over here {real life wednesday}

it has been three weeks since i posted last.  time really does fly by it seems!  i'm not quite sure what has been happening here in our neck of the woods for the past three weeks, but i'll try to catch y'all up...

it feels like my life right now revolves around baseball for out oldest son.  in reality, it's only three times a week...but place that on top of an already busy schedule and it feels at times like it's just too much for one person to do.  the Mr. tries to make it to part of one game during the week, and of course he is there on Saturday though...so it's not all me, all of the time, thankfully!  as far as baseball goes, The Tigers are doing well.  they have made much improvement since the season started.  they are also really enjoying it, and that really is all that matters, especially at this age. 

two weeks ago Jason came down with ear infections, again.  we have an appointment next month for a consultation with a specialist to talk about tubes for his ears.  it seems that his Eustachian tubes just aren't draining properly.  this is ear infection round three in less than two months.  this last one was painful, which they are not always.  i am open to hearing from the specialist about tubes as i feel like that might be really helpful at this point.

that weekend my mom took all four kiddos for the night, so we went out on a date.  this was the first time that Little A spent the night anywhere away from us.  i will admit that i was nervous for her, so funny because i really am not that type of mom most of the time.  she did great and only cried for a few minutes when it was her bedtime...awesome!  the Mr. and i went out for barbecue and wouldn't you know we were so wild and crazy that night that we were in bed before 10pm...woo-hoo!

last week i was flying solo as my husband had to go to Washington DC for work.  he was only gone for four days, but those were long days.  we were all so happy to have him back home!  he kept taking pictures of himself at monuments and restaurants during the week and sending them our way.  it was really fun to follow what he was doing and to actually see the places as well.  here is a picture of him in front of the Washington Monument.

it was nice to get back to our normal crazy family life when he returned, so thankful for that!

Sunday was a beautiful, warm day here.  we were chatting with some friends after church on Sunday when my husband took this adorable picture of our girls.  i just have to add it to this post.

so, that brings us to today.  Jason has had the stomach flu since Monday night and it doesn't seem like he is getting any better.  well, maybe a tiny bit, but really not that much...poor guy.  he doesn't even want to stand or walk around the house because his stomach feels so bad.  on a happier note, i am making a new recipe for dinner tonight.  yay, i love trying new recipes!  this looked so good when i got everything into the crock pot that i had to snap a picture.  so here you go.  i will add a link to the recipe as well.

Chicken Enchilada Slow Cooker Soup

(my attempt at a Pioneer Woman-ish type of food photo)

okay, that's it.  happy real life wednesday to ya!

not just pinned...

actually made!

I've been on Pinterest for a while now, but have recently started pinning more frequently.  I find that I pin a lot of food recipes, both meals and desserts.  Well, this past week I decided to actually make some of the recipes that I pinned.

Here are links to the ones that I made:

Dinners:

Chicken and Avocado Enchiladas in Creamy Avocado Sauce:
I made this one for my moms birthday dinner.  Everyone liked the recipe, even the kids.  This is definitely a more filling type of enchilada, the sauce is very creamy.  A nice twist to traditional enchiladas.
http://www.closetcooking.com/2012/09/chicken-and-avocado-enchiladas-in.html

Spaghettini with Spinach, Garlic and Lemon:
This was my favorite recipe out of the new dinner ones that I made.  My husband liked it a lot as well.  I served it with some baked chicken tenders and a salad.  This would be great in the summertime with barbecued chicken!  I will definitely be making this one again.
http://weekofmenus.blogspot.com/2011/06/spaghettini-with-spinach-garlic-and.html

Crock Pot Chicken Terriyaki:
There wasn't really a link for this recipe, it was really easy and just right there under the picture on Pinterest.  I actually used cubed pork loin for this.  It turned out okay.  Sometimes I don't like what my crock pot does to sauces, it really thins them out.  So before I served this one I took all the sauce and put it in a sauce pan, warmed it up and added cornstarch to thicken it up.  I'm not sure if I will make this one again.
Recipe: 1lb chicken (sliced, cubed or however), 1c chicken broth, 1/2c terriyaki or soy sauce, 1/3c brown sugar, 3minced garlic cloves

Crock Pot Mac & Cheese:
This is definitely a kid-friendly meal!  The whole family liked this one.  And it was super easy to make.
http://whiskandaprayer.blogspot.com/2010/08/magazinecookbook-monday-slow-baked-mac.html

Desserts:

Carrot and Zucchini Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:
This recipe looked great online.  It didn't live up to my expectations, but a part of that might be because I just made plain frosting.  I might try it again sometime with the frosting that it calls for.  The baby loved this one though!  And it doesn't hurt that it has carrots and zucchini in it!
http://realmomkitchen.com/7878/carrot-and-zucchini-bars-with-lemon-cream-cheese-frosting/


These next three recipes I made for Averie's birthday party.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Buttercream:
These cupcakes turned out extremely moist, so moist that my husband actually thought they were undercooked until I told him that there were fresh strawberries mixed into the batter.  I just made a plain buttercream frosting for these, but I am sure that if you made them with the Strawberry Buttercream they would be even better.  I would definitely recommend them!  I also had one of my cousins ask me for the recipe after the party.
http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/strawberry-cupcakes-recipe/

Raspberry Lemon Bars:
The picture for this recipe looks just plain amazing!  These little bars did not disappoint!  I would recommend them to anyone who loves raspberries and a little tartness.  These would be great for a summer get-together!
http://theimprovkitchen.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/some-foods-just-go-together.html

Caramel Pretzel Brownies:
Like so many of the others, the picture made these looks amazing.  Well, I didn't end up making them from scratch and used a box of brownie mix instead to help save some time.  That might have been my mistake.  They did not at all live up to my expectations, but I would definitely try to make them again and follow the recipe!
http://foodologie.com/2011/11/19/caramel-pretzel-brownies/


If you are like me, you can search on Pinterest or online and see so many recipes that look great, but you just never know if they really are great.  I hope that this post gives you a few new meal or dessert ideas!  And if have a recipe that you just love, please share!

real life pictures for a {real life wednesday}

here i am, keeping up with my real life wednesday post!

so, Jason had a rough day at school.  i don't want to make excuses for his behavior, but a part of me wonders if his antibiotics had anything to do with it?  anyways, on the way home from school i asked him if he felt okay and he told me that he was tired.  well, i thought okay he should take a nap this afternoon.  after all, he has a double ear infection and possibly a sinus infection, i think extra rest is called for.  he proceeded to tell me that he wasn't in fact tired, he didn't need a nap, and all that other jazz that comes along with not wanting to rest for awhile.  well, wouldn't you know it...he's been napping for a solid hour so far without a single peep or noise coming from his room.  i just love those days when the children tell me they don't need something like say a nap, and then they go sleep for hours.  makes me know i'm doing something right as a mom, and that i can in fact read my children and i know their needs.  maybe makes up a little for those days when i wonder if i'm doing anything right.

with all of that said, our day was pretty routine around here and so is our afternoon.  our oldest son is working on his homework, i have three napping kiddos today instead of only two, and i hear the dryer going in the laundry room.

not much else to say today, mostly just pictures about our day...

morning bath time for Laine.  she loves the bath.  what kid doesn't?!

Little A tried blueberries for the first time today and it was such a joy to watch her experiment with something new to her world.  i ran to get my camera because it was just too much to not take some pictures of.  i ended up having so many good shots that i just put them into a collage instead of flooding this post with huge pictures.

after trying multiple blueberries i can't really say either way if she liked them.  i have a feeling she liked the sweet ones.  then you know as you eat blueberries sometimes you get some that are tart, i'm thinking she might have had a few of those and that's way she was making some funny faces as well.

here is Averie's episode with blueberries.

the girls and i also spent some fun time in the bathroom as i was doing Laine's hair for the day. Averie was being silly as she sat on the stool.

i'd love to hear about your wednesday.  was it normal, routine, or was it a day of being flexible and just going with it?  leave me a comment and let me know!

road trip

our little family of six went on a road trip during Thanksgiving week, our destination was Austin, TX.  round trip we went a little over 3,100 miles in seven days.  that's a lot of miles for anyone, especially when you have four kids aged 10 months to seven years.  to our surprise, the kids actually great most of the time {thank you dvd player for your help at times}.

lake austin from Mount Bonnell

 

our family was able to visit with some friends that we haven't seen in a ver long time.  our friends have two children of their own.  all of the children warmed up to eachother fairly easily and ended up having a fun time together.  the S family also had us over for Thanksgiving.  it was so nice to visit and just spend time with someone we knew while we were out of town.

 

 

the S family introduced us to The Salt Lick.  as you can see, it was just plain awesome!

 

this Thanksgiving also marked the Mr and I being married for nine years.  nine years filled with many changes, ups and downs, highs and lows, everything in between...i wouldn't want to share my life, or build a family with anyone else.

 



it was fun visiting a new place, getting out of our normal routine, and all that comes with a little vacation.  and yes, it was hard getting back into that routine that i love so much.