Valentine's Day and Randoms

So last week was Valentine's Day. I have never really been a fan of Valentine's Day. It's not that I hate it or anything, I just never got caught up in the hype of it all. To me, it's basically an excuse to eat a Reese's peanut butter heart. Not like I needed an excuse. =)

Dac and I have never gone all out with Valentine's gifts, dates, or celebrations. It's just not our thing. This year though, it was a little more fun. This year I had a little Reid to put cute Valentine PJ's on. =)

So I did and it was a perfect excuse to get out the big girl camera for the first time (for personal use) since Christmas time. 

Internet, I had plans. Big plans. Plans for the most adorable Valentine photo card to share with family and friends. Plans for the.best.photo.ever of my two mini Valentines. Plans failed.

But I still like the pictures and I certainly still like the two uncooperative subjects.

Peety pug isn't getting any younger. Or thinner. Such a good buddy though.

The ornery runs deep.

He always walks with his hands up like this. Cute.

So Thursday, Sky came over. I made egg sandwiches (I know, we live a glamorous life folks) and brownies. I also made Reid's Valentines for daycare. She worked on math homework and played funny videos for me. 

 The finished Valentine. A pack of goldfish crackers with a homemade label taped to the front.

Speaking of daycare. Here's a picture Connie sent me on Valentine's Day. =) Love it.

After work, we gave him his present. It was a new toothbrush and a fun pug plate. Oh, he also got the PJ's he wore for pictures earlier in the week. ;) You'll notice he's in different clothes... that's because he had a diaper crisis earlier in the day. =/

Peety got a prize too. =) These smelled good. I was tempted... haha

THEN, we dropped Reid off at Cori's because she was offering babysitting/valentine party for kids. I thought that would be fun for Reid and even though we don't normally celebrate Valentine's Day, we thought it'd be fun to have a little date night.

I read something a couple weeks ago about a couple that decided to do something  very guy-related for Valentine's Day and something more geared towards me for our anniversary. Sounded kind of fun so we adopted that philosophy for this year at least. We ordered pizza and cheese breadsticks and picked that up on our way home. Washed it down with a beer since this was a Dac-date. =) Then, we watched Olympus Has Fallen. It was super intense and very non-Valentiney but it was good. We rarely ever watch a movie anymore so that was a fun treat. Another fun treat was the cupcakes my Grandma had made us. ;)

Reid had a good time too. He played, did a super cute craft project that I forgot to get a picture of, and got a goody bag. =) He was sound asleep when we got there to pick him up. 

Saturday, we had a session in Andover then stopped by Spangles for lunch and ice cream on the way home. Later that night we ate BBQ with Dac's family then Reid had another awful diaper crisis and ended up in the tub at 3 a.m. =( A couple hours before that I had thrown up. Not the best night ever. I wasn't sick really, I think I just ate too much or had too much sugar.

Sunday, we went to church then I went on a coke date with Kayla. Later, Dac had a soccer game then we had Bible study. I don't think I ever really talked much about this new Bible study we're doing. It's just a quick 6-week study on marriage. Several younger couples are participating and so far, I've liked it. 

When we got home, we chatted with friends via Google hangouts. About halfway through that I had a major migraine come on. I got up to finish the few things I had to have done around the house before the week started but then went right to bed. Sorry for not saying bye friends. =/

The next day... more headache.

Wednesday... better. Whew. It was such a nice day that after supper we took a walk. Even stopped by the park for a quick swing. =) Reid loved it and it was nice to be out of the house for a while.

Random: A picture of Peety from 2-3 Christmas' ago. =)

In other news:

Reid has his first dentist appt. today. Our doctor suggested we take him now to check for potential problems. He's got a whole slew of teeth and it seems he's already teething his 2-year molars. We're hoping it IS just teething and that there's not something more serious causing him some pain.

Midweek Randoms

So last week was applesauce-tacular, as you may have read yesterday.  That was Wednesday. So was this. Reid and I had some fun time while Dac was helping friends move. 

 We took a train right all around the house and had a great time.

Thursday was Wii night full of tacos, Sons of Anarchy, and friends.

Friday, I had an out-of-town work meeting. Then, that evening we went to supper with my parents. That night, Reid didn't sleep worth a darn because he was all congested again. Not sick really, just congested. We spent half the night in the chair so he could be a little more upright.

Here's my little mouth breather during his quick morning nap.

 He looks like a little giant to me here. How!?

 So sweet.

Saturday, we went to the Wichita Home Show with Dac's family. It was David's birthday so we went out to eat after.

Sunday, we did stuff around the house, then Dac had his first indoor soccer game of the season and I went to Bible study.

Monday was hectic and had the usual board meeting.

Yesterday, was a mess with getting taxes done and finding some issues with my checks. I think it's all resolved now but I was in a bit of a panic. I went home after work and made alfredo with asparagus. I also made pears baked with cinnamon and honey for dessert. Boom. Take that, day! =)

In other news:

I painted my toes last night for the first time in MONTHS. They're pink.

I haven't watched a whole lot of the Olympics this year. I'm usually pretty into it but not this time. Anyway, USA USA USA.

I did watch The Following though... intense.

Our good friends John and Anna had their baby boy!! He was almost as big as Reid and even had a pudgy little face. =) His name is Jack and I'm sure big sister Ruby is going to have some fun with him. =) Everyone's doing well and we're excited for them.

I need to get some Valentine's made... STAT!

A lesson

This past week I learned a lesson - a lesson in applesauce-making and a lesson in life.

It was a brutal reminder that while you can have it all (family, career, clean house, time to yourself, etc...) you can't have it all at one time. I have a really hard time with that fact.

All these pictures are from my first batch. I got a 40lb box of apples from Bountiful Baskets. I peeled the apples (with the help of my mom and grandma, which was fun), cooked them in a roaster, used an immersion blender (thanks Cori) then canned it. I made 11 pints plus a bigger tupperware container full. I made it slightly chunkier and with lots of (maybe too much) cinnamon.

This weekend, I tried an alternative method. I quartered the apples, cooked them - peel and all - and then used a food mill (with Dac's help) to make the sauce. Time-wise, it probably ended up being about the same. As far as the difference in texture... it was much more smooth... like what you'd buy at the store. It was also much lighter in color and didn't have as strong of a flavor. Also, instead of canning it, I put it into small storage containers and froze it.

Anyway, hooray for yummy homemade applesauce and for lots of help making it happen. Boo for needing help in the first place and it taking time away from other things. The truth is, as much as staying home and doing this kind of project regularly sounds nice... that's not my normal. My normal is work during the day (and some evenings and weekends) then scramble to have something halfway nutritious on the table at night and clean clothes for the week, all while trying to throw in some quality time and good memories. At this point in my life, anything more than that is just bonus. It's so hard for me to come to terms with that. I'll get it eventually right!? =)

Midweek Randoms

Last Thursday, I went out for supper with Kayla. =) That was a fun little hour-long getaway.

Friday, we got our bountiful basket and 40lb box of apples! Then went out to eat.

Seriously, this kid. I love him. He is wild and full of life. He is also covered in peas. At least he likes peas! I'm calling that a win. =) 

Saturday, we were supposed to have a photo session. The weather didn't cooperate though so we rescheduled. BUT we still went to Wichita to hit up Target and meet some photographer friends for lunch. I saved mega bucks at Target and wracked up four free gift cards for a total of $30. =) This girl was on fire!

Lunch was at Picaso's Pizza in Delano. It was a fun place and the pizza (by the huge slice) was delish. We had a great time with Jennifer and Nick and their sweet little Piper. I've said it before and I'll say it again. We've been so blessed to work with and become friends with such awesome people in the industry. Makes it a lot more fun. =)

After, Dac and I stopped by the Donut Whole for a treat. He got an Americano (his fav) and two donuts (not pictured) so he was a very happy camper. I got two donuts two (pictured) and made him stop by Quik Trip for a drink. ha!

 Sunday, we went to church. Reid has several cousin friends there so that's fun. Here he is w/ Felicity, both looking far more innocent than in real life. ;)

After church, I made baked macaroni and cheese (I use Paula Deen's super healthy recipe) for the first Call Family birthday dinner this year. We had Turducken which is something Val, Austin, and Dac have requested from Terese for years now. Mostly to give her a hard time I think but also because it's interesting. It was good.

Reid was on his less than best behavior unfortunately, but otherwise, the day was good.

That evening I ate one of my apple pears from the basket and stuffed diapers. I'd gotten out of the habit of using them during the holidays but we're back to it now. They really do save us lots of diaper money.

Monday, I took Reid to the chiropractor. It's been months since he'd been and I think it really helped. Tuesday was a snow day. Unfortunately, we both had to work so it was business as usual at Casa Call. The closest we go to a real "snow day" was trudging through the snow on the way inside, reheating frozen chili from a couple weeks ago, and letting Reid play with (ie: eat) snow for the first time after he ate so we could actually sit down and eat a minute. =) It's kind of hard to do these fun little activities with Reid right now because everything still goes right to his mouth. He was awfully cute eating the snow though. ;)

Today is a snow day again. And again, we're working and Reid's at daycare. We've both been quite productive at least. Tonight, I'm tackling homemade applesauce. I plan to can it and maybe freeze some depending on how much it makes. I don't know why I always think I can easily tackle these types of betty homemaker projects. I love cooking, etc... but I'm just not home enough to do it all, ya know? Sigh. Here's hoping for success this time. I'm excited for the yumminess plus Reid eats a lot of applesauce so that would help our grocery bill too. =)

Stay warm out there folks!! =)