Friday, April 27, 2012

InstaFriday Once Again!!!


WhatAWeek!  Whew!  Wanna see what we did?

 Last week started out with a bit of a blast from the past!  Once a year we invite former students, current high school students to come and speak to our 8th graders, giving them advice/letting them ask questions, etc.  It is always a fun day to catch up with old, familiar faces.  I get to see Taylor quite a bit (on the right, you'll see her later in a pic to, can't get rid of her actually...just kidding, we love you at the Roseland house Tay) but was pleasantly surprised to get to see Kylie and have her come in and talk with the students too!  She was a former homeroom homie and one of the best TA's ever!

  Friday school day was awesome, but I was even more excited for after school, where I had planned to meet up with my girlfriend Candis for dinner and a movie (The Lucky One).  She sent me a calendar invite literally months ago, we don't always get to spend just girlfriend time with our busy schedules, so it made it that much more special!  My tire had other plans.  After I filled up at QT I started to drive away and something just felt wrong.  I got out and checked, things looked fine.  Started slowly driving away again and same thing.  Pulled next to the curb and got out one more time.  Sure enough flat tire.  To make a long story short, after two hours of dealing with the insurance, get a tow truck or not?, two wonderful gentleman changed my tire (so thankful for them and good to know there are strangers out there willing to help, just because) and I headed to Discount Tire before it closed.  The culprit of my flat tire was an Alan Wrench!  Uggggggh.  Needless to say, I did not make it to dinner or the movies with Candis and I was sad (and out waaaaaaaaay more money).


 Saturday was busy, like usual.  We spent our morning at the ballpark.  It was beautiful (and hot).  Kyan had some big hits and played great.  Lola is typically off with her friends playing around the ball field close by. There is the cutest hound dog that comes to all of the games and the kids usually have her surrounded.  She is so calm and sweet to them and Lola just loves her, so when she is there, Lola always takes a break from playing and gives her lots of attention!  After the game, Kyan went with me to get my tires changed and then we headed to the salon to get him a haircut!  He wanted Bieber's short hair do and Zonia nailed it!
In the afternoon, Chad and I prepped for supper club - Jewish style!  If you missed the menu, click here, it was delicious, as usual!  We learned how to play dreidel, who knew it was so much fun??!!


 Sunday was HOTTTTTTTT!  Like hot enough that even I was in the pool with those two cuties!  It is so nice that they can swim (Lola with her floaties and Kyan like a fish) and play so well together, I got a lot of reading done while chillaxin' in the water!  What am I reading you ask?  Jodi Picoult's Lone Wolf.  It is so good, just taking me longer than usual to get through, but I am short on time lately and only get to squeeze in reading for a couple minutes here and there.  Can't wait for summer!


 Working on Kyan's teacher's birthday present with another mama and gave her my contribution.  Thanks to the girls at eighteen25 for coming up with this idea and sharing the printable for it!  Mrs. B drinks Starbucks like I drink ice tea, so her gift should get her a couple days worth of drinks!  
Before Lola went to sleep, she found some silly glasses and we took some silly pictures!


 Only on Monday's do both of my kids have PE and have to wear tennis shoes.  Lola was so excited to sport her new shoes to school, along with her fancy dress!  Kyan, on the other hand, was pumped to wear his skeletoes (his daddy has the exact same pair)!  He said all the kids were asking about them!  He hasn't worn them since though, because they got too much sand in them (both the kids come home with their shoes full each day)!  He said he wants to save wearing them for the weekends!


 Wednesday we went on a field trip to ASU with the 8th graders.  I forgot to eat breakfast, so I snuck a few fish crackers on the drive over, even though I told my students they couldn't eat.  Bad example.  It was a "do as I say, not as I do" kinda day!
After school, Meagan came over for some sewing lessons.  Wouldn't you know she cranked out two blankets without having to use the seam ripper once.  She is either just that good or a liar (I totally joke) that she hasn't sewn before!  We had a lot of fun.  It is cool to watch someone just "get it" and realize that it really isn't that hard to sew!


 Thursday was yet another baseball game and the first time I felt like a "soccer" baseball mom!  One of my girlfriends at school had a few appointments and her husband had to finish up at work, so I took her son home with me.  Gianni is on Kyan's team, so off we went to pick up Kyan, Lola, and Lucas at extended day!  Lucas, another player on the baseball team, is going to start coming home with us on Thursdays from now on, as his parents get off work right on time for the start of the game, so since he and Kyan are at the same school and are buddies, it works out perfect!  For the first time in my life I can honestly say that I wanted a minivan, but it was just for that split second when my trunk was packed full of all our bags/baseball gear just so we could fit uncomfortably in my little Fit.
I was telling Taylor and Alyssa about my minivan visions and they told me, "just wait, this is only the beginning.  It get's worse!"  I couldn't help but smile on the inside just a little bit.  I know it is true, at least until they can drive themselves!  When you ask me in a couple of years how I am liking all that driving everywhere, I probably won't be able to answer this the same way, but for now, I am loving every second of it!

 And last, but not least, and my favorite picture of the week:  Sleeping kids in Lola's bed.  Kyan asked to sleep with Lola Thursday night and watch the same movie she was.  Usually when this happens, they watch the show and he finds his way back to his room, but tonight, he brought his stuff over to fall asleep with and he sure did!  Both of them!  Kinda thought Kyan outgrew this stage, but happy to see that when I went upstairs to check on them, they were curled up and snoozing away together.  Melted this mama's heart for sure.  I love how close they are and it brought back a lot of memories that I have with my little brother.  If you are reading Joel, love ya!

I hope everyone had a great week and has plans for a fantastic weekend!  

Linking up with Jeannett over at Life Rearranged!

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Sunday, April 22, 2012

Supper Club - Spring {2}

 This supper club was like no other we have done before.  Instead of going with food surrounding the season, Holly & Adam decided to go with a Jewish theme and expose us to food we most likely haven't eaten a whole lot of before!  Being that Adam is Jewish, there was even a family recipe that was shared with us!

I know I say this a lot, but I really love these girls.  I have been lucky enough to work with them for the past five years on the same team.  Without getting too sentimental, this was our last supper club where that bond will be shared.  As I sat with them Saturday night, it popped up in my head quite a few times and as I type about them now, I could cry.  They are not just my friends, but my family and I can't help but wonder what supper club is going to sound like, not so much this summer, but next fall, when we are at different points in our teaching careers?  I know that we will remain friends for life, but I can't help but wonder what our conversations might sound like {and no we don't just talk about school stuff, in fact, we try to refrain from it to save our husbands ears}.  For now, I won't think about it, just how much these girls mean to me!

How The Supper Club works:
1. No kids.
2. The host comes up with the menu and then divides out the recipes to each of the supper club members to prepare for the party (we have four parties per year, each couple takes a season).
3. The host always provides the main dish/side dish with a variety of beverage selections.
4. Remember that it is sometimes best to semi-prepare your dishes and do last minute baking, chilling, slicing, or arranging at the home of the host.
5. Menu items should be new and adventurous.
6. Portion sizes must be small so that you have room to taste every course of the evening, so feel free to reduce recipes in half where ever you see fit.


The Menu
Click on the name of the food/drink and it will take you right to the recipe!

Cocktail:
*we didn't have martini glasses, so wine glasses had to do!

Appetizer Hour:

*no picture of this because we couldn't get it to work!  When it went to be fried, it disintegrated.  This was our first time ever where we didn't have something work!  No worries, Kristen and Abel headed to the store to get Pita Bread to enjoy with the various dipping sauces they made, including:

During appetizer hour we had a Jewish word hiding under our plate.  It was funny to hear the words added into our conversations at dinner!  While this was not my word, I think it was the funniest word of the night!

Salad:

 Main Course:
Potato Latkes w/ Sour Cream and Applesauce
Family Briskett (no link, see below for recipe)

3-4 lbs. brisket

Mix the following:
2 T of liquid smoke
1 T of garlic salt
1 T of onion salt
2 T of celery seed
1 T Worcestershire salt
one packet of Adelfo meat merinate
add 2/3 cup of water

Cover meat with mix in shallow baking dish.  Cover with foil and bake 4 hours at 325 degrees.
 Uncover and add one cup of BBQ sauce and leave uncovered for one more hour.

The Briskett was my favorite part of the meal, sooooooooooo good!

After dinner, we decorated our very own dreidel, so that we could have one to take home and play on our own!  This was our entertainment for the evening, something that the host couple comes up with to do either after dinner or in between courses!  Holly and Adam stuck with the Jewish theme and taught us a Jewish game to play!

While the paint was drying on our own dreidel's, Adam taught us how to play, using his {or rather Sydney's - their daughter}!  It was really fun and got very competitive for those M&M's!

Dessert:

 Thank you Holly and Adam for a wonderfully planned meal and a fun night together! 
Looking forward to this summer and our turn to host...I better start planning the menu!


If you missed out on the first year, or want to see what we eat last year, head to this post, where it will take you to our winter supper club {2} together and at the bottom of that post, will share a link to the other menus!  I NEED to work on a Supper Club tab for the blog, but until I have some extra time, I will just keep directing you to past posts if you are curious to see what we ate or are wanting to plan your own!


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 Linking up with some of my favorite party peeps this week!

Friday, April 20, 2012

It's that Time Again...

I love Fridays for multiple reasons...and Instafriday is the icing on the cake!  I love looking back and seeing what we were up to for the week!  Plus, it seems like it is all I have time to blog about lately, we are so busy, but it is holding me accountable!

My sweet angel girl.  I love her.

 My kids love the craft room as much as I do and when I am in there they are always finding projects to work on too!  Last Friday night Lola was Kyan's assistant to his coloring.  Any color he wanted, she found it and handed it over!  
When it comes time for bed, Lola begs me to snuggle her for just 5 minutes.  Most nights her wish is granted!!!  She has trouble sleeping on her own, she is scared of EVERYTHING!  Ugh, thought she was over this stage, but I guess it is back!  I know it won't stay like this forever and she won't want anything to do with me sooner than later, but a bedtime with her falling asleep on her own or staying in her room the whole night for just one night would be quite nice.

 Saturday I woke up bright and early and headed to the east valley to go garage saling with my mother-in-law and my friend Meghan!  We hit up the fabric store too, which is my little slice of heaven lately!  Always a project or 12 I have in mind to work on!
After a full day of thrifting, we had movie night at home!  Kids upstairs in mommy and daddy's room, mommy and daddy downstairs!  I was so tired that I ended up crashing about half way through, not surprising though, I fall asleep during almost every movie watched at home.

I took a bunch of pictures on Sunday for one of my dad of one of his rental houses bright and early and as soon as I got home, I sat my butt on the couch and didn't get up until almost 3pm!  It was just too comfy!  Lola and I headed out for an afternoon of shopping at our favorite spots - Target and Old Navy!  We are happiest when we shop.
Because I was a slacker, I didn't look through backpacks until I was packing lunches Sunday night, whoopsie!  Kyan was the star student this week and needed to decorate a poster and fill in facts - All About Him!  Let's just say we missed bedtime!
  
 On Monday, Lauren over at Whimsy Lane, emailed me and told me about the signage at local store that was closing.  I knew about the store closing {so sad, it is where I bought my sewing machine and found my love for sewing again, sigh} but not about the letters for sale.  You can bet I high tailed it down to the store after work to get me an R!  I have a collection and this one is the biggest one yet!  
Kyan's team learned to slide at practice this week!  Was so much fun to watch them and the boys loved it!

Tuesday I went to meet my girlfriend's new baby, Delany Rose.  She was born 5 weeks early and gave her mommy a run for her money, but she is healthy and beautiful!  I snapped some pictures of her for Camille and Brandon.  I was so proud to see that Camille brought the swaddling blanket I made her to the hospital.  Delany looked so cute all bundled up tight in it!
Congratulations Keilman's on becoming a family of four!

 Wednesday after work I had a much needed hair appointment.  Zonia {my hair lady} explained to one of her other clients whose hair she was cutting while mine processed under the dryer that I was the devil and every 4 weeks she helps me get my angel on {when her client asked what the heck was over my head}!  It was hilarious!  
When I came home, I granted Lola her wish to have her nails/toes painted hot pink.  As soon as I was done everything on her body began to itch.  Soooooooooo annoying.  But her nails/toes look good!

 Thursdays are game days and today Kyan got his helmet back from one of his friend's dad!  He spent the week painting it red/black and it looks awesome!  Kyan was so excited to wear it when he came up to bat!  
But before they played, Kyan said the Little League Pledge before the game.  Seriously melted my heart! 

Hope you had a great week!  Looking forward to the weekend and another season of Supper Club...stay tuned for a post with real pictures soon!

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Friday, April 13, 2012

InstaFriday, How I Love Thee!

It's official, I AM obsessed with Instagram, but if you follow me, you already know that I post way too many pictures!  Can't help it, I will try to keep it under control!  Love being able to capture the little moments from our week!
 
 
Last Friday, for school spirit week, I transformed another t-shirt that was too big into a tank top for Lola!  I seriously love how quick and easy this is to do!  After work, I joined all of the girls I work with for happy hour and we sure did get happy!


Saturday we had a BUSY day!  Woke up bright and early for Little League Opening Day!  Was a morning filled with fun activities for the kids (to see more "real pictures" and the day, click here) and then headed over to Chad's cousin's house for an Easter celebration!  We went nonstop Saturday!  The bunny made his delivery late Saturday night so that it would be ready for the kids to enjoy when they woke up Sunday morning!


Because our Saturday was so jam packed, we laid low Sunday and just enjoyed a lazy day as a family, playing with the toys the bunny left!  It was perfect!


On Monday, while driving through McDonald's, something I do three times a week, I started to think about how I was going to drink my ice tea next year?!  We'll either be walking or biking to school and I won't be able to drive through anymore!!!  Hmmmm....lots to figure out, good thing I have a few months!  I also took a picture of Adam Levine and posted about my celebrity crush and why I live for Monday and Tuesday nights because of him! 


On Tuesday, I had the cutest outfit picked out for Lola.  She had other ideas in mind for it.  She told me that her purplish/pink shorts were "goofus" and that she would NOT wear them!  She then crossed her arms and told me that she was not going to look "cute" at school with those things on.  Seriously?  She is four.  I finally convinced her that she was going to be stylish (she didn't really like that either for the longest time) and that I would fix her hair curly for her if she would just get dressed!  She loves her hair curled with the 3 barrel curling iron, but she is the hardest thing to wake up in the morning, so she usually just gets a ponytail!  Kyan?!  Oh, he is easy and has the sweetest smile!  Love how he makes our mornings run smooth all the time!


 Wednesday we headed to my new favorite picture spot (the steps) and they let me snap away again!  Love Kyan's little pose and Lola's sweet smile!  I stayed late at work until I finished my career ladder documents!  SUCH.A.RELIEF.  When I got home, I promised Lola she was going to be able to make pizza for the second evening in a row!  She is very serious about her pizza making and Kyan let her make his pizza for him too!  We cleaned Oreo's cage and afterwards, Kyan spent lots of time holding her! 


 Thursday marked Kyan's first Baseball game in a new little league!  Because he plays on the Reds, the kids and I wore the appropriate color to school today to represent him and his team!  5:45pm marked game time and we made sure to get to the park nice and early to warm up!  Kyan played great, hitting both a single and a double (they only let them run through two bases)!  While playing catcher, he caught one of the balls that a player tipped up!  He got the batter out!  It was awesome and I happen to be trying to get a picture of him at catcher and accidentally caught him catching the ball on that very play!!


Linkin' up with Jeannett again!
This has really become my favorite linky party that I have done, makes me sit down and reflect on our week!  Thanks for stopping by!  Hope y'all have a great week!


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Sunday, April 8, 2012

Easter Weekend 2012

**Warning - PICTURE OVERLOAD!  
That being said, our Saturday was CrAzY busy and I tried to do my best to capture it on camera!

We started off our morning bright and early at the ballpark for opening {little league} day!  Their was a parade, games, autograph signing, and plenty of picture opportunities {including the professional team picture}!
Our team looked good walking around the field and our banner was awesome!  Coach Keri had them chanting as they rounded the bases!  Was super cute tough!
The ceremony was quite lengthy and Lola watched at the fence with Kibo, her stuffed giraffe, when she wasn't eating popcorn!

After the parade and opening ceremony the real fun began, can you say bounce houses/slides/obstacle courses!?!
Shocked Lola went on the biggest one there was!  She squealed the whole way down and then got right back into line to do it again, and again, and again!

Was hilarious to watch!

Kyan and Zizzy, the mascot from the Goodyear Ballpark Stadium.  He was funny!

This is Lola's new pose.  I found about 10 of these pictures on my camera!

 In line gettin' ready to race each other!
 This one above is my favorite picture from the day!  They had so much fun!

 Love them.

While Kyan was getting official pictures taken with his team, we all enjoyed a snow cone!

 After pictures, we headed over to Chad's cousins house for Easter festivities!  Only about once a year to we get to hang with these cousins and no time is wasted when everyone sees each other!  The dinner was delicious, fun games and activities were all around the backyard for the kids to do, swimming, egg hunt, and pinata bashing!  Perfect finish to the day!
 The bunny mask the kids had to wear was classic!

 Oh maaaaaaan, I love them! 

Our day was so busy Saturday, we spent all of Sunday enjoying Easter baskets and chillaxin' as a family!  Perfect end to the weekend!

 So finally, I leave you with this...

Happy Easter from our family to yours!


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