Bennett and Sophie: A Love Story

Once upon a time, there was a blue eyed boy named Bennett who dreamed of finding love.

 On the other side of the field, there lived a sweet Auburn haired girl they called Sophie.

She wished for a cowboy to treat her like a lady.

And he wished for a sweet girl to take care of.

Then, one fateful day, he spotted her from across the fence.

And he began to think of ways to win her love.

She brushed away his first attempts, claiming that her Daddy said no dates until she is 25.

  So it was back to the drawing board for young Bennett.

 He decided on old fashioned chivalry and showered her with flowers.

Photo by Cassie Johannes (photographer and proud Momma of Sophie)



And held her hand.

 Until eventually, she was overcome with his charm and clapped for joy.

 And they lived happily ever after.

 

The End.

Weekend Review

The weekend was just what we needed. Kev got an afternoon off to play golf, I got a few hours off to play photographer, we met some friends downtown for beers and apps, and Sunday we lazed around, only leaving the house to go out to breakfast and to the grocery store. Sometimes the most mundane weekends are the best!

The backyard quarry was hard at work.

 He's going to be 3 in two weeks. *sob*

 On Saturday, my friend Cassie and I signed up for a photography class at Garland Ranch Park in Carmel Valley. The class was called "Portraits in the Park" and was supposed to teach us more about photographing people and improving our skills. Sadly, our teacher was all over the place and more concerned with telling us anecdotes of his own than teaching us anything technical, so I didn't get too much out of it camera-wise, but did enjoy some good girl time and a few new pics just for fun.

 Sunday was a lot of playing with two sweet and happy boys

 This is an example of poor parenting: taking picturse instead of telling them to stop crawling under the shorts while Daddy is looking for new clothes. But they were being too cute to chastise, don't you think?

  Honestly. I have no words.

 Kudos to hubs for snapping this blog-worthy pic.

 And to end the night, the scene we get in the bathtub. They have so much fun together.

I am one blessed lady!

How was your weekend?

*Linked to Tami's Weekend Rewind

Things I Never Expected to Say: Part Deux

Friday.

For the second week in a row, man-o-man, am I glad it is here. But before we get into the funniness of child-wrangling, let's first discuss how amazing y'all are. Thank you so much for you input on our Bedroom Mini-Makeover, you definitely got my wheels turning about spray painting the mirror and finding new lamps. We might have Makeover Part Deux coming shortly. You all really are the best readers in the world and I appreciate each and every one of your comments, everyday. So thank you, thank you.

Now, on to business. Since my first round of 'Things I Never Expected to Say' was a success, as was your reception to last week's 'Ugh' moment, I have decided I'm going to save Fridays for the not so glamorous side of my life, while hopefully giving you a little laugh for the start of your weekend.

So, without further ado, here is Part Deux: A Collection of Quotes from Full-Time Motherhood aka Things I Never Expected to Say.

-Ew, chalk is not for eating, it is for drawing.

-Good measuring Cullen, I am, in fact, 13 inches and $7 tall.

-You can play with this stuff, but not anything that is breakable.

 -Are you playing fetch with your brother?

-Well, Jesus is kinda like Santa, but a little different.

-I can't believe I am helping you poop on the side of the highway.

-{To Kev} I gave Bennett some Carrot Cake today. Good news is, I don't think he has nut allergies.

-He is your brother, not a horse. OFF!

-You can catch the lizard, but we aren't keeping him.

-You need to talk human, Mommy doesn't understand monkey.

-{To Cullen, through the kitchen window} What's Bennett doing?... Ok, just make sure he doesn't eat any doggie poop.

Don't even tell me this devious face isn't thinking about finding poop.

-{to my friend Traci} I had some regular lemonade today. It is SO sweet without vodka in it.

-Walk, you little burger nugget.

 -Yes darling, your poop does look like a lobster today.

-Where did you find that?

-How did you get cheese in your hair?

-{to my sister in law} I kind of have to have more kids. The only skills I have left are motherhood and blogging.

-What are you doing?

-Ugh, you just wiped your snot into your eye. Hold still!

-Wait, did you just teach Bennett to climb the stairs??

-{Kev, talking to Cullen} I don't want twenty-nine hundred dollars. I want you to use your manners.

And best of all: Things I Never Expected to Hear:

{From Cullen, while sitting on the toilet} Mommy, I am a good pooper, but you are a really good wiper.

{Taking my bow}

Have a great weekend, my friends!

Master Bedroom {Mini} Makeover

A few months ago, I enlisted your help for a little Master Bedroom re-do. Some problems with being in the military and having children is that a) you are totally aware of how temporary your housing situation is and b) is seems way more important to make sure the kids' rooms are cute. So yet again, our bedroom fell to the wayside.

Here is was in January:

And here it is today with a few updates:

-I rearranged my sitting room downstairs and brought the drop cloth curtains to the bedroom.

-Painted the side tables a sea foam green color that I already had.

-Switched out the bedding

-Moved the mirror to the center and ordered some 8x10s of the boys. I bought the mats and frames at Michael's and spray painted them to match.

What do you think I still need to do?

So far the makeover has cost me $20 for the frames and mats, since everything else was just what I had on hand. I'm not attached to any of it (except the pictures) and would even be willing to repaint the side tables. And since I haven't spent any money yet, I have a little wiggle room if you come up with something that I absolutely need.

 Help, please!

She-Crab Soup

Every now and again, I get in an extreme cooking rut, you know, the one when I make the same 4 meals in rotation and literally can't think of anything else to create? So one of my goals for this week was to try a few new things and first up was She Crab Soup from Southern Living's Comfort Food cookbook. It turned out so good, we actually had it for a meal on Monday night and the leftovers as a side dish last night, we both loved it and it was quick an easy to make, but tastes complicated and fancy. I will definitely be keeping this recipe on hand.

She Crab Soup
Sherry (If you don't have a bottle on hand, you should get one. I cook with it all the time!)
1lb of crab meat (as fresh as you can get it)
6 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of grated onion
4 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
3 cups of milk (I used skim and it worked just fine)
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups half-n-half or whipping cream (I used half-n-half)
fresh parsley

1. Pour sherry over crab meat to soak while preparing other ingredients.
2. Melt better in soup pot on medium-high heat. Grate 2 tablespoons of onions (of the tears involved with this step!) and add into pot.
3. Stir flour into butter/onion mixture and gradually add milk, stirring constantly
4. Add bouillon cubes and salt. Once dissolved, add crab and turn heat to simmer.
5. Add half-n-half, stir constantly until soup thickens.
6. Serve steaming hot with chopped fresh parsley and Old Bay Seasoning {recipe didn't call for Old Bay, but I think it is needed}

We had ours with fresh bread from the bakery the first night and found that it complimented a steak very well last night. It really is surprisingly easy for a week night meal or would be perfect as a first course at a dinner party. Go ahead and impress your loved ones with this tonight!

Bennett vs The Spoon

As many a second child, Bubba just wants to keep up with what his big brother is doing. His latest obsession revolves around mealtime: I must use the spoon. B ate baby food for maybe a month but was so determined to feed himself, that we basically skipped straight to finger foods. But my boy loves yogurt (and refuses to be fed) so over the weekend, we decided to grant his ultimate baby wish of by giving him a bowl and spoon all to himself.

 Good thing I decided to discard the clothes ahead of time.

 Ah, screw it.

Weekend Review: Ah, Warm Weather

I probably talk about the weather way too much on this blog and I am aware of that. But when you are an East Coaster transported to a place with no seasons, it becomes a fascination. And for the first time since we moved here last July, I got a sunburn and loved every second of it.

Before the sun, we started off with a little Friday afternoon wrestling. The boys' favorite time of day is when Kev gets home.

On Saturday, we had a very non-glamorous morning cleaning out the garage, followed by an afternoon at the beach.

My boys love the water so much. I don't know what we will do when we can no longer see the ocean from our house.

Cullen and Bennett received their very own Louisville Sluggers from Uncle Chris and Ms Katie and although Chris intended them to be mementos, Cullen took his straight to the beach.

He also found a colony of lady bugs, which kept him pre-occupied for a long time.

Meanwhile, Bennett achieved official Beach Bum status by drinking his ba-ba sandy-handed.

We attempted some cute family pics. They turned out cute in their own way.

Sunday was Church, followed by train time outside. We finally figured out a way to keep Bubba from wrecking the tracks.

Before we head off into the week, one more shot of our pretty view

And my own little Coppertone Baby.

How was your weekend?