Cleaning & Rearranging

Hello readers! Have you missed me? Sorry I haven't been blogging much. I've kind of been in a funk with my blogging in this new year. I didn't really know what it was, but then it kind of hit me when I read my friend Ann's blog. I feel the same as she is, nothing really exciting has been happening in our household, and I really haven't had anything to blog about. I can blog about nothing which is what I'm doing right now, but then that wouldn't be very exciting to read about everyday for you loyal readers. I feel bad because I know some of you check daily. Here it is the 14th of January already, and I've only had 6 posts. Geez I really need to make some things happen so I have something to right about! It seems like it's always everything happening at the same time and then I have a ton of things to write about. Then when nothing is happening I have nothing to write about. I'll try to get out of this funk and get thinking of some good things to write about.

Over the past few days though while I haven't been blogging I've been doing lots of cleaning and rearranging of things. I spent two hours rearranging the furniture the other day. If you know me well, you know I like to move the living room furniture around often. Well, I just moved it before Christmas to accommodate the tree. Then we took the tree down, and I left the furniture how it was. It just wasn't seeming very cozy. The kids got lots of new toys for Christmas, and I've been trying to make room for everything and rearrange toy baskets, and get these toys under control and organized. Then I had the couch right by the front door when you walk in and it just seemed to "heavy" there and made the room feel all "boxy." So then I read Ann's blog one night and she had moved her living room, and it got me thinking about ours. So on Tuesday I spent the morning rearranging and did some good cleaning behind the furniture. I like how it is now I think. It's a little different than I've ever had it so it's a nice change. I'd take a picture, but at the moment there's a million toys all over the floor so it doesn't look so pretty!

Next up was our laundry room. It really is a catch all place for everything and anything. I had it cleaned and then Christmas came and went and there's been empty boxes, gift bags, winter stuff, etc. piling up. Not to mention baskets of laundry. So I've been working on cleaning that too. I'm almost done. I did get one of my new Uppercase Living expressions hung in the laundry room which I think is really cute. Here's what it looks like.


Since yesterday was Evan's first day back at school, I managed to get some upstairs cleaning done too. Those dang full laundry baskets never seem to want to put themselves away! Why is that? So while Em napped I got almost all the laundry put away that's been sitting around except for her stuff of course. Then I dusted our bedroom, it was a little overdue. I've got some more cleaning to do before my Uppercase Living open house I'm having tomorrow night here. The new spring/summer catalog is out and it's filled with fabulous new things! They've really come out with some neat things this season!

In other news, we've got company for the weekend. When I picked Evan up from school today, he had "the backpack" which meant Scooby Doo is coming for a visit. He was super excited when he got in the car. He said, "Mommy I get Scooby for the whole weekend." I had to think for a minute, but yes it's Thursday so that means it's the weekend for school since no school on Fridays. Plus there is no school on Monday for MLK Jr. Day so it's an extra long stay for Scooby this time! As the weekend nears, it looks like it will come and go faster than the weekdays. I've got the Open House tomorrow night, Em has a playdate Saturday, then I think we're headed to the Auto Show in Detroit later on Saturday, and Evan has a birthday party to go to on Sunday. I'll try hard find some blogging time in between all that so you have something to read! Now I'm off to spend some time with the kids. It's just the three of us tonight. Greg has to work until about 10:30pm. He did some interviews earlier today and had a meeting to attend this evening with students and professors who are working on some relief efforts for the earthquakes in Haiti. He's got to put everything together to have the video up and running on the MSU website by morning. Deadlines people, deadlines! My prayers do go out to all those affected in the Haiti disaster. I can't even imagine! Please pray for those people and help if you can.

Food Shortage???

Yesterday we went to Sam's for a couple things and by the time we got to the checkout the lines were a mile long. We had two things and of course no express line open and only about a total of four lanes open. It was ridiculous! I was almost about to walk out and say skip it, but by the time Greg was getting the kid's coats on them the line we were in was moving. Then we came home and a couple hours later I ran to Meijer and that place was crazy too! It was a madhouse, and about half the stuff I wanted was out. As I was walking up and down the aisles, it seriously was really strange because the shelves were bare! It was day one of their ad and nothing on the shelves in the ad. More so than normal. Usually Meijer runs out of their sale stuff early, but not on the same day their ad comes out. This is what I saw as I was shopping! I just so happened to have my camera in my purse still from when we went sledding earlier in the day!


See, now you believe me! No juice, no bread, no fresh meat, no frozen meat, no bottled water, and the list could go on! It was crazy, this is just a sampling! I couldn't figure it out, was there a food shortage coming I didn't know about? Finally when I was checking out which was a nightmare, all, but 2 lanes at Meijer were open (and they have 30+ lanes) and the lines were all long it dawned on me! The MSU students were back! Sunday was the first day for them to be back in the dorms and that's why Meijer was so ridiculously busy. Apparently none of the students were fed over break because they raided the shelves at Meijer that's for sure!

The only good thing about the students being back means Evan gets to go back to school this week! Yipeeeeeeeee! It's been a long break, and I think he's more than ready! His preschool is on the same schedule as MSU since the student teachers are all from MSU. So finally on Wednesday he goes back! Hopefully him being back in school will allow me to get the terrible two's tamed down! If not, I just might go crazy!

Winter Fun Sledding!

On Friday, Greg promised Evan we'd go sledding sometime this weekend. Well Saturday was shot since Greg and I went car shopping because his lease is quickly approaching the end. I really hate car shopping. It takes up way too much time and then they try to go back and forth with you and it's really aggravating. Just give me the bottom line or if I tell you what we want to pay let me know if you can do that or not. No instead they have to come up with all these excuses of why the price keeps changing and then sometimes (more times than not) blatantly lie to your face. Which is what happened to us on Saturday. All the sudden one of the lease incentives was no longer available which we knew it was because it was good through Feb. 1st. A total lie which we knew AND confirmed later on when we got home and looked on the internet. I mean seriously, do car dealers think you're that stupid and will just believe everything they say? Well, maybe some people, but not us. They've now lost a customer (this would be the third car we've purchased from them) unless they come way down on price for the car Greg really wants. So anyway, that took all our afternoon Saturday so no time for sledding.

Today ended up being nice and sunny, but COLD. It was still a good day for sledding so we took both kids over to Granger Park where there is a big sledding hill. Evan and Greg have been there before, Em and I never have. I always stayed home with her last winter because she was too little to go down the big hills (or semi big hills). I'm not real into the whole cold and sledding down hills, but since Em is bigger now she could go so we made it a family outing. Evan did all the hills big and small. Em on the other hand was a little hesitant about going down the bunny hills. She was more into being pulled around on the old fashioned sled that used to be Kaite's and staying on the flat surface (she did this last winter too). She did go down the small hills a couple times though. Both her and Evan had fun! Once Em saw her brother doing some things she wanted to try too (except the really big hill). It was a fun morning, but I was frozen by the time we were done! Evan and Greg finished up on the big hill while Em and I warmed up in the car. Here's a few photos from our sledding adventure. I posted most of them on Facebook, but I'll share some of them again here!

My cheesy snow bunny!

Evan and Greg going down one of the smaller hills.
(My camera died when it was time for them to go to the big hills.)

Emmaline and Greg going down the bunny hill finally after she got brave enough! (I think Em was a little surprised how much fun it was!)

Evan wanted to go down the hill without the sled...

... and then Emmaline had to do the same! She liked going down the hill on her bum!

She had fun just pulling the sled around too while brother was on the big hills!

That's a little bit of our sledding adventure! More pictures on Facebook of our winter fun!

"Big Red" Tractor Memories

I mentioned that Saturday after Christmas we had a little fun winter adventure. Finally here's my post I've been talking about. My cousin Joe (on my Dad's side) made a comment on Facebook the week before Christmas that he had gotten "Big Red" up and running again. "Big Red" was my Grandpa Dickeson's tractor. It brings back lots of great childhood memories! My Grandpa passed away 12 years ago, and my cousin Joe took over "Big Red." I didn't think it was running anymore, and apparently it had and then it hadn't and over the last couple years Joe had some work done on it. In December he got it running again just in time as the snow was hitting. When I heard that "Big Red" was working again and Joe offered for us to come over for a visit and the kids could go sledding behind it and go for a ride on the tractor, I knew we had to go. When my sister and I were kids and we visited my Grandma and Grandpa's house, we spent many times riding on the tractor. Grandpa would take us for a ride in the wagon behind it, we got to sit on his lap and drive the tractor, and he would take us on the tractor down the street to a little pond at the bottom of the hill. They were great special times that I will never forget. Oh to be a kid again and have that special time back!

Since we were down at my Dad's for Christmas and Joe lives not far from my Dad, it was a good time to head over there for a visit. It wasn't looking like the kids were going to get to go sledding though because if you remember we had all that rain/ freezing rain for Christmas and pretty much all the snow was gone. Then that night on Christmas it snowed, and by Saturday afternoon when we had planned to head to Joe's there was just enough snow. I think Grandpa was watching down on us and knew the kids would have so much fun on "Big Red" so he gave us some snow!

My niece Kaite drove the tractor and pulled Ev and Em behind it on the sled. She also held both kids and let them drive the tractor. Just like my sister and I used to. The kids had a blast and Kaite loved driving the tractor. The setting was perfect on Joe and Diane's farm as the snowflakes fell and the ground was covered in the "white stuff." Here's some pictures from our fun winter adventure!

Kaite ready to take off on the tractor with Evan and Em in tow on the sled!

There's my little snow bunnies riding behind "Big Red."

Emmaline and Kaite driving the tractor around Joe's yard!

Evan taking a turn driving "Big Red" with Kaite.

Evan loved checking out Joe & Diane's horses and was so excited he could sit on one!

Emmaline didn't want to sit on the horse, but she finally decided she'd pet the horse!

Evan did a little sledding down the hill without the tractor while Kaite was busy cruisin' around the yard on "Big Red."

Thanks to Joe and Diane for inviting us out to their farm and sharing "Big Red" with the kids and letting them see their horses too! After we froze outside a little we even got to enjoy some hot cocoa inside before we left! We had a wonderful time, and it was very special that my kids got to ride on the tractor I did when I was a kid!

Chicken Tetrazzini

Here's the recipe for the chicken tetrazzini recipe I mentioned we had at Christmas. It's really yummy!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4oz. can mushrooms (drained)
2oz. jar pimento (optional- sometimes I use, sometimes I don't)
1 can chicken broth (15oz.)
2 Tablespoons cooking Sherry
1 cup whipping cream (1 small carton)
4 large chicken breasts (cooked and cubed)
cooked tri-colored rotini pasta (about 3 cups)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese ( I don't really measure this just sprinkle to cover)

Patty shells- sold in freezer section in a box of 6. (NOT pastry sheets- Patty Shells)

Directions:

1. Melt butter in large saucepan on low heat, blend in flour and seasoning and cook over low heat until smooth.
2. Remove from heat and stir in 3/4 can of broth, add all of cream.
3. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute.
   
4. Stir in sherry, pasta, chicken, mushrooms, and pimento.
5. Pour into ungreased 9x13 pan or 2 qt. casserole. (If it seems dry add other 1/4 can of broth)
6. Sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Bake patty shells according to package directions. Serve tetrazzini over puff pastry patty shells.

Notes: The patty shells cook at a higher temperature so you can adjust how you want to bake accordingly. I usually cook both at same time and then take tetrazzini out before 30 minutes while patty shells finish. Then when take patty shells out you scoop out middle of shell and while doing this I put the tetrazzini back in for a couple minutes to keep warm. Also the tetrazzini can be made up the night before. Just wait to sprinkle with parmesan right before bake it. Also if make night before it usually needs a little more chicken broth added. Enjoy!

Serves 4-6

5 Year Checkup & A Tree

Today Evan had his five year check-up at the doctor. Everything went pretty well and he's right in the range for height and weight. I don't really like those charts, but it's their way of telling you he's on "schedule" for his age. A little surprise we found out while at the doctor was that Evan needs to go see an eye doctor. One eye was a little off from the other so they recommended that he get a thorough eye exam from an eye doctor. We don't have vision coverage so that's lovely, but we still need to get an appointment scheduled and are hoping that it's nothing. I didn't have to have glasses until I was older so I'm hoping my little guy doesn't need them already! I'll keep you posted when we find out. Evan didn't need any shots today, but they recommended a flu shot. We've done the H1N1, but not the seasonal flu. So since Em was there too we got both of them flu shots. No nasal this time so it was a poke in the arm for both of them. I was absolutely amazed at how well my two little munchkins did. Evan went first and he didn't flinch or cry at all. Then Em was up, and I was almost 100% positive that she would be crying by the time it was over. The nurse poked her arm and she didn't flinch or cry at all either. When the nurse was done and put the band-aid on, Em says, "All done!" They both got suckers which they were super excited about! I was very proud of them both. They did a super job!

After we got home from the doctor, I put Em down for a nap and decided I'd call Sears to see how much their Christmas trees were marked down. I've had my eye on an artificial tree there over the past week and was waiting for it to be marked down more. The two times I was there it was 50% off and was still more than I wanted to pay for it. Of course there was only one left in the size and kind that I wanted so I knew I'd have to check often if I was to stand a chance of getting it. So when I called today and they told me the trees were 75% off I was super excited. However, I didn't want to get my hopes up because with my luck I figured the tree would probably be gone. I was planning to go when Greg got home from work, but instead my wonderful husband offered to stop on his way home for me to see if they had it. We were in luck because it was still there! So now we've got an artificial tree for next year, (well actually this year- next Christmas, since I'm still forgetting that it's a different year now) and the years to come! We're going to have to take it out of the box this weekend to check it out and make sure it's good, but it looks like no more real trees for us.

I just realized I haven't posted the chicken tetrazzini recipe from Christmas, and I haven't told you about our fun Winter day that Saturday after Christmas so I promise that's coming in the next couple days. Before I leave you tonight, I was just reading my friend Ann's blog, Life on Roosevelt Street, and I was totally shocked as I read that she's pregnant again! It's always a shock when you find out someone is pregnant and exciting all at the same time! I'm so happy for her and her husband Jason, and their daughter Sylvia! What wonderful news! Congrats Luke family! Now that makes seven of my friends that are pregnant! What a year it's going to be to meet all these new little bundles of joy!

A Pirate Party

HAPPY NEW YEAR! This is my first post of 2010 so I'd like to wish everyone all the best in this new year! We finished off 2009 with all of us, yes ALL of us staying up to watch the ball drop! Since it was Ev's birthday he got to stay up, and Emmaline took a late nap so she stayed up too. I was guessing that she'd be tired and fall asleep before midnight, but nope... she and Ev were both wired and wide awake! They were having so much fun practicing, "Happy New Year" before the ball drop. Evan counted down with us as the ball dropped. Emmaline was sporting her shades for some reason while watching Dick Clark's New Year's Eve. Here's my silly girl right before midnight!

Emmaline wanted to give her brother a kiss when we welcomed in the New Year!

We had a fun evening finishing off Ev's birthday just the four of us and by 12:10am we were all in bed!

Saturday was the big birthday party. Evan chose a pirate theme as I mentioned before, and he was so excited when I got home with his pirate birthday cake. No homemade cake this time. With the holidays and everything going on I didn't have time. We ordered a cake from Sam's (love Sam's cakes... so tasty!) and it turned out o.k., but I was a little disappointed. We took in a picture to put on the cake and they didn't do it how we thought. Here's the cake.


Sam's said to bring in a picture and they would put his face in the empty spot for the pirate so Evan would be the pirate. Well, they didn't exactly make his face to fit the hole so I wasn't too happy about that. Plus there was air bubbles all over the cake. It was still cute and tasted good nonetheless, but just not what we had in mind.

The party turned out nice. We kept it simple and had pizzas, veggies & dip, and I made the buffalo chicken dip again. This time I tried it with a buffalo bbq sauce and it was really good! The kids had fun playing and Evan loved the "pin the treasure chest on the treasure map" game. Of course he had fun opening presents and eating cake and ice cream. Here's a few pictures from the party!

The kids eating some pizza!

Here's Connor playing the "pin the treasure chest on the treasure map" game!

Singing "Happy Birthday" to Evan!

Evan had blue lips from the frosting! (All the kids did and thought it was silly)

Here's Emmaline sporting her blue lips!

Evan missed his Aunt Jen, cousin Kaite, and Papa & Nana at the party. Unfortunately they couldn't make it because they got a bad snow storm and had over a foot of snow. Glad we didn't get any of it. Evan got a lot of nice things and enjoyed having friends and family at the party. A big thank you for everyone that came and for all the wonderful gifts!