Month: April 2013

Whoa, I hadn’t realized how long it’s been since I last blogged! Time flies, right? Well let’s just jump right back in, shall we?

Things are going well here on my end. The last couple weeks were just busy, busy… The concert I was helping plan was held on Saturday and it was (at least in my opinion), a success. Unfortunate that more parents didn’t attend (after all, it’s a fundraiser for all the 5th grade students), but that didn’t really surprise any of us. Those of us who did volunteer, donate, participate, and attend, however, had a great time! Drew played a few songs, and then closed out his set by playing a duet with Jake. How great were they? (Warning: there is a loud cheer from this mama at the beginning of the video).

There was a silent auction as part of the fundraiser, too, and we won a trumpet for Noah and I totally treated myself to a wonderful basket of Harney & Sons tea and goodies.

Saturday was ALSO Drew’s 40th birthday, so it was extra fun 🙂 We gave him a Vintage 1973 t-shirt, a copy of This is 40, and a gift certificate to his favorite music shop.

Sunday we drove down to have brunch at Crabtree’s Kittle House with Drew’s family. His brother and sister-in-law drove up from NC for the occasion, so we all really enjoyed catching up.

This week has been pretty low-key now that those big events are done and over with. Well, until about 6:50 this morning, that is. Drew was just heading out the door to work when the phone rang. Ugh, it was the school messenger service alerting us that the bus drivers went on strike. The poor middle and high school kids were already at the bus stops waiting! A neighbor and I worked out morning transportation because both of our sons had an early morning program and then our 2nd graders of course had to get to school too. So we divided up the kids so we weren’t going back and forth a bunch of times. Yeah, so it was not exactly a relaxing morning!

Let’s see, what else. . .

I’ve been doing a little baking:::

And a little crochet:::

And a little knitting, too:::

I also was lucky enough to win a soy candle in a tea cup from Dagmar’s Home as a UBP13 prize! It’s so pretty, I just love it! Goes quite well with all the Harney goodies, don’t you think?

I’m looking forward to the weekend. Jake and his Boy Scout troop are participating in a canoe derby on Saturday morning (fun!!!) and then I think my parents might visit on Sunday (yay!!!) and the weather is supposed to be nice to top it all off!

Hope all is well with you and I really don’t plan to be away so long again!

Finally we had a taste of spring! I took full advantage of the sunshine and mild temperatures. I flung open all the windows, dug out my flip-flops, and spent as much time as possible outside.

I’d been waiting for a day like this so I could wash my curtains and hang them out to dry (oh, how I miss my clothesline in the cold weather). They were plenty dusty from the winter. Tomorrow I’ll have to iron everything, but… that’s OK.

Laura and I ate our lunch outside on the deck. I can’t wait to make this a regular occurrence!

And of course there was plenty of play time, soaking in the sun. We went from the swing set to the driveway and back and forth about a million times.

Although I had so many chores I wanted to do, it was hard not to indulge my little cutie. Judging from the long-range forecast this is the last super-nice day we’ll have for a while. Tomorrow will still be OK for the most part, but then rain, and then it cools off again.

Nope, I’ll be keeping flannel sheets on the bed for a while longer (even though I am so ready to stash them in the linen closet until next fall). Ah, spring in the Northeast is a finicky thing!

Just thought I’d take a minute and drop in to say hello! This week is already off to a busy start. There are just so many activities going on! Though, once next Saturday passes and this school fundraiser I’m working on is done with… well, let’s just say I’ll be a whole lot more relaxed.

Since my mind is going in a million directions, I figured that today I’d link up with Happy Homemaker Monday.

The weather…..
Well that’s one thing — finally some lovely spring-like weather! Today I actually went outside in jeans and a tee-shirt. I was still a little chilly and could have used a sweater, but… I was too excited about temps in the 60s.

Right now I am….
Slummin’ it in yoga pants and getting ready to make a cup of tea, grab a little something sweet, and call it a night. I am beat!

Thinking….
About this fundraiser just being over with already. 😉

On my reading pile….
I’m currently reading Carriers by Patrick Lynch and browsing through The Amish Family Cookbook by Jerry and Tina Eicher. Gotta say… I’m a little disappointed in the cookbook. I don’t know, I just figured the recipes would be a little more wholesome, but there’s an awful lot of canned soup and Velveeta. Even one of the chili recipes calls for “a packet of chili seasoning” instead of their own mix. There are still a few recipes that I’d like to try, though.

On my TV…..
Nothing really. Last night we watched Super 8 which was so, so good. Not really feeling up to starting any new shows, so I think it’ll just be reruns on Netflix of shows I’ve already seen.

Blog hopping (newly discovered blog)….
I’ve been discovering so many fun new blogs thanks to UPB13 — impossible to list them all!

On the menu for this week….
Sunday: Leftovers
Monday: Mushroom Swiss burgers, pasta salad, broccoli
Tuesday: Chicken enchilada soup, baked taquitos, garden salad
Wednesday: Meat sauce over whole wheat pasta, salad
Thursday: Pizza, salad
Friday: Leftovers or sandwiches
Saturday: Chicken picatta, mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, salad

On my to do list….
I actually crossed off quite a few things, but lots of e-mails and phone calls and running around still have to be done.

In the craft basket….
Lacy knit doily (it’s actually a dishcloth pattern, but I’m not going to use it that way, rebel that I am!)

Looking forward to this week….
Friday night — it’s knit night at the library, and though I’m actually working, it will still be fun to see everyone!

Looking around the house….
There are still toys that should be put away, but… I’ll deal with it tomorrow.

From the camera….
What I did while making dinner: noting “to dos” and menu ideas in the planner, as well as things I need to remember.

Hope your week is off to a great start!

I hope you all enjoyed a lovely and meaningful Easter with your family! And if you don’t celebrate Easter, I hope you had a wonderful weekend. This year we headed down to Drew’s mom’s for Easter, and it was a very nice, laid-back day.

Poor Jake wasn’t feeling the greatest, but the boys still looked totally cute in their khakis and jackets. Both Jake and Noah actually wanted to wear ties — ha! And I thought Laura looked so sweet in this dress she got for her birthday last year. Perfectly springy!

Drew brought his new guitar and was able to play for everyone without a zillion distractions. While I love hosting holidays at our house, it’s so hard to try to really relax when you are a host, so he really had fun. I think you can tell that from this photo, too. I love it; it’s just him if that makes any sense!

My mother-in-law and her sister, as always, cooked us a wonderful dinner. They picked up a sweet Italian Easter bread at the bakery and oh my word was it ever delicious!

The rest of the meal was fabulous, as well… baked ham, scalloped potatoes, sweet potatoes, asparagus, and cole slaw. I was stuffed! But of course I left room for dessert 😉

As is tradition, the kids had a little egg hunt in my MIL’s yard. The boys were great — they let their little sister get most of the eggs.

And we even managed to get a semi-decent family photo, too! That is no easy task, LOL…

By the time we got home last night, everyone was just so exhausted. I got into bed around 8, put on the TV, and I am pretty sure I was out cold by 8:30.

Today it was right back into the swing of things, although lucky for me we were sent home with a ton of leftovers so dinner is pretty much ready to go 🙂 Hope your week is off to a great start!