every day counts

glider makeover

2009-03-18T13:42:00.000-07:00

How cool is this? I have the same glider chair. It is SUPER comfy and great for nursing, but I bet I could attack this project for baby #2's room. I have never slipcovered a chair, but this would be a great project. I am really excited to try it out and find some cool fabric. Oh, wait...there is not baby #2 yet. I guess I need to get preggo first! =)

Original post here and directions here.

picture tag

2009-03-17T18:22:00.001-07:00

I was tagged by Kelly to post a picture.

This is the 4th picture in the 4th folder on my computer:

This is a picture of Evelyn when she was 10 months old. I remember this day by the snotty nose and glazed-over eyes. She was REALLY sick this week. I mean 104 degree fever sick. Anyway, this day I thought I could slack off and instead of cutting her waffle into little pieces give it to her whole. After I took the picture, I had to take it away from her since she was taking huge pieces and cramming them into her mouth and nearly gagging herself. What? Come on, I doubt I am the only mom that has tried to cut some corners in the kitchen! =)

Now it is your turn. (kelly, I switched back to the original rules...only because the 1st picture in the 1st folder was was even more boring than the 4th in the 4th folder!)

Go to your 4th folder where you store your photos.

Select your 4th picture

Post the picture with an explanation and link it back to your tagger.

Tag 4 people (or as many as you want) to do the same!!

I tag:

Morgan G.

Sarah M.

Carissa V.

Melissa H.

Go forth and share your photos!

Thank you Kroger

2009-03-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

I am usually an HEB girl, but this week Kroger had some deals on things I would buy anyway and their "10 item Mega Event". Can you see my total savings? Cha ching!

Sorry HEB. I will be back next week. I can't miss all your free samples two weeks in a row! =)

evelyn

2009-03-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

Just checking out what is on the other side of the gate

friends?

2009-02-17T17:59:00.000-08:00

Evelyn was excited to see her friend today, but I am not sure I can say the opposite is true.

Evelyn: "Woo Hoo! He is here to play!"
Bobby: "Oh no...what did I get myself into?"

Evelyn: "Maybe if I just give him a few taps of the head, he will get excited!"

Bobby: "When is my mom picking me up again?"

Bobby: "Maybe if I had my face she will go away."
Evelyn: "Bobby...you there?"

I interrupt the decorating...

2009-02-13T12:50:00.000-08:00

Funny thing Evelyn started doing yesterday. When I ask her, "Who's Mommy's big girl?", she raises her hand. HA! I love it. She is so funny. But what is better is that she waits for either Michael or I to clap for her after she does it. She is at a great age.

another decorating dilemma...help!

2009-02-13T08:21:00.000-08:00

Ok, so thanks to all of your comments, I am going to go with the green chair (and possibly make a slipcover with the help of Erin!). Anyway, I have learned that decorating is really not my thing, so I think I will make the rest of my decorating decisions a "community decision"! That is if you guys don't mind. How does that sound? That means I need your help. Liz...that includes you too! =)

Here is my next question for you all. I found three prints at Michaels the other day and picked them up because I liked the colors. They are 16x20. I found three dark brown frames to match our new dining furniture at Target. Michael said the prints are "girly" (that word gets thrown around a lot here when anything with flowers are involved). But, I kinds think the husband may be right? Plus, I think they look like they could go in a teenage girl's bedroom. Anywho, that is why I need your input. Do these look ok? BE HONEST! I already have two votes for "yes" form Morgan and Erin W. who saw them in person, and a "no" vote from my mom and husband.

There are a few things to take into consideration though. The prints are still wrapped in plastic and just leaning up against the frames. So it may be hard to get a feel for how they really look. They would be hung above the sideboard in a row of three. I think you can tell form one of the pics that the chairs are a dark turquoise blue and the wood is a really dark brown. I was planning on doing accents of orange in the dining room to coordinate with the turquoise chairs (and yes, there is a sticker on the corner of the prints that says "sassy chic"...i think that might be a giveaway that they are designed for a teenager!) =)

So comment away. If you vote no though, what do you think I should put there instead??

help!

please!

Pottery Barn swap out

2009-02-10T08:32:00.000-08:00

I have been on the lookout for a new chair for our living room. We are going fairly modern in our living room, so I thought that a chair with a little bit of a traditional flair would look nice and mix things up a bit. I wanted a "fun" pattern in either green or orange or a combination of both. Of course, the one that I fell in love with is at Pottery Barn. The husband laughed when he saw the price. Literally, he chuckled and looked at me waiting for the punch line! Fortunately, we were both on board that the price was too high. I can't with a good conscience pay this much for a chair when our near future includes red Kool-Aid and muddy little fingers. Dangerous combination. Here is the Pottery Barn inspiration (pretty nice, huh):

So the search continued. I found a similar one at Ikea, but the husband was not a fan. Granted, it wasn't really the right colors (too much yellow and red), but I thought the shape was good and the price was much more in out budget for a chair. Here is the Ikea chair:

The last week and a half I have looked just about everywhere could think of for a chair similar to the Pottery Barn one. The Room Store, Metropolitan Furniture, CB2.com, Crate and Barrel, Home Goods, The Dump, Gallery Furniture, Target, Ashley Furniture, Macy's, and a few other online places. No luck.

That is until yesterday I found this one at target.com. I was actually looking on the site for frames, when I just stumbled upon this. It is REALLY close to the inspiration, the price is right, and I think the husband will approve (although he hasn't seen it yet). They carry a green one and an orange one. I like them both, and they both would fit into the new color scheme of brown, green, and orange. The catch is that you can only order them online and they won't ship for 3-5 weeks. I am not sure I can wait that long! =) Which do you like better, orange or green? Or is it too "girly" for a living room? I need some help here:

Opinions???

(Oh, and we got some furniture for our dining room last weekend! Hooray! I will post some pics after I get the pictures on the wall and find the last few decorations.)

thermometer

2009-02-09T18:53:00.000-08:00

Most of you know that a few weeks ago Evelyn got REALLY sick. Fever reaching over 104 for days. At one point she was so hot that she started shaking in my arms as I held her. Very scary. And as anyone with a kiddo knows, when you call the doctor late in the night the first thing they ask is "What is your child's temperature?" And of course, you want to be able to give them an accurate reading when they ask, right? Well, I was CERTAIN that Evelyn had a high fever, but to be honest, our thermometer STINKS! It is a "forehead" thermometer that we picked up at BabiesRUs after we couldn't get the ear one we already had to work. I would test the thermometer on myself and get anything from 78 to 94 degrees, so I was doubtful that it was reading Evelyn's temp correctly. We needed a new (and hopefully more accurate thermometer). I did some Internet research (honestly, what did we do before google?) and found this AMAZING product. It is the same brand of the one at the pediatrician's office, but the lower end one. I ended up buying mine on amazon.com here for just over $30 and shipping was free. This thing is so cool! I couldn't stop playing with it when we got it. I took my temp over and over, then took Michael's until he got annoyed. I would recommend this to anyone who has kids. It is so easy to use. You just swipe the probe over the forehead while pressing the button and seconds later you have a reading as "accurate as a rectal thermometer". I would say this this thermometer is on my top ten must have for baby list. I can actually get a reading on Evelyn while she is crawling around. So, if any of you are looking for a good thermometer, I think that your search is over.

just a few things...

2009-02-08T04:44:00.000-08:00

Can it be...my last post was almost a month ago! Geez. So my excuse is lame: things have been really busy back here at the ranch. Between having a broken toe, shopping for new furniture, planning a birthday party, going to the gym trying to get back in shape before baby #2 is in the picture, and just doing the normal cooking and cleaning...I haven't had much free time. Ok, I admit, I have found time to watch Good Morning America most mornings, but hey, some things have priority around here and Diane Sawyer is worthy! (totally random, but the husband jokes that I have a crush on Diane Sawyer. I think he may be right!)

So, here are just a few things that have been on my mind:

1. I REALLY want to run another marathon soon. It has been 2 years and I have the itch. Ok, so maybe I should start out with a 5k, but nonetheless, I am ready to train for something...for anything! I like having a goal in mind. It helps me fight off my laziness and my excuses to not get out and run.

2. We have decided that we would start making our on bread rather than buying it. Michael made two loaves last week. They turned out delicious. It is in his blood, I guess. I took over and made two loaves this week. They turned out like crap. I think Michael will be in charge of all things bread.

3. Speaking of bread, I am afraid that our beautiful daughter is a carb addict. The girl LOVES her carbs...bread, waffles, pancakes, cheerios, tortillas, crackers. You get the picture.

4. Evelyn has started to walk! It is pretty funny to watch. Has anyone ever seen a newborn calf try to take their first steps. That is what she reminds me of. Her legs are all wobbly (is that a word??) and she is still not confident in her new found skill. Her newest record is 10 steps. Way to go little girl. The trick to get her to walk is to put a cheerio on the couch arm and make her go get it (see #3).

5. I had a goal to clean out or extra bedroom by March. It doesn't look like that is going to happen.

6. Michael encouraged me to read a chapter out of one of his old books about dating. Until he explained further, I was utterly confused.

So, that is why I haven't posted in almost a month....nothing too interesting is going on. Hopefully the next month will be more exciting. =)

mama drama

2009-01-11T07:54:00.000-08:00

I broke my little toe Saturday morning. And it hurts like crazy! I was making some coffee and pancakes with Evelyn before Michael got up. I had everything out of the pantry except the vanilla. So I open the door, take a step forward and heard a crack as I feel pain in my left foot. I sounded like a pencil breaking. Not thinking it was more than a stubbed toe, I grab the vanilla, set it on the counter and then took a look at my foot. Oh boy! My little toe was at a right angle from my foot. Seriously! When I had stepped forward, all of my toes must have made it into the pantry except my little one. I sat on the floor, snapped my toe back into place and called for Michael. There must have been a seriousness in my voice because he came flying out of the bedroom to see what the matter was. I told him what had just happened and he sent me to rest on the couch. I rested for a while then decided that I was ok and went ahead and finished up the pancakes, cleaned up the kitchen and did dishes...all while hobbling on on leg. It wasn't until I did some Internet searching later that day that it hit me. I really broke my toe. I need rest. It will take a while to heal. Ug. I was going to start a new workout routine at the gym Saturday too. bummer. So according to google, there is really nothing you can do about a broken toe except wait for it to heal. It can take anywhere from weeks to months to completely back to normal. I know it will be better than it is today, but I have no clue how I am going to take care of Evelyn by myself tomorrow. I can't even walk to the kitchen without struggling and hopping along. Mom, are you busy this week?? =) I will just be happy when I can walk to the bathroom in less than 5 minutes!

I tried to post a picture of the damage, but my computer is not cooperating. Because I just know that everyone is dying to see a photo of a swollen, bruised & ugly toe! (Maybe later if I can get it to work.)

10 months

2009-01-04T13:26:00.000-08:00

10 months...whew! Evelyn is starting to look and act like a little kid now more than a baby. She is such a busy body and so happy! Here is here 10 month update and the things she is doing now:

starting to stand on her own without holding on to things
playing peek-a-boo around the couch
eating anything that you put in front of her!
"dancing" when she hears music
riding in her new bike seat
still loves trips to the park to swing
yelling really LOUD and high-pitched for no reason (I can't help but laugh at it!)
pulling all of her clothes out of her bottom drawer one by one
playing with tupperware in the kitchen while I cook dinner
riding on Daddy's shoulders
playing in the bathtub
giving kisses (with a wide-open mouth!)

The stocking were hung by the chimney with care

2008-12-19T12:14:00.000-08:00

The inspiration (I like the design of the polka dot one, but the colors of the striped one):The cost of the inspiration: $24.95 + shipping and tax

**********************************************************************************

My homemade version:

The cost of my knockoff: about $8 in fabric and an hour and a half

Now to be honest, I probably would have bought the cute stocking from the catalog, but last year I made Michael and I's stocking and they are facing the opposite direction as the one from Crate and Barrel. Now we all know that hanging stockings in different directions is just nonsense! And plus, all of our stocking are the same size (Santa doesn't discriminate) and coordinating colors. Although I am tempted to redo the two I made last year. Evelyn's is by far the cutest of the three!

(Yep, it is true. If you notice from the picture, we are using pieces from our nativity scene to hold up the stockings. Baby Jesus for Evelyn's, I get a Shepard and Michael gets a Wise man! All very appropriate, wouldn't you say! Hopefully I will find some stocking holders on sale after Christmas this year!)

wordless...tuesday?!?

2008-12-16T05:47:00.001-08:00

not much to say...so here are some pictures. (taken with my shiny new early Christmas present of course!)

headache = flowers

2008-11-20T11:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon I got the worst headache that I have EVER had. It was just terrible. I was nauseous, could barely stand up, and the light hurt my eyes. Poor Evelyn had to entertain herself for a few hours until Michael got home. Then I went to bed.

I was feeling much better this morning. And then this afternoon I got this delivered to the house from my husband:

Hmmm...I think my headache is coming back again! (wink, wink) =)

When the husband is away...

2008-11-13T15:22:00.000-08:00

...the wife will play. Ok, not really, but I have been pretty productive around the house. I finally got our master bathroom painted. I got the color right after spending an hour at Sherwin Williams trying to "fix" my original purchase of "meditative" blue. I think the sales guy just kept adding gray and some lavender to get the color I was looking for. It turned out just right.

Let's see, I also organized the office as best I could with the furniture that we currently have. My sewing machine is still on the floor and there are still two big boxes of cords and wires that I have no idea what to do with.

I have also been enjoying some "not-so-Michael-friendly" dinners. Tonight it was roasted butternut squash and cauliflower. Last night was sauteed mushrooms with some mozzarella cheese sprinkled on top, and the night before a big bowl of broccoli, and the night before that was plain pasta with some Parmesan cheese. I think Michael would be begging for some meat by now if he was home!

(oh, and just for the record I got a text late the other night: "Played for 3 hours. Lost 98 dollars." Can you guess where the husband may be????)

8 months

2008-11-04T07:49:00.000-08:00

Evelyn is 8 months old today. This is definitely my favorite age so far. She is so fun and playful and laughs A LOT! Here is the update on what she is doing now...

She has completely mastered crawling and pulling up on things. She goes from room to room looking for new things to get into!
She can "walk" around the coffee table while holding on to the side
Sometimes, she even tries to let go and is able to stand by herself for a few seconds before she falls down.
Giving hi-fives
Waving bye-bye
She loves feeding herself finger-foods, although I end up cleaning half of her meal out of her chair when she is done!
She just started signing "more" at meals
She has her first tooth and another one on the way!
She is sleeping through the night like a pro!! (mama likes this one quite a bit!)
She can say "ba ba", "da da", and "ma ma"
Swinging at the park is a new favorite afternoon activity
She loves being tickled under her arms
And, she is wonderful at stealing other kid's pacifies and sippy cups at church!

Love note

2008-11-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

Dear Beehive Baby Spoons,

You are the cutest thing I have seen in a VERY long time. I am sure that I will be dreaming of you tonight and longing for you at dinner this evening when I am feeding my daughter with a plain, mundane plastic spoon. I hope the tears do not spoil her mashed sweet potatoes. Your backside is perfect in every way...cute and elegant at the same time. And the simplicity of your design...perfection. I promise that once I have an extra $22.00 + shipping in my wallet to buy a spoon, I will come after you and take you home with me. Please wait for me. I love you.

Always yours,
k

front:

back:

(via Ohdeedoh)

fall back

2008-11-02T05:17:00.000-08:00

I am convinced that the person who came up with the idea of having a time change did not have children with scheduled bed times! I would like to kindly invite him or her over to help get Evelyn to go to bed an hour later and then wake up an hour later. Geez!!

Evelyn's new clothes

2008-10-29T11:09:00.001-07:00

I went to Target to look for some pants for Evelyn (since the 6 month ones she has now look more like capris than full length pants) and although they didn't have what I was looking for, I found this cute outfit. It was a steal for only $4.88 for the dress and the leggings! I had to restrain myself from buying all of the cute clothes that I put in the cart, asking myself "Does she REALLY need this??" It was just plain hard to pass up such a good deal! All of the baby clothes were on sale up to 80% off! Darn Dave Ramsey and the silly budget!! (just kidding of course!)

Good blog to check out

2008-10-28T04:42:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends and old college roommates is a pediatric dietitian living in the "weird" city of Austin. Both being Aggies, I forgive her. =) Anyway, a few months ago she started a blog here. It has all kinds of info on nutrition recommendations for kids of all ages, food product reviews, comments on current research and nutrition news, food ideas, recipes, and tips for creating healthy eating behaviors with your kids.

I would recommend that all of my mommy friends check it out!!

Happy eating!

This blog needs a little more Evelyn

2008-10-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

too funny (or creepy) not to share

2008-10-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

You have to check this out.

Cape

2008-10-23T08:23:00.001-07:00

So I totally copied Sarah, but I couldn't resist. The ideas was just too cute!

I made a super cape for my niece's birthday last weekend. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture before I gave it away. But no worries....I made another for another niece who has an upcoming birthday in November. (Shawna-if you are reading this, don't spoil the surprise for Ellie! She will get it in the mail soon!) =)

I made both of the capes reversible. One side with a tiara and their initial and the other side with a Superman symbol. Here are pictures of the second cape:

All tied up with a bow and ready to send:

One room down...

2008-10-20T08:39:00.001-07:00

MANY more to go.

I was certain that I would be all moved-in, un-boxed, and settled into the new place by now. WOW, was I mistaken! Trying to unpack, paint, organize, clean, and make a quick run to Target for supplies with a 7 month old sure is harder than I thought! I guess it doesn't help that I changed paint colors after we had already painted the majority of the walls! OOPS! (side note: if any of my friends are good with color, design, and decorating please let me know so that we can become better friends! I would love for you to hang out over here. And while you are here you could give me some tips!) Anyway, the funny thing is that Michael ended up picking out the final color and I love it! Who knew...my husband the interior designer!

I have completed one room in the house so far. Other than painting the 12 foot ceilings, it was pretty easy. Here are some pics of Evelyn's room. I am SO happy with the way it turned out.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

More pics of the rest of the house to come as we SLOWLY finish!

It's ours!!

2008-09-29T12:05:00.000-07:00

We are homeowners!! Here are some pictures that the seller took and e-mailed to us of the "SOLD" sign in front of OUR home.

I can't wait to move in!

(I promise to post about things other than the new house soon!)

Katy...here we come!!

2008-09-26T05:42:00.000-07:00

I am about to leave to go close on our house this morning! Oh my! How exciting! I mean, you only buy your first house once! We won't actually be able to move into the house until next week (since we are doing a lease-back...which means that we will be leasing the house back to the sellers for a week until they close on another house). So I will be sure to post pictures once we are moved in. I am planning on painting the house next Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with my mom. Well, paint as much as we can while watching Evelyn at the same time! Any volunteers wanting to help?!?! =) Right now the WHOLE house is yellow. Yes, yellow. Banana peel yellow. Not bad, but it is a bit overwhelming to see EVERY SINGLE wall in the house the same color!

We are planning on moving next Saturday. We rented a U-Haul and are moving ourselves, with the help of friends. (morgan-let's hope Rob doesn't get hurt again this time!!)

So, right now I am waiting for Evelyn to get up so we can leave. I will be dropping her off at my mom's house and then meeting Michael at the title company. Oh my! =)

a costume and a dress

2008-09-10T04:58:00.000-07:00

Saturday Michael was gone most of the day helping out a friend, so after I put Evelyn down for a nap, I began working on her Halloween costume. I finished the dress part of bumblebee costume in just an hour, and all I need now is to make some wings and antenna. I think it turned out really cute. I made a basic dress pattern by tracing out one of the dresses she already owns onto a brown paper bag, did some research online on how to gather a skirt, cut fabric, sewed on some yellow felt stripes, and viola...the beginnings of a costume. It was much easier than I thought and she looks super cute in it!

Here is the bodice pattern I cut out:

I gathered the skirt by sewing a zig zag stitch over a strand of yarn and then pulling the yarn to form the gathers after I pinned it to the bodice piece:

The bodice before I sewed on the yellow stripes:

Evelyn modeling the bodice to make sure it fit ok:

The finished dress! (still needs wings and antenna to finish it off):

Being inspired by the costume and realizing how simple it is to make a dress, I ran out to Joann's on Monday to get some more fabric to make her another dress. This one is still a bit big, but will fit her in just a few weeks. What do you think?

***oops...I forgot to mention that I got the pattern for the second dress here***

6 months

2008-09-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

Evelyn turned 6 months old last week. Where did the time go? Everyone that already has kids always tells me how they "grow up so fast" and now I truly believe them! She is getting so big! Here are the things that she is good at now:

eating solid foods (her favorites are butternut squash, banana, and avocado)
spitting solid foods out of her mouth and onto mommy
completely mastered sitting up on her own
laughing really hard
smiling back when people smile at her
making grunting noises
saying "ba-ba" over and over and over
spitting bubbles out of her mouth
crawling (well really scooting, but she gets to where she wants to go...and fast!)
still taking two really good naps a day
not taking her third nap anymore (i was pretty bummed about this one)
getting lots of compliments at the grocery store each week
finding her toy basket and dumping it over to get all of the toys out
"helping" mommy fold laundry
enjoying watching videos of herself...this may be her FAVORITE activity!
chewing on the remote control and cell phones
and still just being darn cute!!!

product review x2

2008-09-04T11:10:00.000-07:00

1. Yes, I use cloth diapers, but I like to have just a few disposables around the house "just in case". The other day, while at Babies R Us, I spotted these diapers on the shelf claiming to be "chlorine-free". I never knew there was even chlorine in diapers. So, being the afraid-of-chemicals-near-my-baby mom I am, I went home to do some research. Sure enough, diapers contain chlorine which "may" be harmful to baby. (look here and here). Even if this is not true, I wonder to myself, why risk it. So at my next trip to Babies R Us, I picked up a pack of Seventh Generation diapers. First of all, they are SO much better looking than the conventional brands. Really, who wants Winnie the Pooh or Elmo on your baby's butt!? Can you tell that I am not a fan of putting characters on diapers? =) These Seventh Generation Diapers are plain beige and actually look cute on Evelyn. Well, how do they absorb? AWESOME! I put one on Evelyn last night and in the morning she was pretty dry. And the diaper didn't swell up in the front like the Pampers I have tried. So, if you are planning on using disposables, either full time or just every once in a while, I would recommend these!

2. I had been wanting to try out this bread for quite a while. I had read reviews of it online and it was recommended in a book a read last summer. So last week, while at Whole Foods I picked up a loaf of Cinnamon Raisin. The bread was frozen, since it has no preservatives in it, so I had to wait a few hours before eating it when I got home. But it was worth the wait. YUMMY! This bread was delicious! I ate two slices plain and the next day put one in the toaster with a little bit of butter. Even Michael thought it was good! Check it out next time you are at Whole Foods!

my day

2008-09-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

First thing, this morning my mom, Evelyn, and I met Michael at the "new house" to get it inspected. I didn't stay the whole time, but Michael said that everything went well. I am sure I will get the details when he gets home tonight. Seems like everything is looking good though. Our closing date is just around the corner! AHHHH! I can't believe this is actually happening!

Later, after Evelyn's nap and lunch, I went o Joann's to pick up some fabric for Evelyn's Halloween costume. I am going to attempt to make a bumblebee outfit for her. I don't have any pattern, but I have an idea in my head. If it turns out decent, I will post some pics later! While I was there I saw a really cute flower print in pinks, greens, and yellows with a coordinating circle pattern. (I would post some pics of the fabric, but I can't seem to find the camera today. darn...I guess we will have to buy a new one. =) kidding of course...although a new camera is on my wish list.) I digress. Anyway, I think I may make a cute dress for Evelyn if I can find a pattern I like.

Then, off to Target to get a birthday gift for my nephew. I called my sister-in-law on the way there to see if she had any gift ideas. Since the birthday bay was with her, she asked him what he wanted. His answer? Fruit roll-ups and candy. Easy enough! Of course I picked up a few more things for him too!!

(after typing this I realized that I really had nothing to say after all. I am considering deleting this post since I can't imagine that there are many people interested in my daily schedule. But I guess if you made it to the end of the post and are still reading, it must have kept your interest, so maybe I will post it after all!)

"Hi, My name is Evelyn and I am ADORABLE!"

2008-09-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

Michael's Random Things

2008-09-01T20:44:00.000-07:00

From Michael:

In the due course of time, the unthinkable has happened. Compelled by love and in direct opposition to statements made both internally to self and verbally to others, I will now compose a blog post of his own to satisfy a promise he made to his bride nearly two weeks ago now. The goal was fun and though time has eroded most of that, if the Lord wills it...Here goes.

Six random things about me:

1. I take it as a great point of pride to have won first place in the written Latin test category at the Oklahoma Junior Classical League competition in high school. I still have the trophy. Don't ask me to speak Latin because I can't. It is the closest I have ever come to some sort of sports victory.

2. In another life, I might have been a flamenco guitarist in Spain. I like playing, but have never gotten past basic chords. I still keep 2 guitars, though I doubt I'll ever have time to get really good at it. Plus, it doesn't help that flamenco is arguably the hardest style. It's the passion that moves me: the singing, the playing, the dancing, the clapping!!! I am fond of Sevillanas! Google it. It will move you! I will make it to Andalusia one day!

3. When I turned 16, my parents blessed me with a car, a Honda Prelude (standard transmission). Though a series of unfortunate events, I could not drive a stick shift when my birthday rolled around. Thus, when I turned 16, every day for a week or two, I would come home from school and practice driving around the neighborhood in my car, killing the car every time I came to a stop sign until finally I figured out how to operate the clutch. It was so embarrassing.

4. One time when I was living in Chicago for a summer, someone convinced me it would be great idea to try my hand at rollerblading. I had brought these really expensive roller blades from Tulsa where I had bought them to impress a girl I dated for a total of 2-4 weeks, depending on your reckoning. I had never learned but a friend convinced me it was easy. He took me to a rink to practice for a couple hours. I almost killed a few children by crashing into the "kiddie area," but that's another story. The next day, he decided the next logical step for such an accomplished skater was to traverse downtown Chicago on roller blades. This was the most terrifying experience of my life up to that point. I can't count how many times I fell or how many cuts and bruises I had on my body after that. I ran into several taxis and almost fell into Lake Michigan with clunky roller blades on (not safe). On the way, I ran into a Warner Brothers security guy telling me I couldn't ride across a bridge because they were filming "Batman Begins."

5. I am a roller coaster fanatic. I had posters on my wall as a kid of theme parks around the country I wanted to visit. I have a dream of making it to Cedar Point, OH. This is the mother load for roller coasters, if you didn't know. Due to my parents' choices in vacations over the years, I have a difficult time imagining a "big" vacation as anything other than a trip to an amusement park and a major league baseball game with a trip to the motel pool, of course. The motel was always half the fun, at least. I still get giddy when I walk into a hotel, even on business. It always feels like vacation.

6. Amongst all the costumes I had for Halloween over the years, one of the ones that sticks out in my mind most was when I was maybe 6 or 7 my mom made me a robot costume. It was made out of a cardboard box and aluminum foil with some flair made out of extra cardboard and a plastic lightning bolt that attached to my head that I'm sure she picked up out of the bargain bin somewhere because we didn't have much and I remember being confused even then why it went with my robot theme. But, she constructed an argument only a 6 year old would think reasonable and I had a great time.

Ok, that was indeed more fun than I expected. Love you, Karen. Spray on freshness lovers, spray on (private joke).

so much to say

2008-08-29T11:56:00.001-07:00

There has been quite a bit of excitement around here this week.

We put an offer on a second house on Wednesday and so far everything is going as planned. We are having the house inspected on Wednesday and assuming everything is OK we will close at the end of September!! Whoo Hoo! I am SO excited. We actually looked at the house last weekend without thinking seriously about putting on offer on it. Then over the next few days we thought more and more about it and went back to look at it for a second time on Tuesday night. That night we decided to put an offer in. It has all happened so fast! The house is really nice on the inside and really clean. The yard needs quite a bit of work, as there are NUMEROUS palm trees. Sorry to offend any palm tree lovers out there, but I am not a fan. I have to admit that I am a little excited to get to "redo" the yard, learn about landscaping, and have a project to work on over the next few months. So if any of you have any lawn tips, let me know! (here are some pics of the backyard...now do you believe me that there are NUMEROUS palm trees!)

HGTV

whether

convinced

organic

Evelyn

spoonfull

again

This

because

definitely

my new crush

2008-08-27T06:02:00.000-07:00

I just realized how much I LOVE Pottery Barn furniture. We were looking at a house this last weekend and the entire house was furnished with Pottery Barn furniture. BEAUTIFUL! I mean, I knew before that I liked it, but now the official crush has started. I am thinking of writing the company a love note!

Too bad all the stuff is so darn expensive.

Move over Ikea...I have a new love of my life.

Big news...again

2008-08-26T19:59:00.000-07:00

Big news coming again soon...maybe! Stay tuned!

2008-08-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

Yay! I got tagged by Morgan to share 6 random things about myself. (if you are wondering why I am so happy, it is because I LOVE doing stuff like this. You know those silly emails that go around where you have to answer 100s of questions about yourself like "ranch dressing or Italian?"? Well, I ALWAYS fill them out...they are so fun. Maybe I just like talking about myself. Is there anything wrong with that?) =)

Anyway...here goes...

Here are the tagging rules:

Post the rules on your blog
Write 6 random things about yourself
Tag 6 people at the end of your post
If you're tagged, DO IT and pass on the tag

Karen's randomness:

1. I have a birthmark on my leg in the shape of the United Stated of America. No joke. I promise. In fact, growing up my older brother and sister would tell me to pull out the map (meaning my leg, of course) when we were on family road trips. I am not embarrassed by it though, so if you are bold enough, and curious enough, just ask and I will share my "map" with you! =)

2. Ever since I can remember, my biggest fear has been that I would be dropped off in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night. Strange. It is just so dark. And scary. And big. And scary. Oh, and in case you didn't know man-eating sharks live in the ocean that will eat you alive! Especially if you are dropped off in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night.

3. I won an award in 5th grade for perfect attendance from kindergarten through 5th grade. Yay for me! I was so excited because I was the only one in the whole school who was getting that award! But, now I look back and all that the school thought appropriate to give me was a lousy little fake-gold pin that said "Perfect Attendance". I mean, come on....perfect attendance for 6 years and all I got was a pin. (kidding about the bitterness, of course) =)

4. deep breath...deep breath...(I can't believe I am about to admit this)...deep breath...I ...like...Kid...Rock. OK I said it. I listen to Kid Rock. I know his music is lousy. His lyrics are lousy. His morality is terrible. And I would NEVER want Evelyn to listen to that type of music. But, have you heard his new song? It is really catchy. They play it on country stations (I am not quite sure why since it is not a country song). I am sure you will like it too. Just give it a try, or not if you have any taste in music! (by the way, I also like Hanson. Remember Um Bop. Ya, good stuff!)

5. I love to bargain shop. In fact I have a hard time committing to anything that is not on sale or that I can't return. (remember this?) Even better, if I have a coupon to use on an item that is already on sale! I love using coupons so much that Michael knows not to go get fast food without consulting me first. I just might have a coupon for wherever he is going. He also gave me a very appropriate book for Christmas titled "The Coupon Mom". I loved it!

6. Lastly, I don't like steak. Ya, you read that right. I don't like steak. Is it even legal to live in Texas and not eat steak? As I have gotten older, I have been able to tolerate it, and I even ordered it once at a restaurant thinking I might enjoy it. Wrong. I am not really a huge fan of any red meat, though. In fact, when I was in high school and beginning of college, I was a vegetarian for three years. Not because I am against killing and eating animals, but because I just don't eat a lot of meat and it kinda became a challenge to find ways to NOT eat meat. Then one day I wanted a hot dog. And that was the end of my vegetarian stretch.

Now for the people I tag:

Kathy -- I know you have done these things before on your blog, but I think you need to do just one more!
Erin W. -- the birth announcements are cute but we need more
Sarah -- you may have already been tagged, but just in case, I tag you too!
Melissa -- I know you are one of my most trusted readers/commenters =)
Michael -- Honey, I know you don't have your own blog, but I allow you rights to post on here. I would love to know some random facts about you (and I know you read this!)
Erin C. -- You too have probably already been tagged, but endulge me, you popular girl!

Personal opinions ahead...

2008-08-20T11:08:00.000-07:00

Has anyone else seen this Discover Card commercial? It makes me sick. Basically, the credit card company is claiming that they are the solution to the nation's debt rather than standing up and admitting that they are the problem. The commercial starts out with "We are a nation of consumers...and there's nothing wrong with that". Ummm...actually, there is something wrong with that. The fact that people live by that idea is exactly why there are so many people living with debt up to their knees. There are SO many things I could say that bother me about this ad. And isn't it ironic that a company who benefits from people spending money says it's okay that we're a consumerist society. Hmmm.

Just a few years ago, I wouldn't have thought twice about the message this commercial is sending. But fortunately I have married a budget-friendly, Dave Ramsey-loving, debt free-living, money conscious, Quick Book-junkie of a husband who had taught me the importance of saving and not living above our means. Thanks honey!

Side note: Does anyone else think it is sad that credit card companies set up stands at college campuses trying to get students to sign up for a card. "Sign up and get a free t-shirt!!" Don't these companies know that college students are infamous for being poor. How do they expect students to pay off a credit card! Oh, wait. They don't. Theses credit card companies are banking (no pun intended) on the students not making the payments and then owing the company thousands of dollars in interest!

Does this commercial make anyone else nauseous?? What are your thoughts? Am I just being too sensitive?

Goodnight Moon

2008-08-18T14:50:00.000-07:00

Our little reader...or rather our little eater.

(By the way, please tell me that I am not the only one who doesn't understand Goodnight Moon AT ALL! Why is it such a popular book anyway??)

house-hunting update

2008-08-15T07:47:00.001-07:00

So the search for a house continues. We looked at 4 more houses last night (making that about 15 total houses so far), and speaking for myself, only one of them was "potentially a maybe". (I sure sound confident I want that house, huh?) Anyway, the only reason I am not more excited about it is that it backs up to 99. I mean literally there is a huge sound proof wall in the backyard and the constant hum of cars going by. I don't think it would be too bad during the day, but I am a little concerned that at night we would be quite bothered. Also, what do you do when you kick a ball over the fence? You can't just call the nice people that live behind you to throw it back over. The ball is likely going to look more like a pancake with tires marks on it if you do ever retrieve it from the highway!

And to make it worse, I am getting more and more anxious to get out of this apartment. Between the mold growing in Evelyn's closet, the extremely loud air conditioner that drips water, the slew of bugs I have to kill every morning that sneak in at night, the stompers that live above us that move furniture at 2 in the morning, and the kitchen counter with burns in it (i admit...that one is my fault), I am ready to move!

I said it once and I will likely say it again...this is exhausting!

Who is the girl in the breadbox?

2008-08-13T06:13:00.000-07:00

As part of Evelyn's bedtime routine every night she gets a bath in the sink (yes, we still bathe our 5 month old in the sink. And no, she does not fit very well anymore). Anyway, we always set her towel on the counter to dry her off. Well last night was a bit different. Evelyn turned and saw that there was another baby girl hanging out on the breadbox. It was hilarious. Of course we missed catching the funniest part on video, but you can get the idea here...

must use buckles

2008-08-12T07:39:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when you put a 5 month old in a bouncy seat without buckling her in:

big news update

2008-08-11T10:41:00.001-07:00

Sorry to keep you waiting, but "big news" is a bust. Sadness.

Michael and I finally found a house that we liked and last weekend put an offer on it. As expected, the seller counter-offered, but we accepted his counter and once we put in our next offer he accepted!! yea!! Unfortunately, that is not the end of the story or else I would have good news, of course. So after we put in our second offer our realtor calls us and tells us the update. There is a third party on the title (weird, I know. Even our realtor was confused by this one), and the said third party was out of town until Monday. So the seller verbally accepted our offer and said that everything would get signed on Monday when the unknown third party gets back in town. How exciting (we thought) to get a house sooner than we expected. The house is beautiful. Completely remodeled and lots up nice upgrades that are hard to find in the homes we are looking at.

Then we get the dreaded call from our realtor. The crazy man ,and I mean REALLY crazy, selling the house accepted a different offer. What?!? The weird part is that he is going to rent the home until October to the sellers and then they will purchase it. Strange. The sellers agent was so upset with him the he emailed our agent an apology.

So, we are back on the hunt for a house.

this is exhausting.

big news...

2008-08-04T15:01:00.000-07:00

stay posted for possible BIG news coming soon!! =)

Tulsa trip recap

2008-08-04T14:32:00.000-07:00

Last week we left for Tulsa. I have to admit that we were dreading the car ride up there. But to our surprise, Evelyn did AMAZING! Not one peep from her the entire trip there or back. Who would have thought! We took the advice of a friend and left early in the morning so that Evelyn could finish her night off in the car. So I fed her at 3:30 in the morning and we left the house around 4 am. She fell back asleep until 7-ish. We stopped for gas (and coffee for a tired driver) and I fed her. Then back on the road again. Here we are at our second stop (of course at a Shell station! We wouldn't buy gas anywhere else!).

We didn't stop again until we were in Okmulgee, OK which is just outside Tulsa. We found a little park to have lunch (I had packed along some pb&j, apples, carrots, and pretzels). It was nice to sit outside and just relax after being in the car all day. Here is Michael with Evelyn at the park:

When we got there Grandma and Grandpa were VERY excited to see Evelyn.

Saturday, all seven cousins (yes, I said seven cousins. And they are all under the age of 10!) met at the mall to have pictures taken. Fun. We actually got a good shot with all the kids looking at the camera and smiling!

Here are just a few more shots of our trip:

Michael and Evelyn hanging out in his parents backyard:

Evelyn and cousin Molly:

Evelyn and five of her cousins (and Aunt Shawna!):

Evelyn, cousin Hannah, and Aunt Shawna:

Evelyn and cousin Ellie:

Me and Evelyn outside the newest bakery location:

Evelyn eyeing out Daddy's sweet treat:

Evelyn and her great grandparents:

Evelyn and her proud grandpa:

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Evelyn learned a new trick while we were there. She can now suck on her toes while strapped into the carseat. Now that is flexibility!!

I heart nectarines

2008-08-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

Last night I was eating a nectarine. I let Evelyn lick the fleshy part of the fruit and she LOVED it. She liked it so much that when I took it away from her she started crying until I let her lick on it again. Finally, the fruit was so spitty and gummed-up that Michael had to throw it away and you would have thought that Evelyn's world had ended. Sadness. (fyi: this was her first time to taste anything so sweet)

This is Evelyn enjoying her fruit:

This is what happens when you take it away:

Calling all cheesecake lovers...

2008-07-22T11:26:00.001-07:00

Quoted from their own website:

"Celebrating “30 Delicious Years,” The Cheesecake Factory is serving up several sweet initiatives throughout 2008. To kick-off the anniversary celebration and in commemoration of National Cheesecake Day on July 30th, 2008, The Cheesecake Factory restaurants will offer every delicious slice of its more than 30 varieties of cheesecake with a dollop of nostalgia by featuring all cheesecakes at $1.50 per slice, limit one per guest, dine in only, on that day—as they were when the restaurant first opened in 1978. In addition, a special, limited edition cheesecake, the 30th Anniversary Chocolate Cake Cheesecake, will be introduced on July 30th with $0.25 from the sale of each slice sold this year benefiting the national hunger-relief organization, America’s Second Harvest – The Nation’s Food Bank Network. Additional activities will be announced throughout the year."

Yes, you read that correctly. A slice of Cheesecake for only $1.50!! What a delicious bargain! Let me know if you would like to join me! You know I will be there.

(I originally found out about this here.)

More pics...

2008-07-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

This is my attempt to take "artsy" pictures. (and wishing I had a cool new camera to do it with!)

Tulsa

2008-07-21T06:19:00.000-07:00

This weekend Michael and I are driving to Tulsa to visit his family. No, this is not a romantic getaway with just the two of us. Evelyn will be with us for the entire drive!! Sounds crazy huh? This is an 8 hour drive without a 4 month old in the back seat...so I think we are expecting it to me more like a 12-14 hour drive after all the stops we are going to have to make. Stops to nurse her. Stops to play with her and let her just get our of the car seat. Stops to just calm her down when she gets fussy. Stops for us to relieve ourselves. You get the picture.

Now don't get me wrong. I think Evelyn is a very good baby. She usually doesn't cry much and is pretty easy going. But she has NEVER been a good car rider. She just doesn't like being strapped in the car seat. I mean, do you blame her? She was not one of those babies you take out for a car ride to get them to fall asleep.

I am definitely looking forward to the trip otherwise. Visiting in-laws. Playing with our 6 nieces and nephews. Eating yummy bakery food. Showing off Evelyn to relatives. Letting Grandma hold Evelyn as much as she wants.

Any advice on traveling with a 4 month old? Help. Please!

isn't she the cutest?!?

2008-07-17T11:01:00.001-07:00

Just for fun...

My bad.

2008-07-17T07:12:00.000-07:00

Every day around 3:00 I put Evelyn down for a nap and I start dinner. So last Thursday was no different. I got out all of the ingredients for dinner, and put a pot of water on the stove to start boiling for corn on the cob. I turn the front burner on "high" and walk away to check on Evelyn. Meanwhile, Michale's mom calls and I start talking to her for a while. I go back to check on my boiling water and am a bit confused as to why the water wasn't even hot yet. It must have been at least 10 minutes since I turned it on. OH NO!! I turned on the wrong burner. Now this is not the first time this has happened. Michael gets a little upset at me because I have a history of being pretty careless in the kitchen. (I have scars to prove it too!). Anyway, this wouldn't have been such a big deal except that the burner that was on had a glass bowl sitting on it. I look at the burner, which is red hot, and the glass bowl sitting on it and immediately realize that this is not good! Oh, and I am still on the phone with Michael's mom. So with my bare hands I quickly reach out to take the glass bowl off of the burner. I must have set it down on the counter so quickly because I never felt the heat on my hands. When I set it down I started to smell a smoky burning scent in the air. The bowl was already burning through our counter tops (which is basically particle board with a thick coat of paint and sealer). As I was reaching over to move the bowl off the counter, I hear a loud "pop". The bowl cracked into pieces. I had got the bowl so hot that it melted part of it and as it cooled it cracked. Bummer...this was a part of a set that was a wedding gift and I loved this bowl. So, I picked up the bowl, this time with a dish towel, and placed it on another part of the counter. I thought it had cooled enough by this point. I was wrong. I started burning through the counter again. I eventually got all of the big pieces under a towel. Meanwhile, I was still on the phone with my mother-in-law and she had no idea what was happening!

Here is what out counter top now looks like:

In this first picture you can see the blisters in the counter to the left of the burn. That is where is set the bowl down the second time!
A close up of the damage.

As you can imagine, I was pretty embarrassed that I made such a silly mistake. So I asked Michael to call the apartment for me to report it. I thought he would just say something like, "We accidentally burned our counter top, and just wanted to let you know about it." But no. He proceeded to tell them all of the details about how his wife turned on the wrong burner and heat up a glass bowl......." You can fill in the details of what he said! =)

One more reason to finally commit to a house now: I will have counter tops without burn holes!

truth

2008-07-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

Eventful day = Long post

2008-07-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Michael and I took Evelyn to The Glazery to paint a plate for my mom's birthday. (Grandmas love those kind of things, right?!) Well, I use the word "paint" pretty loosely. Anyway, I would highly recommend going here. The owner is a really nice (and talkative) man with a good story about how he started the place. He used to be an attorney but once he had kids he knew he wanted to work around little ones. So he quit his job and opened up his shop. He LOVES kids and it is obvious. He is very passionate about what he does and has put a lot of love into making his place "kid friendly". In fact, Michael told me that when he went to the back of the shop to wash up, there was a changing table with diapers and wipes to use. Unfortunately, I forgot to get his name. He was so good with Evelyn and she couldn't stop smiling at him, even though she should of been really fussy since it was way past her nap time. He helped us paint Evelyn's feet to put her prints in the middle of the plate. We will definitely be going back to this place. And, I know it is too early to plan for Evelyn, but they do birthday parties too. And as some of you know, Michael is very passionate about small family businesses, since his family owns a bakery in Tulsa and he grew up knowing about all of the struggles that a small business faces. Because of that, he loves to frequent small family-owned businesses and see them succeed.

Then home again and a nap for Evelyn. That evening, we took Evelyn swimming. When we were getting ready to leave, I remembered that she had a princess robe in her closet that she received at one of her baby showers. It had always been too big, but I thought she just may fit into now. Sure enough it fit. It was TOO cute! It had a tiara on the hood of the robe. Now I usually am not a fan of "princess" things, but this one was jut too funny.

When we returned from the pool, I was in the bathroom and noticed that I was only wearing one earring!! Oh no! I must have lost one. These earrings are pretty special. Michael picked them up for me a few months ago when he was in Alaska. They are made of Woolly Mammoth Tusks. Sounds weird, I know, but I think they are really pretty. They look like little cream-colored pearls. I was freaking out. I was sure that I would never find it. So we looked around our apartment for a while then Michael suggest that he go back out to the pool and look. I was not very confident that he would find it at the pool. I mean, the earring is little and white. So, he put his swimsuit back on and left. About 25 minutes later he returned with earring in hand!! Can you believe it! He found it on the pebble cement by the pool! I was VERY happy but still couldn't believe that he actually found it. (this is now the second time he has helped me recover an earring. Last year, I dropped one of my pearl earrings down the bathroom sink. Needless to say, he undid the pipes under the sink and found it!!)

The day's events are not over yet people. So after that fiasco, Michael left for a bike ride. I few minutes later I hear a knock on our door. I had no idea who would come over so late on a Saturday night. It was out new neighbors bringing over a dozen roses for me!! How sweet! They moved in about a month ago and we went over and introduced ourselves that day. Then a few days later I made them some brownies and Michael took them over. But we hadn't heard from them since them. I just assumed the brownies were bad. =) But what a wonderful surprise to get roses! they funny thing is that Michael and I were at HEB earlier in the day and they had a huge table of roses when you walked in the front door. I told Michael I REALLY wanted some roses. Hint, hint. (But Michael has a silly rule: if I ask for something like roses, it will be 6 months before I get it. This is in an effort for me to not ruin surprises he may already be planning.) But, I got my roses anyway!!

The return of date night

2008-07-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

A few months into our marriage, Michael decided that every other Friday night would be "date night". How fun! He always came up with creative (and sometimes romantic) things to do. Once it was dinner and dance lessons, once we went to Ikea (this was one of my favorites), once the symphony. You get the picture. Of course we also just had relaxing nights with dinner and a movie too. Regardless, the point was that we were able to reconnect and be together and just have fun. We tried our darndest to not schedule other events that might overlap with "date night" and our time together was special.

Then Evelyn came along. As you may imagine, date night has been forgotten for the last 4 months. I missed it. And I can't speak for Michael but I think he missed it even more than me.

So last night was the...dum dum dum...RETURN OF DATE NIGHT (imagine me saying that like in a superhero action movie!). We dropped of the little one at my parents house and headed out to a very low-key dinner at Gringos. I knew it was a special night when a switched out the diaper bag for my purse (which was already collecting dust in the back of my closet!).

I admit that looked at my watch more than I should have, making sure that we would be back to my parents by 8:00pm, but just being alone with Michael and having some adult conversation was awesome!

(oh, and here is a tip for those of you who haven't had a beer in over a year. Drink it VERY slowly and make sure you have enough food in your belly. If not you will get tipsy while drinking it and get a terrible headache later that night. Yes, from just ONE lite beer.)

funny quotes from a funny husband

2008-07-08T08:06:00.000-07:00

Michael: (while playing with Evelyn) I think she should be the Gerber baby. She is looking very Gerberish.
Me: Did you just say "Gerberish"?
Michael: Ya.

And a few days later I get this:

Michael: I am convinced that people want to steal our baby.
Me: What? Why do you think that?
Michael: Well, they are always telling me how cute and pretty she is. I think they want to steal her.

Commitment Issues

2008-07-05T15:33:00.000-07:00

So Michael and I went to look at a house with our realtor today for the first time. I always imagined that I would be REALLY excited and totally ready to commit when the time came to buy a house. I mean I love our apartment, but now that Evelyn is here we are quickly out-growing it. But for some reason I felt a little strange walking into a home that could possibly be ours. I am not ready to commit. For those of you who don't know me well, I like to return things. I buy clothes, shoes, books...just about anything...and I end up returning them. In fact, the day I went to buy my wedding dress I walked up to the counter and the sweet lady explained their return policy. She politely told me that "all sales are final". For me that is like hearing nails on a chalkboard. I left that day without a dress. (the sales lady must have thought I was nuts!) I just couldn't buy something knowing that I couldn't return it later if I changed my mind. I eventually committed to the dress later that week after much coercing and convincing from Michael and my mom, but it was not easy...especially when they stamp your receipt "No Returns. All Sales Are Final" in red ink! This is the same reason I don't shop at Target as much as I would like (there is neither time nor space to get on my soap box about their TERRIBLE return policy!!)

I never really thought it was strange to return things until I met Michael and he NEVER returns anything. Once he buys it, it is his. This is a quality I would like to have...but obviously I am not there yet. =)

So over the last few weeks, when we have started to talk seriously about buying a house, I realized that this may pose a major problem for me. I am not sure, but the last time I checked you can't bring your receipt to your realtor a few weeks after moving in and return your house.

Anyway, back to the house we looked at this morning. It was beautiful. Nice wood floors, granite counter tops, an ideal neighborhood with good schools, beautiful trees in the front and back yard, a place for my vegetable garden in the back, almost everything I am looking for in a home. When we got back to our apartment Michael and I were talking about the house and I realized that even though it was great I am no where near ready to commit. I am afraid that there will always be something better out there. So all of you home owners, how do you know that a specific house is "the one"?

Here are some pics of the house. what do you think??

(oh, and I made the Curried Corn Soup again tonight...YUMMY!)

4 months

2008-07-03T15:01:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow Evelyn is turning 4 months old! Here are a few of the things she is really good at now:

blowing bubbles in her mouth
sucking her big toe
taking good long naps
screaming just to hear herself
sucking her two middle fingers to look like she is giving a longhorn sign (we are still working on a gig'em thumb!)
making wet and dirty diapers like no one's business!
rolling over from back to belly and from belly to back
enjoying her nightly bath time
laughing
laughing so loud she scares herself
riding in the jogging stroller while mommy runs in the evenings
sitting in her bouncy seat
crying
chewing on her toys
and of course...just being darn cute!

tylenol math

2008-07-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

So I was reading the back of the Infant's Tylenol bottle tonight. (No, this isn't something I read every night as part of a nightly routine...I just happened to see the bottle and was curious as to what it said.) Anyway, everything seemed fine and dandy until I got to the "Dosage Chart". There is a column for "weight", "age", and "dose (ml)". OK, good. Then under the "dose" for a 2-3 year old it specifically states 1.6 ml (0.8+0.8). WHAT?? If the person administering medication to a child can not figure out that 1.6 ml is 0.8ml+0.8ml I think they should seriously consider letting someone else give the kiddo the meds.

Now I am not saying that I am a math whiz...I am not. In fact I am always asking Michael to do simple math problems for me (usually because he can do them in his head much faster than it would take me to work them out and I am too lazy to todo them myself). But, I would like to think that I would know to give my child two 0.8 dropper-fulls of Tylenol when the dose called for 1.6ml. ugh.

funny, funny blog

2008-06-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

I ran across this blog today and had to share...it is hilarious. I am not sure if I should feel guilty for laughing at it or not. If this is completely morally wrong, somebody please let me know. Until then, I will just keep laughing.

new lingo

2008-06-29T15:06:00.000-07:00

Ever since Evelyn has been around, I have found myself using a whole new collection of words that just a few months ago were hardly ever spoken around our place. Here is a short list of my new vocabulary:

poopy
fussy
cranky
sucker (our word for pacifier. I got it from my sister's kiddos...they made it up, and personally I think it sounds better than "binky")
dirty diaper
wet diaper
onesie
boppy
bumbo
snappi
wiggle worm
nap time
daddy

Oh...and just for the record the most popular song around here is "The Wheels on the Bus" with "Twinkle, Twinkle" coming in a close second. How quickly life changes! =)

Curried Corn Soup

2008-06-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Michael and I went into Houston to go to a farmer's market. While we were there we bought some delicious veggies, some local honey, and a huge bag of curry powder. Curry powder at a farmer's market? I know...kinda strange. But there was this Indian food stand selling diffent dips, pratha (an indian flat bread filled with lentils and potato), and spices. Michael loves Indian food and I have been trying to perfect my Coconut Curry Shrimp recipe but it is always "off". I suspected that it was the cheap brand of curry powder they sell at the grocery store. So, we shelled out some money for a huge bag of curry powder.

When I was making our menu and grocery list for the week, I was looking for a new curry recipe. I found this Curried Corn Soup at weightwatchers.com and thought I would give it a try.

I was a huge sucess! It was easy to make and Michael LOVED it! (I really think my new curry powder made it even better!) I should have made a double batch so we could have leftover tomorrow. It is fairly easy, healthy, and full of fiber...for those of you who care about such things! I paired it with some fresh steamed green beans and viola...dinner!

I am definitly going to make this one again.

Here is the recipe if you want to give it a try:

Curried Corn Soup
Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1 cup onion(s), chopped
2 tsp curry powder
4 cup fat-free chicken broth
4 piece corn on the cob, kernels removed with a knife (yields about 3 cups)
1/2 pound uncooked red potato(es), peeled and chopped (about 2 large potatoes)
1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp table salt
1/4 cup cilantro, or scallion, chopped
1/4 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup tomato(es), diced

Directions:
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion; cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add curry powder and cook 30 seconds until fragrant.

Add broth, corn, potatoes, lemon juice and salt to saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes; remove from heat.

In a blender, food processor or using an immersion blender, puree mixture (in batches if necessary), until smooth. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.

To serve, stir cilantro or scallions into soup. Spoon into bowls and top with about 2 teaspoons each of yogurt and tomato. Garnish with additional chopped cilantro or scallions, if desired. Serve hot or cover and refrigerate up to 2 days. Yields about 1 1/4 cups per serving.

Sand box --- the "cleaner" way

2008-06-26T08:33:00.000-07:00

What a great idea!
This uses a large tupperware box and dried split peas. Genius!

(from tutus and turtles. Click the link to find out more specific directions to make this "sandbox")

Say Cheese

2008-06-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago my mom got my whole family together to have family pictures made. Some of the pictures of Evelyn turned out really good. Here is one of Michael and Evelyn that I absolutely love:

Here is a picture of my nieces from the same day...too cute!

Here a just a few more shots that I like:

The photographer, Kim Schroder, is a friend of my sister and she does awesome work. The hard part is picking out with prints to buy and where to put them in our home!

I also found this great photographer online and I would LOVE to have her do some pictures of Evelyn soon. I love her work and how natural all of the shots look. Even if you are not looking for a photographer, her website is fun to look at just to see all of her artistic-looking shots!

"What are YOU looking at?"

2008-06-25T13:12:00.001-07:00

I couldn't resist posting this cute picture of her!

One man's trash is another man's treasure

2008-06-24T05:52:00.001-07:00

You should check this out:

http://www.freecycle.org/

I joined the Sugar Land network a few weeks ago. It is a little like craigslist, but everything is free. Some things that people post are mostly junk, but there is an occasional steal to be found. Like the other day there was a free brand new baby mattress. Bummer, I already bought one. There are also things like free computer desks, coupons, books, and other random stuff. I think this would be great for next time we move. Instead of throwing out old stuff, we can find a new home for it.

Just refill my water, please

2008-06-24T05:39:00.000-07:00

A short conversation from dinner last night:
Waiter: Where did that come from? (looking at Evelyn)
Me: Ummm...me.
Waiter: Oh.

Later when he came to refill our water:
Waiter: Is it a boy or a girl? (again referring to Evelyn)
Me: A girl. I thought the pink shirt might give it away.
Waiter: Well, you never know nowadays, and I wouldn't want to offend anyone.

Interesting. I haven't seen a lot of cross-dressing babies around here.

Elephant art

2008-06-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

I have decided that Evelyn is going to like elephants. I am not sure why. I have never been particularly fond of the big animals myself. But I have seen lots of cute elephant items, and I am using the excuse of "Evelyn likes them" to get them for myself!

So the other day Carter's was having a summer sale and I picked up an elephant t-shirt for Evelyn that I, I mean Evelyn, really liked.

I needed to fill up one more wall in her room so I decided to make an inexpensive art project with the elephant t-shirt as inspiration. I headed out to Hobby Lobby and for around $13, I bought the canvas (which was on sale), the paint, and the brushes (which were also on sale). I hand drew the elephant onto paper, traced it onto the canvas and then voila...art. It matches the colors in her room great! What do you think?

t-shirt inspiration

ELEPHANT ART!!

My first blog reader

2008-06-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

Well, even if no one else reads my blog, I have one reader (if you can't tell from the picture, she is looking at my page!). Now I just need to teach her to leave a comment! =)

First Post

2008-06-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

Why did I finally decide to make a blog?

Well, that is easy. There are really only two reasons. 1) Everyone else is doing it, and 2) now I have a good excuse to show off pictures of my kiddo!

So, here I am...finally joining the blogging world after years of blog-stalking other people's blogs.

I think the hardest part of getting started was coming up with a cute and clever name for my blog. I felt a lot of pressure since most of my friends have very creative titles and great-looking designs (ahem...morgan). So I came up with "Every day counts" thinking at least my husband, who is a mathematician, would like it! Now i just need to convince him that I am not crazy for posting my life on the internet. Enjoy!