Summer Vacay Dailies: Week 9- Only 2 weeks left!

I'm tired, but I don't want to worry about this tomorrow so here you go!

Thursday July 25

So much work done in one day!  Thank our lucky stars my mom and siblings were here, and while they didn't really want to be doing a paver project, they did it anyway, and we are so thankful they did.  On this day, we got almost all of the pavers in, except the ones that needed cut and fitted, Hallelujah!!

Friday July 26

No work on the pavers today- instead some shopping for school supplies, quality time with family, and DATE NIGHT (would you believe it?!?!).  While Cailyn had a picnic dinner with "Dama" Jacque and her aunts and uncles, Jerod and I grabbed some dinner at Wallaby's (specifically for cheese fries I was craving), used up some Kohl's cash on a new baby outfit, and shared frozen yogurt at one of those self-serve places.  Try the Dulce de Leche if you go there, it's soooo good!

Saturday July 27

Mom and the kids took off, and so we thought it best to use our time cutting pavers to fit the holes in our project.  Cailyn has loved the pile of sand sitting in out driveway, we're thinking a sandbox or sand table should be in the works for next summer.  On another note- look at those cuts, who could have possibly made such beautifully fitted pieces?? (Toot, toot)

Sunday July 28

Baseball banquet at the elementary school where Cailyn enjoyed chicken drumsticks (or "bones" as she likes to call them) and pulling the fire alarm!  Thank Heaven one of the baseball parents is on the volunteer fire department and was able to cancel the call by contacting dispatch!  It was a great night and we'll miss the boys who are moving on to college- but Jerod is already thinking of next year... :)

Monday July 29

I started pulling out baby clothes to launder and came across my favorite jammies to put Cailyn in!

Tuesday July 30

Family vacation to Minnesota- first stop, Mall of America.  I thought Cailyn would enjoy a couple kids rides as long as she got to sit with one of us- I'm out though, because of the baby bump.  Well, I was totally wrong!  She did enjoy trying on princess dresses at the Disney Store and building at Lego land.  We snapped a 30 week bump photo before heading up in the morning.  We were going to try to catch a ball game, but we were all exhausted from traveling and walking around the mall, so dinner at Denny's and some hotel swimming won out instead!

Wednesday July 31

Did I mention Cailyn didn't nap the day before?  She was dead to the world at 8:15 until 7:30 the next morning.  We stopped at IKEA on our way out of Minneapolis and grabbed Pizza Ranch on our way out of town.  We were totally gung-ho about getting lunch at IKEA after shopping- it's cheap like Sam's Club.  But, after walking through there for an hour and a half I just wanted to leave!  I love that place, but was ready to get going back to our humble abode.  We had so much fun on our family vacation, though.  :)

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Summer Vacay Dailies: Week 8

I am so exhausted!  You are lucky to be getting this post on time at ALL- I really wish I wasn't so dedicated to doing these posts at this point, ha!

Without further ado...

Thursday July 18

We marked 4 years of wedded bliss this past Thursday (and by bliss I mean loving each other all the time, and liking each other most of the time).  God couldn't have brought me to a better man, I am a very lucky lady, love you babe!  We celebrated by having a family date to Hickory Park, complete with a BIG ice cream sundae for dessert!

Friday July 19

 Cailyn's hair has grown in a little lopsided, so I gave a her her first trim Friday morning- please excuse my exposed belly.  It's difficult for me to find things that go all the way over my beach ball lately.  She was a great customer via watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while I trimmed!  She also received a nice pedicure later- she loooooves to use the foot bath because it makes bubbles when we wash her tootsies off.  Also, she is apparently ready for winter- she kept dragging out her coat and snow pants and yelling, "SNOW!"

 Saturday July 20

The baseball team had a third round district game and we, of course, traveled out to attend.  It was a great game with an unfortunate half an inning- the other team just smoked the ball when they were at bat.  The boys had such an amazing season regardless of their wins and losses.  They really came together as a team and I am so proud of Jerod and Nate for their ability to reach out to their players and be wonderful examples of how to play the game with class.  

 Sunday July 21

Cailyn's birthday party was a blast!  She is beginning to understand parties and gifts and such, so she was very excited to see everyone and all of the gifts and bags her guests brought with them.  Her favorite?  A bath baby given to her by her Uncle Ty...she totes it with her everywhere she goes.  It's the baby doll in the bottom right photo- there are no words, we laughed our tails off when she opened it.  There's obviously nothing wrong with it, but honestly- how many white toddlers do you know who own ethnic baby dolls?!  We love it- it's friggin' adorable.  :)

 Monday July 22

 This was the lone picture I had from Monday.  It was an exhausting afternoon for Jerod who was busy tearing out retaining wall blocks and flagstone pavers from our backyard.  This is what the front stoop looked like after he had been lying on his back in an old t-shirt.  Yeah, he sweat so much that it soaked the stoop except where he had a number on his shirt.  Ha!  Love it!

 Tuesday July 23

All of Jerod's hard work from Monday was in preparation for a paver sidewalk we are installing on the North side of our house to lead from the driveway back to the patio.  On Tuesday JB went through 6 shirts, meaning he soaked the previous 5.  He moved a lot of dirt and we rented this sod cutter that you kick to operate manually- amazingly, it was a lot less work than you would think.  Needless to say, we got way more done while the little lady was sleeping (and by we, I mean Jerod).  I was frustrated because I can't be as helpful as I'd like to be during this project due to Baby 2.  Jerod has been very good about making sure I sit and rest after a little while- he's a good man.

 Wednesday July 24

Jerod barreled through the dirt removal and we were able to begin pouring the sand base for our pavers after he did some much needed packing of the pathway using a tamper from the baseball field.  While he worked Cailyn and I went to meet up with a friend of mine from work, and her kiddos.  We played at the park, ate lunch, and then came back to help with paver pathway prep.  Later in the evening my mom and siblings showed up from Sioux City to stay for a few days.  We are excited to do some laying of pavers and possibly some shopping... (What??  Mary, shopping??)

Also, today our friends' little son had surgery.  He is waiting for a kidney transplant and, in the meantime, needed to have a new catheter put in since his old one was from when he was born basically.  He's a few months older than Cailyn and we see them a lot so they are very dear to us.  Please join us in praying for a speedy recovery for their little man, take care Blake!  Find out more about his surgery here.

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Summer Vacay Dailies: Week SEVEN- seven people...not many weeks left

District baseball is upon us- which means not so many games each week and more time as a family, which I very much appreciate.  We love baseball season, but by the end I think everyone (players, coaches, and parents included) is ready for the end and some time to just relax- or in our case get some work done around the house.  A certain cute little somebody hit a milestone, too!

Thursday July 11

Happy Second Birthday Cailyn!

Cailyn woke up to Minnie Mouse balloons taped to her bed, which she loved and immediately began to swat at them like a kitten.  Jerod had a game Thursday night so Cailyn, my sister, and I visited Reiman Gardens, picked out birthday cupcakes at the Cupcake Emporium, had some amazing pizza for dinner at Great Plains Sauce & Dough, and hit up Sam's Club to pick out a new movie to watch at home.  My favorite part of the night?  Cailyn trying desperately to run past the world's largest gnome and skidding to a halt in the gravel when he came in to her periforal vision!

 Friday July 12

So, I love to shop anywhere, but I especially love to shop at places where I can use coupons that are good on everything!  I signed up for a Kohl's card a while back to get the initial 20% off when you sign up (my total definitely looked better to Jerod with the 20% off).  Anyway- I never cancelled the account and I get those time-to-time coupons for 15, 20, or 30 percent off your total purchase.  Well, for the first time ever I got one for 30% off!!  So, Mama went shopping and scored a ton of stuff including all of the above pictured tops and a couple pairs of shorts for Cailyn (none of which I paid more than $2.50 each for).  A few weeks ago I purchased a special bra that will hold my breast pump on so I can be hands-free- Cailyn wanted to try it on...

 Saturday July 13

Cailyn received her first big fat boo-boo via Jerod's knee.  Don't worry, it was an accident, she tripped over his foot and voila.  Her tooth cut through her lip a bit, but about 3 popsicles and 7 ice cubes later she was looking a little better.  That night we had friends over for fowling, grilling, and just an all in all fun time.

 

 Sunday July 14

Sunday was a nice family day- just us.  We took it easy in the morning, and visited Aunt Manda at Tropical Sno in the afternoon.  We topped off the day with a trip to the old school house to play in the water pump and then skipped on over to the library park for swings. 

 Monday July 15

One of our summer goals is to have three new entry doors and four new screen doors installed (hopefully by my dad since I'm not quite up to the task given the large and in charge baby boy growing inside).  So, we ordered the ones we liked at Menards- and coincidentally were able to rescue a friend of ours whose van decided to poop out in the parking lot.  Anyway, the plan is to paint the back entry door and the garage entry door the same color as our front door- which is very orange.  My down-the-road plan is to paint the house (or even better- reside the house with vinyl) in a medium gray color.  I love how neutral it is.  We can always change the door colors when I get sick of them-which is inevitable according to my husband.

 Tuesday July 16

We had a two year routine physical in the monring- no shots, but a little bloodwork in the form of a finger poke and then squeezing tiny vials of my baby's blood out.  I hate that she has to have that done sometimes!  That night we went to the Trojan boys' district game- which they won!  Have you ever heard of Target Cartwheel??  You can use it as an app on your phone or just as a website, but regardless of which route you choose- it can save you some money.  I joined with my Facebook ID and so when my Facebook friends join Target Cartwheel it increases the number of coupons I can add to my list.  I was able to get 20% off of Circo brand shoes for Cailyn, 5% off soem school supplies, 5% off Huggies (which I'm stocking up on for you-know-who), and a few other good deals.  Since I have the app on my phone I just open it, and the cashier scans the barcode to get all the deals I've added to my list.  If you do it through the website, you just print out a paper with your barcode.  Plus, I have the Target RedCard debit card, so I get another 5% off my entire purchase without having a monthly bill like with a credit card.  P.S. I just happen to love Target- I'm not being paid for any of these recommendations- I just call it being a smarter shopper.

 Wednesday July 17

We finally got part of our basement put back together!  The carpet was a little short after unrolling it, but, via some advice from friends, we rented a carpet kicker and Jerod was able to stretch it back over the tack strip.  Baseboards went back in, and we used a carpet tucker tool to jam the edges underneath.  After a nice carpet shampooing, we put everything back in- it's nice to have this room back!  I've also started party prep for Cailyn's birthday party this weekend.  Everyone knows Minnie Mouse loves bows so our black and pink theme is extended to some nice bow garland- super easy to make, too!

 Now, I'm going to take some "me" time and get a haircut, it's only been two months this time thank goodness!  Last time, I think I went 5 months in between cuts, and before that over a year!  I think I deserve to take care of myself better than that, because we all know what happens if Mama's not happy...

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Summer Vacay Dailies: Week Six

All I can say after the past week is, "Thank the LORD for cooler weather today!"  If I didn't realize how pregnant I felt before, I definitely understand it after the sweltering hundred-some-degree-heat-index days we've had.  Isn't it funny, though, how our perspective of things changes depending on circumstances?  I mean, last summer it was hot ALL the time around these parts, but this year since it's been so cool for so long, that a few humid days seemed liked a new kind of eternal damnation to me- I'm sure the extra blubber I'm carrying around doesn't help in any of this! 

This past weeks events:

Thursday July 4

Happy Independence Day!!

Ahhhh....our 4th was so relaxed.  We did our usual Thursday errands in Ames and picked up some DQ lunch to take to a local park.  And what's more American than some barbeque, watermelon, and potato salad?!  Little girl saw her first fireworks display in Nevada and it was absolutely perfect.  We were able to park right off the ramp and watch the show from the trunk of the Durango.  Her favorite part, and the time she was most engaged, was the finale, of course!

Friday July 5

When you are at baseball all week, and you have a few game-free days, what better way to spend one of them than at a softball game?  Cailyn had fun running all over the football field and digging in the red rock.  She even got to spend some time with our daycare provider, whose daughter plays for the softball team. 

 

Saturday July 6

Jerod had All-Conference selections Saturday morning and Cailyn was wrapped up in a movie so I had a few minutes to whip up some new burp cloths for the little nugget pummeling me from the inside- they're even baseball themed, it's pretty appropriate, right?  We met up with my brother, Tom, in Ankeny for some lunch and so that I could begin picking up supplies for Cailyn's birthday party in a couple weeks.  I was craving cookie dough, but since salmonella is generally frowned upon, I hunted down an egg-free recipe, which I found here.  Mmmmm...it hit the spot (possibly two nights in a row).

Sunday July 7

Our friends, Nate and Leah, have a fishing boat and invited us out for a spin around Hickory Grove.  Cailyn wasn't too sure at first, but after stopping at the beach for some fun in the sand and sun all she wanted was to reach over the side of the boat to touch the water.  Don't worry we always had a firm grasp on her life jacket straps!  That night we reinstalled carpet pad in the man room and unrolled the carpet to find out that our carpet has shrunk slightly.  Bummer, and not quite sure what we're going to do to remedy that situation...

Monday July 8

 

Back in the swing of baseball!  We had the first of the last three home games of the season and Papa and Grandma Brown came out for a visit.  Cailyn also managed to get dirtier in one night than I think she has in all the baseball nights of this season combined.  Good thing she loves showers as much as she loves dirt!

Tuesday July 9

We have a birthday coming up soon and I've been trying to get in some mini photo sessions when our chica seems like she's in a playful yet cooperative mood.  I can't say that she was either of those things on this day.  In fact, I'm pretty sure a better word would have been feisty, but I was able to get some decent shots and that's all that mattered.  She received the first 2nd birthday gift from her Uncle Beau and his girlfriend, Taylor.  She really wanted to wear it to the baseball game that night, but the heat index was about one hundred degrees so we nixed that idea.  I've been trying to take some maternity photos, too.  I never had any with Cailyn, just belly pics.  I'd really like to get a family picture of the three of us, also, before we become a family of four.

 

 Wednesday July 10

We bought a tree for our backyard today!  I didn't realize so much went in to picking out a tree, what with considering the fulness of the foliage, and the straightness of the trunk.  I'm so glad the gardener at the nursery was as knowledgeable and helpful as she was!  Being as it was the last home game of the season, that meant we had Senior Night on the baseball schedule.  A rose for the moms and the opportunity to throw a "first pitch" to their son for the dads, made for a nice little presentation before the game.  Lots of playmates and a win helped top off the night!

Just an FYI: since I started these posts I have filled up my memory card twice- that's over two thousand photos!!  More dailies next week!

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15 Freezer Meals- A Compilation

So, apparently I'm completely insane and thought it would be a great idea to make 15 different freezer meals in preparation for our newest addition (coming in October).  Jerod seems to think I'm nesting already, I maintain I am just being realistic about the amount of housework and cooking I will be doing after the little man has popped out!  Anyhoo- this took a lot of planning and researching of compatible recipes.  I was thinking about a few things when I chose these:

*Is there anything in the recipe that won't freeze well?
*Is there anything in the recipe that won't defrost well?
*How much preparation is involved?
*How much work is involved besides defrosting and cooking?

After scouring my recipe board on Pinterest, my recipe binder, recipe file, and a couple of church cookbooks, I think I have found a chunk of recipes that will work and passed all my test questions with answers of: no, don't think so, not much, and barely any.  Then, I had to create my grocery list, which I like to categorize by sections of the grocery store because then I'm less likely to forget something and have to trek all the way back to a section to nab it.  When I can see exactly which refrigerated, frozen, canned foods, etc. that I need, I can just glance to make sure I have it and that's it!  This does, obviously however, require reviewing every recipe you choose so that you don't forget any ingredients and you can think about whether you'll have an ingredient that could be used in a couple recipes to prevent waste. 

My list is highlighted because I shop at different places to get better prices.  Sam's club is great for creamed soups, bulk meats, and some bulk dairy products (you can get 4lb. pack of butter for $8.88 which is a steal at $2.22/lb.).  I always look in HyVee's ads before shopping there, choose what deals are best that I need, and then go to WalMart and ALDI for most of my other ingredients.  Bread and other meats I get at Fareway because it just tastes better!  If you're thinking to yourself, "Visiting 5 grocery stores sounds so exhausting," you would be right.  I'm not going to lie about that.  But, if you go in organized and know exactly what you need to get from each place, it makes it SO MUCH easier.  Also, I did this shopping with my almost-two-year-old daughter in tow, and we did just fine (I may have let her play an app on my phone on our last store visit!).

After shopping, this is what the Durango looked like:

Good thing this baby's still cookin' because there was no room for anyone else in the car!  Once we got home I decided to sort things out by recipe and, since it was nap time, to just let Daddy take care of the munchkin and dig in to preparing some of the recipes.  I should mention also, that in addition to groceries I purchased some disposable pans to freeze things in.  I have used Chinet Bakeware before and I love it, but it can get pricey if you're making as many meals as I am and have to buy it all in one pop.  I got mine at HyVee where it cost about $5.50 for a pack of 3 8x8 bakers with lids, I also purchased a 3 pack of ovular shaped bakers that hold about the same amount as an 8x8 for the same price.  The 13x9 pans came in a 2 pack for the same price, but I needed 8 of them and couldn't justify spending over twenty bucks on disposable pans so I got aluminum ones but neglected to notice they didn't come with lids.  Therefore, anything in an aluminum pan has been double wrapped in foil and stacked with sheets of cardboard in between to prevent them from squishing down onto one another.

Since I plan on doing freezer meals more often now, I think I can justify purchasing some reusable 13x9 pans with lids.  I found some cheap ones at WalMart for about $4 each.  Cheap enough I don't feel bad buying several, but sturdy enough they should last me a while and I won't feel bad about getting rid of them when they eventually crap out on me.

My kitchen was a disaster area when my little bubba girl finally woke up, and we were on our own since Daddy was at baseball again.  She tried to be a great helper, but it was evident that my cooking time was coming to an end now that she was awake. 

The meals seemed to turn out wonderfully, though.  I stacked things in pans and used a box from Sam's Club to put in meals that were held in Ziploc bags to keep them mostly upright and prevent them from getting punctured.  We have a HUGE deep freezer that the previous homeowner's left in the basement, so I have lots of room for these meals.  I made sure to write prep instructions on the lids/foil/bags so that I wouldn't have to look up the recipes again to make the meals.  I can also gift these meals to other families easily.

I have not prepped ALL of these recipes yet, but I did do all but 5, which I'm pretty stoked about!  I'll get to the rest this next couple of days.  Here's a list of all the recipes I'm using and, if applicable, they are linked with the website to find the recipe on.

15 Freezer Meals

Pesto Chicken Shells

Bubble Pizza

Chicken Spaghetti 

(Credit goes to Lindsey A. for bringing dinner over one night)

Vegetable Chowder

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Cheesy Beef & Rice

Cheesy Ham Potatoes

Tater Tot Casserole

Garlic Chicken Farfalle

Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken

Lasagna

Creamy Crockpot Chicken & Broccoli

Crockpot Sesame Chicken

Mexican Stuffed Shells 

(Thanks to Mandi for introducing us!)

Meatloaf

If there's not a link it's because I got the recipe from my recipe file (Spaghetti and Meatballs) or it's just something I make so often that I just know the recipe.  The lasagna recipe I always just get from the back of the lasagna noodle box.  Have you tried freezing any meals?  Do you have any you love?  I'm looking forward to adding a few freezer meals to my monthly meal planning.  It's nice to imagine not having to worry about dinner much after a long day at work!

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Summer Vacay Dailies: Week 5

We finally checked something off of our To-Do list for the summer!  Here's how our week went down:

 Thursday June 27

Thank the Good Lord above for giving someone the brains to create those rides at the mall- and thank Him even more for my child not caring whether they move or not, she could climb on them all day!  They make shopping trips a lot easier for sure. :)  Thursday night we watched another Trojan ball game- extra innings and a heartbreaking loss this time.

 Friday June 28

This little girl was so happy to see her Daddy in the morning.  The first thing she wanted to do was read a, "Boo peez!"  One of her current favorites is The Pout Pout Fish, we picked it up at Kohl's a while ago and it's so cute!

 Saturday June 29

We traveled to Carroll for my sister Kristen's softball tournament in the morning.  It was great to see the family and we scored some new Under Armour shirts for Jerod at the Carroll shopping center for less than $15!  Cailyn developed a low grade fever through the afternoon so we headed back and I had an I'm-such-a-terrible-mom moment when I tried to force feed her chewable children's Tylenol and she gagged and upchucked all over her car seat.  This happened in Glidden people...we still had to drive over an hour to get home, it was a smelly ride home.  Luckily, we tracked down some liquid medicine, got that in her, got the fever down and after a nap she seemed to be feeling much better.  So, we whipped up a batch of some Rolo Cake Mix bars and headed over to the Burdorf's for some grilling and good fun!

 Sunday June 30

The Blank Park Zoo was on our Summer To-Do's and after sleeping in until almost 11:00, Cailyn's fever was all gone without the help of medication and we made an early afternoon trip to Des Moines for animals and an early dinner at Capitol Pub & Hot Dog Co.  She loved the water animals the best and especially enjoyed feeding the Coi fish and the ducks in the children's zone.  It was a good first zoo, big enough that we had lots to see, but small enough that we could actually see it all in a couple hours instead of having to be there the whole day.

 Monday July 1

We recently discovered that we have some tiny punctures in the bottom of our pool, BOOOOOO!  So, while I tried to find all of them, Cailyn had herself some fun with the 'mist' setting on the hose.  Monday night, our friends Matt and Michelle came up to see a game and brought their kiddos, Maddie and Jack.  Cailyn always loves having kids to play with at games.  It was an exciting night for Trojan baseball because they clinched the conference title!  Congrats to my hubby Jerod, Coach Edwards, and to the boys for all the hard work they have put in to earning the title of Conference Champs!!

 Tuesday July 2

I had spent a few days working on a July dinner menu and a list of freezer meals I could prepare for when this next kidlet decides to pop out and I have no energy to cook.  Tuesday was the grocery shopping day for all of the ingredients.  It took two shopping lists, and stops at 4 different stores (I still have to hit up Fareway for some fresh meat) but the lists are almost complete!  We skipped out on the game against North Polk and decided to just stay home and knock out 9 of the 17 freezer meals.  The above photo of my kitchen is just a snippet of the mess that ensued.  Cailyn was happy to add to that mess after waking up from her nap!

 Wednesday July 3

I went strawberry picking at The Berry Patch Farm with my friend Jamie and her two oldest kids, Jenna and Brody.  I love doing this with them every summer, and so look forward to it every year!  When I got them home Cailyn helped wash them and remove the stems.  She may or may not have removed the stems using the following process: pull off the leaves, take a bite to make sure it's sweet enough, put it in the bowl, repeat.  Ha!  If you get some freezer jam from us, know that Cailyn put a whole lotta love into it!  

Hope you all have a very happy and safe fourth of July!  I think we may take an opportunity to view the Ames 4th of July parade, but I guess you'll have to wait and see on next week's Summer Vacay Dailies!

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