Currently...

currently: finished shooting and watching these rascals race around.

Loving... My oldest brother, Tim, and his wife are on their way through, moving from Virginia to Washington, and we get to spend a couple days with them. I hardly get to see them, so it will be a real treat. I feel like we get to see them a teeny more ever since they've been married though. I guess getting married sometimes changes you for the BETTER ;)

 Reading… I took this amazing writing class when I was in mid high school and my wonderful teacher made a book for each of us filled with everything each student had written in the class. It was so awesome of her to do that and now that I get to look back at all they great, and funny things every one used to write and the writings seems so different to me now compared to back then.

 Obsessing Over… I hate thinking about it, because I know it will come and go as fast as summer did, but I keep thinking about fall and how excited I am for all the things that comes with the season. Pumpkins, apples, perfect weather, changing leaves, layers, hot drinks and it's shortly followed after with Christmas. sigh...

 Thinking about… My side of the family is making gifts this year for Christmas again, and I need to start now so I won't feel behind on everything when the time comes. You know that time of year when all you think about and do is get all the many Christmas gifts to people together? And how hard it is to find the perfect gift for someone? I have that PLUS having to make it all. ha… I can do it… (I hope).

 Watching... The Hunger Games. Well, after seeing it twice in the theater(which is a big deal for me) my husby bought it once it came out on DVD. We watched it once, but it just got me in the mood to watch it MORE. And the special features were great too!

 Anticipating… One of my best friends went back to school a few days ago and I already can't wait until she gets back for Christmas break! It's sad to see her go, but it makes her visits that much more special.

 Wishing... I've been wishing that I could keep in contact with a lot of old friends. I've been really nostalgic lately for good reasons. I know a lot of people probably have the popular FB page, but I never use that site, to tell you the truth. It's not, in my opinion, the best way to reconnect with someone anyway. I just wish I could have a giant reunion with everyone, so I can see all of those who've moved away and everything.

 Listening to… I can't really believe I'm saying this, but I've been getting into rap/hip hop a little more lately. Some of the independent stuff out there I've been discovering is really great. I normaly don't care at all for that genre, but I guess I've just never listened to the right stuff yet. My current favorite is 360, if your curious, but there's a lot more out there to check out too. I know a lot of people find rap and hip hop a little much so instead, I'll leave you with a great song that I love just as much from Dark Dark Dark. Isn't her voice amazing? You can listen to their new single here.


 Eating... Its been a hot, hot day today, so I've been snacking on watermelon and cantaloupe :)

Life This Week(according to cellphone pics) #52

Sausages all the way from Chicago, Snoozing in gamma's flower bed, Loves watching his Uncle play music, feeling a Dwight outfit coming together, freshly framed, trying on shoes at the store like dada, making gallons of lime-aid, my lovely & organized couch office.

Lil' Froggy

I know I posted earlier about all of Everett's birthday party dreams that included frogs, water, all his favorite people, green, candy, and balloons. Well we tried our best to make it all happen and I think it turned out pretty fun, at least for the kids. I had my camera with me as much as I could, but I was always too busy doing other things before I would remember to pull it out, so a few of the photos are from my mom's camera.

Helping us make a green pudding cake. Or more like helping us clean up.

Fun on the bloog. We put blue food coloring and little froggies in it this time.

We really liked the cool bloog in the hot weather.

 Water balloon wars: round one!

Any left?

Frogs swimming in blue jello.

Birthday cake time!

Why is everyone singing so loudly to me?

I don't know what's happening?!

The tears really start rolling. So sad, but too cute.

Daddy, save me!

Cake? Awww all better now.

Duck Pond Game

Water Ballon Fight: round two!

Paper ripping.

Loving the musical cards.

Already showing a gnarly sunburn on my back :(

Hot dog roasting.

One last, giant, awesome present from gamma and gampa Mc.

Reach!

TWO.

I know I've been writing about Everett a lot lately, but it IS the week of his birth! And today marks the day when he decided to come join us two years ago. I know I probably say this a lot, but my gosh, time sure flies! Two years ago today was one of the happiest most emotional days of my life, and I couldn't be happier that I have this little dude to share a big part of my life with. I hope I can teach him everything he needs to know to become a great man some day and I can't wait to find out with kind of character he is. If he's going to be a kind, considerate and understanding person like his dada or independent and stubron like his mama. Maybe a bit of both. He's already, of course, starting to show a lot of his character, but it's still a little hard to tell. If I had to make a guess though, I'm pretty sure he'll end up A LOT like his dada, which makes me so happy. There's nothing better than having a miniature David running around the house. I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. I didn't know, at the time, how much our lives were about to change after that day, for the better. I can't imagine these past two years without this little munchkin and I wouldn't have it any other way. Every day that goes by I love him more and more, if that's possible. The more he grows, the more he understands and learns and I love watching him turn into the man he'll someday be. So to my Little Dude, Butters, little bear, munchkin, lil' Ev, crazy kid, water bug, rock 'n roller, and whatever other names you have, Happy Birthday ♥

Lucky Kid

Loving how much character this kid has and how fast he's growing! He'll be turning TWO on Saturday! In this picture, I had just put new pants on him and he was crazy about the pockets for some reason. He kept putting his hand in his pocket and walking around. It seriously was the CUTEST! I told him to show me his pockets once I finally pulled my camera out and he turned around with this pose. He obviously knows his stuff.
On to another subject, I've been feeling really lucky. Not just in life generally, but yesterday we had a close encounter and got really lucky. When I was cleaning up the living room, I heard Everett start balling and when I ran up stairs, his head was stuck between two iron bars at the top of our stairway. I tried to get him out, but to no avail. I finally called David and he said if we can't get him out, we would probably have to call the fire department. That kinda made me freak out. I grabbed some oil and rubbed it on his head to see if it would help it slide out. Him and I pulled and pulled. I tried every different angle I could. His head began swelling and turning red from all the pressure, trying to get it out. I was lost, and knew it was about time to give up. I went down stairs to get him a drink of water and as I looked upstairs I noticed he had gotten his arm through the same side where his head was. It gave me a brilliant idea and I pushed his body though the bars sideway and pulled him up and out from behind the handrail, maneuvering his body out of there. Oh gosh that relief washing over me (and probably him too) was greater than I can explain. That fear left and was replaced with gratitude. I calmed down Everett and was so thankful it ended up being a lot easier than what I worried it would end up like. Thank goodness it turned out OK. And now, I'm a little bit smarted on toddlers getting there heads stuck in things. When I think about all the things this kid has been through in his life already, I really think he must be a lucky kid. Already following in his dada and gampa's lucky, Irish-blooded footsteps... Oui.

***Edit: Just a few minutes after I posted this Everett had another scary close call.  I'm pretty sure I'll get a grey hair or two from that one. He wears me out! haha

5 New (food related) Faves!

These last couple weeks I've discovered a few new food favorites of mine and I'd like to share some with you!

Earthbound Organic mixed baby kale. I was at a normal grocery store and was about to put this brand of baby spinach in my cart, when I saw they had something new. I've had kale good salads before and this just looked so yummy for a salad too. I'm so glad I tried this now. I ate the entire container by myself in three days!! It was so good! My favorite way to eat these is a couple handfulls of kale, half a large apple diced, a small handfull of chopped walnuts, and dressing: pure maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, and cold pressed olive oil... Which leads me to my second fave!

Cold pressed, unrefined, extra virgin olive oil. I've been using this a lot on my salads lately. I don't buy much salad dressing from the store lately because of all the corn syrup, dairy, and MSG added to them. It's easy and cheap to make at home anyway. I used to use the regular olive oil, but knowing all the benefits of coldpressed extra virgin olive oil I decided to get it and save the other stuff for baking and frying. The first thing I noticed is that it has so much more flavor than the normal kind and now I think I'm hooked forever!

Amberlyn sugar free dark chocolates. I saw these chocolates at the health food store. Normally when I see something that says Sugar Free on it, I don't even give it a chance, knowing that most "Sugar Free" things have aspartame or other harmful things in them. Being that I was in a health food store, though, I decided to stop and read the label. I was pretty swept off my dark chocolate loving feet when I read it. All of the different flavors had less than ten ingredients each and it was all super simple ingredients. Absolutely nothing harmful and zero added sugar! I'm guessing the little bit of sweetness you can taste in it comes from the natural vanilla in it. If you try these, I suggest getting the espresso dark chocolate. I like all of them(A LOT!) but the espresso is by far my favorite! I don't think I'll ever go back to a different kind... why would I?!

Chia Seed Pudding. I saw the recipe for this originally on Daniel Hampton's Instagram. The recipe seemed super simple and healthy, so I gave it a try. You can mix in some sweetener(honey, stevia, etc.) with it while you make it, but I decided to leave it plain and eat it with fruit. The texture of it seems to go perfectly mixed with fruit, so I think that's my favorite rout when making this. Here's how you make it. 1/4 Chia seeds to 1 cup coconut milk. Mix and put in refrigerator for 2-3 hours(I did it over night). It turned out so good! Let me know what you think, if you try it.

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Local Farmer's Market's. This isn't something new for sure, but this year I've been going a lot more than normal. I went to a new local one for the first time and the variety they had impressed me so much. It's amazing how much cheeper some of the stuff is compared to grocery stores too and since I've been trying to eat what's in season, it helps a lot. I also noticed I've been making a lot less trips too the normal grocery stores AND I get to help out local farmers! You just can't go wrong visiting your local farmer's market's a little more!

Life This Week(according to cellphone pictures) #51

Kassandra's awesome arm, Tennis with the girls, Lamas on her skirt, Team made breakfast// baked apples/ home made cinnamon rolls/ and maple coffee frosting, a colorful treat tray to keep him occupied, having a lovely day, Light, out, Chia seed pudding(recipe on the blog soon!), the only meat I can say I love eating!, Green Man, husby's spur of the moment gift to me :)

A Two Year Old's Birthday List

My littlest man is turning two ALREADY! It's amazing how fast time flies with a little one, doesn't it? He's getting so big and learning so much every day. I love how much of an adventurer he is. Here's a little Birthday Wish List he made and hand picked every item out himself. He REALLY just wants all the clothes though.

1. Synthetic Leather Jacket 2. Pete The Cat: I Love My White Shoes 3. Knitted Hat 4. What Happened Bandages 5. Striped Socks 6. Animal Instruments 7. Baby Lit Books 8. Good Night, Good Night Construction Site 9. Lost Boys Tee 10. Frog Potty 11. Tent and Tunnel 12. High Top Sneakers 13. Art Print

Everyday

The weeks past have been so busy. And Every day is pretty much the same story. I feel really lucky when I am able to sit down and take time to post on this blog anymore. I love being able to post little tid-bits of life on here. I get so behind on some of my social networks that I've had to abandon some completely! I feel like I need to find a balance and organize my days a little more in order to organize my everyday life. Ever since I became a new mom, I've been struggling to feel like I can get enough done during the day! I'm pretty sure a lot, if not all mom's feel this way. Now that Everett's a little older, I feel like I definitely have a little more free time for things that I've always enjoyed doing, hobbies etc. and I LOVE IT! But with that in the mix, it still usually feels just as crazy. Not that I don't like it. I've always liked feeling busy.. just not overly behind on things. It's not a huge deal usually. Sometimes I just have to roll up some old pants for Everett to wear when I'm behind on laundry or toss all my veggies together to make a big, unique salad for dinner when I'm behind on food shopping. A lot of my life feels like an experiment. Just try something until you find what works. I guess all of life is like that though.
Here's a little peek into my everyday life:
Everett's been waking up A LOT earlier than normal lately. He used to, amazingly enough, sleep until about 9 every morning, but has recently been waking up at 6-6:30. He gets out of his bed, goes to wake up dada(whose alarm has gone off at least once already). They eat breakfast and lovingly let me sleep a little longer! David puts on a movie for him before he heads out the door(which has been Horton Hears A Who for like 2 straight weeks now!). I wake up and eat breakfast and that's when Everett has Second Breakfast. I clean up the kitchen, put on my make up, and get ready for the day. If I remember(and if the waters on that day) Everett and I will head outside to play and water the garden and flowers. Once we're done, if the days going smoothly I either do some chores at home, run some errands with Everett, or have a play date if its been a while. In between whatever we're doing, we eat lunch. Shortly after it's usually past Everett's nap time before I realize it. When he naps at home I usually spend the whole time writing which has been SO NICE! I love the time to myself. Ever since Everett's been waking up earlier, he's also been taking a lot longer naps. He used to take two hour naps but now he's gone on to three sometimes four hour long naps! I have no idea if this is normal. He's so easy to get to sleep, but I don't know how to get him to STAY asleep for as long as he needs to all night. So, if you have any suggestions, I'd be very grateful to hear! I don't like cleaning or unpacking while he's sleeping because I can be pretty noisy, so I usually just concentrate on writing since I know I won't be able to do it the rest of the day. When Everett finally wakes up it's usually time to start dinner. David gets home, we eat, and then either go on a walk or take Everett to the park. The evenings have been so nice around here lately we usually don't miss out on the opportunity to enjoy it. When we get home, we get Everett cleaned up and ready for bed. We both try to be there when we're putting him down for then night to read books, sing songs, etc. I then clean the kitchen, sweep, or try to get done as much as I can before my energy runs out. I used to write or read  a lot before bed recently while David played video games, but sadly found out that when I do things like that before bed it gets my mind going too much and I toss and turn all night. That's a VERY normal, smooth day. It may seem a little boring, but our days can change so dramatically, so often. I usually like a pretty regular weekday though, I'm lucky to have a very easy going kid. I'd love to hear about your everyday lives too, so feel free to share! xo -Liz

Writing

The last two days this blog has been inactive, because of me. I've decided to come out with a few things that have been going on lately. I've been in the middle of going through everything I own to either git rid of or try and store it away somewhere in my house. Plainly, I just have way too much stuff that I'm not willing to get rid of. In this process, I've been coming across many, many old things that bring back countless memories. If you follow me on Instagram, you have probably gotten that hint as I'm STILL trying not to post a billion pictures of old things I've come across and their memories. One special thing I came across was a stack of old composition books. When I was young I used to keep a fairly decent journal, but when I was in about early high school, I became such an avid writer that I would make myself write at least once every day in my composition books. It didn't matter what it was, how long it was, how boring my day was. I made sure EVERY day to write. I think I had this theory that if I wrote every day it would help me become a little better at getting my thoughts out on paper, not to mention my love(and still my love) for writing. I, of course, had to peek back at a few entries, and was AMAZED about how much that I had forgotten about my past. As I continued to read, so many memories came rushing back to me. I laughed so much and cried a little. The things I used to do and the way I used to think. It's so funny. When you look back a few years ago. You were the oldest and wisest you've ever been. You felt so mature, almost like you knew everything. And as you look back, now, you think, "How could I be so immature and dumb? What was I thinking back then?' Like now, you probably feel the most mature and wise you've ever have. I can't help but to think that when I look back in a few years will I feel the same way again? It's almost like a hilarious cycle. After reading some of my old writings I began to realize that most of it was so lost in memory that it was almost like reading a story for the first time. It made me so glad that I was so consistent with my writing. It made me realize a lot about my past too! As I continued to read, I couldn't believe how much had happened in my life that I had forgotten about. So many hilarious things that made me laugh to no end and some very amazing challenges and stepping stones I overcame. I got into reading back so much that it started to feel like I was just reading a book that I was REALLY getting into. And that's when the idea came to me. If you read my blog at all, you obviously know that I like to write. Actually I LOVE to write. It's really just something I mostly do for myself though. I don't think I'm a great writer at all or something. I just WANT to write, just like I always have during my life. So, I've decided to take on a challenge. All my many composition books are filled with so many great stories. Yes, they are probably a lot greater to me than anyone else, but I really feel like they need to be written down again. I wrote my journals for my reading alone and so I'm really the only one that understands them as they are. But I feel like I need to write them all down again as stories. As a way for others to read in on some of my life and understand it a little better than trying to read through scribbles and run-on sentences. I feel like these stories are meant to be rewritten and shared. It's a huge challenge, but I'm so excited and ready to do it!

Bloog

 I saw this idea for a "bloog" a while ago and have been wanting to try it for the kiddos. It turned out super fun and they spent almost and hour on it before they wore themselves out! It's perfect for toddlers and helps keep them nice and cool during the piping hot days. I think we're going to make another one for Everett's second birthday party. I might have to post a tutorial on how I made it after his party.

They weren't the only ones who enjoyed it either...

Baked Eggplant

You might remember, I mentioned one of my favorite meals is Eggplant parm, but ever since I've been eating vegan, no sugar, and no processed foods, I've been changing up a few of my favorite things. I've made this, one of my new favorites, about four times. I've probably changed it around a smidge every time I've made it, but every time its turned out so good! The best part is that it's super good for you! So I hope you get to try this out and enjoy it for yourself!

Serving size 1
What you need:

• One small eggplant
• four small tomatoes(give or take)
• olive oil
• corn mill
• garlic powder
• fresh basil
• oregano
• Italian seasoning
• red pepper flakes
• salt

First off, start preheating your oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl combine all of the seasonings, about a Table spoon of each, or whatever your taste preferences are (minus the salt) and about three table spoons of corn mill. In another small bowl pour about 1/3 cup of olive oil(you can use eggs if you want, but I prefer not to).

Lightly grease a pan or baking dish with olive oil. Slice your eggplant about 1/2 inch thick dip in olive oil, then cover in corn mill mixture. place in a single layer in your baking dish. Dice your tomatoes and sprinkle them generously with salt.

Place in oven and bake for about 15-17 minutes or until browned. Dish out your eggplant out and top with tomatoes. Enjoy!

Life This Week(according to cell phone pictures) #50

My big hiker, making toppings for twice baked potatoes, making my favorite dish(tutorial up tomorrow!), My new favorite chocolate that I can actually enjoy!!!, My dude, trying to find shade, shilaxin', baking 4 doz. cinnamon rolls from scratch, In love with my neighbors bedroom!, Going though old things: siblings picture, thumb sized polaroids, my very first journal.