A Berry Good Time

You may remember the post about my grandpa's early birthday celebration. Well, that same weekend my mom, sister, Jonah, and I took a 4 hour road trip to attend/help throw a baby shower for my cousin who is expecting a baby girl the same week as I am expecting Elizabeth. 

Now I'm just over sharing. That isn't even the reason for this post. Except to say that we were very busy that weekend and jammed in a ton of adventures! 

On Sunday we were back in town (well, Mom's town) and met my dad at his work for lunch. After lunch Mom and I were driving back to her house and decided to take a little detour. To see if we could find any blackberries. 

It was a hoot driving down back roads and pulling off into the bushes to try to find the best berries.  It was not only a fun adventure, but a productive one as well! 

above, jonah is picking some berries. 

below, the big guy riding in the seat (unbuckled) along the dirt road from bush to bush. 

And then, Grammy and Jonah worked together to make a BLACKBERRY PIE!! 

It was delicious! 

(and worth the time it took to bake and cool)

Weekend Update: Baby Shower

This weekend my mom, aunt, and sister hosted a baby shower for me. We gathered at Emily's house for a Night Owl party! It was very very cute.

(yes, party is spelled wrong...because they reused the sign from my cousin's shower last weekend. It was originally written to match her baby's name, which is Charli Pepper) 

Isn't my cousin, Courtney, creative...she's the one who created this from scratch...chalkboard paint and everything!

The banner with Elizabeth's name will probably be hung in her room when I get it put together. And the cake is another Aunt Caroline masterpiece! It was strawberry on the inside...and just so you know, it was very tasty!

Lots of credit goes to my mom, who orchestrated the whole thing. Where would I be without such a fantastic mom?! I am also grateful my mother-in-law made the trip down for the occasion. I really appreciate my family. They are amazing! 

It was a lovely little gathering! Thanks everyone! 

p.s.... thanks to Auntie Em, Elizabeth may not have to ever wear the same thing twice. 

Weekend Update: Perfect Friday Night

My recipe for a perfect Friday night includes two boys, some fun puzzles, and a pizza!! I've listened to lots of laughing and dried a few tears...we're living it up! 

(what they don't know is that we're all going to bed early too)

Flooring Makeover: Part 1

As I mentioned the other day, we recently tackled the living/dining room with laminate wood flooring. Jonathan's parents came up on a Thursday and helped out. I don't have the final "after" pictures taken yet. I was going to wait to take those after we got all the last bits of trim installed. Those bits of trim haven't come in yet, so I might just go for the pictures without. Anyway. Today I'd like to share pictures of Jonah helping out! 

Playing with some toy cars. He had to keep changing locations because of our  moving things around.

Daddy's little helper. I just love this photo!!

We Jonathan had to scrape up the backer board from where the linoleum was in the foyer. It was a rough yucky mess.  

Here we see our faithful helper lounging on the oddly arranged furniture.

All of the above are pictures that involve removing the nasty carpet. It took 2 1/2 days to get it all out. Then we got to move on to the exciting part. There was a LOT of measuring and RE-measuring. (that's the part they don't show you on those home improvement shows).  This last photo shows a bit of the finished product. Jonah was helping hammer the baseboard back in place.

And....the best little video....Jonah "measuring and marking" like his Daddy!

Weekend Update: Sopapilla Cheesecake

It's been a while since I shared a recipe on this little blog. Today feels like a good day to do just that!

I have had this dessert two weekends in a row now, and I just love it! The main ingredients are crescent rolls and cream cheese...how can you go wrong?

Sopapilla Cheesecake

2 cans crescent rolls

2 pkgs. cream cheese (at room temp) 

(one recipe I read said 3 pkgs. I think that would be a bit much)

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 C. melted butter

1/2 cup cinnamon sugar

1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)

fruit for topping, also optional

Cream together the cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar. Press one can of crescent rolls into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. Fill with cream cheese mixture. Top with the second can of rolls, then pour on the butter and cover with cinnamon-sugar. Bake at 350* for 45 min. Cool thoroughly before slicing. ENJOY!

I thought it was very tasty when it was fresh from the oven and still a little bit warm. 

The first time I ate it the friend who served it also served peaches on the side. Peaches that has soaked in a syrup overnight. (is your mouth watering??)

Football.

I've never really been a big football fan. I guess my philosophy on football is this: the younger the players the more enjoyable it is to watch. I don't care for professional football AT ALL. I can cheer for the Razorbacks, Missouri Tigers, or for Auburn just fine, but I don't live to watch. 

If the footballs all looked like this I might be more interested:

maybe.

Now, High School football, well, that's something I can get behind. I love sitting in the bleachers in the crisp cool air on Friday nights!!

Do you know why?

I love to watch the band at halftime. 

Why?

Because I was in the band when I was in H.S.!!

Christmas parade...1998

(do you see the smile on my face? i was trying not to laugh in embarrassment because my mother made me POSE for a picture right there in the street...and now, well,  i'm glad to have the photo.)

ok, back to present day...


My son apparently likes the game more than I. Go figure!


He learned a new word tonight. Well, maybe not new to him, but new for him to SAY!!

He is so cute. I'll definitely watch him play if he so chooses someday! 

The Slug

What is it about that word? Slug. Bleh. It makes me shudder. They are just gross. 

Well, tonight I had to deal with one. I contemplated trapping it under something until Jonathan came home, so he could be the one to deal with it. But, then, I decided that was rather silly and that I should hitch up my big-girl pants and do it myself. 

yes, that is in my living/dining room. it was nearly the length of a dollar bill 

The problem is how to do it. Yuck. Why do slugs have to be so gross?

My Google search on the topic only made matters worse. Did you know they lay eggs in your house??? Eeew. Google also revealed that slugs often drown in beer. Neither of those bits of information were helpful to me in the least.

I could sprinkle salt all over it until it was gone, but then I assume I'd be left with a nasty mess. I could figure out a way to coax it back outside, but then it would only come in again. 

My stomach is still turning at the thought of dealing with that silly thing, and it's already done! 

I brainstormed. A light bulb came on. I could wedge a piece of paper under it and then salt it like crazy. Whatever mess resulted would be on the paper and could go straight to the trash. So, that's what I did. 

Then, I went over to the doorway where I knew it came in (we've been seeing trails sometimes...I forgot to leave a salt barrier after the last vacuum).

I was about to create another salt barrier when I saw the tentacles (is that the proper term?) of ANOTHER one trying to wiggle it's way in. That sent me over the edge. I shook salt at it like crazy and ran away! Yep, I'm a wimp when it comes to creepy crawlies. I dealt with the slug, so Jonathan can deal with the gap in the doorway, right?! RIGHT!

New Shelf

Jonathan has been wanting to add a shelf to our bathroom for a few weeks. (relieve the coutertop of clutter....bet you've never had that problem, have you?...well, sadly, WE do. Or, more correctly, I do.) He had some manly, boring ideas, but I just wasn't sure how to describe what I was envisioning. So, I got on Pinterest and searched for shelf ideas. I found THIS and loved it right away:

it's cute, it's funcional, it's not too complicated!

perfect.

This is our replication:

 we put a back on ours 

...and ours is more "functional" than "decorative"

I like ours even better than the inspiration! 

see how pretty the "frame" is!

(jonathan cut molding and I painted it) 

added bonus...we attached ($0.13 on clearance!!) knobs 

to the side so I can hang my necklaces. 

another Pinterest idea...put screen material in a frame for earrings. 

Toby's Visit

Not too long ago Toby's family was away for the weekend. Toby wasn't invited on the outing, so he came to stay with us. He is a sweet little dog and Jonah LOVES him. He will laughingly say "tobe" when Toby comes into the room. 

So, of course, I had to snap some photos!!

"mush, Toby, mush"

Hmmm...which one is the dog here?

"please, mommmy, can he come in?"

Weekend Update: WallArt

Jonathan worked on a little project this weekend.

He completed a project I dreamed up over 3 years ago!

 (jonah likes using the stud finder)

We started with a square of plywood. I pasted squares of scrapbook paper and Jonathan built the wooden framework to finish it out. I love how it turned out!

Weekend Update: The Day for Mothers

So, this is a week late in posting. 

I can do that. I'm the mother!

We had a wonderful day this year for Mother's Day.

The sun was shining and I felt special.

Jonathan and Jonah gave me some beautiful flowers:

The big bouquet is from Jonathan. There are also two single roses in there. Those are from Jonah (one for each year he's been here). Well, the florist lady thought that was SUCH a sweet idea and that Jonah was SO cute that she gave them a 50% discount! Talk about a HAPPY mother!

(if only he could get us half-price discounts everywhere)

Not only did I get beautiful flowers, but I also got to spend time with my mother. She and my dad drove up after church. My sister came over too. We all had a big roast (prepared by my wonderful husband). After lunch we all went to the mall. All but Jonathan and Jonah. Jonah needed a nap, so Jonathan opted to stay with him...AND do the dishes. What a sweetie.  I'm pretty spoiled! (and thankful)

Weekend Update: Crowd Pleaser!

What do these things have in common?

We see avacado, chips, a very cute boy, some citrus juice, and an onion.

Put it all together and you have....

The cutest guacamole EVER!!

It was really really good. We (the three of us) ate it in one sitting.

Then, I went to the store for more avocados.

No, we are not piggies. We had a small gathering to attend that night. The hosts were preparing burgers. The avocado mixture was the perfect complement to the meal. (always a good crowd pleaser). And Jonah had a big grin on his face all night (also a crowd pleaser). 

The only non-pleasing event that night was saying goodbye. You see, Jonathan is not returning to his position with K-Life after this school year. We gathered with the K-Life board and staff Saturday night for a little farewell dinner. It was sweet. We will miss those folks.

And if we come to your mind this week you can say a little prayer for our job search. We know God will take care of us. But, we really want to make sure our choices line up with His plan for us. (determining that plan is the tricky part)

In the mean time, we will probably eat more guacamole! Yum Yum.

Chase me, Mommy!

This is what we did this morning. This is what we will do later this afternoon. And, probably some more tomorrow! (this happens a lot in our house)

Jonah will walk away from me and I will either 1. reach out to grab him/pull him back to me or 2. chase him to the other end of the room. Sometimes Jonathan is the one doing this. Sometimes Jonah chases one of us. 

Happy Weekend.

Weekend Update: Grandparents and the City.

We recently completed a very busy weekend.  I don't have the pictures to truly express how much we jammed into one weekend, but I'll share what I've got. I think you will like it!

First, Jonathan's parents came to visit. They arrived Thursday afternoon.

On Friday we had some surprisingly good weather and headed out to Silver Dollar City.

Our first stop was the Russian circus. Then we headed over to Geyser Gulch where he played in the ball pit and the geysers! The weather turned out much more sunny and warm that I'd anticipated, so the water felt nice. We didn't mind the wet pants at all.

Grandpa even helped him shoot some water at a target!

 We walked around (a lot)...we saw a man who yodeled...we ate some food (and made a mess)...then we took Jonah to ride a ride, which was a first in his little life!

Jonathan went with him. Here they are in line for the froggy!

The frogs go up and down. 

I thought he might get nervous, which he was a little through the ride, but by the end he was smiling. 

Here we see the boys looking at the water-ball-sculpture-fountain thing. I know it is more significant than that, but I really don't know what it is  or what it is representing, so there is my rough description. What I DO know is that Jonah was enthralled with it!

I also love the way we see all three generations of Atkins guys standing in this photo. It's a keeper!

 I'm sure I left out some of the things we did. It was a busy and fulfilling time at our local amusement park. Here you can see how Jonah REALLY spent most of our time that day:

(in the line to ride the tram back to the car, where he promptly fell asleep)

 

{small pause for our drive home and a little nap}

Then, later that same afternoon:

Jonah and Grandma had fun with some bubbles!!

The poor kid tried to blow some of his own, bless his heart. He ended up with a soapy mix all over his face (and in his mouth...but that didn't stop him from trying again!)

And when he got bored with bubbles, he helped Harry find/retrieve the ball so they could play!

I was going to include our Easter festivities in this post as well, since it was a part of the weekend. However, this is quite long, so I think I'll do that one for tomorrow!

Weekend Update: out of towners

We had a fun visit last weekend. Jonathan's brother, Daniel, & his wife, Riss, came to visit from Oklahoma. They planned their arrival to hit Lamberts right before the dinner rush. We ate an early supper & stuffed ourselves to the rim. 

(Jonathan was busy working Friday, so he wasn't able to join us for this outing)

Yum Yum.

Then, Saturday, Riss, Jonah, and I went shopping while Jonathan and Daniel did this:

Obviously, this is not a picture of Jonathan OR Daniel. They left their valuables behind and therefore, had not means of capturing photo/video. Just looking at this picture almost makes me hyperventilate. (it's either the picture or the coffee I had this morning) 

They had a great time...and I'm glad they had each other for this outing, because that is NOT at the top of my list on things that sound fun safe. They LOVED it!

The entire weekend ended much to quickly. We'd love to live closer & have more frequent visits.

Weekend Update: Bad Dog!

well...we had an extra weekend project this last weekend. let me start at the beginning of the story.

the weather is changing. we are welcoming in spring with open arms!  that also means we have turned off the heat and opened up the windows (one of my favorite seasonal transitions).

jonah and i went out on friday afternoon to run some errands. when we got home i came in through the garage, opened up the door to the kitchen, and a little dog ran through my legs to get outside. well, i got to thinking...i was CERTAIN that i'd put that same dog in the backyard earlier in the day. my heart started beating faster (somewhat like i imagine Anne Shirley's did in regards to her jersey cow, dolly, but that is not my story). anyway, i wondered if the door to the backyard had not shut good and went to inspect. i did not find anything wrong with the door, but something was very wrong with the screen on the dining room window. thus, the title, BAD DOG.

i guess he'd jumped up and scratched enough to make a hole he could squeeze his nose/head into. grrrr. first i was in disbelief, then i was just plain mad!

well, we wanted the windows open. we were not going to let the dog win. so, we had to repair the screen. jonathan went to lowes and got the supplies. then he enlisted a helper:

"is this right, daddy?"

"are you ready for this tool now?"

i wish i had a photo of the finished project. it turned out great. and after the discipline we administered to the dog, i doubt he'll try breaking anything down for a long time! *fingers crossed*

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Theodor Seuss Geisel

1904-1991

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!! We love this whimsical author and we like to celebrate around here! 
Last year we kept it simple and celebrated with this cute little commemorative picture:

This year we did something new! Target hosted Read Across America in every store. We attended their story time and got a fun little goody bag! Jonah sat very still and listened intently for almost 2 whole books!! Everyone thought he was the cutest little thing and I was we were very proud of him!

Here is our very own cat-in-the-HAT:

(next year he will wear the whole costume)

And here he is listening to the story:

 

Next year....who knows? We might have green eggs and ham for breakfast!