Wednesday, January 27, 2010
I couldn't be prouder...
I am so proud of Tess right now...who knew that we were raising such a little Seinfeld-loving girl? When Miles wrecked their fort a few minutes ago, she looked to the ceiling and yelled "Serenity NOW!!"
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The 5th Time's the Charm?
What a saga...In the past week our wall in our family room has been 5 different colors. I'm not joking. We have painted that wall four times in the last 6 days. I am a horrible interior decorator; I really WANT to know how to decorate my house, but I just don't. I watch HGTV like nobody's business, but I just don't think I have that interior design gene in my body. Anyway, I think we finally have a color we both like...here are photos of all 5 revisions.
#1: The original color: beige. It was fine, but we wanted something new and different.
#2: This is actually a photo of our old house, but this is the same color we tried. Our family room in Riverdale had this nice sage green on the walls and we loved it. Everyone who saw it also commented that it was nice. But that was in a windowless basement, and in our house now we have 2 big windows in the family room; so in the sunlight it looked pretty bad--very mint green.
#3: We still wanted to try green, but we went with a really dark green this time. We wanted something fairly dark to contrast with the beige walls and oak entertainment center. We liked it a little, but we were both just trying to let it "grow on us" since last Monday. Finally yesterday we decided that it was not growing on us enough...
#4: You'll notice that we only got a few brush-strokes with this one before we changed our mind. Bryan wrote B+M for Bryan+Michonne (which is sweet), but he could've simply written BM because it looked like someone smeared poo on the wall. We were going for chocolate brown, to match our dark cabinets in the kitchen but this color looked very orangey/pooey on the wall.
#5: This is the chocolate brown we were hoping for. I took this picture tonight, with the flash, but I think it looks better in the sunlight. Anyway, we decided that, like it or not, we are going to keep this color for at least 1 year.
In the meantime, anyone who wants to write a persuasive letter to HGTV, telling them how much I need a surprise home makeover, please be my guest!
#1: The original color: beige. It was fine, but we wanted something new and different.
#2: This is actually a photo of our old house, but this is the same color we tried. Our family room in Riverdale had this nice sage green on the walls and we loved it. Everyone who saw it also commented that it was nice. But that was in a windowless basement, and in our house now we have 2 big windows in the family room; so in the sunlight it looked pretty bad--very mint green.
#3: We still wanted to try green, but we went with a really dark green this time. We wanted something fairly dark to contrast with the beige walls and oak entertainment center. We liked it a little, but we were both just trying to let it "grow on us" since last Monday. Finally yesterday we decided that it was not growing on us enough...
#4: You'll notice that we only got a few brush-strokes with this one before we changed our mind. Bryan wrote B+M for Bryan+Michonne (which is sweet), but he could've simply written BM because it looked like someone smeared poo on the wall. We were going for chocolate brown, to match our dark cabinets in the kitchen but this color looked very orangey/pooey on the wall.
#5: This is the chocolate brown we were hoping for. I took this picture tonight, with the flash, but I think it looks better in the sunlight. Anyway, we decided that, like it or not, we are going to keep this color for at least 1 year.
In the meantime, anyone who wants to write a persuasive letter to HGTV, telling them how much I need a surprise home makeover, please be my guest!
SAD...
I have been having the Winter Blues very badly this year, worse than most years...so I've done some quick research on the Internet--the phrase that makes all MDs cringe--about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD--how appropriate), and I really think I might have it. All of the symptoms fit me to a 'T' and I've felt this way for years. Here are some symptoms: irritability, impatience, depression, weight gain, lack of energy, etc; pretty typical stuff for the Winter Blues/Cabin Fever. In Logan, my roomies and I would go tanning a few times a week and I think that would help, but I'm too nervous about getting cancer to risk tanning anymore.
Anyway, I've been very blue and my sweet husband knows something is wrong. Even Tess will timidly ask me several times a day, "Mom, are you OK?" with a worried look on her face. (Probably because lately I've been "pyscho mama," who can flip out at the drop of a hat...) I'm not ready to check myself into the psych ward or anything, but I'm just sick of feeling crappy! So, I read about the therapy for SAD and it all says that Light Therapy helps. I told Bryan all about it, and look what he rigged up for me yesterday:
That's a 500 Watt light bulb, and a space heater, on an inflatable lounge chair, with a magazine and a cold drink. (He and Tess set it up for me as a surprise, in the laundry room so that it would heat up really fast in such a small space.) When he showed me this, I cried. Really. Then I immediately stripped down to my undies and lay there reading until I was sweating. It was so great.
I learned 2 things from this: #1-if you cry at the thought of sitting in a warm, bright environment, you just might have SAD, and #2-if you have a family that will do this for you, you just might be a very, very lucky lady.
Anyway, I've been very blue and my sweet husband knows something is wrong. Even Tess will timidly ask me several times a day, "Mom, are you OK?" with a worried look on her face. (Probably because lately I've been "pyscho mama," who can flip out at the drop of a hat...) I'm not ready to check myself into the psych ward or anything, but I'm just sick of feeling crappy! So, I read about the therapy for SAD and it all says that Light Therapy helps. I told Bryan all about it, and look what he rigged up for me yesterday:
That's a 500 Watt light bulb, and a space heater, on an inflatable lounge chair, with a magazine and a cold drink. (He and Tess set it up for me as a surprise, in the laundry room so that it would heat up really fast in such a small space.) When he showed me this, I cried. Really. Then I immediately stripped down to my undies and lay there reading until I was sweating. It was so great.
I learned 2 things from this: #1-if you cry at the thought of sitting in a warm, bright environment, you just might have SAD, and #2-if you have a family that will do this for you, you just might be a very, very lucky lady.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
The New 20
Well, yesterday Bryan turned 20 years old, because I tell him that 30 is the new 20. We were going to have a dinner date, but at the last minute we cancelled our babysitter and drove down to AF to see a truck (we're in the truck-shopping business right now...still haven't found exactly what we want...we'll keep looking.) But it worked out because we got to have dinner with Gramma & Grampa!
For his birthday treat I bought him a banana cream pie from Marie Callender's....that's right, he does not like cake and never has. On the first birthday after we got married I made him a pie--the easy Jell-O pudding recipe, and he told me it was great. I made it the 2nd year too, and maybe even the 3rd, until one day I overheard Bryan's dad tease him that HE was planning to make a banana cream pie for Bryan, but he only knew how to make the Jell-O kind, until Bryan's mom talked him out of it because Bryan hated the Jell-O kind. When I overheard this, I felt sheepish indeed, so for the next 3 birthdays I tried different recipes for b.c.p. and none were very good. So finally I decided "to heck with it" and have just bought him pies from a store ever since!
Tonight I took him out to dinner at the "peanut restaurant" (Texas Roadhouse), and yes, I did make him get up in the saddle while everyone yelled YeeHaw! We love that restaurant because it's yummy, noisy, and people are encouraged to throw food on the floor--so it's perfect for little kids! During dinner I interviewed him for the customary birthday interview.
me: What's your favorite thing to do?
him: I don't know. Make something up.
favorite food: steak
favorite dessert: banana cream pie, or full-fat chocolate ice cream (he really appreciates it more than ever since we only do fat-free ice cream now.)
favorite movie: the "Bourne" movies
favorite color: doesn't matter
where he would go if he could go anywhere: back to Hawaii with me (aaahhh, sweet!)
what he would do with $1 million: pay off the house, buy a truck, put the rest in retirement (ever the practical money-manager!)
That's about it. Bryan was eating steak and ice cream during the interview, so he was a little bit pre-occupied. I can't really ever tease his about his age, since I'm older... but I do just want to wish him a very happy birthday, and tell him how much I love him. I could have never asked for a better man to share my life with.
For his birthday treat I bought him a banana cream pie from Marie Callender's....that's right, he does not like cake and never has. On the first birthday after we got married I made him a pie--the easy Jell-O pudding recipe, and he told me it was great. I made it the 2nd year too, and maybe even the 3rd, until one day I overheard Bryan's dad tease him that HE was planning to make a banana cream pie for Bryan, but he only knew how to make the Jell-O kind, until Bryan's mom talked him out of it because Bryan hated the Jell-O kind. When I overheard this, I felt sheepish indeed, so for the next 3 birthdays I tried different recipes for b.c.p. and none were very good. So finally I decided "to heck with it" and have just bought him pies from a store ever since!
Tonight I took him out to dinner at the "peanut restaurant" (Texas Roadhouse), and yes, I did make him get up in the saddle while everyone yelled YeeHaw! We love that restaurant because it's yummy, noisy, and people are encouraged to throw food on the floor--so it's perfect for little kids! During dinner I interviewed him for the customary birthday interview.
me: What's your favorite thing to do?
him: I don't know. Make something up.
favorite food: steak
favorite dessert: banana cream pie, or full-fat chocolate ice cream (he really appreciates it more than ever since we only do fat-free ice cream now.)
favorite movie: the "Bourne" movies
favorite color: doesn't matter
where he would go if he could go anywhere: back to Hawaii with me (aaahhh, sweet!)
what he would do with $1 million: pay off the house, buy a truck, put the rest in retirement (ever the practical money-manager!)
That's about it. Bryan was eating steak and ice cream during the interview, so he was a little bit pre-occupied. I can't really ever tease his about his age, since I'm older... but I do just want to wish him a very happy birthday, and tell him how much I love him. I could have never asked for a better man to share my life with.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Yeah!
Miles has really discovered the word "yeah." I remember Tess doing this also, when she realized that "yeah" means "yes" but you just say it differently. When Miles does it he sounds like the boss in Office Space: "uh....yeeaaaahhhh" and he says it for all occasions.
Me: Good morning!
Miles: uh....yeeaaaahhhh (smiling)
Me, during lunchtime: How are you doing, buddy?
Miles: uh....yeeaaaahhhh (smiling, with a messy face)
etc.
I like it.
Me: Good morning!
Miles: uh....yeeaaaahhhh (smiling)
Me, during lunchtime: How are you doing, buddy?
Miles: uh....yeeaaaahhhh (smiling, with a messy face)
etc.
I like it.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
SnoCross
I took Bryan to the SnoCross event last night as an early birthday present. He has always loved snowmobiling and I had never been snowmobiling until I met him--it is so much fun to do! Anyway, I thought he'd enjoy seeing the races and the freestyle tricks that the pros can do on their sleds. It was so amazing. The races were exciting, but the best part for sure was the freestyle. I couldn't believe how high and far they could jump, and of course the most incredible trick of all was the backflip. How they can get a 500-pound+ sled to do a backflip (and land successfully!) is beyond me. I forgot to bring my camera, but here is a picture from the web. Awesome.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Puree Mania & Forts Made Easy
One of my very favorite Christmas gifts was the "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld. She teaches you how to sneak veggies into recipes so that your kids will be fooled into healthy eating! I LOVE IT! Basically you just cook the veggies and puree them to the consistency of baby food and then add them to your recipes. She even has tons of dessert recipes too! So, I've been going a little "puree happy" lately. I want to have a big stock in the freezer, so we've had puree mania at our house. Here's a photo of what we've made: there are peas, broccoli, spinach, sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, zucchini, cauliflower, and beets. I also use canned pumpkin for a few recipes. And I must admit that this is helping Bryan and ME to eat our veggies too!
Also, any parent will understand how much kids love forts (and any non-parent will remember how much he or she loved forts as a kid!), but they are kind of a pain to make....building the walls, re-building the walls after they've all fallen over, getting the blanket just right, doing it all again when you try to crawl inside and you bump a wall...etc. Anyway, yesterday I discovered a really easy fort that my kids thought was great. (I'm lucky that they're still little enough to think this fort is great; any older kid would probably realize how lame it really is.) Just have them lay on the couch and then drap the blanket over the back of the couch, then down at an angle and tuck it under the couch cushion. It's more of a tent, really, but like I said, my kids loved it and I wasn't about to argue with that!
Also, any parent will understand how much kids love forts (and any non-parent will remember how much he or she loved forts as a kid!), but they are kind of a pain to make....building the walls, re-building the walls after they've all fallen over, getting the blanket just right, doing it all again when you try to crawl inside and you bump a wall...etc. Anyway, yesterday I discovered a really easy fort that my kids thought was great. (I'm lucky that they're still little enough to think this fort is great; any older kid would probably realize how lame it really is.) Just have them lay on the couch and then drap the blanket over the back of the couch, then down at an angle and tuck it under the couch cushion. It's more of a tent, really, but like I said, my kids loved it and I wasn't about to argue with that!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
More home improvements...
Well, we've been in our house for a year now, and I'm starting to feel the bug to paint/change a few things here & there. I'm tired of every wall being beige, so Bryan & I decided to do chair rail and paint in the front room. It is the tiniest room in our house and it looked pretty "blah." So here is an "after" photo of the new chair rail and paint. It was a fun, quick, easy project that we feel makes a big difference (and it makes the room look bigger too!)On another note, Miles had his two-year well-child check a few weeks ago and he is off the charts for height; taller than 99% of other two-year-olds. Imagine my surprise, then, when the new pants that he got for Christmas are way too long (they're size 2T). When I checked his pants size of the clothes that currently fit him I found that he still wears 18 months pants! Wow...our kids really do have the squatty legs. Bryan says it's the Terry genes, but I always remember my mom complaining about short legs too, so I guess our kids are just doomed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)