Annual Ritual

Nope, not talking shopping here. Not talking 'bout no baking. Not talking 'bout no holiday music.

I'm talking the first holiday flavored Starbucks of the season, as in a Caramel Brule Latte. Today was a perfect day for it too, cloudy, cool and drizzly. My kind of weather, my kind of beverage, and a lazy Sunday to boot.

Family Pictures

We all got up and got busy this morning getting ready to head off to have our family pictures taken. For the first time ever we didn't have to wait at all, they were ready for us at our appointment time! I guess the secret is to go early in the day before they have much of a chance to get behind schedule.

Andy was quite the charmer and did a great job. He was cooperative and smiley, at least for the first couple of pictures. After that he was much more interested in exploring all of the props hidden behind the curtain.

While I never like the pictures that I actually appear in, the ones of Andy were all great, and Brian did a good job too. Unfortunately, you will have to wait to see any evidence since I won't have any pictures or electronic images until next week.

Best Kid's Party Ever

We just returned from a 5 year old's birthday party, and let me tell you, it was done right. Princess Jasmine was there to entertain the kids, and this little baby:



was there to entertain the adults. And entertained I was. As such, this blog post is coming to a close because it's time for me to doze. How'd ya like that?

Facial Favorites

Recently I have discovered a couple of skin care products that I really like, and in both cases I was really pleasantly surprised. So much so, that I'm going to tell you about them now.

The first product is an Olay Regenerist Anti-Aging Eye Roller. I know, it sounds really super goofy, and I thought so too. Truthfully, I only bought it because I had such a great coupon. Surprisingly it has become my favorite morning routine product. The way it works is that the cream is released under these little ball rollers and then you gently massage it under your eyes. I truly have no idea if the cream actually does anything or not. However, the massaging with the little ball rollers is truly awesome. The little rollers are cool and it just feels wonderful. I use it in the morning after washing my face and I think it really does help to reduce the puffiness from sleeping on my face. I would definitely buy this again, even if I didn't have a coupon. It just feel that good!


The next product I'd like to tell you about is the Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Brusher Cleanser. I read about this as a "must have" item in a magazine. Again, I was really skeptical, but at less than $5 I decided to give it a try. When you take the cap off you find a tilted soft plastic brush on the top of the bottle. You twist it and squeeze some cleanser up into the bristles then twist closed. With a circular motion you massage and cleanse your face at the same time. This, too, feels super good! This cleanser rinses off really clean and leaves my skin feeling super soft and clean and smooth, not tight or stripped. It isn't greasy and there isn't an over powering scent. There is nothing abrasive about either the cleanser or the brusher. I typically use this product at night as I've found that it does a great job of removing make up as well as the dust and grime from the day. Geez, I realize that I made it sound like I work in a coal mine somewhere instead of a classroom! But still, you know what I mean.

So what are some of your favorite beauty products?

Post Number 500

Yup, you read that correctly. This is my 500th post since opening my blog just a little over 4 years ago. It sounds like such a short amount of time, and in the grand scheme of life I suppose it it. However, within that short amount of time so very, very much has happened. Maybe "happened" isn't even the right word . . .

What is the word for things that happen on the inside of you? For things that cause you to feel more emotions and intensity than you ever have before?

When I started this blog I was still adjusting to our new home state. I was still mourning my old school and my long time friends and the beach. I was a little bored and wanted a way to update all we had left behind. I was hopeful for what was to come.

And I blogged a little about it.

We had just been diagnosed with unexplained infertility. I was naive enough to believe that pumping myself full of fertility medications and enduring countless procedures would really work.

I blogged a little bit more.

Not long after my dad suffered his accident, leaving him to live as a total-assist quadriplegic and forever changing the dynamics of our family. It's been a real kick in the gut for all of us, and I don't think that those outside of our immediate family really understand and care about all of the ramifications.

The blogging just kept going.

Just when the doom and gloom seemed most hopeless, a ray of sunshine appeared. A surprise pregnancy. Hope had returned and I truly believed that everything would be sunshine and roses and all of our despair was in the past. How wrong I was.

I blogged and blogged and practically shouted from the rooftops!

A miscarriage at 1o weeks brought us to our lowest low and my greatest feelings of inadequacy. I couldn't sleep and spent my nights trolling the internet. It was then that I found this wonderful community who not only understood and supported me as nobody else could, but led to some wonderful friendships.

And I blogged with ferocity. And slowly the despair changed to hope.

More invasive procedures and financial stress. More failure and loss of hope. Finally arriving ready to pursue adoption and jumping through all the hoops.

And more blogging, both to help inform those around us and to have an honest record for those who would come along later looking for the information and hope that was so hard for us to come by.

I returned to teaching and Brian and I began doing what we wanted to do, when we wanted to do it, no longer putting life on hold. It was really pretty nice, and a great change from how we had been living.

And then Andrew burst upon our scene, with only a few weeks notice.

And my blogging has continued, though I realize that much of it is just plain gushing over my beautiful boy.

But the friendships have grown as my boy has. My emotional self has been stretched from dark lows to incredible highs, and every place in between.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that these 500 posts have taken me far further emotionally than anything else ever has. These 500 posts have been through a lot of living, feeling, and growing, and hopefully I've come out of it a better person. And hopefully you've considered it time well spent.

Wardrobe Woes

Yup, I'm still struggling with outfitting us for our photo appointment on Saturday. I've got Brian and Andy figured out, but I'm still stuck for me. First of all, we are all wearing jeans. This helps to keep it simple. Brian is wearing a long sleeved, collared "casual" dress shirt (untucked) that is dark blue with very fine gray stripes. My sweet boy will be wearing a long sleeved, collared white shirt (untucked) with a dark blue vest. I'm opting for gray. As in a cardigan style sweater over a white tank. Of which I have none. Which is putting me in a really gray mood. My speed demon shopping trips have proven unsuccessful, and I'm running out of time.

So, have you any ideas for me before I resort to just wearing a Hefty lawn bag?

'Tis the Season . . .

. . . to be preparing for the annual family photo! I love this and dread this at the same time. On the one hand, I waited a really, really long time to be able to do this. On the other hand, the planning and preparation is enough to make me crazy.

First, there is the scheduling of the appointment, trying to accommodate Brian's call schedule at the hospital and Andy's happy times during the day, allowing adequate time for meals and naps. And doing it early enough in the season that it doesn't take half a day to get it done.

Then, there is the coordinating of outfits. No, I'm not talking matchy-matchy, just basic coordination. This is hard because Brian has definite likes and dislikes (though I think this is weighted heavier on the dislikes), yet he doesn't actually help with getting it done. And this has to get done every year because the boy is growing and who wants to get their picture taken in the same thing year after year?

There is also the job of trying to make sure that everyone has recently had a haircut. Yeah, um, this one might not work out. Andy is taken care of, but I can't fit in an appointment until after Thanksgiving. Brian has a day off this week, and if he remembers then we are in luck.

Add in a little worry about whether or not Andy's spottiness will go away in time or not, or if his eczema will flare up on his face again.

So, um, yeah, our appointment is this Saturday morning, and I hope I have something to wear other than what I wore last year.

Lookin' Good

Much as I love shaggy haired little blond boys, mine was becoming a little too shaggy. We went to see our friend Ginger to get a new look for Andy. Initially I thought that I might have him get a big boy short hair haircut, but in the end I just couldn't do it.

Andy was not happy with the plan of getting a haircut at all, despite the lollypop.

He did much better though once I sat in the chair and held him.
Pretty soon he actually started to get into it!
In the end he had smiles and flowers for Ginger, plus he copped a feel.
Somehow in all of this I managed to not get a picture of the finished 'do, so I'll have to try for later this week.

Med-cin Peas

As if we haven't already been lucky enough in all things Andy-related, there is yet one more. My sweet boy has always LOVED to take medicine. Whether it is tylenol, motrin, antibiotics, or this last time, prednisone and benedryl, he is always ready and willing and it has never been a fight. Andy actually asks for "mo" after receiving his dose and we always tell him, "Maybe later".

Well, he has gotten accustomed to having a dose of medicine right before bed. His allergic reaction seems to be mostly under control, so there really isn't much reason to give him benedryl at bedtime anymore.

This evening Andy stayed home with a babysitter while we went out with friends. When we got home he was still up, but was clearly sleepy, though protesting going to bed. He was sitting on Brian's lap resting before looking at me and saying, "Med-cin peas". I told him that he didn't need any tonight. Well, that did little to change his mind.

After a few minutes a moment of weakness and exhaustion took over me. I went to the kitchen and filled his medicine syringe with juice before returning to the family room. Andy took his "med-cin" and was completely content to go to bed.

Oh, what have I started . . .

Friday Nights Are For Pizza

Our good friends Melanie and Jim are here to visit for the weekend. I hoped they would be arriving around the same time Brian was expected home from work, but with traffic you just never know. I decided that to be safe I would feed Andy his dinner early so that he would be in good spirits once our visiting got underway. I decided to let Andy make his own little english muffin pizza, and I must say that it was an even bigger hit than I could have imagined!

Andy very carefully spread sauce on his muffin, then arranged the cheese seemingly shred by shred.

Then, he carefully arranged mini pepperoni, though he did have a pattern of eating one piece, then arranging one piece, then eating another.
Did you notice Molly lurking in the background?

The finished product turned out great, and Andy was so pleased with himself. He ate almost the entire little pizza!
We may have just created a Friday night routine . . .

Heart and Soul Treat

Brian was able to take today off work from the hospital so that we could spend some time together since I was off of school today. Andy went to the babysitter's house today so that we could have a relaxing, and much needed, date day.

Our first treat was being able to sleep in today. Well, OK, it was only until 7:00, but that is still "sleeping in" for us since we are used to getting up at 5:30. After I dropped of Andy I went and picked up tasty beverages from Starbucks. We made (and enjoyed!) a leisurely breakfast at home with our coffee.

By 10:00 we were at the movie theater where we saw a movie that I can't even remember the name of! It was your basic romantic comedy-drama. We enjoyed it, but now want to see even more movies, thanks to the previews.

After the movie we went for lunch at a restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-Thrus, and Dives. Again, it was a nice treat to enjoy a meal without having to pick things up off of the floor!

When we got back home Brian decided to take a nap, but I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to go get a pedicure. Yippee!

And now I'm ready to take on school tomorrow, and by tomorrow evening I'll be enjoying a weekend visit from one of my good friend's and her husband. I'm so excited to enjoy the company of friends this weekend!

So all in all, my heart and soul are in pretty good shape right now!

Apron Update!

If you read my previous post hopefully I whetted your appetite for super cute aprons, whether for yourself or for a gift. Melanie has reminded me that she always posts her latest creations on her Facebook page, "Sew Sassy Retro Aprons". In fact, her creations usually get snapped up there before she ever gets them posted to etsy!

So, check it out, you sure won't be disappointed!

Gift Tip

I've been meaning to blog about this particular tip for a while now, but kept procrastinating for no good reason. As it turns out, procrastination can be a good thing because since the holiday gifting season is upon us the timing couldn't be more perfect!

My good friend, Melanie, is the craftiest, most creative person I know. She now has a personal business creating custom, one-of-a-kind aprons. Seriously, you have to check out her work! Melanie has both a blog and an etsy site to show off her wonderful creations. Melanie selects and coordinates the fabrics herself and genuinely wants each of her customers to be completely happy with their selection.

And remember, Aprons make a perfect gift for: Thanksgiving, Christmas or Hanukkah, Mother's Day, Birthdays, Hostess gift or simply just because. I bought one before Easter and it's completely adorable and I love it. If you purchase an apron from her, a portion goes to help feed families in need thru Saddleback Pantry.

So, go take a peek at Melanie's work. I don't see much holiday stuff up right now, but feel free to contact her and let her know what you would be interested in. And let her know that I sent you over her way . . .

The Boy's Got Talent

While he may not have musical talent, he does have a talent for making me smile and melting my heart.

Hockey Love

Andy has been going to hockey games with us since he was a mere 3 months old, and I think it's safe to say that he absolutely loves it! Now, I'm not saying that he keeps his eyes on the puck, but he loves the whole experience, from the music to the crowd, to the action and lights.

Here he is doing what he does best . . .

Jammies till Noon

The best kind of day is a lazy weekend when nobody (ie: Brian) doesn't have to go to work and we don't have any plans.

When Andy woke up we went downstairs to play for a bit and waited for Brian to make breakfast. Afterward it was just more play time and we all hung out in the family room, you know, just being a family.

Needless to say, jammies were sported until noon for 2/3 of us. A delightful start to the weekend!

From Where I Sit

It's Friday night, after a very long day (thanks to Space Night at school), of a very long week.

I'm in my jammies, stretched out on our super comfy couch, watching TV with my hubby while my speckled boy is sleeping upstairs.

I pulled out my laptop, remembering that there is still a little time left in today to get a post up.

But, I can't think of what to say.

Until I realize the my sweet Molly Pie has got the right idea.

It's a perfect night just to relax and be together.

See for Yourself

In my last post I wrote about how I'm the last person on the planet to discover making no-sew fleece blankets. Here is my first attempt.
Pretty cute, huh? It's super soft too! I tossed it onto Brian after I took it out of the dryer and he didn't want to give it up. Now I have to put it away until Christmas.

By Wednesday not only was Andy still sick, but he was sporting this lovely rash. The culprit? A severe allergic reaction to the antibiotics.
Isn't this awful?!?!?!?
Poor boy is literally covered from head to toe. I knew that a "Woody" blanket would cheer him up, so that's why I made the second blanket. However, the "Woody" blanket is only a single layer, not two. This is my boy tonight, Thursday night, showing off his new favorite blanket.

And here you can see that his rash is starting to subside. My poor boy.

How Did I Not Know About This?

I was home from school for 3 days between Andy and I being sick. On Monday I finally began a project I'd had on my mind for a while. I made Andy a no-sew fleece blanket, with Mickey Mouse on one side and cheery yellow on the other. Oh, and I might add that I've never made one of these before. The thought had never even occurred to me until I was at the craft store and saw the Mickey fleece and just knew that Andy would love it.

Thank goodness for Google! I was able to very easily find instructions for how to make these blankets, as well as samples and even You-Tube videos about it. I took all of that and came up with my own way to do it.

And now I realize that I am likely the last person on the planet to learn how to make these super simple blankets. Even worse, I can't believe that I didn't know how easy it would be!

Anyhow, I made the Mickey blanket for Andy for Christmas. By the time I was finished I knew that I also wanted to make blankets for my niece and nephew for Christmas.

Well, yesterday I was home again with Andy because he STILL had a fever and I needed to take him back to the doctor. On the way home we stopped at the craft store and bought fleece for blankets for Ashley and Ryan. Andy saw some fleece that had cartoonish little cowboys on it and he kept saying "Woody, Woody". (Yup, his favorite movie is Toy story).

And today, well, Andy was home again, but this time with Brian, for yet another trip to the doctor. He's having a really bad allergic reaction to the antibiotics he was taking for his ear infections. He's got a head to to rash of little red raised bumps. I feel so bad for him!

After school this afternoon I made yet another trip to the craft store and I found some actual Toy Story fleece. I brought home a yard and a half of the fleece and managed to get the blanket made while Brian cooked dinner (Yup, he's a good man!) and clean up afterward (I told you he was a good man!).

When I finished I sat on the couch and covered up with the blanket, then Andy came and sat next to me under the blanket. Andy pointed out all of the characters on the blanket and then I told him it was his blanket. We watched Toy Story for a few minutes then it was time for bed and Andy headed up the stairs with his new blanket. My boy crawled into bed and went to sleep under his new blanket.

And I'm the one with the warm fuzzies tonight.

NaBloPoMo - Perfect Pulled Pork

Let me preface this by saying that I'm not all that fond of eating meat, of any variety. Truthfully, I could be perfectly content living without it. As such, I really don't prepare it often because I don't have much confidence in my abilities. However, Brian is a totally different story! He would be perfectly happy if his diet could consist only of meat. He puts a lot of effort into what he prepares and will go to great lengths.

With all that being said, I was flipping through a magazine last week and saw an advertisement for pork that included a recipe for Perfect Pulled Pork. It looked interesting, so I tore it out and showed it to Brian. On Friday morning, after Brian had gone to work, I found a 5 pound boneless pork butt shoulder in the refrigerator. So, I got to work. I was pretty proud of myself a few hours later when it started to smell really good.

However, when Brian got home he was less than thrilled with me. Apparently he had big plans for that pork in that he was going to smoke it in the smoker over the weekend. Oops. Eventually he got over it (like when he tasted it!) and began to embrace the fact that I had actually taken the initiative to cook something.

On Saturday Brian made two different types of BBQ sauce. For dinner we had the best pulled pork sandwiches ever! It didn't hurt that we had picked up some particularly tasty onion cheese rolls at the grocery store. Dinner was so wonderful that we had the exact same thing the next night, and Brian has been eating on it ever since. We will definitely be making this again, especially when having a crowd over, only next time I'll put in a bit less of the cayenne pepper. As directed it came out pretty spicy.

Ingredients:
5 lbs boneless pork butt shoulder
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried thyme (I didn't have any, so substituted italian seasoning)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
soft sandwich buns

Directions: Combine all seasonings in a small bowl and rub evenly over roast. Place meat in a 6-quart slow cooker. Add water. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours or until pork is very tender. (The bottom and middle of my roast was still a little frosty from being in the freezer, so I cooked on high for 8 hours and it came out perfect)

Place pork on a large cutting platter and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Pull, slice or chop to serve. Serve in buns with BBQ sauce.

Hope you enjoy!