The Real Me

So it occurred to me the other day that Nick and I will be married five years come this August. I know, I know, big deal. But in relation to that I was realizing that I have had in-laws for five years and I don’t know if they really know the real me. The real me…who is the REAL me? I don’t know if I even know, it’s defined by so many things. But I know I am silly and sarcastic and have an opinion on everything and everybody. And I don’t know if they know that real me. I don’t know, maybe I should ask them but it is a funny thing to go and ask someone to their face if they know you or not when you have known that person for 8 years. That’s right…I have known these people for 8 years including Nicholas’ and my courtship. I love that we had a courtship…how romantic! And some things are there all the time and you just realize them all of a sudden as though they are new concepts. I realized just the other day that my brother in law, Marc-y and I have never been together for longer than a couple of hours at a time. And how do you get to know someone when you are never with them? I wish we lived in the same town because I think we would be really close…I could slap him upside the head and tell him to stop being crazy and he could glare at me when I am being weird. And come to think of it, the Bean and I have never lived in the same city either. If we did I imagine I would be calling her every five minutes to meet for Target runs and we would be ladies who lunch in big floppy hats. But alas we do not live together and reality sets in that we are all our own people and I cannot drag these people back to ________ (ha! You thought I was going to tell you where I live!) to live here in a little cottage next to mine…Sigh, why can’t we all just be Smurfs? But the point being that I wish I were closer to my in-laws. I wish I could call Marc-y on a weekly basis and tell him how much I love him and I am thinking of him and praying for him all of the jolly old day. I wish I could call Bean more and chat. But alas my self-conscience self sets in and I feel young and awkward. I wish I could express in words, somehow, in someway, how much my mother and father in law mean to me; That they are like parents to me, not just in laws and that I will be forever indebted to them for allowing me such a fabulous life with their son and for being the best grandparents I could have wished for for my children. I wish I could look them in the eye and say that but I can’t…I am shy and embarrassed and feel my opinion doesn’t matter…so I write. Maybe one will read it and call the next to tell them to read and then they will all have read it and it will be our little secret that they know, in a small way, the real Lindsay.

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

A super happy Birthday to the greatest husband ever, Nicholas! He turned 30 yesterday! He is the best thing that has ever happened to me...without him I wouldn't have these two gorgeous children and I wouldn't get to laugh every day of my life. He has filled my life with such joy. I am in awe of God for giving me him. So now Nick is in his 30's and I can't wait to see what they bring for him.

Here's Nicholas with his birthday cake...and yes there is a yoda under an umbrella.

Cute Boy Shoes

If you are like me you are finding it hard to find cute boy shoes for your son. My son does not need shoes with an inch thick sole, nor is he a cowboy, an old man, or a thug. I just need cute little boy shoes. So I FINALLY found some. They are at this website called Puddle Jumper Shoes. You can check them out and let me know what you think but I think they are just fab.

Let's get some laundry done

So I know that this is probably the stupidest thing that someone could spend weeks contemplating over, but I am thinking of switching up my laundry routine and I am just wondering how everyone else does laundry. I have always been a one day laundry type of gal. I don't want to feel enslaved to the laundry room so I always try to get it all done Saturday. It worked pretty well when it was just Nicholas and I but since the kiddos have come along, well, the process has kind of stretched out a bit. And when you have things to do on Saturdays that makes it even more difficult. I tried to get a head start and get all of my laundry done on Friday which resulted in clothing being strewn throughout the house as it never seemed to put itself away. I know some people do laundry every day and I like the idea of that in theory but I am wondering how it works...do you just do one random load a day? Do you do one person's laundry a day? And when do you fold and put it away...the same day or the next day when you are doing the other laundry? So I know I am now officially a freak but I am just dying to know how everyone else does this.

Birthday Celebrations

I love this little boy so much! He just fills my heart with joy!

This weekend was a weekend of family, fun, and love! We celebrated Nicholas' dads birthday as he is turning 60 this week. So we all went out to eat together and had a blast. Emma loves her Auntie Bean and Uncle Mark so much...and she was thrilled when she found out that they brought their Rocky dog. After dinner we went to the grotto where Uncle Mark proposed to Auntie Bean...there Emma prayed which was adorableNicholas held Calvin and for some reason always looks mad in pictures...I promise, he is the sweetest man in the world!
The next morning we got up and went to brunch...shhhh we skipped church to eat. I have never seen such a spread...stuffed mushrooms, waffles, roast beef, fried shrimp, cheesecake, biscotti. The diet was off this morning. Ha! After the world's largest meal we went to the park and took pictures of my adorable little bookie, pictured above, while Emma played. We missed Uncle Marcy so much! It was great to be with family and have the kids enjoy their family! How was your weekend!

What Are You Eating

So here is our menu for this upcoming week, I am really trying to stay on task with menu planning as it helps us to spend a lot less money than eating out all of the time. I just need to remember to get the meat out of the freezer in time! What are some yummy ideas of yours?

Monday night: taco night!

Tuesday: Nicholas' Birthday! Steak, potatoes, veggies and birthday cake!

Wednesday: leftover night

Thursday: tilapia with a salsa, rice and veggies

Friday: pizza! And I think it will be family sundae night too

Saturday: breakfast will be blueberry pancakes and for dinner, oh lets have chicken parmesan

Sunday: broccoli chicken noodle skillet

Unspeakable Blessings

It happens every time: A major tragedy; A baby’s dedication; A phone call from a friend about a hardship they are going through; A Birthday Party; A Wedding; a broken toilet; an oil leak in the car. It seems like any event now-a-days has turned into an opportunity for our family to give thanks to God. When something bad happens, Nick and I usually end up meeting in the kitchen; we cling to one another, he cups the back of my head in his hand and I can just cry if I need to. We are breathless and then one of us mutters how blessed we are. We look at our house, our cute little car, our children who are priceless beyond measure, and the love that we have between one another. We are in wonderment at our health, our careers, our “chance” meeting where we fell helplessly in love. We stand in awe of the silly facts that come with our lives: we both love capers, we live kind of near the water, we are addicted to Chicago. What are you thankful for in your life? Do you stand in awe of the massiveness of God in your life and everything he has blessed you with?

Saturday's Date Day

Nicholas and I have both been in the need of a fashion overhaul. Nicholas is one to wear clothes that he has faithfully until he has worn them for so many years that they are frayed and beginning to show some serious wear…serious wear cannot happen when you have to be in the public eye. I have lost 25 pounds and so am finding that a lot of my clothes are no longer fitting. I had some clothes this small from pre-baby but they were immodest and inappropriate for a married woman. So shopping we must go. To make sure we actually went shopping, we had money set aside for this; We just needed a day set aside for this. So this past Saturday we chose to go shopping out of town. Nick’s mom watched the kids for us, bless her heart. Its not that we don’t like our kids around but we needed some serious alone time. We realized it has been months since we have had a couple hours to ourselves. We found clothes but more importantly we found our old college, silly selves again. We fell madly in love again. This man I married smuggled me into a dressing room which made me giggle. We sat at Swingbelly’s and talked, honest to goodness talked. We stared into one another’s eyes and we just relished every minute of it. And in case you are wondering about our clothes, we each bought a pair of pants and two shirts. Being who we are and how cute our kids are, we ended up buying more for them but it was fun. At home I’ve added a pair of sneaks and work out pants to my line up of items bought. On the way home from shopping we felt as though we couldn’t get to the kids fast enough, we missed them so, but it was so nice to have a day to ourselves to be ourselves together.

4th of July

So I know I commented earlier on how I was sick over the 4th of July but we did manage to get out and celebrate for the sake of the kids. If it were just me I probably would have been curled up like a squirrel somewhere. The 4th started on Tuesday for us because we went to the parade in Nick's hometown. It was a lot of fun for Emma (aside from being half asleep) and it is a nice tradition to have.

Here are my children waiting for candy on the curb!

I love this picture of them...do I have the cutest kids or what?

Friday we had a picnic at my Grandma Jeans house. It was nice to get together and Emma loved playing on the swing and in the sandbox with Aunts Jaime and Lacey. I think she secretly also like Uncle Doug's new dog, Cedar, even though she refused to touch it. Calvin also seemed to have a nice time too! He is such an easy going baby. 4th of July night was tricky with all of the fireworks going off and two kids tucked safely into bed...luckily we didn't have too many interuptions of sleep.

Here's Calvin at Grams house for the picnic...just having fun!

Here is Emma passing her time on the swing...wheee!

What Season of House do You Have?

photo courtesy of pbase.com

I was reading an article in a magazine the other day that mentioned that some houses tend to be at their best during certain seasons. And as I am sure that you now think I am batty, allow me to explain. Some houses look their best with the bright sun of the winter mornings streaming through the windows while the summer suns causes only a dull glow to settle upon the house; some houses thrive in the summer with the position of the windows they do get spectacular light and the views of green are unheard of; some get fantastic views of the foliage changing to its vibrant colorful self and when you decorate your doorstep with gourds, pumpkins and mums, it looks like Martha Stewart dwells at your home. Finally we have to pay homage to those spring time houses…the homes that look as though they are bright eyed and busy tailed in the early months of spring; their spring bulb flowers are a crisp color burst against the warmth of the home. So thinking through this, what type of house do you have? In thinking about this I have to say that we have a summer house. One of the huge reasons I am thinking that is the season of our house is because of all of the foliage around us. We are so close to our neighbors here in the city but when the foliage on all of our trees fills in we don’t even have to close our curtains for no one to be able to see in. Its kind of like living in a giant tree house which is just amazing. I also love how much light our home brings in…which was one of the huge selling points for me. Our yard is also somewhat of an oasis in the city. When you step inside our gate there seems to be a hush that falls over the land. The man that lived there before us (and had the forethought to do all of this planting) did a great job because I never would have thought to plant everything where he did and how he did. So anyway, leave me a comment and let me know what type of house you have…I am curious to see what season has the majority.

Sorry

So I know that I haven't written for a while and it has been because I have been on death's door. Last week I just couldn't shake the feelings of "allergies"...again. However this time my eye swelled shut and drooped and it seriously looked like I had had a stroke (which by the way Nick said is not a good look for me) :) I just couldn't shake this sore throat too. So I went to the Doc Thursday and wouldn't you know it, infection has settled into these old bones of mine. They thought it was strep but the test just came back negative, which may I just say a HUGE thank you Jesus! So I am on antibiotics and am finally feeling better. Friday and Saturday I think I must have pushed myself too hard because Saturday night I seriously thought I was going to die. I have never been so sick before that I was wondering how everyone would do without me and praying for God to let me live. I thought Nick was going to have to take me to the hospital but luckily I survived, slept a lot and am now feeling better. Hopefully I will continue to be up to par and will be able to blog some more this week!