Friday Seven.

1. Jackers has been gone on a little vacay with his grandparents since Monday. He is spending the week at their cabin along two of this cousins. Although, I have not actually spoken to him (he never wants to talk on the phone when he is away from us...sniffle, sniffle), Grandma says their are having a real fun time. I miss him so much and I cannot wait to hug and smooch him tomorrow!

2. I am reading the book One Day by David Nicholls. It's actually the first book in a long while that I enjoy and have a hard time putting down. I just reached a pivotal point in the book last night and I have been thinking about what's going to happen all day. One Day, the movie, is also coming out this month in theaters. Love that!

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3. Sometimes, in order to make it through a trip to the grocery store with a 2.5 year-old, you just need to give him a big, sprinkled doughnut. Do you hear that? No crying, no whining, so asking to get down and walk every 2 seconds, just the faint sound of a doughnut being eaten by a smiling child. Ahhh, so nice!

4. Just because...

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5. There are a few things I miss about living in Michigan (crazy, I know) and one of them is The Lake.

Lake Michigan is so beautiful! It is an amazing place to be on a summer day. If you ever get the chance to go there, do it as you will not regret it!

6.Three words, Philadelphia Cooking Creme. Have any of you ever tried this? Oh my goodness, it is so delicious. I have tried Cooking Creme in pasta and enchiladas and loved the taste it brought to those meals. When I saw this recipe on Pinterest I knew I had to make it immediately and that is just what I did. I made mine without chicken just because I did not have any ready, but that's okay as it was still great! I think you can take this recipe and change it to whatever you like and/or make it different every time.

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Quick, easy and delicious!

7. I have been having a blast with Owen over the last couple of days. He sure is a hoot, without his brother around his personality really shines! He got his staples on this week and he did great. They needed to come out as they were really starting to bother him. On a potty training note (cause ya'll are dying to know, wink!), Owen is doing fabulous. I truly never thought I would hear myself say that, but he is! He's basically potty-trained except for naps and nights, of course. Wow, am I ever smiling about this!

Happy Friday!

Under Construction

I'm currently taking this adirondack loveseat and giving it some love in hopes that it will become...

this for my front porch.

 

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Stay tuned!

Not That Jersey Shore.

I recently went to visit one of my bestie girlfriends, Erin. She happens to live in Philadelphia, which is just a short drive to the New Jersey Shore. Now believe me, the Jersey Shore is not all GTL, Snookie Poofs and The Situation, it is so much more than that! It is actually a very beautiful place filled with amazing beach homes, warm ocean water, sandy shorelines and fun restaurants and shops (and yes, a whole bunch of t-shirt shops, too!) 

Over the past three years, going here for the day has become a little tradition for us, but more importantly has given us one whole day for some major girl-time and a chance to catch-up on our crazy-busy lives. Also, on a side note, the JS just happens to be a special place to Pat and I as we got engaged there eight years ago in Sea Isle City and when we lived in Pennsylvania BC (before children) we would visit it often.  Oh the sweet memories!

Here are some photos from our day at Ocean City, we had a grand time. You will see not one of our actual faces as we were sweaty, sandy and not ready for any type of picture posing.

Ten.

 1. I went to the airport today to pick up my cutie pie cousin that is visiting us for the weekend, only to realize her flight is tomorrow. Pshhhhhhhh!

2. I was in charge of four kiddos today, my two boys and my nephew and niece. Well, luckily my mom came over this morning with a Venti Starbucks and spent the day helping me. I was exhausted by 11:00 am, no wonder I went to the airport on the wrong day. Jeesh! We had a great day as they all have been playing pretty good together these days. These four munchkins are such good ages. Watching them today made me reminisce, hence the then and now.

3. I whipped up this version of sopapilla cheesecake tonight. Wow, was it delicious!! I'm not sure what's my favorite part, the cheesecake center or the crispy, cinnamon sugar top layer. It's so good that you may just find yourself snitching small pieces all night long. I may have done this?

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4. My boy...

has been discovering and using his sense of smell a lot lately. He's been saying, "Mommy, what smells so good", "Mommy, what is that smell, it smells so gross", "Ewe, something really smells bad". It's actually very amusing (and cute) for me to listen to except maybe when he makes these comments while I'm making dinner. I have had visions of my brothers and I saying the same things to my mom. Ugh, sorry Mom!

5. Remember when these babies were born in our backyard earlier this summer? Well, they come back and visit us with their Momma every now and then.

6. Also, remember when we were catching these extra-large frogs in our old Michigan neighborhood last summer. We have started to catch frogs and toads in our new neighborhood as well.

Can you see it?

Now?

Yep, that's how small big they are around these parts.

7. I'm married to a man who loves movies. He would choose to watch a movie (or Sports Center) over anything else even if he has seen that movie once, twice or fifty times. One of his favorites just happens to be Forrest Gump. He actually rattles off lines to this movie frequently in his best Forrest Gump impersonation. I just came across this print on Etsy, I am thinking it might be perfect on his nightstand. Hmm?

8. O-bubs is doing really well! He has bounced back as if nothing even happened to him. Jack, on the other hand, seems to be pretty shaken up about the whole incident. He has been quietly talking to me about it and last night as I was laying with him for bedtime, he said, "Momma, I am so sorry about hitting Owen in the head with that rock...I am just really, really sorry". I know you are Buddy!

9. I had the day to myself on Wednesday, which gave me the opportunity to get some projects started and a few other projects completed. That being said, I apologize to any of you that may have seen me driving around in my car sans children rocking out to this song. I'm clearly loving it right now :)

10. Two Words: Jersey Shore

An Accident.

Is this Owen's new hair-do?

No, nope, that's not actually a new do nor is that red hair dye or red spray paint in his hair. Unfortunately, that is blood, a whole lotta blood. 

Le Sigh.

Here's the story, we were playing at the small (man-made) waterfall in our neighborhood this afternoon as we frequently do. The boys were throwing rocks from one waterfall to the other trying to make the biggest splash, a sort of small brotherly competition. They both were being very careful, but on the one last throw, Jack threw his rock underhand and sideways. This rock then hit Owen right in the head, knocking him down. It was a complete accident. There was instant gushing of blood down Owen's face (and I'm not exaggerating), so much that I took his shirt off to attempt to stop the bleeding. It was all very sudden and extremely scary. I tried to remain call, but I needed help as both boys were hysterically crying. I walked to my neighbor's house to ask for help of which then I got all emotional because my brain goes straight to the worse case scenario. I so need to work on this.

Anywho, wouldn't you know it, as I was wiping my tears and comforting Jack (he was so upset and felt just awful), O-bubs was asking to play with our neighbors. Thank goodness for them though...I am so lucky to have good neighbors! She helped me think clearly in this time of stress and even came with me to Urgent Care. Two mommies were needed as both boys needed major loves, comforts and talks about how "accidents happen".

We made it through, all of us! Most importantly, Owen walked away with a huge smile on his face despite the four staples in his head. With two rambunctious boys though, I foresee this being just the beginning.

A Challenge.

Ya'll know my absolute big l-o-v-e for Pinterest! Well, I was very intrigued when I saw younghouselove and bowerpower purpose a Pinterest Challenge...how fun! Also, what a great motivator to get my butt in gear and try one of my 1107 pins. Ya'll (no, I'm not from the South, nor have I ever lived in the South...it's just fun to type) also know that I am working on a gallery wall, which is taking me a little longer than I expected due to our summer fun in the sun! It just happened that both boys went down for some hard-core napping this afternoon, which gave me the perfect opportunity to take this challenge head-on, while also taking me one step closer to gallery wall completion.

I chose to replicate this heart embroidered map, which I thought would be a great addition to my wall.

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I gathered all my supplies, a frame, embroidery thread and needle and a map (which unfortunately I had to buy at Tarjey for $5 because I could not find one in my house for the life of me!).

I then set to work and after about 15 minutes I had.....

My version of the heart embroidered map that signifies a very special place to Pat and I!

I love it even if my heart is a little wonky! With only one set of a supplies, I had one go at it, but I still think it turned out pretty darn cute!

I quickly slapped it up on my in the works gallery wall. It looks as if it was always meant to be there.

Pinterest Challenge Completion :)

A Sunday Night Reminder.

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