"udder"ly priceless...

today was annual "cow appreciation day" at chick-fil-a....or, in other words, "dress like a cow and get free chicken" day! :) we weren't originally planning to go, but after hearing a promo segment on k-love this morning, elizabeth exclaimed, "mommy...i have a cow costume...can WE get free CHICKALAY!?" and really, how could i resist the excitement of an almost four year old...or the lure of a free dinner!

and so...mike and i fashioned our cow gear while the girls napped this afternoon. well, lucky for us, we had one official cow costume from this past halloween (although kate got to sport it this time since elizabeth's sprouted quite taller since then!). we called up some friends who also were totally into making fools out of themselves dressing like cows...and voila...off we went!

here's our herd...

libbers was particularly enthralled by the whole experience! she even asked to wear her cow costume to bed tonight...

as if free dinner wasn't enough, our chick-fil-a also had a petting zoo, free pony rides, and a bounce house...SCORE!

ride 'em "cow"girl! elizabeth LOVED the pony ride...taking a turn on both ponies! (one more sign she is taking after her aunt shell!)

they also had a goat, bunny, miniature pony of some sort, and chicks for petting..kate got to poke pet a bunny!
...and libbers had her turn as well...
no pictures of their fun in the bounce house...but trust me...they had a great time.

all in all, i would say it was an "udder"ly priceless evening in more ways than one!

ten smile tuesday

here they are....some smiles from the past week! many of them include our fabulously fun long weekend at the lake! :)

1. 1 sink+2 girls+lots o' suds+a myriad of plastic dishes=tons o' fun! seriously, the girls enjoyed playing together happily in the sink for almost an entire hour! they were drenched afterward...as were the floor and counter-top...but hey, it was fun! :)

2. part of their sink playing time enabled me to whip up a big batch of homemade cinnamon tortilla chips...YUM! elizabeth started out as the designated cinnamon-sugar sprinkle but ended up finding the sink play much more interesting. you MUST try these chips...AND, even better, the fruit salsa that goes with them. i posted the recipe for both here!

3. playful patterns--i picked this up at a garage sale for fifty cents...and oh my, elizabeth is LOVING it...she is so engrossed with all the shapes and patterns and designs. well worth my two quarters--especially since it has ALL the pieces and is in perfect condition. would you believe that the current selling price on amazon is $65.99! its one of our current favorite "school" activities.

4. our first ever attempt at frying a turkey...and it turned out nicely! :) i especially love our handsome "fryers"...and the mind-way through construction background for the frying pictures...makes it look offically "redneck"! :)

the before and after! :)

5. lots of time with grandmommy and poppy! :)

6. the annual fourth of july boat-in pancake breakfast! the gray and cool morning didn't dampen our spirits! :) this is our fifth fourth of july enjoying the traditions on loon lake...and it was fun reflecting on five years worth of pancake breakfasts...our first year--riding over in the fishing boat, just mom, dad, mike and me...the next three years on the pontoon boat with aunt shell and uncle richard (and elizabeth and kate as they came along!)...this year we definitely missed aunt shell and uncle richard...but hopefully we'll see them soon and be able to introduce them to our newest little yak at the same time! :)

7. our molar-growing kate wasn't always in the best of moods, but she did eventually warm up and enjoy some serious giggles and swimming time...i think she's still our water-bug...even if the moodiness dampened her normal bravery at some moments. by sunday afternoon when we were ready to head home i could barely pry her from the lake! :) elizabeth, on the other hand, is still quite enamored by the sand...venturing further into the lake mostly only to retrieve shovels and such that decide to float away! but she does build a mean sand-castle!

8. special time with GG! we were blessed to have GG join us at the lake all afternoon and evening saturday. both girls LOVE their GG...and "GG" is one of the words kate has added to her repertoire! elizabeth had some special snuggle time with GG while waiting for the fireworks...and libbers sharing some sweet memories of Big Bapa had us all in tears briefly...priceless memories. i am SO thankful that my girls were able to meet their Big Bapa and that they have this time now to be getting to spend time with their GG.

9. both girlies were delighted by their first taste of a s'more...and both found them delicious! elizabeth was also treated to a roasted "coconut toasted marshmallow"...which she found just as yummy as mommy did! :) plus we all got a great laugh out of the story she told us about how much she loved coconut!

ooey...gooey...yummy s'more!

i simply love this picture of libbers and daddy...he was in the process of roasting marshmallows for the s'mores...

10. elizabeth had a super special saturday evening--getting to stay up for the fireworks for the first time ever!...thankfully, in spite of the gray, cool day the fireworks went off as scheduled. while waiting for the late night event elizabeth enjoyed running around in the wet grass and puddles, savoring some "cheese dessert" (turtle cheesecake made by grandmommy...YUM!), and watching her collection of lightning bugs (caught for her by mommy, daddy, and poppy!)...a little girls dream evening! she most definitely enjoyed the fireworks...especially the green ones! but i think the lightning bugs might have made the biggest impression, since that was the first thing she mentioned upon waking sunday morning! here she is enjoying her "cheese dessert" and watching her jar of lightning bugs!

11. ...and well, these two pictures just make me smile...so i'm sharing them as well!

12. and finally...we enjoyed a LOVELY day today...playing outside in the inflatable pool ALL morning long...and then capping off the day with more pool play and hamburgers from the grill, eaten on the back porch...and then watching the girls run around in the backyard while my hubby and i sat on the porch and chatted. its what summer is all about!

cinnamon chips and fruit salsa

okay...this is a sneak preview of one of my ten smiles for today. those will come later...after we spend the morning swimming and playing in the backyard! :) but these are SO good that i just have to share the recipe...and what better time for sharing than while the girlies are chowing down on their frosted mini-wheats and watching "curious george".

i had a version of this at a baby shower a couple weekends ago, and after enjoying it there i decided it would make a great snack for our fourth of july weekend at the lake. (and i was right!). i looked up recipes on allrecipes and then tweaked one to fit my tastes...and here is the tasty final result!

cinnamon tortilla chips

10 inch flour tortillas (i used 20 tortillas because i wanted to have plenty to share!)
"i can't believe its not butter" spray (or some other spray butter product)
cinnamon and sugar mixed (and poured into some kind of shaker so it is easy to sprinkle)
pam for greasing cookie sheet

preheat oven to 350
spray flour tortillas on both sides with butter spray. (i sprayed them and stacked them on a large cutting board). use a pizza cutter to slice the already sprayed tortillas into 8 wedges. place wedges on greased cookie sheet in a single layer (you will have multiple batches!) and sprinkle thoroughly with cinnamon sugar mixture (i just sprinkled the top side of the tortilla wedges...and this made them plenty sweet). bake for 9 minutes (or until they start getting crispy--they will get crispier as they cool so don't wait until they are brown!). let them cool thoroughly; then package in airtight container or ziploc bag.

fruit salsa

2 lbs. strawberries--washed and hulled
4 small kiwis--peel
1 pint red raspberries
2 large granny smith apples--peeled and cored
3-4 Tbsp. crushed pineapple--i bought canned
1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice
sugar to taste

dice/mince all fruit into tiny pieces. i used my food chopper, and it was quick and effortless. i made my fruit pieces quite small...but you could leave them larger if you prefer. place all fruit ingredients into a medium sized bowl (preferably one that has an airtight lid for storage if you won't be eating it all in one sitting!). stir in lemon juice (to help prevent apples from browning...although the strawberries and raspberries turn everything red anyway!) and add sugar to taste. i probably used 2 Tbsp of sugar for the entire batch...but it will depend on whether you like it on the tart or sweet side. ENJOY!

this stayed nice and fresh for a good 5 days (i just finished the rest of ours for lunch yesterday!)...and honestly, it got tastier each day...i would definitely recommend making it one day in advance and letting it sit in the fridge overnight to give the flavor a chance to "ripen".

ten smile tuesday...

here i am...making an attempt to get my smiles up...in the midst of a crazy whirlwind of the past few days. seriously, yesterday i was either in the car en route to a doctor's appointment, at the appointment, dropping off a prescription to be filled or picking it up, driving to pick libs up, heading to another appointment (since the poor girl was up shrieking about ear pain in the middle of the night!--and lo and behold, she does have an outer ear infection...probably from sprinkler or pool water getting in her ear--which i find ironic, since of my two daughters, she is definitely the one who is least fond of putting her face or ears in the water...but i digress) for the entire morning and part of the afternoon...and then this morning started with another appointment and a trip to target for dog food (can't let mugho starve!) and in just a few hours we have kate's first step evaluation, which will take the remainder of the afternoon...i'm exhausted! :) but seriously, i am also thankful for insurance and doctors...and vans to take us to and fro...and my sweet friend chrisy who watched libs so i could take kate to her hearing screen without a talkative, active big sister tagging along! :)

1. step one of kate's speech and hearing eval was the hearing screen monday morning, and she passed with flying colors! :) and honestly, i am so thrilled that in the past week she has really ramped up her efforts in the trying to communicate and use words category. we'll see what the first steps evaluators have to say today, but i am already encouraged at the progress she is making without "intervention".

2. upcomings...okay...so blogger tells me that isn't a word, but it should be. i must start this post with the fact that i am REALLY looking forward to heading to the lake for a long weekend...in less than 48 hours we'll be on our way! but, to tide me over until then, i am also looking forward to having some date time with my hubby this evening! have i mentioned lately how much i LOVE the date night swap we are a part of...seriously amazing...two date nights a month without having to pay for a baby-sitter and all we have to do is watch the whole gang of kiddos once a month. GOOD STUFF!

3. 31 weeks! oh my goodness...i can hardly believe it...just a couple more months and we'll be meeting the newest little "yak". i had an OB appointment this morning, and oh how i love, love, love hearing the heartbeat...and, even better, seeing the wonder in the girls' eyes as they listen to that amazing sound! i must say, i am also thoroughly enjoying all the thrashing about baby is doing these days...there is just nothing quite like glancing down at my belly and seeing a little foot poke out and dance around. and let me tell you, this baby is a mover and a shaker...mike and i were cracking up the other evening...it felt like the little guy (or gal!) was taking both feet and kicking at my belly button with ALL his might...as if somehow that might provide an escape route from the womb! :) while i am so excited to meet this baby on the "outside", i will admit that i am totally going to miss that unique sensation of movement while in the womb....(but i'll admit it, i won't miss the heartburn and insomnia...nope, not one bit!!)

4. a bit of backyard fun! it has been SO hot (like so hot i don't even want to go get the mail hot--and humid)...so i am really thankful for the cool down the past few days, though we haven't had the chance to really get outside and enjoy it. but last week i did finally brave the heat to let the girls run through the sprinkler (and, of course, race down the slide with their wet bottoms!) while i just maybe got nearly as wet as they did to keep cool! :)

5. some productivity! miranda (well...actually leslie and michael...miranda's mommy and daddy) was kind enough to invite both girls over for a saturday morning play-date...meaning mike and i had 3 entire hours to work on making some progress around the house...mostly in the nursery. we were able to get the crib up, sort through a mess that was accumulating in the room, and even tackle a few other projects. the nursery is really coming together...the next task is to strip the boston rocker and dresser that have been "handed down" to us and repaint them...we bought the paint, and now i just need to get going! i've also finished all the squares for the baby's afghan and am now working on whip-stitching it together...hopefully, i will have a picture to share next week! :) here are some shots of the fun the girls had at miranda's house....compliments of her daddy!

gotta love that kate's inner-tube is almost as big as the entire pool!

best friends!

wagon ride, anyone!? :)

6. our little houdini...this pic is terrible, as it was taken on my cell phone...but this is the face i found when i went in to get kate this morning....shirtless and trying her darnedest to get the pants and stinky diaper off as well (praise the Lord she didn't succeed in that!). this girl cracks me up, constantly managing to get articles of her pajamas off in the middle of the night!

7. the fabulous laptop my hubby surprised me (well...the whole family...) with one evening last week. he's apparently been researching and finally settled on one, and its great!

8. the 4 lbs of strawberries sitting on my counter downstairs...waiting to become strawberry shortcake and strawberry fruit salsa for our time at the lake. YUM!...and the fact that a target coupon made them cheap, cheap, cheap...but not quite as cheap at the $.25 a container edy's slow-churned ice cream i also picked up at target this morning...seriously folks, a quarter for a whole big ol' thing of ice cream (target coupon combined with manufacturer coupon for those who are wondering)...now if only i could enjoy it without heartburn...but alas, at least mike and the girls can enjoy a summer's worth of ice cream bliss! :)

9. getting to see aunt kim (mike's sister) and grandma and grandpa (mike's parents) on saturday evening. the girls and i (and grandma and aunt kim!) enjoyed some time at a baby shower for one of mike's cousins, and then we joined daddy and grandpa and all enjoyed some good ol' corned beef and mustard sandwiches and chatting time at shapiros. aunt kim was beyond sweet and came bearing many gifts...it was like Christmas in July...almost! :) i promise to share some pictures of the girls wearing the cutie outfits she picked out for them (in fact, they are wearing them as i type...well, as they nap!). and i'm definitely loving the tote she picked up for me at the vera bradley sale...a belated birthday present!

10. my now established morning routine. though my summer Bible study is already over, i am loving continuing in the same "method"...going on into the book of Colossians. my heart has been so blessed by hearing what He has for me in the Word each morning...journaling about it...praying the Scripture passage...meditating on it throughout the day. and friends, let me tell you, i have struggled with the whole getting up early thing in the past...i mean, really struggled, but i am so thrilled that for the past 5 or 6 weeks God has been faithfully getting me up early...without an alarm...every morning. how great is that! :)

pinch me...

i spent much of my afternoon with these two lovely ladies...and six little girls....and carrie's very patient and kind husband seth, the only male among the group...well, except for my dog! :) some of you blogosphere friends might recognize these gorgeous faces...carrie and amy. i actually know amy in real life, as we met and became friends just after college graduation, but these days we don't get to see each other in person all that often, so this was a delightful treat...and oh my, so wonderful to actually meet miss anna banana (and see lilla's sweetness in person). and as for carrie, well, she is one of the first blogging friends i really met...though i can't honestly remember how we stumbled across one another...i just know we did...and that blog friendship extended beyond blogging to some e-mails and Christmas cards...and a desire to hopefully one day meet in person...especially since we live just a few hours apart.

carrie e-mailed last week, mentioning that she, seth, and cupcake would be driving through my town on their way to visit family and asked if it would work to meet up. of course, i jumped at that possibility...we filled amy in, who lives just an hour away from me...and voila...it was set...a meet-up at my house.

i know some of you who aren't really a part of this "bloggity" world don't totally get the whole feeling so incredibly connected to people you really haven't meant in flesh and blood. but truly, that has been my experience with blogging...i have "met" so many incredible women through blogging...women who love Jesus, some are moms, some are not...most are married...some of us share the same hobbies, some don't...but the bottom line is that through this world of the internet, our lives have intersected. we have walked with one another through losses and joys, through trials and victories. through one another's written word, we have entered into a sort of fellowship that can't quite be described unless you experience it. funny that both amy and carrie were laughing about feeling like they had already been in my house though they had never actually set foot there....you see, they have visited through numerous pictures. in the same way, i felt comfortable talking to carrie about things i might not even bring up with many friends i know in my daily life, and i must say, i did comment on the fact that both her hair and seth's are much redder in real life! :)

when carrie called this morning to tell me they'd hit the road, it was the first time we'd really heard one anothers voices...and when she arrived in my driveway and we hugged one another, it just might have been our first meeting, but it felt more like the reunion of old friends. she is sweet and genuine and funny...and, oh my, little cupcake is beyond precious. and amy, dearest amy, how wonderful to get to see her again...and to meet miss anna banana...who is beyond adorable in pictures but even better in person...so squishable, wanna eat those chunky-thighs-ish! and lilla, oh sweet lilla, who gave us the most precious rendition of "trading my sorrows"...complete with dancing and hand motions...in the sweetest little voice.

our time was priceless...too short...but priceless nonetheless...and most definitely only the impetus for many more meet-ups to come! we enjoyed cookies and conversation...watched the six girls (amy's two, cupcake, my two, and miranda who i was watching for the day) play together as if they'd known one another for years as opposed to minutes...laughed...snapped photos (and yes, i am posting the photo, even though i'm not sure i like the red-faced, hot, swollen pregnant me being put out there for the whole world to see--but i suppose i will get over it!)...and simply revelled in the chance to actually meet in flesh and blood. and quite frankly, i kind of feel like i should pinch myself...after all, in less than a months time i've gotten to have two real life meet-ups with dear bloggity friends...

ten smile tuesday

since i missed "smiling" last week...i figured i better make up for it this week...so i'm getting my ten smiles post up before i take my nap--because, really, that is the only way its going to happen! :) so, in no particular order, here are some smiles from the last couple of weeks....

1. dinner and lots of time for chatting and catching up with some friends friday night. we planned to play games, but apparently we were too chatty and ended up skipping that....in fact, mike and i were up later than we've been up in a LONG time...after a storm rolled through, delaying our friends departure, we got caught up in conversation and didn't realize what time it was until after midnight....definitely a late night since we tend to be early birds...but well worth it.

2. celebrating birthdays...we have two wonderful friends who actually share a birthday...mr. brennan (my dear, sweet friend jill's little guy) and miranda (elizabeth bestest friend...my "cousin" of sorts, daughter)...one saturday we celebrated brennan's first birthday with a fun-filled cookout...lots of laughs while watching the birthday boy down his frosting cake, good times with great friends, splashing in a backyard pool for the girls, and more...and then the next saturday we celebrated miranda's fourth birthday with another cook-out...more good food, fun catching up with family that we don't see often enough, splashing in the pool fun for the kiddos, and watching kate cover herself in chocolate icing (smart girl!).

gotta love the matching backsides...and the chocolately kater gator

3. celebrating daddy...we have a fabulous one! we didn't do any big, but we did enjoy a lunch out at our favorite mexican restaurant...long afternoon naps...and then some time hanging by the inflatable pool followed by a bike ride to visit the ducks...low key...but special to all be together, nonetheless!

4. beating the heat with our inflatable pool. saturday and sunday the temps reached almost 90 with crazy humidity...and i must admit, the only way prego me was going to survive any outside time was with my feetsies dipped in the cool water. kate was a fish...trying to float on her back...drenching her hair....jumping in...and elizabeth...well, she equally had a blast...though a bit more tenatively...and her obsession with the floatie swim ring cracked me up...as if the pool was 6 feet deep instead of 6 inches! :)

funny faced libbers

kate, trying out a back float

creating a whirlpool

cheese! mama, i could stay in here ALL day!

and, of course, a hooded toweled graham cracker muncher...

5. some quality time with my sweet friend, lora, after Bible study last week...lunch at el rodeo, good conversation, catching up...good times.

6. dreaming about baby....as posted here and here...i'm at 30 weeks now! WOW!

7. the reality that teething is almost behind us with kate...sweet girl is cutting her molars right now...hence the fact that she has spent much of the week with her hand shoved ALL the way into her mouth. teething has been rough on this sweet girl...with each tooth...and the molars are proving no different...but, hooray...there is a light at the end of the tunnel (and with the fussing comes an increased desire to simply slow down and snuggle mama!)

8. this crazy little dancing monkey...for real, elizabeth has been SO into "shakin' it" lately. and, you've gotta love her insistence on wearing these HOT, fleecy, footie PJs around all morning during 90 degree weather. what a riot!

9. coffee wipes...my dear friend jill (or as elizabeth would say, miss jill!) gave me some of these back a couple of years ago...and they saved the day yesterday when kate decided crayon would love fabulous on our microfiber ottoman (and i mean HUGE streaks of dark blue crayon)...i was at a loss for what to use that wouldn't ruin the microfiber fabric, and voila...these did the trick instantly! :) THANKS JILL! :)

10. precious moments...like two little girls having an "ice cream party". i put kate down for a nap and then came downstairs to find that libs and miranda had comandeered the empty costco boxes to use as "chairs" for their party. elizabeth was reading "giggle, giggle, quack!" to miranda while they intermittently licked their imaginary ice cream cones...love it!

11. lunch at our favorite china buffet with some good friends...two mommies, six kiddos...a much needed chance to get out of the house and have some adult conversation on a rainy day...not to mention, the kiddos had LOTS of fun as well...and ice cream.

12. bargains...bargains...bargains....5 packs of pull-ups for just $1.50 a pack after double coupons and a rebate deal at k-mart (and kate's piqued interest in potty training....now mommy just needs to get equally motivated!)...cheap bottle nipples thanks to k-marts double coupons....and a huge haul at CVS...all for FREE thanks to gifts cards from transferring prego prescriptions and ECBs....20 soyjoy bars for mike, 2 packages of fig newtons for me (gotta love the iron), one pack of bottle nipples, almay foundation and eye-shadow...ALL FREE! woo-hoo! :)

13. some great garage sale finds...remember this post when i mentioned elizabeth briefly swayed and decided she wants a sister instead of a brother (by the way...she has since come back to her original stance that the baby should definitely be a boy). well, below are the shoes that incited the switcheroo to wanting a baby girl...elizabeth felt the pink sneaker-ish ones were "awfully cute"...so our baby needed to be a girl to wear them. i scored these for $1 a pair...hence the fact that i bought them even though we don't know gender for sure...i figure they will either make great shoes for our baby OR a great gift for someone else! and really, who can resist robeez, see kai run, and pedipeds for just $1...especially when most of them look to have been worn maybe once or twice! the same sale had the JACK-POT for kate...who wears a wide...meaning we have to shop at stride rite in the priciest section...both of these were like new (kate has worn out the sandal-y ones on the left more in the past week than they were when we bought them for a dollar!)...i question whether the sneakers were even worn, as they are spotless...not a common condition for shoes worn by a two year old! and the sneakers should fit her all winter...meaning we can hopefully avoid shelling out the cash for new tennis shoes!

and then, here's brand new-still in bag with price-tag--pottery barn kids shower curtain we scored for the girl's bathroom (which has been crying out for decorating for three years!)...i snagged it for just $5!

and then, the girls most recent pre-occupation...though it just might be beyond both of their age levels...the fisher-price laugh and learn house....for $5...original retail $79.99! my intention was that the baby would like this eventually, but honestly...the girls have already gotten $5 of fun out of it...which is priceless in this HOT weather than is keeping us inside (compliments of my rapidly swelling ankles).

14. the iron supplements and change in diet seem to be increasing my energy level a little bit...which is a welcome change! but no worries, i'm still taking advantage of naps and resting...

15. we took kate to the pediatrician about her speech and language development, and the doctor did refer us to first steps for further evaluation. thanks for all of your sweet comments and encouragement....the pediatrician was in agreement that kate is a little behind, but she wasn't overly concerned since she is the second child (and has a sister who NEVER stops talking!). i am relieved to be getting her evaluated...and thankful that in the past few days she seems to be trying to do more communicating (go figure!). but, what a blessing to have first steps available for free should she end up needing it...and the fact that they come to our house is like icing on the cake!

16. and alas...now i am smiling because i'm finished posting...and off to take a nap!

carried away...

....with all these delightful little etsy creations! :) ...and dreaming of sweet baby...as mentioned in this post....and now, i must drag myself away from etsy...we have friends coming for dinner in less than two hours... :)