Summer Loving & Leaving

Who needs a vacation when you can spend your summer doing this...

Ok, ok, maybe we were on a permanent vacation, but it's back to reality for me after spending the majority of the summer galavanting across the country. Grace, Braxton and I got to spend some amazing time with my parents in northern California.

Grace and Grandad found each other at the airport

Braxton met his Grandad for the first time. 

Grammy and Grandad with their favorite grandson!

 

We visited family. 

GG, or "Grandma Buddy" as Grace calls her

Great Grandma Elsie and Braxton

Lots of fun times playing games and snuggling!

We rode trains.

Western Pacific Railroad Museum

Went to the Alexander Family Reunion Campout at the DeForest Ranch.  

Dog race followed by the kids race

Grace wants to ask Santa for one of these for Christmas! 

Grace took swim lessons.

3 weeks of lesson in Portola. Grace loved the instructors and gained so much confidence in the water. 

Braxton learned how to sit up, scream and Army crawl. 

"It's on, Mama!"

We ate like we were on vacation!

 

Went hiking, biking and kayaking. 

  

We missed Daddy a lot, but we were reunited for a fun trip to South Lake Tahoe at the end of the month. We got to enjoy to the view (and the cooler weather), and let loose a little with some good friends.

See the resemblance? ;)

My handsome date! SO happy to be reunited with my other half. 

The boys pre-wedding. 

Congratulations, April and Ryan! We had a blast celebrating with you guys!

I'm still not exactly sure how we ended up living so far away from my family, but I am so grateful for this fun-filled time we got to spend with them this summer. How lucky was I to wake up to fresh brewed coffee and the occasional bakery delight? We went on evening walks and enjoyed the bounty at the weekly Farmer's Market. We saw wildlife ranging from packs of bucks, to a bear trotting across the rode. We laughed, joked and made cherished memories.

Bike ride and donuts- a perfect combo!

This mug was handmade by a potter selling his wares at the Beckwourth Farmer's Market. I'm pretty sure it can house 3 cups of coffee! (Perfect for mornings when you're dragging...)

We were sad to leave our west coast friends and family, but had to head home and resume "real life." The flight home was pretty good not quite horrible. We decided on a red-eye non-stop flight from Sacramento to Charlotte. Our hope was that B + G would sleep (you know, since it's the middle of the night?!). The hard part was getting to the airport well past their bedtime and negotiating ticket counters, security checkpoints and gate areas with two delirious children. Braxton slept the entire flight home (thanks to the all-you-can-eat-breastfeeding-buffet) and Grace finally got comfortable a fell asleep.

You know, just hanging at the airport trying to maintain our sanity. 

Now that we're home, we're getting in some more family camping trips and prepping Grace for her return to preschool. She will be attending three days a week, and can't wait to go!

Braxton is moving and grooving and basically a menace. He can maneuver his way using an army crawl all the way across the living room, into the kitchen (or to the dog food bowl). He is still not sleeping through the night and has started eating pretending to eat, but mostly just spitting it all out.

Family life is keeping us busy, and we are looking forward to the shift to fall in the coming months. Bring on the football, celebrations, pumpkins and changing leaves!!!

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Our Life Lately

The only thing certain is that everything is uncertain- and death and taxes, so I'm told. Right now there's a lot of big things happening for our little family, but before I get ahead of myself here's a brief update on what we've been up to lately:

My 3 favorites!

Watching: House of Cards and Call the Midwife (thanks, for the recommendation, Ashley!)

Sweating to: Bodyrock- I just finished a 30 day challenge, and I'm happy to report I can still do push-ups and still hate burpees!

Obsessing Over: This Easter dress for Grace

Looking forward to: Seeing my sister and Mom!

Thankful for: My new shiny pretty things.

Dust and Daffodils (By my talented friend, Amy)
This year my resolution was to 'Choose Joy,' so this is oh so perfect! 

Held In Your Hands Design (from my thoughtful friend, Courtney!)

So over: Snow days that aren't really snow days, but they cancel school anyways!

Reading: Wild by Cheryl Strayed. Now, I have to wait until the movie comes out on DVD...

Freaking out about: The dead horse I saw getting eaten by vultures. Seriously. I saw it, and I can't un-see it.

Really need to: Wash and clean out my car.

Eating: Strawberry Avocado Spinach Salad with Bacon Poppyseed Dressing (like this recipe, but with spinach). We seriously ate it 5 times last week.

Baking: Banana Bread (recipe). Three-year-olds are great at mashing bananas.

Kind of delirious from: Nighttime feeding dates with my little man, but thankful that he goes right back to sleep. I know the days (and nights) are long, but the years are short, so I'm trying to relish the time. Holding his little tiny body reminds me that soon he will be much too big for my arms and uninterested in snuggles from his mama. *sniff sniff*

Planning: A move north... and east...

Proud Mama because: Grace can recite the Pledge of Allegiance and is learning something new everyday!

Contemplating: Training for a half marathon... time to bust out the Double BOB!

Laughing about: Spilling blueberries all over the supermarket while Grace loudly throws me under the bus. "MAMA, you spilled the blueberries. THEY"RE EVERYWHERE! Mama, you dropped them!!!" (It made me miss the days she couldn't talk, and I could have blamed it on her!)

Also laughing about: Being featured and recognized by friends on the Army Medical poster.

So, tell me, what are you up to? What's something you've been obsessing over? Do you have any good recipes, shows or books to recommend?

7 Kitchen Tips That I Learned the Hard Way

I will be the first to admit that my prowess in the kitchen is sadly lacking. 

My husband would be the second. (He has never once complained and gladly eats what I cook and helps with the dishes.) Good man!

Unfortunately he seems to have married a wife without many talents in the kitchen. I think over the past 10 years my cooking has actually improved a little bit, but I will never be anywhere close to a culinary genius. 

If I had to give myself a grade in the kitchen, it would be a C-. Just barely passing. The underachiever in the back of the class.

Grace thinks I'm an excellent cook!

Luckily, I've learned some important lessons in the kitchen over the years, and I'm happy to share them! Hopefully you can avoid some of the mistakes I've made:

1. Don't cook microwavable rice without adding water

It will burn, melt the dish and smell really bad.

2. Saving leftovers you don't really intend to eat is a bad idea
You will find them weeks later in the back of the fridge and have to call the Hazmat team for proper and safe disposal. 

3. Always keep fresh garlic and wine on hand

They can turn any dinner into something mostly edible.

Pasta Making Class- Let's be honest, I was there for the wine!

4. Cereal or PBJ are perfectly acceptable meals
Unless you don't have cereal, milk, peanut butter, jelly or bread. Then take-out is perfectly acceptable, too. 

5. Clean your sink

Grimy dried up food stuck in your sink is gross. 

6. Assume that your creation will never look like the one on Pinterest

Pinterest fails are basically the story of my life, but I still love Pinterest and have found many delicious and easy recipes and craft ideas. 

7. Master some go-to recipes that you're not afraid to feed guests or take to parties

I don't have many dinner parties, because I have a two-year old with the table manners of a gorilla, but when we do have people over, I always cook something that I've made successfully in the past. There's nothing worse than a failed new recipe and hungry guests! My favorites are Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Taco Chicken Bowls. I also feel like a really scrumptious dessert makes up for a so-so dinner. Can you say Chocolate Molten Lava Cake!? That will make me forget about a nasty dinner. 

BONUS
8. Put a piece of bread in a tupperware with your brown sugar to keep it soft
My mom taught me this one.

Well, there you have it. 8 Kitchen tips from yours truly. You can tell 'em you learned from one of the worst.

What are you best kitchen tips? I'd love to hear them.

...no seriously, tell me how you do it!

7 kitchen tips based on mistakes you have made in the past.

Dear Grace,

Case study: Grace, 16 months

Dear Grace,

Thank you so much for sharing with me. You are so sweet to offer me your Cheerios, Goldfish or whatever else you are eating. I think it's great that you've learned how to share, but I have just a few questions for you.

Why do you always have to put the food intended for me into your mouth first? Or lick it? Sadly, it doesn't really gross me out that much, but I'm curious about your ways. (It probably does explain why we both always get the same yucky sicknesses...)

Also, when you put a piece of food in my mouth you have to let go of it if you want me to eat it. You know that, right? You're just teasing me like you do the dog, aren't you?

Finally, why won't you share with other kids? I know I'm your one-and-only-special-mama, but it would really warm my heart to see you being kind and generous to others. Instead, you act a mess and shove your entire snack/meal into your mouth for safe keeping. Silly girl! I know you're still little, so there's time to work on the give and take expected in society. I don't mean to be hard on you.

Anyways, thanks again for all of the extra delicious morsels you send my way. You're too kind. I'm looking forward to further observation of your toddler ways and hope to get a better understanding of where you're coming from. Let's get together for a fro-yo date soon. We can share a bowl of our favorite peach yogurt with blueberries, graham cracker dust and cooties. ;)

Love ya,

Mama