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Kole
10.06.11

My boyfriend


18 months old.
Crazy busy.  Crazy messy.  Crazy adorable.  

Longs to be outside.
Favorite word is Noooooo!  Also loves to say “No Me No!” and “No Way!”  Which comes out more like “No Whey!”  It stands for yes, right now, let’s go, all done, I’m happy, and of course, no way.  

Loves to feed himself.  
Loves to see how far he can chuck his food when he’s done feeding himself.  
Directions to all babysitters: “keep feeding him until he starts chucking his food.”

Thinks he’s pretty amusing.
Actually is pretty amusing.  :) 
A charmer.  Flirts like his daddy.  

Totally content to play in princess tents.  Also plays with Polly Pockets, mermaids, and sparkly shoes.  
Loves to be cuddled and held.  
Follows his mommy around all. day. long.  
Does the dishes like no one’s business.  
And the laundry.  
Places one hand on his other arm to soothe himself.  It looks like he’s folding his arms in an attempt to be reverent.
Loves to be rocked and held before bed.  
He holds sooo still for fear that if he moves a muscle rock time will come to a screeching halt.  Then he peeks up at mom often and smiles.  He know this melts her heart and she will keep on rocking.
Total mamma’s boy.  
Mom wouldn’t have it any other way.  
Sleeps with his feet crossed and his little bottom up in the air.
Mom thinks this is incredibly adorable and takes pictures of him sleeping often.
  
Great conversationalist.  

But knows how to text if he’s not in the mood for chit chat.  
Walks, but still prefers crawling when he wants to get somewhere fast.  CRAZY fast when he crawls. 
Can probably crawl faster than most people run.
Loves his sisters so much and gets positively giddy when they are around.

 Claps at himself often.  We’ve all taught him that he’s pretty special stuff.  
Because he is.  :)
xoxo, Erin
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Ellie
10.04.11

Lessons learned

Remember these shoes I bought Ellie a month ago to start school?  And I was SO excited about what a good deal they were?
{shoes at beginning of September…}

{shoes at beginning of October…}

Seriously!!??



Couple lessons learned:

1)  You get what you pay for
2)  Girls play every bit as hard as boys

Looks like shoe shopping is in our near future.  
I can live with that.  :)
xoxo, Erin
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Hair
10.03.11

Let’s talk hair (#2 in the series!)

Ok.  Let’s talk hair.  I have been getting a lot of e-mails/comments about my hair lately.  You are all incredibly kind and the reason I haven’t cut my hair in so long.  Yes – I’m blaming the fact that I haven’t changed my hair in the past three years on my blog readers!  I used to mix things up and get a new hairstyle every year.  Lately whenever I decide I’m going to chop it all off and go for a new look I get a sweet e-mail or blog comment about my hair!  And it makes me decide to keep it like this a little longer.  So thanks for that.  I think.  ;)  Seriously though – I have the nicest readers and I really want to answer your questions.  So many of you have asked about how I style it, maintain it, what products I use and I just wanted to let you know that at some point I will do a post on my hair.  I actually did a “let’s talk hair” post a year ago, but it probably wasn’t that helpful in really showing you how I style it so the plan is to do a better/updated one in the near future.  I just need to figure out how!  I can’t take pictures of myself doing my hair (although attempting that would be good for a laugh!)  so I need to recruit a few friends to help and I need to find time during the day to make this happen.  Not an easy feat with my current schedule, but I’ll figure something out!  So if you have any specific “hair” questions you want answered, ask them in the comment section of this post and I’ll do my best to answer them.

I did want to take a minute to answer this question I received on last Friday’s post:

“I always read your blog comments too, and everyone always mentions your hair ALWAYS looking nice (they are right), it just dawned on me why your hair ALWAYS looks nice…you live in San Diego!!!  I have vacationed in California a few times and both times that I went to San Diego,  I noticed that all the women looked their best, even in Target.  That is Hollywood/Celeb territory and maybe that is why?  I would love to get your thoughts on this Erin, was it just my perception or do people that live in your area always put on their A game?


Well.  This is a great question and I am more than happy to share my thoughts on this!  Two parts to this question.  First I’ll tell you why I always have my hair done and try to look my best.  Then I’ll give you the scoop on San Diego!  (If you’re sticking around for this long winded post now might be a good time to grab a snack… :)

I’m a hair girl.  I care about my hair.  I always have regardless of the city I’m living in.  If I only have 10 minutes to get ready, I do my hair, not my make-up (then I stick on my sunglasses because it’s always sunny here and we wear them year round – best no make-up trick in the book!  Of course you’re in trouble when you step inside…)  My friend Darci and I always joke that we could talk “hair” for hours and we could!  Products, styles, what we do to tame our thick hair.  I enjoy doing my hair and I feel better about myself when it’s done.  When I had my first baby and quit teaching school to stay home with her I fell into a bit of a depression.  I was in a new city with no family around and all of my friends were working.  Ellie was a fussy baby and motherhood was hard and not at all what I pictured.  I stopped caring about what I looked like.  I was packing around baby weight so I wore sweats a lot.  Plus I was covered in baby spit up and who was going to see me anyway?  My big outing of the day was down the street to the grocery store and I didn’t think the produce man really cared.  I got stuck in a bad cycle.  The less I cared, the more depressed I became and the more depressed I became, the less I cared.  I remember walking past my bedroom mirror bouncing my fussy baby one morning.  I saw my reflection in the mirror and started to cry.  Who was that?  I decided in that moment that I was going to get my life back.  I was going to start exercising again.  Start doing my hair and make-up again even if I only had 10 minutes to spend on it.  Start wearing real clothes again – even if I had to buy a few things in bigger sizes until I lost the baby weight.  So I did.  I made myself a priority and I can’t tell you the difference it made.  Even if my only outing for the day was a trip to the grocery store, I held my head up and smiled at people.  If I ran into a neighbor I said hi and was friendly instead of ducking and heading down a different isle.  And most importantly, I was a happier mom.  I was a better person when I took care of myself.  So I learned an important lesson:  You have to take care of yourself for you, not for anybody else.  Do it because of the way it makes you feel.  I have made exercise a priority and taken at least 10 minutes each day to do my hair ever since!

By my third baby I had things figured out.  Hair done = happy mom.   ;)

Now – to really answer your question (sorry I’m so long winded today!)  

Scoop on San Diego.  Yes!  San Diego is ABSOLUTELY a place where people care about their looks and put on their A game.  Southern California — it is its own beast!  Exercise is huge here.  Driving down the street you will always see walkers/joggers/bikers.  If you go to an outdoor mall, a restaruant, or even just to pick up your kids at school, you will see beautiful women everywhere.  (Yes!  Even at Target!)  I love it because it motivates me to exercise and look my best, but it can also be hard because it’s easy to feel inadequate.  I sometimes worry about raising my girls in a city where, especially in certain areas, so much emphasis is placed on looks.  But that is true about our society in general regardless of where you live.  I try really hard to teach my girls how beautiful they are on the inside and what true beauty is all about.  In my opinion that is one of the most important things a mother can teach her daughter.  So no, it was not just your perception!  Women generally do try to look their best in my neck of the woods.  :)


Ok.  If you made it through that marathon of a post I salute you!  And I apologize if now you have no time to check in with other blogs.  If you have a question for me about hair (or anything else for that matter!) let me know.  And thanks again for all of your supportive, uplifting comments and e-mails.  I really wish I would have been blogging when I had Ellie.  It would have helped me so much to hear from other moms going through similar struggles.  You all help me now more than you know!
xoxo, Erin
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fashion2
09.30.11

Fashion Friday

Fashion Friday!  Man these posts creep up quick!  The weeks are flying by.  I can’t believe we’re at the end of September.  Best three months of the year ahead!  Woot Woot!!  Let’s get this party started with a whole lot of green…
I’ve had this green shirt for about two years now and it’s a favorite.  
I’ve had these jeans for about four years now and they’re a favorite.  I’ve had the red shopping cart for about five years now and it’s a favorite.  l’ve had these shoes for about three years now and they are NOT a favorite.  They are so worn out and I’m tired of them but they have the perfect heel and are really comfortable.  I have been trying to replace them forever and can’t find exactly what I’m looking for.  Not a flat, not a heel – just a semi-heel.  (Why is it so hard to find a semi-heel people!!??)  I need something just high enough to keep certain pairs of pants off the floor.  You’ll all be the first to know as soon as I find a replacement.   :)
These jeans are super comfortable and stretchy and I like the pockets on the back (they minimize a certain problem area of mine – ahem).  The brand is called Silver and Nordstroms carries them.  But they were cheap (for Nordstrom standards) – like $60 bucks!  Anyone else own a pair of Silvers?  Great jeans.  
A few more shots in the green shirt because, well, I have some…

Long shirts like this green one come in so handy if you are still in the baby making years.  I wore this one a lot when I was pregnant with Kole.  I’d like to say that I was 6 months along in the pictures above, but I think I was more like 2 months along.  I popped out so fast the third time around!  My sweet niece (on my lap in the picture) turned 4 years old this week!  Happy birthday sweet Claire!  (I’m sure she reads my blog daily and will appreciate the shout out.)  She is having a pony themed party this weekend and my sister and her husband are going to surprise her and bring a real pony to the back yard to give everyone rides.  I am SO sad my girls and I won’t be there!  Times like this make me really bummed I don’t live closer to my family.  If Kole were a little older I would be on a plane in a heart beat.  But I don’t fly with one year olds.  Cardinal rule that can’t be broken.

And here’s another great shot of the green shirt I discovered tonight.  Looks like one of the girls grabbed my camera and shot fast while they had the chance!  Kole is clearly upset because he heard about my cardinal rule and realized that he too won’t be riding a pony this weekend.

Another Forever 21 top I’ve had for awhile!  Wore this last weekend to dinner with friends.  I liked this shirt so much that I bought one in purple too.  :)  Does anyone else ever do that?  Find a shirt you like and buy it in more than one color?  I try not to do it too much but with some shirts I can’t help it.  Especially when they are as cheap as this shirt was ($16).  Funny though, I still find that I end up liking one color better than the other and that is the one I wear over and over.

Wore it with my Italy boots.  Kole is as fond of these boots as I am.  He’s got Ellie’s toothbrush in hand and is ready to give them a good cleaning.  
Speaking of my little man, here he is modeling his camo.  
He is a man on a mission.  With a purse.  
He likes the way his pockets minimize a problem area for him too.
What a stud.  

A little more green!  (You know how I feel about this color!)  This is a fun skirt from Banana Republic.  

I wore it to church last week with this white dress shirt and my black heels.  The white bracelet/watch is
 a favorite of mine from the Fossil Outlet.  

And just a few hours ago I had this on to head to a church activity.  Kenny walked in the door from work and I threw my camera at him and said “Here!  Take my picture fast!  Now take these kids fast!  I’m outta here….”  It was a long day and I was so happy to escape with friends for the evening.  We ate a delicious dinner and then learned all about how to put together 72 hour kits and how to make bread.

My mind may have wandered during the how to make bread part.  Just a tad.   
But it’s ok.  I know a really great bakery just down the street….

Happy Weekend everyone!  
:)

**Linking up at The Pleated Poppy

xoxo, Erin
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Holidays
09.29.11

Small changes/Halloween decor

Sharing a few small changes today!

(BTW – looking for a fun patterned dish towel to put in front of this aqua one…)
I took this simple black basket… 
spray painted it turquoise, and tossed in some fake red pomegranates.  I’ll switch those out for some real ones once they pop up in the grocery store.  Isn’t that a fun sight!?  When pomegranates pop up in the grocery store!  It means Thanksgiving!  Which really means Christmas!  Bring. it. on.  And the binder behind the basket?  I’m sure most would assume that’s a recipe binder.  But this is me we’re talking about.  Not recipes – just my home decor binder.  I stuck it there for now because it’s always out on my counter anyway and I like the pattern on the front.  Still hunting for something fun to permanently display in this corner.  
I took my red mail basket that sits in another corner of the kitchen..
and painted it in my new favorite aqua.  
You may wonder where is all of the mail?

It’s sitting in a lovely pile waiting for Kenny to sort through it.  I set a pile of mail/papers in front of him every few nights to sort through.  He loves it.  It’s his favorite thing to do.  Right up there with hanging things up on the wall and getting family pictures taken.

I also took this red magnet board next to our back door…
taped it off…
and painted it – you guessed it!  AQUA!  I know.  You’re thinking I may be over doing it with this color. Just a tad.  But this was it.  The last thing I’m painting this color.
  This week.  ;)

One last before and after because before and afters are fun.  

{BEFORE}

{AFTER}
I replaced our summer “get out the door list” with some favorite pictures of the girls from past Octobers.  I’m not as far as I wish I was on my October scrapbook (the point of that album was to pull it out every Fall so we could see past Fall pictures) so a quick fix for this year was to hang October pictures on the door!  

The girls love it.  They have spent a lot of time the past few days hanging out by the door looking at the pictures and getting excited for this coming October.  Addie is pointing to her favorite.
The girls love this picture because of Frank (our buddy who shows up in the front yard mid October).  I love this picture because of my girls.  They were 2 & 4 and just look so little to me!  Makes me sad how quickly they are growing up.  :(  I can’t stop to think about that lately or I end up in a puddle of tears.

Corner of the kitchen for October!

We got out our Halloween Advent Calendar!  (Pottery Barn Kids)  I also bought the candy to go in each slot.  I also ate most of the candy that was supposed to go in each slot.  In fact, I’m eating some of the candy that was supposed to go in those slots right now.  For some reason I feel better now that I’ve admitted that.  
I’m really not into too much Halloween decor.  I don’t do the scary thing.  Because well… it scares me.  But I did want to display my “hoot owl” and the girls love our spooky Halloween tree.  

I bought these cute little frames to hang on our tree when I bought my owl.  We make new ornaments for the tree each year so I’m sure these will soon be replaced with little beauties more like these:

Does Halloween decor make your kids want to leap across the furniture?  No?
Just mine huh.  
I still need to get out my fall wreaths which are buried somewhere in the garage.
I still need to decorate the front yard.
I still need to take pics of my hutch if I can stop tweaking it every time I walk by.
I still need to get these fun plates I bought at Z Gallerie up in the kitchen.  
I still need to fill out some school forms, clean out my purse, write tomorrow’s to-do list and take off my make-up before I can go to bed tonight.   
And I still need to put away the candy.  
But at least I wrapped up a few small changes.  :)
xoxo, Erin
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home decor 2
09.27.11

Fall Mantel

I think we may need to name this “decor week” on my blog because I have so many fun changes around my house to share.  Has everyone decked their house for Fall?  So much fun, isn’t it!?  I’m sharing my Fall mantel today and was going to share more of my decor but this post was about to be so overloaded with pictures that I’m going to have to break it up and share the rest tomorrow…and maybe some the day after that.  So!  Without further rambling from me, here is my mantel this year for Fall –

I kept it really clean and simple.  Clean and simple always appeals to me.  I’m sure you’re all so surprised to hear me say that.  ;) 

You probably remember these candlesticks that used to be cream.  I painted them my new favorite shade of aqua that is popping up all over my house and added a couple of pumpkins.  I love the aqua/orange combo.  It speaks to me.  Not sure what it is saying, but something good I’m sure.

I put three more of my little pumpkins in the center.  I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this picture.  I plan to have it displayed somewhere in my home for the next 90 years.  
Which would put me living until I’m about oh.. 124ish. 
 I take my vitamins.  
I had these apothecary jars on hand so I filled them with some little Fall goodies.  

Then I spray painted this pitcher yellow (used to be red) and added a few leaves.  The leaves are from the forest of trees behind our house.  Kidding.  They’re actually from the beach that’s behind our house.  Kidding again. The beach didn’t have leaves this year so they’re actually from the craft store.  I do my best.  But Kenny and I have a little New York trip in the works!  Maybe I can snag some real Fall leaves while I’m there and bring them back home with me on the plane.  Or just live with my craft store leaves… my life is full of tough decisions like this one.  Reminds me of a favorite quote by my husband — “babe – I’m just living in the real world so that you can float above it.”   :)  I’ll have to ask his opinion about the leaves….

Our family picture from last year is so ‘Fall’ and works great with my new color scheme.  
Now I have three areas that bring my new colors together.  I’ll do my best to sound like a real decorator and call it a “visual triangle” between the mantel…. 

and the aqua wall/shelf.  Aqua and yellow, yellow and aqua.  Slowly replacing all of the red and black.   Happy colors for a happy Fall.  I like the world I live in.  :)

p.s.  Some of you asked what Fall shows we are watching.  Well.  That’s a post in and of itself.  We completed our Fall line-up (which includes a spread sheet of all of our shows and the days/times they need to be recorded) and came to the shocking realization that there was one night when we had four shows on at the same time!  This was a major dilemma.  Major.  We could NOT agree on which ones to cut, so out came the DirecTV crew. I am not kidding.  A little re-wiring and now the shows that record on our upstairs TV will also play on our downstairs TV.  Problem solved.  Like I said, my life is full of tough decisions to make.  ;)  But really out of all of the shows we record, my favorites are Parenthood, Modern Family, The Good Wife, and Blue Bloods (I’m usually not into cop shows but there’s nothing like a little Tom Selleck on a Friday night).  I also love TLC’s What NOT to Wear and HGTV’s Dear Genevieve.  Kenny has his own line-up which is why we record so many shows.  We’ve been known to have a busy week without much TV time and then knock out 4-6 TV shows on a Friday or Saturday night after dinner.  That’s our favorite date.  Early dinner so we get a break from the bedtime routine and then home after the kids are asleep to watch our shows.  Then at about 11:00 at night I start reading blogs and Kenny falls asleep on the couch.  And I can see us doing that until we’re about oh… 124ish.  We both take our vitamins.

xoxo, Erin
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home decor 2
09.26.11

Picture frame re-do!

Can I just say that I am SO excited good shows are back on TV!?  I stayed up way too late tonight catching up on some of my favorites.  Just when I didn’t think I could handle one more movie picked out by my movie obsessed husband (who thinks that Armageddon should have been up for an Oscar) my shows start up again and come to my rescue!  Oh how I’ve missed them.  Anyway, just popping in to share the way I updated a few frames.  A while ago I shared my kitchen shelf re-do and since then have been trying to lighten up a few other things in my house.

These black frames, like so much of my house, have been feeling a bit dark.  

So I painted them yellow.  A nice happy yellow.  
And then I used some sandpaper to distress them a bit.

Here are the frames BEFORE.  Black frames, cream ribbon, dark pictures from our Italy trip.  Nothing wrong with this look, just not the direction I’m going right now with my home decor.

And here they are AFTER!  The yellow brightened things up a bit.  I also changed the ribbon to match the aqua wall in my kitchen.  And of course, added the pumpkin patch pictures of my little stud.  I’m going to start changing these pics each season.  
But for now I am loving walking into my dining room and seeing my little man at the Patch.  :)
A lighter, brighter, happier look!  It also coordinates great with my Fall mantel.  
Which I’ll have to share tomorrow.  
Because tonight I stayed up watching TV way too late to blog any further.
Did I already mention that?
:)
xoxo, Erin
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fashion2
09.23.11

Fashion Friday

The comments after yesterday’s post were so sweet.  They made me want to shout “non-cookers unite!”  Which makes me smile because it reminds me of when I quit teaching school to stay home with Ellie.  I was so burned out and exhausted at the end of each day.  Kenny would walk in the door from work and I’d go on and on about how hard it was staying home with a baby.  He took me as seriously as he always does and would throw his arms up in the air and yell “Housewives unite!”  (Which didn’t even make sense.)  Then he’d laugh hysterically at himself and I’d do my best to NOT smile or laugh or make any indication that I was even slightly amused.  I must have been slightly amused though because I can’t even think about that now without smiling. 
(Don’t tell Kenny)  
Anyway!  On to the clothes!  This was a bit of a boring fashion week and several days I forgot to take pictures.  But I’ll show you what I’ve got!
This shirt I actually wore last week.  I like the sleeves and cinched waist.  Bought it from Forever 21 and I always wear it with a black top underneath because it is so short.  

Wore it with my light colored Sevens.  I love the pocket on this pair.  I love the pockets on all of my Seven jeans.  Have I mentioned that I love Sevens?  

On our way to ballet!  Addie said “mom, why are you taking a picture of the mirror!?”  We had a nice little science/photography/fashion lesson.  If you want to call it that.  :)
I bought a new dress this week!  At TJ Maxx of all places!  I was hunting for more white pitchers there (kind of obsessed with them lately) and passed by this dress (for only 20 bucks!) on my way out of the store.  I had Kole with me and he was so past ready for a nap.  I knew I didn’t have time to try it on.  
But I love navy and I loved the fun collar and of course you know I loved the belt.  So I bought it without trying it on even though my number one rule with clothes is to ALWAYS try them on.     

And of course I got home and tried it on and I can’t decide if I like it!?  It’s a gunny sack dress and the belt sits high on my waist and while I do think it’s different and fun, I’m not sure if it’s very flattering on me.  

But trying it on did make me excited to start wearing my favorite tall black boots again!  Verdict is still out.  I may return it.  And buy more white pitchers instead.

 Wore another top from Forever 21 that I’ve had forever.  Since I was 21.
(no, I’m never going to get tired of that one.)  

I usually wear this sweater shirt with my long white shorts from The Limited.  These shorts are super cute as long as I wear a sandal with some kind of heel.   They do NOT work with flip flops or flats.  Funny how shoes change the look from classy to matronly.  Don’t underestimate the power of the right pair of shoes!! 
 
Or the power of a good reading buddy.  
Or the power of a good reading buddy in similar stripes.  This boy is by far and away my hottest fashion accessory this season.  He makes every outfit look good.  :)

Another favorite top.  This shirt is from Old Navy and I’ve had it for years!  I’m surprised at how well it has held up.  
 Wore it with my Citizens and wedges.  I will never get rid of this purple shirt and I’ll tell you why…

This is me and my purple shirt in Venice, Italy 2007.  (Went a little crazy with the curling iron on that trip.)  Kenny and I spent 10 days in Italy to celebrate our 10 year anniversary.  I bought this purple shirt for the trip.  Ellie was three years old and Addison was only one and I was SO stressed about leaving the girls for that long!  I was also nervous about leaving the country. What if something happened and we couldn’t get back to them!?  What if we died on the plane!?  What if they were so sad and heartbroken without me!?  I was a nervous wreak for months leading up to the trip and for the whole plane ride there.  We arrived late at night and I woke up the next morning feeling so much better.  And we were in Venice, Italy!!!  And my mom called and said the girls were fine!  Hadn’t even noticed we were gone!  And I put on my new purple shirt (that felt very Venice-like to me) and we spent the whole day exploring the most beautiful city I have ever seen.  And it was just the two of us!  And I felt like I had been shot out of a cannon with no one to take care of but myself!  And we were suddenly like newlyweds again!  Laughing and holding hands.  It was a magical day.  In a magical city.  Wearing my magical purple shirt.  The whole trip was just… magical.  So I have happy memories every time I wear this shirt and will never get rid of it.

Man.  I could sure use a little Italy right about now.  But a weekend will have to do!  
Hope yours is magical.  
:)

**Linking up at The Pleated Poppy

xoxo, Erin
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Food and Cooking...or lack thereof
09.22.11

Questions answered

You are all too kind!  Really.  Some of the sweetest comments yesterday!  On a post about my fridge of all things!  Seriously, I had a long day with my kiddos yesterday and I can’t even tell you how much your sweet comments cheered me up last night.  I was too tired to post so I just read my comments a few times and then went to bed with a smile on my face.  :)   Because several of you asked some really good questions after my organized fridge post I thought I’d answer them on the blog for anyone else who may be interested.   
So basically what I’m saying is that I’m rambling and I’m about to ramble some more.

{A few questions and answers}  

“Hi Erin – I’ve been wondering with your not cooking much thing, what do your children and Kenny eat for dinners?  I’ve picked up from previous posts that you eat Lean Cuisine meals quite a lot and you feed the kids early before Kenny gets home?…”


K.  I get this question a lot.  It makes me laugh.  Because it’s a really good question!  What does that crazy lady who hates cooking feed her family!?  :)  Well.  I’m going to be totally honest with you.  BRUTALLY honest.  And I am NOT saying this is what anyone else should do.  In fact, when it comes to food and cooking you should just do the opposite of whatever I’m doing!  But here’s what happens around here.  Kenny spends his lunch hour most days at really fancy restaurants wining and dining clients on the firm.  (Poor guy, right!?)  He eats a big meal for lunch so he never wants to eat a big meal for dinner (Kenny and I both try to stay healthy and maintain our weight).  So most nights, he actually prefers that I don’t cook a big meal (true story).  He usually comes home from work late, reads to the girls and tucks them in bed and then eats something simple like a bowl of oatmeal or cereal with yogurt.  That’s when I have my Lean Cuisine and some salad.  I like to eat later when he’s home so I can actually enjoy my meal and visit with my husband.  (Dinner time with my kids at the stage we are in is NOT enjoyable – I’m too busy serving everyone, cleaning up all of the food Kole has thrown across the kitchen, and forcing the girls eat their veggies.  No time to even think about eating myself!)  I feed my kids around 5:30 because they all go to bed at 7:00.  My girls are picky eaters so we have several simple meals I make them.  They probably aren’t the healthiest and I’m sure I could be feeding them a better variety, but it is what it is right now.  I’m doing the best I can to survive most days with Kole and food is NOT my strong suit.  Here is what I often throw together for the kiddos:

– Cheese tortilla (Quesidila)
– Pasta (sometimes with a little Prego sauce, sometimes with just a little butter)
– Spaghetti (pretty similar! – noodles and sauce)
– Ramen noodles
– Mac & Cheese
– Pizza (we usually order pizza on Friday nights)
– a variety of little snack foods (some turkey, apple, cheese, broccoli, etc. – they like to eat this meal with toothpicks :)
– dinosaur chicken nuggets, strawberries and corn on the cob (a favorite)
– grilled cheese sandwiches
– waffles
– Eating Right Chicken Chow Mein

Like I said, not always the healthiest.  But I do always add a fruit and vegetable.  Mostly to ease my guilt for not cooking a big healthy meal!

I was wondering what your family eats??  I’m all for fast easy dinners if you have suggestions!


Despite the fact that I despise cooking, I do realize that I’m the mom and a big part of my “mom role” is to feed my family.  So I do try to cook.  I cook a real meal at least once a week.  Sometimes twice if I’m feeling especially domestic!  I’ve posted recipes of several of the meals I turn to when I’m feeling like I really should cook something.  These are all simple and fast and pretty kid friendly!

Mexican Chalupas
Pepperoni Pasta
Cashew Chicken
Fajitas
Tri Color Pasta
Creamy Chicken Enchiladas (I found the recipe for the Enchiladas I recently posted about!)

I have a few more staples and I’m sure I’ll get around to posting them at some point!

You should do a post on what you pack in the girls’ lunches!  I have the hardest time figuring out what to pack for my kiddos!


This is a great idea!!  For somebody else to post about!  ;)  I struggle with this too.  Here are a few things I often pack for my girls lunches but it is nothing special and I’m always looking for new ideas.

– bread & turkey (they like them separate, not together like a sandwich)
– pasta (just like at dinner – with some sauce or plain with a little butter)
– always a fruit (I rotate apple slices, grapes, peaches, a nectarine, or strawberries)
– always a veggie (usually carrot sticks, celery sticks or sugar snap peas)
– yogurt
– string cheese
– jello
– some type of cracker or pretzels
– ice water
– princess fruit snacks  :)

Most days I add a note on a napkin with little drawings.  My girls love the drawings!

“I LOVE the idea of prepping everything as soon as you get it home!!  May I ask how long do most things keep when you prep them?  Also after you rinse them do you dry them before storing them in the fridge?  I know that sounds like a simple question but I have never done this!”


I think that is a great question!  I don’t dry the food.  I just rinse everything off really good in a drainer and then toss it in some Gladware.  It stays pretty fresh and keeps for most of the week.  I don’t know exactly how long because we usually eat it all within three or four days and I’m back to the store for more!

“I love that you seem to have learned to embrace the “not cooking” part of you instead of apologizing for it.  There are so many things we can have mommy guilt for and think we need to be perfect.  It’s always refreshing when people show they don’t do everything and are ok with it, and just excel at what they do well at.”


That was a obviously a comment, not a question, but I included it because I loved it so much (thanks Marianne!).  And because I think that is such an important thing to remember.  We all have strengths and weaknesses.  Focusing on the things you are doing great as a mom is always more productive than worrying about what you aren’t doing.  I don’t excel in the food department and I’ve always made that clear.  It’s something that I don’t enjoy and quite frankly am not very good at.  And that’s ok!  I can organize my food like no one’s business!  ;)    My girls may not eat a wide variety of home cooked meals, but they feel my love in other ways.  And at the end of the day, that’s what matters, isn’t it?  That our kids know how loved they are.  Thanks Marianne for reminding us all how important it is to not feel like we need to be perfect.  Trying hard to do our best is good enough.

SO SORRY that this post turned out to be a book.  I was totally out of my element so I don’t know if this was at all helpful to anyone.  Crossing my fingers that your next questions will be about Container store products or Project Life solutions!  ;)

xoxo, Erin
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organization2
09.20.11

Organized fridge

Sharing a few pics of the inside of my fridge!  Kind of crazy, right?  People who read my blog get to know me up close and personal.  You not only learn about every little thing my family is up to, but also get detailed pics inside every drawer and cupboard in my house.  Might as well take a peek in the fridge and see what we’re eating this week!  :)  My fridge is a bit on the small side so it’s really important that  I make good use of the space I have or we run out of room real quick.  I manage to keep it pretty organized by doing a mini clean-out every time I get groceries.  And since I’m NOT so great at meal planning, I end up making a quick grocery run about every other day.  Hence, the always clean and organized fridge.  

I use basic Gladware to store our food and leftovers (bought them all at Target last year).  They come in so many sizes that I can always find exactly what I need.  Plus they stack so neatly.  Plus they’re plastic – not glass.  We don’t do glass in this house.  And I’m not just talking about keeping things unbreakable because of the kiddos.  I am a total klutz and have been know to break a glass bowl or two…or twenty.  

Some leftover pizza, chicken (I used in the enchiladas), Coke Zero because my husband is addicted even though he swears he isn’t…. our usual.  Now I’m going to quote myself from a previous post I wrote on Healthy Eating that explains the prepped produce in the fridge —

“I’ve found that the secret for me to stay on track with food is to prep everything as soon as I get home from the grocery store.  If I wash and cut up the produce, wash the lettuce and make some salads it is much easier for me to grab something healthy when I’m hungry and in a hurry.  If I don’t get things ready to go, I just grab whatever is convenient (usually not healthy) because I don’t want to take the time to prepare food.”  (That was cool – never quoted myself before.  I was just too lazy to type something I knew I’d already written…)  But it’s true.  If I have the healthy food ready to go, I’ll eat it.  If not, I grab junk.  I know this about myself so I try really hard to wash and cut everything and put it in these Glad containers as soon as I get home from the store.  Plus it makes it easier to grab a healthy snack for the kids after school and to get lunches ready in the morning.  

 I also wash some lettuce and throw a few things together so I can have a salad ready quickly.  You all know I eat my summer salad A LOT.

Top drawer holds our cheese, tortillas and my beloved peppered turkey.  Which I also eat A LOT.  I eat the same things over and over.  I’m kind of boring that way.  I forgot to take a picture of the drawer below this.  Holds bigger items like corn on the cob, green peppers, cucumbers, etc.  
 Water bottles are on on the top door shelf!

The girls and I drink a lot of water.  A LOT.  I’m typing that word A LOT, aren’t I.  If you’ve ever been a guest in my home you know that the first thing I do is get out my labels and assign you a water bottle.  Then I give you a hug and say welcome!  But water bottles come first.  ;)  I write our names on them and we re-fill them all week and then start again with new bottles with our names on them the next week.  I started this because I always had water bottles for me and my girls were always drinking them.  So I gave them their own and now we use these for every meal and snack.  It’s so much easier than dirtying cups right and left.   Plus my little dishwasher (see previous post) can’t keep up with that many dishes.  He is only 17 months old you know.

I’m out of mustard.  Sorry.  Just realized that looking at this picture.  Crap.  And I HAVE to have mustard on my turkey sandwich for lunch tomorrow.  Guess we’re getting groceries in the morning….again.  I know it doesn’t look like I have much here because I don’t!  I only keep what we use/eat.  You will never see anything expire in this fridge!  

Especially not what’s waiting for me on the bottom shelf.  Looks like homemade cookie time!  Erin style.

:)

xoxo, Erin
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Ramblings
09.19.11

Weekend Recap

This weekend was great.  Productive and fun.  My favorite kind!  

Saturday afternoon/evening we joined friends for a cookout on the beach.  Addison became a skilled hot dog roaster and a good time was had by all.  The next few pics I snapped while we were walking to our car…

These pictures don’t even come close to showing what a beautiful evening it was.  Probably because Kole was on my hip while I took them.  And we were walking.  And I didn’t even adjust my camera settings.  But still.  One of the prettiest San Diego sunsets I have ever seen.  Such a fun evening with good friends.  

Cut my hair Saturday too!  It’s still long enough to curl but short enough to look better straight.  I came SO close to cutting it to my shoulders and then chickened out.  Maybe next time!  
This weekend I harnessed my inner domestic goddess!  Not only did I make a fun salad to take to the beach party, but I also made banana bread muffins AND chicken enchiladas.  

Same enchiladas from this post.  I’ll have to share the recipe sometime because they are GOOD.  But seriously, let’s just celebrate for a minute that I cooked twice in one day!  That’s more than I do most weeks!  The weather was cool.  Football was on.  My pumpkin spice candle was burning.  Everything felt and smelled so deliciously Fall.

  And the best part is that I’ve trained my little sidekick to do the dishes. 
I also did a little painting!  Primed and ready for color.  

While I painted my girls created their own masterpieces.  Lots of other to-do’s were checked off the list   including a few areas I’ve wanted to organize for a while now.  Like I said, a great mix of productive and fun!

How was your weekend?
xoxo, Erin
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