Sharing Clothes

Some organizing...

 *** Please note - this post is a little lengthy, so click on the "read more" button at the bottom to read the entire post. ***

Maybe it's the start of school, or the approaching fall season, but I've been in the mood to organize lately!
First up... baby clothes! It's amazing how one little, itty, bitty person can have SO MANY CLOTHES. We kept almost everything from Payton, so we've got bins and bins and bags and boxes and who knows what else up in the attic brimming with baby stuff. It really needed to be contained.
My loving husband took everything down from the attic. This in itself was a feat considering it's 100 degrees every day here and that attic is probably way hotter than that. We put everything into the garage and then decided what we could get rid of (who knew we had 2 highchairs and another stroller - that makes 4 total - up there?!?) and what we wanted to sort through.
Here's a pic of the clothing that I needed to go through. Actually... that's not true, there were 2 more bins we discovered after this picture was taken:

Maybe you are a fan of those vacuum bags, but I am not. They never seem to work for me. So, we got rid of those and moved everything into bins. They stack nice and neatly up in the attic and I can label them very clearly from the outside.
I wish I had a picture of my entire kitchen table and countertops filled with baby clothes, but we had a busy evening and I forgot to snap a pic. Let's just say, it was a disaster! But, it has to get worse before it gets better.
In the end, we had 3 vacuum storage bags, 5 plastic storage bins and 1 cardboard box FILLED with baby stuff. And this is what we ended up with:

Amazing what you can get rid of when you only keep the stuff you really love. Now, the true organizer in me wanted to go out and buy matching storage bins, but my hubby wouldn't appreciate that. So, they are mismatched, but labeled very clearly:

One label on top, and one on each side so the hubs can easily see what's inside when I ask him to get down the next size of clothing.
Now we just have to sell/donate/trash the stuff we don't want.

Next up on the organizing list was the freezer!
You're say to yourself, "The freezer? Really? That needs to be organized?" My answer is... "YES!" Not only to save yourself time, but to save yourself money. Do you know what foods are buried deep in your freezer? Do you know if you have hot dog buns somewhere in there, or should you buy more for the BBQ this weekend? Do you have a bag of chicken nuggets in there somewhere? It can really save you a lot of time by know exactly WHAT you have in your freezer, and exactly WHERE it is. Here's what I did:
1. Empty out the entire freezer. Obviously you have to do this quickly, or stuff will start to melt. So, do this when you know you have a good block of time and won't be interrupted half-way through.

2. Clean out the empty freezer. Might as well clean it up while you're cleaning out! Take out the drawers if they are removable and wipe down all interior spaces with a wet sponge/rag.
3. Toss the old stuff. I know this may be hard for some of you, but there is no logical reason to keep that old steak that is covered in freezer burn from God-knows-when. You won't want to eat it, and hopefully you won't want to serve it to your friends. :) So... if you don't remember putting in the freezer, or you can't tell what it is... TOSS IT!
3. Determine the most user-friendly places to store your food. For us, we have little hands that often want to grab a Popsicle or ice cream sandwich, so it was important to have those items at eye level for him. It was also important to have the ice packs readily available for bumps and bruises and sore teething gums. Also, some of our drawers pull out and some are stationary, so I took that into consideration as far as what items I store the most of (for the pull out drawers). 
4. Label your shelves/drawers, etc. Now this one is optional, but I highly recommend it. Now when I am unloading groceries I know exactly where to put items. It also helps Brian find things quickly (like the ice cream - you know he isn't cooking dinner).  

Some book ideas

I am very fortunate that Payton is a voracious reader. He loves to read in the car, in his bed, after school in his playroom... just about anywhere... especially if it's one of his favs.
So, I thought I'd list a few of our favorites in case you have plans to hit your library this week...

 First and foremost, anything by Mo Willems, but specifically Piggie and Elephant or the Pigeon series. Payton CRACKS UP reading these books. They are so simple, but the illustrations are really funny. Highly recommend this author.

Secondly, if you have a child who enjoys any sort of gross humor (pretty much any boy over the age of 4) then they will love the Black Lagoon series. They are so over-the-top and typically gross, which appeals very much to my 6-year old.

 We also randomly checked this book out last week and Payton asked me to read it at least 5 times - very funny. Although I had to come up with several voices for all of the characters. :)

Of course he also loves the "Bear" series by Karma Wilson

courtesy of Amazon.com

And if you really want to laugh with your kids... check out the Dumb Bunnies series by Dav Pilkey. My friend Rachel turned us on to these books, and let me tell you... they are funny!

courtesy of Amazon.com

I checked out the first two books in the Magic Treehouse series at the library today. Has anyone read these? I know they are super popular, so I'm hoping Payton will enjoy them. What about you? What books are you reading with your kids these days?

Parker in his "bath"

Aw, come on... I had to post this pic...
Don't ya just want to squeeze him? :)

A recipe and some reminiscing...

Is there a meal from your childhood that brings back great memories? Maybe your grandmother made amazingly moist cookies with just a touch of orange flavoring that made them melt in your mouth, or maybe your father made great french fries in a deep fryer that burst with crispy greasy goodness when you bit into them, or maybe your mom made a dinner that everyone got excited about when they heard she was making it for dinner that night. Well... all of those above-named foods were true for me when I was growing up, but the one meal my mom made that everyone got so excited about was called "Mushroom Meatballs." It may sound strange, but let me tell you... it was the one thing my brother and I could agree on when we were teenagers.
You see, every weeknight, at 6:30 sharp, my brother and I knew we were to be seated at the kitchen table and ready to eat dinner as a family. We would discuss the day's events, complain about teachers and schoolwork, and try our best to annoy and irritate each other during the meal (come on... we were teenagers!). But when we knew mushroom meatballs were on the menu for the night, we were all (including my dad) so excited for dinner. No complaining was heard from these kiddos... and the same goes for my family today.
When I got married, my mom typed (yes, with a real typewriter) up some of her favorite family recipes and gave them to me in a wooden recipe box (thanks so much mom - I think of you every time I open that recipe box!). The best thing about those recipes, is that she typed them on neon green notecards, so I can always find them immediately when shuffling through my recipes.
So, I wanted to share her famous recipe for Mushroom Meatballs for those of you who are always looking for an easy crock-pot meal for those busy weeknights. It's a keeper and let me tell ya... you can't screw this thing up - it's delish!
P.S. Shhh... please don't tell my husband that it's really called "Mushroom Meatballs" because I've called them "Crock-pot Meatballs" for years now because he doesn't like mushrooms, but he loves this recipe! If you have a mushroom-hater in your family, just change the name to crock-pot meatballs and they'll never know. It can be our little secret. ;)

Okay, here's the original recipe card from my mom...notice the old-school typeface and the neon card? Love it!

And here are the simple ingredients:

 Here is what the meatballs look like once you mix the meat with your hands and place them in a pan on the stovetop:
 

Then you brown them until the house smells like an Italian restaurant; and then place them in your Crock-pot:

 Add the mushroom soup mixture on top so the meatballs are swimming happily and ready to get all moist and fork-tender:

 Cover and cook on low all day... and Voila! You have delicious Crock-pot Meatballs:

My mom always served the meatballs over egg noodles with lots of the sauce and then bread and a veggie... why mess with success...

Payton loves em, Brian loves em, even Parker ate them tonight. I hope you'll copy the recipe below by clicking on the play button, or click here for a printable version and enjoy this meal with your family and friends. Thanks mom for being such a good cook and passing along some great "keepers!" :)

What are some of your favorite recipes? I'd love to hear about them! 

This free recipe card design made with Smilebox

1st Day of School

"I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry. I'm not going to cry..." That was my mantra as I was riding my bike to school this morning with Payton. Good thing we ran into half our neighborhood en route, because it distracted me enough to not wallow in the fact that I have a 1st grader!!! How did that happen?!? It doesn't seem possible. But it is, so it's time to accept the fact that Summer is officially over (insert boo-hooing noises) and school has now officially started.
Fortunately, we are very excited about Payton's 1st grade class and teacher. Ms. Adams is young and energetic and VERY organized (which you know I love). I'm sure you'll hear lots about her and the upcoming year on this blog.
We took our annual 1st day of school pictures outside this morning. Sorry they are a bit fuzzy. I think there was some moisture on the lens due to the humidity. 
Doesn't he look so big and grown-up? 

 

Here's a better one of him close up:

 

Of course mom and dad had to get in on the action as well. Parker was fast asleep if you were wondering. :)


And one more pic of my big first grader and his new backpack (which he is in love with!)...

We love you Payton and hope you have a fabulous year in 1st grade!!!

New pics of Parker

My very talented friend Jen Bravo owns her own photography business and has taken numerous fabulous photos of our family in the past. She recently invited me and Parker over to take some infant photos of him. She's still in the process of editing a lot of them, but she's posted some of them on her blog here. Just scroll down to the first post and you'll see our little guy. Check them out if you can, they are SO cute!!!

Gators, Golf, Brothers and more...

The last week of summer was a busy one around here! We had lots of things to cross off our summer list and many friends we wanted to play with before we go back to our regular schedule.
Brian was fortunate enough to be invited by a good friend to go up to Gainesville to visit UF for a football practice and luncheon. As you can imagine, he had so much fun being able to go out onto the field and watch the new players practice.

Here they are in the tunnel where the Gators run out at the beginning of every game:

And here is Brian and his friend under the goal post:

The same weekend, Brian too Payton miniature golfing at one of his favorite spots. Even though it was very hot, they had a great time. Payton even got a special florescent green smiley-face golf ball!

Also, now that Parker can sit up by himself, Payton has become much more comfortable holding him on his lap. Parker thinks this is pure heaven being so close to his big brother. I think he'd stay there all day if Payton would let him! And of course I just melt watching them interact. It's SO sweet!!!

 

One more picture

Okay, I just couldn't resist showing you all another side-by-side view of Payton and Parker at the same age. I always find myself looking at Parker and thinking, "You look so familiar to me." Now I know why...

1/2 Birthdays and more

Both of my boys celebrated their 1/2 birthdays recently. This is a fun tradition that we started with Payton a few years ago and we look forward to continuing it with Parker as well. 
Payton went away for the weekend to "Camp Grandma & Grandpa" in Bradenton so Brian and I had plenty of time to get some secret surprises going.

We headed to Ikea on Saturday (love that place - we spent 3 hours there!) to do some shopping. I've been wanting to put up a tent-like structure around Payton's bed for a long time now. I saw it in a Parenting magazine last year and have been dying to try it out ever since. So we bought the necessary hardware at Ikea and got to work. Surprisingly enough, it was very easy to install and we just clipped sheets to the wire line and "Voila! Tent-bed ready!" Then we installed a little reading lamp above his bed as well. He loves reading before bedtime and now he has a little light that he can turn on/off without getting out of bed. It may be a little tough to tell from the pictures, but basically it's a steel wire attached to 3 brackets that are hanging from the ceiling. The sheets slide across the wires on little clips, so it's easy for Payton to slide the "tent" open and shut.

We also got an easel at Ikea. It's so great - it has a chalkboard side, a dry-erase side, and then a roll of paper underneath if you want to color on paper. All this for only $15!
When Payton came home he was so excited to see his fun surprises. Unfortunately, I was a little too excited myself and forgot to take any pictures of him exploring in his bed for the first time. Sorry!
But I did get some cute pics of the grandparents and the kids when they came to drop off Payton. Needless to say, Payton had a ball hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa, and Brian and I had fun putting together some little surprises for his 1/2 birthday. However, instead of a homemade cake this year, the boys opted for Dairy Queen Blizzards. Who can blame them? (P.S. Have you tried the new Nutter Butter Blizzard?!? It's INSANELY GOOD!!!)


In other news, Parker has graduated from the baby bathtub, to the sink. He's much happier bathing where he can sit up and play with his toys. Check out these cute pics (sorry there are so many, I just couldn't decide which ones to not include, so I just put them all in)...

Couldn't you just eat him up?!? He's so cute, it kills me! And I don't know how well you can see it, but he has 2 bottom teeth already! He is a good eater and those teeth have opened up a whole new world for him. He loves Cheerios, Puffs, bread, waffles, bananas, peaches, and anything else mom is willing to cut up into microscopic pieces. :)

And finally, here are a couple pics of Payton and I using his new easel. Who loves it more... me, or Payton? (please excuse the no-make-up picture):

Only one more week until school starts. I'm kinda happy, kinda sad... very mixed emotions this year. More to come on that later...

Rainy days

It has rained a LOT the past few days. And it's supposed to rain again most of the day tomorrow. So, we're getting creative with things to do (other than TV and Wii). We practiced hand writing today (Payton was NOT happy about this, but did it with a pretty good attitude after some minor threats), we made another fort, made marble runs, we created a complete scene from the game "Plants vs. Zombies" made out of LEGOS, we've played stuffed animals, block houses, hide-n-seek, and just about anything else that didn't require going outside. Just thinking about it all makes me tired...
Yesterday, Payton had a friend over for a playdate. When they had snacktime, I plopped Parker down in his highchair and gave him a rice cracker to munch on. He thought he was such a big boy having a snack with the older kids.

Today, we got out a bunch of Payton's old toys for Parker to play with. He loved the little building blocks and wooden tool set.
I hope it doesn't rain all day tomorrow. We'd like to get outside and burn off some energy! :)