Sorry!

To those of you who have commented...I have read them but Blogger refuses to allow me to post my comments! Weird! I can't wait to give you all a tour. I started my stenciling last night and it's pretty awesome! The painting in general is awesome...I had good help/advice on picking colors! Thank you all! Hope everyone is having a great week!

BEEP! BEEP!

Ian is getting SO big!! He really has become a "little man" as Clark would say. We went grocery shopping and he got to ride in the "cool cart." He LOVED IT! Thank you Auntie!

Our first experience with spaghetti. We also had our first Heimlich episode that night. Somehow he choked on a noodle an hour later?? That's all I could get him to throw up. Scary!

Ian leaving Target with his new potty!

I thought since he does his "duties" in the tub everyday an easier way to deal with it was to try to get him to do it in a potty in the morning. It went well for the first week...and then we had super late nights and early mornings at the house. I think I'll leave this one on the back burner until he's a year old and we're back home. I think he'll do well (4 out of 7) but I realize it's just as much "Mommy-training" as "potty-training." Mommy just needs time first!

Ian is also learning a lot of stuff. He is RUNNING everywhere! He frequently gives kisses and "hugs." He also has been really silly. One of his favorite "tricks" is to slap his tummy and say "ooo." That would be him being a monkey! SO FREAKING CUTE!! He is a little stinker about eating lately. We have to be very careful with when we eat so he doesn't scream until we let him eat all our food. He'll do it even if he's not hungry...especially if he knows we're having ice cream! Ian is also using the phrase "whahistit." He usually says it with a fairly confused look on his face so we think he's saying "What is it?"  

Since last time we have gotten so much done at the house. Everything on our list is done and we have finished hanging sheet rock! I spent all day Saturday (12 hours) measuring, cutting and hanging drywall...by myself! Can you believe it?!?! I dare say I may be a true DIY-er!

See the drywall right here? The little pieces...

so...those may have been my first pieces of drywall...ever!! I was so proud of myself!

27 pieces later....

MY PANTRY!! I put up 4 sheets of drywall in the pantry...by myself!

Hello! They are heavy and I was tired after 12 hours!

Anyway, we have a guy coming this week to tape, mud, sand, texture, prime the whole downstairs and paint the ceilings. So glad I won't have to deal with that mess. We were planning to do it ourselves, but this guy could come when we needed him, doesn't cost a ton and he will be done in a week with what would take us several weeks! He will be done Friday so we can paint this weekend.

I am going to be stenciling this for my back splash. Not exactly sure how it'll look but I can always paint over it right? I love the design and can't afford tile right now. I did find another argyle pattern I liked but a stencil seems like a lot less work.

Following painting, we will be hanging cabinets, ordering our countertops and laying our laminate. Carpet goes in on the 29th! The next few weeks will be busy...but we'll get to move back home soon! I almost get a little excited about it...KINDA!

"MOM...do you see what I have?"

"GRR! I AM SO STRONG!"

He just swung that piece of sheet rock around like it was a baton! His father is so proud!

He's such a good helper...not really!

Lastly...my $2 rummage sale find...

A little paint and new handles...cute craft desk! It has the gliding drawers even...not the old kind! Two bucks...can you believe it?!? LOVE IT!

Deadlines and Birthdays!

Ok...so I have to be the worst blogger ever! In my defense, I have been super busy! Changes in plans have been keeping me on my toes. We now decided to just rip out the whole downstairs, stay with my in-laws and remodel the whole thing at once. Our deadline is October 7th, Ian's birthday. So far we're done getting all the plaster and lathes off, flooring out, walls ripped out, header beam put up, and walls in the bathroom up. We also have the plumbing done and alot of the electrical roughed in.

Our next step is to finish a little duct work, a couple walls, pantry (which I'm more than a little excited about!) and closet. After that will be sheetrock! We're getting there!! I am optimistic that we'll be done on time...my husband...not so much! We have 7 weeks left....EEK!!

On to more exciting stuff...Ian!! My little man is walking already! He started about two weeks ago and has been going nonstop. He goes to the trash can about 50 times a day and recently tried to eat a toilet brush...so gross! He didn't actually get it in his mouth, but he didn't really love the fact I kept saying "NO." Ian has also learned to patty-cake, high five, give kisses, do so-big and "try" to feed himself with a spoon. He is such a loving little boy! While he is very naughty sometimes, I wouldn't give it up for the world! His smile is just so precious...

I've been trying to figure out what I want to do for Ian's 1st birthday. I'm thinking monsters. I have a couple ideas...monster cookies, cupcakes made to look like monsters with candy, some type of hat thingees to look like monsters. That's all I've really got so far. Does anyone have cool ideas for me to try? I'm open to suggestions.

Have a great day! Til my next blog post...

**I really wanted to put pictures up, but my phone isn't working for pictures right now...bummer!**

REMODELING!!!

While at Home Depot the other day I found a great deal on the cabinets we wanted (in 6 months). So now it is full steam ahead to get sheet rock up before the cabinets come in. We have to order by July 10, so as soon as we are home from Wyoming we will be ordering. We are focusing on the Bedroom to Laundry/Bathroom redo and then we'll remodel the whole kitchen...with a 7 foot island!!!

During the remodel I have a feeling there will be a lot of grilling and frozen pizza....sorry! No new recipes probably this summer...but once I have a new kitchen...then we can talk!!

We are heading to my parents' land in Wyoming for a week and a half tomorrow. Ian and I will stay the whole time and James will head out and back both weekends to drop us off and get us.

Ian has an ear infection, so that should be fun on a vacation. We took him to acute care tonight because he has been tugging on his ears for a week and today started running a fever. Sure enough...Momma's right! Ear infection. Just a single this time so hopefully because it's just the ear infection instead of everything he had before he'll heal just fine.

Little guy is on the verge of walking...he walks next to everything and can stand without holding onto anything (if he doesn't notice.)

Off to pack!! Have a great day!!

Pizza and Giggles

I finally figured out how to make a homemade pizza without soggyish crust! It was so good!

Here's how you do it...

First we start with our dough....

1 cup warm water

1 pkg yeast

1T. sugar

3 eggs, beaten

Add:

1/2 cup soft butter

1/2 cup sugar

5 cups flour

Place in large covered container and refrigerate overnight (I always skip this step.).

Put cornmeal on your baking stone or whatever you are using to bake your pizza on.

Divide the dough in half and roll to the size of your pan.

Bake at 350* for about 20 minutes.

Take the crust out and sauce it.

Put whatever toppings you want.

I use pepperoni, jalapeno and browned beef.

Cheese it and bake it.

I think it took about another 20ish minutes.

Eat it and enjoy it!

Roll the rest of your dough on a little flour.

**Next is supposed to be a pic of the brown sugar and cinnamon on the dough,

don't know where it went.**

Roll it up and cut them into about 2-3 inch sections.

Put your cinnies in a greased pan and let them rise.

Bake them at 350* for 12-15 minutes.

MMM...James ate the whole pan...without frosting!

This dough recipe is good for crescent rolls and pizza rolls as well.

James and Ian playing while I make supper.

Ian giggled while they slapped the chair.

"If Daddy can do it so can I!"

"Isn't this so fun?!?!"

Proud Papa...enjoying happy kiddo!!

Whew! I'm exhausted!

Ian is taking a nap, I have a few seconds...blog I shall!

Very busy few weeks...

I did a gall bladder flush. Sorry to disappoint, but I have no pics of that!

I weeded this 8x4 area for an herb bed...by hand!

James put down the retaining wall. I couldn't get the dirt level so I "let" him do it!

 We still don't have dirt.

I made some garden picks to label my seeds and plants in my garden.

Don't have a finished picture yet..they are cute though!

I'll try to get a picture up when I get my other projects done.

Ian was loving being in the garage with me. He just LOVES being outside in general!

 Chicken Florentine...Delish!

Chicken Florentine Recipe

 Packed and ready for Grandma's house!

Ian went to Grandma's because....

I took a motorcycle safety course that focused on familiarizing yourself with a motorcycle.

I only crashed once before passing the class...SUCCESS!!

Not the greatest picture of Ian..but "His Royal Cuteness" still shines!

"MOM!! Are you looking at me!?!"

He walked the whole edge of the couch!

**Gasp! There is stuff on the floor!**

I'm a grown-up now with a Sam's Club membership.

Guess what they give you for your $40 donation???

**That hamburger on the front is Yummo! It involves marinated fresh basil and mozzarella cheese.**

Last picture...Ian likes grass! He was afraid at first but now enjoys it.

**Look at them lil toes!**

Umm...not what we were expecting!

 Ian helping himself to his Easter Basket.

It wasn't a super exciting basket, just juice, peach yogurt bites, biter biscuits,

sippy cup, and a banana masher thingee.

 "See mom! I'm ready for a sippy cup!"

 Trying out his banana masher with an orange...didn't have banana's.

Apparently, not a huge fan of oranges yet.

My new recipe this week sounded delicious...I was so excited to try it! I watched Rachael Ray make it one morning and it sounded like something we would like. Doesn't Pasta Ribbons with Peas, Prosciutto, Cream and Spring Pesto sound amazing? It wasn't. Maybe our palette just isn't sophisticated enough...but yikes! I thought it tasted more like mint and citrus gum mixed with noodles.

 It looks yummy....

 What we really had for supper...frozen pizza...and it was AWESOME!

In other news...Ian is crawling. I try to get pics of him as he goes but he's very stubborn (much like Daddy). So this is what I got of him today...he was crawling across the living room to his empty bottle.

 "Ready Mom? Here I go!"

 "See...I am the cutest kid you know!"

 ZOOM!

 "Mom, you should totally try this! It is so much fun!!"

 "Don't you dare move...I just crawled all the way over here to get you!"

 "Ha! Gotcha!"

"Num. Num. Num."

Yesterday my mother-in-law and I sat down to draw up my gardens. It was so fun...but now James is mad. I was planning to just do my garden I had last year and maybe an herb bed...yeah I'm not doing that! I am building another main garden near my old one, an herb garden, and a little flower bed down the edge of my garage. They might not all end up "built" this year but I will still plant stuff there. It's expensive to build new beds...sad face. Anyway, I have a plan and my rhubarb is planted, my chives and some leftover garlic is coming up, and my next order of business is to find my "new" strawberries.

Due to a change in plans it appears that we will be starting a remodel on the house this winter/next summer. So now I don't know what to do...do I finish the bathroom and rip all my hard work out in 6 months-1 year...or do I just leave it as is and save the money for my new bathroom, laundry room, remodel?? This is why there have not been pics of my new bathroom up yet...it's not finished!

Roast, Eggs and Babies...oh my!

A couple weeks ago I tried a new recipe but never put it on my blog. It was the day we took Ian to acute care so a friend actually finished it for me (thanks Angie!). Anyway, it was a shredded pork recipe that was delicious!! It was called Spicy Dr. Pepper Shredded Pork, from the Pioneer Woman's blog. It was very good! I tried a little straight out of the pan...awesome!

I ate it on hamburger buns with a little Swiss cheese...amazing!

I think my favorite was to eat it was on tacos...with some of my canned jalapenos from last summer!

I think the only adjustment I would make for myself is to use chili verde sauce instead of the chili peppers in adobe sauce. Also, next time I'm going to cook it in the crock pot. Gives me a little versatility to leave the house as it cooks. I actually only made a half recipe and it lasted our family of two a week! Definitely try this one!! It's PORK people!! Those of you who don't know me might not know that I as a general rule don't like pork...but this was SO GOOD!!

See the baby play! He is feeling like his old self again! Ever since he's felt better he has not stopped. He started by getting up on his knees...and then rocking on his knees. Then it progressed until now...he is in his crawling position and then he stands on his back legs! He is SO SMART! I'm going to try to get a video of it posted...as soon as I figure out how to get my camera hooked up to the computer!

Here are some pictures of Ian being himself...

Eating like a pig.

Exhausted from playing so hard!

 Thinking about causing chaos with his bottle...

Causing chaos with his bottle!

This picture is so dark because I had to walk away before he would play...stinker!

The last thing I wanted to share with everyone on this "catch-up post" are the Easter Eggs I made. I made them following this tutorial by Samster Mommy. 

The materials you need...plus toothpicks and paper! They didn't make the picture.

My pretty glitter!!

My eggs in all their glittered splendor!!

Aren't they beautiful?

I layered them in a bowl with some basket filling.

I love my eggs! Thanks Samster Mommy for the great idea!

That's the end of my "catch-up post", hope everyone has a great week!

Remember...all that glitters is AWESOME!