Sunday Survey: Moves Like Jagger

It's been so long since I've done one of these, but here goes!

1. Who makes the best moves in your life?

This is a weird question.  I guess it can be interpreted many ways, but I'll go with moves = decisions.  And, in that case the answer would be my husband.  He is a very good decision maker.  I always trust his decisions 100%!

2. Tell us about a time where you had to be selfish with your time, and felt guilty about it (whether it was time taken from your children or a significant other.

Well, I used to feel guilty all the time when I was working full-time.  My time away from my kids killed me.  BUT, we needed that extra full-time income, so what was I to do?? Let them starve?  I don't think so.  I guess the most I feel guilty about time away from them right now would be on days when I'm super busy cleaning and can't spend as much quality time with them.  And, right now with our move, I'm SUPER busy cleaning and packing almost every day.

3. Do you feel that you can create more sex appeal or that it's just a given?

I guess you can try to create more sex appeal, but who has time?? lol

4. Do your religious beliefs really influence your behavior?

No.  They probably should, but they don't.

5. Do you feel there are some things in a significant other that you can't change because of their sex?

I guess ... 

6. Do you see a younger less secure person when you gaze in the mirror?

No, I think I'm pretty secure in who I am.  Sure I doubt myself here and there, but as a person, I think I know who I am.

7. If you have ever been pregnant, or have been with a woman who was, how did effect your sex life?

Umm ... we didn't have a sex life while I was pregnant.  My poor husband.

8. What would you like to work on to become a better person?

My temper.  Boy do I have a baaaad temper.  :(

9. When did you think that you understood the sacrifices that people in the military make on behalf of their country?

Probably not until 9/11 happened.  It's sad it took that for me to recognize the sacrifices these men and women make on a daily basis, really.  :(

Asian Ginger Carrot Dressing

I will preface this by saying that this recipe includes onions.  I kind of fibbed to my husband and told him that I didn't put them in because he haaaaates onions.  More than anything else, he hates them, and I knew he wouldn't give it a fair chance.  Well they're processed so much in the food processor that you can't even tell they're in there.  He ate a big bowl of salad with this dressing tonight at dinner and said he really liked it a lot.  I felt guilty for lying, so I told him the truth after dinner and now he insists he won't ever eat it again.  We'll see.  :)

Anyway, this is probably my favorite salad dressing of all times, but before I stumbled upon this recipe, the only way I could get it was to buy a pint of it from our local Japanese restaurant.  Now I can make it myself!

I found the recipe on one of my new favorite websites: skinnytaste.com.  It's only 82.9 calories for a 2 tbsp serving, can't beat that!

Below is the missing ingredient ... I forgot it at the store and had to have John buy it for me later on in the day when he was already out and about.  :)

In case you're wondering, you cannot skip this step.  It's what thickens the dressing.

Ingredients:

1/4 c shredded carrots
1/4 c minced onion
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger (and in case you're wondering how to clean ginger root - I was, I've never used it before - you just peel the outer skin and then chop like you would an onion or garlic)
1 small clove garlic
1 tbsp minced celery
3 tbsp sesame oil (you can use peanut oil, also, though)
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp water
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Place all ingredients in the blender/food processor and process until smooth.  Refrigerate a few hours before using to let the flavors deepen.  This gets better the longer you let it sit, I promise!

Here's what it all looks like before you blend it ...

And, here's the finished product!  Enjoy!

We're moving, we're moving, we're really REALLY moving!!

I honestly cannot believe we are FINALLY moving!!!  We've needed more space for some time now, and thanks to great timing and a great friend, we're finally able to have that much needed room.

It's a bittersweet time for us right now, though.  We've lived here for almost 5 years!  When we first moved in, in fact the DAY we moved in, was the first day I had morning sickness during my pregnancy with Jacob.  This is the only home my kids (and our kitty, Bella!) have ever known.  So, as I walk around boxing up pictures, knick knacks, toys, etc., a wave of nostalgia washes over me.

We've made a lot of great memories here, and I'm so looking forward to making many, many more memories in our new house.  In our new place each of the kids will have their own bedroom and we'll finally have our master bedroom back all to ourselves (been sharing with one kid or the other for almost two years!).  The kids will have their own bathroom and we'll have a huge bathroom all to ourselves.  On the main level the kids will have their own playroom separate from our living room.  Then there is a powder room (haven't had one of those before!), a dining room and a kitchen.  There's an unfinished basement which houses the laundry room.  John has plans for turning part of it into a "man cave" and I have a section I plan to turn into a "craft room".  And, one of the best things of all ... we will finally have a backyard for our little hooligans to run around in and be the crazy little boys that they are!  I can't wait!

Our move date is August 17th, and then a week later we leave for our annual beach vacation, so there is a lot going on in our lives right now.  I'll be glad when it's all over and done with.  I plan to blog quite a bit about our journey while we're packing and then about our move, and of course I'll be showing off the house once we're unpacked.  I have a lot of ideas for each room, so it's going to take awhile to get it all the way I want.  The first room I need to paint right away is Jacob's bedroom.  I'm hoping to get in before we move, so I can have it painted beforehand.  It's navy blue and white ... that is just NOT going to work with my little guy's fire truck theme he has going on right now.  :)  Anyway, stay tuned for more updates about our move and all my little projects I'll be working on!!

Henry J: 21 months old!

I meant to write this post last weekend on Henry's actual month-birthday, but life was hectic with our a/c issues, and so I forgot.  Here it is now, though ... 


Henry J,


Hard to believe that in less than three months we'll be celebrating your SECOND birthday!  Ahhh ... where does the time go?!  I feel like we were JUST welcoming you into our family, and now you're this crazy, funny, outgoing toddler.  

You seem to be learning things and I'm not even sure where you've picked them up.  You're communication with us is still not that strong (though I'm sure it will be soon enough, you're still so young), so the fact that I can point to some toys, ask you to pick them up and you actually follow through is amazing to me.  You, honestly, listen better than your older brother right now.  


While you're vocabulary still has a lot of room for improvement, you're saying more words every day!  I love seeing you learn new words and phrases.  Right now here is what I know you can say ... whether you will or not is another thing altogether.

Mama

Daddy

Bub

Ball

Baba (bottle - yes, you still take a bottle at nap and bed time)

Gee

Cheese

Get down

Uh oh

You know the sign for "more" and "mommy".  


You know where a few of your body parts are - nose, ears, belly.


You're on your way to learning to count.  We count every day as we go up and down the stairs outside, so soon enough you'll be catching on and counting just like your big brother.  And, you are also starting to learn your shapes and colors by doing the puzzles we do almost every day.  I'm so proud of how much you've learned in such a short time frame.

We've got a couple of busy months coming up here ... we're prepping for a move, then off to the beach for a week's vacation, and then when we get home we have to get Jacob ready for his next year of preschool.  Before we know it your birthday is going to be here and I'll have a two year old again.  I can't wait, but please don't feel the need to grow up so quickly!!


Love,
Mama

Pip Pip Hooray!!!

Who knew a bib could be so exciting?! I certainly didn’t until very recently. Up until recently I wasn’t even using bibs for the kids because all the ones you can buy at any of the major chains stores (BRU, Target, Walmart, etc.) are a joke, basically. But, a few weeks ago my good friend, Danielle, launched her own company, Pip Pip Hooray, where she specializes in making the cutest, most durable bibs I’ve ever seen/used. They’re made from two layers of upcycled denim and embellished with fabric/bandanas, belt loops, watch pockets, and eyelet lace. They fasten with a heavy duty snap instead of velcro, so a) they will STAY on your child (no worrying about them pulling it off mid-meal) and b) no getting baby fine hair caught.
I placed my order late last week and got them yesterday (pretty quick turn around time, if you ask me!). So, today when we went to lunch with a friend of mine I decided to use them for the first time and take some pics of the kids …

Jacob wearing the red/orange/yellow bandana print.

Henry wearing the turquoise bandana print.

Both boys wearing the camo print.

If you want to purchase your own adorable denim bibs (and you know you do, lol!), you can go to her Etsy shop or head on over to Pip Pip Hooray on Facebook and click "like".  The bibs are $12 each or you can combine and save, and buy 3/$30 which is what I did.  I think we'll be purchasing 3 more in the near future since I have to make the boys share them and right now we have an odd number of bibs, lol.

Oh, and a she's also hosting a fun giveaway ... if her Facebook page reaches 300 fans by the end of the day on July 27th, she will be giving away TWO bibs.  One each to two lucky random winners.

P.S. You don't have to be a mama to buy these either ... they make awesome baby presents!  :)

Roles

Mother, father, sister, brother, husband, wife ... all of these, plus a ton more, are the different roles one might fulfill in a lifetime.  I'm sitting here catching up on some of my DVR'd television shows when I just sort of had an epiphany and I felt the need to write about it ... for me, my greatest two roles are MOTHER and WIFE.

John and I have been together for a total of 11.5 years.  We've been married for just over 6 years.  While we may have our fair share of fights, and we may bicker and argue about some of the dumbest things imaginable, at the end of the day, we love each other very much.  He's my best friend, and I think I can speak for him when I say I'm his as well.  We tell each other everything.  We have the deepest respect and understanding for each other.  I may not always do the "right" thing or say the "right" thing, but my love for my husband never changes.  I feel like I've been ready to be a wife since I was in my early teens.  And, God brought this man into my life at just the right moment.  For that I'll be eternally grateful.  I love you, boo, forever and always! <3

In addition to always knowing I was meant to be someone's wife, I've always had a strong maternal instinct.  I've always loved babies and small children, and I just knew that once I met, fell in love with and married that perfect person, we would most definitely have babies together.  A few months after John and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary we started trying to conceive our first baby.  It took us three months to conceive Jacob.  Three months seemed like an eternity.  I don't know how couples deal with trying for months and years on end.  My heart truly goes out to them because I know just how sad each month was for me when I'd get a negative test result, and like I said, it only took us three months to conceive our little Jacob.

The day Jacob was born was both one of the happiest days and one of the scariest days of my life.  After all, I had done my fair share of babysitting as a teenager, but I had never been completely responsible for a little life before.  Over the past four years I've most certainly made my fair share of mistakes, but this "job" comes with a huge learning curve.  I'm learning every day how to be a better mother.  I can only hope and pray that some day Jacob will realize how hard I worked to make sure he had the best mother, and the best life, possible.  I love you, Bubba, to the moon and back!  <3

When Jacob was about the age Henry is now (21 months), we started trying to conceive baby number two.  This time I was more informed on how to tell when I was ovulating and it only took us one month (one cycle!) to conceive our sweet little Henry.  Again, the day he was born was equally one of the happiest and one of the scariest days of my life.  Now I was not only responsible for one little life, but I was responsible for TWO!  And, I had the biggest mommy guilt about bringing a new little guy into our world.  I knew in the long run Jacob would love having a sibling.  He has a built-in best friend for life!  But, I was terrified of the impact our new little man would have on our family dynamic.  I felt bad having to divide my time and attention among both boys, and still my husband.  And, I won't lie ... it was a VERY rough transition.  But, we made it through.  Together.  As a family.  And, I'm truly thankful for that.  Henry was the best little addition God could have given us to expand our family.  I love you, monkey! <3

I can only pray that maybe one day we can add one more little person to complete our family.  If it doesn't happen, I will still be eternally grateful for the family that I have been blessed with, but I just feel like we have so much love to give ... there is always room for one more!  :)

Beer Cheese Dip

This is easily my most favorite appetizer/dip to make.  Everyone always raves about it, so I try to make it any time we're having friends over.  My favorite time of the year to make this one is football season.  Beer + Cheese + bread to dip just scream football to me.  :)  I made it last weekend, though, because we just had a craving for it, so I decided to post it here on my blog!

Beer Cheese Dip

2 - 8 oz containers sharp cheddar cheese (or extra sharp if you can't find regular, OR you can do one of each also)
2 - 8 oz packages softened cream cheese
1 - 12 oz beer (I always use Miller Lite or Bud Lite because it's what we drink and usually have on hand)
1 tsp garlic powder

1. In a microwave safe bowl, heat cheese and cream cheese for a minute or two just long enough to get it soft enough to get an electric hand mixer through it. 
2. Blend on low for a minute until well blended.
3. Add beer a little at a time.  Sometimes I don't use the whole beer if we want a less "beer-y" taste.  Continue to blend until smooth.
4. Add garlic powder and blend for another minute.
5. Refrigerate for about an hour.

I find that refrigerating it for awhile and then pulling it back out just before serving and warming in the microwave makes it taste better.  I serve this with King's Hawaiian Rolls or pretzels most of the time.  This past time, though, we stopped at Wegmans and got some of their yummy pretzel rolls to have with it.  They're pictured below.  Enjoy!

Independence Day Fun!!

I love the 4th of July.  Seriously.  It's up there with Christmas and Thanksgiving as far as my favorite holidays go.  I'm proud to be an American.  I love this country and am so happy to live in this great land!  Every year as I sit with my family and watch the annual display of fireworks, I have tears come to my eyes.  I'm so thankful that I am able to be with my family when so many other families are not as fortunate.  And, I'm so thankful for all the members of our military who have fought for our freedom ... so that I may sit there with my family every year on the 4th of July and enjoy good food, good company and good fireworks!

We started our 4th of like every other year ... heading out to Leesburg for the 4th of July parade.  This year Pap was actually in the parade, though, driving the ladder truck, so that was extra special.  I'm not sure Henry has ever seen him in a parade before, and Jacob's only seen him be in a few, I believe.

After the parade, we had lunch with my parents, and then Jacob went with them to swim, while we brought Henry home for a quick nap.  After his nap, we quickly got ready and then off we went again to meet up with my parents and Jacob for some fun at Great Meadow.

Great Meadow was awesome, and as long as have the hook-up we had this year (VIP all the way, baby!), we'll definitely be going back in years to come.  We had the best seats in the house for everything.  We had some awesome food catered by Chick Fil A.  There was a rocket launch that was pretty cool (I'd never seen one before), and we watched a couple skydivers while our National Anthem was being sung.  We even got to see a polo match (another thing I had never seen before!).  Jacob had some fun in the bounce house, and he was able to "blow" the biggest bubble he's ever "blown"!

Our weather had been being sketchy all week, and the 4th was no exception.  When we first got to Great Meadow, it almost immediately began storming, so we waited that one out in the car.  Then toward the end of the evening, there was round two headed in, so the fireworks started a bit early, so we could all be on our way before the storm hit.  And, thank goodness they did because the second part of the storm was way worse than the first!  It stormed our whole way home, but we made it home safe and sound, and all had an amazing day!!  I'm sad we have to wait a whole year to do it all again!

4th of July treats .... and a little something extra!

Today John came home from work early and took Jacob out to the pool, so I used the quiet time to make some 4th of July treats!

4th of July Pretzel Rods

1. Pretzel Rods
2. Milk Chocolate Chips (I was going to use White Chocolate Chips, but didn't have any on hand)
3. Red, White and Blue sprinkles

Melt the chocolate over the lowest heat possible.  I added a splash of milk to make the chocolate a little thinner/runnier.  Stir occasionally until completely melted and smooth.

While the chocolate is melting, pull all the whole pretzel rods out and set aside.  Also, dump all sprinkles into a shallow bowl or on a plate (I used a plate).

Use a spatula to smear a thin layer of chocolate on each pretzel rod and then rolled it around in the plate of sprinkles.  Let them dry on wax paper for an hour or so.  So yummy, and so easy!!

And, when I ran out of red, white and blue sprinkles (note: buy a LOT of sprinkles, you WILL go through them fast!) I decided to use up other sprinkles I had, so we also have some multi-colored pretzel rods.  lol

And, THEN ... I made some small ones from the broken pieces for the small guys in our house.  :)

DIY: Organizing Dresser Drawers!

I found this little gem on pinterest (seriously, where was I before pinterest came along??) a while back and finally got around to trying it tonight.  I'm a pretty organized person, I'd say, so when I found this one I was all about it!  I honestly couldn't believe I didn't think of this one on my own.

What is the wonderful idea I found on pinterest, you ask??

Folding t-shirts in horizontal rows instead of vertical ones!


You can actually see all your shirts this way (I did it with the boys' shorts, as well).  I actually found quite a few shirts I forgot they had because of this.  And, it makes more room in your drawers!  I was able to condense Jacob's t-shirt drawers down from three drawers to two.  :)

Here are Henry's 'before' and 'after' pics (it's slightly embarrassing to look at the 'before' pics.  I'm not always that lazy about the way the drawers look, but have been lately, unfortunately.)

Before (T-shirts)

After (T-shirts)

Before (Shorts)        After (Shorts)

Here are the 'before' and 'after' pics of Jacob's drawers:

Before (T-shirts)

After (T-shirts)

Before (Shorts)

After (Shorts)

Here is where I found the idea for this awesome organizational trick: Darkroom and Dearly Blog.

Oh, and Jacob even helped me put the shorts back in his drawers ... he did a pretty good job, huh??  He kept saying "I want to help you, mommy!"  And, such a good helper, he is! :)