19 Months Old

Since Madeline is 19 months old today, I dressed her up in an outfit I wore when I was her age and took pictures just for fun:
What a doll! (I'm entirely unbiased)

And, so as to not leave anyone out:

Blueberry Pancakes

Blueberry pancakes are oh, so good! And messy too . . .
It's amazing what two years can do to help with the messy factor:

Our favorite blueberry pancakes have cornmeal and cinnamon in them. Maybe someday I'll post the recipe, because WOW! Love them!

Fixing the Unwearables -- Part 2

This project was pretty easy, though I'll admit not as easy as cutting the bottom half of my dress off! I recently bought a shirt on clearance for $1.97. I love the color and I love how it's SO LONG! The only problem was the neckline was a little too big and hung out kind of funny. Sooooo, I turned it inside out and pinned both sides of the neckline at the arm hole seams:

Two little lines of stitching and . . .

I have a perfectly fitting, brand new, $2.00 shirt!

Thanks Cousin Kate!

Madeline is one lucky girl! She has a cousin named Kate, with the same build, that is two years older. What could that possibly mean? CLOTHES! Look what we got yesterday:

Short and long sleave shirts, shorts, skirts, pants, shoes, swimsuits, pjs, jackets . . . my goodness! Madeline is going to be one well-dressed kid! Thank you Kate! We love the clothes. Madeline is wearing the pink shirt today with the velvet strawberry and looks mighty cute!

Now if only I could find a way to get that many new clothes . . . :)

Marks of Childhood

Little kids can sleep in all sorts of crazy positions. After this morning, I know one kid that really can: You might have to click on the picture to see, but there on the middle of his right upper thigh, is a left footprint!

Madeline's mark is a little more painful (though I think if I tried to sleep like Ethan I'd be hurting!). She face-planted last night and broke her lip open. Her nose was bleeding too. The swelling has gone down now, but she has quite the scabby look from her lip all the way down her gums to her teeth. Sadly enough, I think every kid has a good face-plant at least once. Poor Madeline. . .

But look, she's smiling!

Fixing the Unwearables – Part 1

Right before Easter, I bought a lovely dress. I enjoyed wearing it once and then I washed it . . . I washed it in COLD on the DELICATE cycle and HUNG it to dry. It shrunk 5 inches. Hello miniskirt! Not my type of clothing, I have to say. I highly recommend against 100% rayon. Anyway, it’s been lying in a heap since then. Until now! This weekend I broke out the scissors and turned it into a shirt. Ha! Take that rayon.
I am now the proud owner of a one-of-a-kind shirt. I quite like how it turned out and I am thoroughly enjoying wearing it today. This has inspired me to fix another article of clothing I find to be unwearable. But that one will actually take the sewing machine, so I might not have it done for a little while.

Necklace No More

Today I finally remembered to wear the necklace that I made to church. I put it on and off we went. In the middle of the sacrament, Madeline decided to give it a good tug and . . .

It broke!

Good thing most of it fell into my lap because we were sitting in the overflow and the few beads that did bounce on the gym floor sure made a ruckus during the silence.

Hmmm . . . bummer. I don't suppose I'll restring it though, not with the same cording anyway. I don't see the point because it lasted all of about twenty minutes.

Allergies

Is anyone else dying from allergies right now? I’m verging on being a nonfunctioning human because of them. Haha

My Life According to U2

I got tagged by Emmy yesterday. I thought this was a fun one, so I decided to go ahead and play. I don't normally tag people, but if you want to try it out, you'll have fun doing it too. And I'd love to see your life according to . . . someone!

My Life According to U2

THE RULES: Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Try not to repeat a song title. It's a lot harder than you think! Repost as "my life according to (band name)"

Pick your Artist: U2

Describe yourself: Lady With The Spinning Head

How do you feel: I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight

Describe where you currently live: In God’s Country

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Miami

Your favorite form of transportation: Promenade

Your best friend: The Wanderer

You and your best friend are: A Man and A Woman

What's the weather like: Summer Rain

Favorite time of day: Twilight

If your life was a TV show, what would it be called: Into The Heart

What is life to you: The Sweetest Thing

Your relationship: Everlasting Love

Your fear: Sunday Bloody Sunday

What is the best advice you have to give: Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own

Thought for the Day: Some Days Are Better Than Others

How I would like to die: Staring At The Sun

My soul's present condition: Hallelujah Here She Comes

My motto: Breathe

Hello! I am an Ethan Robot . . .

After lunch today, Ethan put his laundry basket on his head and ran around the house shouting (in a very robot sounding voice), "Hello! I am an Ethan Robot. I am coming to get you!"
It was so much fun, that even Madeline joined in. She shouted, "woah bah!"

And to not be out done, I chased the kids around too. Lots of giggles and screaming occurred. I AM the Mommy Robot!

Tents and Bins

What did we do today to pass the time?

We built a tent in the kitchen and filled it with every pillow and stuffed animal from the house!
We read books inside and played

And since the bin that usually houses all the animals was empty, we took turns sitting inside . . .

Well, the kids did. I just took the pictures!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Yesterday was my Dad's birthday. We went to his house for dinner and Ethan gave him these:

Birthday cake and presents

And I gave him these:


Homemade caramels . . . YUM!

As a side note, I think I really like making candy.

And my mom made this:

Homemade cheesecake!

Ethan picked out the candles too. He thought of it all on his own and wanted very badly for Bapa to have the five eight candles! We had fun celebrating!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Favorite Outfits

My kids wore some pretty awesome outfits this morning, starting with Ethan finding a little winter jumpsuit in Madeline’s drawer this morning. He pulled it out and said, “Oh wow! This will fit me!” And he promptly put it on:
I was just laughing my head off! And after running around the house wearing it for awhile he told me he was Spiderman because it was red and his shorts are blue. He said, “Now I can climb up walls!!!” But when he tried and couldn’t, he was rather deflated. Hmmm . . . I wonder if he really thought he’d be able to.

And then there’s Madeline’s favorite outfit:

That’s right: a big fat nothing! Doesn’t she look content!

Necklace

I’ve always wanted a long black necklace . . . so I finally made one!

It was easier to make than the watches, and faster too (even though I had to restring it three times to get the length and pattern right). I enjoy projects like this because you can start and finish them in one sitting. Big projects are fun too (I have about five in progress) but little ones help me feel like I’m actually getting somewhere!

Family Pictures

When my brother and his family were in town last week, my sister-in-law Emily took our family pictures:

This one of Ethan and me wasn't planned, but I really like how it turned out:

Thanks Emily for the great pictures!

Lovin' it

Look what I picked up at Hobby Lobby:

Look closer . . .

I so needed one of these!

Not So Innocent

She looks innocent enough right?

WRONG!

In the four minutes it took me to flat iron my hair this morning, Madeline successfully unrolled half the toilet paper roll, stuck some of it up her nose, went into my closet and pulled 8 shirts off the hangers, and pulled all of Ethan's books off his book shelf.

And this was all before breakfast!

Smoky Orange Barbecued Chicken Sandwiches

Rachael Ray

Serves 4

1 TBLS olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup orange juice concentrate
The zest of 1 orange
1 cup chicken broth
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Steak seasoning blend, or salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:
Romaine lettuce
Thinly sliced red onions
4 crusty rolls, split, toasted and buttered

Preheat a grill pan over med-high heat.

Heat a small saucepan over moderate heat. Add oil and sauté onion 3-5 minutes or until soft. Combine chipotle peppers in adobo, ketchup, orange juice concentrate, orange zest and chicken broth in a blender. Blend on high until smooth. Pour sauce into saucepan with the onion and heat to a bubble. Reduce heat to simmer.

Coat chicken lightly with a drizzle of oil and season with grill seasoning blend or salt and pepper. Grill 5-6 minutes on first side, turn. Remove half of the sauce to a small bowl and baste chicken liberally with it. Turn chicken after 4 minutes, coat with sauce again and cook another 2-3 minutes.

To serve sandwiches, slice grilled chicken on an angle and fan out 1 breast on each bun bottom. Spoon remaining sauce from pan over the sliced chicken. Serve with the lettuce and red onions on bun tops.