Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Spring Fever

I haz it!

I love winter. I love the snow, and even the ice as long as I don't have to drive on it. It makes for some beautiful pictures. But there is just something about springtime. I was driving home from taking Max to school this morning and I all of a sudden wanted to start painting the shutters on my house. It was windy today, but nice and warm. I have NEVER wanted to do anything outside. I much prefer the indoor projects, but it has been so beautiful the last week.

I do dread the coming of summer and the heat with humidity, but spring can get here quickly and stay forever!!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Our first Spring project

Tim took this past weekend off and I only worked Friday night so we had plenty of time to enjoy the nice weather together. Saturday he power washed the front of the house and tidied up the front porch area. Sunday, we painted. Here are some before, during, and after pictures.


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Our little helper

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Done, but not cleaned up yet

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Max enjoying the weather on Saturday

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Saturday night we had a bonfire with Dave, Cindy, and Alli! That was really fun. Max got to stay up a little late and he and Alli played with glow bracelets. Then off to bed for him and the adults got to chat around the fire, eat a few marshmellows, and have a few drinks. It was so relaxing. I can't wait until summer when we can do that more often. 4th of July will be very fun too since Dave and Tim are already discussing what they are buying and doing for fireworks. Bunch of big kids that they are ;).

This is Alex from the previous weekend.

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That weekend Tim did all of the yard work, including picking up sticks, trimming bushes, removing leaves from everywhere, and stuff like that. Alex helped the entire day and did not nap. He crashed out sooooo hard when I finally dragged him inside. He did however wake up before we went to bed. I never heard him, but this is how I found him

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There are a bunch more pictures on Dropshots of Tim and the boys enjoying outside that weekend. A few of Alex having "I need a nap" meltdowns too. Check them out if you have some time.

I also have one video to share. Alex has been rollerskating. He's quite good actually!

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Thursday, March 12, 2009

Tim was on TV this morning!!

The local news did a St. Patrick's Day segment and visited Tim's pub to talk about a recipe they are running as a special. He cooked it up live so of course we had to TIVO it. Max was ecstatic to see it when he got home from school. I was impressed myself. No stuttering or looking nervous. It was like he had been doing it all along. I've been trying to find the segment on their website so I can post a link, but so far it's not there. GRR! I'll keep checking, maybe it'll be there in a day or two. For anyone who might be interested, here is the recipe

Guinness Braised Beef Short Ribs
Ingredients

10# Beef Short Ribs
1 # Diced Onion
8oz Diced Carrots
8oz Diced Celery
6ea Bay Leaves
2c Tomato Paste
15ea Black Peppercorns
1 Bunch Fresh Thyme
1qt Water
1 Can Guinness
2c Port Wine

Process
Brown short ribs in skillet on all sides, add vegetables, bay leaves, peppercorns and tomato paste, when vegetables begin to brown add Guinness and Port Wine, Reduce liquid by 2/3 add water, cover and simmer in 275 degree oven for 2-3 hours.

This looks slightly different than what he did. He used chicken stock rather than water, and mentioned a 300* oven on his segment. He served it with horseradish mashed potatoes and baby carrots and green beans. I'm telling you, I usually hate short ribs, but seeing them all cooked up sure made them look yummy! Hopefully he brings me a bite home, but I won't hold my breath.

I'll keep checking for them to have the video online and if they ever add it, I'll make sure to post it here. Maybe he can figure out how to get it from the TIVO box onto one of the computers. That would be awesome!

I have to go get Alex from school now, but I just had to share the exciting news!!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Hi, remember me?

Haha, I've seriously been a slacker lately. Not just with the blog, but with everything. Work has not been the greatest, Max has been difficult to control, and Alex is definitely in his terrible twos. Dealing with all of that has made me slack off on what should be important...updating my family and friends.

Last weekend we headed up to Bay City for grandma and grandpa's birthday. We had a very nice time and the boys loved playing with their cousins. They spent the night with grandma and grandpa on Saturday so Tim and I could go out. That was awesome. The bars were kinda boring, but it was a nice time. We hung out with an old friend of Tim's and then a guy we both used to work with showed up for a little while. Always nice to see him.

Otherwise, there really is nothing new going on. We just sit around the house all the time and it's getting old. I'm looking forward to the nicer weather so we can get outside more and maybe take the kids to the zoo or other fun places. I'm even considering taking them to McDonald's for dinner tonight just to get us out of the house. How scary is that.

Oooh, I guess there is a highlight. Tim and I decided we are taking a vacation this year...without the kids. Not sure where or when yet, but it's in the works. Maybe a long weekend or something. Vegas has been tossed around which I think would be a lot of fun, and more affordable than many other places I'd like to see. If you have any awesome ideas, let me know!

I added quite a few pictures to dropshots last weekend in case you haven't seen them. I'm a bit too lazy to add them here, but don't forget to check them out! Some of the kids playing outside, and others of them just being their cute selves!

Later!