This past Memorial weekend was a blast! We started the weekend off with haircuts for the boys and then an awesome lunch and family time down in Calvert County. Dave's mom also got us to clean out the basement-- such a task but I know it felt good to get lots of stuff thrown out and to give more things away!
Sunday was a blast and we had TWO cookouts! The first cookout was at my mom's house and the kids broke out the water guns and the pool. My brother did some chillin' while grillin' and we had so much yummy food!
The next cookout was at a friend's house where Matthew & his friends were able to let loose and play in the sprinkler and run around for hours and then to cap the night off...they went to the carnival!
Hope you all had a great weekend and we are so glad that summer is here!
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| Yes-- grillin under an umbrella....only Abe ...only in Dundalk |
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| I LOVE WATER |
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| How many can we fit in the baby pool? |
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| Water fight! |
Ashley has a snazzy new lens and she knows that Father's Day around the corner and I am in the market for a new lens for him! She showed me some awesome tips and tricks and also did a photo shoot of Jules!
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| That's right--- a princess and a water gun. This has to be Disney's next Princess movie! |
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| Come on boys--- don't be scared of lil ol' me! |
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| I'm cute and I know it..... |
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| David and Matthew ready for the game!!! Let's go O's! |
I love making a big pot of soup on Sundays. It lasts us the whole week and for those nights where I am running around like a chicken with its head cut off, I can make a quick meal for the kids and know that I can have a big bowl of good soup and crusty french bread for dinner! I love to just have soup for dinner sometimes or even for a Saturday afternoon lunch....soup is always better with french bread though!
As you know, I just love the Pioneer Woman so my first stop was to check her blog to see what she was cookin up. This is where I found the Sausage, Potato & Kale Soup. It is very similar to the one from Olive Garden called Zoupa Tuscana and I couldn't believe how easy it was to make.
This recipe did call for heavy cream and half & half. I opted NOT to use that and just went to 1% milk instead. The consistency was a little thinner than the Pioneer Woman's recipe but I knew that using 1% milk would do that to the soup. I just wanted the soup without the heaviness and fullness of the heavy cream and half & half. I also opted to leave the red pepper flakes out. Since Dave and Matthew would be eating this, I knew it would be too spicey for them. I did add it to my soup when we sat down to eat it...because I like that extra bit of spice!
Try it out....so easy and so good! Thank you so much Pioneer Woman for your wonderful recipe!
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/10/sausage-potato-and-kale-soup/
I have a friend (who shall remain nameless) who asked me last week how did I know that Dave was in love with me. What/when was the moment that I realized that he loved me but didn't yet tell me. So I shared this with her last week and I realized that I don't think many of you know. Dave is probably blushing right now while reading, and trying to find a place to hide.
January 2000, we took our first trip together to Disney World. This was also my first trip out of state with a boy, by myself without my parents. Let's just say that it wasn't an easy task to get my daddy to approve me to go with this strange, country, 6'2" footer wearing tight jeans, who he had only met a few months ago. We went to Disney World for 5 wonderful days, went on all the rides, screamed like little kids, ate ice cream for breakfast, danced with characters, danced on stage at the luau and I fell in love. Yup. Yes I did. Me, the city girl, party girl fell in love with this country boy who towered over me at 6'2", who wore jeans that I hadn't seen since the 80's and who was and is the most handsome man I know (next to my dad and my Matthew of course)
Well, to get to the point.....the last night of our Disney trip, we went to see the fireworks at Magic Kingdom one last time. It was such a clear night, cool brisk January weather of Florida. Tinkerbell flew in the sky and lit up the castle. Fireworks were blowing up the sky and thousands of people lined Main St. We were sandwiched between people, but Dave stood there still, very protective with his arms around me. As we were enjoying the fireworks, I looked up to smile at him and then all of a sudden he did it. It came out of the blue, out of no where, Dave smacked on the PDA. Infront of all those people, thousands of people. Not just a peck on the cheeck, mind you. Not just a quick kiss on the mouth but he sure did lay it on me.
You see, Dave is such a private person. For him to do that infront of all those people, I just knew that he loved me. It did take him another few weeks to come out and say it but yes....that was the night that he fell in love.
So to my friend. Young, sweet, learning about love....we are ALL still learning about love. Even for those of us who have been married for 1 year, 5 years, 11 years and 50 golden years. He may show you that he loves you in the oddest way. It may take him months to tell you. He may not tell you. All you can do is be open and tell him and show him how much you care for him and follow your heart.
This controversial trilogy has been out for sometime now but I just happened to finish it recently and love it. Between school, work, sports, and life I am a little late to join the Fifty Shades fan club but count me in! I am one of them. The controversy of this book includes BDSM, love, learning, growing, partnership and openess. (The acronym BDSM combines bondage and discipline (B&D or B/D), dominance and submission (D&S or D/s), and sadism and masochism (S&M or S/M). BDSM includes a wide range of activities, forms of interpersonal relationships, and distinct subcultures. taken from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BDSM),
I do not beleive this is "mommy porn" as TV entertainers have called it and I do not believe that the main character Ana was abused in this book. Many people are skeptical of the book becuase of the BDSM, the sex, the erotica and also the neediness of Ana and Christian Grey. I am not going to lie, of course I was intriguied by the BDSM, but mostly, I found it to be a love story. I was so captured by the caring nature that the two main characters had for one another. Their emails, their quickiness, his rich lifestyle, her clumsiness. This is a story where characters learn about themselves, learn about each other, learn about different lifestyles and making decisions based on what they want and need. It is a story of a lifestyle many of us are afraid to talk about, afraid to ask about and would never think to enter. It is also about compassion, respect, trust and love.
Books are meant to open our minds, hearts and thoughts. Books could be a way to escape even if its for a few hours or a few days. Books allow you to read about a different time, understand a different perspective even if you don't agree with it. It helps you learn about characters that you would probably never meet in your lifetime. Whether the book talks about science fiction, erotica, slavery, murder, or romance..take a chance on books. Take a chance on reading something out of the ordinary. Take a chance and lose yourself in a book, enjoy the downtime and imagine.
If you haven't read Fifity Shades of Grey the Trilogy...what are you waiting for?
http://www.amazon.com/Fifty-Shades-Grey-Book-Trilogy/dp/0345803485
I just love this picture. I took this one night at Matthew's baseball game. Dave and Julia were sitting on the hill waiting for Matthew to come up at bat, she has Dave around her fingers, his undivided attention and all of his love...
Every now and then I go onto Pinterest and I find great new recipes, clothing ideas, accessories, home ideas and lately...ideas for hairstyles for myself and Julia! I found this awesome way to add color to the ends of your hair using hair chalk- which I want to try this summer...I think a little hot pink strand would look cute. Its totally washable too! For Julia I found a cute side french braid and of course the classic Princess Leah buns!! I have also purchased some super cute headbands for the summer from Etsy! I am trying to find some new and inventive ways to wear my hair while we are at Disney to help keep mine & Julia's hair off of our necks but still look cute! (Julia much cuter than me of course...)
http://pinterest.com/ohjoy/hair/
http://www.etsy.com/category/accessories/hair/headband
