A night out with friends

Last night we celebrated two of our friends' birthdays.  It was a lot of fun.  I wish I took more pictures (more meaning more than one).  When I'm in a group, I have a harder time remembering to take photos.  And it's probably not wanting to inconvenience anyone either.  None of us are big picture-takers anyway.

Well, to celebrate we went to a local brewery we have been meaning to try.  It was delicious!  I got a burger, no bun or cheese, but it was still the most amazing burger I've ever had.  After dinner, we split up.  The girls headed to Starbucks for some treaters (treater = a drink that comes from Starbucks), and the boys got themselves some beer.  We met back at our place and just hung out for hours.  It may seem a little boring for a birthday celebration, but that's our favorite thing to do.

While we were hanging out, one of the birthday boys showed us some glasses he was send to try on.  In true girl fashion, we all tried them on.  And here is where my one picture comes in.

Aren't we cute?  We just like to have fun.  You know, like the song.

Today, if the weather cooperates, I am going to hit up a block sale.  Maybe I'll even find some treasures. Happy Saturday!

Okay, time for some photos of the kiddos

I just got an email this week that our 6-month post placement report is due in just a few short weeks.  Crazy!  I have to get that scheduled asap.  I can't believe it's almost been 6 months.  For any adoption novices out there, a post placement report means a social worker will come to our house and see how the boys are adjusting and how they have attached to us as parents.  Our agency and the country just want to know that the boys are well taken care of, and that they are in a loving environment.  It's nothing to worry about, just a reason to deep clean the entire house :)

Since the boys have been wetting through their diapers lately, they have been spending a lot of time in minimal clothing.  This helps to lessen the amount of laundry and makes for some fun, half naked photos.

Atticus has been developing such a personality.  He is still super laid back, but there are now moments when he gets a little feisty.  And more personality comes with more faces.  I love this one.

Ah. Probably one of the last photos we will have with him and his thumb.  It's a little bittersweet.

 

Baxter is still all over the place, exploring EVERYTHING.  So, I wasn't surprised when he came over to see what momma was sewing.

He's also been exploring the new location for our desk while the slider is being finished.  I think it's funny that he is under the desk, yet on top of the walker.

Oh, and I think my love for working out has rubbed off early.  He's already practicing his planks :)

Now that they're getting bigger, it's getting harder to keep them entertained inside.  Looks like we are going to have to take more outings.  Thankfully we are heading into summer.  As long as this rain doesn't keep coming.  But it looks like we're getting sunshine today.  I hope it's sunny where you are, wherever that it.

New Food: Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Although this isn't a new meal, making homemade spaghetti sauce was new to me.  And surprisingly, very, very easy.  As with most normal food, I can't eat it.  Those Italians, they like to put garlic in a lot of stuff, including every type of pasta sauce.  So that is why I decided to make my own sauce.

If you want to try it yourself, you can get the original recipe HERE.

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2 tsp crushed garlic
28 oz can peeled and diced tomatoes
4 tsp dried basil
4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp white sugar

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat.  Saute onion, green onion, and garlic. 

When onions are clear, stir in tomatoes, basil, oregano and sugar.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.

While all that was going on, I was cooking quinoa pasta, browning ground turkey, and heating water for tea.  Yep, I had every burner running simultaneously.

After everything was finished, the only thing left to do was eat.

Not too difficult, and it tasted good.  At least I thought so :)

Shoes & Visits

Yesterday I wore the flats I found thrifting.  I was super excited to wear them, since I have a similar pair in tan that I wear constantly.  After 20 minutes, I knew that they weren't going to be the staple that I was hoping they would be.  And after 45 minutes, I realized that I wasn't going to wear them at all.  By the time I got back home, blistered had developed and broke, in about four places.  Talk about disappointed.  I had such high hopes for these shoes and now they are no more.  So farewell sweet shoes, I guess we were just not meant to be.

In other, more exciting news, my sister-in-law is coming home from California for a visit.  We miss her, and all of the other family living there, so much and look forward to their visits.  She is only in town for the weekend, but I know we are going to see her a lot.  She absolutely loves the boys, and they just adore her.  I will do my best to continue to post and take photos.  Tonight we have dinner with everyone to celebrate her birthday.  It's next week.

Hooray for visits from family!  Do you live near your family?  Do you have family that lives out of state or are you the one who moved?

Girl time, warmer weather, and possible diaper solution

Last night I got to go out for coffee with one of my best friends.  Monday nights are when we get to go out kidless.  Our favorite place to go is Barnes & Noble.  We love reading magazines, along with partaking in the delicious Starbucks coffee.  Last night we didn't move from our table for almost 4 hours.  We talked, caught up on all the celebrity gossip, and even worked on some shower decorations we are throwing for a friend. 

Anytime Eric asked about what we do, he is usually stunned by my answer.  "4 hours?!  What could you possibly have to talk about for 4 hours?!"  And that is actually one thing we talked about last night.  We talked about how therapeutic it can be to spend so much time just talking with someone we're close with.  And it's okay if Eric doesn't understand.  I cherish that time so much, that no amount of disbelieve will make me enjoy it any less.


I checked the weather today, and it says it's supposed to be 66 degrees.  Man oh man, does that make me excited.  The only downside is that it's also supposed to rain all day.  Rain or not, it's warming up and we are all too eager for it to do so.  Time to break out the t-shirts!

Oh, and I visited our local clothe diaper store and got some advice about what to do about the boys.  I now have to double up on the inserts that go inside their diaper covers.  There are a couple of other options too, but this one won't cost me anything so I figured it was best to start there.  The poor boys though.  They are used to having giant butts when they go to bed, but now a big booty will be a staple.  But as long as it keeps momma happy, and sane, right?

Weekend Wears

I absolutely love reading outfit blog posts.  Actually, who I am I kidding, I love reading blogs in general.  But that's beside the point.  Outfit posts.  I love reading them, and I like doing them (as long as I can take a photo I am happy with).  Which leads me to this post, an outfit post.  Well, more like a weekend of outfits post. 

On Friday, Eric was out of town, but I had to run some errands.  When I actually get out and about, I like to wear something nicer/cuter than if I were home all day.  This outfit was a blend of both.  Comfy jeans, a flowy top, perfect for taking care of the boys, but cute enough to wear out without feeling like a scrub.  And I even managed to wear one of the belts I found thrifting.

Cardigan: Madewell

Top: Forever 21

Jeans: H & M

Belt/Shoes: Thrifted

On Saturday we had an Easter event with my extended family.  It was a lot of fun and the day turned out nice.  Because of the boys' sleeping scheduled, we were not there for the egg hunt, but I wasn't too worried because Baxter and Atticus are still too little to participate. 

I was super excited about this outfit.  The top is one of my recent thrift store finds.  It's actually a skirt, and I just pulled it up and belted it.  The best part is, the skirt has pocket, so if I ever need to hide anything, I can put it by my armpit ;)

Cardigan: Target

Top: Thrifted

Jeggings: Target

Belt: Target

Shoes: Target

On Sunday I went for casual.  We stayed up really late the night before, and so all I wanted was to be able  rest and relax.  We had dinner with Eric's family, but it was pretty low key, so I wasn't under-dressed or anything.

Man, I was really into my recent thrift finds this weekend.  This was the men's shirt that I took in so that it fit.  I think it turned out pretty good.  When I get new clothes, I am always SUPER eager to wear them.  I've been like this since I was little.  And I always made sure to wear what I liked best on a day where a lot of people would see it.  Do you ever do that, or am I just a bit crazy?

Top: Thrifted

Belt: Target

Jeans: Nordstrom Rack

Shoes: Thrifted

All in all it was a nice weekend.  I wish the weather would have been a little bit better, but we're getting there slowly but surely. 

What did you do this weekend?  Lots of running and family events or was your weekend low key and relaxing?

Lazy Sunday

This morning we're taking it pretty easy.  Eric and I stayed up WAY to late last night, and are now spending most of the morning trying to find motivation. But it was such a good time, we're not complaining.  Great friends, having great conversation is always worth it.  Now we're just tired.

Thankfully, our day is pretty low-key, dinner with family, and then a movie with some friends. 

What did you do this weekend?  Stay up too late?  Go to bed early?

Thrifted Treasures - Alterations

Eric has been gone this week, which allows a lot more time to get things done after the boys go to bed (I'm not one for watching a movie by myself).  Anyway, all this time to myself allowed me to bust out all the alterations I have been wanting to do, and the stuff I just picked up during my thrifting adventure.

These two shirts have been around the house for a while, waiting to be altered.  The first one is a men's shirt I found at a Goodwill.  The polo is one that Eric was going to get rid of, and I thought, why not.  I could totally wear that.

And then here are my recent finds.  The skirts I needed to hem up and the shirt was another men's that needed to be taken in everywhere.

For the most part, I sewed at night.

But there were a few moments during naps where I could actually sew in the daylight.

I sewed, then had to remove stitches and resew.  I am not a very good seamstress, but I make it work.

After two days of late nights, and working during naps, the clothes were finished!  All I have to do now is take a few pictures with them on so you can all see how they turned out.

They are waiting patiently to be styled with an outfit, and hopefully this week I can make their clothing dreams come true.

Oh, and it's Easter tomorrow.  Crazy!  We have a family party this afternoon with all my cousins and their kids, so I will be sure to take and post some photos.  And tomorrow we will be having dinner with Eric's family.  What do you do for Easter?  Is it mostly immediate family gathering or do you see your extended family?

Diapering Dilemma

Today has been rough day in the diaper department.  Since the boys have come home, we have used Flip Diapers, and besides having to use extra protection at night, they have been great.  But recently, the boys have started to drink a lot more liquid during the day.  This is a good thing.  It's just that they are wetting through an hour or so after I change them.  I really hate the idea of using disposable, but I also don't want to spend the hundreds of dollars it would cost to change over to a different line of diapers.  So there is my dilemma, keep what I have and change diapers every 1-2 hours, use disposable, or switch to a different type of clothe diaper.  I think I am going to stop at a local baby shop tomorrow that has TONS of clothe diaper options and see what advice they can offer.

If anyone has any ideas or advice, please let me know.  I am almost at the end of my "rope" with these diapers.  Thanks :)

Thrifting Treasures

On Wednesday, my mother-in-law came over and watched the boys during the day.  I took the opportunity to spend some time thrifting.  I've been wanting to thrift shop for a while now, and this week offered the perfect chance.

I started at one of my favorite spots, World Mission Thrift.  If you're local to Grand Rapids, you should definitely check it out.  They have tons of stuff and it's almost always super cheap.  From there, I went to a Goodwill, and then the Salvation Army.  My stop of Goodwill was the only unsuccessful endeavor. 

But for only having success two places, I think I did quite well.

I purchased three skirts, two that I am going to hem and one that I am going to wear as a top.  I also got three belts, a pair of shoes and a men's button up shirt that I will hopefully alter to my size.

And I even found a shirt for Eric!  Hopefully it fits and he likes it.  If not, I'll just take it in and wear it myself :)  Oh, and I found  a pair of jeans, two pairs of shorts and two shirts for the boys; all for $5.  I love thrifting!

My goal is to alter all of the my items, including a couple I have been putting off too.  Once I have done that, I am going to have a picture-heavy post of how everything turned out.  But first, I am going to have to dust off the sewing machine.

New Food: Mango Chicken Chili

Finally, here it is!  Mango chicken chili.  And it was definitely worth waiting for.  It was delicious, and I could eat it, which was the best part.

The chili recipe didn't call for homemade mango salsa, but I couldn't eat any of the options at the store, so I made my own.  So today, you get two recipes.  The mango salsa and the chicken chili.

If you want to check out the original salsa recipe, you can find it HERE.

Mango Salsa

1 Mango - peeled, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 green onion, chopped
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 fresh jalapeno chile pepper, finely chopped
 2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp lemon juice

In a medium bowl, mix mango, red pepper, green onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice and lemon juice.  Cover and allow to sit at least 30 minutes before serving.

I don't have a link for the chili because it came from a kids magazine called Kiwi.  I looked, but it's not listed online.  Although, they have a lot of recipes online too, so you should head on over to see what you can find.

Mango Chicken Chili

2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 large sweet potato (about 1 lb) peeled, and cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1-16 oz jar mango salsa
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chili chipotle powder
1 cup canned pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Add chicken, sweet potato, onion, salsa, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and chili chipotle powder to a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker and stir to combine.

Cover and cook on low until sweet potato is tender and chicken is cooked through, about 4 hours.

Stir the pinto beans into the slow cooker and cover until the beans hear through, about 5 minutes.  Serve over brown rice and top with shredded cheese.

Well, there you have it.  Mango chicken chili, and mango salsa.  And if you ever try any of the recipes I post here, I'd love to hear how they turned out.