Weekend Review

Saturday morning Charles used his new Father's Day lawn mower to cut the grass.. Audrey "helped"
Audrey went swimming twice on Saturday.. she's getting more and more comfortable in the water and went completely underwater many times. She even brought the tube with her in our big bathtub this morning - she said she was "relaxing."

William didn't go swimming, but enjoyed watching his big sis splash around

Although we did catch a couple of smiles on camera, they are quite deceiving.. he was not a happy boy out in the heat {at a BBQ party with some of Charles' old co-workers} and was quite cranky since he only slept about 20 minutes

from 2 until 8 o'clock... not a happy camper!

Sunday afternoon watching TV with daddy!

DIY Chalkboard

What you need:
A board of masonite $8 - in the back of lowes next to the beadboard
A can of chalkboard paint $7 (found it at Hobby Lobby - but many places carry it)
a frame - any shape or size

I got the nice men at Lowes to cut my board for me to fit the frame - *remember to measure it before you go! I had more than twice the amount leftover - but plan to make another chalkboard in the future.. maybe gifts?? ;o)

Spray the board, let dry, put it in the frame.. and you're done. I wish I could have written on mine before I posted this - but it says to wait 24 hours before writing on it.

Mama's Boy

I appreciate this baby season of his life so much, because I know what comes next.. toddler. As much as I love dear Audrey - Will doesn't talk back or make messes yet, ahhh how nice it is

Cookie Cake Copy Cat

Ok gals, I did a little research to find out how to make a cookie cake that actually tastes like the Great American Cookie Company's Cookie Cakes... Here's the trick: For every 16.5 oz container of store bought cookie dough, add 1/4 cup of light corn syrup. Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to mix it up really well... If you let the cookie dough soften a little it makes this a lot easier. The corn syrup makes the cookie stay chewy and dense just like the Cookie Company's cakes. My favorite part of those cakes is the yummy white icing, so my research continued and found an icing that is pretty dog-gone close!

I doubled it - but had leftovers..
White Icing:
1/2 stick of room temperature unsalted butter - the real stuff (not margarine)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening - I used crisco sticks *easier to measure
2 cups sifted powdered sugar *I didn't sift it - too lazy
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
*I added a tad bit of milk - maybe 2 teaspoons - to thin it a little
Beat with mixer until it reaches a fluffy consistency
Put in piping bag or just cut the corner off of a ziploc bag.

Chocolate Icing:
Used Duncan Hines Homestyle Chocolate Icing

Some useful info if you try this recipe:
The cake puffs up a lot in the oven - almost spilled over the sides of my dish - but when you take it out it deflates back down..

I used 3 1/2 of the pre-cut slice and bake cookie dough packages *like in the paper tray* and the container I used to bake it in was the tin, throw away kind you can buy in the baking section of grocery store.. 18" x 13" x 1.5" deep. Bake for around 35 minutes at 325 degrees.

Use water on your hands to pat it down into the greased baking dish and to smooth it out - just use your {clean} wet hands to make the cookie have a smooth top to it

Use a pizza cuter to make clean edges - since the sides kind of cook up into the tray - i just cut them away to make a straight clean look on all four sides.

Enjoy!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

to the best daddy a kid could ever ask for! We love you, Charles!

Be My Guest

Since we are SO BLESSED to be near family our guest room tends to get a lot of welcomed and wanted traffic. In this house the guest area has it's own bathroom and I really wanted to make it comfy so that friends and family would frequent as often as they could. The way the room was arranged the bed had to go in front of the window but we had no headboard.. solution: Goodwill $13 brass headboard - it has some loose sections that we fixed right up with some "gorilla glue."

I used spray paint primer and finished it off with the color Dark Bronze by Rustoleum

Here's the finished headboard:

I had a really hard time finding {affordable} premade curtains with a print that I liked - So I decided to make my own - straight simple panels (it took maybe an hour) Why haven't I done this before?! for two panels the total cost was $35

This is how they look in the room: total room make-over $48

A day at a time

I just noticed that it has almost been 10 days since my last post.. what is wrong with me?! I am usually better at keeping up the blog. As I look at the last ten days I wonder what has kept me so busy as to not be posting.. Last Weekend Audrey went to Lake Charles to give mama and daddy a much needed break - we still had Will around, but the load was certainly lightened. Charles and I had lots of time together.. which I didn't even realize was lacking until the "wedge" was gone.

I am referring to Audrey as the wedge b/c it was eye opening how she can be a wedge that separates us from one another. We often have to divide and "conquer" between the two kids or just between tasks. One of us is tending to or playing with her while the other is getting stuff done. We tend to forget how much we enjoy each other's company. Don't get me wrong, we missed her dearly and couldn't wait for her to get home.. I was literally watching the clock for her arrival... but Charles and I certainly enjoyed some time together as a couple. I made the most of only having one child by getting errands run, going to lay out by the pool, we went to dinner, walked around Town Center, I made curtains for the guest room, cleaned and organized and enjoyed a "picked up" house all weekend long.

My mother in law and sister in law brought Audrey back Monday afternoon and since I had help with the baby- now I wanted to spend some quality time with Audrey. We went to the new pool in Telfair - which is about the most kid friendly pool I have ever seen! Then Tuesday morning Audrey had her weekly gymnastics class and then I took her ice skating. SO FUN! I'd like to go back without her next time.. it was a lot of work holding her up and trying to skate at the same time! When she went down for a nap I took off to get my hair done and then ran around doing a little shopping with Angela. Wednesday morning we had some friends come and meet us at the pool since I could leave Will behind with MIL and SIL it was a blast to get to just enjoy the pool with Audrey and really get to play.

We've been blowing and going so much I have to say I am looking forward to today and just not doing anything at all. Even though Audrey has been back for several days, I still have the feeling that I miss her. strange. It has been such a fun week and I couldn't have done these things with her if Will was around - I really appreciate all the help I got... It makes such a difference.

My Little Man

I've been meaning to post especially for Will since he turned 3 months on Saturday! *same day as my baby brother turned 18 - still can't believe that one!
William is so dang cute I just want to eat him alive.. I know that sounds kind of bad - but you mom's know what I mean.. just chew him up!!! I steal sugars from his fat cheeks and neck all day (while he still lets me!) Will likes to be held all the time and since I can't do that he tries to make me feel bad by whining and looking at me with those big brown eyes.. He loves his swing and can sleep for hours in there! He is still nursing and obviously he is healthy little boy! He is the best little sleeper in the world... I appreciate more than he'll ever know that he sleeps between 11 & 12 hours a night already! I attribute most of that to good genes.. :) ha ha! not really, I honestly think it is partly because he is a tummy sleeper and MOSTLY because he sucks his thumb. He's able to self soothe during the night. Will absolutely hates shopping and makes it a point to not only make me miserable while doing so, but everyone else in the store as well. He is so much like his daddy it's not even funny! He loves to be at home... Will is holding his head up pretty well with a few drunken looking bobbles here and there - but he's getting the hang of it... I am enjoying and loving on this baby so much because I realize how extrememly fast the "baby-ness" goes away. OOOOoooh! I love that boy!!

that second picture of william instantly reminded me of this picture below of Audrey at the exact same age..Every now and then I see a face or an expression and it reminds me of her, but for the most part - they look pretty different. Many people have actually stopped me and asked me how I have two totally different looking children - I want to mess with them and say, Well they have two different dads.. but I just laugh instead and agree - they don't really look related. Audrey looks like neither one of us and Will looks just like Charles.

Here are some more so you can compare a little more:

Here we are

So what have we been up to lateley? Playgroups, Playgrounds, Feedings, Family time, Meals, Errands, Shopping, Cooking, Cleaning, Painting, Rearranging, Decorating, Stories, Baths, Bedtimes, Naptimes, more feedings, doctor visits, snacks, spit up, belly laughs, belly aches, ear aches, false alarms and facebook.

Daddy has been a champ and has been doing all the little home improvement projects to make this house feel a bit more like home.. thanks daddy!!

Will had a rash on his tummy so we took him to the doctor, it turned out to be nothing major - Benadryl did the trick - but I wanted to be safe and not sorry.. by the way.. this chunker already weighs 14.7 lbs!! Notice the guy in the background.. so goofy!

Our playroom is a luxury I cannot live without.. this is when we were playing like William was one of her babies.. sorry Buddy! :)

Chinese Take-"In"

Here is a quick "go to" meal idea when I don't feel like making a big fuss.. I buy the Birds Eye Stir Fry vegetable blend from WalMart (around $5). It comes with two sauce packs. I only use 1/2 of the package to feed our family for a meal and that includes lots of leftovers for Charles' lunch the next day. Save the other half of the package for another night.

First, use some teriyaki sauce (mine was about $2) and marinade either chicken tenders or chicken breasts in it *I prefer to use chicken tenders. Saute in skillet until done and take them out. Let cool and slice chicken on a diagonal so your family thinks you went thru a lot of trouble... :O)

in the same skillet pour a little oil in the bottom of the pan and add 1/2 the bag of veggies and saute until they are warmed thru (but still crisp). Then add sauce packet that comes with veggies and add cooked chicken back to the pan. Stir to reheat the chicken and dinner is done!

I serve the stir-fry over rice and with eggrolls on the side (also in freezer section -we like the pork kind). Voila! dinner is done!