whoa, momma....

Whew! What a weekend!! How about yours? This weekend we really didn't do a whole lot...partially because we have been so busy that I was not only badly in need of a weekend at home but also, if I didn't get some housework done, dust bunnies were going to start playing games with Finn! (I am only half joking here, guys....I feel like I can be honest here!) Although, if we are REALLY being honest, I would tell you that Finn already has lots of "people" to play with around our house because he has several imaginary friends....Hi, Fred, Annie, and oh, um, one other "friend" whose name doesn't get said as often as the first two......is that strange to talk about? We are pretty out in the open with the "friends" at our house. Anyone have an opinion on that?

Which brings me to what I really got on here to talk about.....my toddler. We are three months and 2 months old.....going on 16. Does anyone else have this problem? Growing up, I remember people joking about the "Terrible Two's" then as I got older and got to where my friends were actually having children, the truth came out that the "Three's" were actually worse than the "Two's" and man, they kind of are! There is a fine line between being old enough to know right and wrong and then just pushing the boundaries to see how far they will go before mommies eyes go crossed! Then there is also that line between "independence" and "neediness". While this may all sound like I am complaining, please understand that I am NOT! Children are a gift from God. To be fortunate enough to raise a child where my biggest complaint or worst experience is a touch of sass is truly and completely a blessing. We are beyond blessed in a countless number of ways so please do not think I am enjoying a pity party for one here...I really am not! I am however curious if any of you readers can give me some insight into your own parenting methods....what works for you? Are you a time out household? Do favorite toys go into time out? Do you spank? (yes, yes, I know...I just opened a flood gate here with that one.......I just want to hear what "works" for everyone else). In our house, it seems as though the best response to a fit is to simply walk the other direction. Nothing makes my son stop a fit quicker then if I just walk out of the room.  Next thing you know, "tears" have stopped and he is right behind me.....but, then that makes me question..is this reallllllly working if he continues to start to throw the fits in the first place? or is this just that road that all parents go down where you just wait and follow the old saying "this too shall pass".

This post has already been wordy enough, so I am going to leave this open for discussion. 

What works in your household? What advice do you have? What methods to you use in your household to correct bad behavior or mold your children into gracious and respectful adults of the future?

Weekend/Week Wrap-up

Whew, Thursday already!! Time has just been FLYING by.....so, here is a quick run down of what we have been up to....

•  (oh, the bullets....so professional? so cheesy? so something?) Friday night, I baked some cupcakes for my friend's husband's birthday. Because I had to be up early Saturday morning, I had to bake these Friday night and then ice them Saturday right before she picked them up
• why did I have to be up early Saturday morning? To run my second 5k....and it went GREAT! For several reasons...first off, it wasn't 4 bazillion degrees this time...it was actually, dare I say, brisk? chilly, even? Second, because I set small goals for myself (sometimes..more on that later). For my first 5k, I just wanted to finish...I didn't even care if I had to stop and walk once in a while...just wanted to finish. (Yes, I did have to stop and walk a couple of times...I have said before (maybe to you guys?) that I am not a runner....I would like to be and am working my way there but definitely not winning any medals over here!). This time, I set two goals: 1) To run the whole time and 2) To beat my time from before......and I did! I only stopped one time for a few seconds to tie my shoe (lesson learned to double knot your laces) and finished a full 3 minutes and 12 seconds faster then before. I will take that, ladies and gents...sure will.
• Saturday, Husband's parents wanted to keep Finn overnight so Husband and I got to have an impromptu (and much needed) date night! We had dinner at Mimi's, played a round of putt putt, went to Dairy Queen for some ice cream, and then went home and stayed up way too late watching tv shows on Netflix. 
• Sunday, I got a wild hair to redo my house....namely, the spare bedroom/office "situation" (yes, it was a messy situation) and Son's room. Being the beginner blogger that I am....I didn't take before pictures.....um, what?!! whoops :( BUT, I promise to take some good photos of the finished product this weekend and share them! Separate post on what all I did to follow......REALLY wish I would have taken those pictures!
• Sunday evening, we went to water the grandparents horses and feed their fish so we went back to Dairy Queen for a cheeseburger.....remember me eating healthy? yeah, not all the time...sometimes after a long day of painting/scrubbing/moving, etc, a girl's just HAS to have a burger...right? ;)

So, that's about it! This week we have just been workin, schoolin, shippin some things for the Etsy store (remember that? yep, she's still going strong!, plus, a church swim party last night and Son is off of "school" today for a day with his Aunt K before she starts back to college...whew! Already been kind of a long week (for us, at least)

Hope everybody is doing great and having a terrific week! 

New Items at Veda Marie's!

Oh yes....and while I was stitchin', plantin', cleanin', and cookin', I also added a few new items to the shop!!

Have a peek! <3

http://www.etsy.com/shop/VedaMaries?ref=si_shop

Black Thumb Betty

If you have read this blog before, you may have picked up  on something....I have a black thumb....not just a black thumb but more of a black bubble surrounding me where any plant that gets within 5 feet of me, leans over and dies on the spot. I kid you not. So far this spring, I have successfully killed two ferns....actually, my lovely birdy friends killed those but I had a hand in it since I couldn't figure out what to do to keep the stinkers out of my hanging baskets or keep my ferns alive while the little birdies nested in there, one small floral hanging basket..(I seriously don't know what happened. I received two hanging baskets from my lovely mother-in-law for Mother's Day-to replace the aforementioned ferns, of course, and one it thriving and beautiful and the other one completely turned from green to white and dried up even though I continued to water it, had them both in the same location, etc) and, I am sad to admit that even though Son's plant he grew me at school seemed to be doing great for about a week or two there, it too suddenly looks a little "off" and "sickly". Anywhoooo, moral of the story is I cannot grow ANYTHING............

or couldn't.....until now. 

What am I talking about you might ask?

a container garden.

do ignore the grass that is not growing right there...potted plants are my area...the grass? leave that to my husband...I like to call him Hank Hill when it comes to our yard..he LOVES working in the yard and has been working VERY hard to get it in tip top shape and we will be removing/replanting/something with this back area so excuse the "work in progress" there

I know....I know....what am I thinking?? why on Earth would I put these poor seeds through the certain demise of not surviving in my care? Well, to be honest, wishful thinking? maybe a stubborn attitude that tells myself "I WILL grow something successful, dangit! (other than that sweet baby, of course)

and you know what??

THEY"RE GROWING!!

These last pictures were taken a couple of days ago and they have grown even more since! (I will try and remember to take another picture this evening to update)

So, here is what we have growing (or not growing) in our container garden:

Zucchini

Cucumbers

Basil

Green Bell Peppers

Jalapenos

The zucchini, cucumbers, basil, and cilantro were all planted from seeds and the peppers were planted from small plants I purchased at Lowe's. I chose these plants for several reasons. Numero uno, they are all things that my household will eat enough of to make it worth the money spent to grow them. They are all things I purchase weekly either at the local farmer's market or at our local grocery stores so I know they will be something that will be easily consumed at our home (as much as I would have loved to grow some tomatoes, I am the only one in the house that eats them therefore cannot justify trying to grow them) Numero dos, my mother in law inspired me with her "garden". She has container plants in her backyard where she grows yellow squash, cucumbers, and tomatoes and since she lives very close to us, I thought...hmm, I wonder if I can do that? So, I gave it a shot and so far, so good.....well, except for the cilantro....turns out (much to my taste buds sadness...*sniff*) cilantro doesn't like to be hot....should have done some more research on that one...I know it can be grown in our area but I need to go about it differently...turns out when cilantro's soil gets above about 75 or so, it gets cranky, packs up, and leaves town. While I am stubborn in wanting to be a gardener, cilantro is more stubborn and flat out said...nope, not gonna grow for you, lady....nice try. 

So, please continue to join me here for successes and failures of container gardening!! and maybe more! 

Photo Life

Our life according to my iphone...

I planted these...more on that later...

I made this....more on that later because somehow I didn't get an "after" picture taken...

Son did a little of this....thank goodness he wasn't really driving because he surely couldn't see anything with his hat like that! Also, we spent the weekend with pink eye....also more on that later...

We ate fruit bars outside....in his pull up, of course, because a) it's hot and b) it's summer and that is just what you do around these parts!

Still "mastering" eating it before it gets "dwippy"

every activity is a new adventure <3

Eureka Springs Family Date Night

As some of you know, Husband and his father run a company called Century Cash Register in Springdale that sells point of sale systems to retail stores, restaurants, and bars. Husband does the tech support, programming, and installation of said systems in many businesses in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Louisiana. The downfall is a lot of time on the road but the definite plus to his occupation is getting to go and try new places we may not have normally gone! One of those places is Ermilios Italian in Eureka Springs. Husband spent some time up there Wednesday of last week and while he was there, the super friendly and lovely owner Paul invited Husband to bring us back for dinner Friday night and to check out the White Street Art Walk that was going on that evening. Husband asked me and I said "OF COURSE!!". Eureka Springs is only about 45 minutes away from us so not too far at all to pile in the car after work and head that way. I worked through my lunch on Friday so that we could get on the road a little earlier and we were off! Road trip!

uh, Husband? :)

Whoot!

We arrived in Eureka, parked right behind the restaurant and set off. Since we got there pretty early, we were able to beat most of the crowds and boy, am I glad we did!! Navigating the stroller was a little tricky once more people showed up! We didn't end up buying anything on the Art Walk but we did see some very lovely art items and some other, ahem, rather interesting items:

Exhibit A:

What? Why? Who? I dunno but they are set in concrete so those puppies aren't going anywhere!

After we took in the sights, we headed back to the important part of the evening.....the food!!!!!! We had a dinner "reservation" (they don't take reservations but we were able to get a special favor...thank you, Paul!) at 7 but got back a little early and pulled a few strings to get our table around 6:30. I don't even know how that happened considering there was a TWO HOUR wait to eat!! But, let me tell you something, people....

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN WORTH THE WAIT! YES, ALL CAPS! 

The food was absolutely amazing. I did not get one single photo of anything we ate *sniff* because I was too busy EATING! Next time...I promise...

So what did we eat?? Well, lemme tell ya! This is where I wish I had taken some photos because we couldn't help ourselves!

Starter:

Roasted Garlic Cloves with Fresh Bread

Entrees: (Dining at our table was Husband, Son, Father-in-Law (who was there working that evening), & I)

Me: Salmon with Steamed Veggies and Side Salad

Finny: "Mom's Homemade Meatballs" with Penne Pasta (easier for him to eat)

Husband: Pan Roasted Pork Chop with Steamed Veggies and a side of Eggplant Parmesan 

Father-in-Law: Filet Mignon, Steamed Veggies and a side of Eggplant Parmesan. 

Dessert:

Me: Tiramisu 

Finny: Chocolate Cake

Husband: Italian Cream Cake

Father in Law: also got the chocolate cake although the slices were HUGE and he probably should have just shared with Finny. 

When I first started writing this post, I was describing how delicious each item was until I realized that most of the items we had were some of the VERY best preparations of each items I had ever had. Best salmon ever, best pork chop ever, best eggplant Parmesan ever, and very, very, very best spaghetti sauce ever so instead I decided just to list our meals and refrain from repeating myself....too much. Just take my word for it. Worth the drive, worth the wait if there is one. Also, I should note, there is a lounge upstairs that has a small bar and board games so if you are waiting, please head upstairs and pass your time that way if you can. 

You guys......PLEASE please go eat here. Please let me take you actually....so I can go again? Every single thing we ordered was amazing and delicious. The atmosphere was great, the history of the restaurant and location is terrific, our server was fantastic....I am craving it as we speak and will be asking husband to take me back again VERY soon! Once again here is the website, please go check it out and tell Paul we sent you! 

Photo Life-Weekend Recap

A few snaps from last weekend:

Headed on a very mini family road trip to Eureka Springs!

oh, hi, husband!

wait...um, what? 

Dear Eureka Springs, This is not at all what I had in mind to see when I visited you for the "Art Walk" Sincerely, Me

This is George. He was a weekend guest at our casa. More on him later on........maybe

This is turtle. He was also a weekend guest at our casa. Huh?

So, there you have it! My weekend!

Photo Life

This last week/weekend daddy was on a business trip in Florida so Finny and I spent every moment we could together and just enjoyed some great Mommy/Son time. I didn't make fancy dinners, I didn't clean anything unless he was napping, I did nothing except snuggle that baby until he was tired of mommy being his shadow and we had to get out of the house for a minute.....I thought that didn't happen until the teenage years?? ;) 

Sending a photo to Daddy in FL (see our finished paintings behind him? He LOVES to paint!)

Right before I needed to get him dressed and head to a birthday party....needless to say, that sleepy man didn't last long at the party! Happy birthday, Winnie!! <3

Taking a milk break at Fayetteville Farmer's Market

At the Farmer's Market with our "Donda" (my lovely mother-in-law)..too much excitement to cheese for this photo!

Photo Life

Some photos from this week:

One very happy little boy (and his "Donda" holding him....note, that's her "grandma name". He couldn't say her real name and this is always what he said so he would never switch to calling her anything else!) learning how to hold and eat his own ice cream cone for the first time (truth be told, this is actually Mema's ice cream that he decided looked much tastier than his own cup of sherbet...Sorry, Mema!!)

 Lots of watercolor painting

Cheese!!

Lots of golfing. 

(side note if you don't know....this child golfs ALL THE TIME. He wakes up wanting to golf, we hit golfs balls after school, and after dinner.....)

Papa pushing the wheelbarrow*

*I know what you may be thinking here....yes, that is a beer in the background but, no, it is not Papa's...we don't drink and drive wheelbarrows around here, people!!

More golf (told you!) and some "sungwasses"....and giant mommy monster shadow

I do regret to inform you that these sunglasses met their demise shortly after this photo was taken....and we had our first lesson on not leaving your items in the middle of the living room floor where mommy, who is known to walk like an elephant, will step on them while racing out to the grill (steaks! Yum!) and break them :/

Sowwy, honey :(

Hope everyone had a terrific weekend!! <3

Weekend Recap and a DIY Project!

Happy Monday! This weekend was lovely! Lots of outdoor play time and a little bit of yard work. I made a few simple dinners (no recipes to share really although I did make a "lighter" graham cracker crust recipe that turned out pretty tasty! I will do a post for that one here in a sec).

One thing that we did get accomplished this weekend was revamping a porch swing that was left by the precious owners of the house. While Husband was busy power washing and mowing, I got to work.

Here is the photo of the porch swing before:

Not "bad" but had some rusty spots and just looked like she needed a little makeover.

Saturday during our routine shopping trips, I picked up some sandpaper and paint (I will go over this in a second) at Walmart and found some cushions at Target that I thought would be just right. While Husband had the power washer out, he gave the swing a quick sanding and washing and once it was dry, I got to work. The paint I bought was:

Rust-Oleum Universal Paint and Primer in "Oil Rubbed Bronze" (color #249131)

This stuff is awesome! It has good coverage and dries SUPER fast! It retails for $5.77 per can at Walmart and I ended up having to go back and get more. In total, it took me four cans to completely spray the entire swing. Still not bad! I bought three single seat cushions at Target that were on sale (Go, Go NOW!!! all their  cushions are on sale this week) for only $12 each! 

Here is the finished DIY'd swing:

Ta-daaaa!! 

(please ignore our next DIY project....refinishing the patio..any ideas? tips?)

Here is the breakdown of our cost:

Swing    $0 (thank you homeowners who were going to trash this when they moved)

Paint      $23.08 plus tax

Seats     $39.33 with tax

Grand total: $62.41

Absolutely, totally worth it as the three of us piled on the swing as the sun was going down last night and as my son says went "swingy, swingy" until bath time. Glorious <3

Photo Life

Just a few shots from the weekend....

This kid loves wearing his sungwasses...

Delicious, no? Recipe coming up next!!

Weekend Recap

We had a very relaxing weekend this weekend. We had our standard Friday night family dinner and ice cream date and then Finnley and I had a grocery store date (Walgreen's, Walmart, and Aldi....do you guys shop at Aldi?? If not, you seriously should...I buy all of my milk, eggs, cheese, etc there and it is THE most affordable place in town for those items) Saturday morning :) He loves to go shopping with me haha Saturday afternoon we washed cars, played backyard golf, and took it easy. Sunday, I made two VERY delicious recipes which I will give you in the next post and we went to a super fun roller skating birthday party! Happy 4th birthday, GP!!!! Finn LOVED roller skating!! Husband got a couple of "action shots" so I will have to post them later on today :)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Photo Life

A few (too few :/ ) pics from the last week of our life...

My very excited St. Patrick's Day Date <3

Yum!

Playing drums with Daddy at church

(Watch out for the drum sticks, Husband!!)

New Art Projects! Thank, Aunt Jess!! <3

Hey, Hey, Good Lookin' 

Travis Hulshizer is the bomb dot com

That's all! 

Hope everyone had a great week/weekend!!

Weekend (and week too?) Recap

Goodness...what a week!! Our son got a stomach bug which really didn't slow him down much but made for an edgy mommy worrying when our next "episode" would happen :/ Other than that, we just took it easy. Our St. Patrick's Day celebrations were limited to green pancakes for breakfast...although, the was the very best way to celebrate if you ask me! Spent a lot of time in our backyard, missed a birthday party due to aforementioned bug :( and rested. I had an appointment at Brainstorm Tattoo Saturday thanks to my darling Husband who very much surprised me with a gift certificate for Christmas (!!!). Travis Hulshizer, as always, worked his tattoo magic and I added a lovely lady to my arm (pics to follow!). Monday, I stayed home with son because our bug decided to have a second showing that morning so we spent the day snuggling, coloring, and cleaning. Perhaps too much snuggling, as mommy caught the bug too! Whew! Last night, he got to spend the night at his great grandparents and play hookie from daycare today to play the day away. Husband and I for to see the band Every Time I Die at a local venue and it was AWESOME! Even better for husband, as they are one of his VERY favorite bands and the called him out of the audience to come on stage?!? I really and truly think he could have died at that very moment the happiest man in the entire world! It was a great time (although getting in bed around 11:30 was a little late for this momma) and I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend with no sickies and lots of home time!!