There is Always a Way

Kids went to bed and didn’t get back up at all or holler for me. That was nice. My body is just feeling tired today, so I was glad to be able to settle in for the night and shut my brain off for a while.

I watched a couple Hulu shows - Ringer and New Girl. Now I am watching Biggest Loser and the Top Chef finale is about to come on. I am rooting for Paul, we will see if he wins.

For dinner, I went the easy route. Sauteed up some carrots, celery, onions, zucchini, squash, and sausage and tossed it with some seasoning and olive oil along with some penne pasta. Comfort food.

Happy Leap Year everyone!

Aydan went from yesterday being excited and having fun with potty training to today where he wants nothing to do with it. Mention of underwear or the potty causes screaming and running.

I just don’t get it. How can he be stoked one day and COMPLETELY against it the next? That boy frustrates me!!

Patience Kari….patience…

Tonight is the 4th night since Aydan had his party at Chuck E Cheese. This is the first night he has gone to bed without his crown. He does still have the medallion on. He has been wearing the crown and the medallion all day, nap, and night. He wore it to church on Sunday. He wore it to the store tonight. He got hot during his nap the other day, so when he got up from his nap, he just had on pants and no shirt…and the medallion and crown on, lol.

Today Aydan went to the potty on the toilet many times…maybe about 8 times. He went in a diaper twice. And he went in his underwear once. I had to force him to go the first time, but after that he was willing and even started to let us know when he had to go. I don’t want to jinx it, but today was a great potty training day. He started the day out asking to wear underwear. He has never really done that. He stayed dry for a long time. I really hope that tomorrow we can keep the momentum going. I am so proud of him.
Peyten went to the potty twice today. She had fun cheering Aydan on and got in to it herself. Maybe we can get both these kids potty trained together.
Here’s to hoping!

While I was out buying diapers tonight (hopefully the last time!), I stopped at Lowe’s to get water softener salt. While I was there, I decided to get a bucket of paint for the bathroom. Right now, the new shower head is being installed. The pipes were all sorts of messed up, so he is actually rebuilding the whole set up. So, between the new bath fixtures, the new toilet, and the new paint, it should be a nice change of pace. The next step for the bathroom is definitely a new floor of some sort. But, that is down the road a bit.

Cabbage Scramble - my not-so-new favorite comfort food. I made some for lunch the other day. Basically, you saute up half a head of cabbage (or more) and saute up any vegetables that you have in your fridge. The other day, I used carrots, celery, green peppers, and mushrooms. Then you add a small can of tomato sauce and any herbs you have on hand. Thyme and/or basil works well. Or no herbs if you don’t have any handy. It is still tasty with just salt and pepper.
Pair it with some crusty bread with butter. Or just eat it as is. You can also add ground beef or sausage to the mix. Yum.

Half Marathon training starts March 6th. I am gearing up. Soon, I need to figure out how in the heck I am going to fit the miles in. But, I WILL figure it out. I don’t expect life to slow down for me to fit the runs in. I just need to get creative. And I am hopeful that my knee will not be an issue. Running, strength training. It will all work out together. I am excited for another great running season. Half Marathon, maybe a Mud Race, Fruit Belt series (5 races-5k’s or 10k’s), Adventure Race, Full Marathon. This year is going to be GOOD!

I am putting this here because I am hoping it will get my butt in gear. I NEED to write up a restaurant proposal. We have started a ball rolling with opening a restaurant. We have talked to the city. We have checked out some possible buildings. But, I need to get a proposal written up and talk to some investors to even see what we can do at all. I have no idea where this will lead. This is something that Mark and I have prayed about and we are just going to see where God leads us. I MISS the restaurant industry. I don’t know what God has in store for us. I am happy right where we are, but I have always dreamed of having my own restaurant…stresses and all. I originally had a four year plan and wanted to have my own place by April 2015. If it happens sooner, so be it. If it doesn’t happen at all, then it wasn’t meant to be. We shall see.

Ok, that is enough random thoughts for now. Good night!

Making pasta from scratch - I love to do this. It is so very relaxing to me. I am still perfecting my dough recipe, but tonight I think it was pretty close to where I want it to be. It is amazing that most of the time, the food that I don’t measure or follow a recipe with, turns out the best. I should have a picture, but I don’t. And I didn’t do sauce from scratch and I used frozen meatballs. But, spaghetti and meatballs it was and it was darn tasty!
Boxed pasta is good and convenient, but pasta from scratch just brings it to that next level and is so much more enjoyable.

New toilet - Garry and Cindy bought two new toilets. We had one put in their bathroom the other day. And tonight we had the other put in the main bathroom. So much different! No more waiting for the tank to fill to flush. No more ugly green toilet. So much better.
Tomorrow, we get the new shower fixtures put on.

There really should be more “highlights”, but as of right now, my brain can’t think past the last couple of hours. It was a busy day, but it was a good day. Know this.

Edit: Last highlight. The spellchecker said “No misspellings found”. Of course that doesn’t mean there weren’t mistakes, but that almost never happens!

My days have been crazy. Just a lot going on and it leaves me feeling pretty drained at night. I really should be in bed right now, but I can’t resist some alone time with no distractions and no….anything. It is peaceful and calming. I will go to bed soon.

Once Upon A Time. I love that show. I hope everyone else loves that show, so it doesn’t get canceled. It just has so much to it and can go in so many different directions. Intriguing. We shall see.

I have spent time with our church family for the last four days. I must really like them, lol. Sunday, church. Monday, small group. Tuesday, meeting. Ash Wednesday Service. Good stuff.

Dinner tonight was tasty. Grilled chicken, lentils, sauteed carrots/green peppers/asparagus, and romaine salad. It was just what I needed, so it hit the spot.

Running? I will get back to you soon. At this point, I am not even sure how I fit it in to my schedule before. But, I will figure it out again soon enough. My knee still aches at times. So, that just tells me that it will ache whether I am running or not. So, I better get to that strength training I have been thinking about and get back in to running. I have some half marathon training coming up really soon!

Aydan is turning 4 on Sunday. I can’t believe my little boy will be 4!! I love it.

Is it the weekend yet? No? Oh, ok.

Nighty night world.

Last night I had lost something and I was looking all over. When I was looking next to my desk, I found a package of Wonka’s Triple Dazzle Caramel bar. I had completely forgot that I had put it there. There were two “sections” left. (it really isn’t that old, honest)

Well, it is the next day and 1:50 in the afternoon. I have been at my desk since 9am this morning and I JUST remembered that I had found it.

One happy girl. It is the small things in life people. The small things.

I changed my Windows theme to Windows Classic. I feel so retro….

Before I even went to bed, Peyten had woke up twice due to a fever and her being uncomfortable. I went to bed about 12:15. I drifted off to sleep and not two seconds later, I hear Peyten. I settle her down and tuck her back in. I lay back in bed and drift off. Not a minute later, I hear Aydan. He had a bad dream and was so confused. He woke up Peyten, so I had to settle both of them back to bed. I laid back down and drifted off. Yep, not a minute later, I hear…well, I can’t remember which one it was this time. I think it was Aydan. Settle him back down and I crawl back in bed. By this time it is 10 to 1. I was thinking how the situation was almost* comical.

Peyten woke up again at about 2:30 and I just brought her in bed with me. I was exhausted and was not going to risk having to get up again. She settled in pretty quickly and we were both back to sleep.

The next thing I knew, Charly was crawling in to the bed. It was about 5:30. There wasn’t really any room, but she was determined. She ended up at my feet. 2 minutes later, Aydan was crawling in. He some how found a spot between me and the edge of the bed. Everyone was up at this point. And even though I tried to get them settled to sleep longer, well, it just wasn’t happening. Once they are up, they are up.

Crappy sleep = cranky mommy. Happy Monday!!

*almost, as in, NOT AT ALL….

The “reorganize bug” is coming on strong. I am sure I will be moving, hauling, sorting soon enough! Now to decide which room…..