Aug 29, 2011

We Are In!

Can I get an AMEN!


Okay everyone...that is right. We are no longer the occupants of a hotel. Woohoo! Let me say that again...WOOHOOOOOOOO.

Last Thursday (which was also hubby and my anniversary, happy anniversary) we were able to move into our home. After 5 days of travel, 30 days of living in a hotel, countless fast food meals, hours of pool time, wearing the same clothes every week, and lost sanity-we are IN.

Even moving in had to be exciting though. We found out that we could move in on Thursday but were told that it would be a week before the moving company could deliver our stuff. Eeek! After some magic, the company was able to deliver our things Friday.

So we still moved in Thursday and just camped out in our new home.

The previous home owners (still nearby) were so gloriously wonderful and lent us sleeping bags, air mattresses, card table, and chairs.

We were so excited to camp in our new home. We even decided to buy a frozen pizza and "cook" our own dinner.

Good in theory until Hubby and I had to carefully and strategically pry the pizzas off the oven racks (since we forgot we didn't have pizza pans) with a plastic disposal knife (again forgot we had no utensils), our bare hands (oops no pot holders) and onto a cake stand I just happened to purchase a couple of days before (because we had no trays...of course...sensing a pattern?)

It was quite a site. It was a miracle we didn't loose the pizza, our fingerprints, or our eyebrows.

Our first meal in our new home was just lovely.





Who doesn't love pizza cooked from your very own oven??

So know we are in. Technically we have been in for 5 days. Most all the boxes are unpacked. Most all the stuff has found a place somewhere. Rooms are starting to feel like our own. We went grocery shopping. We have made dinner. I have washed laundry. We have been welcomed.

Basically we are settling in.

Soon I promise pictures of our home. I hope to have some projects show up...most will probably be home related since I have some new areas to decorate. I even have some recipes now that I have a kitchen back.

So stay tuned friends...I am BACK.

Aug 23, 2011

Somewhat Simple Food Contributor


Over at Somewhat Simple today sharing a previous recipe from the blog.
It is an AWESOME slider recipe, and to celebrate the fading away of Summer  
I just had to share it again.

The Banzai Slider 



Have I mentioned that I miss my kitchen and cooking my own food. Who knew it was 
possible to get sick of eating out.

Soon. Very soon.

Aug 17, 2011

Moving Recap: On the Road


Okay all of my lovely friends...I do hope you are all still out there.
We are still in a hotel...you getting tired of hearing that? I am sure getting
tired of saying it! My access to a computer is seriously limited and by the time I do have
access I am wiped out from the adventures of hotel living with three active
Little Monsters Men. So yes, friends, thanks for being patient.
Hopefully we will be seeing the inside of our house within a week and a half, then 
hopefully the blogging will start to pick up.

Fingers crossed anyway..
On to the moving recap..

Okay so here is a fast, brief, sweet and too the point recap of our 5 day drive cross-country...

Day 1: Drove just a mere 3 hours Indy...crying only for the first 30 minutes. Got to Indy. Ate. Crashed in our beds.



Day 2: Drove 8 hours (give or take an hour...you know bathroom breaks and all) to Kansas City. Boys loved earning vouchers. We played pop-a-matic I spy. There may have been some candy eating, video gaming and movie watching.




There was only napping by Middle.



This was the day we learned to have an appreciation for rest stops. Nothing like taking a little break from sitting in the car.




We got to KC...tired and sick of the car.

Stopped by some famous bbq place. It was packed with tons of ladies from a jewelry conference so we got our brisket to go. Stayed at the nicest Residence Inn I have ever been too. Played in the pool. Slept peacefully in separate bedrooms.

Day 3: Had what we thought would be a short drive ahead of us. Just a mere 6 hours. Then we hit a highway detour. Do you know how fun it is when you have a whole highway shut down. Super dooper fun. Our little detour took us an extra 1 1/2. We tried super hard to not complain because the shut down was due to some really bad flooding. Some farms were completely covered. It was really sad.

Vouchers still a hit. Pop-o-matic all popped.

We went to North Platte (Nebraska for those who don't know). We had a some what cranky evening. Everyone was in bed around 8. BUT there was a happy shiny moment. This hotel had little toys for each of the kids. They loved them, but the best gift was Middle's. He got these awesome glasses/straw.


We were all in bed pretty early this day.

Day 4: Another short day. We refer to this as our sanity day. Just 4 hours to Laramie. We took our time getting on the road. We made it there by lunch time.

Laramie was probably our most fun road trip day. We swam in the pool. We ate a cute quaint downtown restaurant. That is where I had a pretty normal sized salad in one pretty HUGE bowl. Salad was so yummy, already have taken notes on how to recreate it.



We walked around.

We saw trains...I mean super close up. There was this walking bridge that went right over a train yard. We walked all the kids up it just for fun. Then a train was coming our way. Some nice people let us stand in front of them since, as they said "this was the best view to see the train".

Then the train came. Boy were we not prepared for just how close and how loud that train was. Little Men all jumped spastically, covered there ears, and found a parent to cling to...okay I was already clinging to them. Setting aside the absolute terror...it really was awesome.

In fact, Hubby and Middle went back up to wait for another train...they literally were coming every ten minutes. The other less brave ones went off the bridge to watch a little further away.

Here is a video of that:


Day 5: Today, our last day, was another of a a whopper of a day. But we could see the end. We knew this was the last day. The excitement carried our weary nerves.

Everyone did so well in fact, that we only made one stop. A rest area called Little America. We stopped for about 1 1/2. We had lunch and posed with a dinosaur.


After Little America, we pushed straight through to Idaho. We rolled in tired, me sitting in the back with Middle who got a bloody nose, Littlest friendly reminding us he wanted down, and Oldest taking all our surroundings in.

We checked in to our hotel (which of course would later turn into our temporary home).

Then we went swimming.



So in a nutshell...that was our move across country.

Captivating, right?

We made it. Whew. One adventure down...hundreds more to go.

Aug 10, 2011

Boredom Buster: Soda Surprise


We are STILL in a hotel. Funny how the best laid plans can drastically change on a person!
We had thought we would be in our new home several weeks now...instead our
temporary home has been a hotel. I miss cleaning my own home...CRAZY, right? I miss
my bed. I miss the rest of my wardrobe. I miss cooking my own meals. I miss decorating, sewing,
and all things creative. Oh well.

Here is a post I started before we moved. It has just been sitting in my edit box. Thought I
would throw it out today. I do have another moving post for you...but I keep losing motivation
to edit pictures and download them...SO lazy. So today you get this little post.

Nothing fancy...but we did have fun with this project so I am sharing it today.

THANK YOU everyone for your kind words and thoughts!!!
Okay on with the post....


My kids get bored. Say what? Yours do too! Say it isn't so.

My kids bet bored EVEN when I there is outdoors, swimming, running, reading, friends, eating...they still just get bored.

I think hearing "mom, I am bored" over and over again is my payback for spending glorious sunny and perfect summer days as a kid saying the same whine repeatedly.

So the other day days ago I came across an idea to freeze Kool-Aid into ice cube trays. Then once the sugary goodness is done freezing, you can add the ice cubes into any clear sprite type beverage.

My Little Men LOVED the whole process. They loved that they actually got to see Kool-Aide...a rare occurrence in our house. They loved making colorful, tasty ice cubes. They loved getting to drink soda. They loved watching the colorful cubes start to melt and change the soda colors. AND they loved how yummy the Surprise Soda was.


All you need to do to make your own Soda Surprise is make a couple flavors of Kool-aid. Freeze some into ice cube trays (which I had to buy because I didn't own any...ice makers are killing off ice cube trays). Once they are frozen, let your kids each pick out two-three cubes...try different colors. Put the cubes into a see through cup of sprite, 7-up, fresca...and watch the magic. The cubes will start to dissovle and they will turn the clear liquid a rainbow of colors.

SUPER fun. A perfect activity for a hot summer day.

Have a great day friends!!!

Aug 6, 2011

Moving Recap: Packing Up


Two weeks have passed since this ginormous truck was packed...and I do have to add NOT by us. Glory be to have movers. What a luxury for which I was unbelievably grateful.

We have been out of Ohio for two weeks now. Living in hotels for two weeks now. Two weeks of living from a suitcase. After two weeks of traveling, living in hotels, and gaining my barrings I am finally posting a recap of our travels.

Today I am sharing a little of our last day in Ohio. The packing, the loading, the cleaning, the good-byes, the sweating, and the crying. The closing of one era of our lives and the starting of another.

The movers came on one day to pack our whole house up. Then they came the next day to load up the giant truck. I felt SO bad for them because it had to be one of the worst heat/humidity days that we had seen all summer. There was so much stuff and they had to haul it out of the house and into the truck all day.


Once the rooms were cleared, we cleaned a little. Middle LOVES to vacuum, so he got to help me.


We took time from cleaning and getting ready to say good bye to friends. We said good bye to friends...
There may have been crying...sorry to the few of you who had to say good-bye twice. I just couldn't seem to let some of you go.



Did I mention that the day we moved was hotter then the hubs of Hades? Well it was. I mean look at my poor children's heads...




Yup...eww gross that is all sweat...we won't mention that the absence of pictures of me at this point is the only thing saving you from seeing my 13-year-old-boy stank sweat through my shirt nastiness.

After one long hot, slightly depressing day, the truck was packed.


The boys not-quite-excitedly watched all our belongings drive away.


Shorty after the truck drove away, there were tears. Oldest cried for a good 20 minutes...which in turn made me almost cry. I didn't...I mean I had to put on a brave face for my Little Mister.

About an hour after the truck drove away, we packed up our luggage, the boys, and all our travel provisions in the minivan. Hubby and I stood one last time in our first home. We hugged each other, cried, and then laughed at our gooey sentimental selves.

Then we got in the car, said a family prayer, and then started our cross-country drive towards our new home.

Stay tuned for more Moving Recap...yeah I know you are sitting on the edge of your seats.

Aug 1, 2011

I Need a Hero...Cape That Is


I am a firm believer that every little boy wants to be a superhero. I am a firm believer that they should be allowed to indulge that wish. What better way than to make sure they are outfitted with their very own cape.

Back at the beginning of the year I made a cape pretty much identical to these for a friend's birthday party. My boys begged for one. I said that I would make them one soon.

...uh..fast forward about a month...

Then I promised I would make all of my Little Superheros a cape after Middle spent his impromptu visit in the hospital.

...uh..fast forward another month, then some more months...then some more...

I finally made all three of my Little Men capes. They have not been without them much since.

I mean after all, there is a lot of crime to fight.


People to protect.

Good to do.

Problems to solve.


One of my favorite things about these capes...when Littlest puts his on, he runs round yelling "Superman, Superman, Superman" Love. It.

I have a tutorial in the works for you and my plan was to get it all ready before we left...alas not so much. Moving kind of creeps up on a gal.

Now you have something to look forward to when I get my life all settled.

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