Things I have been doing instead of blogging…

Increasing my chalk art prowess

Perfecting my fort building (don't be jealous of our mad skills)

Picking flowers in the back yard. 

Reading books to Yoda.

Chilling at the park in Blue Ash

Interviewing house painters and concrete companies (get ready for a kick ass outdoor entertaining space this summer).

Attempting to make friends with other stay-at-home moms. I say “attempt” because my son isn’t against the adult friends I am making, it’s their pint sized companions they bring with them. Any suggestions on getting a toddler to enjoy other toddlers is very welcome.

Planned and executed a super successful lock in and camp out for the kids at church (post and pictures about said trip to come, once I get parent permission to use a few of the pictures that were taken and an awesome Harlem Shake video).

My husband and I survived our first trip to the emergency room. Ezra fell on Easter and hit his head on the corner of a baseboard. He required three stitches. Baby Boy did much better than I did. We sat in the exam room long enough that the numbing ointment worked well enough that he didn’t feel the stitches at all. He wasn’t a huge fan of us holding him down to get the stitches but then again he has never been a fan of being confined in any way. Getting the stitches out was a different story. It took four adults to hold down this 18 month old toddler. Again, the pediatrician insisted that he was not in pain however you could have fooled me.

We are approaching our Gatlinburg trip and I couldn’t be more ready for a vacation with friends. The trip idea began when my bff wanted to celebrate finishing her Master’s Degree and passing her licensure exam. We decided on Gatlinburg mainly because my husband and I have been there 2 or 3 times since we have been married and it’s a nice, fairly inexpensive place to spend a weekend in the mountains. We have used Auntie Belham’s Cabin Rentals for the majority of our trips however this time we are renting a VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner). I will give a full report on the trip once we get back. VRBOs are a little less expensive from what I’ve seen and hopefully we all have a great time.

Until Next Time...

Sarah

Call off the Search!

Yes, I’m alive. Yes, I know it’s been forever since I’ve written. Yes, I know that I’m a terrible blogger and should just forget about the whole thing. Now that that is out of the way here are a few things I have accomplished since my last entry.

1.      Mastered a yeast roll recipe that hasn't been reproduced in 25 years. I was beginning to believe that this recipe was a conspiracy. However one inedible and three slightly less inedible batches of yeast rolls and 20 pounds of flour later I produced a batch of rolls so beautiful I cried (no joke, I was beginning to place my self worth in the result of these rolls).

2.       Successfully made it through the holidays (3 Thanksgivings, one of which I made all myself and 5 Christmases)

3.       Hosted a New Year’s Eve Party.

4.       With my newfound confidence in bread baking, I began exploring other recipes and now make bread for communion at church.

5.       Began couponing (not extreme couponing, but enough to save us $30-$50 a month).

6.        Learned how to play and dominate my husband in Canasta. For the record he won’t play with me anymore unless we are partners.

7.       Made 7 scarves.

8.       Learned how to knit using a loom.

9.       Bought a beautiful new sectional couch.

10.   Learned how to sneak vegetables into my son’s food, thanks to a wonderful cookbook called Deceptively Delicious.

11.   Planned and booked a weekend getaway for all our friends in May.

12.   Started counting calories.

13.   Filed our taxes.

14.   Made plans to spend/save our awesome tax return.

15.   Maintained a clean house and happy spouse and child.

And my most proud accomplishment…

16.   Lost nine pounds. Woohoo!

Things in the future that I will share:

1.       Our weekend trip away in May.

2.       The tale of how my husband and I took 8+ children camping (that is of course, if we survive).

3.       My son’s future antics.

4.       My future weight loss. Nine pounds is great but the goal is 20 pounds by May and 35 pounds by July.

5.       My visit to Joseph Beth Booksellers to meet Jenny Lawson aka The Bloggess.

Until next time,

Sarah