say hello to my little friend

I don't know which is worse: having a dirty old sock in my kitchen on the counter top (of which I don't know who its owner was), or having his freshly cut hair by my kitchen sink??

*cute little friend made by Piper at preschool.

April 24...day 6

8:45-10:30 Usual Saturday morning starts with Daddy's homemade "eggie sandwich's" and OJ. Cleaning, bed making, etc, etc, etc, to follow.

10:30-12:30 Get ready. Organize computer and bookcase and move into living room (so girls can have their own space).

12:30-1:30 Mommy to get her hair cut (a little shorter because my beautiful beautician is going on maternity leave for 6-8 weeks), but I love it.

1:30-4:45 Move Piper's bed and remainder of her dressers into the old "computer room". While we tidy up Paige's room to make it her own (mind you she is VERY reluctant at this time and VERY clear that she will continue to sleep in Piper's bed with her).

4:45-6:15 To church. Paigey naps while Piper prays for the things she is NOT thankful for...including church and quiet time.

6:15-7:30 Harvest Dinner (yummy homemade sausage and sauerkraut recipe of my mom's).

7:30-10:00 Chris to a work birthday party while girls take bubble bath, crawl into mommy and daddy's bed for movie and go to bed.

10:00-12:00 Daddy and Mommy movie time. The Lovely Bones (book I read awhile back...movie not near as good).

April 23...day 5

8:10-10:00 Wake up. Breakfast. Finally a "plan free" day with my girls!! No motivation to work out :( Clean, clean, clean, and more clean (the girls help with dusting).

10:00-12:00 Shower and get ready for the day. Piper and Paige approach me with the idea of their own rooms... maybe a thought!

12:00-2:00 To Boomer's Drive In for lunch (girls want kids meals with suckers served in cool paper cars). Then off to Target and quick run to TJ Maxx (don't tell my husband).

2:00-5:00 After we get home and Paige runs into house (only to find she has locked Piper and I out while we get the mail). After some slide persuasion from Piper, Paigey finally opens the door. Watch some Max & Ruby, Dora the Explorer, and Backyardigans while I read my book.

5:00 Chris home from work.

5:30 To sushi for happy hour "creamy things" (Bellingham & California rolls).

7:00-9:00 Home to rearrange the living room to fit the computer and book shelf so we can move the girls into their own rooms.

9:00 To bed (missed bath tonight).

Two Words

ECLIPSE TRAILER...are you in???

April 22...day 4

*click on photo to enlarge.

7:00 Half awake...look over to pager, did not go off during the night...turn it off...go back to bed.

8:00-9:00 Wake up. Coffee. Breakfast. Pretend tea party with the girls. Find "N" lettered things for the letter can. Look for pet caterpillar with the girls.

9:00-9:45 Shower and get ready for the day.

9:45-10:30 Off to dance class. Paige goes first, while Piper has her weekly hot chocolate and chocolate granola cookie (some healthy in that, right?), I hang out with a good friend (Jen) for much needed adult conversation during dance class.

10:30-11:30 Us girlies go to lunch with same friend and her daughter!!

11:30-1:30 Paige to same friends house for play date (thank you, by the way). Quickly clean house (dishes, beds, etc...). Run Piper to dance. Get ready for work. Pick Paige up from play date. Pick Piper up from Dance. Meet Katie at the house.

1:30-8:30 Work. Finish a little early.

8:30-9:30 Go to Pier One and Barnes & Nobles for recommended book Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris (with Kelly).

9:30 Home (to messy house and dishes in the sink) and wonderful home made brownies brought over from a friend. To bed, to read my new book find!!

Earth Day!

April 21...day 3

*click on photo to enlarge.

• "Early to bed, early to rise...", blah, blah, blah...
  


• 7:00-8:00 Up earlier than usual afraid I might miss the garbage man. Work out. Check blog. Walk Chris to the door.



• 8:00-8:45 Wake up girls. Get them both fed, dressed, brushed and out the door.



• 9:00-10:45 Chaparone preschool field trip to the bird museum with my friend Kelly. Run to Starbucks with sad Paige (because the feildtrip was just for the older kids). Avoid 2 parking tickets (no change in my change purse...figure that).



• 10:45-11:30 Drop kids back off at preschool. To Good Will for drop off, and Hagen's for toilet paper.



• 11:30 Back to preschool. Another child was showing all the kids his baby calf (for show and tell).



• 11:30-12:00 Home. Lunch.



• 12:00-1:00 Make beds. Clean dishes. Shower and get ready for work.



• 1:00-1:30 Look for missing pet caterpillar (no luck).



• 1:30PM-12:30AM Katie and Peter here to watch kids until Chris gets home from his day. WORK.



• 12:45AM Home. On Call. Tired (but can't sleep). Let Baxter outside for potty break, and what would you know...I found our pet caterpillar!!! Check email/facebook/blog/etc...



• 1:15AM To bed (hoping my pager doesn't go off tonight)!!!

April 20th...day 2

• ??? I plead the 5th...Tuesday's are us girlies sleep in day and I'm not telling what time we got up, but it was pouring rain!



• 9:20 Cinnamon and sugar toast for breakfast, cold cereal and coffee for mom and dog food for Baxter T.



• 9:30-11:00 Make beds, clean up dishes from breakfast, start laundry, and try to find a last minute babysitter so I can go in extra to work (no luck by the way).



• 11:00-11:20 Email/blog/facebook etc...



• 11:20 Hop in shower.



• 11:30 Hop out of shower only to find Paigey asking for "otter pops" for lunch (I guess it might be time to feed them).



• 12:00-12:45 Hagens run for needed necessities for lunch and dinner. Upon getting into my car I found that my oil light is still on and that we had a scheduled appointment today at 2:00pm (that I totally forgot about).



• 12:45-1:15 Lunch.



• 1:15-1:45 Clean up from lunch, watch a "little" Olivia, and talk to a friend on the phone.



• 1:45-2:30 Oil change in the car, decide to hangout in the waiting area (but should have brought change because the girls wanted a treat from the snack machine).



• 2:30-2:40 Stop a Dairy Queen for an ice cream cone, and drive home. Still raining outside.



• 3:15-5:30Bake "Pasty Pie" (from earlier blog post). Since I have the baking bug (rare, by the way) decide to make carmel corn for the kiddos.



• 5:30ish Chris home from work. Dinner. Clean up from dinner.



• 6:00-7:30 Cleaning party in the girls room...and guess who the "special guests" were??? (They didn't think that was too "special"!) But we got all their clothes put away and two bag fulls for a Good Will run tomorrow!



• 7:30 Bubble bath for the girls.



• 7:50 Orange and "coffey milk" for snack.



• 8:00 Girls to bed, me to my blog and Chris M.I.A (I think somewhere in the garage).



• 9:00 Off to read myself to sleep.

*click on photo to enlarge.
**magnetic calendar from first photo can be found a Treasury of Memories**

Family Recipes Make Me Happy!

Yesterday while I was watching my girls play outside, I leisurely read a borrowed magazine and drank tea on my patio (the life, right?). When to my surprise came across an article on family recipes. The one that especially caught my attention was Meat and Potato Pasties : "a savory pie traditionally filled with ground beef, potato, and onion" (Erin Bried, Real Simple;May 2010). The funny thing is that this special homemade recipe also dates way back into my ancestry as well.

After Chris and I moved 850 miles away from home (and everything homemade from our childhood was just a memory), we had to gradually bring all these recipes back into our mainstream. Today I decided to make a "Pasty Pie" (skipping the homemade dough part), and thought I would too share my version of the "Pasty" with you.

Pasty Pie:
makes two-8 inch pies

• 1 1/2 pounds petite sirloin steak (cut up into small 1/4-inch pieces)
• 4 large russet potatoes (peeled and cut up into 1/4-inch pieces as well)
• 1 large white onion (finely chopped)
• Parsley (finely chopped), salt, and pepper to season.
• 2 deep dish frozen pie crusts, and 2 roll out frozen pie crusts.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine steak, potatoes, onion and seasoning into large mixing bowl. Then evenly distribute into two frozen pie crusts and cover with rolled out frozen pie crusts. Place both on large cookie sheet and bake for 80 minutes. Slice prior to serving. We usually serve topped with ketchup or gravy and a side of cole slaw. Enjoy!

April 19th...day 1

*click on photo to enlarge

• 7:35 Chris awakens me with a great smile to start the day!



• 7:40-8:10 30 minute workout on the elliptical.



• 8:10-8:15 Quick game plan with Chris over a cup of coffee before he leaves for work.



• 8:20Wake up girls and Baxter(aka lazy bones) to leftover doughnuts and milk (dog food for B).



• 8:45-9:00 Leave for preschool and arrive early enough to play on the playground.



• 9:05 Get Piper started on a painting art project and hugs and kisses goodbye.



• 9:15 Starbucks run...just Paige and I (TJ Maxx across the street doesn't open until 9:30).



• 9:32-10:15 TJ Maxx (awesome polka dot find..see above).



• 10:30-11:00 Car wash and vacuum.



• 11:30 Pick Piper up from p-school.



• 12:00 Lunch



• 12:30-1:30 Wash dishes, run load of laundry and make beds.



• 1:45 Play outside while I read a magazine (borrowed from a friend) and drink a cup of WAKE UP tea (I think it reach 73 degrees in B'ham today)!



• 2:20-3:00 Quick cat nap (trying to convince the girls that they also need one...no such luck)!



• 3:00 Pick up jeans at the alterations and stop for a smoothie.



• 4:15 Cut up veggies and chicken for fajitas.



• 5:00ish Chris arrives home from work...DINNER.



• 6:00 Clean up dinner dishes while Chris makes smores for the girls on the BBQ. I think this is when I stepped on the missing sewing needle from yesterday...ouch!!!



• 6:30ish Family walk (of which didn't last long because of my new owie).



• 7:10 Bubble bath for the girls.



• 7:30 Check on pet caterpillar, no chrysalis yet.



• 7:35 Bedtime snack: apples and "coffey milk".



• 8:00 Girls to bed, me to my blog and Chris some work he brought home.



• 9:00 Off to bed to either read The Shack (by WM. Paul Young) or finish first season of HBO's True Blood (on demand).

A little off color!

After seeing a fun DIY article on Custom Cushions in Martha Stewart Living (May 2010), I decided that I would also dust off my sewing machine and make some fun little pillows for our bed.

"Springtime calls for a playful approach to decorating.

So mix-don't match-fabrics to create reversible

pillows that you won't find on anyone else's sofa." ~Martha Stewart Living, May 2010.

*Just a reminder that A Week in the Life (Ali Edwards) starts first thing tomorrow morning!!

tic-tac-toe

Piper's new favorite pastime is tic-tac-toe, and as long as she gets to be the "O", she will let her Dad play along!!

As you can see, she won her first game against him last weekend (pictured above). She was soooo excited that she decided to proudly display it so her Daddy would frequently be reminded of her glory. Can you guess where she decided to hang it??

Chris and I ponder why she would be motivated to hang it right above the toilet!!

Do you know what a compendium is?

Compendium:~is a concise, yet comprehensive compilation of a body of knowledge.~Wikipedia

And for all the other mothers out there, whether or not you knew (because I didn't either), I think you should read this awesome compendium by Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile: Dirty Little Secrets from Otherwise Perfect Moms.

A week full of...

Sleeping in
Playing outside
Reading
Imagining
Naps
Going shopping

Bed time (no)
Rain
Eating fun foods
April
Kids

Easter trip to Spokane

One sentence to sum up our weekend:

We had a wonderful time with family!

Happy Easter!