caught in the act…
I guess I can’t blame the kitties this time, can I? He is a cute trouble maker isn’t he though :-)
a different view…
I took these photos a few weeks back, actually it’s been over a month now, with my 16-35mm lens (that’s a wide angle lens for you non-camera readers) while Jay and I were playing in the front yard waiting for Daddy to get home from work. I love the different “look” that they have- quite the Jay Bird’s eye view ;-)
curls…
He’s got ’em and may eventually hate them but right now I adore them :-)
turkey thursday
Well, not quite but almost… which in itself freaks me out! How can Thanksgiving only be 2 weeks away!?! But I digress…
Check out these adorable (if I do say so myself) bows that I made for Jamie’s cousins in Charleston. I fell in love with the idea when I came across it online a few weeks ago and just had, had, had to make them! They were super easy and didn’t take long at all- if you have a little girl they are, in my opinion, a must for Thanksgiving day apparel :-) I will be shipping the package out in the mail today for them (I addressed it to the girls)- I remember how I loved to get mail when I was little, heck I still love getting packages in the mail!
Oh yeah, I can’t remember where I saw the original idea or I would give that person the credit but I figured out how to make the bows here.
play date
this is Eli
He and his Mommy, Whitney, invited us over today to play. It was a very nice treat to get out of the house and hang out somewhere different for a change. The boys enjoyed playing “together” or at least playing in the same room together. It is so fun to watch them interact at this age.
Most of the playing looked like this…
and this…
and sometimes they just crawled over each other…
I did pull out my camera a little before we left to grab a few photos- since that is what I do. When I did Eli was really intrigued by the large black thing that I kept pointing in his face (guess he isn’t as used to it as Jay is). Isn’t he cute?
Regardless of how the kiddos played it was a really nice treat to get out the house, play with someone else’s toys and have adult conversation. We are looking forward to being able to do it again Whitney; thanks for having us!
tasty tuesday- apple muffins
This was breakfast on Sunday morning. It was cold out and I wanted something fall-ish and yummy to go along with the coffee that was brewing. Coffee in the morning is rare in our house but it was decaf so no need to worry; I wasn’t bouncing off of the walls all day with a caffeine high :-) I did a quick search and found a recipe for apple muffins but it wasn’t quite what I wanted… so I played with it and let’s say I was happy with the results! Since I am not one to hoard recipes, here it is in all of it’s glory (with my changes). I suggest that you make some at your earliest convenience; your tummy/ hubby/ 9 month old (yes Jay got to eat some too) or whomever you care to share with will thank you.
Apple Muffins- the original recipe made 18-24 but since I think muffins are better warm from the oven, I halved everything. The recipe below will make 12
Cream together:
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup of oil (I used vegetable)
1/2 tbsp Vanilla
Sift: (I am occasionally lazy, especially in the morning, so I didn’t sift and they still turned out well)
3/4 cup wheat flour- you could use all white flour but I have been trying to incorporate whole grains into all of my baking lately
3/4 cup white flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon – I used apple pie spice which is a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice but you can use plain ground cinnamon
1 medium sized Granny Smith apple, diced (I like tart apples for baking)- about 1 1/2 cups
Brown Sugar for topping- about 1/4 of a cup
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. The batter will be very, very thick- think cookie dough consistency. Add the diced apples. Mix until well combined.
Spray or line a muffin tin. Fill the muffin cups 3/4 (or more if you like larger muffins) of the way full. Sprinkle with brown sugar. I put walnuts on a few of our which was good but not great- it’s a take it or leave it thing in my opinion- doesn’t taste bad but doesn’t add anything to the muffins either.
Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes (mine took almost the full 25 minutes and our oven usually bakes faster). Take out of the oven and enjoy the warm-apply-fallish-goodness!
Oh and isn’t my kitchen helper cute?
our weekend
Since we stayed up late to snuggle in for a movie, since our little guy woke us us at 4:50am and then again at 7am, and since my eye lids are heavy and I’m having a hard time focusing you will be getting a view of our weekend in short (possibly fragmented) sentences and pictures. Enjoy- there are a lot of pictures; it was a long weekend for us…
We had dinner at the Knights and took each other’s Holiday photos. I would show you- they are too cute- but I am a little traditional about the photos and think you may have to wait until the card comes in the mail to see it. I will tell you one thing though, I LOVE them, that’s for sure!
We hung out around the house on Monday
Had lunch with Grandpa again- lucky ducks are we to have lunch twice within four days
And Jamie and I celebrated out 5th year of knowing each other. That’s one whole hand’s worth of time!!
All in all it was a great weekend. Hope yours was too!
hi, my name’s kristen and
I am a recovering perfectionist…
There I said it, it’s out on blog land and more importantly I have admitted it to myself. Lately, I have struggled with finding time- the time to cook, clean, be the “perfect” mother, “perfect” wife, maintain and build new friendships and also throw a few minutes in for myself to sit back relax and enjoy some of the things that I like doing. Sounds like a great plan, right? Check everything off your to-do list, enjoy and have a perfect day with the kiddo, have dinner on the table for Dad when he gets home- heck throw in some candles and wine and call it a date with Dad after said kiddo is in bed! That’s one nice day isn’t it?? Ha! I am going to burst bubbles here folks so if you would like yours to stay intact stop reading and just go back and look at our incredibly cute Jay Bird here. But here goes- that isn’t possible, it won’t happen and gasp… that’s okay…
Honestly, it has taken me a good 9 months to come to the realization (one that I am still working on daily) that I don’t have it all together and that with a kiddo to run after daily I can’t and won’t have it all together- ever. So I reluctantly have started to embrace the craziness that is our life right now with the piles of stuff gathering on every open surface, the laundry that has been in the dryer since yesterday waiting to be folded, the half dozen pictures that I have taken but haven’t looked at yet, the dozen or so projects I have started but have yet to finish and the to-do list on my fridge that was written with good intentions but that I won’t get to today…
This is my life right now and well I love it for all its craziness, its quirks and most importantly its blessings… of which I have so many… I am pretty sure that I can’t sum up my life any more perfectly than the sign in our kitchen right now does- “We may not have it all together but together we have it all.”
I certainly hope that you all take a few minutes today to appreciate all the blessings that you have in your life right now, whether they are four legged and furry, toddling and babbling or understanding and accepting you even before you understand yourself. Go right now- hug them just a little longer than normal, tell them that you love them and mean it with every ounce of your being. Go, do it for me…
halloween 2010
A few months ago (yes I started early) I was trying to figure out what Jay should be for Halloween when I stumbled across a Blue Bird pattern. That was all I needed for the search to be over, what could be more perfect a Blue Jay costume for my little Jay Bird- um… I am pretty sure nothing is! I worked on his costume a little each night last week (I looked early for the idea but I am really sort of a procrastinator) and am thrilled with how it turned out! The pattern was not really good at all, thanks Martha Stewart for nothing, but Jamie and I were able to put our heads together and come up with the finished product- if you want to know how we did it feel free to ask but I won’t bore everyone else with the details.
It was a great first Halloween for all of us which included a wagon (nest) ride to visit Jamie’s family and deliver some yummy treats, a visit with Grandma and a few dozen or so photos to document the event…
the perreault family 