Insta-Friday, Baby!

Insta-Friday again, Friends. I say it every week, and I will say it again. I love, love, love this concept from Life Rearranged.  Sharing our life through iphone pictures. Genius.  

These were BOGO at the grocery store this week.

Dang it.

I love kid food.

I made all nine Bagel Bites that come in a package for my lunch on Wednesday.

I was seriously annoyed when George asked me to share with him, and I knew I had to.

You know, being a good example and all that.

Brag alert . . . you've been warned.

George got his first ever report card this week.

He was assessed on 62 different skills to make sure he was ready for kindergarten.

He scored the highest possible score on every single one.

I think he might be ready for college:)

My parents have always taken academics very seriously, so when George told them the good news about his assessment they decided a celebration dinner was in order.

My mom might have gone a little overboard in the "blow out a candle like it's your birthday" department.

All Ethan cared about were the cookies.

How cute are they?

The tallest and the shortest in the family holding hands.

Love it.

Embracing with the husband

Embracing my camera today with Emily from The Anderson Crew.  This is Emily's challenge for mom's to embrace (or get in front of) the camera instead of always being behind it. It doesn't matter how you think you look, your kids will want pictures of you as they grow up. This week is dedicated to my husband of 6.5 years. Then . . .  

And Now . . .

A few more grey hairs and two kids later.

Here we stand.

So glad I get to share my life with this incredible man.

Boys Will Be Boys

I only had one younger brother growing up. That was basically my experience with young boys, and for whatever reason I just don't remember him getting hurt all that much when we were young. My boys on the other hand seem to attract accidents like it's nobody's business. It could be inherited from their mother who may or may not be accident-prone herself, but for the sake of today's title we will say it is a "boy" thing. In the Bettelli house today alone we had three major events that were traumatic to say the least. Number 1 -Ethan looked like the Joker for the majority of the day. 

Tim (being the wonderful man that he is) basically takes on morning duty with the kids every. single. day.

He gets up when they get up.  Feeds them.  Even dresses them most days.

This allows me a good 45 minutes to an hour of extra bed time.

I love my bed.

Anyways, as he leaves each morning for work he comes into our room and kisses me to make sure I know the kids will now be unattended until I get my (I don't want to say lazy, but) lazy behind out of bed.

I usually wait approximately 3 to 5 minutes to come out and face the music (or the children in this case).

Well, this morning in that interim time my youngest decided to find a permanent red marker and draw a joker like line on his face.

That puppy did not want to come off, and I know George's preschool teachers were just astounded at my awesome mother skills when Ethan gave them a big, toothy, joker grin at drop-off.

Moving on . . .

Number 2-

I have no picture for this one, but it involves Ethan (again, big surprise).

When we got home from drop-off at the preschool he managed to trip over his own feet and bust his lip wide open.

It bled for a good 10 minutes, but he only cried for about thirty seconds.

I guess he figured the joker needs to be tough.

And, Number 3 -

George is the victim in this one.

And there he is with his frozen corn on the wound.

While getting out of the bathtub tonight he slipped and fell into the metal tracks that hold the shower doors.

He has a large (huge, enormous, gigantic - pick one) bruise and knot on his leg.

He busted his leg, chin, chest and foot all in one swoop.

So . . . question is . . .

Are my kids typical boys?

Or is this my genetic clutz-like traits being carried on in another generation?

You be the judge.

Currently . . .

Got this idea from Ashely at The Vanilla Tulip.  Such a fun idea! Current Guilty Pleasure:  Oreos . . . and lots of them. 

 Current Nail Color:  Orchid by Love and Beauty (Forever 21's $2.80 brand.  Just my style) 

Current Drink:  Water, water, and more water.  It helps to have a pretty cup. 

Current Food:  Well, besides the oreos I have been eating a lot of deviled eggs.  Weird but yummy. 

Current Favorite Show:  I hate to say it because it is more of a love/hate relationship, but Barney is a current favorite because of the focused attention it gets from my kids.  I can actually go out in the garage to start a load of laundry and come back in to find them in the exact same spot.  That is a miracle, and I guess I have to give credit where credit is due. 

Current Read:  Still reading 11/22/63 by Stephen King.  I really do like it, but time to read is so, so, so scarce.  I can't get it done. 

Current Wish List:  A new air conditioning unit . . . like yesterday. Current Needs:  I want to say the air conditioning unit again, but that would be repetitive.  We also "need" Tim to get a new job with good health insurance.  It is so frustrating to worry about healthcare costs almost constantly, and we don't even have any major health problems. Current Weather:  70 degrees, but it is only 10:30 am.  It will hit 80 today.  Yay (insert sarcasm).  I am not ready for hot yet. 

  Current Triumphs:  This weekend I went through all the boys' clothes and organized sizes and clothes I wanted to get rid of.  I have been putting it off for forever, so I was extremely pleased to have it finished and put away. 

Current Bane of my Existence:  Like every mother . . . laundry.  Laundry is so annoying.  It isn't even the washing, but the putting away is just such a pain. 

Current Blessing:  My house.  It isn't a big or extravagant house, but I am just so blessed to be in it.  It is such a great layout for the boys to play, and after living in a smaller townhouse when George was a toddler, it is so nice to have an actual house at this point. Current Excitement:  A girls' trip with my mom, aunt, and BFF to a conference in Miami mid-March.  So excited to spend time with them and get some encouragment. 

Current Mood:  A little stressed about a presentation I have to give tonight in my School Law class. 

Current Website:  Pinterest . . . how I love thee. Wow . . . that took quite a bit more thought than I imagined.But I did enjoy it! 

Lobster for V-Day

I am aware that Valentine's Day was almost a week ago, but I never paid tribute to my husband and the wonderful meal he prepared for me.  

And salad . . . but that was in a bowl not pictured.

I am actually not a huge lobster fan.

Everyone thinks I am crazy, but I have never once ordered lobster at a restaurant.

However, when I married Tim he introduced me to his specially prepared lobster.

It is absolutely delicious and always cooked perfectly.

In honor of him and his specialty, I decided to have him give my faithful readers his tips on making the perfect lobster.

Maybe you can impress your sweetie next Valentine's Day with this deliciousness.

Step 1:  Use a large knife to crack the middle of the shell in half and expose the meat.

Step 2:  Sprinkle Emerril's Essence on the meat.

Step 3:  Place small squares of butter in two or three places on the lobster meat.

Step 4:  Broil lobster on a foil lined pan until the meat turns light brown.  Usually it takes between 10 - 15 minutes.

That is it.

Can you believe how easy it is?

And totally delicious.

The meat is always cooked perfectly with no undercooked chewiness (that grosses me out).

You will thank me (well, maybe him) when you make this.

Insta-Friday 2-24-12, The Rat Edition

Insta-Friday, Friends.  This is probably my favorite post of the week. I love going through my phone pictures to see all the moments that were captured.  

Ethan's newest position on the couch.

I guess he wants to be a gymnast.

My mom and sis at a "Quilter's Luncheon" on Saturday.

My mom is the quilter.  Gina and I go for the food.

Flow Rider.

Lovin' his life at the hockey game.

While Papou looks up hockey rules on his iphone in the background.

Sushi and The Vow date with my main squeeze.

I love sleeping pictures.

Especially of this wild man.

It reminds me that he can be still.

Dead rat on our driveway.

Does it get anymore disgusting than that?

I guess it could have been in the house.

I probably would have died.

This is my view sitting on the couch every morning.

It doesn't get any better than that.

Embracing with my Mama

Embracing my camera today with Emily from The Anderson Crew.  She put together a little link-up to help mom's get in front of the camera, so their kids will have evidence of them as they get older. I think it is a great idea. Last week I posted a picture of my dad and me. It is only fair that I pay my mom the same respect.  

This picture was taken on our annual family vacation to North Carolina.

It is funny because as I looked through pictures to find one with my mother, there weren't very many to choose from.

She is a mom that doesn't embrace the camera too much, so now I am on a mission to change that.

She was (and still is) a wonderful mother to her children.

I am so blessed to have someone I can call at any moment to ask about a recipe or a parenting problem.

I put her way up there in the mother department, but she is an even better grandmother.

My kids absolutely adore their Nouna, and why shouldn't they?

She showers them with more love than any human being could possibly get.

We love you so much Mom/Nouna!

What a blessing God has given us with you.

Now get in front of that camera, woman.

We want evidence of you in the years to come.