Livin the McLife

Week 3: Project 366

2012-01-23T10:30:00.000-06:00

Week 3 of Project 366! I'm impressed I've stuck with it this long already. There have been days where I haven't snapped a picture all day long and have to scramble at the end to capture something, but I've still managed to capture good snapshots of our life as it is happening...that will only get harder as the year goes on, I imagine... But for now, enjoy!

Day 15: Jan 15, 2012 -- my goals for the year are still going strong. Getting my workout in during the boys' naptime so we can enjoy our dinner tonight during our date night at Flemings.

Day 16: Jan 16, 2012 -- I had the day off and the house to myself so I decided to paint the playroom. I love how the color looks in the sunshine with all the windows! (SW waterscape for those curious).

Day 17: Jan 17, 2012: a snowy commute into work this morning. The roads were pretty slippery but the snow was still pretty as it came down...

Day 18: Jan 18, 2012 -- many things in our household get repurposed, but none is more favored than this metal strainer. It gets worn as a hat, or a mesh fencer face mask. Don't worry, we do wash it before we actually need to use it!

Day 19: Jan 19, 2012: brushing teeth after the nightly bath time. Sam's too short to use the step stool, so he gets to sit on the countertop.

Day 20: Jan 20, 2012 - the boys help shovel out the driveway after our 'snow storm' today.

Day 21: Jan 21, 2012. Laundry day in our house -- quite the pile up!

You may notice that the past two weeks I have been posting weekly, Project 52 pictures. This week I decided to stop doing that mainly because the pictures I ended up using for that project really weren't different from my Project 366 pictures -- and that is a lot more pictures to have to worry about or remember. It's one picture a week, really, and if I keep with this picture a day thing, that will make me much happier in the end. 22 days and going strong!

Pancake Sundays: lazy style

2012-01-22T19:16:00.001-06:00

We've had a tradition of Pancake Sundays that has, unfortunately, fallen to the wayside since we moved. So, we decided that a trip to the local Perkins was in order to try to 'reinstate' this wonderful tradition. Max, of course, orders chocolate chip pancakes -- which he completely wolfed down this trip. I tend to share my breakfast with Sam -- and he pounds down his fair share of food as well. This morning he ate an entire pancake, some canadian bacon, my fruit bowl, and some of his daddy's omelet. He has quite the appetite.

Here's a little video of our morning adventure. Gotta love the MusAC in the background. Lovely.

Tide Coldwater: Product Review

2012-01-21T20:22:00.003-06:00

You may recall that one of my New Year's resolution was to go completely natural in my household cleansers. I've made strides in a lot of areas of my house, but one spot that has been difficult for me to go 'green' with is with my laundry.

I have kids, a husband, a dog and a cat (and a fish, but he doesn't talk much so we forget about him a lot - actually surprised he is still alive as I can't remember the last time we fed him...). Oh yeah, did I mention that my kids are BOYS?!? So yes, we do have a LOT of dirty DIRTY laundry in our house.

Don't believe me?

a week's worth of laundry in our house

I've been using Tide already, and I really enjoy it -- both the fragrance AND its performance. And, even though I've already been washing my clothes in cold water for the last few years, I am happy to see some detergents going on the market SPECIFICALLY for cold water washing. Now, I wasn't exactly sure what the difference WAS for a cold water detergent vs a normal one...at first I thought maybe it was just a marketing ploy to get people like me who are already washing in cold water to buy it, or to entice those people curious about washing in cold water to buy it... But, it turns out that there are some differences, according to Tide:

"How it Works

Like most Tide detergents, Tide Coldwater contains surfactants. Surfactant molecules have two parts. One is "water loving" and the other is "water hating." The water-loving (hydrophilic) part breaks the surface tension of water. The water-hating (hydrophobic) part is attracted to oil and grease in soils, loosening and removing them from fabrics.

Tide Coldwater is specially designed with an increased amount of surfactant chemistry (as compared to regular Tide) that allows it to penetrate easily into fabrics. Tide Coldwater is also specially formulated with an increased amount of polymer technology (as compared to regular Tide) to suspend dirt particles to help prevent them from redepositing on fabrics, helping keep both your colors bright and your whites white."

I was recently given the chance by P&G’s Future Friendly Program and Shespeaks to test the new Tide Coldwater detergent, and I wasn't disappointed. In fact, I think the fragrance in this formula works better in the cold water than the 'normal' detergents do because my clothes and sheets and towels seem have more fragrance to them. Speaking of fragrance, I LOVE the way Tide smells -- that is one reason that going green in my detergents is going to be hard. I am drawn to aromas and scents a lot, and i don't like to compromise this...

Anyway, if you want more opinions on Tide beside mine, you can read here about what other people are saying.

I guess the bottom line question is, will I continue to buy it? My answer is: Maybe. I am a deal seeking, coupon cutting mom. Tide coupons are rarely above $0.25 -- even doubled that is only $.50. I have, on occasion, found higher valued coupons and combined those with in store specials to get a great deal on Tide detergent. And when those stars are all aligned, I will continue to buy Tide -- because, overall, it is my favorite detergent when all is said and done...

Side note: I really REALLY wanted to do some before/after pictures with this sample test to really prove to you that it DOES work great in cold water to get things out like spaghetti sauce, juice, ketchup, chocolate, etc. I seriously fed my kids all kinds of messy foods this week: sloppy joes, tomato soup, etc and for whatever reason they seriously were the neatest eaters they have EVER been. I'm not even kidding -- how is that even possible? I'll try to post some pictures later if I can get them to make a mess on their clothes -- I'd better be careful about what I'm wishing for, LOL.

**disclaimer: I received a free full sized product and gift card from SheSpeaks for this product review, however all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to SheSpeaks and P&G Future Friendly for this awesome opportunity**

Foodie Friday: Edamame Guacamole

2012-01-20T14:46:00.001-06:00

Photo credit

Do you love gaucamole but always end up eating too much and regretting it? Then you NEED to try making this Edamame Guacamole. It is super delicious, and GOOD for you! An added bonus is that the edamame helps keep the avocado from turning brown quickly! It's a WIN-WIN!

I found this recipe in the Journal Sentinel last year as a recipe suggestion for the Superbowl (go PACK...just not this year apparently). Serve it with yellow bell pepper strips and you've got yourself a great green and gold party food!

Edamame Guacamole (serves 6)

1 cup shelled edamame (about 12 ounces unshelled)
½ cup skim milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro plus cilantro for garnish (divided)
2 minced garlic cloves
2 jalapeno peppers
1 large ripe avocado
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Finely chopped yellow bell pepper for garnish

Cook edamame in salted boiling water 5 minutes. Drain and cool to room temperature.

Combine edamame, soymilk or milk, the 2 tablespoons cilantro, garlic and chiles, if using, in bowl of food processor.

Process until mixture is very smooth, about 3 minutes. Set aside.

Peel and pit avocado and place in medium mixing bowl. Add lime juice and mash with a fork, leaving small chunks.

Add edamame mixture and stir just to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with cilantro and yellow peppers for a green and gold touch. Serve with veggies (or tortilla chips if you are a rebel).

Nutrition per serving (serving size 1/6th of dip):
Calories: 124; Fat: 6.4g; Carbs: 11g; Protein: 7.9g; Cholesterol: 0.4mg

***This delicious take on guacamole is adapted from "Stop the Clock! Cooking" by Cheryl Forberg (Avery, 2003, $17.95).***

Sam - 20 months (yes, I know it's late)

2012-01-18T21:44:00.000-06:00

Just in time for Sam's 21st month (yesterday), I bring you some 'all about Sam' at 20 months. The poor kid has fallen victim to 2nd child syndrome and I'm embarrassed that I can't even remember the last time I posted an update just on him. I hope he doesn't hate me when he gets older... :)

So, I'll start with some stats:
At his 18 month appt (he was closer to 19 months at the time) Sam was:
height = 32.25" - 35%
weight = 23# 14.5 oz - 20%
head circ = 48 cm - 50%

He's a little lighter and a little shorter than his older brother at the same age, but has a bigger head. LOL

In honor of his '20 months' I have compiled a list of 20 things about Sam I'd like to remember:

1. Calls his big brother 'Mai' and uses his name quite frequently to ask us where Mai is, or to tattletale on Mai -- both of the boys are big tattle tails (although it is hard not to laugh at their tattle tailing at times e.g. "Mom, Sam is looking at me...). They do play together pretty well though, and Max is surprisingly tolerant of Sam. They go on quite a few 'adventures' together which usually involve toys 'flying' around the house (like the house in UP) ... Sam wants to do/have whatever big brother is doing or having -- so we do have to break up a few 'sharing' wars....

the boys on their 'puters' -- notice each has their own now....

2. Sam is an AWESOME eater (Max was too at this age) and really enjoys digging into his foods. He eats completely independently now -- with his own fork and spoon (doesn't like to accept help either).

3. Is very good at asking please (PEAS!) and more -- and still signs along with these requests which melts my heart, especially when he starts frantically signing please over and over. His 'tank u' is very sweet and spoken very softly. LOVE it. He likes eating food in 'cuppies' and will pull a 'cuppy' out of the cupboard and ask for 'cackers or sea-eral'

4. LOVES all kinds of balls -- like obsessively LOVES them. His favorite, by far, is the basketball and Max bought him a regulation size ball that I swear he would sleep with if I let him (which I do not). He can play catch (and can actually catch the ball) and loves to kick his mini soccer ball around the house.

5. We're working on his colors, and he knows them -- but not consistently. Much like Max, his favorite colors at this age are yellow and blue.

6. Calls all letters and numbers 'A' -- and likes to point out 'As' everywhere -- on shirts, on the TV, in books, in the bathtub, etc. LOVES the ABC song and I hear him singing the tune of the song often with just the word 'Mom'....so sweet.....

7. Is very adept at climbing onto things and is very fearless and brave and does it without thinking (we actually never had to worry about this with Max). I just about freaked when I saw him standing on top of the coffee table one morning. He laughed at me. Devil child.

8. Sleeps GREAT. Down without complaint around 7-7:30 each night and sleeps until 6-6:30 am (if he's not up already we have to wake him up by that time for school). He takes one nap a day, in the afternoon for 2-3 hrs at a time. Even if he wakes up earlier than we want to, he is generally very good about hanging out and playing in his crib for awhile.

9. Is not shy AT ALL. He loves to give hugs and kisses and is very trusting and obedient when I ask him to hug and kiss people. Rarely has he balked at my request -- for example, on Xmas eve, we were over at a friend's house and he hugged and kissed most of the people there goodbye -- many of which he had never met before (and I caught him giving Grandma a big hug of the leg that night too when no one else was around!). Love my little love bird.

10. Gives me huge neck squeezes, open mouthed kisses, and nose kisses when I ask him to. I ask him frequently. Who wouldn't?

11. Loves to pick out his own diaper -- cloth diaper -- because he loves the colors and patterns. His favorite is the giraffe diaper. I don't blame him, it is my favorite too. He'd wear cloth diapers all the time if we could let him -- but daycare won't let us use them there....

12. Has started to give huge cheeser smiles when we take pictures -- which is much better than his expressions in pictures in the past where he just sat there staring blankly at the camera, LOL.

13. Still fits into his 18 month clothes and most of the 24 month clothes are much too big in his waist and length for his legs. I still have to roll up some of his 18 month stuff! I finally gave in and packed up most of the 12 month clothes, but he still wears a lot of those shirts.

Sam and Connor in their matching jammies on xmas eve

14. LOVES stuffed animals -- he sleeps with two ellies (elephants), pup pup, monkey, worm, bear and of course, ba-ba.

15. LOVES 'boo-cks" (books) and has to read at least 3 each night -- he would keep reading them over and over if we let him.

16. Has started to sing along (melody wise, not necessarily word wise) to many of the songs I sing to him. Some nights, he lays back in my arms and looks up at my face and puts his finger on my mouth while I sing the songs. He gets a kick out of watching my lips move and asks for more and more. He really loves Mary had a Little Lamb right now and asks for the 'mary lamb' song.

17. Loves to help around the house and vacuums, sets the table, cleans up toys (sometimes without being asked).

18. Loves to slide down stairs on his belly and goes so fast sometimes that I worry about rug burn on his belly (especially now that he has a full set of stairs to go down between our second and first floors!)

I swear it was just a candy cane, Mom!

19. Loves having water poured over his head in the bathtub -- it takes his breath away and he struggles to catch it, but sometimes he asks for 'more' before he's even caught his breath! It is hilarious -- especially considering his older brother screams 'my eyes! my eyes!' if even a drop of water gets near them. I NEED to get a video of this. He's been doing it for awhile, and I never get tired of it!

20. His vocabulary is exploding and he is starting to use more multiple word sentences and phrases. He speaks in a very soft whisper voice when I ask him a question, but has a much louder and DEMANDING voice that he can and does use frequently. Those times are usually preceded by a loud "MAAMAA!" It seems that most every sentence he uses starts with MAMA! That's ok...I don't mind having Momma's boys....truly....

Seriously, how did I get so lucky with two such remarkable boys? I love these kids...I love watching them grow and learn and become their own little people. As much as they are alike, they have so many wonderful differences...and I love them for both the similarities and what they don't have in common. What was I worried about when I cried right before Sam was born and said to myself that I wasn't sure if I had enough love in my heart for two babies? I have PLENTY. My heart just grew to carry it all.

Week 2: Project 366/52

2012-01-16T20:25:00.003-06:00

Day 8: Concentration. Little Max focuses on the target as he plays with the 'shoot gun' at friend Jack's fourth birthday party.

Day 9: Getting Comfortable. Despite having a very comfortable dog bed, Mason insists on sleeping in the strangest places. I have no idea how this could even be remotely comfortable...

Day 10: Get to Work. My desk is deceivingly clean at the start of my work day. And that is my pink stapler next to my tape dispenser :)

Day 11: Healthy lunch. This photo should look familiar as I used it when I posted the recipe for the Havana salad I made earlier this week. Delicious salads like this help me stick to my diet -- and so far it has been working! Down 1 lb!

Day 12: Sick Baby. Sam got sent home sick from school Wed afternoon and stayed home on Thursday with Daddy. I can count on one hand the number of times EITHER child has fallen asleep on the couch, so you know he must've not been feeling well. Such a sweet monkey...

Day 13: Car Ride. My favorite moment happened seconds after I snapped this picture with my cell phone. The following conversation ensued: Me: "Max, you are so cute! How did you get to be so cute?" Max: "Mom! God made me like this!" I love this boy.

Day 14: The Ladies. Two of my best friends hanging out at Payton's SEVENTH birthday party. I can't believe how fast time flies!! These amazing women have been in my life for almost TWENTY years. Love them!

Week 2: Lunching with Dinosaurs. We don't eat meals alone often in this house...better watch out, that dinosaur looks hungry and might take a bite out of your sandwich!

Foodie Friday: Stef's Havana Salad

2012-01-13T09:28:00.000-06:00

I made this delicious salad at the recommendation of my friend (who also happens to be a pretty awesome personal trainer) Heather, when she pinned it for a group of us mommies she is advising as we are currently trying to get healthy.

Of course, because I rarely follow a recipe EXACTLY, I made some alterations to it (which made it quite delicious in my opinion! Check it out!

Stef's Havana Salad

(original recipe by Ashley Modlin on www.tastebook.com)

Ingredients

1 large avocado, peeled and diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 cucumber, diced
1/2 red onion diced finely
1/4 cup leek dops finally chopped
1/4 cup fresh fennel tops, chopped finely
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp cumin, ground
1/4 tsp black pepper, ground
4 cups brown rice, cooked (you can substitue quinoa or rice pasta here also)
15 ounces black beans, cooked, rinsed and drained
8 ounces white northern beans, cooked, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the avocado, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, cumin and black pepper and toss until coated.
In a small pot brown the minced garlic and add the beans and cook for 5 mins over medium-low heat.
Add beans, rice, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, leek and fennel to avocado mixture and mix thoroughly.
Let the salad chill in the refrigerator before serving. (Serve on top of baby spinach and salad greens for an extra burst of healthiness!)

Notes

Calories: 298; Fat: 7g; Carbs: 51g; Protein: 11g; Cholesterol: 0 mg. (6 servings)

***The salad keeps well for a few days in the refrigerator. I squeezed 1/4 lime on top of it the other day to give it an extra kick. Delicious! I will definitely be making this again -- and it got the thumbs up from the picky bean/salad eater in the family also (big Max).

Week 1 - Project 366/52

2012-01-09T13:23:00.000-06:00

Here are the photos I took for my first week of Project 366 and Project 52

Day 1: Kissing cousins. Sam gives his cousin Lilly kisses to cheer her up during a recent visit. Jan 1, 2012

Day 2: Fire Watching. We lit a fire in our fireplace for the very first time since moving in. Sam was so entranced by the fire he just sat watching it... Jan 2, 2012

Day 3: Spoon Fighting. Sam strikes a pose during dinner time. Sam makes this face all the time whenever he gets excited - he doesn't make a sound when he does it, he just makes the face -- it cracks us up every time... Jan 3, 2012

Day 4: Soccer Boy. Sam is obsessed with all things ball. Here he is holding his soccer ball that Daddy bought him in Denmark. He is really good at kicking it around the house, throwing it and even catching it! Jan 4, 2012

Day 5. High temps. It actually got closer to 60 the next day, but this day it got in the middle-upper forties...in JANUARY!! Jan 5, 2012

Day 6. Potato Dumplings. The kids won't eat mashed potatoes or potatoes in any form other than french fries, really. So, I decided to try to fool them and made mashed potato dumplings. They still wouldn't eat them.... Jan 6, 2012.

Day 7. Basketball Sam. One of my better pictures, if I must say so myself! We played outside in the unseasonably *warm* January weather and I snapped this shot of Sam with the basketball in our driveway. He is O.B.E.S.S.E.D. with the basketball and would sleep with it if we let him. He is also in love with his new lion hat.... Jan 7, 2012.

Week 1 - Sunshine and Juniper berries. I took this shot of the sunshine filtering through the Juniper bush in our backyard while we were outside adventuring, and really liked the way it looked, so I am using this one as my first weekly shot for Project 52.

Overall, I am dubbing the first week the 'week of Sam' because I couldn't get little Max to sit still long enough (or to wipe the sassy look off his face for long enough) to get a good shot of him. I'm going to have to try harder next week, I guess!

January Heat Wave

2012-01-07T21:51:00.000-06:00

We've been having some unseasonably high temps over the past few days here in WI. It was almost 60 on Friday and we thought today was going to turn out similarly. But, the wind had us foiled. We braved it anyways to get some outdoor time in. Little Max had to pedal up and down the driveway once on his big wheel before I would even consider letting him go back inside (the child just gives up too easily!). He did it, but then I managed to keep him outside a bit longer going on a 'treasure hunt' around the yard. We found some pretty interesting things...

But first, I have to include this sweet picture of Sam. It is one of the photos I am using for my Project 366, so you'll see it again during that post. But, I had to post it again here because I just think he is too cute for words here. Look at those eyes! Those lips! This child is going to be a heart breaker in his own way! And that basketball that he is clutching for dear life? He is O.B.S.E.S.S.E.D with it. Like, he would sleep with it if we let him. EVERY time we go into the garage he tries to get it. He is always calling out 'baskeeetball!! MOM! BASkeeetBALL!" LOL. I can't imagine with the height genes we gave him that he is going to be future baskEETball star...but you never know...

Sam and daddy stayed on the black top and shot a few hoops while Max and I adventured. First we decided to collect sticks and store them in the play house in case we later needed to make a fire to warm up.

After that, we spied some berries on the juniper bush and decided to pick some in case we needed food later...

***of course I explained to him that we don't EAT juniper berries...this was just pretend***

Then, Max spied a WOLF print!! We looked around for others, but this was the only one...

We made it around to the front of the house, and I took this picture just for the heck of it. I can't wait to replace this front door.

Mason was waiting for us in the front yard, and we thought our shadows looked pretty cool so we decided to take a picture.

Mason asked me to take another picture because he is really proud of his doggie bandanna that he got at the groomers last week.

Back up front, we spied Sam and Daddy from a distance and took an undercover picture of them playing. Sam looks like he can ALMOST make it!

2012 Goal 1: Participate in Project 52

2012-01-04T21:40:00.004-06:00

I posted my 2012 goals earlier in the week. My first goal for the year is to participate in a photography project, more specifically Project 52. You might be wondering why a non-photographer such as myself chose a photography challenge...and honestly, I might be too! I figure at the very least, it will get me more comfortable with my camera and get me to step out of my comfortability area a bit more... Plus, there are participants in this project from all walks of photography -- some are doing the project completely on their phones! No pressure!!

My friend, Tiffany Dahle over at Peanut Blossom started a new initiative called Develop. Through Develop (and in collaboration with some friends of hers) she is leading a Group called Project 2012 on Flickr. I had followed along with Tiffany last year as she participated in a similar project, so when she started recruiting participants I thought, why not?

Why not indeed? Well, for one thing, many people are intimidated by year long projects (me included). But Tiffany made me feel super confident that I would be able to play along -- and at my OWN PACE (that was key). Project 52 simply means that I will **commit** to taking one picture a week for the 52 weeks in 2012. I say commit lightly because it's not like I am being graded or judged, or that anyone is going to come and knock down my door if I DON'T post a picture. For realz.

After thinking it through, I decided I could do it. And you know what? After taking my first picture on Sunday, Jan 1, 2012 -- I realized that **gasp** maybe 52 pictures wasn't going to be enough?? I mean, with only 52 pictures I'd be missing out on the other 314 days of the year! Why would I do that to myself?

Luckily, JUST as I was having this epiphany, Tiffany reminded me about how last year she blogged THIS POST, which reminded me that this project is WHATEVER YOU MAKE OF IT. It is YOUR project to own -- no one else's. It was at that precise moment that I decided I would *try* to take a picture a day for the entire year -- but if I wasn't able to do it for whatever reason -- no sweat. I even recruited the Mister to help out -- and he accepted (so you might get a few cameos of his pictures soon!). What started out as a simple Project 52 goal for me has already morphed into something more....which shouldn't be surprising for anyone that knows me well....

I've been having a lot of fun so far this week taking pictures (I know, we're only on day 4) -- I've been uploading them to the Group Flickr site but also to my photostream and to my Facebook page, so feel free to come over to any of those places and check them out. I'll also be posting them weekly to the blog for my click-cautious followers. I'm super excited to be participating in this project this year!!!

So, are you on the fence about participating?? Just do it! You can start whenever you want to, so don't feel like you missed out on anything already! I'd love to see what your day to day is like thorugh your pictures too! Click here for more FAQs. And please leave me a comment to let me know if you ARE already or plan to participate so I can make sure I keep my eyes out for your additions!!

Happy snapping!

2011 Resolutions: the results

2012-01-04T21:13:00.000-06:00

Last year I made some goals rather than resolutions, and since I've had a full 12 months to work on them, I thought it was only fair that I share the results with you. Helps keep one accountable, don't you think??

1. Lose those last pesky 10 lbs. - I made it halfway with this goal and lost 5 lbs total. Not bad, considering I really didn't make a true concerted effort to lose it (so much for a goal, eh?).

2. Run a full 5K race --I did it!!! Remember?

3. Move-- we DID it!

4. Re-learn how to sew -- Another halfway accomplished goal....I aquired a sewing machine...now I just need to learn how to use it!

5. Relearn how to knit -- I am counting this one as a success because I learned how to crochet, and I am getting better at it (and haven't forgotten how to do it yet). I'll post pictures once I actually finish a project....

6. Re-do the blog -- I'm happy with what I've done to redo the blog. This isn't meant to be a money making machine for me, so I am content with where I am at.

7. Teach little Max to read - we are working on this one, and he CAN read SOME words. So, I am counting that as halfway.

8. Make at least one homemade/handmade crafty a month -- Although I didn't blog all my projects, I definitely accomplished this one -- if not DOUBLE accomplished it!

9. Blog at least once a week -- Originally I said I had failed at this, but I am changing my mind because I think I did a really GOOD job -- especially with keeping up with life, moving, work, kids, etc. Also, if I really wanted to 'win' I could've spaced my posts out more, seeing as it appears that I had 114 posts over 2011 -- that's OVER TWO a week!

10. Purge the house one room at a time -- while I did successfully do this (thanks to the move), you may notice it is on my list again. I guess it is a continuous process around here...

and

11. **Breathe** -- my word of the year for 2011. Man, this came in VERY handy. And yes, while I didn't breathe ALL the time, I did do it A LOT of the time, so I am counting this as a yes also.

Not bad!! Only 3 that I 'failed' at and those 3 I would consider half failed anyways! I am surprised, pleased and content with these results. And hopeful for 2012! How did you do on YOUR 2011 goals/resolutions??

Sam and a slinky

2012-01-02T20:56:00.000-06:00

Slinkies are a kid's best friend...and so much fun can be had with one. Sam proves this...

LOVE this child.

2012 resolutions - a new year, a new perspective.

2011-12-30T15:08:00.001-06:00

Last year, you may recall that I set some GOALS -- rather than resolutions. I'll be posting a little later on how well I did with those goals (there are still a few hours left, my friends)! But, in the meantime, I thought I would get a jump start on 2012.

For 2012, I am going to do the same thing -- make GOALS rather than resolutions. I'm excited to share these with you, and hope that perhaps they can inspire you to do something similar in your life!

So, without further ado, here are my 2012 GOALS:

1. Participate in Project 52 -- this will be my first year doing this and I am a bit nervous and excited. I'll post more on this topic later, so you can follow along if you want to.

2. Lose 5 lbs -- since I am down 5 lbs since last year, I still want to get those pesky last 5 pounds off me -- and maybe that won't happen, since I plan on building muscle this year as well. We'll see, won't we?

3. Run a 10K -- since I made it through a 5K, I decided that I needed to step it up a notch for this year. I might even consider trading a 10K for a mini - triathlon...baby steps, people...baby steps.

4. Finish painting the rest of the house -- I got the upstairs mostly finished, and now I really need to be working on the downstairs. I am happy with the amount of progress we have made in 3 short months.

5. Save more money -- I am not ready/willing to go all out there and share things like my weekly/monthly budget -- or how much I am putting into our joint savings, IRAs, etc. We are doing a really good job, but I want to do better. So, part of this challenge for me will be to stop buying things I don't need, just because they are ON SALE. I fully blame my Mom for this mentality -- it is not a bad thing, per se, especially since most everything I buy is at a huge savings. I just want to work on doing less buying overall, and living a more simple life.

6. Go green with ALL (or almost all) my household cleaners -- I am really excited about this challenge!! I have made baby steps over the past year experimenting with different combinations of homemade cleaners and I am really excited to share them with you to help you 'green' up your life too! Some of these combinations work EVEN BETTER than store bought stuff (I was already using mostly green cleaners like Seventh Generation and Method -- but homemade cleaners are even better! And CHEAPER!!) So, not only will you be helping the environment, you will be helping your pocket book!

7. Be more present in the moment -- it is amazing to me how many times I comment on or realize how fast life goes by -- how my youngest is ALREADY 20 months old...it seems like he was just born. I want to be more in the moment to be experiencing all these moments in their childhood. It seems silly that I should need to remind myself to be more present, but I do. There are so many distractions out there -- Internet, magazines, TV, etc.

8. Take a class or learn something new -- Not only do I want to keep my body active, but I want to keep my mind active too! So, taking a class is a perfect way to do this -- maybe it will be a pottery class...maybe it will be a writing class....let's see where this year takes me!

9. Plant a Garden -- with a new house comes a new yard...and this one comes with no garden. So, my goal is to get out there right after the spring thaw and create a garden. I already have the spot picked out!

10. Show the people in my life who are important to me JUST how important they are to me -- certain circumstances last year really opened my eyes (again) to just how fragile life and relationships are. We really take this for granted!! So, I want to be particularly mindful about what I say, what I do, how I act, and especially how I treat those around me. It might be something as simple as sending someone a care package when you know they need a pick me up, or flowers when you know they are down. I used to be really good at sending 'happy mail' and I really want to pick up on this again -- especially since I know how wonderful it feels to open the mailbox and find a package in there filled with love!

11. Get caught up on all the photos/photo books, etc that I am behind on -- since I am not the best about keeping up the baby books (I do alright, just not stellar), I make the boys a photo book for each year of their lives with milestones, etc. I am embarrassed that Sam doesn't have one yet, and the last one I did for lil Max is from 2010. It could be worse, but I want to get caught up again.

12. Do something for ME at least once a month -- whether that be to read a new book cover to cover, or to go get a massage, or to continue to exercise at least 3 times a week. Nobody is happy unless the McMomma is happy.

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-24T22:05:00.001-06:00

This year we decided that, in honor of the German Tudor style of our new home, we would pay homage and dress up in full German gear.

Lucky for me, my parents lived in Germany before I was born and my mom acquired an authentic dirndl while living there (and I fit into it -- key).

So, I hit up the interwebs and found some lederhosen for my men to wear (big props to my WONDERFUL husband for playing along and helping make my vision a reality).

The pictures below adorned our Christmas cards this year. I have no idea how we will be topping this for next year, but I have absolutely LOVED getting emails, letters, texts and FB messages from friends/family who received our cards and have told me how much they loved them. I even had a few friends tell me that it was the best card they had ever received -- which blew me away because now what do I have to aspire for in future years???!!! ;) Still others shared that our pictures inspired them to do something similar for next year's Christmas cards -- I can't WAIT to see what they come up with!! Please follow through, friends!

And now, to start pondering/planning next year's cards....LOL.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas to you and yours!

May your 2012 be blessed and joyful.

Our new house -- Nov 2011

Maybe we should've removed that scarecrow...ah, it adds character, right?

Being silly -- poor little Max -- it was pretty cold outside.

And look at Big Max actually look like he is enjoying wearing lederhosen!

LOVE this family. They ROCK.

Snappy Carrot Dip

2011-12-22T13:09:00.003-06:00

A co-worker of mine made this for our holiday potluck and it was TOO GOOD to not share with you.

Seriously...a dip made out of carrots -- a dip that not only TASTES good, but is GOOD FOR YOU?? Bring it ON!

Photo from Taste of Home:(recipe not the same as below)

Snappy Carrot Dip

· 2 pounds ofcarrots – cut into 3 inch lengths (or use baby carrots and skip peeling& chopping)

· ¼ cup plus 2Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

· ¼ cup red winevinegar

· 3 garlic cloves –minced

· 1 ¼ teaspoonschili paste (like Sriracha)

· 1 ½ teaspoonsground cumin

· ½ teaspoon groundginger

1. Bring a largesaucepan of salted water to a boil. Add carrots and cook over moderately highheat until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain.

2. Transfer carrotsto a food processor. Add olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, hot sauce, cuminand ginger and process to a smooth puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste.(You may have to process in batches).

3. Serve withcrackers, chips, cheese and olives.

Seriously -- go try this NOW.

**thanks to my co-worker Kerry for sharing this recipe**

Being Three - A Lost Post

2011-12-22T13:01:00.000-06:00

I have no idea if the post below ever actually got posted or not, but I was going through my posts and found this one in the draft folder....what a sweet flashback to have right before the holidays -- and after the recent FOURTH birthday of this little man...

I need to post some new 'Maxisms' that equal the ones below...because goodness knows that we here quite a few of them on a daily basis.

I'll be back later in the week to update with his 4 year stats and info. It's much too hectic with the holidays right now for me to think in full complete sentences. So, in the meantime, enjoy! :)

Max at 3 yrs old.

This year, on Thanksgiving morning, we were all snuggled in the family bed waking up slowly (well, all of us except little Max who doesn't do ANYTHING slowly), and I asked the question 'what are you thankful for?" out loud. I went first:

Me: I am thankful for my wonderful family, my two sweet boys and daddy. What are you thankful for, Max?
Little Max: Oatmeal

Or last night, we were playing after dinner and Little Max was playing with his flashlight. All of a sudden, he stopped what he was doing and took a good long sniff of his flashlight. "Mom, this SMELLS!" he exclaimed. "What does it smell like?" I inquired. "A FLASHLIGHT, silly!" he replied.

Or maybe it was the time when he asked me why I was sick after I finished coughing. I told him that I didn't know, I had just gotten sick. So he told me "Mom, you are sick because you ate a shirt." Umm..OK. (Maybe it was the Land's End catalog I was paging through at the time that inspired this comment...one will NEVER know).

One thing is for sure, 3 years old is a magical age. Magical for SO many reasons. The temper tantrums that come completely out of nowhere, out of something so insignificant...like trying to help someone put on their pair of pants, or getting out the blue spoon instead of the green spoon. It sure keeps me on my toes, that is for sure! But, despite the 'terribleness' of being three, it has also been a special age of lots of hugs, kisses, snuggles, spishes (a raspberryesque kish) or smooshes (a smooshy kiss). Whenever Max is overcome with emotions at something that is happening, he will turn to whomever is closest him and exclaim "I LOVE you, xxx. I love you SO MUCH." He has also proclaimed his love for several inanimate objects, such as his flashlight, his fork, his napkin...you get the picture. I'd laugh at him for being silly, but he is being 100% sincere. Maybe I am reading too much into it, but I'm hoping he's like that because we've taught him to be a loving little boy who isn't afraid to show his emotions, or share his love.

I really can't complain about ANYTHING in my life. I have two wonderful boys, a loving husband, and a wonderful support system of friends and extended family. I am a lucky LUCKY woman.

Fabric flower necklaces

2011-12-19T22:20:00.001-06:00

This year I participated in a craft swap with some of my mommy friends -- people who happened to have babies born or due in November 2007 that I still maintain close friendships with (thank you interwebs!).

The idea of the craft swap is to replicate the '12 days of Christmas' and have 12 gifts to open on the 12 days preceding Christmas. We had so many participants this year that we split up into 3 teams of 8 -- so it became the '8 days of Christmas'.

I had a lot of fun figuring out what to make and making it -- on top of everything else going on in my life, I didn't have a whole lot of time to be participating...but I am glad that I did. I think they turned out pretty nice in the end...

I spent a few hours scouring the interwebs and Pinterest and came across THIS TUTORIAL. Then I saw THIS ONE. So, I decided to combine the two into my swappie gift.

It was MUCH more time consuming than I had anticipated, but after I had the first one completed, I knew that I had to make 6 more. I ended up making them with leftover fabric from my headboard remodel project - I really liked how the yellow/gray combo turned out!

The only thing I would do differently next time is to actually learn how to make jewelry and have a clasp at the end -- since I couldn't figure that out, they all had chains long enough to go over your head (except in one person's case...sorry Keri).

It's a fun project, so if you have a few hours on your hands, some extra fabric and a glue gun...get crafting!!

And if you want to check out ALL the gifts exchanged for all 3 teams and all 8 days -- check it out HERE.

Santa 2011

2011-12-08T20:11:00.000-06:00

A little better Santa picture this year...remember last year's?

Max was being 'shy' again this year -- but I convinced him to stand next to Santa rather than sit on his lap (I won't even get into how many 'wrongs' I think there are into MAKING a child sit on a complete stranger's LAP...). Sam was unsure of the whole situation (again) and was staring intently at the jingle bells over the camera.

Some of you might even notice that Santa is the same Santa from last year (but it looks like he was off the sauce this year). He was much more 'Jolly' this year.

Max also told him about this guy:

who snuck in the house with our Christmas tree last weekend. Little Max has named him "Fernie McBottom", and he is definitely keeping us all on our toes about being 'nice' and not 'naughty' this year.

Xmax 2011 Music Winners!

2011-12-07T09:11:00.000-06:00

Well well. Seems like there weren't a lot of comments on my Xmax 2011 music post. Sniff sniff. And here I was SO PROUD of all the music I pulled together for you guys. Whatevs. :)

Maybe it was because there was so much FREE music that you all just went to go get it for yourselves -- I hope so, because these artists are great and you SHOULD check them out!

Since as of today, Dec 7th, I have only 8 comments on the post, I am going to go ahead and declare you ALL winners! I'll burn you a copy of the playlist and pop it in the mail to you. Please go ahead and email your addresses to livinthemclife dot gmail dot com.

Congrats!

Xmax 2011: Holiday Tunes - and a GIVEAWAY!!

2011-12-04T20:38:00.000-06:00

I am SO super excited to share my 2011 Holiday Xmax playlist with you guys. I found some REALLY great NEW music this year that I have been rocking out to the past week while I test-drove the playlist. I've listened to it at home, in the car, at work and even in my sleep! (HAHA, just kidding on that last one).

This year, I am going to include links to some songs where you can download them for FREE. YES, FREE!!!! Through this wonderful new service I discovered called NoiseTrade. Please check them out -- and for more than just holiday music! It's a really great way to discover new music (and the free part REALLY doesn't hurt either!

And now, without further adieu, I give you........

Xmax 2011 - songs to put you in the holiday spirit

1. No Stars Can Outshine - Epic Songwriters (this song is one of my most favorites this year on the playlist -- I could seriously listen to this one on repeat). Want their whole album for free?? Get it HERE.

Self described as Acoustic : Indie

2. Angels We Have Heard on High - Folk Angel (I really love the beat on this one -- toe tapping good!) Another great find from Noise Trade -- you can download their whole album for FREE HERE.

From their NoiseTrade page: "Folk Angel was formed on a cold night in October of 2009. Our desire is to make known the greatness of Jesus Christ and to exalt Him through the music that we create. We write and rearrange traditional Christmas songs, and through that creative process we retell the Gospel story that illuminates all things."

3. Please Come Home for Christmas - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals

Rock Genre, has been compared to Janis Joplin. Great music and I think I'll be checking out some of their non-holiday stuff. If you like this song, you can download it HERE.

4. There's Still My Joy - Indigo Girls (I was SO stoked when someone told me that IG had a holiday CD out -- I rushed out to get it immediately -- Amazon had it the cheapest, FYI).

5. In the Morning - Jack Johnson (Jack Johnson's label, BrushFire Records released Vol 2 of holiday tunes this year -- the whole CD is great in my opinion, but this one is one of my favorites)

6. FaLaLa - Jim Brickman (a seriously lucky iTunes find, this one has a great jumpy beat to it!) I think I might be downloading the rest of his album now too!

The album is titled 'All is Calm' and it definitely has a calm and peaceful vibe to it. In his non-holiday life, Jim Brickman is a talented pianist who sticks to the jazz genre. He also released a holiday album in 2009.

7. Hope for Me - Joshua Pearson (I really like his voice)

Self-described as Folk/Pop -- For fans of: Ryan Adams, The Swell Season, Feist, Bright Eyes, Coldplay. This guy is a serious crooner -- you can get two of his songs HERE.

8. Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel - Laura Cooke (I really wanted to throw a few traditional songs on this collection since I have so many non-traditional songs this year).

Self-described as Indie/Folk, you can get three of her songs HERE. She sticks to the Christian & Gospel scene outside of the holidays...

9. Winter Night - Little & Ashley (this one was a free download on Amazon when I first got it, but it is a great song!) Apparently they were featured in a Kindle commercial and they have a great positive and joyful feel to their music.

10. All I Want for Christmas is You - Mariah Carey (Ok I lied -- not all of my songs are new this year -- this one is an oldy but goody...and I just couldn't resist.)

11. Snow Globe - Matt Wertz

I originally downloaded this song on iTunes (don't know if I paid for it or not, but it is also a bonus track on a full album of his on NoiseTrade, so you can score it for FREE right now. He's got a great catchy folksy voice, so check him out! Warning -- he does say the word "Candy Cane" in his song, so if you have a 4 year old in your house who is obsessed with Candy Canes, you may want to limit his exposure to this song otherwise he will be asking you for candy canes repeatedly (not like I speak from experience or anything...)

12. The Heart of Christmas - Matthew West - another great iTunes find that might have me buying the rest of his album because I really like the sound of his voice...

13. It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas - Michael Buble (um, all I have to say is....Michael Buble) - and that is why he gets TWO entries in my 2011 playlist. :)

14. White Christmas - Michael Buble and Shania Twain

15. Winter Moon - Mindy Gledhill
16. Little Soldier - Mindy Gledhill

I only bought two of the songs off this album originally and then had to go back and get the rest of it because I am so in love with her voice. Her non-holiday music is also outstanding. She is going to be one of my new favorites, I think...

17. Christmas Wish - She & Him - HERE
18. Silver Bells - She & Him

Because I already knew how much I adore She & Him I purchased this entire album -- and that is also why my playlist features two entries from this talented duo. If you haven't listened to them before, you NEED to. I mean seriously -- it's actress Zooey Deschanel and M Ward -- need I say more??!!??

19. Snow, Snow and Mistletoe - Shelley Adams - from another great NoiseTrade find -- a full compilation CD that you need to check out this album called a RareBird in a Pear Tree Vol 2. Rarebird records is an independent record company whose style ranges from Americana blue-grass to indie folk rock, and singer-songwriter pop to soul infused art-rock. There is also a Volume 1 available on Noise Trade. :)

20. Snow - Sleeping at Last - A group out of Illinois that describes themselves as Alternative/Indie -- you can download their entire album HERE.

21. Hear the Bells - Vanessa Carlton

The bonus to this holiday album is the awesome acoustic version of A Thousand Miles -- but you won't regret listening to the three holiday songs on this album, either. And, it's only $3.99 on iTunes, so I totally recommend just getting the whole thing -- she has such a great, relaxing voice!

So, there you have it! 21 songs of holiday cheer and joy brought to you by yours truly! I am super stoked that most of my selections this year are FREE TO YOU -- but since some of them are not, I am going to stick with tradition and give out a CD to 5 lucky readers. Just leave a comment on this post with YOUR favorite holiday song for 2011 -- it can be an 'oldie but goodie' like my Mariah Carey addition -- or a brand new one that you just discovered this year!

I hope you like the songs I picked this year -- I had the playlist set late last week and I have been 'test driving' it all week like I mentioned before. I really like to do that because sometimes certain songs that speak to me at first quickly get annoying (or vice versa, other songs grow on me). I could've made a two disc set this year again with all the great music to choose from thanks to NoiseTrade...but I had to cut back because burning all those discs last year was killer.

Looking forward to hearing YOUR favorites this year!

Fourth Birthday Party #2: UP! and Rainbows! (the friend party)

2011-12-03T13:18:00.000-06:00

invitation custom made on Etsy

When Max first told me he wanted to have an UP! party, I was ecstatic. I love themed things, and there are so many fun things with that movie! I started googling for ideas, and there weren't that many out there. Luckily, this is about the time that Pinterest came into my life -- so I scoured there for ideas and even had my own board dedicated just to Max's 4th UP! birthday party!

When it became apparent that I was going to have to branch out a little bit beyond just UP!, little Max suggested we do rainbows also. What a great idea! And, there were LOTS of rainbow ideas to choose from!

We decided this year to have his party outside of our home -- for several reason: 1) we had just moved; 2) he wanted to invite 16 kids, and I really didn't want that many kids in my house; and 3) cleaning up after 16 kids and their adults is not my idea of a good time. So, I searched around and remembered that we had gone to another of his classmates' party at a place called Flabbergast. We had also gone there a couple of times beyond that party just to blow off some steam and have fun. It's a great place to have a party and the kicker was when they were running a promotion for a HALF-OFF party. Those of you that know me, know that there's nothing more I love in life (well, maybe besides my family and friends) than a good deal. How could I pass up on a party for 16 kids that was LESS THAN the cost of a party for 8 kids? I was sold.

Flabbergast was great with allowing me to bring in some outside decorations and food beyond what they offer their parties (pizza and drinks, mainly). Knowing that my little man is not the biggest fan of pizza, I decided to bring a fruit tray along...rainbow, of course:

I think it turned out really cute. In hindsight, I wish I would've bought mini clear plastic cups and pre-made 16 little fruit salads for the kids because I spent a long time going down the table and dishing out fruit to all the kids. Kind of a pain especially since Flabbergast didn't have a serving spoon so I had to use a small plastic spoon. :)

But, what I was most proud of and had the most FUN doing were the UP! themed goodie bags -- 16 of them, no less! (and 5 more little kiddie bags because we had some little guests as well at the party).

Here is what the bags looked like all assembled. Don't you just love the Ellie badge pin?

These were so much fun to make. I got the template on Etsy here and then printed them out, used a circle punch and mod-podged them onto a bunch of beer caps. It was a really hard task emptying all those bottles of beer, but I stood up to the task -- and conquered it! :)

Here's all the loot taken out of the bag -- a door hanger, a book mark, a neon-glow stick (seriously, my kids LOVE these things), a "My Adventure Book", playdoh, a compass ring, balloons and dum dums (because what is a treat bag without an actual TREAT inside?).

These books were also a lot of fun to make. I found the template HERE on the Disney website. I scaled it down to fit the little journal notebooks I found at the store and then mod-podged the cover to the cover of the journals. So cute!

The template for the door hanger and bookmark were also on the Disney site.

And now, some photos from the actual party. Flabbergast is a huge indoor play area for kids -- a big jungle gym and tons of inflatable slides, bouncy houses, etc. Sam wishes he was big enough to participate, but he's still just a little bit too little....

So, we entertained him with balloons, and our old neighbor Heidi got some snuggles in while the kids blew off some energy on the play equipment.

Max's little girlfriend, Kaitlyn, from school.

Another one of Max's friends from school, Cole. Cole is the sweetest little boy ever.

Max's other girlfriend at school, Grace also has a younger brother, Tommy who is in Sam's room! Here's Grace and Tommy's mom with him.

Max climbing up in the jungle gym.

Look how high I am, mom!

The don't set out any of the drinks until you are ready to eat your pizza, so the kids kept cornering me and telling me they were thirsty. Of course, getting water out of the bubbler wasn't good enough so here I am being convinced that I should buy them a juice box... I am such a sucker....

The UP! cake done by Cakes while you Wait in Pewaukee -- seriously such a delicious cake -- and look at that design!!!!??!!! How awesome is that? (a side note -- if you click through to their website their 'cake of the month' also happens to be an UP! themed cake -- in Dec 2011).

Here's our party room all full of the kids and moms and dads who tagged along.

Handing out the fruit salad to the kiddos...

It was a full house of kids -- the more the merrier!

Sam even enjoyed a piece of pizza or two!

Overall, it was a great party -- Max got WAY too many presents (as always) and I ended up squandering some of them to give to him later. Having a November birthday makes xmax time so much harder because you feel like your house is just swimming in toys!!

Max and Sam both came home and took 3+ hr naps -- I took that as a sign that it was a GOOD party. :)

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!!

2011-12-02T16:08:00.000-06:00

Sorry for the delay on picking the winners of the Torani Syrup!

I used the random number generator to pick the winners and #s 1, 7 and 8 were my winners!

#1: Megan "Yum! I love their syrups. I love the vanilla and peppermint, but if I had to choose one I want, it would be the creme de menthe."

#7: Katie: "Oh my goodness, so many flavors, so little time. I'd have to say my pick would be a tie between pineapple and salted caramel. The salted caramel I would use in coffee, hot cocoa and egg nog, like I already do with the vanilla and hazelnut. I would use both of them for homemade ice cream and cream pies."

and #8: 2Bugaboos: "Mmmm... pumpkin, peppermint or egg nog!"

Thanks everyone for entering! Winners I will mail you your coupons within the next week (I should have all your addresses).

It's getting colder outside, so curl up with a nice hot cup of coffee or cocoa!

Xmax 2011: Holiday Cards!!

2011-12-02T08:51:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year again! The time to order your xmax cards -- you probably should have already ordered your cards (or doing so in the next couple of days), and I just have to give a shout-out to Shutterfly. I LOVE the quality of their cards, I can ALWAYS find some good online deals, and they ship fast and look GREAT!

This year, they had SO MANY wonderful templates to choose from that I literally had 10 cards made that I had to pick between. I've narrowed it down to three and will be ordering later today (I hope).

This is one of the ones that didn't make the final 3 (hey, the final card needs to be somewhat a surprise), but I still wanted to share it with you guys!

Ho Ho Ho!! Love the holidays!

Up next....XMAX music! I am so stoked to post my 2011 playlist -- I found some GREAT NEW music to share with you guys...and, of course, there will be a giveaway! Keep your eyes peeled!!

Very Merry Moments Christmas Card

Christmas cards by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Fourth birthday party #1: the family party -- rainbows and UP!

2011-11-27T10:04:00.000-06:00

This year, for little Max's fourth birthday he was lucky enough to have two

yes, TWO

parties.

Talk about spoiled!!

The day started out with a surprise...birthday streamers on Max's door! The kids LOVED it...hours of entertainment...at least until someone gets hurt (don't worry, Sam's cries were short lived)... Here are some videos of the fun that was had (sorry for so many....I was getting such a kick out of watching them that I couldn't pare them down)....

After all the tiring fun of running through the birthday streamers, Max had to go to 3K -- he brought the treat of the day and of course, wore our traditional birthday crown.

Max requested an UP! and Rainbow party this year....how fun, right? So, we decided for his FIRST treat for school (he was signed up as helper of the day TWICE, so he got to bring TWO treats to school also...) to make rainbow jello. I used THIS website for inspiration. It was awesome! It only uses three colors of jello -- red, yellow and blue -- the rest is an optical illusion. Tasty, easy and the kids LOVED it.

Seriously, how cool is rainbow jello?? SO COOL.

That evening, after school and nap time, we had the FIRST of the birthday parties....

His first party, on his actual birthday, was a fairly small affair with just our close friends -- 'Grandma' Jan and 'Grandpa' Dave and Auntie Amanda and Uncle Steve.

Little Max requested 'meat on the bone' (aka ribs), corn on the cob and watermelon and grapes for his birthday feast. We were happy to oblige. LOL

There was also lots of wine....little Max didn't request it, but I did!!

We also made a fun rainbow balloon banner -- little Max helped me blow up the balloons -- he blew up over half of the balloons....not a small feat!!

'Grandma and Grandpa' -- our next door neighbors from the old house. Little Max and Sam love them like their grandparents, hence the nickname. It was so good to see these two lovebirds again -- we miss having them right next door!

The sweet birthday boy wearing the birthday crown. I also decorated his chair -- 'the birthday chair' -- like my Mom always did for us growing up.

The cake (#1...yes, this spoiled child also had TWO cakes). Rainbow chip cake with rainbow chip frosting. I piped on four balloons and added balloon candles and real balloon decorations around the base. It was a hit...this kid loves balloons...and rainbows...

Sam likes cake too! He had a few frosting boogers after he was done, but he did a great job eating his cake all by himself with his fork. Sam actually helped me make the cake while Max was at 3K...my little baker boy!

He might even have stayed cleaner than little Max, LOL. The cake was a hit with little Max.

Yummy!

Here's an obligatory picture of me, since I am usually behind the camera. Not the best picture, unfortunately, but the only one of me from the evening...so don't complain.

And, of course the night ended with a little bit of this. He wouldn't be a four year old if it didn't, right?? LOL. (He fell off his chair because he was goofing around....the good parents that we are snapped a picture of him first).

It was a good, low key and fun party to celebrate the actual DAY of birth for my little man. I can't believe he is actually FOUR!! I have a little video to share of him with his yearly 'interview' that I'll have to find time to upload later today. (after I blog about birthday party #2!!)

SheSpeaks Product Review: Torani Syrups and a GIVEAWAY!

2011-11-21T15:00:00.000-06:00

I've gotten really lucky with the types of products I've gotten to test out over the last few months. Most all of them are some of my favorite products...and getting a full size 'sample' of something to use at home is just so awesome!

So I am super excited to share with you my latest product review. This one is courtesy of SheSpeaks...a wonderful review forum...check them out!

You may already be familiar with Torani. Torani syrups have over 120 flavors in regular and sugar free varieties. They are perfect for flavored lattes, mochas, coffees, cocoas, Italian sodas, teas, lemonades, cocktails and smoothies. Check out all the flavors and more about Torani here!

But don't stop there! You can use these flavored syrups in so much more!! I got to test out the Peppermint syrup and the sugar free brown sugar cinnamon flavors for SheSpeaks. Those of you that know my obsession with peppermint mochas (in particular Caribou's Ho Ho Mint Mocha) can probably imagine the squeal of delight I had when I opened the package. I used Torani's Peppermint syrup in baking this weekend and it was AWESOME -- peppermint cookies, peppermint brownies, peppermint frosting...the possibilities are endless!!

Yum...doesn't that look delicious? And you can make these drinks in the comfort of your own home!! No more driving to the coffeeshop and paying too much for a delicious drink...just sit down on your couch and enjoy it!

Those of you that are my fellow mommy friends KNOW how relaxing it is to have a great cup of coffee...so treat yourself, ladies! We deserve it!!

You also know how much I try to be and to support businesses that are into sustainability and being environmentally responsible. So, I was really pleased to hear how much Torani is also into being environmentally responsible. You can check out more about what they are doing to 'stay green' here.

Now, what is this 'giveaway' that I referred to in my blog post title you ask??

Torani and SheSpeaks have given me coupons to hand out to my readers. I have 3 coupons for a free full-sized bottle of any flavor Torani syrup. You can find Torani at most US retail outlets, on the Torani website and even on Amazon. So how do you get one of these coupons? Simple. Just post a comment on this post telling me WHAT your favorite flavor would be and HOW you would use it. Check out the full list of Torani flavors first for some inspiration. I'll leave comments open until the end of the month and then will pick 3 winners by random number generator. Good luck!

Finally, as a special gift for all of you that aren't in the lucky 3 winners, Torani is offering my readers 10% off any Torani Flavor order online!! Check them out!!

***Discloser, I was given two full-sized bottle of Torani to review by SheSpeaks. You can read my review on the Peppermint Flavored syrup HERE.***

Fabulous FOUR!

2011-11-19T09:42:00.000-06:00

I cannot even begin to comprehend how FOUR YEARS could have possibly passed by so incredibly quickly....it seems like just yesterday that we were trying to figure out this whole parenting thing (and truth be told, we still are....we are just better at faking it).

Four years ago today we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy after only 2 hrs and 38 mins of labor (yes you read that correctly...you can read the whole birth story here if you are interested). We chose not to find out the sex of our first baby, and we were so excited when Max came into our lives.

The transformation that has happened over the course of the last four years is AMAZING to witness. Being in the thick of it, I don't think you notice it as much as when you step back and really analyze everything that has changed...

Minutes old.

Lil Max was born in a rush. He took his time getting ready, but once he was ready...he was READY. Wow has this ever translated to other events in his life: rolling over, crawling, walking...just about EVERY single milestone of his he took his time doing...but when he did do it, he took off RUNNING...literally. Lesson learned: it may take Max awhile to try new things, but once he tries them, watch OUT!
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Lil Max snuggles with Mommy minutes after his entrance to the world.

From the very beginning, lil Max has showed a strong preference for Mommy. He is quite the Mommy's boy, that is for sure. I sure don't mind, though. He is a lover, full of empathy (he gets really upset whenever Sam gets hurt), full of concern for taking care of the Earth (love it), and just a good soul overall. I hope he stays like this forever!

1 year old

He's a ham. It might take him a little while to warm up to a situation, but once he's warm (and ready to go) watch out!! The smile on this kid is infectious!! (and so is his laugh).

2 years old

It has been so remarkable to watch him grow and learn before our very eyes. To watch the chub in his cheeks melt away....leaving a lean little boy. Gone are the days where I could refer to him as 'baby', 'little' or 'toddler'. He is ALL BOY now.

3 years old

He knows all his letters, his numbers, his shapes, his colors. He can write his own name and spell quite a few words. He understands left from right, up and down, etc. He can identify the first letter of many words as he tries to sound them out. He resists me when I try to ask him to read things...but as I've learned before, once he decides he's ready I know he'll take off full force.

He loves all things space-related, rockets, planets, stars. He loves to use our iPad with Daddy to identify the stars he can see in the sky from our back windows.

4 years old

He loves to 'help' - whether that be baking in the kitchen with mom, cleaning up the house (vacuuming, dusting, etc), raking leaves outside, digging holes, etc. He loves to be busy.

He loves 'treats' -- asking for something almost the minute he wakes up. He gets spoiled by his grandparents with candies and cookies and he has a sweet tooth just like mommy. He LOVES anything black licorice and big Max has started bringing him home 'salted fish' from Denmark (fish that taste like black licorice) and he LOVES it.

4 years old

He also loves watching TV, but I do not. So we sometimes argue about how much TV we get to watch. He has such an active imagination that I would rather cater to that than to have him veg out in front of the TV. He loves doing worksheets, coloring, playing with playdoh, etc. He also LOVES puzzles (he mastered doing puzzles when he was only 2 years old!) and board games too. He is so expressive and can't hide his emotions too well. But, he is also a huge goofball and is so much fun to be around!

4 years old

He still sleeps 11-12 hours at night and most days he takes a good nap (he has been trying to get out of his nap lately at school...but he takes 3-4 hr naps for me at home still so I know he's not ready to give it up yet...). He almost always wakes up in a good mood...and ready to greet the day (neither Max nor I are morning people so this is NOT very amusing, LOL).

One of the thing we hear most frequently out of his mouth is "I love you". Sometimes he is saying it manipulatively (trying to get something). But most times, he is just so overwhelmed with his emotions that this is how he expresses it. When he is super happy or super excited about something, it usually results in him exclaiming that he loves someone or something. He has taken quite a few people by surprise by blurting this out about them....teachers, friends, etc. I think it is endearing.

4 years old (isn't this the most PRECIOUS picture EVER??)

He loves his baby brother most of all and takes a lot of pride in being 'the big brother'. His teacher at school has told me that on days when Max is having a hard time, they like to talk about Sam because it almost always puts him in a good mood. He likes to talk about the day when he and Sam can share a room... I love that these two are growing up so close. They really do LOVE each other and it is so sweet to watch the two of them together.

Max - 4 years old; Sam - 18 mos old

What can I say? I know I am completely biased, but this kid is AWESOME. He is so incredibly special and wonderful and naughty and opinionated and imaginative...all rolled into one little tiny body (he still only weighs 34 lbs!). He stole my heart the minute he was born...and I still love him with all my heart today. I am a blessed person to have him in my life, and I thank God everyday and every minute that I get to spend with him.

So, my dearest Son, happiest of birthdays to you this year! 4 seems like such a milestone...only I know next year when you turn 5 I will feel the same way. I wouldn't change a single thing about you .... not even on your naughtiest day. You teach me patience, you teach me to slow down, you teach me how to love wholly and completely and with all of my heart. You are an amazing little boy and I am SO LUCKY to be your momma. XOXO

Max's Birth Story

2011-11-17T22:10:00.001-06:00

As I was busy prepping my blog post for Max's fourth birthday which is TOMORROW, I realized that Max's birth story was posted on my OLD BLOG...which is no longer functioning. I had a bit of a heart attack as I searched and searched for the electronic copy of what I had written...only to find it was NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. I could find the version of his birth story that big Max had written....but no such luck for mine.

I was hyperventilating. I was tearing the house apart. I was pulling my hair out. And, yes. I was crying.

I emailed a few friends who shared my pain.

And then, THEN, on a whim...I checked my Google Reader, where I still 'subscribe' to the old blog even though if I clicked through to the website nothing would happen. And there, nestled nicely underneath the blog post was all the text and pictures I had posted. Of course, I immediately copy and pasted everything to a WORD doc. Disaster averted. Breathing returned to normal (but head still hurting from crying...am I the only one who gets a headache from crying?)

And so that it is not lost in purgatory forever, in memory of that awesome and chaotic 2 hrs and 38 mins of my life, I am re-posting his birth story here. Enjoy! :)

Max's official 'due date' was Nov 11, 2007. My doctor was SURE I'd go before or on my due date -- I had been 2cm dilated and 50% effaced since Oct 24th, and by Nov 7th, I was up to 3 cm and 50% effaced. When he still hadn't come by the 14th, I was sent to the hospital for a non-stress test -- an ultrasound where they look at levels of amniotic fluid, heartrate, etc. The technician said that everything looked fine -- and baby just really wanted to hang out for a little bit longer... As each day passed by, I kept getting more and more bummed out -- my doctor had made me schedule an induction for the 18th - and I really REALLY wanted to go naturally. So, I kept praying that the baby would make its own way into the world.

For the entire week leading up to his actual birth, I did EVERYTHING to try to get things moving. I ate spicy foods, pineapple, eggplant, went on a 3 mile walk every day, foot massages, back massages, etc. Nothing seemed to be working. I would have irregular contractions (or what I supposed were contractions -- they really felt more like gas pains) for a couple of days leading up to his birth -- but they'd always stop when I switched position.

When Saturday rolled around, (the 17th) I had already given in to the likelihood that I would NOT be going into labor on my own. I was really sad about it, I really didn't want to be medicated -- I wanted to try to do everything naturally.

Saturday night, we joined up with a group of our friends at the Wentz's for tacos and movies. I ate my fill, and we left early to try to get some sleep before the busy day we had ahead of us. I remember thinking how weird it was that in less than a day, our little family would be going from 2 to 3! Somehow, I managed to fall asleep, but I kept waking up with irregular contractions -- 'gas pains'. They weren't real close together, or regular, or even painful, so I never even mentioned them to Max. I kept trying to time them, but I kept falling asleep in between! I guess I wasn't too worried. At 1:44 am, I rolled over and 'POP' I felt my water break. I leapt out of bed -- as nimbly as a pregnant woman can -- and ran to the bathroom where I proceeded to yell to Max that it 'was time'. He rolled over in bed and joked "you couldn't wait until 7 am (when we were scheduled to be induced)?" He called the doctor while I attempted to shower -- unfortunately, I had barely gotten damp when the contractions started coming one on top of the other -- and I freaked out. I yelled to Max that we had to go, NOW.

We rushed to the hospital -- easy to do at 2am when no one is on the road. We began timing the contractions on the way there -- and they were already 2-3 mins apart. That should've been our first indication about how quickly things were about to happen.

The rest seemed like a whirlwind to me. Checking in, going straight to a birthing suite. We had brought my Ipod along to have music during the labor and I remember Max turning it on and hitting play without selecting the playlist and "Doin It" by LL Cool J came on -- highly inappropriate!! :)

Then everything really was a blur. There was no time to remember all the techniques we had learned in class. As soon as I was hooked up to the monitors, there was a bit of worry because the baby's heartrate was low. So, they had to insert an internal fetal monitor. I had always intended to deliver without medication, if possible. At one point I told Max that maybe I would go with the epidural. The nurse informed me it was too late -- I was going to need to push already!! I'm glad I was prepared to go au natural! Otherwise, I think that would've come as quite a shock to me. The pushing was actually a relief compared to the contractions. I remember so MANY people standing around the foot of the delivery bed, and people talking/worrying about the low heart rate. At that point, rather than worry about those things, I closed my eyes and talked to the baby and willed him/her to come safely. I shut out the rest of the world and resigned to do the job I was there to do. Max stood at the head of the bed, holding my hand, stroking my head. My mom stood right next to me and at one point I remember her saying to me during the middle of a push "pretend like you are at Bally's (the gym)" I swiftly told her to be quiet -- I don't think pushing a baby out is QUITE like being at the gym!! :) Baby was having a little bit of difficulty and because of the low heartrate they decided to use a vacuum to help during the last push.

Less than 2 hours after arriving at the hospital, Maxwell Louis McLaughlin entered the world. My eyes had been squeezed shut during all the pushing, but I opened them when he came out and saw this beautiful purple/pink wrinkled body and screaming mouth! I couldn't see if the baby was a boy or a girl, and my mom turned to Max and squealed -- do you see what the baby is? He proudly proclaimed...its a BOY!! It felt like we were in a movie.

I didn't get to hold my baby boy right away like I had wanted. He was whisked over to the warming lamps to have his vitals checked -- his heart rate had been very low -- they suspected that the cord had been partly wrapped around his neck. Luckily, he was completly healthy and fine -- he scored a 9 on the APGAR. And, shortly thereafter he was in my arms -- and I couldn't remember what it felt like for him to NOT be there anymore. I felt complete.

Our perfect, beautiful baby boy. Named Maxwell after his daddy, and Louis after his uncle, grandpa and Great-grandpa. My little Prince.

Maxwell Louis McLaughlin

Nov 18, 2007, 4:22 am

7 lbs 2 oz.

19.8 inches

2 hrs 38 mins of labor (as one friend joked afterwards: "I've had longer waits in the drive-through!")

The nurses and doctors at the hospital told me that for my next baby -- I should book a room at the hospital ahead of time!! We're lucky we made it on time to the hospital!!!

Perfectly Perfect. LOVE this boy.

BzzAgent Product Review: Fekkai

2011-11-15T09:38:00.000-06:00

When I was recently chosen to participate in the BzzAgent Fekkai campaign, I was STOKED. I had heard so many great things about Fekkai, but I was hesitant to lay out the $$$ to buy a product until I was sure if it worked...

I have gray hair, which means that in order to maintain my youthful appearance, I must have it colored. I have tried just about every 'color friendly' shampoo on the market and have yet to find one that doesn't strip the color from my grays or make my roots noticeable in less than 3 weeks. So, I was even MORE STOKED when I got to test the Fekkai Color Care line.

The first thing I noticed when using the product was how wonderful it smelled -- it has a light citrusy aroma that is great to smell first thing in the morning - very refreshing. It lingers all day long as well, and doesn't fade quickly like other shampoos.

My FAVORITE thing about Fekkai is how glossy and smooth and silky it made my hair feel --I seriously could not stop running my hands through my hair all day long. It was wonderful!!

But, I waited until 3 weeks was up to see if it was able to make my color last longer than other shampoos/conditioners I have used in the past. And, while my color is lasting a little bit longer, it didn't make it last as LONG or stay as VIBRANT as I would expect from a shampoo/conditioner with such a large price tag.

Bottom Line: would I buy this again? Not without a coupon. I strongly believe that you get what you pay for -- and I especially believe this about beauty products which is why I don't mind shelling out a little bit more for a product if it works good or performs better. I usually shell out the extra money to support more environmentally friendly companies, however, so I am undecided if I would rather spend the money on Fekkai or my usual Aveda products -- even though the Fekkai DOES keep the color better and longer than my Aveda. It is tempting though, because the silkiness of my hair alone is really pretty wonderful...

Phone Dump Videos: Aug - Oct 2011

2011-11-10T13:02:00.001-06:00

And here are the videos!! Enjoy!

I had put Sam down for his nap and came back downstairs to the sound of little Max singing. So, I snuck my head (and camera) around the corner of the door and found him here. He had built a little fort around himself and was singing along to his toys. SO ADORABLE.

I may have posted this video of Sam and Mason before, but I am posting it again because it is so darn cute. Mason is such a GOOD dog. He is a rescue dog. We got him from WAAGR and encourage you to check out a rescue organization for your next dog! There are SO MANY in need of new homes, and so many of them are gems, just like Mason. It hurts my heart to think that he was *almost* put down. He is such a good, loving, sweet boy.

My parents bought us this wonderful vacuum as our housewarming gift and I LOVE it. I love it for several reasons, but the most important is that it is light enough that little Max can use it to help out. It also can be used as a dustbuster or a stick vac. Sam, seeing that little Max can vacuum, of course wanted to try it out for himself. He's getting there!

Sam is a such a sports kid. He LOVES playing outside and especially loves playing sports that involve balls. Basketball is one of his favorites, and since the basketball hoop that came with our new house is a little bit too tall for him, I found this handy one on Craigslist for the meantime. He LOVES it. And, I love the way he says BASKEETBALL. :)

This series of video was shot at the park by our new house. Sam loves following Max around and wants to do everything that big brother does. When he wanted to use the bigger slide, however, he ran into a problem -- he couldn't climb up the mammoth step! Luckily, my boys are problem solvers...see how they figured it out! So cute!! And I love that they are such good friends and look out for each other (most of the time, LOL).

Phone Dump: Photos Aug, Sept, Oct 2011

2011-11-10T11:29:00.001-06:00

I realized I haven't 'unloaded' my phone photos for quite some time...so to keep the momentum of this blog going I thought I could entertain you with some pictures from Aug-Sept 2011. I found some really great videos too -- but because there are so many photos I'll put the videos in a separate post. Enjoy!

Sam helps shuck some corn from our garden....ah, remember the days of sunshine and warmth? It is snowing outside my window as I type this...longing for those warm days again already!

Snack time is fun time at our house!

Somebody decided that mom needed to take a plastic egg with her to work -- what a nice surprise. Awww....

Sam is a voracious eater.... well, when he gets it IN his mouth (as noted by cheese in hair). But actually, no complaints about his eating habits at all. He's been a great eater from day one -- never afraid to try something new! He is also very adept at eating with fork and spoon and drinking directly out of a cup. I love it!

Nina came over to play with us one last time before we moved out of the old house. Sam and Nina were good buddies...

Max and Nina were playing well together too...although you'd never guess it from the sour face on my little boy here. NICE.

We had a great time at Max's co worker's wedding at the ICC downtown Milwaukee. They even had an indoor Bocce area! Guess where we spent most of our night? Max was the Bocce King....

In September, little Max officially started 3K. He was (and still is) super excited.

Some mornings at work there is a welcoming crew outside my front door! Hi guys!!

Because 'I am who I am', I baked cookies for our closings. BUT....I had already packed up the cookie sheets -- so, I improvised and made my own out of tin foil. Worked like a charm!

We closed on both houses on Sept 12th -- here we are doing the 'final sweep' with ducky....

Sam, lover of all sports, is already making daddy proud. "OCKEY!" he screams!!

The annual pumpkin patch trip -- can't believe how big the boys are getting!

Sam isn't so sure...

In October, my clumsiness caught up with me when I accidentally got my thumb slammed in a bathroom door (obviously I need to perfect my 'crane move'). To say it hurt was an understatement. In fact, I remember cursing and swearing and exclaiming that it 'hurt worse than child birth" -- which says a lot considering I birthed both of my babies au natural. :) It instantaneously turned black and blue. I put the picture up on Facebook and people started commenting that i needed to poke a hole in my nail to relieve the pressure. Not wanting to do that to myself, I resigned and made myself an appt at my doctor's office.

And yes, they DID poke a hole (more like burned a hole) through my nail to relieve the pressure -- and while the pain did not go away right away, it did make a noticeable difference. They also x-rayed my thumb and couldn't rule out the possibility of a hair-line fracture -- so off I went with a fancy splint on my thumb (just in time for family photos). Luckily, I could remove it for those, and I didn't have to wear it all that long (it was mostly just for protection from being bumped by two very active boys).

Trick or Treat!! Little Max wanted to go as a pirate this year, and who was I to argue with that? I got this adorable puppy costume for Sam (which hopefully he can use again next year because I have a VISION) and he was in LOVE with it. He still asks to put it on! I don't blame him as it is super soft and snuggly....

So, there you have our last 3 months in a nut shell! I should have some video up soon too, so you can enjoy some sound with your visuals! Happy Thursday!

Product Review: Band-Aid brand Mickey Mouse bandaids

2011-11-03T10:23:00.002-05:00

What child does not love bandaids? I know my kids are ALWAYS asking for them. Mom, I hurt my foot, I need a bandaid....Mom, I bumped my arm I need a band-aid. Band-aids help an owie heal faster than anything else in a kid's mind....except maybe the magical *mommy kiss*.

Given that bandaids often get used for what I would certainly classify as a 'non-bandaid necessary owie', you can certainly understand that we go through a lot of bandaids in our house. Which is why I was so SUPER STOKED to get selected for the Smiley360 mission -- Mickey Mouse Collector's Tin Band-Aids!

The band-aids are packaged in a sleek black Limited Edition Collector’s Series tin, and inside, the band-aids are in an array of surprising and fun bandage designs featuring Mickey Mouse and his friends.

The eye-catching Mickey design featured on a sleek black Limited Edition Collector’s Series tin is just the start of what makes these bandages sleek and stylish. Open the tin package to find an array of surprising and fun bandage designs featuring Mickey Mouse and his friends.

We love Band-Aid brand in our house -- they stick longer and don't hurt coming off. My oldest son had a band-aid on his back for a week straight before we took it off -- and not because it lost stickiness, but because I was sick of looking at it. (And yes, my kids bathe!)

**disclaimer, I received this product free of charge through Smiley 360 -- interested in becoming a Smiley member?**

BAND-AID® Brand Heals the hurt faster™.

Trick or Treat 2011

2011-10-31T21:05:00.000-05:00

Tonight was Trick or Treat (TOT) in our city, so we of course got all dressed up (and bundled up) and headed out to get some loot!

Max went as a pirate again this year for two reasons. One: he kept telling everyone who asked that he was going as a pirate. Two: I did not have my stuff together enough to make the other costume I had planned for him. There is always next year. Sam went as a dog -- which would have been the part he would have played if my idea had come to fruition. I'm sure he won't mind wearing it again next year because he was SO STOKED that he got to be a 'pup-pup'. When I first showed him the costume he threw it on the floor and snuggled up on it (it is super soft) and rolled around exclaiming "Woof Woof! Bark Bark!" I know he doesn't look very excited in the above picture, but take my word for it that he was loving it.

Doesn't he look so SUPER snuggly!??

Someone throw this poor dog a bone! Seriously. Don't you just want to grab him and snuggle him??

We had some friends join us this year -- Max's friends John, Ryan and Nina. It was SO much better TOTing with friends. Especially for lil Max who ran from door to door with John yelling "Trick or Treat! ARRRR!!"

We tried to get Sam and Ryan, the two dogs, to stand together for a photo...They weren't really into standing still for long though...

Nina climbed into the wagon when she got tired and she and Sam were wagon buddies and just passed candy back and forth from one basket to the other to pass the time. It was super cute.

The New Digs Part 5: the Bedrooms

2011-10-31T20:47:00.001-05:00

Our new house has 4 bedrooms -- all upstairs -- which is absolutely wonderful. We had 3 upstairs bedrooms at the old house, which worked just fine for our family of four, but we really wanted to have a guest room. So, one of the criteria when we were looking for new houses was that it had to have a minimum of 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. We got exactly what we wanted with our new house!

But, as you'll see in the pictures, the added bonus with our new house is just how BIG the bedrooms are -- and how much closet space each room has. I'm telling you -- I am only using HALF of the closet space in every room (with the exception of the Master Bedroom...a girl's gotta have enough clothes...). I know with two growing boys that the space will get filled up soon enough, but for now it's nice to see EMPTY space.

This is little Max's room. We put up the top bunk and he is in love with his bunk beds. He will proudly announce to anyone that stops by that he can climb to the top all by himself but that he can't sleep there until he is 6 or 7. The color on the walls is Sherwin Williams Krypton. The comforter on the bottom bunk is a vintage Star Wars comforter hand sewn by my awesome MIL. They sell the same thing on Pottery Barn, but mine is best of all because it was made with LOVE. I still need to install actual curtain rods (instead of using these cafe rods) for the curtains. Room darkening/thermal panels from Target -- only $9.99 each!

Max has two full sized (or should I say ginormous sized) closets -- these things are super wide and super deep. The one on the left has a closet organizing system in it -- but it has to be repaired. We also need to get an electrician in to get the ceilings wired for light fixtures -- I am not a fan of lamps only in kids rooms.

The 'reading' nook. We need to get a new dresser eventually (this one is falling apart). On top you can see Max's turtle star maker and his rainbow maker. Both are essential for a good night's sleep.

Next up is Sam's room. Not much has changed in here (other than the size of the room as opposed to the old house). We used the same color Serene Stream (Pittsburgh Paints).

Sam's windows overlook the backyard and every morning when he wakes up we greet the sunrise and the birds, and every night we say good night to the birds as well.

Sam only has one closet in his room but it is wider than the closets in Max's room so I would almost consider it a 1.5 sized closet.

I love the way his room is set up -- it is so comfy and yet still leaves a big area for play time. The dresser/changing table is the same one we used for Max (as is the crib) -- another hand-me-down from my parents...it used to be my brother's dresser/changing table. It has a LOT of sentimental value to me, and I am happy that both boys got to use it. Thanks Mom and Dad!!

This is the view of the upstairs hallway right when you get to the top of the stairs. The 4th bedroom (closed door) is on the right. Sam's bedroom is straight ahead and Max's is to the right of that. The door on the immediate left is the upstairs bathroom (full shower over tub and two sinks and linen closet). Behind me is the Master Suite. The hallway is super wide and there is a good sized linen closet out here too!

So there you have it! McCasa Duex! LOL! Hope you enjoyed the 'tour'. I'm looking forward to updating the blog with progress on the house/rooms as we go!

Product Review: Burt's Bees Natural Skin Solutions

2011-10-28T13:38:00.005-05:00

I'm a BzzAgent, and when I was recently given the opportunity to sample and review the Burt's Bees Natural Skin Solutions line, I was ECSTATIC!!

I LOVE the Burt's Bees product lines -- I've been using their lip balm for YEARS, but I'd never tried their skin care line, so this was the perfect introduction.

Do you have sensitive skin?? This skin care line is specially formulated to be a gentle and effective way to cleanse, moisturize and care for sensitive skin. Also (and hugely important to me) it is also one with ingredients from nature!!! The products are infused with cotton, rice and aloe and they leave your skin hydrated, shielded from potential irritants and help replenish your skin's outer layer -- without leaving your skin itchy, red, or irritated (what commonly happens to mine because my skin is so sensitive).

I got to review the facial cleanser and daily moisturizer, but there are four products in total in this new line – Sensitive Facial Cleanser, Sensitive Daily Moisturizer, Sensitive Eye Cream, and Sensitive Night Cream. The best part about these products is that they can be found right at your local store (Walmart, Target, etc) and they range in price from $9.99-14.99.

My skin has been so clear and smooth since I started using these products. I still occasionally rotate my Aveda products into my nightly routine, but I really love how moisturizing the daily moisturizer is -- especially with the dry winter weather coming, this is something I think I will continue to buy.

Want to discover more about Burt's Bees®? Head to burtsbees.com/sensitive to find a complete product list (for your whole body), special offers, and information about the ways Burt's Bees is looking out for our planet.

** Disclaimer: I am a BzzAgent and therefore received free samples and coupons for this product. ***

The New Digs Part 4: The Master Bedroom Suite

2011-10-27T21:49:00.003-05:00

After climbing the stairs to the second level of our home, the Master Suite greets you almost immediately. This is the room I probably put the most thought into of all the rooms thus far....helped out by my Pinterest board and several other ideas I found on the internets...

The walls were painted in Amazing Gray by Sherwin Williams -- I was going for a 'mourning dove gray' and this one hit the nail on the head. It is a light brown gray, and I am in LOVE with it. I especially love it on warm sunny days (like the one when I took these photos).

The duvet is from West Elm (the color was a little different than I was anticipating, but for the price that I got it, I am cool with even calling it my 'back up duvet' if/when I ever find a substitute). The bedskirt is from Target. The fabric I used for the headboard squares is also from West Elm -- I purchased some Euro Shams that I decided not to use, so I just cut them up and used the fabric for the headboard. If you don't remember the big headboard remodel, you have to check it out. See those lamps? Yeah. We'll talk about those later...

The windows are currently covered with greenish teal aluminum blinds. They are functional for now, but I have an idea to transform them using THIS FABRIC. I can't wait!

Here's another view of the bedroom from a different angle so you can grasp just how ginormous this room is. Seriously, it runs the ENTIRE WIDTH of our house. I am LOVING the space...I just don't have enough furniture to fill it!! (I can remedy that one pretty easily, however).

Those darn lamps again! I plan to use the same FABRIC as I will for the roman shades and re-cover them. I found them at Marshall's for $10/each! You can't buy a lamp shade alone for that price! I am debating whether or not to leave them the color they are, or to spray paint them a light teal. You can really see the color in the duvet in that above picture. They marketed it as a Dandelion duvet...I think that is more 'split pea soup' personally....

I also think something like THIS would look really nice in that empty corner...

The bedroom opens up to a large closet/dressing/vanity area. Gotta love the half wall with the stripper poles too. Bummer they are only half-poles... Our plan is to bump the master bathroom out to the edge of that half wall, and then on the other side, gut down to the studs and put in a large walk-in master closet (with his and hers sides...or is that hers and hers sides??)...

edited to add: to the right of the half wall and half-poles is the master bathroom. To the left is the closet area.

Here is the Master Bathroom....not much master to it. It is about as small as our last master bathroom, so at least we are used to the close quarters. It also has a blue sink and toliet...we had that in our old house as well...I thought we were escaping the blue bathroom fixtures....I guess not. There is a shower stall behind the door that is just white porcelain tile (thank GOD it is not blue also).

I have to say that the floor in here is pretty cool. I think it is lineoleum and not actually tile. It would've been neat to try to incorporate/save it when we remodel, but I don't think that will be possible...

Here's another view of the closet/dressing area/vanity. I should go buy myself a paisley stool and set up all my makeup and do my hair here every morning, don't you think? HA! That's IF I even DID my hair....

This room is so great. I am in love with it!! It is an awesome size and I really love the new color. I can't wait to fill it with more exciting stuff! So, there you have it -- my brain dump on the Master Bedroom. If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me! We still have 3 more bedrooms and one more bathroom to go. I'll spare you the basement since there is nothing there right now except for boxes...

The New Digs Part 3: Kitchen and Family Room

2011-10-25T22:12:00.001-05:00

Moving right along...next up is the kitchen and the family room

Here is the lovely kitchen (don't mind all the safety locks...unlike Max, Sam won't leave our stuff alone...little stinker). It has wonderful granite counter tops, new cabinet faces, even anti-slam drawers (if you have never seen these you MUST try them out...they are the coolest thing since sliced bread!).

I have to admit, I was really worried about cabinet space in this kitchen compared to my old kitchen, so I had already prepared myself for possibly having to store some of the larger lesser-used kitchen items in the basement. Imagine my surprise when ALL OF IT FIT...and I STILL HAD ROOM TO SPARE! Color me happy!!

See that cabinet on the upper right by the clock? I didn't even know it existed until a few weeks ago. SCORE!

You can't really see from these pictures but there is also a closet pantry on the other side of the refrigerator. It is so nice to have that extra storage for food! And, one funny note about that pantry is that there was a clothes chute in the Master Bedroom that dumped right into the top of the pantry! We closed it up before we had new carpet installed. Talk about a strange place to put your dirty clothes though!

I have to admit, I am not the biggest fan of the layout of this kitchen. However, it is completely functional, so it will be staying this way until we either win the lottery or come across a large sum of money to remodel. When that time happens, I will likely move the granite counter tops into the basement to make into a bar area down there.

The main things I dislike about the kitchen are the cabinets hanging over the peninsula and the fact that the flow in this kitchen dead-ends into the sink. If I had to re-do this kitchen, I would extend the cabinets closer to the patio door, remove the hanging cabinets and the peninsula and then have a square island in the center of the kitchen...

This picture is outdated already because we recently purchased a new dinette set for eat-in part of the kitchen that is smaller than our dining room table (note: this is the SAME dining room table I grew up eating on!! I LOVE being able to re-use furniture...it has so much sentimental value in it!) We moved this table into the dining room, and I am LOVING it. The dinette set is smaller, so it fits this space much better. I'll try to take updated pictures. :)

Overall, the kitchen is not a bad space. It housed the 30+ people at our house for the Packer Party on Sunday just fine. Obviously, there are some things we will be updating more immediately -- like the light fixtures and some of the beautiful oak molding (and the patio doors).

That ceiling fan has to go. It's not even centered on the eating area!!

Adjacent to the kitchen is the family room. It is a nice sized room that all of our furniture fits perfectly in. Note the entertainment center...that is where I would like to put a hole in the wall. ;)

The carpet in this room is super SUPER plush. I love walking on it in my bare feet and squishing into it. I haven't painted this room yet because I can't decide on a color. My idea right now is to pick a lighter blue/gray to pull out some of the color in the field stone by the fireplace. I think I am going to keep the bead-board and just re-paint it a more glossy white. I think I will also repaint the ceiling beams that same glossy white for now...

The window treatments are heavy duty wood blinds in white. I don't mind them, they are actually very good quality.

The fireplace is really beautiful. Max tells me me need to have doors installed so it isn't a huge energy/heat suckage when we use it, although I think it looks really nice the way it is... It does need to be cleaned though (clearly, LOL).

Max is so excited that his cozy chair is back in commission. That chair moved around the old house so many times, and it never had a real good home where it was functional. It really is a cozy chair, so we are all happy to be able to enjoy it.

So, you've seen the whole downstairs of the house now! I'll try to get some pictures edited and posted of the bedrooms next. :)

The New Digs Part 2: Dining Room, Foyer and Living Room (Playroom)

2011-10-22T22:24:00.000-05:00

Next up, the Dining room, foyer and living room (which is being used as a playroom right now). As you can see, we don't have enough furniture to fill up this house...but that's ok for now...

The dining room has been a catch-all for a lot of the things that have been unpacked and just don't have a place to go. You can see there is no light fixture in here (the one exclusion of the seller's which was OK with us), so that will have to be replaced soon. I also would like to paint in here, but I just haven't decided on a color. Do you like my folding table, i.e. dining room table? I had a crafting party here a few weekends ago, and we used this as the crafting headquarters. Since we are having a large Packer party for the Packer/Viking game tomorrow, I am keeping it up for now.

The dining room has two doors -- one to the kitchen and another to the foyer. The door to the kitchen has an actual door on it, and we've installed a gate leading to the foyer, so this is also a kid free room for the time being (except that little Max knows how to get into this room and does so frequently to get his vacuum so he can vacuum after meal times). We had originally thought to take the door down, but once we realized it helped us in terms of kid proofing the house, we decided to keep it up for a little bit longer :).

Here is the front foyer. You can see the entrance to the dining room and the stairs that lead to the second floor. We'll need to replace the front door (drafty and not in the greatest condition). I also would like to eventually replace this wallpaper (not really my style). But, that is going to be a large project seeing as it goes up to the second floor on the staircase wall...so I am putting it off for the time being.

The view of the foyer leading into the kitchen. Here you can see the shutter doors that close off the kitchen to the foyer/front of the house. Again, as with the dining room door, we had originally thought we would remove these doors, but they are proving to be very handy in terms of keeping kids (and pets) out of certain areas of the house. So, removal will happen later...

Another view into the dinette area of the kitchen from the front foyer.

This is the first room to your right when you enter the house from the front door. The 'formal' living room. If you know me, you know I am far from formal, so this room will likely never serve that purpose. I do have paint picked out for this room, I just need to find the time to paint it. And, right now it is serving as the catch all for the kids PLETHORA of toys (holy cow do we have a lot -- please NO MORE TOYS!!).

The windows in this room are gorgeous and LOW. The boys just LOVE sitting on the window ledge (often crawling behind that table and using it as a little desk).

Here's the full view of the room. Max and I disagree, but I would like to eventually put french doors in the wall where the entertainment center is currently to open this room to the family room in the back of the house. I think it would give the house a more open feel. Max disagrees because it would take away the wall on which his TV is stationed. Again, it is not an immediate project, but one that I am definitely keeping in the back of my head.

Toys, toys and more toys. These boys are spoiled. :)

The view looking from the back of the room towards the foyer. I love these bookshelves/cubbies. They used to be out in the extension at the old house, and they are the perfect size for storing totes and toys. I had originally bought them to be a part of my office set (they matched my desk), but they were too impractical to use as bookshelves (because the shelves are so deep), so this is the perfect repurpose.

Hope you enjoyed part 2 of the tour! I should have kitchen/family room pictures tomorrow!!

The New Digs Part 1: Mudroom and Powder Room

2011-10-21T17:14:00.000-05:00

So, I guess I have been a bit remiss by not posting pictures of the new house before now...at least, that is what several people have been telling me.... ahem ahem (you know who you are).

So, I took some pictures this afternoon while it was nice and sunny out and the kids were asleep. My ILs are here right now, so I am hoping that will buy me some time to edit and post the pictures. So, hopefully, I'll get you pictures of the whole house by the week's end (hey, I don't like to make promises I can't keep...so you might be pleasantly surprised if I finish early).

In the meantime, to keep those of you that have been oh so patiently waiting happy, here is the first of the New House series of posts. So, here you go. I'll start with the mudroom and powder room. Enjoy (and please don't judge the mess, we've only been 'moved in' for just over a month).

Laundry room/mudroom. We need to replace the laundry tub. We also need to figure out the spacing issue between the side counters and the washer and dryer. There is some awkward space that needs to be addressed. We don't really foresee the need to use the door here that leads out into the backyard (for the time being) so for now the dog bowls of water are blocking it.

Here's another view so you can appreciate the awkward spaces I referenced before. Again, sorry for the mess. The left counter is serving as our organization counter with our in/out trays and we have our organizer hanging on the wall where we store our keys, etc. Working good so far.

The other side of the mudroom has a large closet. As you can see, there is a mish mash of stuff in here for now. Most importantly, it is holding the hats/mittens/snow pants/backpacks for the family. It is a good store all. We do have another mudroom in the garage (I'll show pictures of that once big Max is done hanging the large wall shelf he built for me...awwww..isn't he sweet??) That mudroom is for all of our shoes.

Front hallway. This is the view into the house when you are standing in the mudroom. You can see from one side of the house to the other, which is nice. Aren't these floors cool?? They are pine, so unfortunately they dent pretty easily, but they are so uncommon that we have really fallen in love with the color and everything about them. They kind of add a nice 'different look' to the house.

Downstairs bathroom/powder room. I haven't done much to this room yet. I would like to do something to the vanity cupboards. The granite counter tops are super nice in here, and I already like the feel this bathroom has. I might change out the mirror in the future and the light fixture (not a huge fan). The 'valance' (which is stapled onto the wood moulding) is also going to be going. :)

Another view of the granite counter tops that are SOOOO beautiful. I've gotta say that I've always loved the LOOK of granite, but was never so certain I'd want it for my own house (at least right now with little kids in the house), but now that I have it in two of my bathrooms and the kitchen, I am really starting to fall in love with it. And, I've started making my own granite cleaner -- which I will share the recipe for in a later post -- which makes cleaning the granite CHEAP and FUN. If you know me, you know that makes me UBER happy. :)

More Maxisms

2011-10-17T15:21:00.001-05:00

Little Max had some really funny moments this weekend, ones that I want to remember, so I figured I'd share them on here.

"When I'm 18...."
Preface: big Max has been telling little Max that when he turns 18, he is going to have to move out of the house. This makes little Max sad, so I have been telling him that when he gets to move out, he can get his own house, and have his own toys and it will be fun...

Our neighbors from the old house joined us for dinner Sunday night. All of a sudden, during the middle of dinner, little Max turns to them and announces "When I turn 18, I am going to move out and get my own house. Also, I will get my own children when I'm eighteen." We all just about died trying not to laugh or fall off our chairs... When asked how many children he was going to "get" he informed us that he would like "twenty children" (thank goodness he didn't ask HOW to get those children...although we might have to have a talk about having kids so young...)

"What are those things called anyways?"
Sunday night after dinner, both boys were in the bathtub. I handed Max his washcloth and asked him to start scrubbing up. We went over the parts to scrub...behind the ears, between the toes, in his armpits.... After getting those parts done he exclaims "and now for my LEG PITS!" LOL. I don't really know what those are called anyways, so I guess that makes perfect sense!

Have I mentioned how much I love this age? It ROCKS.

A day at the park

2011-10-12T21:56:00.000-05:00

We're trying to make the most of this weather before it leaves us, so today we packed a picnic dinner and went to the 'old park' by the 'old house'. The kids had a ton of fun playing in the leaves, enjoying the sunshine and having a 'picky-nic'. It was the perfect way to forget our troubles and just hang out and enjoy each other's company... And, of course, I planned ahead and brought the camera... :)

Sam studies the leaves...

I want his eyelashes....seriously.

My little tree hugger. Isn't he cute?

Max just being plain silly. I love his eyes. Seriously.

Practicing jumping...The kid can get some air!