time. We got to go on a tractor ride, plant a pumpkin seed, plant a marigold (which we brought home), go through a hay maze and down a fun slide in the hay barn (Shane sat this activity out), look at adorable baby animals, pet a bunny, and eat ice cream. I would say it was a pretty fun field trip. It was a beautiful sunny day out, too! Now we'll have to go back in October and see if we can find the pumpkin that Shane planted.

By the look on his face most of the morning you would have thought he was having the worst time ever. But when he came home he was super excited to tell Daddy all about it.

Planting his pumpkin seed.

His marigold.

Watching the kids slide down the slide.

Finishing the morning off with some ice cream.

Flashback Friday

Here are pictures of Adalyn and Shane at 6 months. They were born at such opposite points in the year. At this time in Shanes life he was experiencing, Christmas, presents, snow and cold. While now Addie is having fun at parks, in the sun and eating grass (It is a bad idea to set a chewing and grabby octopus in the grass at a park while you help your son. You'll turn around to find your daughter with a hand full of grass in her mouth. Yummy!)

 

6 Month Check Up

Little Adalyn isn't so little any more. She is weighing in at 16 pounds 5.5 ounces. She has jumped up into the 75% for her weight. She was in the 50%. She is also in the 75% for her height as well at 26 inches. Certainly, not the numbers we saw from little Shane at this point in his life.

I came home from her last visit a little overwhelmed. We talked about her poor eating and sleeping habits, finger foods and sippy cups. What! Finger foods and sippy cups. Already!? And yes, I know she has bad "snacking"/feeding habits with the bottle and still isn't sleeping through the night because she wants to "snack" all night long. But I have been trying and trying to fix these issues and nothing seems to be working. Just maybe this round of trying new things will do the trick.

In about two weeks we get to start giving her Cheerio like items (since she is gluten free she won't actually get cheerios but something similar) and small pieces of fruit or other food that she can gum in her mouth. And a sippy cup with water. She'll even be on a regular meal schedule 3x's a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner). I really can't believe we have already reached this point with her. The first year just flies by with all the new stuff and changes that happen.

Wordless Wednesday

Half a Year Old

Adalyn is 6 months old today! Half of a year! If Addie could talk this is what I think she would say about her life at this point:

What is your favorite toy?  My crinkly book and my exersaucer.

What new skill have you mastered lately?   Rolling over from my back to my belly. I like to do it over and over and over again.

What is your favorite food? Carrots are pretty yummy and peas are pretty good, too.

What are your thoughts on your Big Brother? He is so funny. He makes me laugh and smile all the time. He is also very nice and plays with me and brings me toys.

What does your Mommy do the best?  She is really good at tickling me and making me laugh.

What does your Daddy do the best? He is good at letting me play with a whole mess of toys while I sit up like a big girl.

What skill do you think you want to conquer next? I think I am  looking at walking. I really like this standing up stuff. Crawling seems sorta boring....I may just need to go straight to walking.

What do Daddy and Mommy want you to do the most? I am pretty sure they really want me to sleep through the night! 

Studio J -- Chance to Win a 5 Pack!

Here is a chance to try Studio J for free and you have the chance to win a free 5 pack!

Check out this article from CK online magazine featuring the Vice Prez of Close To My Heart marketing Kristine Whitfield!

Kristine will walk you through how to make this gorgeous layout. She even added "real" embellishments after wards. Beautiful! A great way to use digital and paper all together.

Menu Monday

Here is to another week of meals. Though I often dread sitting down and figuring out what we are going to have for dinner every Monday. In the end it helps me so much. This week I grabbed my Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals cookbook. All the meals are from her cookbook this week.

Monday -- Turkey Burgers and Corn on the Cob

Tuesday -- leftovers

Wednesday -- Italian Tuna Casserole (I haven't tried this one before)

Thursday -- leftovers

Friday -- Cowboy Spaghetti

Saturday -- leftovers

Sunday -- Pizza Night

Kitchen Remodel Phase IV...

Phase IV of the kitchen remodel has finally come to an end. What we thought would be the quickest and easiest phase of counter tops turned into the longest and most frustrating. After spending over a month researching companies, visiting showrooms, getting estimates, we decided to go with Venetian Stoneworks in Woodinville. They had a gorgeous showroom next door called Denali Slab Studio and it is truly like visiting a art gallery of granite and marble. The bumps came when the installation of the granite happened. There were so many little mishaps during the installation, it's hard for me to even explain it all. The installation job should have taken 3-4 hours in one day, but instead turned into around an 8 hour job over the course of 3 visits. The main problem was our existing cabinets are super duper uneven/not level. The granite on our new cabinets went on perfect. But the old ones caused for some concern, making the finished product look BAD! After a lot of consulting with a lot of people and a lot of confusion and frustrating, our cabinet people were able to come in and fix the problem with matching trim and stain.

Here is the finished product:

New cabinets/bar area with the new granite.

Existing cabinet area with new granite.

Check out the new under-mount sink!

Looking into the kitchen from the dining room.

Phase V...the last one...bamboo hardwood flooring in the kitchen and dining room.

See before and after pictures here and here.

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday

Here is Wordless Wednesday a day late and with words! No idea where yesterday went to. It really just flew by. I can't get enough of this little one. I just want to eat her up. She is teething right now. Or at least I hope it is teething, because she has been crabby and this baby girl is NEVER crabby. But even crabby she is so sweet and precious.

Menu Monday

I'll be watching cousin Arli on Mondays and Tuesdays now. The menu for the week will reflect that. Before when we were watching Sydney on Thursdays I made sure to use the crock pot that day. Now I'll be using it on Monday's probably and planning to have leftovers on Tuesdays. I also want to try and work on having more meatless meals, too.

Monday -- Creamy Beef over noodles in the crock pot (a favorite in our house)

Tuesday -- leftovers

Wednesday -- Pasta with Garlicky roasted Broccoli

Thursday -- Baked Penne and Turkey Meatballs (new recipe)

Friday -- leftovers

Saturday and Sunday -- Not sure as we have a birthday party to go to later in the day on Saturday and if the weather is nice at all on Sunday BBQing sounds good.

Sitting!

 

Little Miss Adalyn is sitting all by herself! I can't believe she is sitting. It just means before we know it she will be crawling and then comes walking. I really like the sitting up stage. It puts her in the middle of not being an infant, but not a crawler getting into things yet. It opens up a new array of toys for her to play with, too.

Happy Mother's Day!

I woke up this morning to a schedule prepared by Kenny for my special Mother's Day:

*Sleep in
*Eat a yummy breakfast of scones
*Hang out with the family
*Go to Starbucks by myself
*Go to a movie by myself
*Have dinner at Steamers (my new favorite fish and chip place)

Before the movie I had some time to catch up on a few errands by myself and do a little shopping. I went and saw African Cats. I know...I picked to go see a G rated movie all by myself. But I've been really wanting to see it and Shane didn't want to go (and after seeing it best that I didn't take him). And there just wasn't anything that I really wanted to see out right now. It was a sweet movie, perfect for Mother's Day, since it was all about real life mommy lion and cheetah cats caring for their babies.

It was a fantastic break from the daily grind of two kids. By the time I got home, I missed them terribly. I love the feeling of missing them. Makes me realize how much I love them all dearly!

A Dog's Life

To be a dog at our house. Man, some days I wish I was. Here is Dodger taking one of his many naps on the couch. One of the pillows was in his way, but it looks like he made it work okay.

A handful of times, Sadie has laid down to eat her breakfast or dinner. We always laugh at her and shake our heads. The other night she did this and then we figured out she was doing it because her back leg was so bad she couldn't stand up. I felt bad for laughing after that. After a few hours of rest on her bed she was up again no problems.

Aloha!

We are going to Hawaii! Oh, Ya! After years of wanting to go back (Kenny and I went 10 years ago together). And after yearning for a vacation on the beach in the warmth for many, many months. It is finally coming true. We'll be heading to Maui in October for 8 nights!!! We got an outstanding deal on airplane tickets this week. We just couldn't pass them up. The tickets may even be less then what we paid 10 years ago to fly to Maui.

We were telling Shane about Hawaii and our trip while he was taking a bath after we booked the tickets. We were explaining that Adalyn is going to stay with Mema and Papa while we go. That he will have all kinds of time to spend with just Mommy and Daddy. That we'll get to play and have lots of fun together. He looked at Kenny and said "You and Mommy will sit in chairs and watch me play in the water." Ah, yes, son...you've got it!!!

We aren't taking little Addie with us for various reasons. I think Mema, Papa and her will have lots of fun together. Shane got lots of one-on-one time with Mema and Papa when he was little. Which in turn will help make it a little more like a vacation for Kenny and I. Also, allowing some very special memories and moments between with just Shane as well. We just didn't think that at less then 1 year of age, she'll remember or care about being in Hawaii. Maybe we'll have to make it up to her and take just Adalyn to Hawaii when she is 4 years old.

The countdown begins! I am so, so, so excited!

Conversations With Shane

The last couple days I've had quite a few interesting conversations with the 3 year old in the house. He'll remind you though that he is almost 4.

Me: (Yesterday morning) Do you know what day of the week it is?

Shane: Thursday.

Me: Actually, it is Wednesday. On Wednesdays we go and see Ms. Amber (his speech therapist).

Shane: NO! It is Thursday.

Me: Well, you might think it is Thursday, but the rest of the world thinks it is Wednesday (my newest strategy in dealing with a super know-it-all little boy).

Shane: NO! I called the Doctor and she said it is Thursday. (no clue where the Doctor thing came from..but it did make me what to start singing the Monkey Jumping on the Bed song).

Me: Ok then, if it is Thursday then that means it is a school day. Lets get ready to go to school now.

Shane: It's Wednesday.

Me: But what about the Doctor? She said it was Thursday.

Shane: She was wrong.

Stubborn little stinker who doesn't want to go to preschool even after all the fun he has every day and after almost a whole year of him going!!

Wordless Wednesday

Menu Monday

Another week of meals and I am still not feeling any inspiration towards meal making. Adalyn was napping during the time I make dinner, now she isn't. I haven't quite gotten in a routine of how to make dinner with both kiddos awake and in need.

Meatless Monday -- Tortellinis and Cheesy Biscuits

Tuesday -- Red Ribs and Rice in the crock pot

Wednesday -- leftovers (I hope, since our counter tops are being put in today. I am not sure how the kitchen situation will be like come evening or if I'll feel like cooking after a crazy day of counter top installation.)

Thursday -- Teriyaki Chicken and Rice

Friday -- leftovers

Saturday and Sunday -- It's Mother's Day Weekend, so I think I should take the weekend off from making dinner.