Friday Five: This week

Summer seems to be a tough time to get blogs written and posted.  Last summer it was because I was busy throwing up, but that is not the case right now.  Instead we have been staying busy and having fun.  Here's what we have been up to this past week, Friday Five style.

1.  Playing with my new IPhone 4s. 

Okay, so really it is just me that has been playing with my new phone.  There is so much that this thing can do, and as a person who has never owned a smart phone (shocking, I know) I have a lot to catch up on.  Icloud. Imessage. Ilove.

2.  Playing in the sprinkler. 

You had to know that if I made a checklist, I was going to have to start checking things off, right?  That is just how I roll.  So, we drug out the sprinkler and the girls went crazy for all of ten seconds.  Then they were done.  Until I started watering the flowers and then they were all about getting wet.  For some weird reason they don't like the sprinkler, but love when I spray them with the hose.  Who knows.



3.  Picking berries (again).

The first time we went with Jason's mom and I took zero pictures.  This time I had my new phone and so taking pics was a little easier!  It was very windy and I am pretty sure Molly ate just as many berries as we brought home.  We did have enough to make some yummy muffins for breakfast this morning though. 



4.  Getting ready for vacation.

these pics were taken at two different times.  no matter what, this place always seems to look the same.

We will be staying at my mom's lake house (which sounds weird since I used to call it my grandparent's lake house) at the Lake of the Ozarks.  We decided that three nights would be more than enough for our first trip away as a family of five.  The drive is currently our biggest fear (it will probably take us five hours) followed by not having enough to do.  Jas and I would be content to do nothing, but turns out kids don't really go for that plan.


5.  Trying to decide whether or not to do a series on budgeting. 
Really, does anyone care about my budgeting skills?  Especially since the vast majority of my readers are my family?  But then I see yet another blog on doing a budget and saving money and it drives me crazy because they aren't doing it right.  I saw a budget post today (one that was supposed to be advising others) and her income minus expenses did not equal zero.  That my friends is NOT a budget.  I am not sure that anyone cares about my mad money skills and I am less convinced that people want my opinion on what to do with their money so I am still on the fence.

That was our week.  Semi-eventful.  Mostly just hanging on until today when we will start a very nice long stretch of having Jason home and hanging out with us!  What are your plans for Memorial Day?

Summer Bucket List

I have seen this idea a hundred different times in a hundred different ways and decided I would like to do one this year!  Most of these ideas are pretty simple and inexpensive.  Most of them could also be done anytime of year not just summer.  And while I wish I had some gorgeous format to display them in, I don't.  Just not that savvy.

So here it is, our 2012 Summer Bucket List.

Make playdoh

Get snow cones
Make sidewalk paint
Get ice cream from ice cream man
Take a boat ride
Go to splash pad
Camp in the backyard 

Go on a picnic
Swimming at grandmas
Have a cookout
Pick berries
Zoo
Play in sprinkler
Set up pool in backyard
Watch fireworks
Go toy shopping

Make an art project for Dad

Have a water balloon fight
Make ice cream in a bag
Make edible finger paints
Go to Top That Pizza (girls LOVE this place)
Visit the Jenks Aquarium
Take Belle to the movies
Fly kites
Make lollipops
Create own tshirts
Make bathtub paints
Play board games
Catch fireflies
Make crayons

Have a root beer float

Eat rice krispy treats

I have linked items that I found on the web either browsing blogs or pinterest.  I don't know that this list is entirely complete yet, but it is a great start.  I am confident that we will get to check off a few during Jason's upcoming vacation from work (whoo hoo)!

What is on your summer bucket list?  Anything you see that is missing?

4 Months

Tomorrow my baby boy will be four months old.  Cuh-razy.  Time really does fly while you are having fun.  And sure, there are some days that are NOT fun, but for the most part we are having a ball.

Some facts about Lawson:

Height: 25 and 1/4 inches.  68th percentile.

Weight:  13lbs and 7oz.  25th percentile.

Eating:  Every three hours or less.  Some days he eats every two hours.  I thought for sure that he would weigh more given how much he eats, but no.  I feel like I am feeding him all. the. time.

Sleeping:  Several naps a day and at night he sleeps 8 or 9 hours, eats and then sleeps a few more hours.  I would prefer a longer stretch, but I will take what I can get.

Likes:  His play mat and bouncy seat, being the patient while his sisters play doctor, rolling over, being held and being rocked.

Dislikes:  His car seat.

There are no real big milestones from last month to this month.  He is still smiling all the time and laughing.  He is much stronger when it comes to holding up his head and pushing up when on his belly, but that is about it.  We put him in the bumbo (and by we, I mean I) last week and he did okay.  Didn't seem to be a super big fan of it.

Lawson is such an easy baby.  Truly.  Yes, I know.  I have said that about every baby and if you have met Molly you know that easy can change in the blink of an eye!  But really, Lawson is so easy.  I guess he doesn't have much choice.  His sisters are still in love with him.  They give him non-stop hugs and kisses.  Isabelle says things like, "I love that baby brother."  It is adorable.  Molly wants to burp him which I think is because it involves hitting him on the back.  They are going to be great big sisters. 

J and I think he is pretty awesome also.  Sometimes I get a little sad looking at Lawson and then at the girls.  The girls remind me that he is going to get bigger and fast.  I like having a baby around.  Babies are still okay with you hugging them and kissing them all of the time.  Let's just say I understand why Michelle Duggar keeps having all those kids.  Anyway, we love him.  We are so blessed to have him.  Happy 4 months, Lawson!

The Metro

Warning:  This post will be me bragging about my husband.  Isn't he so good looking?

Last night Jason and I attended the grand opening of The Metro at Brady in downtown Tulsa.  The picture above is Jason standing outside of the building and in case you can't see it, that is his name.  On. The. Building.  I don't know about you, but currently my name is on zero buildings.

Jason was responsible for the design of the landscape and the pool design.  It looks fabulous.  Here is just one picture (which I took so it isn't exactly the best photo ever) from last night.

Oh yeah, see those handrails in the pool?  Jason designed those also.  When he told me he designed them I assumed he meant that he picked them out of some type of catalogue and told them to put them in, but nope, he came up with that design and had someone make them.  Pretty spectacular.

In case you are wondering what the heck The Metro is, it is a luxury apartment building in downtown Tulsa.  We were able to look at some of the actual apartments last night and they are beautiful.  Of course they aren't designed for families, but if I was young and didn't have any kids, they would be very, very, very appealing.  Well, except for the cost thing.  The two bedroom units that we looked at last night, which are both under 1200 square feet, rent for $1650 a month.  So, if I was young, rich, and didn't have kids, then I would want to live there!!

Here are some pics from their website.

front of the building.

pretty much everything in this photo, Jason is responsible for!

this was clearly taken on a cloudy day.  also, the umbrellas are usually all the way open!

Jason is one amazing and very talented landscape architect.  I think a lot of times when I tell people what my husband does, they envision him mowing someones lawn.  Nope, he is a design guy (well, that and much, much more).  He is responsible for the details, like the pool rails, and the pavers, and making sure things get installed right and work correctly and probably a million other things I am not mentioning.  And frankly, he is beyond great at his job.  And yes I am saying that because I am his wife, but also because it is true.  His ability to envision something like this and then put it to paper and finally have it brought to life is so awesome.  He is amazing and his work is amazing and I am so proud of him.

Way to go, Jason!  It looks great and I am incredibly proud of you and your work!

Mother's Day

Being a mom means.....

dealing with a lot of crap...literally.

lots of hugs and kisses.

sometimes making the wrong decision.

saying, "no" billions of times.

saying, "yes" hopefully just as many times .

choosing which battles to fight and which things to let slide.

not eating your dinner until it is cold because you are fixing drinks, cutting up food, cleaning up messes or taking someone to the bathroom while dinner is on the table.

precious cuddle time and singing songs before bed.

not always getting to shower every day (gross, but true).

laundry.  piles and piles and piles of laundry.

getting to experience the joy of teaching your child something new for the first time.

sleepless nights.

endless amounts of people giving you their opinions on what you are doing right and especially what you are doing wrong.

making tough decisions and sticking with them.

being a good example.

sometimes having to learn a lesson from your kids. 

constantly wanting your kids to grow and stop growing at the same time.

sacrifice.

being fiercely protective of your children.


being okay with putting others before yourself.


having a kid wipe their nose on your shirt at least once in your life.

being puked on, pooped on and peed on.


not being as grossed out as you thought you would be with bodily fluids.


loving like you never knew you could.

Happy Mother's Day.

Adventures in Cooking

Have I mentioned how much I love Pioneer Woman lately?  Oh, okay.  Sorry. 

Moving on......

I have some delicious recipes to share today.  They are from a great woman who I love and adore.  You may have heard of her....Pioneer Woman.  Sorry, I couldn't help myself.  If it weren't for PW, I don't know that I would be as into cooking as I have been the past couple of years.  And while her recipes aren't always the healthiest, they are always delicious.

First up, Chicken Pot Pie.

The recipe can't be found online, so here ya go.

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pot Pie
from The Pioneer Woman Cooks (her first cookbook)

3 celery stalks
3 medium carrots, peeled
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 large yellow onion (I hate onions so only used about half this amount...maybe less)
4 tbsp butter
2 cups chicken, cooked, diced or shredded (I used only breasts, but PW says to use both white and dark)
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/4 cup white wine (optional)-I did not use this
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp kosher salt
black pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 400.

Begin by finely dicing the fresh vegetables, celery, carrots and onions. Melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven. Add the onion, carrots, celery and peas. Saute until the vegetables start to soften, a few minutes. Add the chicken and stir to combine. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the vegetables and chicken and stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring gently.

Pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Stir in the bouillon cube and wine, if using. The flour will combine with the chicken to create a delicious gravy. Pour in the cream and stir. Allow mixture to cook over low heat, thickening gradually, about 4 minutes. Season with the thyme, salt and pepper. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. Be sure it's adequately salted!

Pour the chicken mixture into a deep pie pan. (I used an nine by nine casserole pan because I knew my pie pans were not deep enough).  
Roll out the crust so that it's one inch larger than the pan.  Place the crust on top of the chicken mixture and cut small slits in the top.  Press the crust gently into the sides of the dish to seal.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling in bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

A note on the crust...I used the recipe from the newest PW cookbook called, Pam's Pie Crust.  If you want it, go get the book for crying out loud!  Otherwise, I think any crust recipe would work.  Also, some of you may want to use crust on the bottom and top.  I didn't because I follow recipes pretty much exactly how they are written (except for onions...yuck) and also because I didn't think I would like crust.  Of course the crust I used was delicious, but given that I know how much butter was in it, I still think I would only do it on top.

This pot pie was A-MAZ-ING.  Jason and I were in heaven.  The girls...eh, they were okay with it.  It was seriously so, so, so good.  And for the record, up until the day I made this, I would have said that I hated pot pie.  Now I love it.

Next,  Strawberry Shortcake Cake.

picture from PW

I was a tad disappointed in the cake, but mainly it was my fault.  For starters, I think I may have mixed my cake batter too long, making my cake pretty dense.  My brother who went to culinary school also suggested I use some cake flour instead of regular flour in the recipe.  Second, my frosting didn't turn out "light and fluffy" as the recipe suggested it would.  My cookbook doesn't show the picture or suggest using the whisk attachment on the mixer which I am guessing would have made a major difference.  I feel like such a dork for not thinking of that when I was making it.  Oh, and I think next time I will use double the amount of strawberries!

Despite all of that my father in law still said it was the best strawberry cake he had ever had, so I guess my work was worth it!  It was pretty tasty despite the problems I mentioned, and I think it was waaaay better the second day when all of the strawberry juice had soaked down a little into the cake.  I will for sure make this again.

There you go, two delicious recipes you should make very soon, if not today.  Especially the cake since strawberries are in season!  And, if you don't have PW's cookbooks, I would suggest you go get them!  You won't regret it!

Summer Fun

You read that right...summer.  It was 90 degrees here at least three days last week.  So we did what any normal family would do and broke out the sprinkler.  The girls had an absolute blast.  I think this might be one of the best birthday presents we have bought so far.  Here are a few fun pictures of the girls!

belle and molly.  such great friends.

this is the face i get every time i ask for a smile!  love it.

my sweet belle.  i feel like she looks waaaay to old in this picture!  she is getting so big.

the crazy sprinkler. 

I love those sweet girls.  They love being outside and since it is already blazing hot here in OK, I see a lot more of these types of days in our future!