therapy thursday: pinterest

Just popping in to appoligize for the silence.

We took Sam to see the pediatric urologist yesterday, he has hypospadias and it's worse than we thought. :( He'll need surgery to correct it. I'll write more about that when I get a chance to sit down without the wiggler on me.

For a little therapy - and a lot of eye candy - check out my new favorite site: pinterest!

I'll fill you in on the going-ons soon. Promise.

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wifley wednesday: romance tips

It's been a goal in life (I have many) to write a book.

Although this isn't quite what I had in mind, I technically have WRITTEN a book. As in, filled up a notebook. In writing. That I've spent several years working on and adding to.

I know, I know, I'm suddenly not very impressive as you thought I might be.

Today I'm going to encourage you do to the same! You don't have to follow my format (not that there's really a format) - be as creative or as UNcreative in your presentation as you wish. It's the content that really counts.

The idea behind it is that I know what *I* think is romantic, but that doesn't mean the hubs doesn't know what I think is romantic.

So I figured I'd tell him.

It's not just romance tips either, it's also filled with journaling, random thoughts, and lists. I love making lists.

So, I hope this inspires you to start something similar. :)

romance tips:
notebook
pen
all the romance you can muster

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My series on struggles will hopefully continue next week. My poor blog has taken a back seat to catching up on past seasons of my favorite show. Any guess what that might be? ;)

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toddler tuesday: art, dates, and tips

A day late, yes. A dollar short? I'd like to think not. Better late than never though. :)

3 Parts to todays post - art, dates, and tips. Here we go:

Part 1: Art (no explanation needed)

Part 2: Dates
To insure a successful play date, the following is required: cute kid, best friend, and mama's camera. :)

The whole crew:

Part 3: 3 Tips
Just some things I've found to be very helpful in keeping my toddler busy while I learn how to juggle her and the wee one.
1. A wet rag. I'm not sure why, but I'm gald - Millie takes great joy in helping mama clean. She can "clean" windows, floors, the TV... you name it, she'll clean it (or at least wipe a wet rag on it).
2. A squirt bottle - hours of endless enjoyment (this one is best outside or in the bath tub).
3. Buckets and cups outside - just add water.

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make it monday: mending bones

I didn't make anything today but a trip to the doctor's office and hospital with a newborn and a 22-month old. Unless you count lunch.

Samuel has a broken clavicle bone. :/

So I guess when he got caught on my pubic bone (or when he became uncaught) his poor little clavicle broke. We only discovered at 3.5 weeks, Todd happened to feel a large bump on the bone. That bump is from the bone healing - and it's healing up just fine without any help at all.

So, I didn't get to the project I had planned on sharing today. I'll have to save it for another day. But I've got a whopper lined up for tomorrow. You won't want to miss it. ;)

Here's a little gem - Millie helped papa feed Sam from a bottle. Papa fed him a few bottles while Mama got a little sleep. :)

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field trip friday: down on the farm

We took a trip out to the farm to tend to our garden, I brought along my camera. :)

Waving goodbye to the chickens

Just out for a stroll.

She sat on every bench we came across...

And hunted for treasures...

And climbed on the fence.

It was a very successful outing. 

I love all the old farm equipment and tractors.

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we need cookies

(I'm changing this post to take out "field-trip friday," we went on a field-trip :D)

For our "field trip friday" we took a trip to the kitchen. Too much of a stretch? Maybe.

But I have a toddler...

And a newborn.

So the kitchen is about as far as we've got today. 

Of course for me, venturing into the kitchen can seem like a big trip. 

And making cookies - or any food for that matter - from scratch is especially out of the ordinary. 

For me at least... Cooking from scratch is not easy. 

Unless of course you happen to have (as I do) the world's best cookie recipe. 

And Millie and I decided that we needed cookies. It's just a cookie kind of day.

Not only were we making an especially delicious and uncannily easy recipe, but WE were cooking. 

"We," as in, Millie and mama. Together in the kitchen. 

Millie's first batch of cookies. 

Do I have to tell you that she LOVED it?

Especially the pouring. With few exceptions, I let her add all the ingredients. 

And she even got to sample the butterscotch chips!

From start to finish:

She couldn't believe her good fortune. 

She ate her lunch as the cookies baked, and by the time she had finished her lunch, 

the first sheet of cookies was cooled and just asking to be eaten. 

So we did just that. 

We need cookies:
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. butter
1/2 c. milk
2 t. vanilla
1 3/4 c. flour
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 c. oatmeal
1 bag chocolate/butterscotch/carmel/etc. chips

Preheat oven to 350
Cream sugar and butter
Add vanilla and milk
Mix

In another bowl - mix flour, baking powder and salt.
Blend with butter mix.
Stir in oatmeal and chips.

Place on cookie sheet (I like to use parchment paper)
Bake for 9-10 minutes
Be exact if you like soft cookies

Enjoy!

For more awesome recipes, check out my favorite food blog: Creations by Steph. The author of this blog is amazing. And my sister. She's been neglecting her blog to work on wedding cakes and party desserts, so she needs some blog lovin.

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From yesterday's blog:
Here is a photo I took this morning of the freshly swept and ready for a makeover patio:

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