meatless chicken

*I bet I'm part of the maybe 1% of people who actually read the, "Letter from the editor" section at the very front of magazines. I'm not sure why I always enjoy reading them.

*I'm a little sad that this is the last week ever that it will just be Kendall and I in the morning while Cam is at school. Fun playdates and outings aside, I don't want to do the mundane things like grocery shopping without my little buddy. :(

*Several months back we sampled Pretzel Slider Buns at Costco. They were to die for but I never broke down and bought them. Well, I caved yesterday and tonight we enjoyed them with a comment made by Cam of, "Mom, we can have these ANY time you want!" :)

*For some reason I'm just over the Bachelorette/Bachelor. Last season I didn't watch it because I wasn't a Juan Pablo fan. This season I gave up after the 2nd episode. Not that I ever truly took it seriously, but I just can't get over the silliness of it. Who knows, maybe I'll jump back on board later in life, but right now I'm good with our three shows currently in rotation: Parks and Rec, Parenthood, and Walking Dead.

*Back to Costco...yesterday I sent this text to Chris:

"I would give you $100 if you didn't LOVE these meatless "Mandarin Chicken" bites we just sampled". 

Holy cow were these things amazing considering they were meatless! No, I didn't buy them as they were a little pricey, but the kids and I devoured them!

memorial day

This Memorial Day started bright and early with us out the door by 6:30. The kids and I went to watch Chris at a special bootcamp that took place at a park. 

We made a quick stop at my parents so Chris could shower, then headed out to Victoria Gardens. or more specifically the Bass Pro Shop. It had been a while since we last visited. 

We always enjoy testing out the different boats.

Sometimes on days when Chris and I are at a loss as to what to fill the time with for the kids, we'll ask, "If you could do anything you wanted today, what would it be?" My answer usually involves laying by a pool reading a magazine. That has now changed to laying on a boat out on a lake reading a magazine. Ahhhh...if money grew on trees. 

Next we went to Ontario Mills so we could take our boy to drool at his favorite store. :)

On our way home we took advantage of some free hamburger coupons at In & Out (thanks Highland Library!).

As we drove down our street, we were both crossing our fingers that the "quads" (the quadruplets across the street) garage door would be open. Turns out, it was. What did that mean? Only about  five hours our kids were entertained!! :) While they were all playing, I took a long walk with my iPod that felt soooo good. I've noticed that heat helps my headache and so being out in this heat really hit the spot.

Other than that, catching up on the most recent episode of 24 is all that we have planned tonight!! :)

mac n' cheese burger

Last night Chris and I went out to the desert while my parents stayed back and watched the kids. Our first stop was a drop off for me at Starbucks where I got a drink and read while Chris went to a few golf stores. Sidenote: This was the first time in a long time a Starbucks has actually made my drink as hot as I requested it. I always ask for, "scalding hot" and it's RARELY hot enough. Not yesterday! :)

Next we headed to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner.

We both decided to branch out and get something we've never had before. My meal was a huge success and I would totally get it again. It was a Cuban, with roasted pork, ham, and cheese. Kind of a lot of meat for a person who rarely eats meat, but it really hit the spot as I was starving. :)

Chris got a hamburger that we have always seen on the menu, but never had the guts to try...the Mac n' Cheese burger. You can see in the picture the mound of mac n' cheese in the center. It was good, but we both agreed that the pasta flavor kind of overpowered the burger. Oh well, it was fun for him to test out. :)

Afterward we walked around The River (where Cheesecake was) and went into Forever 21. Who does this top totally remind you of???? Kelly Kapowski from Saved By The Bell!!! Right??

numbers

6: Number of chocolate chips I put on top of Kendall's banana bread this morning. We road our bikes up to Starbucks and I told her we would eat a treat once there. Banana bread wouldn't be considered a true treat (considering I've splurged for a scone before), however with the addition of the chocolate chips, she was quite happy.

15: The number of tokens it took to create a super exciting outing for the kids today. We went to Chuck E Cheese after school. Out of my initial $25 purchase of tokens, I've already gotten three visits and have probably four more to go. :)

9: The number on the scale of how I feel today (1-10). My headache is almost gone. Considering this is now day eight, it's about time!!!

10: Chris' excitement when he opened his lunch the other day (he was working at church). Normally his lunches consist of pretty low calorie stuff, but I decided to surprise him with my leftover meatball sandwich from when we went out with his parents a while back. He was so excited that he actually texted me a picture with a, "Was this a mistake????" message. :)

 26: The number of pounds of chicken Chris is currently BBQ'ing to have on hand in the freezer. I can't tell you how much time this saves me nearly every day. He almost always has something for lunch consisting of chicken.

4: The number of little guys currently squeezed on our front porch playing Monopoly. Cam is in HEAVEN.

fudge brownie and cookie dough cake

*Yesterday we had dinner at In & Out for dinner. Chris' cousin and a friend were vacationing in Palm Springs and drove out to meet us. We had such a nice time visiting with her. Sidenote: Is there ever a time In & Out ISN'T busy??? :)

*Today my moms' group met at a local fire station for a tour. Here are Kendall and her two buddies. How cute do they all look? 

*Kendall's favorite snack right now is yogurt with Rice Krispies on top. She got this from me because I love the combination of textures. Since I've been trying to up my protein, I have been into yogurt topped with Kashi Go Lean Crunch. Yum!

*My parents got Kendall a Ziggle for her birthday. Our neighbors have one and Kendall would always steal it to ride. She ADORES this thing and rides it all the time with her little friends. It's a pretty ingenious idea and it's great because it's almost impossible to fall off.

*I wonder what percentage of things we Pin actually are followed through and tried. I bet it's pretty low. I know the likelihood of me making this cake is not high because I just don't have many occasions for cakes like this. But how could I not Pin it?? Wow.

Fudge Brownie and Cookie Dough Cake

stick of butter rice

*Today was a really rough day. My headache from Monday has yet to go away and this morning I also felt sick to my stomach. I ended up picking up Cam early from school and heading home to rest. The kids were so sweet (in part thanks to watching Despicable Me) and let me rest all afternoon. Here they are outside after a run on the slip n' slide. I would have loved to know what they were talking about. :)

*When my parents came over a while back to celebrate my birthday, one of my birthday questions was, "What is your all time favorite movie?" I would have to say Father of the Bride.

*Yesterday we had our picture taken for our church directory. I don't know many people who enjoy this process and Chris is no exception. Afterward he texted a friend about going to bootcamp that night (he had already been in the morning). Upon being asked why he wanted to go again he answered, "Well, we just got family pictures done and I looked like I swallowed our third child." I'm bummed he felt so badly about how he looked but I sure love his sense of humor! Sidenote: I asked Chris if I could write that and he was all for it :)

*Right now Chris is at Costco with the kids for dinner, to give me more rest time, and to conquer quite a list:

-Frozen veggies

-Graham Crackers

-Bananas

-Eggs

-Sunblock

-Cheerios

-Toilet Paper

-Chocolate Chips

*My latest Pin sounds incredibly unhealthy, but so yummy. 

follow me

*I've been getting headaches off and on now for the past three weeks. Today is rather difficult. I've been doing some research and am wondering if I'm a little protein deficient. I rarely eat meat anymore and I don't think I'm getting enough protein. Starting Monday I'm going to 1. Increase my protein 2. Cut down on sugar (real and fake). Why start Monday? Because Chris and I are going out Saturday night and date night HAS to include a decadent dessert. :)

*Cameron had a school performance last Friday followed by a sweet Mother's Day time back in his classroom. I ate up every minute.

*Our church is reading the book, Follow Me, together as a congregation. Chris and I didn't join a small group (which they encouraged to accompany the series) but we are still reading the book. I wasn't sure what to think at first. He is not a beat around the bush writer. But I'm really liking it now.

*Flashback pic: Back when Cam was around age two, we would frequent Walmart a few times a week. We had a whole routine of going to see the fish tanks, walking around the toys, reading books, and then running up and down the grocery aisles. It was simply something to do to get us out of the house. :)

*Kendall is starting to point out little quirks Cam does. He REALLY, REALLY does not like this. On one hand I don't want her to upset him. However on the other hand, unfortunately at some point kids will point these things out to him at school and I almost feel like he needs to get a little negative feedback in order to try his best to stop. :(

birthday weekend

We had such a fun birthday weekend for Kendall. On Friday my in-laws arrived and that night we went out to dinner at a new (to us) restaurant. While it's not much to look at, Guy's Italian in Banning had really good food and huge portions. It was fun to try something new and have it be a success. Here is Cam and grandma on our way.

Saturday was Kendall's party. Here is her Lego Friends cake I made. It came out pretty cute and was easier than I had anticipated.

We hadn't done a big party since she turned one, so we figured five was a pretty big milestone.We invited a few families to the Fingerprints Museum in Hemet. We've been here a handful of times and it is such a fun place. The kids had a BLAST and it turned out to be the perfect choice as the museum took care of the fun aspect since I'm not very creative when it comes to planning party activities. :)

(Chris's brother Craig, his daughter Lauren, and Cam)

Today we celebrated Mother's Day with both our moms. After church we all had lunch at Cafe Rio and then said goodbye to my in-laws.  I think Kendall felt super special all weekend...so mission accomplished! :)

Sidenote: Chris tried a burrito here he had never ordered before and announced it ranked in the top three burritos of all time! It was the sweet pork barbacoa. Despite the slight spicy factor, I will admit it had really good flavor. :)

5

My little girl turned five yesterday. Chris asked me how I felt about it. I told him that I was actually okay. First day of kinder when she leaves me? THAT will be a different story. :)

Anyway, the night before we filled her room with balloons and she woke to her breakfast request, coffee cake. We then had her open her presents. Here she is holding Frozen, which was VERY exciting.

This whole week, in honor of her birthday, we've allowed her to chew one piece of gum a day. This is a BIG highlight of her day as she just recently learned how to chew without swallowing it.

In the afternoon we all went to Color Me Mine where the kids each got to pick out something to paint. They really, really liked this!

We had a giftcard to pay for this trip...and even still I gotta say, this place is a tad too expensive in my humble opinion. :)

 Our second gift card was well worth it...a trip to Red Robin. Kendall remembered her last birthday we took her here and was quite excited for the birthday sundae they brought.

Words could NEVER, EVER express how much I love this little princess. Wow. :)

dirty diaper

*We are having a lot of excitement around here regarding Kendall's birthday on Wednesday. "Is it tomorrow?", "Is it after night-night?" This morning she was in a festive mood and created a whole party scene on our coffee table (this party, however, was for Elsa).

*Cameron is REALLY into, "Clone Wars". It's basically an extension of Star Wars, but animated. We are thinking it might be time to show him the real movies. :)

*Today Chris came into the kitchen as I was eating some riced cauliflower:

Chris: So you actually like the taste of that??

Kelly: Yep!

Chris: So what you are saying is that you like to eat out of a baby's dirty diaper.

Ahhh...that's my husband.  :)  In his defense, I will admit that riced cauliflower smells terrible! The entire house stinks.

*Anyone else excited for the return of 24??? 

*Back in high school I ordered a bagel with strawberry cream cheese. What was brought out was a bagel with regular cream cheese and strawberry jam on top. At first I was annoyed, but after the first bite I became a huge fan of the combo.

mexico to canada

Yesterday was such a fun afternoon celebrating my birthday with my parents. We wanted to show them Whitewater Preserve where we had hiked several months ago. Unfortunately the river flowing through it was non-existent. However we ended up having a fun time and Cameron really got into boulder hopping. :)

It was quite hot and shade was not too easy to find. Here are the kids enjoying the umbrella my mom had packed. :)

So the highlight of the day for all of us (the adults anyway) was striking up a conversation with some super nice hikers back at the trailhead. After reading Wild, I recognized their long term looking hiking gear and asked them about their trip (starting in Mexico and to end in Canada). It was fascinating to talk to them about their experience and the in's and out's of hiking that long of a distance. Cam was actually quite enthralled at the miles they were covering as well. :)

Once we got home, we ate lunch and had some yummy birthday cake my mom had made. Such a fun day. :)

food stuff

The past few days I've made:

Kale brownies: I've written about these before. Full disclosure, my kids have dessert most every dinner. Ideally I give them something homemade so at least I know what is in it (though this isn't always the case). These are great to pop out of the freezer and they love them.

Chicken Apple Sausage Couscous: I varied the stuff we put into it (used different sausage, didn't have cranberries, etc.), but the seasonings I kept the same and the flavor was wonderful...well, unless you are like Cam and I and can't handle anything remotely spicy. So while the curry gave it great flavor, it was a tad too much for us. :) If you aren't a wimp, though, you should try it. Chris and Kendall loved it.

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake: I made this for my moms' group table yesterday. If your favorite part about coffee cake is the crumbles, make this. There are a ton! The cream cheese layer was really yummy too. :)

I'm blogging while the kids are out for donuts with daddy :) Sidenote: Kendall almost wanted me to pack her a piece of the above coffee cake instead of getting a donut (I let her try some yesterday). It's that good. :)

lego friends

*The past two days have had stronger wind then we've had in a few years. It literally will knock me forward while I try to walk. We are so ready for it to be over!

*Kendall has been insisting on having a Frozen themed birthday cake. I like to make the kids' cakes each year and I could not find an Ana or Elsa cake that was remotely doable for a novice like myself. So I finally changed her mind by showing her a Lego Friends cake that she loved. Hopefully it will turn out like the picture I found on Pinterest...

*The other night I was talking with some friends about things we said we would never do as moms, but then ended up doing. Here are a few of mine:

-Never have a sticky/messy mouthed kid in public: I've failed at this one many times 

-Never use "you won't get dessert if..." as a threat: Um...who HASN'T done this??? :)

-Never take my kids in public in their PJ's: I've actually stayed true to this one

*The other day I went to Target to use a gift card I got for my birthday. I got several cute shirts including this one. I've realized that I now am drawn more toward the womens' section as opposed to the junior section. The shirts are longer and more my 35 year old style. :)

*I'm currently waiting for Cam's Speech Pathologist to call. I have Kendall all set up in her room with toys and music so I can talk privately (she's old enough to where I don't want her hearing me talk about the in's and out's of Cameron's stuff). 

*I'll admit that the character development is starting to draw me into Walking Dead. But do we REALLY have to see the insides of the zombies as well as close up shots of them being shot in the head? :)