November 22, 2010

I'm A Nerd Like That


It was just a normal getaway grocery trip to Target, and I was happily checking things off my little list, when what to my wondering eyes should appear???.... well, holiday flavored teas in too cute packaging of course. I know it's bad that I get all excited about tea, but I could so clearly picture myself enjoying one of these in my cozy chair all wrapped up in my warmer than warm Sam's Club fluffy blanket and some Harry Connick Jr. Christmas tunes floating around in the background. So before I know it I have three boxes of tea in my cart. I'm such a sucker for holiday flavored anything. Is it just me? Pumpkin spice coffee creamer- yes please! Egg Nog pancake mix- sure, why not? Peppermint ice cream, uh... yeah! I fall for it every time, and what's worse is that I am never disappointed. So when I see some teas donning names like "Gingerbread Spice", "Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride" and "Candy Cane Lane"- I'm done.  Okay, well now I have a hankering for some tea sans the chair, blanket, and music as Monday Night Football is on and the hubs has dibs on the first two. Oh well, tea has a great shelf life right? Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!!

 Admit it- they're cute aren't they? 

My favorite tea concoction:
tea of choice + 2 teaspoons of honey +
a splash of half and half=
Comfort in a mug! Enjoy,
November 16, 2010

Fallin' In Love with These Boys







So blessed,
October 31, 2010

Dynamic Duo

Feeling extra safe with these to super heroes around.



Great Scott! Batman,
October 27, 2010

Meat Eater


     So any chances of Ben becoming a vegetarian are out the window.           
Someone get that boy a moist towelette! 

Never been so proud,
October 3, 2010

So Grown Up

Just some snapshots of my favorite almost four year old. That would be Ben, if you were wondering. :)

His favorite thing to do like daddy.

A mini-date with best bud London. Trying to impress her with his superior listening skills.

Love his hamming-it-up smile. It always consists of leaning head to the right and saying "Cheese!" 
Olan Mills would be so proud.

So peaceful, and now mama gets a breather. Yeah me. 

Loving "The Beth Life",

Regression Agression

Harrison is a gentle child. Very patient and kind. A joy to be around, with his perfect comedic timing and smooth talking. In my humble opinion he may just be the George Clooney of his playgroup. But lately around 2 a.m.- not so much. You see Darrel and I have committed an unsavory parental sin. For the past 4 months or so we have been catering (surrendering) to Harrison's regression back to his wee hours of the morning bottle fetish for the sake of sleep. Yes, that's right I said bottle. Yes, Harrison is almost two. Yes, we have judged others in the past for still giving their children bottles past 18 months. We know. But hear me out. This child LOVES (Capital "L" on the OVES) his bottle. He will endure a sippy cup all day long, but for bed time, well that's another story. You see the mere mention of a bottle will send Harrison giddily around the room giving hugs and kisses to everyone while singing "Nigh, Nigh!", which is then followed by a mad dash to his bedroom where he proceeds to beg to get in his crib. What parent doesn't want that? Dream of it? Let me show you a picture of his bliss....



And within a few minutes, we have this.....

So you can see how it's hard not to cater to him. But like I mentioned earlier, without fail he has been waking up every night to get a second round served up. Let's just say that he is a little tenacious about his demands. To us it feels a whole lot easier spending a minute getting his bottle for him, warming it up and handing it to him instead of listening to him go nonstop and fullforce from George Clooney to something reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's "Here's Johnny!" moment from "The Shining". Yikes is right. But, despite the theatrics, Darrel and I have decided to stay strong and united as we debottle our child. So please pray for us. He's very charming.





Seeing the light at the end of the very long tunnel,

August 18, 2010

Comparisons with Harrison: Part Deux

Darrel has been dropping subtle hints lately that he thinks it's time for the boys to get haircuts. I usually always heartily disagree until yesterday after naps when Harrison had some pretty bad "bed hair", as you can see here:

Yeah, it's a little out of control, but hey he's one, and when you are one flowing golden locks on boys are in. But then Darrel said this: "I think he kind of looks like John Candy from Spaceballs." And you know what? I had to agree. Here, let me help you visualize it.


Yep. Totally "Barf" from Spaceballs.


Still need convincing? What about these shots? While, I don't think Harrison knows who "Barf" is- he did get a little sensitive at us pointing and laughing at him. Just kidding. These are normal post-nap conditions.


Ben thought it was funny though. What a good kid.


 Drama over. Daddy apologized.


May the Schwartz be with you,

July 27, 2010

Make Your Own Fun

Usually when I put the laundry away the boys sneak off with one of the baskets to play in. I have seen some pretty cute things, but today takes the cake. I promise you, Ben thought of this all on his own.


Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi rowing his basket boat.


Little brother wants a ride. Ben says okays it on the condition that Harrison will help row.


The "Oh, you're taking my picture" smile.


Harrison trying to put on his swim trunks for a little swim.


"Mom, Harrison's not helping row."


 
 Ben decides to abandon ship. Harrison: Hey Ben, bring me some sunscreen would you?



 Thrilled their entertaining themselves,
July 20, 2010

For the Love of Juice

H: Watcha got there?
B: (inner thoughts) I'm going to ignore him- but I'll be ready to throw down at any second with my cool new Buzz Lightyear moves when he tries to steal this sweet nectar.


 H: (inner thoughts) This sure is a swell picnic.
B: (inner thoughts) I'm going to push this food around on the plate to make it look like I consumed more than just juice. She'll never know....



H: (inner thoughts) Whoa, there's mom. She's gonna want to change this bad-boy diaper. 
If I stand real still maybe she won't see me.
B: (inner thoughts) There...must....be....one.....more....drop....in....here... 


Narrating is fun,
July 19, 2010

Yummy Yogurt Parfait


I used to be the biggest breakfast fan- but lately I've kind of been in a breakfast slump, poo-pooing (poor choice of words when talking about food I know, but accurate) any kind of suggestion that included cereal, toast, eggs, bacon, pancakes, or (quick cover the children's ears)...sausage. And, no I am not pregnant, just picky and lazy. :) But, yogurt and fruit actually sounds pretty good to me in the morning, so I have been eating up this little number at least twice a week. What I like about this concoction is that it's so easy to make, and while it looks pretty much like a sinful dessert, it's actually very healthy.

Ingredients (2 servings):
1 cup plain low-fat Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons of honey (or to taste)
1 teaspoon of good vanilla or vanilla paste (Totally treat yourself to Nielsen-Massey's vanilla paste. I am telling you IT IS AWESOME! It tastes amazing- and since it's paste, you'll see those cool little vanilla bean specks in your yogurt. I love to add it to any kind of yogurt dish, or to a bowl of oatmeal, and of course to any other recipes that call for vanilla. Be careful though, you won't want to go back to regular vanilla after you start using this. You can pick it up at most food specialty stores.)
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries (or any fruit mixture of your choice)
1/4 cup Kashi granola cereal

In a small mixing bowl stir together your yogurt, honey, and vanilla. If you have any lemon curd on hand, and would like a little bit of a lemony taste added to your yogurt, just mix in 2 tablespoons. Next grab a pretty glass out of your cabinet and start layering the yogurt, strawberries, and granola and that's it, you've got breakfast!!!

This recipe is also my go-to breakfast choice when I have over-night company because it's so easy to prepare (you can even make it the night before, but I suggest leaving out the granola until serving time), and soooo yummy! Or, I'll downsize the portions a little bit and serve it as a healthy dessert or as a side at dinner time for the boys and it's always a hit. So give it a try and let me know what you think!

Befriending Breakfast One Day At A Time,

July 15, 2010

Time Out Buddies


Minutes before I snapped this picture I promise you there was much weeping and gnashing of teeth over who got to play with a broken toy. Well time-out couldn't keep these brothers apart. Every time I  set Harrison in his time-out spot, two seconds later you'd hear the swish-swish of a full diaper running over in Ben's direction. Finally, I just gave in, and took it for what it was, a golden photo opportunity.

Promising I changed H's diaper after this photo was taken,

The Merger

Life is crazy around here. In fact so crazy that the blogs have taken the back burner until now. I don't know what I was thinking having two blogs, so I have decided that "The Beth Life" and "There's A Blog In My Kitchen" will now become one- not in the biblical sense people, but in the gotta merge them together because I can barely keep up with one blog sense. So if you read TABIMK (all three posts-geesh) you will now find all that goodness over here at TBL. So look forward to more recipes, cleaning rants, organizing craze, and child bragging right here. Now doesn't that just sound more efficient? 

Life is good,
June 22, 2010

We Interrupt This Broadcast

Hey All!
Please bear with me while the blog is undergoing a remodel. Hopefully I will be up and at 'um shortly! 

May 20, 2010

Fun in the Sun

We finally had some nice weather last week- so we spent some time at the park. We saw some ducks, had some Sonic drinks, sang some Veggie Tales songs, and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

The boys headed towards the promised land.

This little face makes my heart go pitter patter.

Ben fearlessly climbing the rock wall with precision. Next it will be bungee jumping or worse...dating.

Harrison's famous scowl. Probably in response to me asking him how he felt about healthcare reform or the taboo subject of non-fat milk.

Loving every minute of it,

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