Spring weather

This is what the weather looked like last night.....

....and this is what the weather felt like:

And this is what my new telephoto lens will capture from all the way across the baseball field:

I can't wait for a game that doesn't require winter clothing and gloves on my hands to be able to play more!

Love

This child loves baseball.

Last night was his first game in the "major leagues" with the big kids.  He loves baseball, and was so excited, but I could see a bit of nervousness when we got to the field.

He did great.  He had some misses (which the coach prepared them for!), and he fortunately had some great plays to build his confidence in this new, and much more intense, league.  The pitches were faster, the hits harder, the kids bigger....but the fun was increased too.  It took a few innings for the nerves to wear off, and I saw the typical, game lasting grin across his face.

This kid loves baseball.  I love this kid.

Yoda eggs and bunny tales

I almost had a major bunny fail today, and that is my bunny tale for the day (as in story, not little furry bunny butt). 

I knew the bunny (THE Bunny) needed to get her tail in gear, but with the recent snowstorms, it just didn't seem like Easter.  It really snuck up on me. 

We don't do a whole big "second Christmas" kind of thing around here.  The main reason for the season is the religious one, but we do enjoy helping out the bunny big time.  Since it's not a
a gift-giving or list making opportunity, if he does ask for something, its fun to make sure it happens.

This year, it was the new plastic eggs shaped as Yoda heads.  Yep, Yoda heads.  He's been a long time Star Wars fan (long time for a 9 year old!), and he found this basket for our annual egg hunt/Easter part this year.

So when he saw Yoda head eggs, he loved them.  Check. Marked it down. Snow #1 put me off schedule, remembered the eggs, snow #2 put me off again, marked it down, remembered, forgot and then....well, round and round I went. 

Today, 3 days prior to the big day, I ran to the store.  You got it: no Yoda heads.

Store #2: No Yoda heads.  She had never heard of Yoda head eggs and thought I was a little nuts (she was very nice, and one day will understand running around like a crazy mom before a holiday to get that one thing your kid asked for....you know, exactly the kind of thing you said you'd never do before you were a mom, cause you know, it's about the spiritual part, not....OK, now I'm just boring myself).

So...store #3, nope, they didn't order any special eggs. 

Store #4, and my day is really waning away like the gibbous moon at this point (and since I learned that, I've really wanted to use that phrase in a sentence). 

Anyway, store #4 and I was getting tired, and thinking the next option was the second WalMart 10 miles north.  And the puppy was home crated and I knew ready for me to be done with all of this yoda head nonsense. 

And there they were.  Not only did I find Yoda heads, but Darth Vader heads too. 

Oh yeah.  This bunny is rockin'.

So when you wonder what kind of house project or DIY thing I did today, nada. Zilch. Zero.

But I did get my exercise.  And we may have eeked out one more year of belief in those things that just seem unbelievable. 

Rockin' I tell ya.

Ouch! Nails and .....nails!

I'm in the middle of my first every re-upholstery project.  More on that later, but for now, OW!

These nails are taking a toll on my nails.  Not that my fingernails ever look good, but this is painful!

 They are so small that I can't get a good grip on them before having to start hammering, which means my fingers are getting "hammered".

I'm liking the project and the fabric  I chose, so it's worth it in the end. 

Fortunately, this is the same thumb I smashed in my flooring project last January; maybe it's toughened up?

Stay tuned; I can't wait for this project to be done....both for my thumb, and for the finished product!
Just another reason that the "nails" for this mom will still need to be the metal kind, and not the fancy painted finger type.

Happy spring?

Please no chevron, OK?

Have you seen the chevon craze?  We used to call it "zig-zag", but I guess the new thing is chevon; it's everywhere.  It's hot in the decorating blogs, stores, clothing....it's everywhere.

And that's a sure fire-way to make me avoid it.  So please, please tell me this isn't chevron?

I finally pulled the plug and bought some fabrics I liked, just putting an end to the going around in circles and not doing anything routine....

The one on the right I really fell in love with....

 ....and the one on the left sort of just fit in with the colors, but a different pattern.

 It wasn't until I got home that I panicked....this isn't chevron, right? It's just sort of ....zig-zaggy, right?

And with spring on the horizon (as we wait for one last snow storm this weekend), I can't wait to get outside and dig in the dirt and plant things that bloom.  And speaking of bloom, I can't wait to show you what I'm doing with the "bloom" fabric above!  Can't wait!

So...it's not chevron, right?

Cake pop-a-palooza

Have you jumped on the cake-pop wagon yet?  If not, you need to.  Or don't, because they are a little sphere of chocolate love.  Really, they are that good.
I heard of cake pops for the first time years ago before they were the "in" thing to make.  And honestly? They sounds gross to me.  I love cake, but I'm not the biggest fan of icing.  So hearing that you mush (ugh, the word even sounds yucky!) a whole can of icing into perfectly good cake and mush it together? Not so great sounding.  So I avoided them for years.
Until one day I was just....bored I guess.  I love to bake.  We love to eat baked goods.  Because we love to eat baked goods so much, I stopped baking.  But this is worth it.

I've tried cake pops a few times, and have ironed out the wrinkles in the process now.  This isn't a quick make-at-the-last-minute kind of dessert: it takes some time and patience, so I usually only do them for special occasions.  Easter is one.

So to make the pops:

 Make a cake. Any cake, any flavor. Break it up until it looks like this:

Once it's all crumbly, add in a whole can of icing (1 can to one 8x11 sheet).  Mix.

Keep mixing until you have a firm, mushy mixture.  It should stick together into a ball. 

Form into balls.  This is where I love my Pampered Chef scoop: this is the medium size.  Using the scoop keeps everything uniform, and you know with kids (of all ages), everyone having the same portion is a big deal.

scoop compared to a tablespoon

 At this point I've learned that the freezer is your friend.  Stick these puppies in the freezer for 5-8 minutes.  Take them out and roll; Freeze for another 5-8 minutes.

During your last freezing spell, melt a little bit of chocolate.  I've used both the Wilton brand the the grocery store brand with success.  Dip candy sticks (bought from a craft store) into the chocolate, and then into the ball.
Yep: freeze again for a few minutes to let the chocolate and the stick become one.  Trust me: this will make your life easier in the next minutes.

 

Hint: Always place your pops on a cookie sheet as you are working with them; this makes it easier to transfer in and out of the freezer. Hint Two: Check first to make sure your sheet will fit into the freezer before you load all the cake pops.  Trust me. Check ahead.

Now comes the dipping part.  Melt chocolate; double boilers are recommend for melting, but I found using the microwave works just fine. The key is slow, a minute at a time on 50% power, stir and repeat.  

I melt my chocolate in a measuring cup that has a pour spout.  Then I pour this into a tall, narrow mug. This makes dipping so much easier.  

Dip; twirl, tap. Dip, twirl tap.  Touch down into sprinkles or other decorations; this also helps the pop from sticking as it dries.  

I've tried to do pops "right side up" in a lollipop form, but doing them upside down is easier and the kids eat them just as quickly. 

Follow these tips and you can go from this:

.....to this!  Happy Baking!

First day of Spring

Spring.  It's there, just waiting to bust open.  There's that, and there's the forecast of snow for Sunday into Monday.  But it's there, the promise of what is to come.

it's just a pillow

All those years ago when we were just starting out, money was tight.  And when I say "tight", I mean $5 left at the end of the month when we hadn't even eaten out at McDonald's for the month.  Yes, that kind of tight.

Slowly things loosened up, and we started replacing the hand-me-down furniture we had accumulated in our first apartment. 

We fell in love/like with a white sofa with a floral print.  I know, it sounds hideous now, but at the time it was new, white and beautiful.  And it hadn't been handed down through siblings and parents and friends of whomever.  It was new.

I remember getting ready to pull the plug on what was our first huge purchase together, and then panicking.  I call mom.  I said "What if we buy this huge white floral sofa and then HATE it?"

She said to me: "Remember, it's just a sofa".  And it was true.  It was just a sofa.  Since then we've had red plaid come and go and now a comfortable solid sage green. 

Now I just want a few pillows that are different from the red/green color pattern I've had for a while.

I have some beautiful samples I've brought home this week, and I love the change it will bring to the whole room.  I'm sure of the color palette I've chosen. 

So, the question remains....why can't I pick? 

After all, it's just a pillow.

S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y ..... DAY!

.....because we just could never stay up for SNL....

It's another action packed Saturday around here: sleep in, move out the toddler bed, a little shopping, a little baseball, a little chinese takeout.  And as I type that, it hits me: we gave away the boy's toddler bed today.  It's gone.  Another little piece of his growing up memories that has gone out the door.

The transition to the big boy bed was not an easy one.  He loved his crib....until the day he jumped over the top rail and fell face first into the floor.  He didn't break his nose (we did have it checked), but that was the day he gave up the crib.  And that was the day he went from a great napper and sleeper to the most challenging sleeper we've ever had.  Oh yeah, he's the only one we've ever had...but it was tough people

And to all of you out there that are becoming parents, here is just a fair warning: don't do it.  Don't say "I'll never...." ever if you think it's the least likely thing you'll ever do as a parent.  Like co-sleep.

Yep. We co-slept.  For a while.  A long while.  And this is the child that slept in his own crib, in his own room, from the first day he came home.  And here at 3, we gave up the battle and co-slept for longer than we care to admit a while.

But this bed was the bomb in time.  It started on the floor, became a loft and a batcave, then a floor bed again.  We slept in the bed, under the bed, in the bed with Mardi the kitty and shared storytimes up there.

Memories.  And they went out the door today.

But that's really not true: the bed went out the door, but the memories are alive and well.  And that awesome fun bed is headed out to start new memories with a new family of two precious little girls.

I imagine it might not be a batcave.  I can only imagine the possibilities of a princess castle or more.

Goodbye bed....hello precious memories.

The Friday Trifecta

This week hasn't had a lot of fun in it...at least not the type of fun I like to have!  So tonight, I announced that I was going out.  Yep, out.  And it was fun.  I hit the trifecta of fun stores in my experience.

First: the fabric store.  Yes...I bought a new piece of fabric for a project I've had in mind a number of times.  Now, when I'm ready to do it, I have it.  And the best part? It was on the clearance table!

Second: TJMaxx, to wander through the housewares aisle.  My vision for new colors in the living room came to life in three little purchases that included a turtle. 

Third: Lowe's.  Yep, that pretty much wraps up my night, and I added a little piece of wood for another pending thought of a project. 

More on all of that later: fabric, blue turtles and moulding.  Yep, it was the perfect start to the weekend!

Decorating....for real people!

 As much as I love to surf decorating blogs, they really are never going to be reality in my house.  Every space here is used, cluttered, and a piece of our everyday life.  Take our shelves for instance:

 

 Trophies from YMCA games......

 

 .....projects from paint-it-yourself trips that we love doing together....

 ....and art projects from school. 

This is our reality.

 

 Legos are another part of our everyday reality, and I decided that they aren't going to be tucked away upstairs to gather dust.  Nope, they are going to gather dust right here where we can see them!

 This year's Winter Village (my first of many, I hope!) took me days to put together.  It isn't going to be packed away to only enjoy once a year.

 

 The great shelf re-do of 2013 is underway.  And yes, our reality includes backpacks and ball bags. 

 

And a place of honor for all of our dust-collecting memories. 

 

This is our life.  Right here, in the middle of the living room. 

 

Where we can enjoy it.