Monthly Archives: August 2012

Aug 7

July’s Clutter Count

I’ve been cleaning, de-cluttering, organizing, and painting all month long. These little projects are really starting to shape up now that the clutter is out of here.

In July, I sold the crib, and seriously went through the kids baby/toddler/kids clothes, and pared them down.

I can’t believe just how much stuff was stuffed into two small closets.

I went through every single box, and really pared the mess down. I tossed many items, donated box after box, and I still have some ready to sell.

I love these little donation stations located all over town. I’ve taken several bags every week in July.

In July I worked on Agnes’ bedroom the most. It is no longer a nursery, it is now a big kid room. I love it too, it is clean and organized.

She really likes it too. It has become my favorite room in the house, probably because it is the cleanest.

My clutter count for July wasn’t too bad either. I got another 266 items out of the house. In August I’m going to hit the boys room hard. They will be back to school soon, and I can’t wait to clean and organize their space again.

 

Aug 6

July’s Favorite Photos

July we found ourselves staying home more, thanks to a heat-wave. It was a fun month though, I finally got to work on a bunch of painting projects around the house. Here are some of my favorite photos from the month.

Thade kept busy drawing his comic books.

He had an amazingly fun Fourth of July.

Dylan has had a relaxing July.

He is getting really excited about starting kindergarten next month. I still can’t believe that he is ready for school.

Agnes has been my little shadow this month. Here she was pretending to take pictures of a tote that I was sewing.

She put on a show for me too.

She has been picking out her outfits and adding accessories too.

Her hair is getting so long too.

We had an awesome Fourth of July this year. We got to celebrate with all the family.

I loved watching all of the boys run around the yard and set off fireworks.

It was incredibly fun.

I really didn’t get out of the house too much, and most of my errands were run when it was night.

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Summer weather turns me into a vampire.

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I have hoped and hoped that we would see a decent rain storm.

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We’ve been staying up late and reading lots of books.

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I’ve been painting lots of little projects here and there.

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July was a blast!

The pets have been keeping cool too, and they are happy that the Fourth of July is over.

Mia has been into everything,

here she is trying to look cute and innocent. She chewed through her puppy-gate.

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My kitty has been lounging a lot,

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he is only up and active at night, the Summer days are just too hot.

July went by fast, and the lazy Summer days will soon be over. I’m a bit sad to see the Summer coming to an end, but I’m excited to see what August brings our way.

Aug 5

This Week

This week August arrived, and so did a major case of the grumpies. I think the grumpiness is due to a combination of ridiculous hot weather, and the impending arrival of school.

Monday:

I got out of the house all by myself. That’s right no kiddos, just me all by myself. I hit up an antique store.

I added a few new items to my collection.

Tuesday:

Tuesday afternoon the kiddos and I went to Thade’s best buddy’s house for a play-date. I got to help put together back to school supply packs with his best buddy’s momma. It was a lot of fun, and I have never seen so many school supplies.

Wednesday:

Wednesday was a grumpy/happy day… My mom was coming up to visit and watch Agnes for the afternoon, that was the happy. The grumpy was that I had to take the boys for school enrollment. Thade wasn’t happy about it at all, but Dylan was a little excited. I was happy that my mom watched Agnes, so there were no temper tantrums at enrollment this time around.

Since my mom was in town, she offered to watch the kids so James and I could go out. We had a fantastic time, I seriously love our little date nights.

We did a little shopping, went to dinner, and drove around town for a bit too. It was nice to get to spend some time with my hubby, and dinner was super delicious too.

James also got me a few “new” vintage pieces of Pyrex for my kitchen. I love them, oh yeah, and him too.

Thursday:

I had planned on staying home all day, and catching back up on my dishes and laundry. However, I remembered that we needed to run out and pay the water bill, so we got out before it was too awfully warm. We took care of the errand, and before we left the kiddos got to pick a piece of candy out of the candy bucket. They were pretty happy with that errand.

I got all of the dishes caught up, and the laundry too. I wanted to start a little project, but I couldn’t think of what to do…

So I de-cluttered some more junk from the house. Oh yeah!

The puppy was mad at me, I had to let her outside a time or two. She protested every time.

The kitty was happy to hang out with me, and he even curled up on my lap for a bit, but then he spotted…

The incoming toddler-hug-the-kitty-attack!!!

He wasn’t too happy about the attack-hug.

Friday:

We finally got a little rain, and the kiddos slept in a bit thanks to the thunderstorm. James was going to be working open to close, and we didn’t have any plans or errands. I decided it was time to clean up the kitchen cabinets again, and see if I can make some room for my Pyrex dishes.

I started off by switching around the shelves. I cleaned out the microwave cart that was housing three years of the kiddos school papers. Agnes and I gave it a good clean, and then we moved all of the kiddos cups and dishes into the cart. Thade likes the new set-up, it is easy to get to everything now.

Then I moved all of the water glasses and coffee mugs down a shelf. I stacked up the Pyrex where the mugs used to be.

The shelf looks so cheery now.

The new rearrangement freed up a little space on another kitchen shelf. Now I’ve got room to stash a few more bowls if I come across one.

Saturday:

We only had one errand to run in the morning, and the kids and I drove around a bit. We were looking for some yard sales, but I didn’t find any. I don’t think the boys were too upset about it though, they aren’t the biggest fans of yard sales.

The weather started to get a little too warm, so we stayed in for the day. The kids watched the Olympics for a bit, and Agnes watched a few dvd’s too.

I kept busy in the kitchen baking Cinnamon Rolls and Chocolate Chip Cookies too.

It was a pretty good week, but I’m really hoping for a break in this miserable weather.

 

 

 

Aug 4

August Date Night

On Wednesday my Mom was in town to watch Agnes while I took the boys to school enrollment. She said that she didn’t mind staying a bit later so James and I could go out to dinner. That sounded like a fantastic plan to me. Once James was home from work, we headed out the door.

We already knew where we wanted to go to dinner, but we had a few stops first. We headed downtown to see if the Treasure Hunt was open. We were in luck, it was open, and it was a fantastic shop.

There were so many amazing Antique quilts. I fell in love with all of them.

I found some kitschy-cute needlepoint too.

We spotted so many books.

I might have to go back and get this pretty set of glasses.

This little picture reminds me of Dylan at the dinner table. I might have to get it for the kitchen.

Speaking of kitchen needs, these pieces were pretty cool.

This set of dishes were lovely too.

We wandered throughout the store several times.

I even found a few items that had to come home with me.

After the shopping trip at the Treasure Hunt, we stopped off at Trader Dave’s so I could show James a few tables that I was interested in.

We went to our favorite spot for dinner, and it was delicious.

I came home with a few “new”vintage pieces too. James got me a set of yellow Pyrex nesting bowls. They look so cheery in the kitchen.

I love this pink patterned Pyrex casserole dish.

This little green Pyrex dish was too cute to pass up.

I found a few more bowls to go with my purchase from Trader Dave’s.

I love my vintage goodies, and date night was so much fun too.

Aug 3

July’s Tasty Treats

July was another busy month in the kitchen. The heat didn’t keep me from cooking at all.

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For the Fourth of July I made a few batches of homemade rolls for pulled pork sliders. Oh goodness, they were tasty, and simple to make too.

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I made a bunch of desserts for the Fourth of July too, but I only managed to get a picture of the Cherry Pie.

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I had a few fresh peaches to use, so I made a Peach Cobbler.

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I also had a few zucchini, that were perfect for zucchini bread.

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I got back into the habit of making homemade bread. It is so fun to make bread from scratch, and it is delicious too.

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I made an apricot pie too. I heart apricot pie.

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One of our favorite restaurants is Chicken Mary’s. Unfortunately we don’t get to visit there often, so I have been making dishes close to theirs at home. Fried Chicken, Spaghetti, and Homemade Bread, a KS tradition.

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Just look at the apricot pie.

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I’ve made several Chocolate Bundt cakes this month too.

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I’ve made a few breadsticks too.

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I’ve also baked a vanilla cake or two.

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I whipped up some homemade Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast for dinner night.

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How I love to make cinnamon rolls. They make the best breakfast for actual breakfast the next morning.

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I baked some more bread, and baked a Dutch Apple Pie too.

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Such a simple and tasty side.

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The Dutch Apple Pie was amazing topped off with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Oh yeah! More Chocolate Bundt Cake.

I made another Cherry Pie towards the end of the month. I made a double crust for James, he loved it.

Of course there were lots and lots of cookies.

I know August will be another busy month of cooking. We’ve been shying more and more away from take-out, but not going completely take-out free. I appreciate the break from the kitchen duties when I can get it.