My Toddling Toddler

Is he officially a toddler when he starts walking or is it when he hits a certain age?  Anyway here is a really bad video that I took on my phone of Zack walking...

and to explain...
I don't know what happened to the sound.
Zack was upset because I made him do this several times and teased him because once he got to me he figured he could play with the phone. 
Sorry about the shaking...I was watching him and not the camera.

Zack's Easter Basket

Easter Baskets are EXPENSIVE...or cheap looking.  I hate things to look cheap and I hate for things to be super generic.  I took advantage of Michaels 60% off baskets sale (a long time ago) and bought several of these very un-eastery baskets:

I call them apple picking baskets...these will not be Easter Egg hunting baskets (I have another project in mind for that but am waiting for the sale...maybe by next Easter) because they have rough edges.  I love that they have soooooo much potential...I mean there is no where to go but up.
I bought the cheapest paint ($.50 a bottle), a few spools of ribbon, and a wooden letter Z.  I put 3 coats on the outside and 1 1/2 on the inside (I figured the grass would cover the bottom part).

I hot glued ribbon, using the wrapped wood as my guide.

and hot glued the Z...

Oh and because it is pretty Holiday neutral it was perfect for holding favors at Zack's birthday party

Not too shabby...well sort of shabby in a cute way.  The best part is the colors aren't too bright...making it a perfect addition to my Easter decor and the colors aren't pastel (I have a major problem with things that are too pastel).  The other best part...the whole project cost me under $10 plus I have almost 2 whole spools of ribbon left over for other crafts!
I liked it so much I painted baskets for Adam and I...I figured when we have another kid I can decorate the basket for them and Zack and #2 have matching personal baskets made with love from their mommy :)

Ups and Downs

We had a rough week...Zack was super winy, had no appetite (other than bananas) and not taking naps or sleeping through the night...very strange for Zack.  One day he took an extra long nap and when he woke up was so unhappy that I had to walk and bounce him for an hour...which was fine when he was a 5 lb newborn but it wasn't so easy as a 20+ lb 11 month old.  Thursday and Friday I canceled our play dates thinking that if we were home he could get a nap at a proper time in his bed.  It usually doesn't bother him to fall asleep early or late in his car seat he is pretty flexible and can even function if I have to get him up from a nap after 10 min.  I figured he was going through a growth spurt or teething (which didn't make sense because it never seemed to bother him before).  I know that we all have bad days but a week? My mom came Thursday which was wonderful!  My dad joined on Friday and they spent the night...it was really nice to be able to take a rest while they played with little man.  I think what made last week even more difficult was my lack of weekend...Adam helped friends of ours move and Sunday we had family birthday dinner...both were great but I lost my tag team parenting days. 
I started to wonder if Zack's unhappiness had to do with my exhaustion and of course felt guilty (can't help it I'm a mom I feel guilt).  It made me feel so much better that he was still miserable with my parents and Adam around...is that bad?  Sunday I decided to take his temperature...I didn't before because he always feels warm to me...well it was 101!  Did he have a fever the whole time?  more guilt.  I called the doctor Monday morning and they recommend bringing a baby in if they have a 100.4 temp or higher for 72 hours...more guilt.  When they asked about his appetite I said it didn't jump out as a problem because his appetite has been changing by the meal...more guilt...why didn't I notice anything?  Oh did I mention that Adam took my car on Wednesday because he had a flat tire and I have been without a car since Sunday because on the way home from church my car went crazy...so crazy that we had to have the car towed from one repair shop to the dealership because they couldn't figure out the problem.  You know it's bad when the guy from repair shop #1 called me and wants me to call him once we figure out the problem because apparently all his workers were totally confused.
Today Zack woke up without a fever and with a huge smile...its funny how this one week made me wonder if reality finally set in...maybe my baby isn't as perfect as I thought,  Its even more funny how one toothy grin can make you forget a bad week and realize that Zack couldn't be more amazing...and I know this is my reality.  I am truly blessed!

The More Things Change The More They Stay The Same

I have been thinking a lot about the past year as I have been planning (I may have gone a bi overboard) Zack's first birthday party.  I love looking at all the old pictures and I had to snap this shot of Zack the other day:

you may be thinking...what is so special about this shot...Z looks super uncomfortable and doesn't it hurt your neck to look at?  When I saw my sick little boy scoot himself into this position it reminded me of this:

The only reason that onsie fits him is the over sized newborn diaper...was he really ever this small?

Less than a week old and would scoot himself onto this position every time he snuggled with Adam.

Zack in the grass...

I love that I can throw on flip flops, put Zack n short sleeves and go outside and play.  Zack usually is very excited every time we walk out the door...today however he did not enjoy the grass.  This may be mean but I got his suffering on video and now I am sharing it with all of you!

Just to show you we didn't torture him all day here we are finally off the grass and at the playground down the street:

Is cement really better than grass?

"come on mommy"

there were big kids playing under the bridge

you know it was a good time when you come home with a hole in your jeans

Why A New Recipe Each Week?

Ok so I sort of explained my reasoning in my new years post, however I neglected to tell you another reason.  I love cooking and I LOVE cookbooks.  I think I am generally a good cook...I mean I don't cook anything super fancy but who wants that for dinner every night anyway?
I would like you to take a look at just SOME of the sauces we keep in our fridge that Adam pulls out with almost every meal we eat...

the only reason we only have 5 sauces now is because I limit the amount I will keep in the refrigerator at a given time.  Adam is a sauce lover...and puts some sort of sauce on just about everything (I exaggerate a little but not too much).  He even put sauce on the buffalo chicken sandwich that already was soaking in buffalo sauce and topped with ranch dressing.  My goal is to make a meal that is sooooooo good on its own that it needs no help with sauce.  Adam says it has nothing to do with how my food tastes he just likes sauces...and yes he puts several sauces on his plate and mixes and matches on the hunt for the perfect combination.  Does anyone else cook for a sauce lover?  Whats their favorite recipe?

National Margarita Day!

Did you know last Wednesday was National Margarita day?  Well I heard it on the news and instantly changed our meal plans for dinner and took Zack on his first trip to the ABC store...milestone?...no?
I decided to save the baked chicken and roasted potato's for a night that didn't have such and exciting drink.  I even went to the grocery store without coupons and picked up some green tomato's (do you see where I am going with this?) and corn on the cob.  I have wanted to make fried green tomato's FOREVER but I don't like to cook fried food at home...fried food is a treat for when you eat out...let someone else deal with the fry smell and the dirty grease.  Since I was already frying tomato's, I fried my homemade chicken tenders...I usually bake them so I guess my fried chicken can count as a new recipe also.  Why chicken tenders and not chicken legs?  I have an issue with meat on the bone...how I survived in China I will never know.
Anyway the fried tomato's were AWESOME (and totally worth the lingering fry smell).
Oh and the corn on the cob...I roasted them with chili powder and made the dip I found on pinterest.  It is a HONEY CHILI BUTTER...need I say more?
And the inspiration...

the plan was to make a Jalapeno Margarita recipe found here...but I realized that it is really expensive to buy the alcohol separate so I ended up buying the pre made...I figured it would be worth it if I drank on a regular basis...and after the AMAZING nights sleep I got that night I think I may have to be an alcoholic beverage at night kind of girl.

and the biscuits...Pillsbury...if you read the first page of Paula Deen's book that is sitting on my shelf she says don't bother making from scratch.  She put her stamp of approval on Pillsbury's and that is good enough for me!