Catch-up #2

Okay, so next up in my catch-up was my birthday. Brian got me new pots and pans which are AWESOME (Emeril--All Clad). I was so very happy and they make cooking even more fun. I went out with 9 girlfriends to a local Mexican restaurant and then we went to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past at the movie theater. The movie was definitely average (pretty raunchy at times) but it was so fun to be sitting next to friends hearing eachother laugh throughout the movie. It's been so long since I did that!


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Next is Wesley's 2nd birthday. I can't believe my precious baby boy is now 2. He definitely looks 2, but I feel like we JUST celebrated his 1st birthday which was right before we moved here. It seems like we JUST moved here!! And we'll actually be in TX for our 1 year IN anniversary which is kind of ironic. Anyway, here was the baby boy on his special day. We did lots of fun things and went to a local park that has a beautiful old barn on the property. Wesley is slightly obsessed with barns, so he was in heaven.









We went back to that same park today that has a beautiful creek running through the park. Here are some pictures of the boys.

We are loving spending time outdoors and enjoying the slightly warm weather. We eat out on the patio almost every night which is a little slice of heaven. Brian hasn't had to travel much since May started and so that is of course icing on the cake. We have a couple more weeks of school and then a couple weeks of summer and then we head off to TX for awhile. This will be our first big road trip but I'm not sweating it at all because I know what fun we'll have once we get there. Oh, here's a video of Wesley on his birthday. I guess I'll end the post with his cuteness. :) Nevermind---it won't upload. I'll try again.

Catch-up

I have been severely slacking with the blog posts. I'm so sorry. I think about it all the time, but I never want to do real quick ones so I end up holding off until I feel terrible and end up with a thousand pictures/stories to post. So I'll post a ton of pictures and write where possible. :) First off, Menu Plan Monday:

#1-Beef enchiladas, black beans and salad
#2-BBQ chicken, fries, broccoli
#3-Homemade pizza (sausage and pepperoni variety)
#4-Salmon, corn, rolls
#5-Shredded beef burritos, pinto beans, chips/salsa
#6-leftovers
#7-eat out

Dessert of the week: Whole wheat chocolate chip cookies. Okay, I know they don't sound like they could be good, but they really are! They look and taste almost identical to regular white-flour c. cookies. They have quite a bit of butter in them but it made me 3.5 dozen so that goes a long way. Kids and hubby like them too, which is obviously the most important. :) I got them from a new blog I've stumbled upon that I really like. She cooks really healthy and from scratch but none of it ever sounds nasty or tasteless. SUPER easy and exactly as the recipe states....down to the minute (although I used semi-sweet chocolate chips cuz that is all I ever have). So there is no ruining this recipe. Plus, I love that it calls for melted butter instead of softened butter because seriously, I always decide on a whim I want some cookies and never have butter just sitting out getting soft. :)

Okay, next up, our vacation to Cincinnati. We had a blast staying at Great Wolf Lodge. The water park is amazing and we decided when our kids are 6 and up, it'll be much better. Wesley became a scaredy cat and hated the water. I believe it was because it was indoors and kind of loud. But Brian and I took turns going on all the huge slides and it was a ton of fun. We loved our room---the boys had their own little room with bunk beds (which Wesley ended up in the packin play after 20 times getting out of bed). They had their own video games and TV, it was just awesome.







The Newport Aquarium was amazing and we're so glad we went. Here are a few pics from that:






Then we also hit Ikea and Abuelos one night which were TONS of fun. We miss really good Mexican food here in Bloomington and while Abuelos isn't the top, it is very good and makes us think of home. As we exited the aquarium there were all these neat shops and restaurants. Johnny Rockets was there and we haven't been to one of those since we lived in CA. What a great way to end our time in Cinci.

Okay, I'll post another update with more pics. This post is getting too long.........

Random Bullet List

I'm copying UK so here you go. I have too much to talk about and not enough time.

• Some of my favorite things on my birthday (yesterday) were orange tulips, Dean and Deluca coffee, Emeril pots and pans, lunch with my fam, b-day cards/gifts in the mail, and a Cinco extravaganza of sorts with 9 girlfriends.
• I got my Bzz kit yesterday (I'm a Bzz agent-ask me later) for the new John Freida hair care line. I'm LOVING it and they gave me huge ole bottles and tons of samples and coupons to give away. The key ingredient is eucalyptus which makes your scalp feel all tingly and nice.
• I passed my Indiana license exam. So excited. I finally have that stressor off my back!
• I remembered the other night that I hadn't listened to my Frank Sinatra CDs in seriously forever and brought them out today. It was the best morning ever and the kids loved the music too!
  
• Me and the kids ate lunch out on our screened in porch while it was raining and it was just so nice and peaceful. Man I love that porch.
  
• Wesley learned to say chihuahua and it's hilarious.
• I'm going to try out a new chicken piccata recipe in my new pots and pans tonight. Yummy.
  
• I normally don't like Wednesday night tv but Brian and I get to watch our DVR'd Biggest Loser and AI episodes. Yes!
• Snuggling with Noah and Wesley and reading them books on a rainy day is chicken soup for the soul. I read Noah the Giving Tree. You might remember what happened a year ago when I read him that book. It went better today. :)
  
• Brian and I confirmed our plans for Costa Rica this summer. We cannot wait!
• We had a brilliant vacation in Cincinnati last weekend. I will post a ton of pics soon but here are 5 that will show you MY favorite parts of the trip. :)
  

Extra! Extra! Read all about it........

Now I've made you think I have some big exciting news to share....well, I don't. I just thought that instead of posting a "Top 10" of something (which btw, is about the easiest blog post idea ever), I would actually type out an update of the Spicer clan. But because I'm getting lazier and lazier by the minute ---especially as I've been called downstairs 4 times since trying to start this--I'll do it in bullet point fashion.

--Last weekend was Noah's first baseball practice and it was definitely one of the highlights of my life. Since I have the best childhood memories ever of playing softball for 11 years, I have been waiting for this moment since Noah was born. Oh, and yes, Noah loved it too. :) He was so hard core and smiled for an hour straight. There were kids crying and running all over the place, off the field, to their parents, etc etc. Not my Noah. He was made for this. If you've known him since he was a baby, you'll know he was hitting off the tee well at 18 months old. At 3 years old he was done with the tee and only wanted us throwing it to him. Yes, I'm bragging. j/k :) So as you can imagine, this was the culmination of years of anticipation and excitement. Unfortunately, he has to miss tomorrow's practice (and pictures!!) because we'll be on a little family vacation. Which leads to my next point....

--We are taking our second ever family vacation. Trips to California don't count, in case you were wondering. We tried a vacation in October of '07 to San Antonio. Wesley was 5 months old and Noah was 3. It was supposed to be filled with things like SeaWorld and the Riverwalk. Instead it was filled with hours of throw-up and a vow to never eat at Cracker Barrel again. It has taken me years to mentally heal from this trip.
So! We embark once again on an adventure to the state of Ohio. This will involve Great Wolf Lodge and the Newport Aquarium. I'm praying that we have the best time ever and make incredible memories to replace the nightmarish ones from yore. Note to self: do NOT share any details with Noah leading up to any future vacation. He will only torture you, and torture himself with all the suspense.

--Brian has travelled a lot this year so far. His journeys have included the Canary Islands, Scotland, Phoenix, San Diego, and Malibu. Not bad places to visit right? Well, it has left the rest of us on a journey to further perfect (ha!) the art of staying at home. I think Noah has gotten so much better about Brian leaving and Wesley is still at the naive stage that involves no tantrums when Daddy leaves. I, on the other hand, try to busy myself with friends and activities to make the time pass more quickly. Sometimes it is a success, other times, not so much. But I pray God will always help me balance being a mom and being a wife and realizing the special ways only Brian can serve in this family.

--As we near the 1 year mark of our move to Bloomington, our friends and family from Texas have only grown more dear to me. The clear realization lately that no one is watching my kids grow up with me has been a hard one to swallow. With time, I know these boys will be precious in the hearts of some people here. And you know what I mean---not merely thought of us "cute" but really treasured and loved. I feel this way especially regarding Wesley. I find myself constantly wanting to share his little victories and growths with anyone around me because I used to be watching them happen with countless friends and family next to me. I was talking to a close friend Karen yesterday who was like a second mom to Noah and wishing she could be here for Wesley. God blessed us with so many people in TX to love and nurture our children (and us!) and for that I am so thankful. So my prayer is that He will bring special people once again into our lives that will find some room in their hearts to love and nurture our little ones.

--My garden. I promised pictures, and here they are. It has had some ebbs and flows of growth and these pics are from the day I planted it. I can't wait to show you some more recent pics of things really taking off!



--We bought our first pet, Bustee the beta fish a week and a half ago and it almost died. We took it back and got a new beta fish, Goldie Bustee Spicer, and it died 3 days later. It was a very disappointing week for Noah and me and I have no answers on what the cause was. We did everything right according to Beta "rules" and therefore I'm left thinking we just were not meant to have a fish right now. Kinda makes me sick talking about it.

--Summer will be filled with lots of fun for the Spicers. A road trip to Texas, friends visiting from Texas, family visiting from Texas, and a 10th anniversary trip to Costa Rica (hopefully) are all on the docket. And don't think we don't have room for more visitors. Please come see us!

That's about it for this update on the Spicers. Have a great weekend!

Top 12 realizations of last week

**Apparently I couldn't count and numbered these wrong, so now it is fixed. :)


1. Brian traveling is no fun for anyone.

2. The hope of a vacation is enough to get me through the week, month, and year.

3. I do some crazy things when I'm feeling lonely.

4. Getting our first pet is a big deal (see #3). More exciting than I had anticipated.

5. Losing 2 fish in one week had a much larger emotional impact on me than I would have ever guessed. (see #4)

6. Seeing parts of my garden die had a much larger emotional impact on me than I would have ever guessed.

7. Knowing a marriage close to us is dying has got my brain fried and my heart deflated. Between #5, #6, #7, I really wrestle with things I cannot understand and can't control.

8. Time with a good friend is like a balm on cracked feet. (don't you love that I used such a gross example??? Ewwww, I can't believe I just typed that)

9. Forced independence is a scary thing in marriage. It's very difficult to go back to being partially dependent, but extremely necessary.

10. I am a much nicer mommy when the house is clean.

11. I am completely head over heels for Wesley. I feel like every minute I'm wishing I was videotaping him. (and before you think too much about this, I gave Noah his proper adoration when he was this age too. :)

12. The hope of a vacation is enough to get me through the week, month, and year.

5 things that made me smile today

1. The artwork the kids and I came up with for Earth day. I didn't take a picture but I really should. It's beautiful.

2. Playing catch with Noah gearing up for Saturday's first day of baseball. After throwing Noah some balls to hit and him smacking one very far, he said, "See, why do I need to catch? What difference does it make?" I think he honestly thinks hitting is really the only part to baseball.

3. Matt not being in the bottom 3 on American Idol. Brian and I have loved him from the start.

4. Noah saying, "I just love that God made me a brother exactly how I want." And I probed a little further and he said, "Wesley is just so cute and I'm so glad God made him that way. I love him so much."

5. Doing an exercise video that my neighbor gave me. Noah was so excited to try it out. He was no joke---intensely focused for 15 minutes doing all the moves (boxing, kicking, dancing). We had to turn it off cuz Wesley was very needy. Noah said he was tired. I said, "I'm sure you are. You didn't take a nap today and it's already after 7." He said, "No, Mom. It was all those moves on the video. I worked hard."

6. And to be fair to Wesley, I have to throw in a 6th:
Kissing Wesley's lips and smelling his still sweet breath. He hasn't gotten "real breath" yet and I'm sooooo thankful. His lips and cheeks are the softest ever and I'm serious ya'll, I cannot stop kissing them. Even when he's being a super bad boy and crying in my face. I have to kiss him.

It's Earth Month!!

In honor of Earth Month and Day (April 22), I will provide you with 2 things:

-practices I've adopted within the last year that help our environment

-considerably MORE practices that a woman in NY has adopted to help her family and the environment. She writes a blog I've read for a long time and while she may seem a bit out there, a lot of what she says is definitely worth pondering.

So first off, Frugal Upstate's list of things she's turned from trash into treasure:

1) I have a milk jug in my pantry filled up with red lentils I bought in bulk. (much easier to use than a bag-I can just pour them into a measuring cup) I also have mung beans in a cleaned glass pickle jar, and cornstarch, cornmeal baking soda and salt in old washed out Parmesan cheese containers (the plastic kind).

2) I use one of those nice plastic Folgers cans with the hand grip to scatter rock salt on the walkway and stairs in the winter (I cut a half moon out of the lid).

3) I have a stack of yogurt lids that I use for coffee spoon rests in the morning near the coffee pot, and 2 larger lids I've kept as additional spoon rests when needed.

4) I use a pretty round tin that had sugar cookies in it as my cookie jar on the counter.

5) I cut cereal bag liners (the thick wax paper) into circles that fit my cookie jar tin to separate layers of cookies.

6) I use a yogurt cup in my sugar jar, whole wheat flour jar and rice bag as a scoop (that way I can just leave it there).

7) I keep a few bread bags and shredded cheese bags (w/zipper) to use for breading things (just throw the breading and meat etc in and shake, then throw out when done) also save them to use for nasty stuff going in the garbage so it doesn't smell as much. I try to be careful and just keep 2 or 3 of each so they don’t take over my kitchen.

8) I have coffee can on the counter for compost scraps.

9) I have a clean, empty ketchup bottle that I use to squirt pancake batter onto the griddle when I make mini pancakes for the kids.

10) I use a cottage cheese or yogurt container (large size) in the freezer to keep my leftover bits and pieces for "stone soup"

11) I have started cutting squares for a jean quilt from old jeans. I am saving back pockets to make purses, and keeping the zippers and the "name brand tags" for future projects. I made a cardboard template for the square made from an old box, and have all the squares in a shoe box (will probably take a couple of boxes before I have enough to make “buddy”’s quilt).

12) I always keep scrap paper w/ one good side for printing on (also have dh get extra from the office) and smaller paper is cut into squares for phone messages etc.

13) I have been saving vinegar jugs and milk jugs for winter sowing containers.

14) Of course I keep plastic grocery bags for trashcan liners, transporting stuff in the car, and using at Aldi’s/Save-a-Lot etc.

15) I some-what embarrass my husband by washing and reusing ziplock bags.

16) I have been keeping glass jars with lids to use for canning jelly in the fall. They are non standard sizes and canning lids & rings won't fit-I will use paraffin wax to seal instead. This keeps the jars out of the recycle bin and saves the “good” jars for things that cannot be sealed with paraffin.

17) We recycle-so I have separate bins for cans, glass, plastic and paper. So if I'm not using it at least it gets recycled. I can always grab a container out of their to pour grease in etc if something needs to get thrown out. The kids also love to grab out plastic cans and tubs to use when playing in the dirt pile.

Now my list --considerably shorter, but heartfelt nonetheless! :)

1. Stopped using paper plates and paper napkins (GASP!). I cannot tell you how much this affected our trash can, in a good way, and we love the fact that cloth napkins (the bazillion we registered for for our wedding) work worlds better than paper napkins. (please note: after 9 months this transition has not been easy so no heads held high over here. Especially when we have families visit, it gets even more inconvenient. But I'm really glad we are doing it and over time I think it will be completely normal.)

2. Started a compost bin. Bought it from Sam's Club for $39. It's called the Soilsaver 2000 or something funny like that. Now we have even less trash in our trash can since all fruit, veggie and coffee scraps get thrown in the black beast out back. I'm eager to see later in the summer the succulent compost soil that the beast is supposedly going to produce. :)

3. Planting a garden. I know, I know. I keep promising pictures and this weekend I will indeed have them. But just about everyone here in Bloomington has their own garden of differing size and you can't help get the itch to produce some of your own fruits and veggies for your family. Eat better, eat cleaner, eat locally. Kinda the theme I keep hearing in the media. We'll see if the good Lord blesses my garden enough to actually survive---I am a total newbie to gardening and have never had success growing anything. Status updates soon!

Happy Earth Day friends! I'd love to hear what you might be doing also. Especially any easy, non intimidating tips. :)

Top 10 things I may or may not be embarrassed about.

So I guess based on how well you know me you can guess whether I am embarrassed or not. :) Some of these go against natural inclination, so just ask. I'll be honest. Ha!

1. I do not follow fashion rules. 75% of my closet is 10 years old. Unlike some things, this is not an exaggeration.

2. Noah talking about his male anatomy---especially when we discuss growth spurts. Ummmmm, ya.

3. The fact that I know very little about The economic stimulus package.

4. My own children crying in public and having to spank them.

5. Getting up to the checkout with a full cart of groceries that have already been scanned and bagged and realizing I didn't have my wallet. On top of that, I realized I was in a 15 items or less lane....with many people waiting. Can anyone say, "You've Got Mail"???? "Happy Thanksgibbing back".

6. After hearing a short preview of our lesson on Esther this past Sunday in class, asking publicly which book we needed to turn to. Maybe extremely red face would give a clue here. And I promise I'm never this retarded.

7. I do not know where all the states are located if you asked me. I'm getting better though.

8. I will lie awake at night and think about how the drive-thru lady at Steak and Shake (for lunch) charged me incorrectly and how in the world did she come up with that $ figure? We're talking pennies, folks. But my mind. will. not. rest.

9. If a friend got a new haircut, dye job, or something drastic, and I don't think it looks right, I probably will pretend I don't notice. This entire situation makes me feel extremely awkward. But lying to someone about how I feel makes me even more uncomfortable. The torture....

10. I do not like talking on the phone, really. Calling someone I don't know, or know very little, or haven't talked to in a long time is pretty much up there with walking naked in public. So if you happen to be in my select group that I enjoy talking to on the phone, please feel special. :) I'm a work in progress.

Top 10 favorite snacks

I'm going to start a top 10 series. They will cover all different things, but if you know me well, it is fitting I should start with favorite snacks. So here it goes.....

1. Tortilla Chips With an Identity Crisis from Trader Joes (and yes, I drive an hour and 15 min to obtain these jewels). They are part brown rice, part potato, and part corn. Utter deliciousness.

2. Soy and Flaxseed Tortilla chips from Trader Joes. Don't even try to knock em' till you've tried them. They are soooooooooo yummy (you would never know they are semi-healthy).

3. Would it surprise anyone that after the previous two, I would say guacamole for #3? And to be more specific, my husband's special guacamole. I will also stick salsa in here because truthfully, we don't have guac that often. But I do eat chips and salsa just about every single day.

4. Fruit leathers. Archer Farms fruit leathers from Target are fabulous, and they are even organic. Added bonus. The Pomegranate-Cranberry ones are my favorite.

5. Cashews. This is a new one--I mean in the last year. I have NEVER eaten cashews in my life. Mostly just almonds, but man, I'm really diggin' on these things lately. And my whole family digs them too!

6. Apples, preferably Gala apples. I went through a phase before children when I ate an apple every single day at work. They were a staple. I left that phase for many years and find myself now almost there again. The boys cannot get enough apples so it keeps me buying them and hence makes me realize how much I love them.

7. FiberOne bars. I can't even believe they give you 1/3 of your daily fiber and still taste so fabulous. I've now tried the peanut butter, caramel, chocolate and the new strawberry. I think the caramel and chocolate are my faves. They really do taste like a candy bar.

8. String cheese. I know, it's completely a juvenile thing to love. In fact, this is another "new" fave and probably the only time in my entire life I've bought them. But peeling them never gets old and it totally makes it last longer (even if I do eat 2 at a time). LOL I really do love cheese.

9. Here's where it gets a little general. Anything salty. No lie, salt is my weakness. Chips, popcorn, crackers, bring it. I'll devour 10 handfuls of different things before I acknowledge that I've had enough to qualify as a "snack".

10. Diet Coke. Ok, to be fair to myself, I drink less DC now than I have ever in my life. I mostly only drink it at fast food restaurants and occasionally at sitdowns. I don't even regularly keep it in my fridge. HOWEVER, it is definitely a snack in my book because it makes me feel all giddy and excited once I know I'm going to have some and I trick myself into believing it'll give me an added energy boost during crunch time. I don't know why it makes me feel special but if you are a DC junkie, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Zero calories but pure bliss.

Alright, well, thanks for humoring me and making me think you actually care about my favorite snacks. Stop by any afternoon and I promise to share atleast one of these with you. :)