saturday picnic pics

saturday we took advantage of the warm weather and had a picnic at the baseball field. here are a couple of pics of eli checking out daddy's workplace...little does eli know, by may he will know this place like he knows his home!

days 20-29 of 2011

here's what we've been up to...
check out the bonus video at the end

go away winter!

i have decided that my mood is highly effected by the weather. when it is cold outside and i am stuck inside with a 15 month old, it makes for long days. i have noticed it has gotten harder and harder to get motivated during the days when it is freezing outside. all i want to do is sit on the couch and dream of warmer weather. eli is bored out of his mind and so am i! well today the high got to 51 degrees so we headed outside to swing and explore. i can already tell my mood has changed and eli, well lets just say he was all smiles and pitched a fit when we had to come inside for a nap...though he fell asleep sitting up after 5 mins of drinking juice and watching olivia. isn't it crazy how the weather can do that to our mental state?

so, here's to warmer weather soon...i hope! or this mama is going to go insane! and by the way, eli has been asleep since 2:30 and its 5:15...i think i wore the little man out.

Asheville and Cosby

Chris surprised me back in November with tickets to see Bill Cosby in Asheville for our 5th anniversary. The way he told me was through a riddle and I just have to share it because it was so clever and it took me nearly 10 hours to figure it out.

Chris Jett, Holly and Rob
Notre Dame football and Avery Dodd,
Raider football 2001
This Bud's for you and this riddle is done.

I know most of you are saying, "What the junk?" because when I heard this riddle for the first time, I said, "That is a ridiculous riddle and I'm not going to play." And I know all the people in the riddle, you don't! But then he added another part that helped me out...

I'm glad you decided to play along.
The name of this game is six characters long.

I was still so confused but over time I started to understand. Let me explain...
Chris Jett= one of Chris's best friends that happened to date a girl named Justine at one time.
Holly and Rob= Chris's cousins who have a little girl named Clarie.
Notre Dame football= Rudy, duh!
Avery Dodd=a former ball player who has a brother named Bill.
Raider football 2001=our coach was Theo Caudwell.
This Bud's for you=Bud

Once I thought of Justine and Claire, I figured it out and knew we were going to see Bill Cosby in person. So Saturday afternoon we headed up to Asheville. We had a great time relaxing on Saturday night, sleeping in Sunday morning (this was my first night without a little Eli nearby), and then thoroughly enjoyed listening to Bill Cosby tell stories about grandchildren, marriage, and parenting.

I could tell you the things he talked about but you probably wouldn't think they were funny. It is the way he goes about telling his stories, with his gestures and faces, that make them funny. We truly did laugh so hard.

This pic is from our actual show.

This is a pic taken by a press guy while waiting to be seated.
Sorry for the closed eye...I am truly the least photogenic person I know!

It was the perfect weekend spent with my hubby. We had a blast and I got his undivided attention for over 24 hours...which is perfect timing since baseball officially begins next Monday. Thank you Chris for a great weekend. I love you more.

days13-19 of 2011

jan.13.11 - painting in the locker room. trying to help daddy.

jan.13b - check out my new trick

jan.13c - the naked engineer

jan.14.11 - i finally can drive this thing on my own

jan.15.11 - the raider game

jan.15b - playing ball after the game

jan.16.11 - we can finally see the grass!!!

jan.17.11 - baby #2 we wonder what you are.

jan.18.11 - no nap = meltdown tuesday

jan.19.11 - wedding dress shopping

calzones anyone?

i have had several people ask me about making calzones. so due to popular demand, here is the easiest meal you will ever make for your family...and its kid friendly!!!

Calzones...
ingredients:
-defrosted frozen bread loaf or refrigerated pizza dough (located near pillsbury rolls)
-ricotta cheese
-mozzarella cheese
-and whatever you like in a calzone (we fill ours with pepperoni, mushrooms, onion, and green peppers)

directions:
-heat oven to 425
-spray cookie sheet with pam
-roll out dough or defrosted bread loaf onto cookie sheet
-cut into half or thirds(depending on how big you want your calzones)
-spread out ricotta on half the calzone
-then alternate layering mozzarella cheese and toppings
-fold over dough and pinch sides together
-put in oven for 12-15 mins. (keep in oven until golden brown on top)

*side note: i put a little piece of the toppings that are in the calzone on top so i can know which calzone is which

15 months already?

Today I took my little boy to get his 15 month check-up. Here are his stats:
weight: 21.2 lbs - 10%
length: 30 in. - 20%
head: 18.75 in. - 60% ahh, that Bluster head!

Eli has such a funny little personality. He is busy, busy, busy. He still loves to take baths and hates to get out. He is starting to have a mind of his own and loves to show this off by pitching fits when he doesn't get his way! He talks all the time (who knows where he gets that from?). Some of his favorite words are: juice, cheese, bath, bye-bye, please, hot!, shoes, socks, Boo, ball, and sometimes he says NeNe. He has started crossing his hands when its time to pray and loves to get positive reinforcement when he does something right. He smiles a lot and has lots of crazy faces. Anything to get some attention.

I realized today while rocking him before his nap that I only have 5 short months left with him being the only child and I want to savor these moments. I can rock him until he falls asleep in my lap. Who cares about bad sleep habits! Sweet memories mean so much more to me. Or I can sit on the floor and play with him without having to think about anyone else's needs. I hope to enjoy every moment and when my patience wears down, I need to remember that I am about to have to stretch my time between two little ones.

Here is what my little one has been up to lately.

Climbing into chairs...

Making funny faces...

and more faces...

and mean faces...

eating a lot of meat...

playing "old mean bull"...
(his horns go the wrong way)

sledding...

enjoying time with cousins...

swinging...

pitching fits...

and learning football plays on his magnadoodle...