Summer of Visits

And one was from my sweet Pito! It was a quick trip but so very nice to see these faces!

 Kids really do grow too fast! These two have surely inherited all the best things about their parents! Addie and Sam are adventurous, kind, gentle, funny, and so loving!

One of my favorite parts was watching all of the kids play. The Sheriff often runs this town solo, so it's interesting to see how he interacts especially on his own turf. Poor Sam took the brunt of Wyatt's playfulness and spent lots of time with The Sheriff tagging along behind his car. Thanks for being such a sport Sam!

Addie and W apparently had some Sophie the Giraffe fun while we ate dinner. 

But all activity stops for Jack's Big Music Show!

 We just had some good ole' hanging out and it was definitely needed.

This was the closest we got to a posed pic with W, but he did hug Aunt Ali on his own before she left. He better have; she's Momma's  girl!

 But little Addie has no problem posing for pics. I love this sweet princess!

 And before they left, The Sheriff wanted to show Addie his 'hood. (with his toothbrush, but hey whatever works).

Hope to see y'all soon!

Cousin Love

I just had to share this pic. Jacob's sister and family came in for The Sheriff's birthday party, and W loved learning from and playing with his grown up cousins! I needed some pics for a project that I'm working on, and Nicole sent this over. 

It definitely captures W and Jordan's (who very well be soon going by George--his own call) special bond and the way Jared (the oldest) looks out for everybody to make sure all is right! 

We love, love some cousin love! 

Seriously Thursday

Linking up with Becky for some SERIOUSLY fun! Go check it out! 

SERIOUSLY, it's 9:00, and I'm deciding to write this post. I could have done it earlier, but at some point in the last two days I must have thrown myself into a wall in my sleep. I've had a headache and body aches for two days! I SERIOUSLY cannot be out of the game that long. 

SERIOUSLY, I want to say cool things like "inked a new deal." Cowboy and I are talking Derrick Jeter over here. Thanks for the documentary HBO. 

SERIOUSLY, I went to the store when Cowboy got home for wine, pomegranate lemonade, chips, and salsa. I also came home with frozen waffles and  Ben&Jerry's Red Velvet Cake ice cream. Someone's got some working out to do in the future. Thanks AP for creating a terrible summer drink craving in me! 

My toes SERIOUSLY need some foot love. Momma's gotta get a pedi soon! When Cowboy asked what was on the weekend agenda, I should have booked his hanging out with W so that I can go!

SERIOUSLY, checking out the continuing education classes at Rice for the fall and flipping through, I find "The World of Persian Rugs." WHAT! "Persian rug experts ... and ... will use their unique Socratic method to bring the wonderfully complex world of Persian rugs to life..." SERIOUSLY? I don't mean to be offensive, but $170 to learn about rugs? 

The only thing I'd be excited about would be the Persian banquet the instructors host at the end of the course. 

SERIOUSLY, loving some holiday appliques. I know. I know. It's August, but it's hot, so I'm dreaming. You can call me out when I'm complaining about the dreariness this winter. Maybe I should focus on football. 

What's got you going SERIOUSLY!?!

Denver Days

It wasn't really a weekend. It definitely didn't feel like one. But thanks to the hubs' spending some extra QT with The Sheriff, I grabbed my carry-on, met up at Hobby with one of my favorite people, and flew on over to Denver for a little getaway. Why Denver?

Sarah McLachlan with the Colorado Symphony at Red Rocks, of course! It was an amazing show and in such a cool venue. Shelly came up with the idea, I jumped on board, and  I only wish we had more days to spend there.

You've hopefully already checked out my antics while there, but on a serious side. Here's what else the trip had to offer.
Warning--vacation pics follow. If you are bored, gut it out and keep on! :) Kidding.

We flew in Saturday evening and had an incredibly awkward rental car ride with a burly fellow who apparently surprised his girlfriend/wife/mistress/who knows by picking her up. It was complete with sucking face which only halted to  make flirty comments about kicking her ass?? And even stranger, he had such a baby voice for such a big guy. It was too much to even capture on camera.

So what are two girls to do? Order wine flights of course! How do I know Shelly was there? Say hello to the all "white" side of the table.

We, of course, stayed up way too late talking and being goofy both nights, but were sure to explore a bit during our full day before the concert.

First stop--breakfast! I love, love, love finding places that have been featured on The Food Network. Makes me feel cool. Although now they are well-known, so I'm not so hip. Speaking of, nothing says "hip" like posing in front of the sign. Tourists for life!

The food was pretty freaking outstanding and the wait staff wonderful. Such a great place to have in downtown Denver.

We did some walking around Larimer Square, some more touristy pics (but hey, who can pass up a pirate?), and headed back to see the end of an a-freaking-mazing finish to the US World Cup game. We stayed in a fancy place, so I was a bit embarrassed with my celebrations in hindsight.

With just a day there and not prepped for any hard core hiking and trail-blazing, we went with our concierge's advice to hit Idaho Springs and Evergreen and finally make our way to Red Rocks.

View from the car: unbelievable! What ARE those snow-covered things anyway? :)

I pause during the regularly scheduled blogging to say WTF ABC? You let this guy Ryan come back to look like a total desperado? 

And we're back. With just a few more pics. Bear with me. 

Yea, how about those obligatory we-are-in-beautiful-scenery-and-there's-a-bridge shots? And check out my windbreaker. It's totally Colorado legit for exploring. Goes great with Target sandals. Next time I'm packing some tennies! 

And nothing beats getting this on your phone to know he's not only surviving but apparently thriving without me! Who knew!?!  Eat.him.up! 

I wish we could go back. I want to bring him here:

Alright, alright, get to the concert already. We had a CRAZY dinner in Morrison. (Words of wisdom: Don't eat IN Morrison if you are going to a concert or if so, do it early!) I thought Shelly was going to lose her grits in a big way! But she survived and we ran, yes ran, uphill to make it in time. 

We made it just in time and had a perfect view. 

Here we are in all of our ran up the hills and now sitting in some sprinkles glory!

Oh yea, and we met this guy along the way.

 Thanks for such a great trip Shelly, and we can't wait too long to take another one!

Oh How Pinteresting -- Crafty Edition

Linking up with Michelle today because the clothes are folded, the bills are paid, I need a digression from the RHWNY reunion drama, and I'm feeling CRAFTY!

I seriously need to make a "I'm REALLY going to make this" Pinterest Board and then get on it.  If only I could snap my fingers and the supplies would be right there, set up, during naptime.  Here's what I'll be  making soon. Promise. Must. Do.

Friend with baby girls, look out. Hopefully you'll be the proud owner of one of these someday before they are in high school. And it's crafts like this that give me baby girl fevah like whoa!





There are such great gift ideas. I should really get on the ball for Christmas! I want to make a few things for around here too!

So easy and so festive bathroom soap dispensers:

Momma has a ton of corks! Time to put them to good use! I want this for our front room. 

And how sweet is this! Guess I gotta get to making more bebes to fill all those squares! Or we'll settle for all the Godchildren right now.

And finally, I WILL make this gem! Just need to find an old door!

What do you have your eye on? Go link up! And if it's fashion related, I can't wait to check it out! I should be perusing fall fashion instead of crafts! 

Tuesday To Dos

1. Get my attitude in check. I've been so moody and in such a funk. I've been impatient, ungrateful, unloving, and all around unpleasant to be around.

2. Put some baby crap away! (I already give myself half a check on this one. My closet is depressingly full of baby stuff up top and not purses, shoes, winter clothes. Damn, Momma needs some style!)

3. Sort through my Pinterest to make it more of a tool instead of a time killa. Thanks Nicole for blogging about suggestions that keep me on my organizational toes.

4. Plan a craft day/night/hour with said Nicole. ;)

5. Then DO something crafty! Tonight, it's me, Big Brother, a canvas, some batting, and a staple gun. Thanks Erin!

There you have it. Just a list. Sorry! And then you have some posts with a bunch of pics coming later this week. It's all I got right now aight? Let a girl be in a blog funk already!

Calling all Momma Bloggers

Especially the OCD organized ones!

Scene:

Couple gets pregnant. Baby showers happen. So many people love you. You get all this STUFF!
And next...baby's here, and you somehow need MORE stuff!

Baby grows. Some call him a toddler. "Toddlers" don't need bottles (and certainly not EVERY level of Dr. Brown's nipples!), or jumperoos, or excersaucers that you try to return to the neighbors who so kindly let you borrow but don't want back!
And let's not even get started on clothes, blankets, burp clothes...

Where do you store it all? How do you store it all? If you've got answers, this Momma needs to know!

Saturday Morning Scene -- "View From the Top"

This weekend is a hodge-podge of activity, but here's how it all starts. We're linking up with Katie this morning (ok yea, it's the afternoon now) to share it with you.

Something's up with the little fella since this is his new favorite place. Yep, those are my socked feet. Yep, that's him right under them. Oh hi Sheriff.


Whatcha up to this weekend?

 

Colorado -- Cool Kids Edition

Some women get tattoos. Others, extensions or piercings.
Yet others, reverse manicures (black tips perhaps). Shoot, some might even learn a foreign language and travel abroad.

Who knows? But how does this chick stay "hip?" First I take off to Colorado on a girls' trip. And then?

Are you not so sure about what's happening here? Click me to see. 

BUT, between writing this post this weekend and well, today editing this post, I realized that I'm not so hip. See OWLING! Guess I should have went with the feathers.

Some Days It's All About Priorities

For example, Thursday.

The Sheriff had some overnight issues which I'll blame on teething. It's always teething's fault. But seriously, that last molar might be making its grand entrance.
So we enjoyed some quality time together that night and early Thursday morning.

But on the agenda: The Children's Museum and skipping our morning nap which I normally wouldn't worry about, but with the lack of sleep and possible teething, it could have been the perfect storm.

It wasn't. We had a great time! The Sheriff even had his first overpriced chicken nugget meal. Don't worry; his broccoli and cauliflower came along. And peas!

Back to those priorities.
He fell asleep in the car on the way home, and while he slept, time to jump right on first-things-first. Thursday, that meant blogging, and reading blogs, and eating apple slices with peanut butter, and catching up on reality tv, and jumping back into my current novel.

There were dishes and bottles to be washed, toys to pick up, areas of the house to Sheriff-proof so he has more room to roam and explore, clothes to put away. Thursday, priorities were to take a few minutes of me time. I didn't feel selfish. Dishes will get washed; the list will get done. But I needed the time to recharge. And when The Sheriff woke, it was great to throw myself into playtime with all my energy and focus instead of with a nagging inside feeling that I wanted to relax for just a bit.

Tuesdays at The Table -- Baked Ziti

I could make this recipe a family secret. I really could. It's that a-mazing! But I'm going to share and link up with Cole.  And you will make and share with those you love. Everyone's a winner. (BUT, if you are one of my besties or family, you are not allowed to try this before I make it for you!. Deal?)

I introduce to you Cook's Illustrated Baked Ziti:

Ingredients

1 lb 1%fat cottage cheese
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 ounces parmesan cheese, grated
salt
1 lb ziti pasta
2 tablespoons EVOO
5 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
black pepper
3/4 teaspoon cornstarch
1 cup heavy cream
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

Directions:

1 Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350°F Whisk cottage cheese, eggs and 1 cup Parmesan together in medium bowl; set aside. Bring 4 quarts of water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Stir in 1 Tablespoon salt and pasta; cook, stirring occasionally, until pasta begins to soften but is not yet cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes. Drain pasta and leave in colander.

Prep Time: 20 mins

2 Meanwhile, heat oil and garlic in 12 inch skillet over medium heat until garlic is fragrant but not brown. Stir in tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and oregano; simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in 1/2 cup basil and sugar, then season with salt and pepper.

Total Time: 1 1/2 hrs

1. 
   
2. 3 Stir cornstarch into heavy cream in small bowl, transfer mixture to Dutch oven set over medium heat. Bring to simmer and cook until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pot from heat and add cottage cheese mixture, 1 cup tomato sauce and 3/4 cup mozzarella, then stir to combine. Add pasta and stir to coat.
3. 
   
4. 4 Transfer pasta mixture to 13 x 9 inch baking dish and spread remaining tomato sauce evenly over pasta. Sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella and remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan over top. Cover baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
5. 
   
6. 5 Remove foil and continue to cook until cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Cool for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 3 Tablespoons basil and serve.

The Books We Choose

For $3.98 I picked up Chris Cleave's Incendiary at my local Half Price Books. Why? The back cover reads:

You aren't stupid. You know there's no such thing as a perfect mother. Plenty of other books will tell you there is, but this one won't lie to you.  I was weak and I cheated and I was punished, but my god I loved my child through all of it. Love means you never break, and it means you're stronger than the things they do to you. I know this is true because I have been through fire, I am the proof that love survives. I am not a perfect mother but I will tell you the perfect truth, because this is you and me talking. This is my story. 

No, I can't relate to all of it, but some of it yes. The love I have for my son. The realization that I'm not perfect as his mother. The faith in love.

But this book is nothing like what I expected. It might turn out to be the saddest book I've read (and remember I did that whole genocide literature circle unit--yes, a crapton of really sad stories!).  I don't know what I expected really as I had no sense of the narrative when I started, but there is loss at the hands of the worst terrorist of our times.

The conversational writing style is drawing me closer to the narrator instead of annoying me, and although my life is completely different, I'm journeying right alongside this mother.

PS--When Googling to find a picture, I realize the book was made into a film in 2008. This, my friends, does NOT excuse you from reading it! Grab a snuggie, a copy of this book, a glass of wine, and get to it.

AND small literary world! Chris Cleave. I knew I knew that name. He's the author of another fave that I have, in fact, blogged about: Little Bee!

Saturday Morning Scene -- "Getting Busy"

Ok get your mind out of the gutter, check out what I'm up to, and go link up with Katie!

Today's scene:

With a full trunk and items spilling over into the front of the car, it's a good thing Cowboy volunteered to hang out with The Sheriff so I could drop off quite a load at Goodwill (I so wish I had the energy for a garage sale!) and then return items I didn't use for the birthday party.

AND this may be the last pic of his infant car seat! Our Britax came in this morning, but we just might have to take one last rear-facing ride. Nahhhh!!!

I managed to hit Goodwill, land a quick to to visit our friends with the good ole USPS, and returned items at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, AND Garden Ridge. And for my soul? I belted out Adele and went sans umbrella to enjoy some summer rain.

Did I tell you that I've got some roasted eggplant soup on the stove?  I'll share the recipe soon.

Happy Saturday! 

 

A Little Friday Fun

Thanks again to  My Life in the Men's Room for passing this along.

TODAY:

Outside my window... Today was overcast and despite being humid, much nicer than it has been. The Sheriff and I played outside for a bit even though it was sprinkling. Tomorrow we break out the chalk; I spared us today since we were headed out to dinner and I didn't feel like worrying over an outfit change before we left. 

I am wondering...  how we will get rid of bottles. Transitional phases make me anxious. 

I just bought... some makeup from e.l.f. That stuff if CHEAP! So I'm wondering how it will turn out. I'm giving it a shot and receiving 7 free brushes with my 30 dollar order. I did score a ton of stuff for 30 bucks. Now it's time to get all gussied up! 

I am wearing... jammies. And they are sort of cute. Hot Momma! 

I am loving... the fact that my baby is going to be in his new car seat on Saturday! Well, maybe Sunday. I guess it depends on the guys in brown and when that UPS truck shows up. I went with the Britax Boulevard and am happy with that decision. I kept wavering, but so many people praise Britax, that I know I will be confident with my choice. 

I appreciate... water! It quenches my thirst, cleans me (and such necessities as dishes and clothes), and provides wondrous moments of entertainment for my kiddo.

I wasn't kidding.

From the kitchen... This weekend I'll hopefully make a few things for W to eat in the early days of the coming week. On the menu? Spinach nuggets, suggested by Cheryl, and the Cheesy Pasta Stars featured by yours truly here. 

One of my favorite people... My newest pregnant friend. You know who you are. You know I love you like a sister. You know my prayers for you and your family don't end! 

I am grateful... for Instagram. So much fun!

I am thinking about... the chore it will be to go through my inbox this afternoon/tomorrow/Sunday/it-better-be-done-by-Monday, and answering, deleting, or archiving emails.

Sheriff... lifts one arm up near his head when we ask what the elephant says. I am awaiting trumpet sounds. He's also quite the gremlin these days with guttural noises coming from his mouth! 

Planning for the weekend.. Watch out! We've got a sitter coming so we can head over to Jen's 30th! Some adult fun will be much appreciated. And it doesn't stop there. Our friends Carra and Brian are coming over for burgers to hang out with The Sheriff on Sunday.
In others news, in case you haven't heard, USA vs. Japan. World Cup Finals. Sunday. Watch it.

In boring news, I have to return items that I absolutely "needed" for W's party that weren't use. I should look at the bright side. It's like I'm making some money for the fam!

Two picture thoughts I am sharing...

Jack's Big Music Show cuddling on long afternoon

Have a wonderful weekend!