Pool Party

We had a pool party yesterday. The girls were a little hesitant even though it was 86 and hot as blazes outside.

The water was super cold. Dad was a trooper and got in with them. They didn't splish splash like we pictured, but once they get used to it and the water warms, they will. Cause they love water!

I think if we'd had fancy, fruity drinks with umbrellas, it would've been a true pool party. But maybe that's just me...

Weighing In

We've been weighing our girls once a week aside from their vet visits. They are growing so fast. TOO fast.

Here's Casey weighing Brooks.

And now weighing Boone (everyone was a wiggle worm in this one!).

Boone's official weight is 15 pounds. Brooks weighs in at 12 pounds. Oh. My. Word. Their preciousness far exceeds their size.

Also, Boone loves brushing her teeth. About as much as I do. She was having a ball! So proud.

Smoked Turkey Wraps

This is super easy, but so so good. Restaurant worthy. In fact, I think I'll open a restaurant. This will be on the menu.

1 package garlic and herb flavored cheese, softened
4 (10 inch) whole wheat tortillas
1/2 red onion, sliced
1/2 T brown sugar
Honey smoked sliced turkey
8 bacon slices, cooked
2 c loosely packed mixed greens

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook bacon in skillet.

Cook sliced onions in non-stick skillet coated with splash of olive oil. Add 1/2 T brown sugar and cook until translucent.

Spread softened cheese evenly over whole wheat tortillas. We used Alouette Light Garlic and Herb spreadable cheese this time. Last time we used Laughing Cow (Casey calls it Baby Cow) reduced fat garden vegetable cheese. Either works. We get whatever is on sale.

Top cheese evenly with caramelized onions.

Then turkey (we just did two slices per tortilla).

And finally bacon (again, two slices per tortilla).

Roll up, and place on cookie sheet. Put in oven for 6 minutes until warmed through.

Open wraps to stuff with mixed greens and roll back up. Eat.

We ate ours with fresh fruit. Delish. One of Kate's patients brought her fresh farmer's market strawberries. Heaven. We had those with watermelon and blackberries. Talk about a party in your mouth.

Daddy's Girls

Brooks and Boone are daddy's girls. They love him.

So much so that when he left this morning to get his oil changed and his car fixed up at Autobell (Christmas Gift Card...heeeyy!), Boone took my phone and literally called Casey. It was HILARIOUS. But our girls are only two things: precious and hilarious. So I wasn't surprised. I let it keep ringing to connect the call so I could tell Casey that his oldest daughter missed him so much she called him. He loved it.

They do lots of awesome things. I've mentioned before I have a trillion pictures. But just to give you an idea. They enjoy things dad enjoys.

Mich Ultra.

Sleeping.

Just being cute.

Hockey.

Sleeping again.

Playing.

Mom.

The gym.
 

So MANY things!

I am such a blessed girl.

Date Night

Remember the other day when I said I have a H-O-T sushi date for Friday? Well, scratch that. H-O-T still, but not sushi. Case got a Groupon for Zada Janes, and we've always heard good things and have realllly wanted to try it. And we are all over some good deals. So, Zada Jane's it was. It's on Central Avenue, and actually right across from Kelly Tire Sales, where we have taken our cars for years and years for any major work we've needed done. We trust Mark Kelly. He went to my grandpa's church. That's how we found them.

Anyhow, back to date night!

We had to buy $30 worth, but it only cost us $15. Highway robbery! For us...

We got an appetizer of Trio Spinach Artichoke Dip served with Pita. Yum. Very good. We couldn't eat it all. The pita with it is way better than chips or real bread. I've decided that anyways. The server was so nice too. This is what he said when he brought it out, "Hi, friends!" I felt like I was back in Boone. At Melanie's. And that's a good thing. It's probably my favorite restaurant of all time. The food, the atmosphere, the people, the city.

Casey got a Thomas Creek Red Ale. I got wine. When our waitress brought our drinks, "Cheers!" See? The people are so nice. Genuinely. And we got to sit outside on the patio as you can see. It was just lovely.

Then our real meals came right away. I got the Veggie Quesadilla. It was in the appetizers section, but I can't eat a ton at once anyways, and obviously it looks the size of a real-live entree. It had sweet potato, black beans, and pepper jack. SOLD. I'm a sucker for most things with sweet potato. And melted cheese. It came with caramelized onions and fresh salsa.  Two-thumbs up. And if I had more thumbs, they'd be up too.

Casey got the Bunny Rancheros. When we got home we told Kate it was called that because it had rabbit in it. She believed us. Seriously? Haha. I'm still not sure why it was called that, but it was a take on Huevos Rancheros. Who doesn't like breakfast for dinner? This was a huge dish though.  I think Casey's eyes got big.

He did not know where to even start. Seriously though.

And neither of us finished anything. It was all delicious though. We love date nights.

Shout out to our sitter. Our puppy sitter. Thanks a million, Kate.

Now we have an excuse for another date very soon. Since Sushi got bumped.  Rusan's, here we come.

Eco-Friendly

I recycle and re-use plastic bags and what not. But look at this!

This takes going green to a whole new level.

It's made my Pilot. The B2P, otherwise known as Bottle to Pen. It's a pen made out of recycled plastic bottles. How awesome is that? Well, it's 89% recycled content. I don't think the springs and the ink are recycled. But still so cool, and it writes so nicely (it's the gel ink kind). They are my new favorite pens. I even got Casey on board. They look cool too. What have you done for your environment lately?

Cottage Chic

I'm so in love. I was rooting around in Etsy looking for a table for us to put outside in our backyard to put our plants on (which are growing phenomenally by the way...we have little baby tomatoes sprouting!!!). We want this to keep the girls from eating the tomato plant leaves (toxic to dogs...who knew?) and to protect them from the Miracle Gro soil.

So I stumble on these. I fell in love. I totally want to redecorate my room. Or have a little girl. Like tomorrow. And decorate her room with this stuff. I am enamored and whisked away to 1800's Paris. Dreamy sigh.

I guess this bed technically could not be for a child. A newborn would need a crib. So forget the baby. I need want a new room. 

I'm in love with the antique dress mannequins.

How precious. Perfect for a tea party. Or breakfast. With coffee. And a newspaper. On the patio.

These sconces are amazing.

China cabinet in the bedroom? Maybe we should redecorate the whole house. I'm not sure this is Casey's style though. But how precious is the subtle-y pink chandelier? Ahhh.

Anyhow. Etsy is dangerous. Dangerously fascinating.

Over the top?

I saw this Pet Sling on Etsy. What do you think about this for Brooks and Boone? It's obviously made just for pets. I'm not crazy.

Too much? No?

I think it's perfect. Except the older our angels get, the more they turn into Squirmy McSquirmersons...they'd love it though if they gave it a chance. 

I think it's a fabulous idea.

Woof.

I've been a little under the weather since Sunday. Good news is I think I'm on the mend...I hope. I realllly hope.

You know the coughing, the inability to clear your throat, the ever-stuffy and then ever-runny nose, the headaches, the fever, chills, dizzy, the whole body aches, the lack-of-breathing (which is prob the most important thing), and just overall, flat-out tired. I think I need more sleep.

Not only have my workouts and sleep been pretty lousy, but my I've been blowing my nose so much lately that it's in pain and ultra sensitive. I feel like I've snorted a couple lines of coke in the past hour. Yesterday too. Minus the post-snort euphoric feeling. It's the worst when I run. I feel like someone is holding a blow torch in my nose. Strange? I thought so too. Cause I've never experienced this before!

(Disclaimer: I don't know what snorting coke would actually feel like. It's what I'd IMAGINE it would feel like. I've never even seen the stuff. Please don't take my analogies too far. It's easiest for me to portray my feelings with vivid descriptors. And it helped, didn't it? I thought so.)

Have a lovely Thursday. It's almost the weekend. And I have a H-O-T sushi date tomorrow tonight. What do I wear? EEEK.

PUPdate: (Get it? Pup combined with update. PUPdate. Are we on the same page?)
Our little ladies have mastered coming up the stairs. They're so independent now! And our oldest daughter, having slightly longer legs, has gotten the hang of going down the stairs! Well, only if they're bigger stairs (wide enough) and don't exceed 6 steps. She has not tried our inside stairs, and I'm not about to let her try just yet. There are alot of them, and they're steep and small. That's another day. Last night, Boone was even going down the steps outside, and she skipped a step. Totally jumped over it. She made a successful landing (I'd definitely give it a 10) and just trotted on like it was totally on purpose. Casey laughed. Mom had a heart attack. Seriously, my heart dropped. Overprotective much? The whole ordeal is so adorable though because they both are so proud whenever they get to the top or the bottom, likes it's an amazingly huge feat. And it's so PRECIOUS!

Rapunzel

I've always had short hair. And by always, I mean always. Until last year or so. And now I feel like Rapunzel. I had decided a few months ago that when your hair constantly gets caught under your purse strap or you lean against the couch and think someone is pulling on your hair, but you find out its really just you leaning against it, that's when you officially have long hair.

But it all came to reality yesterday when I was in the shower. I had dried my hair straight that day, so there was no reason for it to be tangled from my workout. It's not like it was in a bun or anything or I had left it curly, but it was straight and then went into a straight pony tail for my run. When I was in the shower, I was desperately trying to get the tangles out of my hair. When you have short hair, you don't randomly get tangles. I know this because this has never (never, I tell you) been an issue for me. Kate has legit Rapunzel hair. It's the most beautiful ever. She always says has to wear her hair a certain way to work out, or it'll get tangled. Straight-up pony tails and running do not mix for her. So I realized yesterday, in the shower, that I am an official member of the long-hair club. Because I get tangles in my hair even when it's straight. If you didn't know there was a club, there is now.

Here's my hair.

"Curly" but still so long:

(You know I had to take the opportunity to throw in a pic of our beautiful girls...giving them baths was the most recent I have of my hair...I'm not nakey, it just looks like it now that I think about it. But I promise. Casey is the only one that gets free shows.)

Straight:

Okay, I don't have a recent pic of it straight. Sigh. I'm not a big picture person (of myself), so I suppose that's why. Bummer. But anyways, you get the idea.

Long? Yes, I'd say that's long. For me.

Move to Charlotte

We had quite the weekend! Sal was here Thursday night and Sunday night. Then Stacie and Dave were here Friday through Sunday. Aren't we so blessed for fabulous friends and fun weekends!

Katie bought this for dessert when Stacie and Dave were here. Hopefully it worked. But who can resist cookie cake? So I feel pretty good about this.

Kate said the lady at HT looked at her like she was loaded when she requested her to write "Move to Charlotte." If you ask me, the icing decorator looks like she was sauced when she did this...I think my 8 year old nephew can write neater than that. Is all this too judgmental? My apologies. Nonetheless, message delivered.

Stacie and Dave: MOVE TO CHARLOTTE!

Also, we didn't get one for Sal because not only does he not eat chocolate, but he has absolutely no plans to stay in Canada beyond completion of his doctoral degree. Phew.

Anyways, good times had by all. Each visit was too short. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the company.

The latest edition of Cute Things Casey Says.


Scene: 
On our way to Independence Veterinary Clinic for some puppy shots this morning. I'm sitting in the backseat with the girls, and Casey is driving. We're at a stoplight, and Casey turns around to talk to Brooks and Boone.

"You girls are so beautiful. 

You must get that from your Momma."

I love how much he loves them. And how much he loves me. He's the best.

Hahahahaha. And I just remembered this one. A couple days after we brought the little sweet peas home, Boone walks into the kitchen, and Casey is just talking to her like it's totally normal, and this is what I overheard...

"Boone, your coat is so pretty. 

Where did you get it? Nordstroms?"

L.O.V.E. it.

We do have the prettiest pups in the city--in the world, actually.

P.S. Our little girls are growing like weeds. Its cray-cray. Boone is up to 13.3 pounds at 12 weeks, and Brooks is up to 10.3 pounds at 10 weeks. They grow up so fast. What the eff? I want them to stay teeny forever. And to always be able to sit on me without cutting off my air supply. And to always be able to carry them around without having to stop for a breather. At least I know they'll always be precious and cuddly and give kisses endlessly. Cause that's what little bullies do. Lucky us.

My Life As A Mom

I know some of you may scoff at this. My life as a mom. To these two angels.

They light up my life. Their kisses and wagging tooshies and tails when I come home and in the morning. Their sleep little grunts and sighs and snores. Their playful spirits. Their big, beautiful eyes. Their quick, short little legs. Their snuggles and teeny little barks. Their chops full of water stored up for later. Their curiosity and love of the outdoors. Their sweet little spirits. Their full tummies begging for a tummy rub and their soft wet little noses looking for eskimo kisses.

Our little girls bring me so much joy. We have so many pictures, I don't even know which ones to post! I am THAT mom. The one that has a billion pictures because they are my first children.

Anyways, mom's are supposed to have that mom-instinct, right? The one that wakes them at night out of a deep sleep? Not me. I feel horrible! Thankfully, Casey wakes up to their quiet little whimpers and he wakes me up, so we can both sleep-walk-a-pup-to-the-door to take them out. They've done awesome. They have not wet their bed at night at all, but they do wake up 1 or 2 times a night to go out.

So Casey will be in Raleigh tonight to play some hockey with the fellas. That means I am in charge. I am supposed to have this mom intuition and wake up at exactly the right time that they do. I am SO WORRIED! Sounds silly, but I don't want them distressed or sleeping in pee because I can't seem to hear things in my sleep (is this condition abnormal?). Since I sleep like a rock, I have determined to set my alarm for 2 am and 5 am (their usual) to take them out. Is this good mothering? I don't know. I also kinda, deep down don't want a mess to clean up in the morning. Sigh. Normally, sleeping through floods, tornados, and blazing fires would be a good thing (or not?), but not when my pups need me!

I don't want to wake my sleeping beauties! I could also risk that this be the first night that they actually sleep the entire night? That's reasonable for 10 and 12 weeks old. No?

They love sleeping tummy up. We love it too. Cause it's SO. DARN. CUTE.

On a side note: Casey and I got the fence up in our backyard. So now they can frolic like nobody's business.

Crock Pot Lasagna!

I think one time I said I need to give ya'll this recipe. So here it is! So easy and delicious.

Ingredients:
1.5 large jars of spaghetti sauce (I used Classico. Yum.)
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
8 or so pieces of lasagna noodles, uncooked
1 pint of ricotta cheese (I use fat free and you'd never know it.)
Veggies

Usually we make this lasagna with just veggies, but since we had TWO boys in the house last night, I decided to throw in some meat. So add 1 pound of lean ground turkey (or beef if you prefer) to the ingredients list. I also had some baby sweet peppers in the fridge I wanted to use, and the peppers were a nice touch.  Props to me. Usually I throw in some spinach, and it's delicious; but this time, I didn't have any. Booo.

Also, I had some ricotta cheese leftover from last time but not quite a whole pint, and I had some cottage cheese hanging out in the fridge, so I used that to make up for the ricotta cheese that I was missing. It's okay to use your imagination.

So the staple veggies that I use are as follows:
Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower (If you get the bag of pre-mixed vegetables at the store, it's the perfect amount. You can find them where the bagged lettuce is in the produce section.), 2 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, and spinach. I also think I've thrown in some fresh halved cherry tomatoes before, and as mentioned, I used some peppers this time. Be creative and use your favs.

Brown meat. Chop veggies. I also sauteed the peppers to bring out the flavor.

In medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese (and cottage cheese in this case) and 2 cups of shredded mozz. It will be thick and gummy. That's okay.

In a large bowl, combine sauce, browned ground turkey, and veggies.

Spray your crock pot with cooking spray. Put 1/2 cup of sauce mixture in the bottom of the crockpot, then layer pasta (broken to fit), and next put a layer of the cheese mixture. Continue the pattern (about 3 layers) ending with a layer of sauce on top. Sprinkle last cup of mozz on top.

Cook on low 4-6 hours. One time I forgot and thought it was only supposed to cook for 2 hours, so I panicked. Then I decided I didn't want us to eat dinner at 10 pm so I'd just put it on high for 2 hours, and it worked out perfectly too.

It's tasty either way and makes so so much. We have tons of leftovers. Enjoy!