Dancing, Menu updates, and the Museum

Some girls and I take a line dancing class on Mondays. It is so much fun! I love going. We don't get to go every week, but we are trying to go 2 times per month. I have decided that I need to invest in a pair of cowboy boots. I used to have them "back in the day" but long since have gotten rid of them. The heel/wedges I wore seriously kicked my butt. How on earth did I wear them hours on end before having Maddox?

While there, a friend asked if we wanted to meet her Tuesday at the Children's Museum. We have never gone, and I was a little hesitant because I didn't know if it would all be too old for Maddox and a waste of money. We went though and I was thrilled. Every single thing was aimed for little people. They could touch and play with everything. It was adorable and he had the best time. I really cannot wait to go back.

 

He loved the trike car wash area. He is learning to push himself. He was such a speed racer in his walker, but a ride toy is not as easy for him. He saw the older kids with helmets, and went and got one for himself. I was so proud. He loved the grocery store and weighing the beans they have, he loved putting his groceries on the belt at the check stand. He was an awesome chef in the kitchen. He made soups and pizzas like a champ. I really was so impressed. He was so amped up that he only took a short nap in the car and then went to bed at 6:30pm til 7:30 the next morning!

We had a fun little playdate at our friend Fin's house this morning. He has a chicken coop in the backyard and the kids all thought that was the coolest.

Oh-and here is a quick update on the menus so far this week.

I made the Skinny Eggplant Panini with Pesto ... turns out my husband did not care for the pesto so that meal was not a winner or keeper for us and this one for the next day, Grilled Pesto Chicken and Tomato Kebabs , was not happening. Sidenote: that pesto in the bullet and my blender both seemed to take a long time!

So last night we had chili and since the hub is sick, I had leftover chili tonight too and he had some spicy Korean soup. Little guy is not eating too much right now, but he had some chicken nuggets, cheese and yogurt on his plate... hey, I tried....


Tish

Monday's Menu

I have done my weekly menu prep and so far this week, everything is healthy.
Everything is from skinnytaste.com for dinners. I LOVE her blog and recipes. Gina is a genius.

Here is what we have:

Skinny Eggplant Panini with Pesto

Grilled Pesto Chicken and Tomato Kebabs (may as well use the pesto more than once!)

Chicken and Black Bean Soup (crockpot  meal-score!)

Picadillo with tortillas and rice (another crockpot score)

Cali Grilled Chicken, Avocado and Mango Salad (fresh and easy for summer time)


For lunches, I will make chili, mix and match mama's lunch wraps, easy salads with vinaigrettes, mix and match mama's open faced avocado and tomato Sammy's & have some frozen lean cuisines.

Alrighty, now to stick to and say no to fast food!

Tish

Clean with magic powers

Cleaning with 4 dogs and a toddler can be much like eating oreos while brushing your teeth.

The offenders:

 

Some things that I have found that work and help me cut my cleaning time are the 360 degree mop, a scrub brush with a magic potion, white vinegar and Clorox wipes.

We recently purchased the 360 degree mop and love it. It really takes the place of my Swiffer and my mop. No, I was not compensated in any way to say that. I just really like it.
You can wash the heads and reuse them. I use one for dry sweeping and one for mopping-- oh and you use have to use hot water! No chemicals needed and my floor feels clean. Not grimey or residue-y.

The next thing that I use a lot and love is a dish wand with half blue dawn and half white vinegar. It is fabulous for scrubbing tubs and sinks. Works like charm and you don't have to get your hands filled with loads of chemicals either. I store it in a big plastic cup under the sink. That catches any drips and also is great for rinsing after you wash.

I use white vinegar all of the time in cleaning. My husband could do with out the smell, but I love the cleaning power and the natural element. It is great to deodorize, add it to hot water for a homemade floor solution, wipe your counters. You name it.

Also really helpful to keep around are the Clorox wipes. My husband swears by these. He is forever using them on everything. I enjoy them too. Don't tell Clorox but we buy the store brand too. Depends what is on sale or what I might have coupon for. Easy peasy.

There you have it. Those are my favorite cleaning secret powers. In order to have a really clean house, I would have clean 987 times a day.. so I settle for a semi clean house ;)

 

Tish

5 on Friday

Five on Friday here I am!

1.) This morning the Mr and I decided to take the little guy to see a movie. What possessed us? We went to see Despicable Me 2. I wish we could have finished, but that was not in Maddox's plan. We left after an hour.

2.) I bought little crafting pompoms at Dollar Tree and taped an empty paper towel roll to the sliding glass window and Mad went to town dropping them in over and over. A fun game for an almost 20 month old. A terrible picture, but fun nevertheless.

3.) We had coupons (from a school fundraiser) for coldstone. How cute is the shark week creation!?

 

 

4.) We are SO ready for cooler weather. I think I might mention that every single day. I miss being outside at the park with Maddox. He is so fun to chase and watch learn and grow.

 

5.) My Monday night tv viewing is out of control. I wish these shows could break up and be on different nights of the week! My lineup is as follows:

The Bachelorette

Switched at Birth

The Fosters

Mistresses

C'mon now, that is a weeks worth of shows almost. Crammed into one teeny Monday night. I guess it gets broken into Monday and Tuesday for me, but still...

Hope to meet more of you amazing 5 of Friday gals this week :)

Tish



Bubbles and early mornings

Even though that playdate was at 8:30 in the morning, we had a good time.
Don't get me wrong, we are all up in the mornings. Usually between 7-7:30am, but sometimes little guy throws a curve ball and wakes in the 6am hour, or closer to the 8am hour. We take what comes and he is basically our alarm clock. Mornings are slow though. We play, watch cartoons, mama has her coffee and checks all of her social networks. Do you follow me on twitter or pinterest?

Maddox loves to play with his little friends. This was a bubble playdate and who doesn't love bubbles? I am so anxious for cooler weather to come... for Phoenix that is generally not till late October or November at earliest. He misses playing outside. He just loves to run. There is a park near us that he will just RUN to his hearts content.

I bought a coupon book as a school fundraiser for a friends daughter... on the way home, I thought that I would use one of the BOGO taco salads and good grief did my body reject that thing. My husband had the exact same thing, and he was fine. It was just me. I was sick all afternoon till I went to bed. Aye Aye Aye. I love Mexican food and the last two times I have gotten sick, was right after I ate it. What is wrong with this picture?!

Oh and before I go: taking photos of little ones can be hard. Here is an example of an attempt ;) HA.

Tish

Randoms

National Hotdog Day made an appearance at our lunch table today. Little boy does not eat hotdogs. Maybe that is good. Maybe he will grow into them. Who knows. My husband pulled out my homemade pickles. We all had some. The jar is gone. Replenish ASAP.

Dinner was done via crockpot. One of my all time favorite comfort foods. Maybe I subconsciously needed comfort? Roast with potatoes and carrots. Yum. I just add the roast, 2 bay leaves, a packet of dry onion soup mix and my carrots and potatoes. Cover with water and wait till 5pm. Moist and flavorful, I tell ya!

My mounds of laundry are becoming smaller. I have done a few loads today. Doing them isn't bad, it is the putting away that I dread. Same with dishwashers. I don't mind putting the dishes in, it is taking them out and putting them away. Actually, I tend to go ahead and hand wash more than not. Who am I? The younger me would have never....

We have a playdate at 8:30am. Oh good grief. That is so stinkin early. It is a "bubble playdate" so likely it is outside and that is why, but that is so early to be out of the house dressed and smelling fresh.

My bzz kit with Special K Nourish arrived today. I will let you know my honest thoughts soon. I am pretty excited to try them out. They sent three oatmeal's and 2 bars to try. Yummo.

Later lovelies,
Tish

Refrigerator pickles. I am woman. Hear me roar.

I made my own pickles today. Did you hear me? I MADE MY OWN PICKLES TODAY.
I cannot even believe that I said that, let alone did it.

Growing up, I was from the county but there were a lot of things that I tried not to be. Now, the older I get, I find myself embracing them more and more. I used to catch fireflies and wear their glowing goo as jewelry. I can "pop a squat" anywhere, I can shoot guns and drink beer. I can make my own pickles.

To be quite honest and fair, there was no canning involved. I haven't gone that far, yet. They are refrigerator pickles and so dang easy!

You can find the simple full recipe on my pinterest page.
Basically you get some white vinegar, sugar (I used splenda), and sea salt, bring that to a boil.
Then you add some vinegar and peppercorns to your jars, along with a clove of fresh garlic, a handful of fresh dill and your cucumbers. Then you add the mix from the pan. close it up and voila, you have some pretty easy and tasty pickles! The site says let them sit 24 hours, but I couldn't wait. I tried them.. we actually had a whole jar. They were already delicious.

I am pretty stoked and think that I may always have my own pickles in the fridge!

Five on Friday

FIVE on Friday!

1.) I bought not one but two glittery nail polishes the other night on a random alone trip to target. Part
of me thinks that I am entirely too old to wear glitter nail polish but the other part says I can sparkle if I wanna sparkle.

2.) My favorite commercial is the Geico commercial with the camel. Tell me what day it is. Tell me. what. day. it. is. HUMP DAY! LOL I get it in my head every time I see and proceed to say it for the next hour. Annoying? Very.

3.) My son is a baseball maniac. Really. He just goes to town. My husband is thrilled that he is batting left handed. He uses any and everything for bats if his tiny bats are.. "lost".

4.) I just finished a book series about the "Barboza Brothers" by Reeni Austin. I have decided that I basically love young adult romance novels. My kindle is filled with them. I am lame.

5.) I am digging Sheryl Crow's new song. I am glad she came back to country.

See you soon,
Tish

Fork & Screen

We had a fun date night last night. I am so thankful that we bit the bullet and found a babysitter. We love her. Maddox loves her. It was trying and we were really nervous but it had to be done. We needed some time to ourselves too. Remember, we have no family out here, so it was 14 months before we had any time to just be "us" as a married couple.

We went to care.com (and no I was not asked by them to review the site, though I wish that I was!). We did the 30 day membership and I put in our criteria and then emailed a ton of candidates. We met with a few of them after email conversations. I had compiled a lengthy interview questionnaire from all sorts of things I researched online and we sat down with them.

One of the ladies had Maddox running from her and screaming. Next. Moving on! She was perfectly nice but she was awkward and shy and didn't really get on his level. She talked about naps on the job and other random things.

Our favorite though was just perfect all around. She immediately started running with and playing with Maddox, asking him questions, figuring out what he liked. She was so personable and sweet. She answered everything for us and we all just clicked. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner.

She always has fun things for Maddox when she comes over. She texts me pictures of him throughout the night and always gives me a short rundown of his night when we get home. He loves her. We love her. She loves us. Can you feel the love?

Back to date night: we went out with our friends Sarah and David to AMC Esplanade. It is fork and screen theater. You go in and first pick out your seats. like on an airline. Kind of fun. It is reserved seating. Ooh.

Then they have a full bar and restaurant. The outside bar and restaurant is the same that you have in the theater so you can sit in the "lobby" and have cocktails and appetizers then go in the show (with your drinks!!) and order dinner. There are call buttons on each seat that ring up a waiter along with little pull out tables. How cool?! Plus the service is FAST. I swear we waited all of 30 seconds for our round of drinks and waters to be brought to us. They have soups, sandwiches, salads, burgers, pizzas, fancier options, plus all of the regular movie treats. We were stuffed by the end of the night! Next time, we won't be ordering so much.

After the movie, we had a little extra time before we needed to relieve the sitter so we headed down to check out Dierks Bentley's new bar in Scottsdale. It was a fun place. Lots of outdoor tables and seating and the bar also had an outdoor section. There were lots of tvs, misters, and music. There was not a band when we were there but I saw the advertisements for them on various nights. It was pretty jammed for a Wednesday night.

All in all, a great date night with a great hubby and great friends :) Life is good!

Tish

Saturday shopping

Today has been a nice family day. Of shopping. Does that count as a family day?

We started off returning some thing at Ross that I didn't want and then ended up at the Once Upon a Child store near that. It is a used store with clothes, toys, and other kid gadgets. Their clearance was all $1 today. Seriously ONE dollar. We found some really good buys. I mean as with anything second hand, you might have to look for nice things, but when you find them, scoop them up and brag later on. A few of the things we found were brand new with tags still on... example a pair of Ralph Lauren shorts that were originally $30. The store had them marked to $10, and we got them for a buck. SCORE.

Next we had lunch at the mall and then headed to Yankee Candle. On the way there, a balloon artist was set up taking donations. Maddox LOVES balloons. So much. He chose a sword and within 10 minutes had popped the whole thing.

Back to Yankee...I love the soft blanket smell for Maddox's room, so I got a few tarts and was entered into a raffle. It was just me and one other lady. She won. I have the worst luck. Ever. :)
Then we made our way to Bath & Body Works and scored a few wall flowers and candles. uh the 3 wick candles were on sale for $12. I may be going back. The husband thinks that is still a lot for candles, but as we know, a good candle is worth every penny. Why get a cheap candle that you cant even smell??
Can you tell what the mall trip was for? LOL.

Next was Hobby Lobby. I had purchased a toy chest shelf unit for Maddox's room and a stool yesterday. Both were steals. The toy shelf was originally $240, and I got it for $48 and the stool was $50, and I got it for $10. However, the stool didn't go where I wanted it to so we returned that and browsed. We picked up a distressed mirror for the hallway, we will see if that fits later tonight.

Topped it off with a Frappuccino and Redbox visit.

Good day to be had by all.

Tish

5 on Friday

Linking up for 5 on Friday. Possibly my favorite post per week :)

1.) Our first day to the Grand Canyon started out bumpy with the dog hotel being 45 minutes late to open, but after getting there and hiking to this, we forgot all about it and just took in the gorgeous scenery.

2.) We stayed in the cutest little hotel in Sedona. It was a Hyatt, but you could purchase the rooms as time shares or rent it like a hotel. view from our balcony was breathtaking. After Maddox would go to sleep, my sweet husband and I would star gaze and make wishes on the shooting stars. A bottle of red and some chocolate from the bakery up the street was icing on the cake.

3.) We took a Pink Jeep Tour to the tops of the canyons and had SO much fun! We can't wait to go on another tour on our next visit!  They have several different ones and I want to do them all!
It was rough terrain even though we were on a mild tour. Maddox fells asleep the first hour, but woke up for the hour ride home.

4.) We spent the Fourth with friends at a backyard BBQ. How funny is this picture? Can you just see them all in 14 years? I can and it scares me already!

5.) I have been sick and not eating much this week, but have been devouring the eye candy on Pinterest. Here are just a couple of the yummy things.

Happy Friday,
Tish

I have a lot to blog about.. it is coming.

Short version:
We had a nice Fourth with friends. We hung out in town, at the pool, and chased little kids all night.

We left bright and early to Sedona the next morning and got home Sunday afternoon. Beautiful.

I got super sick at 3am Sunday night and was in the ER by 5pm Monday. I am recovering.

Chat soon lovelies.

Desert life

I found a scorpion in the house. In my sons bathroom sink to be exact.

I freaked out. I was sweating and couldn't stop.

I found a second scorpion in the house. On the kitchen rug.

I thought that I might die.

We bought a black light flashlight and saw no more in the house. We saw two outside but they buried themselves before we could kill them.

Exterminator came. Again. Said he found no more.

I am breathing again.

I hate scorpions.