Trip Highlights

We left Friday afternoon for a summer visit to see family up in the Adirondacks in upstate New York. We made the trip in about 16 hours...not nearly as long as I'd feared. Here are a few highlights (and low points) from the last few days.

• Jonah's impromptu, side-of-the-road potty break where he "peed on a spider's web!"(higlight for him, low point for me)
  
• Watching an awesome light show of heat lightning in Virginia. (highlight)
  
• Dealing with torrential down pours after the light show in Virginia. (low point)
  
• Realizing at our second gas stop that I had lost one of my flip flops at the previous gas stop. (Major low point for me, highlight for everyone else)
  
• Meeting lots of distant relatives at Grampa Corky's 80th Birthday Bash. (Little of both ;) )
  
• Staring in awe that a bunch of geriatrics didn't break their hips while they were 2-steppin' the day away. (Total highlight!)
  
• Taking the kids fishing in the lake. They have the Rocket Rods so they don't have to cast, but my son (guess which one) decided that he needed to cast anyway. This resulted in almost getting my eye taken out with a big plastic bobber and a nasty, still-wriggling worm on a hook. (highlight on the fishing, low point on the bobber to the head)
  
• Having a slithering snake cross my path on the way back to the house. (LOW POINT!!)
  
• Watching my 2 year old daughter roast weenies over the campfire. (highlight)
  
• Playing washers with my hubby, brother-in-law, and sister-in-law. (highlight)
• Getting a hole in one when we played mini-golf in Lake George! (highlight!)

We're up here until the 5th, when sadly we'll have to head back home. But I'll have LOTS of pictures to share when we get back!

And in case I don't get a chance to blog again before we're home, I want to wish everyone a happy 4th of July!

That's what brothers are for.

In my last post, I talked about how Noah's recent lost tooth was the SECOND tooth that Jonah has so lovingly helped to knock out. But the story behind the first of these teeth is priceless.

Let me set the scene for you. (It was sometime last year, soon after we moved to Charleston.) The boys are in the playroom, sitting on either end of the couch, just chillin' and watching some cartoons. I'm in the living room folding laundry and I hear "Momma! Momma! I knocked out Noah's tooth!!" Naturally I headed into the play room to see how much blood I'd have to clean up. Sure enough, there's Noah with a little blood in his mouth, and holding his tooth in his hand. I tell him to go rinse his mouth out in the bathroom, and while he's in there, I ask Jonah what happened.

"Momma, I smacked Noah in the face with the pillow, and his TOOTH FELL OUT!" (imagine Jonah bouncing up and down and waving his hands around while he's talking...the boy's animated to say the least).

Now, of course, I'm seriously doubting the validity of a soft pillow knocking out a tooth, however loose that tooth may have been. I head to the bathroom to ask Noah what really happened, and he tells me that yes, Jonah whacked him with a pillow but what Jonah didn't realize was that Noah had just brought his cup of water up to his mouth for a drink, and Jonah hit the cup into Noah's tooth. Now THAT makes more sense.

I walk back to the playroom and I see Jonah sitting on the couch beating himself in the face with a pillow. I ask him what in the world he's doing, and he says "Momma, it's not fair that Noah has losed two teeth already, and I haven't losed any. So I'm trying to make my tooth fall out too like I did to Noah". And with that he went back to the task at hand, and for the next half hour was convinced that he'd eventually knock out a tooth with a pillow.

Trials of the Tooth Fairy

The other day Noah lost yet another tooth, thanks to Jonah accidentally thwacking him in the head while they were horsing around outside. Fortunately it was a tooth that was already loose and hanging by a thread just waiting to come out. (That would make TWO teeth of Noah's that Jonah has knocked out. *sigh* BOYS.)

The7 came up to the house with their friends from across the street and handed me the tooth (gag!) and said to keep it safe so the tooth fairy could come that night. I put it in a small ziploc bag and said that it was all set for him to put under his pillow. That satisfied them and as they were all walking back across the street, I overheard this:

Friend: "D'you think the tooth fairy has a military ID? This is base housing ya know."
Noah: "Nah, I don't think she's military, so she must have to get a visitor's pass."

Family Friday Night

We started out with dinner at Vickery's on Shem Creek. The kids loved to walk the docks along the water.

Next we took the kids to play at the park on Sullivan's Island.

Then we ended the night with a some ice cream and a walk on the beach on Isle of Palms at sunset.

You're never too young...

Even my 2 year old has caught the Summer Reading bug!

Summer Reading

When I was growing up, our public library had summer reading programs, where if you read x amount of books, you'd get prizes. The coveted prize for our family was 2 tickets to a Florida Marlins baseball game. My sisters & I would read our eyes out so that we'd end up with 6 tickets for a game...and one of us would be able to bring a friend. We loved it! Our school would also do a summer reading deal too, and so we'd get to put the books we read on two lists instead of one!

Noah came home from school on the last day with a bunch of Scholastic books, and a paper called NBLU (No Book Left Unread), which was their reading log for the summer. They have to tally up how many pages the read all summer long, and the top readers get a prize at the beginning of the school year. Noah was the top reader in the ENTIRE SCHOOL last year and got his name on a plaque in the school library. He came home and told me that his goal for this summer was to 'blow last summer out of the water'. So the boy has issued himself a challenge. And so far, one week into summer, he has read 553 pages! I'm so proud of him! He definitely gets that from me...I love to read.

Both boys are reading for the public library here too. When they read for 5 hours they get a certificate and a medal. Read for 15 and you get your choice of either a ticket to the Charleston Battery professional soccer game or a ticket to the Carolina Stingrays hockey game AND a ticket to the Carolina Ice Palace or Karate lessons. Gee, I wonder which they'll choose?! Read for 30 hours and you get a tshirt andpasses to the Children's Museum of the Lowcountry and the Gibbes Museum of Art. They'll also get entered into drawing for the grand prize.

And not only that, but there is an adult reading program too! You just enter a slip each time you read a book and you're added into a weekly drawing for lots of great prizes...including a $50 gas card! Who can't use free gas??

Who's ready to read? WE ARE!!

*Any suggestions for good books for momma to read will be welcome!*

Friday Finds on Etsy: Father's Day Gift Ideas

Father's Day is just around the corner (June 21 folks!!), so I thought I'd see what Etsy has to offer for the dads.
Here's some Gourmet Rubs from Purpose Design. They also have really awesome spice racks! The next idea is something that we did last year for the hubby. A personalized keychain. All dads have keys, so this is a perfect gift. Not too big or flashy. Here's a great one from Amy Cornwell Designs.

And who doesn't have a golfer in their life? Not only is my hubby one, but so are both of our fathers. Quite honestly, if you DON'T have one in your life, I'm a bit jealous. This idea combines the sport of golf with the great quality of cleanliness. Who says that soap as gifts are just for women? Get your man a sleeve of 4 golf ball soaps from Karen's Soap Co. for Father's Day. He'll love it!

Of course there are many more options, these are just a few of my favorites. But with these ideas, you'll have NO EXCUSE not to get those special men a little something!

Sip A Bowl: Not just for kids!

Gramma & Grampa came bearing gifts over the weekend, and not just for the birthday girl. Each of the kids got one of these Sip A Bowls.
But these suckers don't just amuse the kids. Oh no. Last night, as the hubby was sipping out the milk from his pre-bedtime snack of Honeycomb, he looked appreciatively at the bowl and let out a contented sigh and said "This has to be the best invention ever."

The lazy days of summer...

Hangin' out in the hammock at a BBQ over the weekend.

Boy, life's rough.

Double take!

At first glance this just looks like an adorable picture of my princess. But look closer, and you'll see Jonah jumping out the door. Yep...full on action shot in mid-air. Awesome.

*I cropped it in for a better view of the levitating.*

Mmmm Mmmm Monday; Grilled Chicken Penne al Fresco

This is another Pampered Chef recipe. And it's actually a microwave recipe! I have to be honest, I was a little hesitant at first because of that fact, but decided to try it anyway. I should never have doubted the Pampered Chef, because I was pleasantly surprised. It was delicious!



Grilled Chicken Penne al Fresco
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 cups grape or cherry tomatoes
3 cups uncooked penne pasta (or any tube shaped pasta requiring 9-11 minutes cook time)
3 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup dry white wine (I used an additional 3/4 cup of the chicken broth, because I didn't have any wine)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1-1/4 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/4 cup packed)
2 cups diced grilled chicken breasts (I used the pre-cooked grilled chicken strips by Tyson that you get in the lunchmeat section at the store. It just made it easier for me.)


Slice garlic into a 2 qt glass baking/casserole dish. Add tomatoes. Cover; microwave on high 4-5 minutes or until tomatoes begin to burst, stirring after 2 minutes. Crush tomatoes. Add pasta, broth, wine, salt and black pepper.


Return dish to microwave; cover and microwave on high 12-18 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring after 10 minutes. Meanwhile, coarsely chop basil. Reserve 2 Tbsp for garnish, if desired. Grate your Parmesan cheese as well.


Carefully remove dish from microwave and remove lid, making sure to lift it away from you. Add basil, cheese and chicken to dish and mis well. Garnish with reserved 2 Tbsp basil, additional Parmesan cheese, and more black pepper, if desired.

Sunday Brunch

Today we skipped church (awful, I know!!) because my sis wasn't feeling so hot. Instead, my parents took us all to Cracker Barrel for brunch. What better way to start the week than sittin' a spell in the rocking chairs, playing checkers and eating some tasty food?

My house was taken over by ladybugs!

Sort of a Friday Finds on Etsy...Sophia's birthday party treat bags.

Sophia's party is tomorrow. I've been busting my tail getting things ready around here. We're doing a ladybug theme, and I decided that I would make all of the goody bag treats, because I couldn't find anything toddler-aged in the stores that I liked. It was alot of work, but I had fun!

I got plain red paper bags from Walmart for 25 cents a peice. Then I punched 1" holes in black construction paper and glued them on.

I made some fun bottlecap necklaces for each little girly. I got the images from Magnolia Graphics on Etsy.

I made ladybug clippies for everyone too. I just cut some more black construction paper into rectangles, clipped on the ladybug, and then added the wonderful stickers from Sticker Doodles (again, an Etsy find).

I made some fun wands with 25 cent wooden cutouts from the craft store, dowels that I painted black, and some ribbon cut into even lengths.

Finally, I made some marshmallow pops. Now, I had some issues with these. I got the idea from this post by Grace Violet. Now, I either just had a HORRIBLE day yesterday or she has some magic white chocolate, because I couldn't get mine to cooperate. I melted it and it was all nice and creamy, but when I went to add the food coloring, it got all chalky and I couldn't dip the marshmallow into it. I tried to warm it over on the stove on low, but that just made the marshmallow melt when I dipped it in. So I gave up and bought some white whipped frosting, added food coloring to that, and dipped it that way. It doesn't harden like it should, but it'll have to do. It's not like a bunch of 2 year olds are gonna know the difference anyway. (They didn't come out red like I wanted, but more of a dark pink. Just ask hubby...I was frusterated.) Anyway, here's my finished product:

Summer in the South.

This was the view from my driveway this afternoon.

Daily thunderstorms are back. Yes ma'am...summer has returned to the South.

He's a smarty pants already.

Take a wild guess who this post is referring to.

Go on, guess. I'll wait.

*Cue elevator music*

Ok you're right...it's about Jonah. In the car today he was saying number rhymes he learned at school this past year. Here's the conversation that went on.

Jonah: "Around and down, across to you. That's the way we make a two!"
Noah: "What's number three?"
Jonah: "Around the tree, around the tree. That's the way you make a three!"
Me: "What's four?"
Jonah: "Four's a number, you silly goose!"

I looked at the hubby and he was cracking up. I just shook my head and silently thanked my late Dutch grandparents who must've sent heaping loads of their odd sense of humor to Jonah from their bench in heaven. They never got to meet him, but boy they would've gotten a kick out of him!!

Although I've been reminded by those who know me best that I tend to be pretty sarcastic myself. I dunno what y'all are talking about.

Two is Terrific!

My baby is 2 years old today! I cannot believe it!!

And I want to brag a little bit for a minute. Not only has she given up the pacifier (ok, not so much given up as she lost it and momma refused to buy her any new ones!!), she is POTTY TRAINED during the day! Can you believe it? Two years old and only wears diapers at bedtime. I'm floored myself, because neither one of her brothers were potty trained before 3. Miss Sophia was potty trained at 23 months! Not bad, princess!!

Happy Birthday my little monkey girl! I'm so thankful that God sent you to us. You'll always be our little princess!

Her party is on Saturday, so be expecting LOADS of pictures this weekend!!

King of the Big Balls

My boys absolutely LOVE watching ABC's "Wipeout" during the summer. Their favorite part is when people bounce off the Big Balls. Today at Target, Jonah hopped up on one of the big red spheres along the sidewalk and said "Look momma! I'm king of the Big Balls! I should go on Wipeout!"

Victory! Part 2

Tonight I took Noah to pick out what birthday gift he wanted for his sister. When we came home, we found Jonah getting a haircut! Score again! Now both my boys are back to their adorably buzzcut hairdo selves, and I couldn't be happier.

And I didn't even have to put gum in his hair!

Mmmm Mmmm Monday: Bruschetta Grilled Chicken

This is a super tasty recipe that I got from a recipe exchange with a Mommy Group I attended a few times. (It's also on Kraft.com) We tweaked it just a bit and loved it so much and I just had to pass it along!

Bruschetta Grilled Chicken

6 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
Kraft Sun-dried Tomato Vinegarette Dressing
1 tomato finely chopped
1/2 shredded mozzerella cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Marinade chicken in some of the vinegarette for at least 30 minutes. I used about 1/4 of the bottle and marinated it all afternoon to really soak up the juices.

Heat grill to medium heat and cook chicken as desired.

While chicken is grilling, combine about 1/4 cup vinegarette with the tomatoes, basil and cheese. Once chicken is ready to eat, top each peice with some of the tomato mixture. Serve immediately.

It's an extremely easy recipe and is perfect for the summer!