Birthday Weekend {Mama}

My Birthday weekend started on Thursday.

My Mom took the day off, and it was a gorgeous day .. almost 70 and Sunny.

We took a walk to the park and creek with her

And she made us a fabulous lunch

My all-time favorite.. She makes it every year for me on my birthday.

Pork Chops & Dumplings

I love this meal just as much as I did as a kiddo...

It was delicious.

Even Andrew liked the pork!

But she didnt stop there..

Dessert .. were some amazing cupcakes.

I may have had more than 2 that day.. and I dont care.. it was my um,, pre- birthday? haha

 

I cant beleive how nice the weather was..

Samantha was pretending she had a leaf blower of her own.

I took the kids home about 1 and Samantha and Andrew both took awesome naps..

 

Friday the day of my birthday it was the same weather.. warm and sunny nearing 70.

I took the kids to the park

 It had been a while since we fed the ducks, and they were waiting for SJ.

She was so happy.. We spent about and hour there, and then went home for more good naps and lunch.

Daddy, Andrew and Samantha spoiled me with a couple new sweaters, a HUGE bag of all kinds of Starbucks coffee,and some reading glasses from Anthropologie

It was such a nice birthday.. Im afraid it was the last nice day until ... gosh, do I dare say, April???

Saturday

It was a cold and rainy day..

we were supposed to go to a college trick or treat .. but when we got there people were all waiting OUTSIDE... in downpouring rain... so we decided to skip it and head to the grocery store where they also hosted trick or treat stations, little goodies for the kids, and we got some grocery shopping done too.. bonus!

Samantha was a dragon last year too.. but she insisted on being one again on Saturday.. she had fun walking through the store eating all her chocolates.. and samples.

 

Sunday

SJ and I headed to church

After we stopped at the cafe and had a little late breakfast.

It was still raining Sunday, so we stayed in most of the day..

And made Mahi Mahi fish tacos for dinner, they were sooo good.

Samantha didnt nap so BOTH kids were in bed by 8:30...

This never happens.

We ended the weekend on the couch watching Boardwalk Empire.. LIVE..

We usually TIVO it and sometimes dont get to watch it for days....

 

WILW {We;ve Been Sick}

 1. Awesome Pre-Birthday Gifts

My brother and sister both sent me such nice cards and gifts this week...

Panera gift cards! And loads of Starbucks coffee.. ahhhhh

 

 

2. The Song "Hard to Love" By Lee Brice

I kept hearing it all week when I was in the car.. either running from nursery school, to the store, etc.

Mathew and I have been faced with some tough times lately.. kids have been sick, Andrew is refusing to sleep lately... Samantha didnt want to go to school.. Andrew falls every other minute hitting his head, or scraping his face..

Nerves were shot

Sleeping was/is slim

And I bet we're finding it hard to "love" one another lately so to speak...

I sent him the lyrics to this song today at his work via email.

I know things are tough and we're both probably "hard to love" right now..

It wont always be this way, and we will get through the tough times...

I hope

We have to tell each other this daily..

Because if we dwell in the moments .. we'll drive ourselves crazy...

3. Meal Planning

Im trying to get better at meal planning.

Pinterest is genious for that...and so is my iphone when Im wandering around the grocery store trying to remember ingredients/recipe steps.

4. New Recipe!

 Spinach Tomato Tortellini! - via Pinterest!

5. Hopefully on the Mend

 

 

And thats what Im Loving today!

Begin & End with Cookies... {Our Weekend}

Our Weekend in Pics.

It started off with cookies .. and ended with cookies...(read on...)

 

Friday I nearly forgot I signed up to add something to Samantha's school's Fall Festival and craft/bake sale. I was supposed to participate in the craft fair.. but.. no time.. I tried.. but maybe next year.

 

Saturday I took SJ to the festival

She had a ball..esp in the bounce house...

Donut bobbing was also fun for her.

It was getting cold and cloudy around 11 though.. so we left.

 

Daddy and I were feeling spontaneous..

and we decided since it had started raining...to go for a little road trip.

We packed up the car with two tired kids and snacks/gear.

We drove about 1 hour away to Rochester.

They just got a Trader Joe's .. and we decided to check it out.

I LOOOOVE trader joes... I used to live within walking distance of one in Ohio.. why didnt I ever walk there?? And in NC we'd make a stop every time we drove to Raleigh. But now Wilmington has one!

It was pretty nice though when we got there.. no rain!

The fall foliage was very pretty although you cant really tell from my pics to much

 

We had fun..a few trying episodes.

Daddy ended up waiting outside while SJ and I finished up shopping

 We left with 4 bags full of goodies!

 

Some new stuff I tried was their Cookie Butter (below)

I made pumpkin pancakes and spread the cookie butter over it.. mm heaven...so so delish!

 The kids both passed out about 1/2 way home until we pulled into the driveway greeted by huge sopping raindrops.. It was a really rainy Saturday here.

Sunday was bright and sunny and upper 60s!

The kids played outside in the morning while I started baking/cooking ALL DAY..

I loved nothing more..

Sunday Sauce...

I add a bunch of green peppers.. then once theyre cooked, I blend them along with some sauce in a blender, and return to the mixture.

The house smelled so good all day.

 I made Homemade Oreos and Chewy Oatmeal Cookies too..

We had Grammy over for dinner, and she helped us with baths after.

I ended the evening with a huge glass of milk and two enormous homemade oreos.

So I ended our weekend as it began, with cookies.

Whole Wheat Flour Sugar Cookies

I re-vamped a regular Sugar Cookie recipe on accident yesterday.

I didnt have any regular flour at ALL..

 

All I had was this.. White Whole Wheat Flour.

So I used it instead and was hoping my cookies didnt turn out tasting like chalky wheat.

 

They didnt.. they are so good!

 

Whole Wheat Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar

1 cup butter softened

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

granulated sugar for dusting.

Mix powdered sugar , butter, egg, vanilla and almond until combined and smooth.

Mix in flour gradually & baking soda.

 

Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

 

When ready to bake - heat oven to 375

 

Roll

Cut

Sprinkle with Sugar

Bake for about 7-8 minutes

MMM!!!

The Solution & Story Behind "Debbie"

 

We figured out what would make school at little easier for Sass these days.

Her blankie/blabey = Debbie.

Her blanket.

I bought it in North Carolina at TJ Maxx in Wilmington.

I remember the DAY very well. Mat was in the military (obviously).. and he had "duty" that night which meant he would spend 24 hours up at the barracks on base and I'd be home alone with George.. and SJ in my tummy at the time.

 

I finished up work, made dinner, and headed out for a drive and some shopping in Wilmington (about 25 min drive)

 

I was in TJ Maxx and looking at the clearance table, and I saw this super soft beansprout blanket. It was $7.00 - originally $38! I grabbed it!

Upon arriving home I realized it was monogrammed with an "A"...

But I kept it anyway and added it to the rediculous, unecessary blanket collection we started for our little peanut.

 

Little did we know.. it would be her comfort blanket starting around age 9 months and still going strong.

 

Well thank GOD for Debbie.

After I stopped nursing her.. she would NOT take a paci.. and I had a really rough time calming her down before bed, there were many nights of her screaming, crying, me rocking her.. etc..

Then she soon found comfort in her Blabey... now affectionately known as Debbie.

It comforts her, it sooths her.. and Im glad she has something that can do that in her times of need.

 

She takes it with her around the house and loves on it as if it were a little furry kitten.

We never take it outside of the house.. only to Papa's in Ohio.

 

But her teacher suggested.. that after her crying at school and being upset she had asked for "Debbie" a few times. She suggested we try letting her have Debbie @ school, which I was not crazy about.. but if it meant no more crying hysterically or me sweating every day when I dropped her off in anticipation of turning around and going back.. then she can TAKE IT!

 

And look at this happy face from Monday..

Debbie was her anchor.. and she made it through and had a great day.

 

Today was picture day at school, and I wonder if Debbie had made it into the photo shoot..

Her teacher said no.. hahah.. but I'd be okay if she did have it in the picture.. cause that's who she is right now, and thats what she needs.

This was her reward Monday for not crying and having a great day..

An ultimate cupcake!

Today me and Andrew went grocery shopping with ease as I breathed a sigh of releif and literally thanked God for "Debbie"

My sweet girl on her first picture day!

She's wearing a dress that Daddy bought her 2 years ago for Christmas from Anthropologie

It finally fits her!

So thats the story behind Debbie

All I have to say is thank god i didnt return the blanket to the TJ Maxx when I noticed it had the wrong letter on it.

 

We now have 2 Debbies.. and now with her taking it to school ...Daddy found another one online and #3 is on the way via UPS.

 

Thank God for Debbie..

Our Weekend Didnt Start off Too Good....

Our Weekend didnt quite start off so well...

We began with an early 9am appointment at the doctor for A

we left with an ear infection diagnosis, and headed to the pharmacy.

Good Old Amoxicillin...

I can clearly remember the taste and smell of this stuff... (ewe)

But we're shoving it down his throat 2 times a day.

So we didnt really plan on going anywhere and it rained pretty much ALL DAY.. so

 

Chicken Soup cooked.. .

And Pepperoni Bread.. Mmmmm

Saturday night we did the un-thinkable..

A mall with 2 kids.

But ya know what?

They were both REALLY good.

Andrew slept the entire time in the stroller..YES!

And Samantha and Daddy went off to do some birthday shopping for Moi.. hmmmm...

Yes I'll be getting older again in about 2 weeks..

 

By the evening we could tell he was feeling a little better though.. Thank goodness.

He's refused to nap/sleep in his crib, barely resting.. in pain, yelling, fussing..

Is my colic baby back???

Yes I felt like that several times this week..

I stayed in my pajamas at least 3 days the last week

I didnt leave the house

I barely washed my face

It

Was

Horrible

But Im hoping the medicine starts working fast.

SJ never had ONE ear infection.. so this is new territory for us.

 Sunday

Samantha's classmate Katherine had her birthday party.

It was a Mommy/Daugther Date

 The boys stayed home.

 

She had an "Under the Sea" theme..

The cake was so so good.

Vanilla & Chocolate with Fudge Filling.. mmmm

 It was nice for SJ to see her friends outside the classroom, and I think she's getting more used to interacting/playing... It'll take time. But as a Mom I've been feeling like a failure lately..

Is this MY fault? I dont know.. But She just needs a little help with social inteaction, and that is why we put her in school at 3 and not 4, or 5.

It is good for her.. and thats all I keep telling myself.

She will get it .. it will be better.

 She had fun, and was dancing around with the girls, playing with their toys..

We stayed about 2 hours. I didnt want to overload Daddy with a sick baby.

And she'll see them again tomorrow at school..

Im praying for a good day...

 

 School Update:

Wed Daddy took her.

She cried as soon as he left her... but long story short.. - She made it through the day without us having to pick her up.

The teacher called me later in the week and said she had an "ok" day..

She cried on and off .. but was able to control herself and calm herself down..

The last 20 minutes of class were the best she said. And she ran out smiling and laughing and said goodbye to her teachers.

SO she didnt do horrible..

Maybe tomorrow will be better..

 

SO our weekend didnt start off too good.. but it ended on a happy note!