Cooking, Pots, Pans, Crepes and Melting Snowmen

Hello, hello!

Bet you thought this blog had died, huh? Yeah, it was flatlining there for a bit. But lo and behold, here we are! And with lots of pictures, to boot!

So, first things first.

Our bathroom flooded, due to a toilet that had a propensity for overflowing. A lot. We aren't sure exactly what happened, but our best guess is that the boys stuck a soft, small pool toy ball in the toilet and flushed and it got stuck in the "S" curve of the pipes. We took the toilet off and put it in the tub, then filled it with water and flushed it. The water just swirled around and around and around but didn't actually flush. So we bought a new toilet. And new flooring, since the fake wood in the bathroom was warped and disgusting from being "washed" with toilet water every couple of days.

The new look is SO much better, and I'm super proud of Josh for doing it all himself!!!

Here is the before; well, he'd already ripped out the old floor, but you get the idea.  You can see the toilet hanging out in the tub.

Here is a picture of the water damage that was underneath the wood by the bathtub:

 

Gross, huh!?!?

Here is Josh cutting out the new vinyl flooring, with his trusty sidekick Kate:

 

Josh used my rolling pin to get the flooring flat and straight. He's resourceful, that one! =)

And here is my happy little mug hiding amongst the paraphernalia required to renovate your bathroom. ;-)

 

 And HERE is the final product!!

I like it a lot and it's so much nicer than the grody old fake wood that was in there before.  

But that's not all we did this weekend, oh no!  Mama got herself some new dishes and pots and pans!!!

JC Penney was having a clearance sale, 60% off and then I had another 10% off coupon.  So I got a new set of dishes for $72, which sounds like a lot but it was a set of 12 settings.  12 plates, 12 salad plates, 12 dessert plates, 12 bowls, 12 dessert bowls and 12 coffee mugs. I love it; it's totally country kitchen-ish.

Here is the box; you can't really see the detail:

 

Here is my dishwasher, FULL of all my dishes. =)

 

I tried to get a close up of the detail on one of the plates, but since I'm using my cell phone I can't get a good picture.

 

I really love the set and it will fit in perfectly in our future farmhouse country kitchen. :-D My whole family dreams of living in a cozy farmhouse someday; Christian tells me at least once a day that when we get a farm he's going to milk the cows. ;-)

But is that all the fun a girl can have in one weekend? I think not!

Moving on to my favorite purchase of all this weekend.... My new pots and pans!!!

 

It's hard anodized metal pans, professional quality.  I love them so much, it's hard to describe. They will look fabulous hanging on a rack above my butcher block island in my future farmhouse kitchen. ;-)

Here they are in real life, on the table with my ever present model and helper, Kate:

 This is the stockpot I'll have simmering on the stove, full of chicken noodle soup, in my future farmhouse.

 Look! A real double boiler! I feel like such a grown up now. =)

All in all I saved over $450 dollars from the sale.  The pots and pans retailed at $500!!! :-O  I got them for $180.  An investment for sure, but totally worth it.  I'll have these pans for the rest of my life, hopefully.

And with all the new dishes, pots, pans, toilet, etc... comes a LOT of cardboard.  So I set the kids to work helping me fit it all into the recycling can. =)

Did you notice Kate's apron in the pictures?  Well, that's because I made good on one of my New Year resolutions and she helped me in the kitchen.  We made crepes.  She did a good job!

 

Isn't she cute? =)  She was so super duper excited and proud of herself.  =)

I also snapped this picture of my vacuum and the toy one Christian was using.  We were vacuuming together and he thought it was SO great. ;-)

 

And lastly, I found this in Kate's backpack and it describes perfectly how most days go for me:

Each day is new... A blank, clean slate.  I get up and get dressed (most days) :-P... then I get some coffee and the sun starts shining and things look pretty good.  And then life happens and by the end of the day I'm just a blobby puddle, hanging onto my broom for dear life. :-D

Ha ha, I laughed so hard when I saw that.  It seriously is how I feel by the end of the day/week, but it's okay because then the weekend comes and I get to see Josh and recharge my batteries.  It's all good.

Have a good day!

Simple Pleasures

Sometimes it's good to just take a step back and appreciate the little things.  You know, things like this:

Candles, so warm and cozy and tealights are cheap! (Don't mind the totally scarred table top.  We're focusing on the Simple Pleasures, the Good Things right now.)

And things like this:

Cozy His & Hers slippers.  We are both OBSESSED with our slippers.  We got them for Christmas.  I can't tell you how many times I've left the house wearing only these! I forget I don't have real shoes on!  They are super comfortable and have a hard sole, so they don't get wet.

And little things like... Heat and Hot Water.  Neither of which we had when we first moved back.  So we had to draw baths the old fashioned way... heating up pans of water on the stove.

And things like, the utter adorablness of your youngest child on his birthday:

And, oh, little things like this:

A little something Joy the Baker whipped up. Chocolate Orange Scones. Um, YES PLEASE!


And other fun, simple pleasures.  Enjoy the small stuff. 

There, don't you feel better!? I know I do!

I'm alive, but I'm not funny...

Sometimes, life just isn't funny, ya know?  And THEN what am I supposed to blog about!?!?  Well, clearly I haven't figured that out, as there's been an eery silence, with only the sounds of crickets chirping since my last Resolution post.

Also, I totally lose my motivation to blog if no one comments. I know it's so lame, and I know there are some of you (hello family!) who do read and enjoy it, and usually comment.  And to you, I say THANK YOU.  I really do appreciate it.

But lately, my creative juices have been absent.  Nothing particularly funny or entertaining has happened.  The kids have turned into grumpy, odd little creatures and spend their time A) whining B) fighting C) waking up before the crack of dawn (literally.  Dawn has not cracked before these kids are bouncing out of bed) D) whining E) fighting F) whining... you get the picture.

I really feel like there's a perpetual full moon or something, because lands sakes they are so GRUMPY!  So wild!  It's like someone is secretly sneaking into their rooms at night and giving them hits of speed.  INSANE.

So my poor little blog has suffered because of it.  But then, Sunshine Mama commented... the only one to comment on my Resolution post since my sister, and it encouraged me to blog again.  So here I am.  TA DA! :-D

Life is interesting with Josh being gone the majority of the week, and I know that plays into the kiddos' behavior.  Heck, it plays into MY behavior! We miss that guy when he's gone!

So, I will try to blog more frequently here and not just focus on my Skinny Turtle blog. Even if I don't feel I have witty, funny anecdotes to share.  Maybe I should add that to my list of Resolutions. ;-)