Wednesday, March 20, 2013

SWW

Happy Hump Day!
 
Linking up again with Shannon for this week's So What Wednesday!
 
 
This week I'm saying So What if:
 
-I'm really nervous for the scan I have to get this afternoon to check my gall bladder. I'm worried I'm going to have a painful reaction to the injection (which will indicate that my gall bladder isn't functioning properly) and I'm worried I will need to have it removed.
 
-We waste money each week playing the lottery. You can't win if you don't play.
 
-I still plan to use Google Reader until it's gone in July. I've moved everything to BlogLovin but don't plan to use it til I have to.
 
-I have to check my personal email and Facebook before I can start actually working in the morning. This is part of why I try to get to work at least 10 minutes early.
 
-I still haven't bought anything for Hunters Easter basket yet. I guess I will this weekend.
 
-I always have to have my nails painted, if I don't, I pick and chew on them.
 
-I get so irritated watching the girls on Teen Mom 2 (seriously, they are all idiots) but yet I continue to watch. 

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Hanging Up

Over the past few weeks I've been making some small changes/updates to the decor in various rooms. Most of these changes involve the hanging of a new picture or new curtains. Small, relatively inexpensive changes that, in my opinion really add to the room.



One of the changes I had been wanting for a while was new bedding. I was sick to death of our old duvet cover and our sheets were literally getting holes in them. So I finally went ahead and ordered new sheets (color = stone) and a new duvet cover/pillow shams from Overstock. The duvet and shams have very light grey lines which I thought worked well with our grey walls. **Our walls are grey but the color is not showing well at all in these photos.** 
*We are still deciding on what to put above the bed*
 
I also decided to finally update our curtains since I really didn't like our old ones, especially after we painted the room. The grey from the curtains blended in with the grey color on the walls. So I decided to get lighter curtains (from IKEA) which would show up better against the grey walls. I'll be honest, they don't keep the sun out for shit but since we're usually up before the sun rises (thanks to our work schedules and our son) it doesn't really matter.

 
I think the white bedding and curtains helps lighten up the room against the grey walls and black furniture.
 

Here's a close up of the curtains. It has silver, grey, tan and black lines through it.
 
Most of our walls are still pretty bare, even after two years. We've had a hard time deciding what photos/artwork to hang. But we finally did hang one thing, on our wall next to the window. I bought this wood frame and letters, to create our monogram, from Michaels and had Kristian spray paint everything black. I like that the wall color is the background. I think having our monogram helps personalize "our" space a bit more.

*Yes I realize the S is upside down. I'm waiting for Kristian to fix it*
*Also, the frame isn't hung crooked, I took a crooked photo. Basically I suck at taking pictures*
 
In addition to our room we also hung a canvas photo in Hunters room. Believe it or not this is the first canvas print I've ever bought and hung in my house. I waited for a sale and got a great deal on this and I think it's the perfect addition to his room.

*This is one of my favorite photos from our family shoot this past fall. And also the photo used in my header.*
 
Here is the updated corner of his bedroom. I love that the background of the photo has trees in it which I think works well on Hunters "tree wall".  We also added this white storage cabinet, which use to be in our pre-renovated kitchen. It now holds his toys.

 
And last but not least, we FINALLY framed and hung a map of St. Lucia that we bought on our honeymoon almost THREE years ago! In fairness we couldn't find the print after we moved and Kristian stumbled upon it when going through the basement a few months back. We had to get a custom frame done since it's an odd size (and that ain't cheap FYI). We decided to hang it in our now renovated half bathroom downstairs since it has a bit of a beachy theme to it.


 
It's amazing to me how a few little changes and additions can really enhance a room. I just love our little updates. Now I just a need a money fairy so that I can keep making changes around the house.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Bloglovin

With the departure of google reader, I know a lot of people are moving to Bloglovin to follow blogs. Follow my blog with Bloglovin.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

SWW

It's that time again.
 
Time to link up with Shannon for another So What Wednesday!
 
This week I'm saying So What if:
 
-I was more than willing to lose an hour of sleep over the weekend for extra daylight in the evenings. I can now actually play with my kid outside when I get home from work.
 
-When I called my inlaws on Saturday to wish them a Happy Anniversary (45 years!!) I told my MIL I hoped she would get lucky that night. She laughed hysterically. Kristian was grossed out.
 
-Instead of buying something fun with our tax refund I'm using the money to pay off our credit card.
 
-It was all I could do not to yell at the customer service person from FIOS this morning when I called to question the charges on my bill. If she doesn't understand the charges how the hell am I supposed to?
 
-We have no plans for St. Patrick's Day. It's really not a holiday that I make a big deal out of but I did buy Hunter a new shirt for it.
 
-I will probably eat all the candy/food I buy for Hunters Easter Basket. Candy isn't good for him anyways.
 
-95% of Hunters clothes come from Target, Old Navy and Walmart (yes WALMART!) I don't believe in spending a lot of money on baby clothes that he will outgrow in a couple months or stain.
 
-I'm very proud of the fact that I haven't been to Starbucks in a week. That hasn't happened since I was pregnant. 

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Weekend Photo Dump

My kid has a new found obsession with brooms. He loves ours and at our last playdate with my friend Kelli he wouldn't put down her sons toy broom. After hearing this my mom decided to buy Hunter his own toy broom/dust pan set. I gave it to him on Sunday morning and he literally squealed with excitement.
Please pardon the mis matched jammies, we had a poop incident right before this photo.



I hope he continues to be this excited to see a broom in a few years when this is one of his chores.
 
I felt pretty crappy all weekend but on Sunday pulled myself together long enough go with Kristian and Hunter to the park and enjoy the beautiful weather we were having. Spring was definitely in the air. This kid LOVES being outside and LOVES the park. He only wanted to stay in the swing for a short time because he had places to go and things to explore.

Umm why do you look like a 5 year old?!

Think he's excited to be outside?! Nope, not at all.

Ooooh dirt!

Look Ma, I can throw the dirt! Typical Boy.

Shadow family.
 
When we got back to the house we decided to drop Moxie off and grab Halpert who always desperately wants to go outside. So we took the cat on a little nature walk in the woods behind our house. He actually will follow us up and down the path without a leash and without any issues. He's actually better behaved than the dog.



 
Once again yesterday morning as soon as I brought Hunter downstairs he immediately went for his toy broom. Obsessed is an understatement. And of course he threw a fit when I refused to let him bring it to daycare. I know. I'm a horrible mother.

 
Check out the video below. He's a natural.

 


Monday, March 11, 2013

Recipe- Asparagus Carbonara

Yesterday I found a recipe I had torn out of the Rachel Ray magazine years ago and decided to make it for dinner last night. It's a bit more labor intensive than I remembered but it turned out great and Kristian was happy so that's a win in my domestic goddess book. 

Asparagus Carbonara


Ingredients:
2 large eggs
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 pound spaghetti
1 bunch asparagus cut into 2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons EVOO
5 slices of bacon (I used 6, the more the better)
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper

In a large bowl beat together the eggs and cheese.



Cook the pasta until al dente, adding the asparagus during the last minute of cooking. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water. 


Add the hot pasta and asparagus to the egg mixture and toss to coat. 


Meanwhile in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat and cook the bacon until crisp. Stir in the garlic. Add the wine and cook until slightly reduced, about 1 minute.


Stir the bacon mixture into the pasta, adding enough of the reserved pasta water to moisten. Season with salt and pepper. 


And voila!




Thursday, March 7, 2013

Snow Day 2013

We haven't gotten a decent snow storm in about 2 years. We've had a few very minor snow "storms" but nothing that produced anything significant. Hunter has two snowsuits that he's already outgrown that never even had the tags removed. So when I heard we would be getting anywhere from 3-10 inches yesterday I was psyched.

Well the "snowquester", like most snowstorms in the DC area, turned out to be a big letdown. Yes we did get a few inches where I lived but many people just saw rain. The few inches we got were the wet, heavy, notveryfuntoplayin type of snow but I was determined to get Hunter in his new, big boy snowsuit and go out to get a few pictures play.

Fortunately I was able to telework so I got to spend the day with my little dude in between answering work emails. We started the day with some snuggles in bed.
 
Followed by Hunter checking out all the white stuff outside.


We had a couple inches early on in the day.
 
Hunter is finally starting to enjoy cartoons and will actually sit and watch them for probably 10 minutes tops but I'll take those 10 minutes of snuggling when I can.

 
Finally, after Kristian got home from work and Hunter woke up from his nap, I bundled him up in the snowsuit my inlaws bought him for Christmas. Fortunately it's 24 month size so hopefully it will still fit next winter. I think it took longer to get him dressed than we actually stayed outside for.

 
I don't know if it was the bulkiness of the snowsuit or the wet snow itself but Hunter did NOT want to stand or walk or even sit in the snow.

 
But I managed a few cute photos. Pardon the pacifier, he screamed bloody murder when I tried to take it away. I guess he needed a safety blanket so to speak.

 
Yep that's what happened when I took the paci away.

 
Daddy snuck in for a quite photo as well.

 
We gave Hunter a little snow to eat and after the initial confusion over the cold he wanted more.

 
Unlike Hunter, Moxie loved running around in the snow. She had a blast but I wasn't fond of the wet dog smell that lingered on her the rest of the day.

 
When we came back inside I had to get some more work done so my boys took a nap in the basement next to the fire for an HOUR! I was actually pretty jealous. Hunter never naps like this with me, only daddy.

 
Despite not getting as much snow as they predicted we made the best of the snow day at home together which I had been wishing for all winter.