Monday, March 26, 2012

winner winner chicken dinner

I have been trying to be creative with dinner, since we have gotten in the rut of eating pre-made again. I saw this pin on Pinterest & knew I had to try it.


 I followed the link to this blog. I found so many cool recipes & they seem so easy, idiot-proof, & stuff you can whip up in a short time that you may just look like super mom.
I changed up the original recipe to suit our needs.


 I used 3 chicken breasts, plopped them in the crock pot with a can of chicken broth, about half a can of water, some pepper & just a little, ok a lot of garlic. I set the crock pot on low & left for work.
Steven gets home way before I do, so after about 6 hours of them cooking, he took the chicken out & put them into the fridge. When I got home we cut up the chicken & doused it in caesar dressing (the recipe says 1/2 cup to a cup of dressing, we used the whole dang bottle!), added a dash of parsley & some more pepper. We decided to eat it just like that, we did not put it back into the crock pot. We whipped out the ciabatta bread, but the chicken on it & topped it with romaine lettuce & parmesan cheese. Everyone gave it two thumbs up. Even Sebastien said, mmm this is good! This would make a great summer sandwich. I can not wait to try her other recipes!

Sorry for the blurry shot.

Sebastien loved it!

so did Sawyer & I finally got a picture of a smile with teeth!
  






Wednesday, March 21, 2012

the lil pink box

that's right I have been waiting for the lil pink box for a month. Ever since I signed up at Birchbox. They send you deluxe samples delivered to your door for $10 per month. I figured this was the price of a bottle of wine & I love me some samples!
So when I got home after work & checked the mail, I was so excited to see my pink box. I rushed inside & we all headed to the kitchen to rip the baby open. The kids & Steven were excited about my package too, only because they usually contain food, candy or other neat stuff.



When I ripped it open & they discovered what was inside their excitement dwindled & mine grew.


Inside the box, everything was neatly wrapped & tied! Here is what I got this month.

 
  • Ahava Essential Day Moisturizer - I used this last night & this morning & I love it! My face has been so dry with the cold weather. It cleared it right up. No flaky dry skin this morning. It worked better than my Aveeno!
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  • Annick GoutalEau D'Hadrien - I am wearing this now. It is a really light perfume. It has hints of citrus, grapefruit & mandarin. I was not sure of the scent, but now I like the smell of it on my body. It's nice but for the 85 bucks they want for the full size it is not that nice.
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  • Color Club Nail Lacquer in Jackie Oh! - I cannot wait to rock this. I thought it was a little bright for work. It is a very neon pink!
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  • Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Cleanser - I tried this last night. It smells kinda weird and it is a really disgustingly looking shade of brown. It is 100% organic & uses botanical ingredients to purify pores. The directions state to use it twice a day to cleanse but this morning when I woke up my face was a little sensitive from it. I think it was burning away the dirt & grime, that's good right?
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  • Kerastase Elixir Ultime - this is an oil you put on your hair to hydrate & smooth your strands. I had to google this to find out how the heck you use it. I guess you can a) smooth it through your hair before you shampoo or b) smooth it into your hair before you blow dry. This morning I tried option A & let me tell you this stuff made my hair so shiny and smooth after I blow dried it. I was worried to use it after the shower thinking it would leave my hair oily. I will try option B when I do not have to be seen in public just in case. The full size bottle of this stuff is pricey, for 54 bucks I might just make the sample last.
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  • Tea Forte Skin Smart Teas - according to the packaging these are mega-antioxidant tea that helps skin look more radiant. I got 3 flavors to try, cherry marzipan, cucumber mint & lychee coconut. I tried the cherry & it was yummy! I am sure you would have to drink a gamillion of these things to really see any improvement in skin, I am sure my lil sample of 3 will not make that much of a difference but if it does I'll let you know.

Well that has been my excitement for the past few days. Some of these things will compliment the very busy weeks we have ahead! Steven is my date tomorrow to an arts event at SAM & we get to see the Gauguin & Polynesia exhibit everyone has been raving about & to top it all off we have a babysitter until 11pm! Not only do we get a night away from the kiddos, but a reception with free food, free wine and a tour of SAM...so excited!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

lunch date with nordies

Today was the grand opening of the Nordstroms Rack at Westlake Center. I have been looking forward to this for a year. Nordstroms Rack is one of my favorite stores downtown along with Ross. They used to be a little further down closer to the waterfront. I am not sure them moving closer in walking distance from my office is going to be a great idea to my wallet!


It really is all swanky inside but, there were sooooo many people in there today. It was so crowded that you could not walk down any aisles without bumping into people. I did happen to find some good stuff....only window shopping & creeping today.

These earrings are so cute. I was in earring heaven, there were 3 big huge racks!

cute springy purse.

I saw these & wanted them.


They are even doing point of sale check out. Lets say you want those sparkly shoes & you do not want to go all the way to the cashier & then have to wait in the outrageously long line. If you see a nordie person with a green coat, standing around, they can check you out right there in the middle of the store! Then they will email your receipt so you always have it. How cool is that!?!

On top of all that, they were serving up free hotdogs for the opening, so I got a free lunch out of it too!





This post was not a paid endorsment, I just have been so excited about them moving closer in a much prettier and nicer space.



Monday, March 12, 2012

bounced

I have a confession, these are a little old....3 weeks to be exact. I just got the pictures loaded onto the computer tonight.
Our niece turned 5 and everyone celebrated by being bounced, traumatized by the 20 ft slide, and jumping our way into some back pain....i keed...it was a blast. The kids had so much that I did not see them for a hour straight! I am thinking this place is the best baby sitter ever. Well if you rent the private room. The public area was nuts. I waved at all the other parents in the public area & related to their torture, if only for a minute.

Sawyer was fearless, this kid played non-stop & he did not care if he was being bounced in the bouncy house, going down the big slide or being a champ in the obstacle course!







Sawyer was also able to get some play time in with Riley. 


He kept trying to give him hugs.

in the bouncy house.


This is the best shot I got of anybody going down the slide. The rest of us were a big blur. This picture pretty much captures how much fun we were having, although Riley looks terrified! This is our sister in-law Wendy. (who looks fantastic!)



My crazy hubby!



The kids definitely slept well that night!

 

Sunday, March 11, 2012

monster bash

my lil man turned one on Saturday & we had a big party to help him celebrate.
we all had a blast decorating everything with a monster theme.  Here it is in pictures!
Thank you to all the the family and dear friends that made it out to celebrate!

Sawyer's brand new kicks!

The Big ONE Cake!
Monster Cupcakes!

Saturday, March 10, 2012

a year ago today

 

This little monster man is the big ONE today! I can not believe how fast this year has flown by. Why it seems just like yesterday he was popping out (literally).


I was 7 days away from my due date. I had been having contractions all week but nothing to serious. I was at work & told a co-worker (love you Beth! She has now helped me time my contractions for both my kids.) that it seemed they were coming in at regular times. (you would think after already having one, I would be an expert) I sat at our front desk in our office as she timed each contraction. This was at about 10ish in the morning. They were sporadic at best, sometimes 5 minutes apart and than one would come almost a half hour later. I was not worried. This went on all day. Finally I decided to call Steven & tell him to come pick me up that day because I just did not feel like a 45 minute bus ride. Plus my bus was always crowded & on 2 different occasions found myself standing the whole 45 minutes. (which by the way I totally lost any hope in man kind those days. No one noticed a 9 month pregnant lady trying to keep her ginormous belly balanced)
When Steven came to pick me up it was around 4,  most of the contractions were stronger but still not systematic in time spreads. Everyone in the office came out to say good-bye & tell me I was having this baby today. I thought they were crazy. As I left I said over my shoulder, "Ya, see you tomorrow." They even went as far to call Life Med, who is the medical service in our building, & our Security Manager to escort me to my car & Steven. The whole time the Security Manager is telling me not to have the baby on his watch.
So we went home, finished packing a bag and relaxed. With Sebastien, I was in labor for almost 24 hours so we thought we had a little time. We knew the stigmata of "your second one comes faster" but threw it to the wind. I did call the hospital & they paged the on call OB to call me back.
As I was waiting, I decided I wanted to shower, to shave my legs , to help ease the back pain. As I stood in the shower I had a really strong contraction. That was all she wrote, with a snap of the finger my contractions started coming in quicker & stronger. So strong that I had a hard time walking let alone getting out of the shower. I finally pulled myself out & tried to dress myself. Steven came in to check on me & found me doubled over the counter. At this point the doctor called back & asked if the contractions were so bad that I could not talk through them. I told her they getting there. I was told we should make our way up there.
We picked a hospital in Seattle that was about 30-40 minutes from our house. On top of that we still had to drive Sebastien to Steven's parents house & drop off a friend we had at the house. By this point it was hard for me to even walk out to the car. We got to the friends house, dropped him off & finally made it to Steven's parents. We dropped off Sebastien & Steven's mother got in the car. By this time I was pretty sure I was in full blown labor. Steven & his Mom started making "the calls". I was in & out of it, keeping my eyes closed the entire time & my head in a
Wal-mart bag.
About 10 miles outside the city, I started getting the urge to push. I kept thinking to myself that I should be at the hospital at this point not stuck in a Dodge Durango with Steven's Mom asking me if I was labor.Really? Ya think so?
I kept trying to hold back the pushing urge, until I felt a slight pop (sorry that is the only way I know how to describe it) and felt the gushing (sorry again, but it is what it is). My water broke! I whispered to Steven, who had to ask me again what I said. I leaned back in my seat as he pressed his foot to the pedal & as my entire bottom half was being soaked. It even went into my shoes!
After some expletive language, honking & the emptying of bodily fluids, we finally made it to the hospital.
Steven pulled up & his mom graciously offered to park the car for us. Steven got out & rushed inside to find a wheelchair. He came racing outside with a wheelchair. He was worried because he could not find anyone inside & the only wheelchair he could find was parked outside the men's restroom. He heaved me into the chair & ran into the hospital. When I say ran, I mean it. We could have won a wheelchair race at the pace he was pushing me at. We finally found a set of elevators. We could not remember which floor Labor and Delivery was on. At this point I was still unable to fully open my eyes. As the elevator opening we rushed inside, cutting off someone trying to get of. Steven yelled "Where is the Labor and Delivery floor" The person stayed on the elevator with us. I started getting that pushing sensation again & voiced it. The person on the elevator leaned over "You don't want to push yet honey" I was in the mood where if I could have I probably would have punched her. Not out of meanness but because I really wanted to push.
When we finally made it to the right floor, Steven flagged  down a nurse & told her I was ready to go right now. She gave him the look that she hears that a lot.
They got me in the room & another nurse told me she was going to get me into a gown and check to see my progress. I did not even make into the gown. The nurse checked...you know down there & all chaos broke lose. I closed my eyes wide shut & all I heard was people running around, nurses calling on the room intercom to get the doctor now and nurses asking me all sort of questions. One asked me what my pain plan was & even before I could answer or even register what the heck she was asking me, she flatly retorted that if I did have one, it was to late now.
3 pushes later & out popped Sawyer. I am not joking. In the time it took Steven's mother to park the car, help a little with the mess I made in the car, & before she made it back to the room I had had my baby. I still had my clothes on people!
So there you have it, we still laugh at it today & I am sure it will be a story I will retell to him many times as he gets older. Sebastien was the stubborn one and Sawyer was all ready to greet the world.

To my littlest man, we love you with all our hearts. You make me laugh everyday with your "What's up" chin nods, your wrinkle nose smiles, your sloppy kisses and your toothy grins. You made my heart grow twice as big that day.