Cinderella

I think I've got something in my eye.  Is it dusty in here?

Do-it-yourself natural fruit spray?

My current bottle of natural spray for cleaning produce has come to an end and I thought I might give making my own a try.  I found this recipe.  Have you tried making your own cleaning supplies?  Any suggestions?  

Adam's First Haircut

I hated to cut off that soft, shiny down... but it was getting a little wild around his ears and neck.  Mark did an excellent (and entertaining!) job taming the mane.  Adam loved the whole experience.

Before:

After:

So handsome!

Guest Post - Hannah

,mmmmmmmmmmmmmm mm mmmm                       kkbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbdddddddddsss 

{She sees me clicking away here on the keyboard so she wanted to give it a shot}

Rain, rain, don't go away

Today it is raining and I love it.  We have the windows fully open and the kids are watching it pour down like a movie in the theater.  When it rains, it feels so right to stay home and enjoy the simple things - fresh baked bread, library books, dress up, a cup of coffee.

Ballerina Hannah

She loves to dance.  At least an hour a day: "Pimpess Music, Mommy!" (princess music = classical music; although any genre generally suffices) and she springs into the most heartfelt of interpretive dance.   Here is her new dress from Rebecca with a beautiful ballet-style skirt.

Rotate-The-Toys Day

We are blessed with toys.  Some come to us new but we love our garage sale finds and hand-me-downs just as much.  But I confess I can't look at them all at once.  I choose a few, set them out for the kids to explore and keep the rest boxed up.  

Once a month or so, it's time to rotate!  Here's what we do:



Dump them all out and have a play fest!  (I used it as an opportunity to catch up on ironing too.)  At the end of the day, we choose a few new ones to keep out, several to give away, and box the rest up again.  But meanwhile, it's a lot of fun and a big mess.  Those words - fun and mess -are often synonymous with my crew.  Mommy doesn't normally let the house look like this for a whole day.

They loved it!

We can see the floor again.  Phew!

A conversation with Thomas

"OK, cool! What? Back, Thomas. Church. Back (to) Church?  Oh!  OK!  Bye Thomas? Bye (in the) car?..."  

The rest of the conversation went something like this.  Sorry for the lousy videography.  I have to be all sneaky because this is what happens if she finds out I'm recording:

Every Bit 2 and 1/2

This is what happens if I turn my back on an art project for 5 seconds!  

Adam at 10 months

10 Things About Adam at 10 Months

10.  He has one tooth

9.  He is trying to crawl but mostly he scoots and rolls

8.  He loves being with people, especially his family

7.  He is eating finger food (with an Olympic-sized appetite I must say)

6.  He takes 2-3 decent naps and sleeps through the night

5.  He babbles and growls

4.  When he gets a reaction to growling he does it more and laughs!

3.  He loves peek-a-boo games and tickling

2.  If he can pick it up, he will throw it

1.  Yes, he really is this happy all the time!

Progress Report

I have to confess I neither went to bed early nor woke up early.  Despite my frustration with myself, I set out to redeem the situation.  After morning activities with the kids and starting a new loaf of bread - we all went running together!  I love our stroller.  The kids were winding down quickly as it approached nap time but I was able to get my heart rate up and we all got sunshine and fresh air.

Now I feel rejuvenated to tackle this afternoons goals:

1. Start dinner (spinach quiche)

2. Put new slipcover on the couch

3. Scrub the coffee stains out of our walls and carpet

And I hope to reach yesterday's goal tonight - though I'll bump it back by an hour since it's Friday.  In bed by 11, up at 7 and off for a run while the air is still somewhat COOL!

The 6 Keys to a Disorganized, Unproductive Day at Home

I have recently stumbled upon Simple Mom's blog and I am in blog-love! She is all about making the most out of life - especially as a mom - and focusing on what counts.  Today in the first part of her series by the above title she talks about neglecting ourselves. I especially jived with the part about neglecting our physical needs:

" Here are some common ways we put our bodies on the back burner:
• Not getting enough sleep
• Not drinking enough water
• Not exercising
• Eating too much sugar
• Eating too quickly
• Consuming too many calories
• Consuming too few calories
• Not getting enough fresh air (such as going outside)
Application Time: Pick one of these today, and solve the problem it presents."

I'll pick two goals, because they go hand-in-hand: to go to bed by 10 tonight and get up at 6 for a short run tomorrow morning. This will take care of at least two of the items on this list and give me the boost of energy I need to make it through the last day of a long week at home with the kids.

Fish Tacos

Here's how I made it for 5 people with no grill:

FISH:

6 Tilapia filets, cut in half

Lawry's Mexican Chile & Lime Marinade

Marinate filets for 30 min or more

Bake at 450F 5-6 min; flip; bake another 5-6 min

COLE SLAW:

One bag of shredded cabbage

4 tsp lime juice

2 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup mayonnaise

4 Tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients (it's fun to do this with your hands - clean of course!)

TORTILLAS:

12 flour tortillas (or a combo of flour and corn tortillas)

Throw the tortillas directly on oven rack at 450F for 3-5 min - careful the ones on the bottom rack go fast!  Tortillas should be hot and a little crispy, but not too much to bend for tacos.

GARNISH:

Chopped cilantro

Diced fresh tomato

Set out all ingredients as a buffet for assembling the tacos.  Sides: Black beans (also a good topping), grilled corn, fresh fruit.

This is a great, light meal for warm weather.  Thanks to Laura and Publix for this recipe!

Blog-stipation

Honestly.  It took me the last hour to come up with a blog name.  It's not even that spectacular, and hopefully most of you will save it on your bookmarks bar (or in some other convenient place) so that you won't have to remember it when you want to check in.  But really - is this a good start to blogging, that I rack my brain for an hour over a name?  

My parents were here earlier for a really fun, low-key evening to celebrate Mom's birthday.  We ate Fish Tacos (Thanks Mel and Laura! They turned out great - even though I did everything in the oven rather than on a grill) and Rum Bundt Cake and watched Hannah twirl around and play dress up for most of the evening.  The dishes are now giving me a guilt trip out of the corner of my eye so I will go "be productive" for a while.  Time just seems to move faster when I'm on the computer!

Come on in!

This is the spot where I hope to keep you up to date on our family.  We would love to have you come by and converse over a nice hot cup of joe (the door is always open!) and hope to give you that same experience here, though many of you are far away.  

So grab your beverage of choice, settle in, and don't be a stranger!