Chuck E Cheese

Karis treated us to a lunch date at Chuck E Cheese today. It really wasn't all that bad - only $22.50 for all 4 of us. It wasn't crowded at all. The kids had plenty of space to play and roam around without me worrying. And I didn't lose my mind. We might have to do it again. (I can't believe I just said that.)

I figured it out...

The culprit for my child's terrible behavior today:

Late Night Treat

It's so nice to live so close to mom. At 10:00 tonight, when I should've been getting into bed, I was driving to mom's house in my pajamas to sample some of her best pound cake straight out of the oven.

Mmm, a slice of warm pound cake and a big glass of milk.

The best late night treat EVER!

Be jealous. (Hee hee)

Beef Stir-fry

I have finally discovered a beef stir-fry that I love. Instead of just rice served with the beef, I found a noodle recipe that's so much better. First, I marinate my stir-fry strips all day in a mixture of low sodium soy sauce, low sodium teriyaki sauce, minced garlic, several shakes of ground ginger, and a little splash of sesame seed oil. When I cook it, I pour all the marinade in the pan with it, and cook it down until the meat is done and the sauce is reduced. Then, I followed this recipe from Taste of Home: Veggie Noodle Side Dish *I used the veggies I like. (mushrooms, onion, matchstick carrots, zucchini, and squash) 1 small sweet red pepper, julienned 3/4 cup cut fresh green beans 3/4 cup thinly sliced frish carrots 1/4 cup chopped red onion 1 tbsp canola oil 1 package (3 oz) ramen noodles 1 summer squash, sliced 1 zucchini, sliced 1/4 cup chicken broth 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp fajita seasoning In a large skillet, stir-fry the veggies in oil for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package, leaving out (discarding) seasoning pack. Add the broth, soy sauce, and fajita seasoning to veggie mixture.. Continue to cook until veggies are crisp tender. Drain noodles, add to veggies and stir until blended. *It says that it yields 4 servings, but it's really only enough for 2 people. When I make it again, I'll probably use 2 packs of ramen noodles. That way we can get seconds if we want, or have leftovers for the next day.

Bon Appettit!

Bathroom Re-do

I love this house we live in. We've put a lot of time and money in changing it. When we bought it, it was a piece of J-U-N-K. No kidding. When I came to view the house before we got married and bought it, I remember Jason telling me to "keep an open mind". I knew before I walked in the door that it had to bad if he said that to me. And it was. It was real bad. The rust colored shaggy carpet was rotten and the padding crumbled in our hands when we pulled it up. Literally crumbled. The walls and windows were stained with tar from cigarette smoke. When we washed the walls before dad painted, yellowish brown stuff would run down the walls. The walls were rough and beat up. The bedroom was bright coral/orange. And there was pink carpet (yes, pink) in the bathroom. But all my family pitched in and helped. My mom did a TON of cleaning and bought us a new stove. Dad did all the painting and wallpaper. Ray hung chair rail. Jason put down new laminate floors. And Jason's dad did some bathroom plumbing for us. Anyway, I say all that because we just finished up doing some more work. I'm not a fan of wallpaper in the bathroom - considering I take very steamy showers. But we had to cover the walls because they were so rough. The wallpaper I picked out was cute at the time, but now, in 2010, it's not all that cute anymore. So, I decided it was time for a bathroom makeover. All last week we worked on fixing the bathroom up and making it look a little better than it did. I thought it would only take a few days, but it ended up needing a whole lot more work than I had anticipated. Dad came over last Monday to get started. And Jason and I didn't finish up until midnight Saturday night. Here are some pictures.

Before

The sink taken out; the cabinet taken out from around toilet;

patched up rough spots in the wall

Mess in my hallway for a week; it drove me crazy!

Dad made painting look like a piece of cake.

He has the steadiest hand ever when it comes to trim work.

The man can do some painting!

I always wanted shower doors...until I actually got my wish when we bought this house. I quickly changed my mind. The track is so incredibly hard to keep clean. And I always bang my leg or arm on the doors while I'm climbing in or out of the tub. So, I finally got Jason to take them down. This is the mess we found under the track. I gagged.

And I made Jason scrape it up. I couldn't.

After -

brand new light fixture, cabinet, mirror, doorknob, and hinges

We put in a bowed shower curtrain rod. I love it.

And put up a white waffle-weave shower curtain.

I'm so excited over our "new" bathroom. It was a long time coming. And just taking down the shower doors makes it look so much bigger. All that's left to do is to find a toilet seat cover, a rug, and maybe some matching hand towels to add a bit of color.

Memories

This was my teddybear when I was little girl.

My mama bought it for me when I was really sick. I love the saying on its belly because that's what she always sang to me to wake me up in the mornings. It's "our song". Well, Gavin has become attached to it. He sleeps with it, and holds it in the mornings when he first wakes up. He knows that it's mine, and will tell me that it's old. It makes my heart feel good to see him with it.

Big Boy Undies

Celebrations!

Gavin has successfully worn big boy undies for a full week! And he's only had 1 pee pee accident (when he was too involved in playing with Pops and didn't make it to the potty in time). He did fantastic the week before at the beach - no accidents at all, even though he was wearing a pull-up. We have also graduated out of swim diapers. Gavin does a great job getting out of Kelli's pool when he has to go. So, all we're down to is night-time diapers.

And I love the thought of saving money and not having to buy diapers anymore!

Happy Birthday Carly

On Friday, our Bible study girls got together for supper before our meeting at Mr. Salsa's in Taylors - and we celebrated Carly's 31st birthday too.

Happy birthday Carly. I'm so glad that God has crossed our paths.

We love you.

Nations Bakery

I went out to eat with Mom for lunch today. I've been wanting to try out that junky little place in Lyman...Nations Bakery. I've seen lots of cars in the parking lot, so I figured it couldn't be too bad. Mom and I, thankfully, shared the Cuban sandwich. It was incredibly big. It came with homemade home fries, a slice of cantaloupe, a small slice of watermelon, and a small cup of cole slaw. It was WAY too much to eat, and it was WAY too delicious.

My half eaten (sorry) portion of the Cuban sandwich

You would NOT believe the pastries, homemade loaf of breads, and desserts they have! I wanted to order a sampler platter so that I could try a bite of each one. Mom and I decided, though, that we'd try the tiramisu since we heard someone else rave about it. Rich and creamy. It was divine.

Tiramisu

So, if you're looking for a new little place to try, check out Nations Bakery in Lyman. If you don't want breakfast or lunch, at least go for the dessert. Here are just a few of their endless desserts: turnovers (guava and cream; apple), napoleons, eclairs, canolis, danishes, very large cookies, 30 different types of cake, various flavors of muffins, and almond horns. There are sooo many delicious things to choose from in the bakery cases.

They are open Monday -Saturday. The kitchen is open from 7:00am - 7:00pm. The bakery part stays open until 9:00pm.

Home Sweet Home

It's always nice to go on vacation - but it's always nicer to come HOME.

We've been at the beach this past week. The weather was great and the house we stayed in was fantastic. It was within walking distance to the beach, had a beautiful front porch, and my favorite part was the outside shower. I took all of my showers, except for 2, outside. It was sooo nice. My wonderful friend Meredith and her little girl Olivia Kate were able to go with us. My mom went too, even though I think she got a little lonely. (We had 2 year olds to deal with, and she didn't have anyone to stay on the beach with her all day.) Jason was the only man in the house. And he did a great job waiting on us hand and foot, and dealing with all the estrogen in the house. I didn't cook one single meal. Jason did everything. He was such a good sport.

Here are a couple of pictures from our vacation.