Are my bathrooms dirty?

Jack potty trained himself at the gym babysitting room and apparently Thomas is going to follow in his footsteps!

He peed on the potty at school today! Hip Hip Hooray we are one day closer to a diaper free house.

If anyone ever told the younger, stupider, carefree me I would be so excited about pee on the potty, finishing dinners or days at school with no biting, hitting or pushing reports I would have rolled my eyes... oh no but now we make up songs about the like and well, my old self would have thought that's just kind of lame ;).

If anyone even still reads this...

contrary to popular belief we are still alive :)

Summer was too fun and by the end we were CRAVING some routine.

"Thank You for Thomas, Thank You for Jack, Thank You for Mommy, Thank You for Daddy and THANK YOU FOR UMBWELLAS (umbrellas- probably not a bad call on rainy days like today)!" -- Prayers of Thanks by Thomas, age 2

Summertime Fun!

How is it the middle of July!? A few pics from our family vacation. We had the best week ever- even despite the insane heat, ridiculously early wake up calls from my kids and a jellyfish sting (which the best remedy for is vinegar not pee! ha!). The boys made great memories with their cousins and I think I only had to raise my voice once (or twice ;)).
Oooh and ahhing about the fireworks.
Found a cozy spot.

Me and my mom!
The littlest sailor!
Favorite picture of all time!

Two of my favorite guys in the world!
Blueberry picking! Two boys working hard, the littlest one picking his next blueberry victim. He ate his way through that little blueberry patch, no doubt about that! Boy loves him some berries.

what's cookin'

I have been in a total cooking slump. If I haven't made time to log memories in the blog you can rest assured, it hasn't been because I have been cooking.... Just ask AJ :)

But I think I have found my cooking slump cure! The June issue of Cooking Light magically made it into my grocery cart and it is chock full of deliciousness! I can hardly wait for it to be tomorrow to try my next recipe.

Tonight we have a variation of one of the recipes, Grilled Halibut (or Chicken) with Peach and Pepper Salsa:

Fish (or chicken in our case!):
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 (6 oz) skinless halibut fillets
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
cooking spray

Combine lemon juice, oil, paprika, and garlic. Add fish (or chicken) and let stand at least 15 minutes. Grill to desired degree of doneness and serve with fresh salsa.

Salsa
2 1/2 cups peeled yellow peaches (I am not sure i got yellow and i sure as heck don't have time to peel them.... i did throw them on the grill for a few minutes as it warmed up for a little grilled flava.)
1 1/3 cups chopped red bell pepper (about 1 large)
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions (I didn't have these and it tasted just fine)
1/2 cup chopped arugula (another omited item in mine)
1/3 c. fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano (didn't use.)
1/4 tsp salt
1 habanero pepper (used a jalepeno - worked just fine)
1 garlic clove, miced
(I also added a little pico de gallo that i had in the fridge)

Combine first 9 ingredients and toss gently. Let stand 30 minutes before serving.

I just realized I really deviated from the published recipe... Cooking light might not like me calling it one of their recipes! ha!

summer time is here to stay!

A few pics from our first weekend at the beach! Lots of sun, bikes and throwing rocks (cause that never gets old- unless you are a 32 year old mom of two boys who like to throw rocks and then it gets old as soon as your coffee is done! Not that I know from personal experience or anything.)

Me and my baby sister before a fun night out... (and by fun night out i mean we were still home by 10:30! Ha)
We even let AJ join us for some fun!
Not sure we got enough strawberries... Don't they know they will be responsible for eating the massive amounts of strawberries...

Apparently we tuckered him out with too much fun... one second playing... the next asleep on the couch. and, let's be honest, that. is. not. like. him.

Pink and Green and everything in between...

Calling all Lilly Lovers... My AWESOME friend, Emilie, hooked me up with Employee Night pass to the Lilly Warehouse Sale... and I am not sure there are words to thank her enough... here are some of my finds! Y'all know I love a good bargain... and can't help myself from sharing... i think i am still on a shoppers high!

Sweater Retails for 300 - I got it for 30 bones (i know, i know last year, but still I love it!)! Shoes (originally bought for my sister but looked too cute with my sweater... so i think i might keep... i mean for $22 I should, right!

When the price is right, get one in every color! Just joking... Some are gifts... ;) 30 bones

Shirt 8 dollars! Skirt 15 dollars!
Not joking... shorts... 15 dollars.
...don't even care if my kids "ritz cracker me" in this because it was a total... bargain!

Ok... brace yourselves... Can you handle all this excitment!? I don't know if you can....
238 dollar shoes for...... 22 dollars!


Stay tuned... I got my sister some really cute dresses! I know you are just on the edge of your seat! :)

mom, i have to tell you something...

"I have a new allergy, I think I am allergic to boring things..." - Jack, age 4.75