Week in Review!

I am so glad this week is over! It has been such a busy week, way too busy for me now that I have two kiddos. Between meals for moms, Carl being gone two nights, teacher appreciation week to prepare for and hosting a playdate; that's not even mentioning chasing after Henry who seems way more adventurous than Evie did at this age!  I am looking forward to next week with only one thing on the calendar and then a trip to my parents house for Easter.

Monday: This was the day of the cake and we had a nice morning visiting with friends. Evie enjoyed playing with her friends. I put the kids down for a nap and made dinner for a new family in our MOMS group. Fiesta Chicken is an easy favorite that everyone seems to enjoy plus I made some rolo bars that were really tasty. After we dropped off dinner, it was time for some playtime at Granny White Park. Evie made a friend and Henry enjoyed being outside with the big kids. Carl drove to Indiana and back which was over 600 miles in one day. It was so good to have him back home.

Tuesday: Evie had school and I spent the morning trying to get Henry to sleep. Our neighbors are putting in a pool and it was an extremely loud morning of construction. We met Courtney for lunch at Seaside Grill. One of the moms in our club just opened Seaside with her husband. Courtney and I both had delicious Po Boy's. I was a bit apprehensive about taking Henry in the restaurant without a good nap but he did great. French-fries and crackers kept him happy along with all the friendly waitstaff that gave him tons of attention. We picked up Evie and then played outside.

Wednesday: We went to Nashville to see the bunnies and dropped off dinner at a family from our church's house. They just had a baby boy a few weeks ago and he was so tiny. I miss Henry being that small but I would not want to go through those crazy days again. We took a walk after naps and then Carl got home to mow the grass. He had dinner with a customer but it was good to see him for a bit before we had to leave again.

Thursday: Evie had school and Henry went with me to a lunch for moms from the preschool. It was a Mexican themed lunch and I made a Mexican Spinach dip that was really easy and good. Henry is growing more teeth so we left a little early so he could sleep a little before picking up Evie. Evie and Carl had their Daddy date at Chick Fil A and I enjoyed being in a quiet house.

Friday: We went to the park for a cookie decorating class. It was amazing how good the kids were at using the icing bags and of course Evie thought the pink was the best frosting. I learned how to decorate cookies with fondant. I love this little dinosaur and it was so easy to make. Darla told us that fondant cookies are expensive in bakeries because of the cost of the fondant not the time it takes to make them. I cannot wait to try this at home in my spare time. Everyone napped after our busy morning and then we straightened up the house a bit. Carl's parents will be here shortly to spend the weekend with us. Evie is very excited to see She She and Poppy.

Date with Daddy!

Carl and Evie went to Daddy and Daughter Date Night at CFA tonight. Evie has been excited all week! Everyday, she added a new element, Daddy had to sit next to her in the restaurant. They had to take his truck. She needed to wear a dress. She chose a blue dress for her Daddy because "he like blue - that his favorite. "

Carl said it was so fun and that it was set up really well. They took orders at the tables and had tableclothes. Daughters were treated to up-do's and make-up.

Ice-cream was served for dessert which always makes Evie happy.

They had a blast! I loved going places with my dad when I was a little girl and think it's important to have time with each child individually. Henry was my date for the night but he mostly slept.

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

Phillip's Toy Mart in Nashville has a live bunny scene every year that is popular among young children. We were in the neighborhood this morning so it was fun to pop in to see what all the fuss was about. It was cute to see all the little bunnies. Evie LOVED petting the bunnies and watching them run in and out of their home. Henry liked it too from the confines of his stroller. I was not willing to have Henry hover over the bunnies quite yet since he'd probably try to fly right into the display. We enjoyed walking around the store and checking out the latest toys. Evie picked out about fifty things that she felt that she needed immediately. She kept saying, "bunny can bring me that." Evie has decided that the Easter Bunny is similar to Santa Claus and will be bringing her everything on her current wish list that changes by the minute. It's a good thing it changes by the minute because she wants so much that she forgets what it is that she desperately wanted just moments earlier. We got out of the store without any tears or tantrums which I consider a successful venture considering that we were in the coolest toy store in town. Evie selected a pink, shocking color choice, right, headband; that literally glows it is so pink. I told her that I did not like it because it was just a little too flashy for me. Being such an accommodating mother, I allowed her to get the headband. Now, she tells everyone that she encounters that "Mommy bought me this headband but she not like it too much." It's starting to grow on me but chances are it will be broken by the end of the week. Well, I better start thinking about Easter baskets so my little Bunnies will have something in their baskets.

Miss E

Here's a snippet of a conversation that I had with Evie today. This is my life people, I cannot make this stuff up. Not sure where she gets all this spunk but it sure keeps us on our toes. Luckily, she is plenty sweet too!

Mommy: Evie, please put your shoes on so we can go for a walk.

Evie: Let's take the red stroller.

Mommy: No, we are taking the jogger.

Evie: (quite huffy): No, I am going to ballerina class. You need to let me go because I NEED to go. Evie got to grow up, Mama!

We had a nice walk! Mama is still the boss.

Frazzled Mama Bakes a Cake!

Look at that cute face!

He literally climbs the walls and the fridge. It's one of his favorite activities.

The cake finally made it into the oven!

I never really understood mommy brain before kids. Now, that I have two kids, it's become clearer by the day. Frazzle is my middle name and nothing goes according to plan these days. I am a planner with a capital P so this can be hard for me.

It was my turn to host the board for my MOMS Club and I had to make dinner for a new mom. Coffee cake seemed like the perfect idea because it would make a great breakfast but could still pass for dessert for the family with the new baby. Sounds like a great idea, right? Well, it did not exactly go according to plan but nothing really does these days.

Last night, I decided to prep the ingredients, my friend Lindsay does this and has told me that it saves so much time. I had scanned the recipe in advance so that I could purchase the ingredients. While, getting everything out, I notice that we are completely out of baking soda. I text Courtney to see if I can borrow some, then I keep going down the recipe looking for the next ingredient - cinnamon. YIKES, I am out of cinnamon too. I quickly text Courtney again to see if she has any cinnamon. She keeps her pantry stocked much better than me and was able to save the day.

By this point, it was after 8:30 and I was ready for bed. I decided to make the crumb mixture which only has a few ingredients. It seemed like a lot of crumb mixture but I did not give it much thought.

I went to bed expecting Henry to wake me up around 6. Naturally, he decides to sleep late on a day that I need him to serve as my alarm clock. I race downstairs after feeding him to work on the cake. My crumb mixture was totally wrong - I had used three cups of sugar instead of one cup plus had added the pecans and coconut to the wrong mixture. Then, I was almost out of sugar so I fished the pecans and coconut out of the crumb mixture to add it to the cake mix. Oh well, I just kept throwing stuff in the bowl and hoping for the best. Blueberry muffins were my back-up plan and I felt sure that I was going to be whipping those up last minute.

Henry enjoyed his view of the show!

Does your kitchen look like this after you finish cooking or baking?

My kitchen was a total disaster at this point. Henry was crawling all over the place and getting into everything. I secured him in the highchair while I tried to finish the cake before Evie woke up.

Evie was so excited to have cake batter to lick first thing in the morning!

Look at that sweet face!

Yum Yum! Evie likes licking the beaters.

She woke up just as I was sliding the cake in the oven. Shockingly, my cake turned out, the recipe must be extremely forgiving because I literally made about twenty mistakes.

Take it from me, if you are a mom with two small children - just buy something from the store. It's much easier! A friend that I used to teach with gave me this recipe and it is one of my favorites. Just make sure you have plenty of cinnamon! Oh, and the cake was so good, that I had to make something else to take the family with the new baby. See what I mean, nothing goes according to plan and that's okay!

                          Jewish Coffee Cake

 Crumb filling:

1 cup sugar

2 T. cinnamon

3 T. chopped pecans

3 T. coconut

Mix and set aside.

Cake:

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 pint sour cream

Beat butter to cream well, add sugar and vanilla, add salt and eggs,

beat at high speed. Sift flour with baking soda and add to beaten mixture

alternately with sour cream. (begin and end with flour)

Pour 1/2 batter into greased Bundt pan,

Sprinkle with 1/2 crumb filling over batter.

Add remaining batter and top with remaining crumb filling.

Cut through with knife several times

Bake at 350*  50 minutes or until knife comes out clean. (I usually have to bake longer)

Weekend Wrap-up!

We had a pretty calm weekend. Nothing too exciting at all. I went out to run errands and Carl stayed with the kiddos. Christian came over to build a bulletin board for my office. I LOVE it! Can't wait to get more organized.

Henry and Evie both slept late this morning so we went to the late service at church. I definitely prefer the early service. Henry was exhausted and slept on the way home. We had a picnic pizza lunch since it was another gorgeous day!

I did some cleaning and organizing this afternoon. Carl took both kids to the park. Blissful! It was so nice being home all by myself. Not sure if Carl will take them both again because Evie was not happy to come home.

Ready for another week? Ready or not, here it comes. Hope you have a good one!

Week in Review!

We had a really good week! Carl was out of town and I had been dreading a week on duty without any help. It turned out to be such a fun week with my kids.

Monday: That was the day of the snake! We played outside a lot and had a picnic lunch. Henry skipped his naps all day. AHHH! It was the hardest day of the week since he was not sleeping well at all. Evie has been asking me to take her to Monkey Joe's for a long time so I decided that would be the perfect way to spend the afternoon. Evie had a blast until she decided that she "needed" a snack and I did not agree with her. Oh well, there are always a few tears at places like that for my sweet girl. She held it together and decided that a Ritz cracker would suffice for her afternoon snack.

Tuesday: Evie had school and Henry hung out with me after his nap. We went to the library and to Harris Teeter. Everyone knows Henry in our local Harris Teeter and Miss Doris always brings  him a balloon. I am a loyal Harris Teeter shopper so it makes me feel special that they take such an interest in my children. We picked up Evie from school and ate Popsicles outside before heading to Chick Fil A for dinner with The Porter's. Family Night is always crazy but it's fun for the kids. It was so good for me to spend some time with my sweet friend, Kristin, and have some adult interaction.  Evie was "sharing" her balloon animal with Henry on the way home even though I asked her not to share since it would pop. Of course it popped and then she was so upset that her balloon was popped. I pulled over to retrieve the balloon pieces from Henry before he choked. Evie wanted to call her Daddy to tell him about the balloon and she is still talking about her popped giraffe three days later.

Wednesday: Evie spent the morning playing with some pink yarn. Our house had pink yarn everywhere but she sure had fun creating mazes and practicing her "scissoring."We had our Wednesday Wildcats play date at Sarah's house and it was really fun! It was another gorgeous day and she has tons of outdoor toys for the kids. Evie tried roller skating and now she wants the Easter Bunny to bring her some skates. She has decided that the Easter Bunny should bring her anything that her little heart desires. Too bad, the Easter Bunny is not planning to bring roller skates. We went to the park after nap so that Evie could wear her new pink shoes. She literally showed them to every single person that we encountered - "look at my pink shoes. Do you like them?" Evie was crushed that no one even commented on her shoes and kept telling me those people were not listening.  

Thursday: Evie had school and Henry stayed home with his sitter. I had a hair appointment and ran a few errands. That time sure goes by fast! Evie was in the best mood after school. Henry went down for his nap and I watched a movie with Evie. Then, we headed out to the grocery store to kill some time since Carl was still gone. I had planned to go to the bank too but forgot to take the check with me. I am that frazzled Mommy! Carl had some weather delays getting back and did not make it home until 11 which gave me some time to straighten up the house. I totally let it go when he is gone so it's a mad dash to get everything back in place before he gets home. It's always nice to come home to a clean house.

Friday: I am usually exhausted by Friday but this was our best day of the week. Henry took a great nap and then we went to make sure his ears were better. Evie was so easy and pleasant in the doctors office so we headed out for cupcakes because I wanted something sweet. They had three different pink cupcakes and Evie chose the one with the crown. We came home for lunch and then Henry went back to sleep. Evie and I went outside for a dessert picnic and played outside for a bit. I put her down for a nap but she was not tired since she slept until 8:30 this morning. She had some quiet time and then we headed out to a new park after nap. We decided to go see the baby chicks while we were in the neighborhood. They are so cute and cuddly! Evie remembered that we went there with Ipop and I am pretty sure that was two years ago. Memory is such an amazing thing. I'd love to learn more about how it works and why we cannot remember things later in life that are such vivid memories as children. Evie played in the sandbox and ran around for the longest time. Henry just hung out in his stroller drinking his water and checking out his foot. We got home in time for an early dinner and then Evie was so excited to see Carl. She would make a spectacular member of the Welcoming Committee at church or in the neighborhood. We all went outside for a bit before bedtime. Now, it's time for a late dinner for us and then I am off to bed too after our busy day!

Happy Friday y'all!

Giving it Up!

Paper towels are just fabulous inventions. Don't y'all agree, they are so convenient and accessible when time is of the essence and a mess needs to be cleaned. But the time has come for me to give them up for a week or so. It's just gotten to the point where we use a roll per day and I think it's wasteful. Not to mention, Evie asked someone this week for a papertowel and the mom handed her a sponge. Evie did not even know what it was since we are not sponge-users at our house. So, I bought a large stack of micro-fiber clothes along with a few sponges - pink of course! And my paper towel holder is going on a little vacation to the pantry to keep me from grabbing a handy-dandy paper towel without thinking. I have a feeling this is going to take some getting used to using cloth instead of paper. Farewell, my absorbent little friend, I will miss your assistance more than you know. You take the drips off my children, the drops off my floors and the stickies off my hands. Wish me luck on this endeavour!

Sharing Popsicles

Slithering Snake Sighting!

We were at the park this morning enjoying the gorgeous day and noticed an extremely large snake slither across the path right where we were walking. It was literally the largest snake that I have ever seen outside an exhibit at a zoo or a museum. Evie was not thrilled but she kept it together while reminding me that she saw a snake last year too. She then went on to tell me that "we eat popcorn, not snakes. Snakes eat birds but they try to flap away so then they eat grass instead but that's not too tasty." My Evie comes by it honestly but she never stops talking. She was still talking about that snake at bedtime, "That snake was gross, Mama. Where did it go? I not like snakes. They not my favorite. I like dogs. They more useful." See, what I mean about the talking.

Weekend Wrap-Up!

We had a busy weekend! It was so much to have dinner with the Corrigan's on Friday. We had yummy pizza and salad. Homemade brownies made for a delicious dessert. Our kids had so much fun playing. Christian asked to hold Henry and was so excited that Henry smiled at him. So sweet! I wonder what is going through Henry's mind when he is around all these big kids. He sure seemed to enjoy himself and even tried pizza for the first time. Of course, that was a hit! We had so much fun that we did not want to leave. Evie told me that she wanted to sleep over there.

Henry woke up about 6:00 on Saturday so I took off in the stroller since we were already awake. I have learned that with two kids, exercise is much harder to fit in so early morning works best to make sure it happens. Evie and Carl slept late and we had a nice quiet house which is rare these days.  I ran out to the grocery store while Henry slept. Evie helped Carl wash his truck and then we all played outside after Carl got back from his run with Henry. Henry's naps have been super short for the last few days. I hope that he will get back on track this week.  He goes back this week to make sure his ear infection has cleared up.

We left around 5:00 for our small group dinner. A new family joined our group and they are very friendly. They just moved here from Oregon because they thought Nashville would be a cool place to live. Evie really liked their son, Phoenix, until he became a little too friendly with Henry. Evie continues to be so protective of Henry. She warmed up though and allowed Phoenix to roll a ball with Henry. She was quick to throw in lots of "That's my brother. I love him so much." We had to leave before dessert because it was way past Henry's bedtime. Torrential rain began right as we made it home around 8:00. Henry was so tired that it was difficult to get him to sleep and he woke up twice in the night. He was down for his nap again by 8 since he woke up so early. We made it to late church just in the nick of time. It was much more relaxing not to rush out the door. I had time to do a few things around the house and Evie went jogging with Carl.

 Evie was not interested in wearing her blue dress because blue is NOT her favorite! I tried to take a few pictures before church but it was not happening.

Evie squeezed Henry a little too hard and he does not like to sit still anymore. It's a rare picture of Henry being unhappy but he perked right back up. I was so surprised to see Henry sitting at a table and chairs when I picked him up from the nursery. My little boy is growing up too fast. It was a special table for babies but it was still a chair with no buckles. He looked so BIG sitting there eating his cheerios with his little friends. We stopped to pick up some chips and salsa on the way home. Church and lunch out is just too much for us. Then, Carl grilled hotdogs for lunch and we had a picnic outside. It was such gorgeous weather!

Our kids napped and I left to meet Courtney for a little shopping. She was so sweet to share her coupon with me and I got two new shirts at Loft. It was so good to get out for a little bit myself. I try to take a little time for myself every Sunday to help me prepare for another week. Our house is literally a disaster so I have my work cut out for me this week.

Evie wanted to go to the park so I took her for a little Mommy time. She was so happy and easy! Now, that I have two kids, it seems like a breeze to have just one with me. Henry is almost always content so it's funny that Evie is my easy one when it's just her with me. She feels special to have extra-attention and I am more relaxed without the extra stuff that Henry needs for an outing.  Carl and Henry were playing outside when we got back soaking up that nice warm sun. I put Henry to bed early and then Evie and I went for a walk. She seems so much heavier than Henry that I spend much more time walking than running.

Hope you had a fun weekend too!

Week in Review!

Every week, I vow to write this post at the end of every day rather than waiting until Friday afternoon. Maybe, next week will be the week!

Monday: It seems like forever ago! We stayed home. Evie painted and played. Henry fussed and cried. I sorted spring clothes for Evie. At 5:00, I decided that something must be wrong and took him to the pediatrician's walk in clinic. The nurse asked me what I brought us in and I told her that Henry was just fussing a lot and not sleeping so I thought he might have an ear infection. That really seemed to perplex her that his only symptom was crying and not sleeping. Mother intuition was right again and he did have an ear infection. I'm glad that I took him in because sleep training was way too hard to repeat. Carl got home right after us and he held down the fort while I went to pick up the medication. I definitely got the good end of that deal because both kids were tired and fussing at this point. Henry and Evie both went to bed late. We were shocked when Henry slept all night even with an ear infection. Carl and I ate turkey sandwiches and watched TV before going to bed ourselves.

Tuesday: Evie went to school and Henry fell asleep in the car so I decided to run to Franklin. I need to return an outfit that was too big for Henry. Then, we walked around downtown and enjoyed the gorgeous weather! Henry was the perfect companion for window shopping and scones. Sometimes, it's fun to drop all the "have to" things and do the "fun" things. We came home and did a few things around the house before picking up Evie. Henry napped while Evie and I played outside together. It was my Mom's birthday and Evie treated her to a wonderful rendition of Happy Birthday by phone. Carl had fun playing lincoln logs with Evie. I am pretty sure that Carl enjoys them more than Evie. Then, Evie and Henry went to bed early and we grilled chicken for dinner. I love this weather!

Wednesday: We went for a long walk with Courtney and Campbell. It was fun to get for a little exercise with our sweet friends. Courtney is like Mary Poppins with her endless bag of tricks. Evie and Campbell snacked the entire walk - yogurt covered strawberries, grapes, apples and Cheez-its. We played outside after the walk and I was just convinced that Evie would take a nice, long nap. Nope! We went to a St. Patrick's Day party and had fun. Evie was a mess by the end between being tired, dropping her cupcake and stepping on a thorn - it was time to come home. Mandy saved the day when she retrieved another cupcake for Evie. Rainbow cupcakes make everything better! We got home just in time because there was a HUGE hail storm. Evie was impressed and Carl decided to record it for posterity.

Thursday: Evie had school and Henry had his sitter. I headed to Nashville to get some fabric samples, spring clothes for Henry and to run by Trader Joe's. It was a successful trip and much easier done solo. I came back to our town to finish my errands before picking up Evie from school. Henry was asleep when we got home so that gave me some time to play with Evie. It was a rainy afternoon and Evie was not thrilled about the thunder. Carl was out of town so it was just me and everything went fine. Everyone is tired by Thursday night so bedtime was appealing to us all.

Friday: We stayed home in our pj's watching the rain come down. Monday's might be painting and projects but Friday it's independent playtime and movies. Henry has not been sleeping well again today so I hope his ears are not getting worse. Most of the afternoon was spent trying to get Henry to sleep and then Evie woke up early. Sarah Denley wrote the best post and it came at the perfect time. Motherhood is certainly a challenge. I look back at my life when it was just Evie and wonder why I thought that was hard. Life was easier with one kid but it a lot richer with two kids. I miss having time to do everything that is on my to-do list. But know, that one day all too soon, there will be plenty of time to cross of my to-do's. Now is the time to fully embrace my chaotic life and just celebrate the little things like getting the dishwasher unloaded or the sheets changed on the beds. Carl will be home soon and then we will walk over to our neighbors for pizza and basketball.