Chocoholic

Weekend in Review: Lazy Days

We had a mostly lazy weekend. Carl was exhausted from traveling last week and I was a bit tired from taking care of two sick kiddos. We enjoyed the rest!

Saturday: I did some straightening up around the house while Carl took care of the kids and then ran some errands during nap time. Henry is not cooperative with his antibiotic anymore. He even kicked the bottle over yesterday and it made a huge mess in the kitchen. Thank goodness, we are heading to the ENT on Monday to make sure all is well with the tubes in Henry's ears. Henry needed a haircut and boy did he get a haircut. We enjoyed dinner with the Onello's. Evie and Abby were having some serious conversations about having a sleepover together. How did they grow up so fast? Maura and Tim prepared a yummy dinner of fresh Italian sausage and burgers from their favorite Buffalo butcher. It was delicious plus I had two helpings of pasta salad. We had lots of laughs and broke up a few disagreements between the children. It was such a fun night! We always enjoy spending time with our friends.

 

Sunday: We set the alarm to wake up for early church after our late night. Henry headed straight for the snacks in the nursery which cracks up the nursery workers. He loves to eat! After church, I had a message from the doctor to call back right away which made me nervous that something was wrong with Evie's lab work from last week. The nurse was with another patient when I called back so then I had to wait. It was a tad stressful.  Krispy Kreme is our favorite treat after church and definitely a good place to hang out while waiting for a phone call from the pediatrician. Those hot doughnuts are the best! Evie's nurse called while we were in Krispy Kreme and her lab work was fine. That's a relief! We figured that it was fine but the message on a Sunday was a bit unnerving. I headed out for a bit again during nap time. Henry took a super long nap and Evie played games with us. She's so much fun! Carl took Henry on a jog while Evie and I played princess with a pedicure, a makeover and an updo at the salon. Evie loves this activity and it is fun for me too. LOVE having a little girl! My little princess decided to go "soccering" after her primping session and then helped her Daddy grill some chicken. We enjoyed a yummy dinner and tucked the kids into bed. Now, it is already time to prepare for another week.

Week in Review: Sickies, Supper and Solo Parenting

Monday: I attempted to watch the inauguration but between fetching snacks, turning the TV back on and referring between my children - I just did not catch much! Evie liked saying Obama's name and at least realizes that he is the President of the United States of America.  After our current event lesson, Evie went to ballet. Henry took a super long nap but the afternoon just seemed to drag on forever probably because it was so cold. The frigid temperatures kept us inside which makes for a long afternoon without looking forward to Daddy coming home. We did a face time call with Carl and then Henry went to bed early. Evie helped me clean out the pantry. Kelly Hancock suggested this as the first step to being Saving Savvy and it was enlightening to see all the stuff that accumulates in a pantry. I just love my little helper!

Tuesday: Evie went to school. Henry and I made a grocery run then came home to try to contain the chaos of our kitchen. Does anyone else feel like they clean the kitchen all.day.long? Something always needs to be done! We picked up Evie and came home to make cookies for Make Cookies Monday on a Tuesday. Of course, we had to sample a few cookies and then we were off to run errands before swimming lessons. 

Wednesday: We stayed home all day because Evie was feeling under the weather. She even took two naps which has not been the case in years! I did a quick dinner drop-off for a lady from church. This was the lady that does not like chocolate and Evie questioned "What part of chocolate does she not like?" Evie just cracks me up all day long! Ann was so sweet and appreciative of her Lemon Cookies and Turkey Black Bean soup. Poor lady, could barely move with her back brace and she blessed me so much by giving me the chance to help her! What a great reminder for me to accept help from others? It's not just about me but it makes the other person feel appreciated too. Evie and Henry both started feeling badly. I was on the phone with the Vanderbilt nurse line. Thank goodness for excellent hospital care in Nashville! Henry's ear was dripping fluid like crazy and it made me nervous. Evie woke up from her second nap about 7 and had some cinnamon toast for dinner. We had such a nice evening snuggling in bed with a pile of catalogs. She even had the chance to face time with her Daddy. We both crashed about 9:30 after our crazy day.

 

Thursday:  Evie still had a fever and Henry slept until 9 because his ears were so infected. Poor thing was not feeling so good! Instead of school for the Niemeyer kids, it was time for our weekly trip to the pediatrician. Medications for both kids and 90 minutes later we were on our way home for a picnic in the den followed by naps for everyone! It took me four hours but I finally succeeded in getting a urine sample from Evie. Oh dear, that was an experience! We were both laughing hysterically. Evie was so excited to eat her lunch that I had packed for school at dinner. She showed me how everything is done at school. Her teacher asks that each child brings a dishtowel for lunch so Evie felt the need to spread it out as her place mat at home too. It was so fun to see how she can take care of business without me.  We called it an early night after all the excitement of the day.

Friday: Henry woke up early and I was not thrilled since I did not sleep well. We had a pajama day since it was so yucky outside. Henry was as mad as a hornet most of the day. He took an early nap and was much better after that. We ventured out to Costco which is a risky Friday afternoon activity. It was a madhouse and Evie walks now which makes me a nervous wreck because I worry that she is in other peoples way. Evie is a paying customer too though! Carl came in from his whirlwind trip to Seattle, Portland and Salt Lake City about 4 and I promptly flew out the door. It was a long week with sick kids and no husband. We made it though and were so happy to see Carl. It did me good to get out for a bit without any helpers. Carl fed the kids and then bathed them. We had a little family time and then Henry went to bed. Evie stayed up for Lemon Shrimp Pasta and cupcakes. 

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you have a great weekend with lots of rest, reading and eating yummy food. See you on Sunday.

Armoire Transformation: Paint Changes Everything

Carl and I bought a large armoire from the unfinished furniture store when we lived in Raleigh. He spent so much time sanding and staining that I just knew that it was going to be that way forever.

I decided about a year ago that the armoire would look much better black. Time is a commodity around here so it just stayed on my project list along with about a hundred other of my fabulous ideas.

I am in a Nashville Buy Sell and Trade group on Facebook and noticed that a local mom started a business painting furniture.

Cindy Sullivan is an absolute gem! She created Vintage Loved out of her home and creates gorgeous pieces of furniture from the nothing. Cindy is the sweetest, kindest lady and Evie would have been content to go home with her forever. Search Vintage Loved on Facebook to see more of her amazing work!

Check her out if you live in the area! It's amazing what a little paint can do for a piece of furniture.

Carl and I are both thrilled with the final product and are already coming up with more projects for Vintage Loved. Perhaps, a big boy bed for Henry in a few years!

Evie's 4th Birthday Belle Bash

Evie is infatuated with all things Belle! It was not a surprise when she requested a Belle birthday party. I am not a big fan of characters at all and prefer solid colors rather than the typical character paper products. Tables were borrowed from friends and the mess was not bad at all in our dining room.

Pink, yellow and blue were the colors. Everything was pink, yellow, and blue from food to decorations.

Most of Evie's friends are boys which makes a princess party a little tricky. 

Sweet Birdie's Nest designed the fabulous invitations and did a superb job of incorporating the boys by placing a knight on the invitation. I highly recommend them for making your invitations! They created party circles and favor tags too that were the finishing touch.

Four year old boys are not especially interested in princesses but they still like cake. We invited all of Evie's little friends and every.single.person with the exception of one came to the party. I was slightly concerned about having so many children running rampant in my house but it was quite manageable.

Evie's party was a brunch party making the food simple with mini quiches, doughnut skewers, fruit, scones, and yogurt. I took lots of pictures but neglected the food which is surprising since food is my favorite part of a party. Everyone seemed to enjoy the food!

Katy made a beautiful Belle cake for Evie that just thrilled her little heart. It was as delicious as it looked too.

Our guest of honor besides Evie was Princess Belle. Evie was so excited that Belle was coming to her party. Her smile was worth all the work and expense of the party. She was just thrilled, watching her made me teary because it was one of those moments that I will always remember. Evie is such a special little girl and I feel so honored to be her Mama.

Princess Belle sang songs, danced with the children, painted faces, applied makeup, cut the cake and taught the girls to curtsy. She was excellent! It was so sweet to see all the little girls in awe of Belle. Princess Belle collaborated with Copy Cat for Kids in Nashville. I highly recommend Copy Cat for Kids. They provide  a professional approach, excellent communication and ability to work with our party schedule. 

Favors were the most difficult part of the party! I wanted to give something that related to our princess and knight theme. That was relatively easy for the girls although most items seem to feature all of the princesses while our focus was solely Belle. Target had some Belle Widgits on sale after Christmas so I just filled my cart with those dolls. Finding favors for the boys kept me on a wild goose hunt for weeks. Swords seemed like a good choice but most boys already have multiple swords and I did not want sword fighting to become the main focus of the party. Michael's Craft Store had knights and dragons in a Toob that worked out perfect. Evie really enjoyed helping me prepare the favors and passing them out to her friends. 

It was a wonderful party! The best part was that Evie had fun and felt special while celebrating her fourth birthday. A BIG thank you to all my friends who helped me out! Carl was unable to attend at the last minute - he has this daily obligation called work - but my friends pitched in taking pictures, cutting cake, cleaning etc. Henry was entertained by our wonderful babysitter, Karen! I could not have done this party without Karen. She's the best babysitter in town!

Make Cookies Monday!

Evie and I made cookies today for Make Cookies Monday. I guess Make Cookies Tuesday does not have quite the same ring to it. 

We made Lemon Crinkle Cookies! They are one of my favorite cookies when I need something that is not chocolate. Most of these cookies are going to a lady from church that just had back surgery. Ann is not a fan of chocolate. I mentioned this to Evie while we were baking cookies and Evie was baffled. She looked at me in total disbelief while saying, "What part does she not like?"

I agree, Evie! Chocolate is always our choice.

These cookies are super easy to whip up even with two little helpers. They are fresh and light with lemon zest along with freshly squeezed lemon juice. I love having double ovens while baking cookies. It makes the process much faster! This recipe only makes 2.5 dozen so you may want to double it if you really like cookies.

Make some today - you will love them as much as my taste testers!