OhMyOrganizationalMESS

I'm through with a billion files of ideas, worksheets and teaching tools.

On to sheet protectors, binders and specific labels.

Hope I can finish before 2011..........

Fitness Question

I got new kicks.

I bought a new fitness regime.

I tried it out. And my body yelled at me the whole next day.

I'm still not completely motivated. So I'm wondering if I just put it all "out there" that I might feel obligated to, you know, actually FINISH what I start. So, will you help me be accountable? Or, will you just avoid this blog more after you find out what I really weigh and what size I really wear??? Comments would be very helpful here peeps, especially from those of you reading that I don't know about. :)

Oh my, I think I might actually do it...

Back to School

I had to bring everything home this summer in case we moved this summer.



So this week I loaded it allllll back up and brought it in to school.



I am NOT ready to go back...can't we start after Labor Day instead??

Last Minute Lunch

Nate worked from home today so I whipped up this tasty recipe for Simple Sesame Noodles. The Pioneer Woman always has such great simple recipes. Did I tell you I tried her Roasted Red Pepper Sauce? Divine! Anyway, I literally had everything in the kitched already...minus the chili oil and green onions. It was a nice easy lunch...I think it might by great with veggies or something else thrown in for a "heartier" meal.

Ingredients
12 ounces, fluid Thin Noodles, Cooked And Drained
¼ cups Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Sugar
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
3 Tablespoons Pure Sesame Oil
½ teaspoons Hot Chili Oil (I didn't have this - I used fresh red pepper flakes)
4 Tablespoons Canola Oil
2 Tablespoons Hot Water
4 whole Green Onions, Sliced Thin (Didn't have this either, oops)

Directions:
Whisk all ingredients (except noodles and green onions) together in a bowl. Pour sauce over warm noodles and toss to coat. Sprinkle with green onions and toss.

Recipe and Photo from The Pioneer Woman see her recipe post here

Handheld Photobooth

Thank You Parents!

As a non-parent I know that I am likely to eat my own words, however, in the last few days we've run into some great parenting lessons. Whether we wanted to or not.

Exhibit A: Target breakdown

I'm shopping for some Seventh Generation items. (I only say this because for some weird reason our Target has these things located next to the candles, not the other cleaning items...apparently more natural cleaning items belong with stinky candles.) As I'm debating my choices a mom comes around the corner with her three kiddos (I assume they were roughly 1, 4 and 8). One boy in the basket and a brother and sister walking by themselves. Then I hear it. Crashhhhhhhhhhhh. I literally put my hands over my eyes because I knew it wasn't pretty. Well, when I turned to look the mom said "Matthew, you did this, now YOU need to find someone to clean it up because it's too dangerous for you to clean up. See that lady in the red shirt? You need to tell her what happened and ask her politely for help." Now, this may seem harsh to some of you but I was all "Yahoo! You go mama!" because I have seen many a mom asking the worker-bee's for help, cleaning it up themselves, just leaving the mess behind as if it didn't happen all the while overlooking who really should be asking for help or cleaning up the mess. The little boy walked up to the employee and said "Excuse me, I need some help please. I picked up a candle and I didn't know it was glass and then I dropped it on accident and it broke all over. I'm real sorry but my mom said it's too dangerous for me to clean so could you please help me?" I kid you not. He was THAT apologetic and polite! I could tell he felt rotten about it, but he also felt responsible for the accident through that embarrassment. Never once did I feel the mom was overly harsh about the situation. But I also felt a great amount of respect for her because in the embarrassing situation she still made sure that her son took responsibility for his actions. I don't think that 8 year old will be touching candles anytime soon.

Exhibit B: Brooks Brothers cry-Baby

This weekend Nate needed some new work shirts so we headed to the mall. While he was sorting through colors and styles I happened to see a family of four come in the back door of the store. The dad stayed, also looking for items, while the mom took the son (5ish) and daughter (2ish) out the front and across the hall to a childrens store. Upon returning to Brooks Brothers the son was wimpering quite a bit about "mom wouldn't buy it for me" and such. Well dad quickly said "this is a quiet store, so we need to talk about this outside when we're done." Well, the little mister was NOT happy about that so he had a COMPLETE meltdown. Mom stepped in and walked both children out the back door to the parking lot while dad finished shopping. Little sister innocently asks mom on the way out "Mommy, why is Kyle crying?" Moms response? "Because he didn't get his way." Bam. Boo ya. And all those other fun phrases. Way to go mom!!! Way to NOT buckle under the pressure of the quiet surroundings. Way to NOT buy your children something just because they want it and cry when you say no. And way to point out the obvious...you're the boss and that's that.

Now, like I said earlier, I'm know Nate and I will struggle with these things when we're raising our own offspring. It's so easy to give in, clean the mess yourself or take the quick fix. We already butt heads about Sampson at times...but I'm always comforted when I/we see parents doing parenting the way I/we hope to. Be consistent with your rules and actions. Help them take ownership and be responsible. Most importantly? Do NOT crack under pressure!

Our Fridge

Top Row: homemade dog treats, peanut butter for Sampson's bone, homemade dog food, cottage cheese (leftover from S's birthday pupcakes)

Middle Row: whipping cream, peeled garlic, butter, limes, eggs

Bottom Rom: Diet Coke with Splenda (had to try it...not a big fan), water, Simply Lemonade (hiding), whole wheat flour, milk, tonic water (my FAVORITE drink...with some fresh limes!)

I know what you're thinking. She hid the rest in the drawers. Umm. No. The left drawer has shredded carrots from the pupcakes. The right drawar has a few whole wheat tortillas and leftover mozzarella cheese from last weeks pizza night.

Time to hit the grocery store. Anybody else despise grocery shopping???

Friday Night Treat

We got a couple treats to share at Dean and Deluca before we hit the movie theater on Friday night. Water and raspberry oatmeal bar for her. Arnold Palmer and turtle brownie for him. They hit the spot.

We saw The Other Guys with Will Ferrel and Mark Wahlberg. It was okay...lots of giggling, not too much bust out laughing. Nate definitely enjoyed it more than me but I'm not a big fan of Will Ferrel to begin with so my opinion is skewed. I always love a Marky-Mark sighting though. Speaking of which, Date Night was a waaaaay better movie than this.

Pupcakes

For Sampson's birthday I used the same recipe for his birthday cake as last year. However, I decided he didn't need a WHOLE cake...so I just made cupcakes...and now we have 11 pupcakes to give him over the next few months. (I froze the leftovers)

Peanut Butter Cake

1 cup white or whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup shredded carrots
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1 egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F Mix together flour and baking soda. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Pour equally into greased cupcake tin. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes. I checked mine every 2 minutes after the 20 minute mark.

Frost this cake with low fat cottage cheese. Store in the refrigerator or freeze the leftover cake for later!





When you see the "crazy eyes" you KNOW you have a hit on your hand!

Birthday GIRL

Today is my Grandma's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!!!

You already know how much I love her egg salad, but here are a few other things that I think are great about her.



She's a talented artist. Whether she's painting, drawing or writing her memoir she has a true talent for each. She's currently working on a special request piece from me...I promise to share it with all of you once we finalize it!



She's so hip! Seriously! Nate calls her our "Hip Grandma." She had a flat screen tv before anyone else in the fam! She listens to her ipod daily while she works out. I don't even know how to upload songs on mine without Nate's help. She's really great with technology - emailing, reading the blog, etc.- which is fabulous for me who lives so far away!



She always roots us on. And she's so proud of our accomplishments. I think she was just as proud of Nate as I was when he finished the Green Bay marathon. She always loves us. No matter what. She even accepts and loves Sampson WITH all of his drool.



Have a WONDERFUL day Grandma!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love you lots.......

Neatest. Wedding. Ever.

This past weekend we attended the wedding of a friend from high school. Ironically the wedding took place just south of us in Columbia, SC! We've never attended an Indian wedding so we had no idea what to expect. It was amazing!!! Here are a few snapshots from the big day...

Suken, our friend, rode a beautifully bedazzled horse through the streets of Columbia. All of his friends and family joined him in the walk through town to meet his bride. There was even a police escort to stop traffic,etc. and really loud Bollywood music accompanied us thorughout the travel. This was at 9:30 in the morning.







Once we arrived at the wedding site the bride, Shikha, had to entice the groom, Suken, with all kinds of customary items...we didn't get to see much but at one point Suken had to dodge her attempts while up on peoples shoulders. It was really interesting. After he was "enticed" enough we all crossed through a cloth barrier into the ceremony room. This is what I would call the "altar" during the ceremony. Perhaps the most surprising part of the ceremony was
that it takes FOREVER!!! People literally come in and out of the room and talk talk talk the whole time!!! Traditionally the ceremony takes 8 hours, but they cut parts out to make it only 2 or so. During the ceremony they served a snack of different curry, breads, chutneys and dessert. It was delicious!



Don't they look gorgeous? Shikha is so tiny and I kept gawking over how heavy everything must have been once she had everything on. Suken seemed sooo happy.



Here is us after a loooooong day of celebration. We started at 9:30 and had a small break from wedding festivities in the afternoon but kept the celebration going until midnight. I was pooped! The cocktail hour and dinner was phenomenal...lots of my favorite Indian delights as well as some new ones! The reception began with some great Bollywood style entertainment from different family members. Then after dinner the dance floor was PACKED all night long with people dancing to traditional Indian tunes. I have NEVER seen such a wild party in all my life...people were SO excited!



After all the celebrating we both decided that Suken's wedding had the best food, neatest traditionz, beautiful attire and best dance floor of any wedding we've ever attended. Pretty much the neatest wedding ever.

Birthday Boy

It'z hard to believe that Sampson turns 3 today. I can still remember taking him home in a laundry basket with pink towels protecting him. Those are the same towels we use to wipe slobber off his face on a daily basis. Today we're planning to spoil him rotten...naps on the couch, homemade treats, a cake and a little beer to celebrate his 21st dog year. :)

Here are some of our favorite shots of our guy over the past three years.













Happy Birthday, Big Guy!