2 parties 2 many

We had 2 birthday parties to go to today. Maxwell hit overload by the second.

We hit a hasty retreat.

We are now chilling with Blues Clues and calming down while momma here tries to get rid of a massive migraine. OMSH!

Photos:
Unwinding with Elmo.
Trying to cut using a spoon and knife.
Loving the Elmo cupcake!

Never too young to start!

Grillin' mama!

This mama likes to grill. Our old one was probably 10 years old, the grates were full of rust and the single burner was disintegrating!

So after the hubs and I talked he sent ME off to Sears to find my heart's desire (well within budget of course)!

Here she is. A 5 burner, searing and rotisserie grilling machine!

My dad and I got it put together in less than 2 hours (while Maxwell was napping).

Oh boy, does this grill work great! Wowza!!

Kiddo

My son keeps me busy, brings me joy, makes me learn patience and makes me sad that my house will never be truly clean again.

I love you kiddo.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Harry Potter

So I just got notice today that the new JK Rowling Harry Potter site, Pottermore, is live! If you haven't gone to it or heard about it, its really pretty cool.

There's lots of things to explore- little tidbits she imparts for various parts of each of the books. Plus you can buy the eBooks for each book (or a bundle of all 7) that work with each major eBook carrier.

I think the bundle for all 7 was around $57.

I loved the books, as well as the movies, so its nice to finally have them on my Kindle.

Southwest kicken chicken pasta

Y'all this is yummy! And also my first experiment into cooking from taste (aka no recipe). It worked out nicely if I say so myself!

Flip side

While I'm thankful for the pain relief that I get from my hip medicine, the flip side is that I gain insane amounts of weight. Ive been taking it consistently for the last 3 weeks and gained 6 lbs (possibly more, since I had shed a little before that from the last round).

Not fun in any case but especially as we go into swim/ shorts season.

Sigh.

Chillin'

It's been sprinkling on/off. So while I clean up around the house and prep dinner, Maxwell gets cozy and is watching Nick Jr

2.5

Today Maxwell is 2 and a half. I can't believe how fast the time flies. It seems like just yesterday that I had this big baby and now he's changing into such a big boy.

Sam and I are do lucky to have such a great kiddo.

Mmmm cheese sticks!

Decided to break down and make some cheese sticks at home for Maxwell like the pizzerias serve. Actually all 3 of us devoured this super fast! It's that good.

I don't have a pizza stone but I'd read a tip on Pinterest to just use the backside of a sheet pan. Worked like a charm.

I don't have the time/energy these days to make my own dough- I just buy the pre-made dough at Trader Joe's.

Pre-heat your oven to 500*F.

Make your own dough or use the ready made stuff like me. If your dough is chilled, let the dough get close to room temp. (~20 min) Spread out and roll it to your desired shape and thickness.

Place it on your pizza stone/pan.

Take a couple (2) tablespoons of butter and melt in the microwave. Add some finely minced garlic if you like that. Spread it over the entire pizza dough- including the crust.

Add equal parts of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. I purchased the pre-shredded low skim mozzarella and parm from Trader Joe's while I was there. I used probably 1 1/2-2 cups each.

Place it in your oven for 10-13 min. Check to see when the cheese is gold n bubbly. Take it out, slice and enjoy.

Sorry, I can't get blogger to turn the picture correctly.

Ginger Soy Salmon

I saw this recipe on Pinterest a while ago and decided to give it a go. It was excellent!

I slightly altered mine from the recipe (click the picture link below) by not adding the scallions or the toasted sesame. But that was the only real change I made.

It was totally excellent.  I'll be making this again for sure!

Recipe here: 

Source: howsweeteats.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Lovely day

Sunday was a lovely warm day here. We headed out to have lunch. Maxwell decided he wanted to eat his PB&J with a fork.

Silly kiddo!

Little things

It's the little things that make me happy :)

Now Max's plates have something to keep them organized.

Refresh!

I took this morning to repaint the front door and the hardware.

The door used to be maroon with brass hardware.

1 can of paint & 1 can of spray paint took care of that!

I love it so much better!

Easter!

I forgot to put up Easter pics. Bad mommy!

Building!

So smart

Max, you know keys make mommy and daddy's cars go. So, rightfully you were looking for a place for your keys to fit to make your car go.

Very frustrating to you when it didn't start.

You're so cute!

Sharing

Max is trying to share his cheese puffs with Marco and Gio.

Doesn't show in this shot but he was holding one out to Marco's nose to see if he'd eat it.

Sharing.

Cute.


He also tucked Marco under his favorite blanky for a 'nigh nigh.'

Thrifty finds!

I love digging around the thrift store for some great items.

Today's find: silver bucket from PB!

This Pottery Barn lovely was so tarnished! All it needed was a little Bar Keepers Friend and a slight amount of elbow grease and look at her now.

As good as new! And a bargain at $5!

The pictures don't do her justice! She's gleaming y'all!

Hi

He's saying "hi mommy"!

Accident!

Max was at a friend's house Monday. They live sorta in the country, so they have a gravel driveway. He tripped and fell. He landed face first onto the sharp gravel rocks. :(

(warning slightly graphic pics!)

I took him into the ER- he got 4 stitches. Total trooper! He was more upset by being wrapped up in a cocoon to keep him from wiggling than he was about the stitches. Hence the sweaty photo right after that was done.
All he wanted was that grape Popsicle the nurses were telling him about as they were stitching him up! Haha!

He hasn't been bothered by or even noticed what's going on with the cut or the swelling/bruising.

Totally looks worse than it is!!!
He's totally fine! We go Monday to get the stitches removed.

FEYA

Sam won an award this year! Federal Engineer of the Year!!! He represented HHS- NIH (Health and Human Services- National Institutes of Health).

There were winners from each branch of the US Government (including military).

It was held at the National Press Club here in DC. We had a great time!
Sam was very honored to have been chosen amongst a really impressive group of his peers.

Bringing down the house

So this morning Maxwell decided to bring down the house. Or specifically, a corner bookcase.

Sigh!

After I got him calmed down, I put him in his high chair with powdered donuts, M&M's and his blanket and turned on the TV to keep him occupied while I cleaned up the mess. You'd think from his wailing that I had just tortured him.

Sigh.

Couple large gashes in my previously perfect floor.

Sigh.

Mom can't catch a break around here.

It is Pi day?

Well apparently its Pi day. As in the 3.14 pie.

Weird.

Well I was planning on making pie anyways so hey, it looks like we're celebrating!

We're having chocolate pudding pie and sausage/pepper/bean stew thing.
Smells good and tastes good too!

Six inches

Here's me- minus about 6 inches of hair!

It's a lovely warm spring day here today in DC. Hence my tank top!

About 75 degrees, sunny and a slight breeze.
Can't ask for more perfect weather!