10 Bullets

1.  First of all, I've been on the search for a good cookie recipe for a long time.  I don't know why, but I seem to really struggle with making good cookies!  So a few weeks ago at work, I tried a cookie made by a co-worker, and I was unable to take my mind off of them after that.  So I made them this weekend. It is ny times 2009 best cookie recipe winner, and wow wow wow.  Made with bitter sweet chips (and lots of them) and topped with sea salt...they are fabulous. Totally worth making.

2. Noah learned the song "the ants go marching" at school (or sort of learned it). He swears that every "group" of ants stop to "tie their shoe" and that the "Horrah" is actually "huh-rock". Very cute and funny.  Love listening to that.

3. Jeremy's mom and dad came down this weekend. They got to share the cookies, and were so gracious to take Noah to the zoo on Saturday morning. He had such a great time and was so excited to find out that they were still there the next morning. We are so blessed to live close enough to do that. After years of living far away, we don't take that for granted at all!

4. When Noah and Grammy and papa were at the zoo on Saturday morning, I got brave enough to try this fitness blender 1000 calorie workout.  I had put it off, mostly because of time constraints, but also because I was nervous, but really it wasn't too bad!  Basically it was a medium length ab workout, HIIT workout and also strength. So it went pretty fast and didn't seem too miserable. I'll definitely do another when I get a chance like that again.

5. On Saturday night, we got invited over to a friends house. There was a total of 3 couples there (one we met for the first time), and we really had a good time!  Since we are desperately missing some of our "couple" friends from Mississippi, it was such a treat.  The food was delicious, and the company was great. Even more successfully, our babysitter was able to put Noah to bed without issues.  We have been pretty nervous to do that because sometimes it is difficult to do it "just right". ;). What a huge success!

6. We had a mouse and a roach recently. The mouse is gone (I'll spare you the details) and we are waiting on the exterminator, although no more roaches have been seen. The exterminator gave us a window of 9-5 for coming over. Uhhhhhh that's a pretty big window. ;). Hopefully he can catch up with us soon.

7. This weekend was a big weekend in airplane world. The engine was mounted, and yet another huge step checked off. ;). Jeremy had 2 friends over to help, and the job was done in under 4 hours. I'll post some pictures of it soon. The airplane is really coming along!

8. We are hoping to make a camping trip attempt this weekend.  I'm a little bummed about the fire restrictions because (according to Noah) "the forrest is too dry". I totally get it, but I do love a campfire. I was hoping and hoping for a monsoon or two to lift the restrictions, but so far no luck.  Last year, when we moved here in late June,  I remember being shocked about all the rain in the evenings, so I keep hoping it's going to start up soon.

9. We gave Noah bathroom privileges  a few weeks ago (from his bed) and it is soooo cute to watch him on the video camera, walking back to bed, dragging his well-loved blanked behind him. We are very proud of him!  He's really growing up!  Sometimes I say to him"you're my best little boy" and he always says back "and you're my best girl". Love him!

10. So that's the latest going on here. Mostly good stuff...just enjoying life and enjoying being together!  Happy Sunday!

Rug Drama

So we have this rug.

(ignore the clutter)
For some reason I couldn't fine two seconds to pick up after myself prior to taking a picture of it.

We bought it when Noah was learning to crawl.
2 years and lots and lots of nasty things later, I couldn't stand the thought of this rug.
I didn't like to be barefoot on it, and forget sitting on it.

I started looking to buy a new rug (and even bought and returned one), but I'm too cheap to buy something that doesn't look cheap.
Funny how that works.

So my resourceful hubby suggested we power wash it.
And after much nagging, Saturday become the chosen day.

We blew off the driveway, lugged that thing outside, soaked it in laundry detergent and pressure washed the living daylights out of it.
Then I used our carpet cleaner to suck out the black/brown nastiness that has been sitting in it for 2 years.
d-i-s-g-u-s-st-i-n-g.
Enough said.

We heave-hoed it onto the back of the truck, and 5 hours later, it was mostly dry.
Gotta love that AZ sun.

After lugging the (now considerably lighter) rug back in, we are pleased to report that it is now cream colored again.
Or white.  Or whatever color it was supposed to be.  But wasn't.
And I can walk on it barefoot again.
And it no longer smells like dog/fish/mothball/earwax.

And all is right in the world again.
Happy wife = happy life.

Airplane Progress

There is BIG progress happening in the airplane department.

For one thing, the airplane has a tail!

One thats now attached (temporarily for now) anyway.

Kinda crazy, its really starting to look (and even function) like a real airplane.

Many thanks to Jeremy's buddy Paul, who has worked right along side of Jeremy for the last few months.

He has been such a trooper.

\

And lastly, IT'S OFFICIAL!

The airplane has an "n-number".

Here it is:

Anyone want to guess why that number/letter combo was picked?

;)

Its really starting to come together!

We will be posting "first flight" pictures before long!

Camping Post

A few camping shots from the recent trip.

:)

The guys had a great time.

Lots of bonding.

And eating.

And lots and lots of falling and little boy knee scrapes.

One big joint sleeping bag for 2.

"No jiggling the glow stick after bed time" in a joint sleeping bag.

No campfire because of fire restrictions, but lots of other fun.

A first trail hike together.

Looking for critters.

Came back smelly and tired.

What more could a little boy ask for?

Or a big boy for that matter! 

;)

Camping

The boys are going camping again.
Going camping together, just daddy and kiddo, made a big impression on the little man.
They came back super dirty and stinky and tired, but had a lot to say about it and made lots of good memories.
The bags are being packed and Noah has stuffed every last belonging into his pillow case.
And you can bet this book made the cut.

Along with 4 other books, a skylander (!??!), a glow stick, 5 pairs of socks, and a few shorts.
No toothbrush, but at least we got the glow stick packed.
They are going to eat bacon and eggs.
And who knows what else.
But I'm sure they will come back in one piece.
Nice and smelly.  :)
But really bonded.

Father's Day around here

A few Father's Day shots of my baby and my baby daddy.

At first, I tried to take just the head shots.

After all our kid was in his undies.

But then I said forget it, thats just how we roll.

So you get to see all of them.

And then N made a scary face when he was trying to smile.

I told him that he looked a little scary, and even more scary faces followed.

But such is life around here is a three year old.

So glad I get to share it with my awesome husband and baby daddy.  ;)

Happy Father's day!

A few bullets

1. My kiddo started "preschool" this week. We weren't sure what all was involved in that except for a new class with more kids, but we have been pleasantly surprised. His teacher is great, the classroom is very neat and has great toys.  Noah really seems to like it, so we are obviously very happy with the change. 

2. Jeremy and I have really been enjoying the month of June quietly at home. We love to travel, and we love to be with family, however there is really something nice about having a "normal" routine. Blogging has even been slim since we have been pretty boring lately!

3. Noah has an appointment on Tuesday to discuss a little surgery. Not to announce his personal information here, but we are hoping it's just a minor thing. I will update more on Tuesday. I'm sure it will be a blast for all involved. ;)

4. Noah has been a bike riding fool. It's actually really fun to be able to go out on "family bike rides". We don't go too far (and we have to go really really since it's getting hot) but we are all enjoying the exercise and fresh air. It's crazy to think my baby can now ride a bike!!!  Wasn't he just born yesterday!?!?

5. Beagle has been doing well and has been seizure free since that first one I blogged about.  When I say "well" I mean that he is still annoying the heck out of me, and begging non stop. ;) 

6. Noah has also become quite a hopper. He likes to do big long jumps over everything he sees.  The other day he told me he was going to jump over Riley's leg. Thankfully I heard him say it in time, and told him not to do that because it could break Riley's leg. Tonight Noah came up to me and said "I didn't break Riley's leg today!"  Uhhhhhh, yes I'm glad that didn't happen. ;)

7. Congrats to my sister Danielle for officially making it through the school year!  I'm soooo jealous of your entire summer off...but you totally deserve it!!  Cant wait till your trip out here next month!

Ok, I'm headed to bed!  Happy Thursday!  More updates to come soon!  ;)

Coffee Cake

I had a real hankering for a piece of coffee cake.

:)  People say "hankering", right?

Two weeks ago, my sister Danielle told me a story that involved pregnancy and coffee cake.

It was a funny story.

But I haven't been able to stop thinking about coffee cake since then.

And no, I'm not pregnant. 

If you're not really familiar with coffee cake, then look at this picture below and start drooling.

Its crumbly.  Its sweet.  Its dry and you are begging for a drink afterwards.

But it is sooooo good.

So after searching a few stores for the perfect coffee cake, my sister suggested that I make one.

That she had a good recipe.

But there is a 3 hour time difference, and I just couldn't wait till the next day.

So I found this recipe.

I'm not much of a cook/baker, so I quickly found myself in over my head (with room temperature butter and room temperature eggs, and making my own buttermilk (?!?!)

I made a few errors, so the top didn't turn out as crumbly as I would have liked (something about being too impatient for room temperature butter I think).

But it was so fabulous!!!

It really doesn't look that great.

But half the pan is gone.

Its thin, right?  

Seriously make this.

Or even better, find a great bakery and buy one.

Or two.

I'm a little obsessed right now.

It's definitely my new thing.

Better spend a little more time at the gym tomorrow.

Stand Off

Me vs him.
A stand off over one dinosaur gummy vitamin.
It was intense.
You wouldn't believe one little brontosaurus would cause that much trouble.
But it did.
The grand total?

26 minutes.
Me = 1.
Him = 0.
Well, actually Him = 1 since he did something good for his body.

Someone must have forgot to tell him that his mama is actually more stubborn than him.
Maybe I'll remind him tomorrow night at vitamin time.  :)

Good thing I love this little squirt.

Big

Happy birthday to our little man.

Three years old.

How is that even possible?

So big, and so handsome, and sooooo full of personality. 

You weigh 31 pounds (50^th percentle) and you are 36 inches tall (11^th percentile). 

We are so proud of you little man.  It’s been so much fun watching you grow into a little boy.  While some days are long, the months and years are going by quickly.  You told us last week “when I get big, I don’t have to listen anymore”.  Don’t get big too fast little buddy.  But we love you more than words could express, no matter how big you are!

Rough weekend

It's been a pretty rough weekend.

We put the little guy in bed about an hour ago.
And I feel a little bad dong this post tonight.
After all, tomorrow is his 3rd birthday.
It's supposed yo be an exciting, fun filled day.

But two days ago, behavior boot camp went into full effect.
And there are no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
I feel like he spent more time in time out than out of it today.
And jeremy and I feel like we've been beaten up.

It's just frustrating who you work so hard, and make such an effort to provide a good life for your kid (both day to day and long term) and yet he is so unappreciative.
I get it-that he just doesn't have the capacity to understand that.
But since I do, maybe that's why it's frustrating.

So tomorrow he turns 3.
And we are going to make it special
And we are going to appreciate him for wonderful, special little leader that he is.
And know that one day he will appreciate all the hard work we did.

Right???