Blackened Fish Salad

So tomorrow my baby turns 5 years old. Where on earth did the time go? I might cry tomorrow....... We're doing the usual birthday tradition, pictues, zoo, dinner, and we also have to run out to Aunt Missy's to celebrate Lily's Birthday (Monday is her actual birthday).

Working my way through my favorite cookbook, on page 59 of Taste of Home: Simple & Delicious is the recipe called Blackened Fish Salad. Ingredients: cajun blackened grilled fish fillets, deli pasta, baby spinach, and parmesan cheese. We used THIS pasta salad (my all time favorite!!!) and we actually forgot to put the parmesan cheese onto it (didn't realize until a couple of days later when we were having spaghetti and Scott went to use it and it hadn't been opened yet, oops!). I really enjoyed this recipe but unfortunately no one else in the house did. Scott isn't a big fan of the fish, and the kids devoured the pasta part of it they barley touched the rest of it. I hope I can convince them to make this again, but I might not be able too.

Father's Day

So I was super excited to find out that I received a 104% on my Accounting 1 test, until I went to class last night and realized a perfect on the test would have resulted in a 105%, doh! I lost 4-1/4 points on something dumb. Not that I didn't deserve to loose that point, but I shouldn't have put down the wrong page reference number. Oh well I guess, I have a perfect on everything else I've turned in so my overall grade is still over 100%. I am now 5/16 of the way done with this class!

So a little over a week ago was Father's Day. Scott received from us: 2 Angry Bird Shirts, and 1 Fruit Ninja Shirt (Scott loves novelty t-shirts and I have to start replacing all of his old ones because the Larges look like they fit Scott, but they don't. After you wash them once or twice they end up being way to short), we also cooked a nice dinner on Saturday night, and also there is a promise to get a new cell phone for him (and me) when we have time to go get it done.  That morning we woke up and went to breakfast at the VFW with Scott's family and then we headed to the zoo with them. We walked around for awhile and then had a nice picnic lunch right outside. Then the kids got to play on the playground for awhile then we headed home for a nap. For dinner we were going to go to Aunt Missy's but she text to cancel so instead we went over to the Moore's house and ordered Glass Nickel - yumm! I love their stuff and could eat there almost every day, but it's a little pricey to do that and I would get super fat, lol. I hope all the Daddy's out there had a wonderful day.

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest

So yesterday John & Don came over to the house to do a majority of the trim work for our flooring. We wanted to finish that up before the appraiser comes to the house on Friday (we're re-financing). They did get most of it completed, just a few little pieces here and there that need to get completed. So glad we got that taken care of, we really appreciate all their hard work!

So recently I finished the third and final book in the series, "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest" by Stieg Larsson. Wow. What a series! I really enjoyed reading the entire series and liked how he finished everything. Like the other two books there is a lot of background information, which some of it I lost track of and couldn't keep straight, but overall the stories flowed very smoothly and kept my interest. I really can't wait until they come out with the other movies, it'll be interesting to see how closely they follow the storyline.

The Story For Little Ones

So after checking a bazillion times on Friday and Saturday my instructor finally posted my grade for the test at 12:33 a.m. this morning. And, guess what? 104%!! LOL! Didn't even realize you could get over a 100%. The only thing I can think of is he curved it slightly and added extra points onto everyone scores? Not sure, wont know until tomorrow night, but I'm happy!

So recently we finished reading "The Story For Little Ones". I'm so happy we stumbled upon this when visiting Crosspointe Community Church in Michigan. The chapters are perfect size to read to the kids, and actually we would read it twice, just to make sure Connor heard most of it, and then we'd ask him what happened in the chapter. We're not a very religious family, and only attend church once in a great while, but I do what my children to have some sort of basic knowledge in religion and when they're older they can choose for themselves.

Nacho Chicken Pitas

What better way to spend a Saturday night then cleaning the house? Right? Lol! That's exactly what we're doing. Cleaning for 10 minutes, breaking for 10 minutes. You'd be surprised at how much you can get done in 10 minutes. Neither Scott or I are very good at keeping the house clean, so in order for us to get anything done we have to take it in brief periods.

So we're slowly working through my favorite cookbook "Taste of Home: Simple & Delicious". This time we tried Nacho Chicken Pitas on page 48. Ingredients: Egg, Nacho Cheese Tortilla Chips, Chicken Breasts, Mayo (not on mine), Pita Bread, Lettuce (right out of the garden!), Tomato, and Mozzarella Cheese. OMG, this tasted so good! I absolutely loved it. The pita bread however was hard to work with, it didn't seem like I could get very much inside of it. I think next time I'll take the same basic ingredients but make it more into a salad. I really do not like Nacho Tortilla Chips, but the way it was used for breading on the chicken was so yummy!

4k Graduate

So I took my first Accounting 1 test on Thursday, and he said he would probably have the grades up on Saturday night.......... I still checked several times yesterday, and have checked several times already today. I really hope he gets those grades up soon, I really think I got an A and would like conformation that I did!

I know its been a couple of weeks, but I wanted to post Connor's super cute 4k Graduation Picture. They had a little ceremony, sang 2 songs, handed out their diplomas and then we got to eat some snacks and play outside for awhile. Not very long (a co-workers was 2 hours long........can't imagine what they would do for 2 hours, lol) but at least it was something (a friend of mines didn't have a ceremony for 4k). It was a lot of fun and I'll miss all of his little friends that I knew all by name. Most of the kids he will never see again, he will see a couple at his birthday party and maybe he'll stay in touch with one or two though out the year - I really hope him and his bff Matthew will stay in touch, but it will be hard since they wont be going to the same school next year. Can't believe my baby will start kindergarten in September!!

18 Month Check Up

So the kids and Scott are outside playing, and I'm taking a little "quiet time", which consists of folding laundry and making this quick post. Sound like fun? Yes, and no - I'd rather be outside playing, but I know I need some quiet time, so it's relaxing. I'm also going to try to dye my hair tonight, but I'm not sure I will have time - we'll see!

Earlier this month Savannah had her 18 month check up and she's perfect, like always. She is still slightly delayed in her speech but she's very advanced in her small & large motor skills and problem solving, and since kids develop at such different rates, she's just fine. Her biggest problem is she wont sit still long enough to learn new words and when she does finally say a new word she will only say it once, if you keep asking her to say it she wont (she said Ella the other day, clear as day, but only once, lol  - stubborn!). She is 32.25 inches tall (62.3% on the WHO chart) and 20lbs11oz (24.7% on the WHO chart). So although she is tall & skinny, she is definitely staying on the same growth line. However, if you look at the dumb CDC chart she's only 5.65% for weight. I'm not sure why they still have that chart out there, it's invalid and makes parents worry. It took me a long time to figure out that the WHO chart more accurately reflects Savannah's growth and the CDC chart is outdated and I can ignore it.

Blinds

Hey, do any of you play the Monopoly game at Copps? We do, even though the majority of our groceries are purchased at Woodman's once and awhile we pick up a few things at Copps since it's a lot closer (which wont happen in the fall when the new Woodman's opens, yay!!) Anyways, Scott stopped last night for a few things and I was just getting around to looking at the game pieces, and we won a $100 Grocery Gift Card, yay! That's definitely useful right now with all the food we'll have to purchase for Connor's B-Day party!

So while we were re-doing our floors I decided to finally pull down all of our blinds in our kitchen. They were old and disgusting, and Savannah got a kick out of pulling out parts of the blinds, so finally I had enough and tore them down. Then after looking around, I realized our sliding glass door needed something new too. It was old, and had those metal pieces in the bottom to weigh it down - which the kids played with and most of them were now missing. So approximately $250 later we had new cloth, cordless blinds for our 5 windows in the kitchen and a new cordless brown covering for our sliding door! We got them all at Menard's and as always we were very happy with our experience. It looks TONS better!! I'm so happy we finally did it. Now we just have the bedroom windows to re-do!

Matt's B-Day

OMG, watching the SYFY channel, and it's a show and I think it's called Insane or Inspired. Not sure, but holy crap it's funny, lol. Sitting here crying because I'm laughing so hard. If you're reading this now and have that channel, go check it out!

So almost 2 weeks ago we went over to the Moore house to celebrate Matt's 32nd Birthday. We had a cookout and the kids got to play with a mini pool and a water table. For his birthday we got Matt the movie Suckerpunch, some spices from Milford spices and also a Detroit Tiger cooler. We also got to enjoy some yummy DQ ice cream cake! I hope his birthday was nice and relaxing and he had a good day!

AJ Turns 2

Okay, last post of the night. It's after 10:30, and I'm getting pretty tired. I went to bed late last night and today at work was just "one of those days". Did I ever mention that Connor signed up for Tennis Camp this summer? I gave him the option between Basketball, Wrestling & Tennis, and he chose Tennis. And guess what? I received an e-mail today stating the class is cancelled because there was no instructor available. WTF, I'm a little ticked off..... now I have to try and convince Connor to do Basketball Or Wrestling camp because I really want him to try something new this summer.

Almost 2 weeks ago we headed out to Marshall to Celebrate AJ's 2nd Birthday! I really can't believe that this little guy is 2, which means before we know it Savannah will be 2! Craziness!! The Browne family parties are always fun with good food and yummy cake. For his birthday we gave AJ a pair of shorts and a matchbox truck. A really cool birthday surprise he received was getting to take a lap around the block in a real racecar, and all the kids got to climb in and sit in it too! I hope his birthday was amazing, even though he wont remember it when he is older, but I hope he'll be able to tell from all the pictures how much he is loved!

18 Months Old

I'm so hungry!! Ahhh! But I REFUSE to eat this late at night! So I'll just have to sit here and ignore my rumbling stomach. I could go to bed, but what fun would that be? Then I wouldn't be able to  post several posts tonight (this being #3, and this will either be my last or second to last for the night, we'll see!)

So almost 2 weeks ago, June 1st, Miss. Savannah turned 18 months old. Where did the time go? She is finally starting to say a few words here and there (but only when she wants to, if you ask her to, she wont do it). She's also learned how to climb on everything (more so than before, if that's even possible!) and nothing is out of reach to her. If she can't reach it, she'll figure out a way to move something to get what she wants. She is just the funniest little person, who just has way to much personality for her size, which is exactly why I call her Tink (Tinkerbell - little with attitude). Also to note, I finally upgraded her to size 18 month clothing! Thank you Katie for providing us with so many cute Lily clothes! I love this little "naughty" girl and can't imagine my life without her.

Memorial Day

So this week I started my Accounting 1 class - 8 weeks, 2 days a week, 5:30-9:30. I was pretty much dreading this class. This is actually the second time I've had to take this class, the first time I was pregnant with Connor and just didn't feel like going, so I ended up dropping the class. What a dumb mistake that was! The instructor had e-mailed us this past weekend and said if you wanted to get a head start you could read the first chapter and do the first online assignment (7 questions). Well, you know what? I was the only one in his 2 classes that actually did it! Jeez....... lol!

So, for Memorial Day the last couple of years we end up going to the Monona Parade and watching Scott's Mom march! The kids have a blast and it's always a great time. They love getting candy (and who am I kidding, so do I!) and also being able to see grandma. This year it was a pretty hot day outside and Donovan ended up leaving the parade (I think about 1/2 way through, but I don't remember for sure) but the rest of us powered through it and made it all the way to the end. I can't imagine how hot all the people who had to march were considering how hot we were! Thankfully before the parade started, Scott's Dad & I walked down the street to the gas station with the two boys to go to the bathroom and to get slushies!

A Trip To The Zoo

Okay, I know I've been about 2-3 weeks behind on most of my posts, so since everyone is in bed sleeping (except me) I'm going to try and get a couple done back to back now. So, hopefully you can keep up with my lightning speed (for a limited time only, lol) and catch everything we have had going on the last couple of weeks!

So Sunday of Memorial Day weekend Chrissy & I decided to take all four kids to the zoo (had to get the kids out of the house while they were finishing up the floor at home). It was quit the adventure let me tell ya, lol! The kids had a blast and we didn't really stay all that long (to hot!). Both of my kids ate before they went to the zoo and they should have been just fine waiting until we got home to have a snack but Connor now knows that Aunt Ki-Ki is always loaded with goodies to eat, so we had to stop twice for them to munch, lol! I'm glad we had a chance to go to the zoo already this year because today it was posted on FB that the female lion has passed away, how sad!

New Floor

Wow, where has the weekend gone? We spent the majority of the weekend over at the Moore's house getting their deck built. I also started my accounting 1 homework , which the class starts tomorrow night. I'll be there every Monday & Thursday night basically until Christmas (with a couple of week break in August). So, if I go missing for awhile, don't worry, I'll try to keep updated as best as I can.

So a couple of weeks ago we finally got around to replacing the flooring in our kitchen & living room. We still need to do our bedroom and the stairs, but it's definitely a start and it looks so much better. Our kitchen had this vinyl that was suppose to be white (I think) but it didn't matter how many times you cleaned it, it still looked dirty. Our living room had carpet, that at one point didn't look to bad, but ended up being coffee stained (an effort from me & the kids, lol). Now we have a nice wood laminate that we picked up at Menards. Thursday we moved furniture, Friday they ripped up furniture and Saturday & Sunday they laid down the new floor. What do you think?

Happy 16th B-Day

So today is the first day of summer break for Connor and he isn't even at home to enjoy it - well, he's probably enjoying it, but over at Grandma & Grandpa's house! After work last night we went and celebrated his 4k graduation at McDonald's, and then me & Chrissy went to class, Connor went to Grandma & Grandpa's, and Scott & Savannah just went home.I can't believe my baby graduated from 4k!

So it's been 2 weeks, but I wanted to post a Happy Birthday to Scott's cousin Brodie on my blog. He turned the big 16! It's so funny when you're older how quickly kids younger than you grow up. It seems like yesterday he was just this little goofy kid (all kids, not just him, lol) and now he's 16,  just finished his sophomore year of high school and now he'll be driving! Wow! I hope he had a fantastic birthday, and enjoys his gas gift card & banberry jam (I gave his mom a jar for Christmas, so I had to get Jessica to give me another jar so I could give him one for his birthday).

These Things Hidden

So, if you currently live in the state of Wisconsin, did you go out and vote? Today was an important vote and actually the only time I've voted besides the presidential elections (2 of those now). I keep checking on CNN at the updated results and it's looking to be in favor of Walker. I guess we wont know for sure until tomorrow though, so I'll keep checking in hopes that it changes.

So for this past book club we had to read These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf. This is her second book that she's released (her first one we also read for book club almost 2 years ago, and her 3rd book will be released later this month). I really enjoy her style of writing. From the get go she sucks you into the story and only reveals bits and pieces along the way, making you want to keep reading. I enjoy her writing so much that I've written in my planner the day the next book comes out so I can request it from the library.

Candie's Bridal Shower

Almost 9 o'clock? Where did the time go tonight? Got the new blinds up in the house, watered the garden and scrubbed the kitchen. Total time spent cleaning the kitchen today = about 1.5 hours, and I'm maybe 40-45% of the way done with it. Oh my gosh I didn't realize how gross my kitchen actually was!

So a few weeks ago I went over to Scott's aunt's house to celebrate his cousin's upcoming wedding with her bridal shower. The theme was tea party, which was really cute! It was very simple but very pretty and everyone got to bring home a teacup filled with chocolate. For her shower we got her one of those glass dishes that has the nice carrying cases to keep the dish warm if you need to travel with it. I hope she had a great time at her party and I can't wait to celebrate their wedding!

The Girl Who Played With Fire

The weekend is just about over. I'm actually the only one awake right now, everyone else is passed out in my room. It's so funny. I spent so much time planning and decorating super cute rooms for both kids but yet almost every night (and for Savannah that is 100% every night) they both sleep in our room. I know some people think kids need to sleep in their rooms, but want to know what? Kids grow up to fast. If they want to sleep in our room I'll let them.

So recently I finished reading book 2 of Stieg Larsson's series - The Girl Who Played With Fire. These books are pretty large and I'm always a little intimidated by them at first, but I end up reading them fairly quickly. Although, like the first one there is some of the back story that I find a little boring and not always 100% necessary I enjoy the book overall. This second book leaves you hanging and leads you right into the third book (which I've started now). Can't wait to finish the series! No idea what I expect for the ending!

Bedtime Favorites

Saturday morning - typical day so far. We've been to karate and the library and I've got my grocery list ready to go and I'm about to head out the door. The rest of the day will be spent reading a book and getting Connor's B-Day invites printed and ready to hand out to family & his friends at school.

A couple weeks ago we finished reading Disney's Bedtime Favorites. The Moore's gave the book to the kids (I believe for Valentines Day). This book is perfect for night time. It has all your favorites in it with new stories that are the perfect length for young children. We would read one of the stories every couple of nights so it lasted a few months for us. Now we have to figure out the next book we're going to read (alternating with Connor's "The Story").

Quicker Chicken 'n Dumplings

Well happy 18 month birthday Miss. Savannah! Can't believe it's been 18 months since you were born! It's amazing how quickly you grow and how much of your own person you are. She is so stubborn at times, so independent at times and yet way more cuddly than Connor was at this age. It's amazing how different siblings can really be.

So awhile back I tried another recipe out of my Taste of Home Simple & Delicious Cookbook - pg. 30, called Quicker Chicken 'n Dumplings. I love chicken and dumplings and really wanted to try this out. Ingredients: chicken broth, celery, carrots, bay leaf (didn't use one), dried parsley, biscuit mix, dried thyme, nutmeg, milk, & cooked cubed chicken. The recipe turned out really yummy, however I did not have to cook it nearly as long as the recipe calls for. Not sure why but I ran out of broth way before it was time but thankfully everything was cooked and ready to eat. I will definitely be making this again in the future though!