Sunny Days are here again...

Source: captiva-island.com via Caryn on Pinterest

So the Arnold family is venturing out and going on vacation in just a few days! I'm SO nervous about the actual day of travel with the bambina. I've learned that she's a pretty easy going baby and usually always just goes with the flow...but it's my anxiety that's killing me. I'm worrying about her ears on the plane, which stroller to take - the big one or the umbrella stroller, do I bring pre-made bottles or just the formula and make them on the plane, where/when will I change her diaper, will she nap, etc, etc, etc....

I just need to take a deep breath.....breath in....breath out....and know that we're going to have a fabulous time at the beach....life is good....stop stressing out.....

My New Addiction

Source: quaintoaks.blogspot.com via Caryn on Pinterest

If you haven't heard of pinterest.com, then you need to check it out. It's my new addiction. A friend introduced it to me about two weeks ago and I CAN....NOT....STOP.... It's bad. As soon as Vivi goes down for her morning nap, it's the first thing I check. I feel like this website was made for me. I can keep track of all of my online shenanigans...recipes, projects, design ideas....it even has classroom ideas. I just wish I knew about this site when I was planning my wedding. I made a real pinboard for my wedding stuff and took it around to my vendors to try to translate my vision. I got a few crazy looks....whatever. ;) I knew there were other people out there like me...thanks Pinterest!

Tootsies

What is it about baby's feet that are so stinkin' cute? I tell Vivi all the time that I'm going to eat her up and start with the toe-toes. Is that a weird thing to say to her?! :) She's just hanging around (literally) in her Johnny Jumper and I had to snap a few shots of those toe-toes. Please ignore the dirt on the floor.

Oopsie!

So, Vivi is now a mover and a shaker...sort of. She's a little bit of a late bloomer and has only rolled over twice. And...I'm not sure if the first one counts because she was so mad she was on her tummy that she didn't even realize that she did it. She hates tummy time, hence the slight delay in rolling. When the doctor said not to worry about it, that's exactly what I did. I've still got to deep clean these hardwood floors and get a new spit-up free area rug for my living room before Vivi starts crawling. However, this picture is what we're experiencing in our house on a daily basis now. Vivi has discovered how to move around in her crib and is having so much fun with it. I can't tell you how many times I've gone in there to straighten her out. Then I decided I need to just stop doing that. I don't want her to get used to having me come in there every couple of minutes...it's becoming a game for her....flashing me a huge grin when she's supposed to be napping. So what if she's taken a few crooked naps lately...she's fine.

I love....

-that I bought this house as a single teacher in her 20's without anyone's help.

-the huge hostas that we've split a bunch of times and they keep coming back bigger.

-the huge lavender bush in the backyard.

-this was our first house together as husband & wife and now it's Vivi's first house.

-the mantel over our fireplace that was built by my best friend's husband as a house-warming gift.

-my chocolate brown dining room.

-my red door.

-not 1, not 2, but 3 well-established Japanese maples in the yard!

-the old glass knob door handles...even if they occasionally fall off.

-the crown molding.

-the wood burning fireplace that has seen many fires and even kept us warm when the power was out.

-the built-in shelves on either side of the fireplace.

-the built-in art deco mirror above the fireplace that I used to think was weird.

-the wood floors.

-the memories!

The Never-Ending House Hunt

Source: threepotatofourshop.com via Caryn on Pinterest

So, if you don't already know, Frank and I have been house-hunting for about a year now. To be honest, it has been an extremely frustrating experience. We started last summer when I was about mid-way into my pregnancy. We thought if we found something great and worth moving for, we'd do it. However, school started and I started getting bigger and bigger and moving just seemed out of the question....plus the right house just never came along. Then I had the baby and was home for 3 months and started looking again when Vivi was about a month old. I discovered that looking at houses online is now a hobby of mine. I'm REALLY into houses and love picturing in my mind what I would do. The thought of buying something and putting my own spin on it really appeals to me. Frank would rather a move-in-ready house. We expanded our search from the trendy mid-town area of Tulsa to the burbs...Jenks in particular because we just couldn't find what we were looking for in our price range. We actually found a house, put in an offer, got it accepted, did all the mortgage paperwork, got the inspections, etc, etc, etc......then the deal fell through with the repair requests. We lost about $1000 in that deal and were very bitter for awhile. We realized that it probably happened for a reason, but it was still frustrating, to say the least!

So...we have still been looking but just can't find what we want. We're beginning to think God just wants us to stay put in our little house. The problem is I have seen what is out there. I've seen the bigger closets, the counter space, the 2 car garages....and I want it. I've been so negative about our house that I need to do a complete 180. I need to appreciate what we have. We can survive in a 1,100 square foot house. It's not horrible, in fact, before I started house-hunting, I LOVED my house. So, I decided I have to change my attitude. I'm going to make a list of all of the things I LOVE about my house and just think about those instead of what is bothering me. Stay tuned....

I've got to go now...meeting my realtor at 2:30 to look at another house. I know...it's an addiction. Maybe I need to go back to work. ;)

Weekend Breakfasts

We have excellent weekend breakfasts at our house! At least one day each weekend Frank puts on his chef hat and goes to town. I love that he's experimenting in the kitchen. When we first started dating I think all he could do in the kitchen was heat up leftovers. Now he's a grillin' machine and a breakfast champ. The picture on the bottom is what Frank made this weekend. That is a fried egg panini and potatoes with mushrooms, onions, and goat cheese. Yum! Now, the pancakes and bacon...that was all me. I want to share these two recipes with you because I've tried a ton of pancake recipes and this one is the best I've found. It's the recipe my brother uses. AND the bacon...oh my gosh...once you have this bacon, you can't have it any other way. Trust me!

Fanny Farmer Griddle Cakes

1 cup milk

1 egg

2 tbsp. melted butter

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. sugar

1 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

(I also add a splash of vanilla and ground up flax seeds if I have them!)

This makes about 12 small pancakes...enough for about 3 adults.

Best Ever Bacon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Put a large scoop of brown sugar on a plate. All you have to do is lightly coat your bacon on each side with brown sugar and place it on the cookie sheet. That's it! I set my timer for 15 minutes then watch it carefully from there on out because it goes from perfect to burnt in no time. The brown sugar creates a caramelized coating on the bacon that makes it to die for!

Let me know if you try these recipes and love them as much as I do!