anyone?

does anyone else have weeks where friday comes and as you reflect back on your week, you feel like you've gotten nothing accomplished? nothing significant has been crossed off of your list? no projects have been completed, your house looks the same way it did after the long weekend at home and you can't wrap your head around where all of your time went?

i do. 

i have. 

in fact, i've had two weeks in a row like that. this morning, i was thanking the lord that it's friday and i'm going dancing with the love of my life tomorrow night {after YEARS of begging him to taking me, no exaggeration} and i was trying to think of what this week has entailed.

nothing.

i can't think of anything. except that my children are 5 days older. was i intentional enough? probably not. did i get to sew? nope. did i craft with the kiddos {or even by myself}? no way. is my dvr full? yes. {in fact, i told jeff last night that my dvr is stressing me out. but i don't know what i can cut. PLUS american idol is going to be three.nights next week! yaya!}

so... i've gotten nothing accomplished, but how is that? it's not like i've just been lying around. none of us do that. and it's not like i've been watching loads of t.v. like i used to {hence the dvr being full} and i have not even spent time blog stalking. {much to my dismay}. 

so why have i been literally crawling into bed at 11:00 or 11:30 at night dog-tired? why do i feel like i never sit down until the hubby comes home? i've desperately been trying to get myself together since having a second little one... and just this week i feel like we're finding a routine that works for all four of us... but where.does.my.time.go?

when the hubbs comes home and asks "what did you do today?" i can't think of one thing to tell him. but we've been busy. right? what an oxymoron!?

please tell me that you feel this way too! jeff told me that i must focus on the mundane daily things that i have gotten done. maybe i need to start adding those to my list? 

such as... 

emptying the dishwasher {ugh}. 

or folding the laundry {ugh}. 

putting the laundry away {double ugh}. 

feeding charlotte {heart... but i feel like everytime i turn around it's time to eat again}. 

and this week, we've been going on walks every afternoon. {working that into our routine is working quite nicely for all of us}.

so i guess that's something, right? i'm really not complaining. i'm feeling very content this week actually. it's just that when you're being productive, it's helpful in being motivated to continue when you have a tangible product at the end, right?

i guess, as a mommy, your tangible product isn't going to come for 18-25 more years, right?? hmm. i guess that'll have to do. *sigh*. it's draining. but totally worth it.

**side note: my camera has been creating some sort of glare this last week. so... there's a bit of a glare on these pics. but still cute. i love my littles**

lil' miss takes a turn.

last sunday we dedicated our sweet baby girl at church. 

i love the 'symbolism' of dedicating your child to the lord that our church encourages, however it is a big production, isn't it? don't get me wrong. i didn't think twice about doing it. of course we were going to... and of course we labored over her outfit & matching bow & matching tights & matching shoes. of course.

when i talk about prodcution, this is what i mean: 

your child will have a blow out two minutes before you go on. you will then start sweating as you try to change her {him} & your hair will eventually look like a fro. of course you brought a back up outfit, but it's not near as cute - so even if a little reminensce of the blow out are left, if it doesn't show, doesn't smell & can be 'wiped over' then you won't change them. you won't. you will argue with your husband. about changing the blow out, how to hold the child, moving their bow & paying attention. {i don't speak from experience, of course.} next, your child will be all smiles as you wait to enter. you'll think it's going great. until you get to the pastor. you can feel her {or him} tense up and as soon as you line up in a row, sure enough - here come the tears. and the wailing. oh- the wailing. all while the pastor begins to pray over your children. you can't help but laugh. {and breathe a sigh of relief as you exit the sanctuary.} 

regardless. our little muffin looked super cute. and it was a blessing to dedicate her {formally} to our sweet lord. 

of course, none of those things listed above happened to us, i'm just telling you how other families do it. {yeah, right!}

"Teach Charlotte Your way, O Lord; {that} she will walk in Your truth; unite her heart to fear Your name. {that} she will praise You, O Lord my God, with all her heart, and {that} she will glorify Your name forevermore." --Psalm 86:11-12 

{edited to become my prayer for her.}

the bug.

i had a whole different post ready for today. {and it was a fun, crafty one, too!} but in light of what i witnessed this afternoon, i was thinking my little man needed a bit of chronicling.

first. he is really into doing things "by myself". including the potty. the day he said he was going potty by himself, i thought, "yeah right". but nope, i was wrong. he came out with his undies around his ankles yelling "i did it by myself!" sure enough, he had. {we've also had ONE #2 'by myself' success. and i will celebrate that ONE until the bitter end if i have to}. this independent streak, while adorable of course, can be a little daunting when you're trying to get somewhere on time. getting in his car seat  "by myself" takes three hundred times as long as it would if i just put him in it myself. in other words, i'm trying to find a good balance of letting him do some things & then 'showing' him how to do it.

next. he's just beginning {as in the last few days} to get the concept of 'time'. today he told me that he went on a walk 'yest-day' {yesterday for those of you who don't speak two-year-old}. and he was totally right. without even prompting. but then - he told me he went to bounce yesterday. 'no honey, that was last week'. so now he's into saying "i did xyz last week". cutie pie.

here's one that i'm not happy about. 'mom & dad'. what???? when is it okay for any little boy to say mom and not mommy?! NEVER. that's the answer. NEH.VER. it hurts my heart every time. {maybe i'm exaggerating just a touch!} last week {or whenever the second ice thing was}, i asked him if he wanted to go outside with me to check the mail. after excitedly screaming "yeah!" he stopped in his tracks and looked at me very seriously and said "no. it's cold, mom." as if he was telling me something that i didn't know. "okay, dear. we'll stay inside." ha. makes me smile everytime.

i love him. he makes my heart melt one second and my blood boil the next. god's precious gift to me is certainly teaching me more than i'm teaching him. motherhood grows you. stretches you. empowers you. humbles you. more than any other job really could. most days, i'm so thankful to have the honor of having this job. just keeping it real. all days i'm so thankful for the lord matching the littles to us. *sigh*

muffin.

and then. to top it all off. this is what i watched this afternoon when i picked b. up from nana's house. what a big boy.

valentine's dinner.

finally.

my dinner for the hubbs will be revealed. ha.

it was an all day process.

man, i wish every dinner could be like this. i love cooking. love it.

but it can't. maybe once a week i'll cook like this.

but the littles make it a bit hard.

in fact. on this night, in particular. we had our first {of three} coinciding, consecutive meltdowns for lil' miss & the bug. whew. just when i needed to be getting things on the skillet, etc. etc.

thankfully, the hubbs showed up right on que this night. and we put the kids to bed early.

that always works.

right?

nope. as we were enjoying our romantic dinner for two, we heard lots of jumping & squealing from his room. and finally, a door open & close. what?

turns out, the bug had found a few things that didn't "belong" in his room. charlotte's 'things'. that he had put there earlier in the day, mind you. he opened his door, threw out all the 'things' & then closed it and hopped back into bed. {he gets this OCD-ishness from his daddy, right?}

anyway. onto dinner.

i made this.

and this.

and this.

all of jeff's favorites. all i learned to cook last year after i got my PW cookbook.

whew. it.was.yummy. to say the least. i was full beyond full. and so was he. and everything was delish.

i swear, the pioneer woman makes me look like a super hero. every.single.time. except for the biscuits. i can't make the biscuits. yucky, yucky hard-as-bricks biscuits.

and then, for the finale.

creme brulee.

it's not so much that i love creme brulee, or that the hubbs loves it. 

it's just that my brother {again with the professional chef thing} gave me a kitchen torch for christams a few years ago. and i love the idea of using butane in the kitchen. don't you? so, this has been on my bucket list to do for quite sometime.

and i did it. 

and it was perfection. {with all day text-message help from the little brother, i might add}.

and that's all. it was a fabulous dinner for two {with a few interruptions}. ahhhh.... if only every dinner was like that, right?

oldies.

i've been attempting {unsuccesfully} to clean off my hard drive.

ugh.

it's taking for.ever. wow.

in the process, i've come across some old favorites.

enjoy!

j & b.

on saturday, we went out to grapevine for a valentine's day celebration {a few days early!}

we went with our sweet friends. 

it was beautiful.

we couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to hang out outside listening to music & eating wonderful food. cammie's tomato basil soup was the bestest. he may just have to share his recipe with us. {have i mentioned my little brother is a professional chef? um, yeah.}

especially after the ice storm a few days earlier. we even left our coats in the car!

i absolutely adore my hubby.

isn't he cute? i think so.

this was j & i's 13th valentine's day together. they just keep getting better and better. don't they? aren't they supposed to? even though they keep getting more 'low-key' they're getting better?! is that weird? nope? i didn't think so.

i cooked a fancy comfort-food-only PW dinner for the hubby last night. all of his favorite things rolled into one.


i even knocked something off of my thirty things list. can you guess what it was? 

{if i could clear off some of my hard drive, i'd show you pictures.... it was yummy!}

and then the hubbs brought home a little gift for me.

guess what it was?

oh, how he knows me so well. i'm so excited to get started.

hope you & yours had a wonderful v-day together.

i'm still enjoying mine!

my little muffin {and other fabulous randomness}.

happy valentine's day to all.

i love this day. not really for any one reason in particular, but just because.

first. my little muffin is three months old {give or take 3 days}.

i took the liberty to start a 'letter' to her on friday {her actual 3 month birthday} but i didn't quite finish it. so today will have to do.

my dear charlotte -

you are so teeny tiny, yet so big all at the same time. despite my best efforts, i constantly think back to what your big brother was doing - and you're definitely more alert, chunkier {in the best way} and more interactive with us. you still aren't too interested in the physical stuff - rolling over, reaching for toys, etc. but that's totally fine by me.

because you are simply content. and i just love that about you.

you look more & more like your daddy everyday {although you do have your momma's chubby cheeks}. your smile is just.like.his. it makes my heart swell every time i see the corners of your mouth curl ever so slightly downward. i love that you seem to be the perfect mix between me & him. *sigh*. i could just cuddle you forever & ever.

you are now a great sleeper. it took a while to get you going - but once you were a little bigger you got the hang of it quickly. we could & probably should drop the dreamfeed - but you're so sweet & cuddly during that time. you just nuzzle us and eat and then fall right asleep in our arms. it's beyond precious.

i love you, sweet girl. and am looking forward to all of the girlie things we're going to get to do together... for now, i'll leave you with this song. it makes me think of you every time that i hear it. 

***********************************************************************************

okay - so enough sappiness. {but as a momma, it needed to be said}.

today is valentine's day! and my kitchen is already smelling of heaven. the hubbs is in for a real treat.

i've had to push my "reset" button already a few times today. everyone at target seemed to be cranky. {including my precious little girl}. apparently the lady behind me was annoyed that c. was crying - despite my best efforts to hold her while swiping my debit card AND loading my groceries back into the cart. i desperately wanted to turn to her and say, "if you want to check out faster pick up a bag and help a momma out!" ugh.

then i forgot something so i had to go to yet another insane grocery store.

reset.

now, there is a momma bobcat & three babies roaming our street. YES!! and it's such a great day for a walk {that we WON'T be taking now.... wish me luck explaining that to the bug!!!!}

here's a picture of two of the babies at the house across the street. they apparently saw something in MY bushes right after this picture and the momma darted into our yard. the babies are probably twice the size of georgia & then momma is the size of a small lab? scary! {click on it to make it bigger!}

{i called 911 because it was all happening so fast and i needed them to know where they were! the dispatcher got snippy with me saying this was life or death emergency.... but now that kids are walking home, alone, from school on our street.... is that not an emergency???}

ugh.

reset.

again. {this time with creamer coffee.}

can't wait to share all of our yummy goodness from tonight - tomorrow. i'm making all of jeff's faves! hoping it turns out well!!!

happy valentine's day!

new favorite things.

so. why am i just now discovering this.

seriously. it's the BEST thing since sliced bread. it has all of my lovely 'daily' reads in ONE place. i don't end up with fifteen windows open & my computer crashing all at once. it's. awesome.

PLUS i've been told that there's some sort of google reader app for your iPhone? is that right? i need to check into that one too.

oh - and what about this?

i never knew what the big deal was until my mother had it on her phone. what???? i had to know what this was. well.... with my old phone, it couldn't even update on my computer so i couldn't ever get new apps. but now.... with my new phone, i can! and i listen to it all.the.time. in the kitchen, cooking dinner... in the car {can you see my veggietales station?} and while i'm sewing. love.

{i still use my iPOD for if when i workout because i control the music more}.

but if you don't have pandora, get it. now. you'll love it.

anyway. that's all.

we're still recovering from our weekend. celebrated v-day with the hubbs saturday. celebrated k & t at their shower on saturday night. celebrated c. at her dedication this morning. oh, how i love her.

big plans this week.

attempting to finish operation: total home organization. i'm almost there. but this tends to be when i stop. so i've GOT to push through.
 

v.day treats.

when we were iced in, i decided we should use that time to make our valentines.

i had originally planned on making your basic sugar cookie. no shame in that, right? right.

but then, while blog stalking, i stumbled upon this.

i had mini candy canes, left over from christmas. i had the little candy sticks with the intention of making cake pops a while back. i even had almond bark from good intentions back at christmas time. perfect-o!

b. started out 'helping momma'. he was in charge of the candy sticks.

it's real simple. make a heart out of two candy canes and put a 'lollipop' stick in the middle.  lay them on a cookie sheet with wax paper.

and then - the bug ended up doing this:

and this:

so, i ended up finishing them at naptime. he was uninterested in being 'neat'... and the candy canes moved around really easy, so.... yeah.  if you're really set on your kids making the valentine - then this isn't the valentine for you. {but they turn out real cute!}

the recipe calls for 'white chocolate' but i had vanilla flavored almond bark. so that's what i used. it was 'free'.

melted it in the microwave...

i poured my melted white chocolate into a ziplock bag and cut a tiny corner off so i could 'pipe' it into the 'molds' of the candy canes. {it really isn't thick enough to pipe like icing, so it more dripped.} but it didn't make near as much of a mess as i thought it would if i tried spooning it.

by the second batch, i realized that it would look best if i smoothed out the melted almond bark before putting the sprinkles on. much better. {i was going to use some crushed peppermint - but a lot of kids don't like peppermints. mine not included, so i just used sprinkles. but i think that would be VERY cute.}

i wrapped up in little treat bags and tied with some tulle and a red construction paper heart. voila! instant valentine!

on another note. i finally finished my valentine's wreath. don't worry that valentine's day is like, tomorrow. it will stay up through the end of february. i worked too hard on it for it to only be up for a few days. it took way more time to wind the yarn onto all of those styrofoam balls but it was mindless, therefore therapeutic, so i didn't mind.

i love it. except for the top. i need a ginormous red/white polka dot bow. but with all of the snow and ice, i just haven't gotten to the store for that. it'll do. until next year, and then i'll add it. {please tell me that you have things that "will do for now" too??? nope? i'm the only one? awesome.}

happy friday. our friday is busy - preparing for a busy weekend. but it's good. hoping to get a lot done today {as i sit here at my computer procrastinating....}