pardon this interruption....

Yes, it's begun! It's crunch time; time to prepare for our family trip to Hawaii! I'm definitely realizing how crazy we are for making this long trip with two "lap infants." But, it will all be worth it when we get to see family and meet out new nephew!!

So, you'll have to pardon this interruption! I've got no time to be witty or creative on the blog this week. I hope that on our trip I'll be able to work through a big portion of the alphabet and have lots of fun pictures and stories to share when we return!

Until then I'll leave you with the newest pictures of our "lap infants."

E is for...

Elephant!

Not that he can really determine it yet, but I would say this is Boogie's favorite animal.  Aside from our 'dog', elephants were the first animals that he could recognize and acknowledge.  While he still can't say "elephant" he can make a pretty sweet elephant noise!!
While in St. Louis this summer (when Boogie was almost 12 months) we took him to the zoo for the first time.  He didn't seem very interested in the animals much at all...that is until we came to the elephants! He saw one and instantly started making elephant noises, he had all the other patrons rolling in laughter! I was too busy laughing at his reaction to get a picture of him with them so we settled for one by the elephant fountain...

Later in the summer we took him to the Kansas City Zoo and he had the same excited reaction...

J and Boogie making elephant noises

D is for...

Daughter...

Yep,  that's my beautiful little C-Monk! I still can't get over those big blue eyes! Yes, she's sitting up in that second picture....she can hold that pose for about 2 seconds...

I feel bad, people have started to notice the lack of pictures of this little cutie. When Boogie was a baby I had nothing to do but just snap pictures of him.  This time around, I'm lucky to have a free moment to spend just her and I, so, yes, she will have much fewer baby pictures.....I guess I should try to get better about this. Plus, when I do get a chance to snap some of her, Boogie jumps in to "photobomb" her shots for some hugs and kisses....He's such a loving big brother...

I have to admit, my little girl looks pretty good in purple. No, she's still not allowed to be a Wildcat, at least not a K-State Wildcat. Maybe she'll be smart enough to be a Northwestern Wildcat?! But, then she'd have to be super smart or extremely talented in an area that would get her a full scholarship, cause, yikes! Alright, that's enough talk about college, I don't even want to think about that, I want to keep my little baby for awhile longer...

BBK: French Dip Crescents

Welcome to the Baby Boogies Kitchen (BBK); 

real food for real moms!

We all see those recipes online and in cookbooks and think "wow, that looks good...but all those steps! all those ingredients! I'll never be able to make that!"   I agree! What busy mom has time for all that?!  I like simple, quick recipes.  I like "one pot" meals.  Crock Pot meals. Casseroles.  Things you can make on a crazy mommy schedule.

I'm by no means claiming to be a chef.  I'm not claiming to know anymore than you do about making food.  I'm just here to share things from our kitchen.  Meals (and desserts and appetizers) that were both easy to make and delicious to eat!

French Dip Crescents:

Ingredients:


French Dips:
1 pkg refrigerated crescent rolls (8 count)
1/2 lb deli roast beef, thin sliced
8 slices thin sliced swiss cheese
mayo

"Au Jus"
1 can beef broth
2 tbsp Worcestershire
garlic powder

Steps:

1. Unroll crescents and separate
2. Spread mayo on each crescent and top with a slice of cheese (you'll have to cut it ti the shape to the dough) and a slice or two of roast beef
3. Roll each crescent closed, starting at the wide end
4. Bake @ 375 for about 14 minutes
5. Meanwhile combine the broth and Worcestershire  (season with garlic powder to taste) in small pot and heat till simmering. Serve as dip for crescents.

8 crescents were a perfect number for dinner. J inhaled 4, 3 would have been plenty for me, but I thought, why just save 1?! Boogie just ate some left over cheese and roast beef so I could have shared that final crescent with him instead.

C is for...

Cars!

Yes, this is Boogie's other favorite past time....just like your typical little boy!  He loves to race cars around the house, they go flying off the coffee table, zooming across the floor, vvvrrrooooming up your leg....he'll grab your hand, pulling you into his room shouting "cars! cars! cars!" wanting you to help him shoot the cars down his race track!

He's also slightly obsessed with the Disney Pixar Cars movie craze.  In any store he can spot the "Cars" special addition anything....crackers, juice, mac & cheese...

C is also for Cooking!  Stay tuned for my new blog posts featuring recipes from my kitchen; real food for real moms!

B is for...

Ball...
letter #2 in the alphabet photo challenge...

Boogie's absolute favorite toy/game/activity/thing to watch/etc. After "byebye," "ball" was Boogie's second word.  He loves basketball ("bskball" as Boogie says it).  Anything (and everything) turns into a basketball or basketball goal.  Which is helpful when doing laundry, but dangerous most other times. I can't even tell you how many time I hear the word "bskball" in one day; I'll have to count for you sometime. He "practices" all the time and has a pretty mean jump shot...

That was a couple months ago, you should see him now! I'm sure, as soon as he's old enough, this will be the first sport we will enroll him in as he is completely obsessed!! (and, yes, I've checked into it...there's "Me and Mini Me Basketball for 2.5-4 y/o....one more year!!)

Maybe we have the next Kirk Hinrich or Tyrel Reed on our hands?! Definitely a future Jayhawk though, whether he's on the court or not. Boogie can say "Jayhawk!" He'll spot one from a mile away and start shouting "jayjawk! jayjawk! jayjawk!" Oh, he loves that mythical bird; that's my boy!!

A is for...

Artwork...
Here's the first day in my Alphabet Photo Challenge...

This is a picture of some "artwork" I made for our bathroom.  I saw an idea of something similar online somewhere, but I didn't like how the original had just been a regular framed picture.  I like the look of this subway poster/canvas idea better :)

If you haven't figured it out yet, those are the very special dates in our lives in the HH....my birth date, J's birth date, our wedding date and both of the kiddo's birth dates. (Now, J has no excuse for ever forgetting my birthday...not that he ever has...)

With this picture challenge post, I will also attempt my first DIY post as well!!

Would you like to make this canvas picture for your family? Don't like the 'special dates' idea?  You can follow this process to make a canvas with any saying you would like.  I made canvases for the in-laws' lake houses that said things like "On Lake Time."  The whole project cost less than $10!

Here is a list of items you will need:

• Blank Canvas: This one is 18in x 24in.  You can get canvases at Hobby Lobby for very inexpensive and if they're not on sale (which they often are) you can always print their 40% coupon online and use that! They have all different shapes and sizes to fit the space you have.
• Acrylic Craft Paint: One bottle for the background color (two bottles for larger canvases), one bottle for each accent color
• Foam paint brushes
• Poster Board
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Tape
• Picture hanging hook

Here is what you do (unfortunately, I didn't take pictures along the way....note to self for next time!):

• Using a foam brush, paint the entire canvas in your background color. Don't forget to paint the outer edges of the canvas.  Apply as many coats as necessary to achieve the color you wish. 
• Applying only one/two light coats with long brush strokes will give you a distressed wood type of affect 
• Cut poster board into the size/shape of your canvas.  You will use this to create one large stencil.
• Using your ruler and pencil, draw your design onto the poster board. Be sure to leave space between letters/numbers/shapes in order to create a stencil
• Cut out your numbers/letters/shapes.  Do NOT cut out through the blank spaces, remember you are creating a stencil. (This step took a lot of concentration for me!)
• Place your large stencil on top of the (now dry) canvas and tape down all edges.  Use "tape balls" to tape down any places that the stencil pops up.
• Carefully paint your design in whatever colors you choose.  Hold down the stencil and paint away from edges slowly.  The paint will bleed under the stencil slightly, but this will give it that rustic look.
• Do not wait for the paint to dry completely to remove the stencil as the poster board will stick to the canvas! Slowly and carefully remove the stencil a few minutes after you finished painting your design.
• Allow to dry completely.  Use background paint to touch up any areas where your design may have bled too much.
• Flip canvas over and attach hanging hook to back of canvas
• You did it!!

carefully stepping off my soap box...

Yes, it's 11pm and our little C-Monk is sound asleep.  Why am I not sleeping, you may ask. Well, she's never, I repeat...never, gone to sleep before midnight so I'm finding it a little too good to be true. Plus, I've found that it's much less irritating to attend to a screaming infant in the middle of the night if you're already awake rather than be woken up just as your drifting off into dreamland....so, here I am instead....

It's 2012! I've never really been one to make "resolutions." They seem a little overrated and get forgotten about in a few weeks anyway. But, I do have a few goals for myself (very realistic, simple goals) that I'd like to accomplish this year....

Things such as keeping a memory jar, purging tons of unneeded junk from this house, finally learning how to use my awesome sewing machine, taking more pictures, trying new recipes, finishing more DIY projects....simple things...

The "big" goal I have (that I severely failed at last year) is to update this blog much more frequently.  I really think I can do it this time!  I inspired myself and found "my voice" as I shared our 25 Days with you so I'm setting a goal of updating AT LEAST 2x/week (hopefully more often than that). I think that through this blog I can help motivate myself to accomplish the many goals I listed above.  I've always been better a checking things off the 'to do' list if someone is holding me accountable for them...that's where you come in! I plan to share our adventure every step of the way; whether you're interested or not!

I'll start with the goal of "taking more pictures."  Let me just get one thing off my chest before I jump into sharing my idea....I saw this quote the other day that really got under my skin, it said: "You're not a photographer, you just have a fancy camera."  I really took this personally, it's a flat out attack at all of us 'mommy-tographers.' But, you know what....I say....if you have a camera, you're a photographer!  To me, photography is about following a passion.  It's about trying new things.  It's about making memories and documenting life. It's very personal.  I take pictures because I enjoy taking pictures.  I share them because I enjoy sharing my life with others.  If someone else likes that picture I took, even better! But, if not, I could care less, because I took that picture for me. Carefully stepping off my soap box....


Here's my idea....the alphabet photo challenge....26 days, 26 photos...each letter of the alphabet; literal or inspirational....I promise this won't happen in 26 consecutive days, life is just too crazy in the HH to set a goal like that, but I will complete the entire alphabet within the first couple months of the year...

It's now 11:45 (why did it take me 45 minutes to complete this short blog, well, I had a completely different photo challenge goal in mind and had it all typed out, when the alphabet idea hit me!) and still not a peep from the baby....I think it might be safe for me to drift off to dreamland....