Manic Monday

Yesterday was full of surprises, and not all of them fun.

I'm chalking it up to it just being a Monday, and hoping (praying?!) the week can only get better from here!

The morning started off with a bang (or a leak) when I was washing my hands in the bathroom and noticed something looked funny in the mirror.

No, it wasn't just the scary sight of my own reflection first thing in the morning.

There was a water leak that had run down the wall and was bubbling, behind the paint. 

Awesome.

Only, this is the bathroom on the second floor, and above it is the attic.  Even more awesome because that meant there was most likely a leak in the roof (it had been storming for a few hours).

Baby was up and crying; my husband was working out in the basement.  So, the leak would have to wait.

Eventually my wonderful husband was able to climb into the attic and look for a leak, but couldn't find one.  The strange thing was that the ceiling wasn’t wet, just running down the wall.  By this time we were both already running late for work. 

Then it took me 40 minutes  to get to work (normal commute time is only about 20 minutes). 

Unbelievable!

Monday was not off to a good start.

Later in the morning, I received an email from the babysitter than one of the baby's bottles had a crack in it and half of the bottle had leaked into her fridge. 

More awesomness.

I remembered that I had dropped the bottle bag on the way in to her house that morning, so it must have been at just the right angle to cause the bottle to crack. 

Lunch time rolled around, and I realized I had forgotten my workout bag at home (I normally work out on my lunch break).  Manic Monday---> you win again!

Finally, as I was leaving work on Monday, I kept thinking I was forgetting something; but I couldn’t think of what it might have been....that is until I got home. 

I had left my little cooler of pumped breast milk sitting on the counter of the nursing room at work. 

Really!? 

Breast milk is like liquid gold, especially when my freezer stash is dwindling to almost zero.  I knew if I left it at work I’d have to pitch it the next day because it would have sat out too long. 

Since the hubby needed to get back up in the attic to look for that leak, that meant the kids got to take a trip to mommy’s work.

What a day! 

At least I got to finish off the night with a bowl of ice cream and a new episode of HIMYM (How I Met Your Mother – for those that aren’t in the know!)  At least the evening ended on a good note!

Do you have any Manic Monday stories to share from yesterday?

Here’s hoping your week is off to a better start than mine!

(note, that is the second bottle to crack this month!) 

Welcome, Fall!

Today is the first official day of Fall.

Fall is by far my favorite season.  I love everything about it:

Cooler temperatures, chili in the crockpot, firepits in the backyard, colorful leaves falling on the trees, pumpkin patches, jeans and hooded sweatshirts, and let's not forget Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.

So, Welcome, Fall.
I have missed you.  I hope you decide to stick around for a while this year.


What is your favorite thing about fall?

Being Productive in the Evening

When you're a work-out-of-the-home-mom like me, evenings and weekends are the only time you have to do anything around the house.  And honestly speaking, I don't like doing chores or work on the weekends because I like it to be family time.
So, that really only leaves me the weekday evenings to get to all of those little things that pile up around the house.

Let me share with you how motivated I usually am after I get home from work:

NOT motivated at all.

My normal routine when I get home from work is to kick off my high heels and change into some super comfy scrubby clothes.  I won't put on a pair of shoes unless I know I'm heading out for an errand or we are going for an evening walk with the kids.

So, how do I make myself get some things accomplished?

I put on my tennis shoes.




No, not so I can go play tennis (I actually don't even know how to play!), or go for a run.

For some reason, having shoes on (and not just flip flops) makes me feel like I have some sort of purpose. 

I might actually head out side and pull weeds from the flower bed.
I might sort through the endless pile of "Stuff" that accumulates on our kitchen counter
I might clean my closet to find some things to donate
I might even collect the garbage from all of the bathrooms and take it to the outside trash can


Please don't misunderstand. 
It's not like my shoes hold some sort of special power like Harry Potter's magic wand, or Clark Kent's glasses (even though that would be quite awesome).

But when I'm wearing shoes, I'm not going to just go curl up on the couch or jump into bed.
You might call it silly, but hey, whatever works, right?

Try it, and let know if it works for you, too!

Church Festival Weekend!

Wow. What a busy weekend we had. I think I'm still recovering.  And Yes, I realize it is already Thurday and the next weekend is getting ready to start.

But I still wanted to share our past weekend with you all!

My in-laws run the Hamburger/Sausage/Chicken booth at their church festival every year. That in turn means they need workers, and lots of them.

And THAT  means they start by recruiting family.

We have worked the church festival weekend, I think ever since I met my husband 8 years ago. I've skipped out on my duties the past 2 years since I had kiddos to watch (I even worked while I was 8+ months preggo with my daughter, but had frequent sitting breaks!)   But this year, I was back in the game. My husband and I worked Friday night while my parents watched the kids. Don't get me wrong, working the food booth is actually somewhat fun, as we get free beer and get to work it with friends!

Church festivals also mean festival rides.

Having an almost 3 year old means she wants to ride LOTS of rides. She doesn't quite get that they are expensive!

So she rode 2 rides on Friday night and promised her we'd come back. Which of course we did.

Sunday offerred an 4 hour, unlimited ride pass at a discounted rate. I thought she might ride just enough times to get our money's worth (she would have needed to ride at least 7 times)...boy did she ever!

I think the giant slide alone she rode 12 times!

　

　

　She also rode the "cars"  quite a few times:

And the other cars, where she got to "drive the wheel"

And don't forget the TeaCups!

Her little brother isn't quite big enough for any rides...so he just had to watch big sister have all of the fun:

The unlimited ride pass was definitely money well spent!

Church festival weekend is always a busy weekend spent with friends and family.  We all had a great time and can't wait for next year when we  can do it all again!

Meatloaf Surprise

Interesting title, huh?

I usually only make meatloaf one time a year.  It's one of my husband's favorite meals, so he gets it homemade each year as his birthday dinner.

I left work a little early so I'd have time to make it before I had two kids tugging on my legs.  It's just easier that way, trust me.

We try to eat fairly healthy, so I'm always trying to think of new ways to "reinvent" meatloaf.  You know, make it healthier, and more exciting.
My meatloaf recipe isn't all that special or exciting.  I usually just follow the tried and true recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. 

Doesn't every married woman have one of these?


Anyway, I loosly follow the meatloaf recipe that's in there, adjusting quantities based on what I have and to suit our tastes. 
But this year, I thought I'd liven it up a little more:

Shredded carrot is pretty exciting, isn't it!?


Wait, there's more....

Can you guess what it is?


I had an extra zucchini that needed to be used.  So I shredded that into the meatloaf, as well.
I know you can hardly contain yourself and your excitement.

As if the meatloaf couldn't get any better, I added yet another twist this year....

Individual portioned mini-meatloafs!


As a bonus, I was able to get EXACTLY twelve mini-meatloaves to fill the cupcake pan.  I can't even do that when I make actual cupcakes!

Unfortunately, there isn't a cooked picture of the meatloaf, because by that time the kids were home and chaos had ensued.  Trust me when I say that they were at hit!

Individually portioned and easy to serve.  And SURPRISE.....added vegetables that the kids don't even know they are eating.  Awesome!

I just might have to do this again before next year!