Impatient

We're waiting to hear back on whether or not Tim will be receiving a job offer. He had an interview yesterday to talk about his background packet. The backgrounder told Tim that he thought he would probably be getting an offer, but HR has the final say on the matter. This job would be the answer to our prayers. It has better benefits (but then again, pretty much anything does than our current ones), better pay (not a ton, but it would definitely lower the stress levels around here.), and better hours (no more nights :) ). It would also keep us living around the same area that we do now, which for me is the biggest plus of all. Tim has worked so hard in the past two years working on his masters and constantly applying for jobs.

Carterism

The preschool we're sending Carter to is through the school district's ECFE program, so has a day once every other week that the parents come with the kids. The first day of school was a parenting day. Every night as I'm getting Carter ready for bed, we discuss what's going to happen on the next day.

Me: Carter, tomorrow you'll go to school all by yourself.

Carter: Mommy, I can't drive yet.

Me: (Trying not to laugh) I know you can't. Daddy will drop you off and I'll pick you up.

Carter: Oh, I was worried that I'd have to drive all by myself.

And he's pretty much always this funny.

The kind of night you always remember

Yesterday I told the boys that if they took good naps we would go check out the fireworks at Slice of Shoreview. Neither of them had seen fireworks before, so I'm not sure they even knew what I was bribing them with. Tim was working, so I knew I could potentially be in for a rough time.
At 8:30pm I started getting the boys in their jammies and loading the car up. We pulled into a parking lot a couple blocks away. (Parking any closer tends to be a pain to get out of after fireworks and I since I didn't know how the boys would do I don't want to be stuck in a parking lot with crying kids for an hour.) Just as I had gotten the boys snuggled into the double stroller, I felt a rain drop. As I walked closer to the park, it began to rain harder. By the time we were able to hear the band playing, I knew we needed to turn around. It started pouring a block away from the car.
Right after I got the boys snuggled back into their carseats and the stroller in the trunk the fireworks started. They must have decided to set them off early because of the rain. From our parking spot, we had the perfect view. Carter came up to the front seat to snuggle with me and get a better view. He loved the fireworks, and thought each one was better than the last. It was one of those sweet moments that you just don't want to end.

No Grocery Shopping Challenge

We're running a bit over our grocery budget this month and with the extra expenses of graduation, mother's day, father's day, many birthdays, and the boys' upcoming birthday party. We have been spending so much extra money on last minute trips to the groccery store. So I've decided to take the challenge of see if we can make it 2 weeks without a grocery store trip.
The Rules:
1. Meals will be made with items found in the pantry, fridge, freezer, and garden.
2. The only exception to the rule is milk/formula for the kids and $5 a week for fresh fruits and vegetables. (We have only a few in the fridge at this time and there's no way they'll hold out for two weeks).
3. Home-made freezer meals are fair game, but I will try to avoid using store-bought frozen meals.

Anyone else want to play?

Random act of kindness

Dear Kind Older Man, Thank you so much for helping bagging my groceries today. It made my day! Taking two small children to the grocery store is a challenge normally. Adding huge lines and pricing issues could have been a disaster. You and your wife made the time pass so much faster by asking Carter about Thomas the Train and other things that interest 2.5 year old. I'm sure your grandchildren adore you. Thank you so much for your kindness!

Tinfoil Dinners

DH is a meat and potatoes kind of guy and I am pretty much a chicken and pasta kind of girl. Finding a meal that includes beef that I like is a little more of a challenge. Tinfoil dinners are one of the meals that I grew up with my mom making. They're pretty easy to make and something that even my two year old will eat.

Ingredients: Ground Beef (You can do this with chicken too if you like that better)

Carrots

Potatoes (I use red, but any works)

Cooking Spray

Butter

Tinfoil

Directions: Lay out tinfoil and spray with cooking spray. I usually use about 18 inches of tinfoil per serving. Cut up carrots and potatoes. Make beef into hamburger patties and place in the center of the tinfoil. Surround with potatoes and carrots.

Fold up tinfoil. Place on a cookie sheet and cook in the oven at 425 degrees. Bake for 45-60 minutes. Check the potatoes and carrots with a fork to see if they are fully cooked.

Homemade Baby Teething Biscuit

Jack has been teething like crazy lately. I always kind of wonder what's really in of the pre-packaged foods for kids, so I decided to try to make my own. There are tons of recipes online for teething biscuit. I decided to experiment with making my own.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice cereal

1 cup flour

1 cup applesauce
3 tablespoons oil

cold water (add as needed)

Directions:

Mix dry ingredients together.

Add applesauce and oil. Slowly add water as needed. It should form a very sticky dough.

Roll out on floured surface. Cut out using cookie cutters. I choose bunnies for Easter (although some of them look more like pigs than bunnies). Bake at 425 degrees for 12-13 minutes. You can tell they are done when the edges turn a golden brown.

Jack really seemed to enjoy munching on them. I will definitely be making them again.

Sassy Spring Message Board

As a mom of a baby and a toddler, I enjoy crafts that I can finish in less than one nap time. I tend to have crafting ADD, so projects that take longer may or may not every get completed. Projects that take about only minutes to complete are my dream.

Supplies needed:
Frame- Any size will do, but I used a 8" by 10"
Scrapbook paper (Mine is Amy Butler, which I purchased at Joann's)
Scissors
Pencil



Trace the insert from the frame on your scrapbook paper and cut it out. Stick scrapbook paper in frame and hang up. Enjoy! Mine will be hanging up in my kitchen to make my grocery list a whole lot cheerier. It would also make a great dorm room gift for any graduates in your life.

Amazing Blueberry Muffins

Tim and Carter made blueberry muffins while I was at work yesterday. There is pretty much nothing better than coming home to made from scratch baked good from 2/3 of my favorite guys. (I was amazed by the fact they were able to get this done while crabby teething Jack took a 20 minute nap.) The muffins were so good that they were pretty much gone by breakfast this morning. Since we still had a ton of blueberries left, we made another batch.

Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tablespoons white sugar
a pinch of cinnamon


Directions
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2.Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top.
3. Mix white sugar and cinnamon. Use to top the muffins.
4.Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Jack is 6 months old !!!!

Okay, not until tomorrow at 11:55pm, but still. The past 6 months have gone by way too fast. Whoever said "The days are long, but the years are short," was so right. We've definately had our challenges in the past 6 months, including reflux, the stomach flu, and a cold that was starting to become croup. Jack's smiles have made them all worth it.
My favorite recent development is the relationship between Jack and Carter. Carter adores Jack (sometimes not gentlely enough) and Jack think Carter is hilarious. I am so excited to see their friendship grow as they get older. Jack just started sharing a room with Carter. Tim and I love to listen to them talk to each other on the baby moniter.
Jack is not quite sitting up on his own yet, but I think it will happen pretty soon. He's able to balance for a little while if we prop him up with his arms. He loves to roll. Front to back is easy, but back to front happens less often. Jack uses his legs to rotate himself on the floor, usually to get closer to toys or Carter.

Happy 6 month Birthday to my handsome little guy!