Random Ramblings

I just went to download some pictures off the camera and realized I have quite a hodge-podge of photos to share. So, here are some random ramblings...

First off, last week Brian hung a swing from our tree in the backyard. Which is probably not that interesting for most people, but it is to me for two reasons:

1.) When we first moved into this house, a hurricane came through Tampa and knocked down a lot of trees in our community. This little tree was literally sideways with the roots sticking up out of the ground. We had to decide to either dig it out and get rid of it, or try to save it. Well, Brian and my Dad got to work and put all sorts of support beams around it and re-planted it. Now, 7 years later, it is a huge, beautiful oak tree that provides tons of shade, houses a great bird feeder that I love to watch in the fall, and now has a swing hanging from it. So glad we saved you little tree!!!
And 2.) I've always wanted a swing in the backyard ever since Payton was a baby. Now we have one and it is SO fun to watch him swing on it!
Okay, moving on...


The next random thing to share is that we recently got new neighbors. I'm so excited because they have a little boy that is in second grade! They seem like great people and I'm really looking forward to getting to know them better. So, when people move in to a house nearby, I bake brownies and then we all go deliver them together so we can introduce ourselves. I have this template saved on my computer and I just print one off when we need it (obviously I've edited the photo to cross out our personal info, but you get the idea):

This way, the new family knows which house we're in, and the ages of our kids, along with our contact info in case they want to get together or have any questions, etc. It's been a great way to meet new neighbors.


Next random thing... Payton has recently taken to climbing into Parker's crib any chance he gets. It's hysterical. Parker thinks it's the best thing in the world and Payton thinks it's so funny.

I swear they'd stay in there all day if we'd let them eat in there! And speaking of eating... our little Parker has developed quite the appetite these days. He's eating all sorts of foods including waffles, rotisserie chicken, anything I make in the crock pot and all kinds of fruits and veggies. I love watching the boys eat breakfast together in the morning.


Last but not least, today is the first UF Gator football game! Whoo, whoo!!! We're very excited for football season! We've got the UF flag flying outside and our blow-up Albert chillin' in the bushes. And of course, the boys had their "Gator Friday donuts" yesterday along with a bite of a Gator chocolate bar. "HERE WE GO GATORS, HERE WE GO!!!!"


 

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!!!