What's Up Wednesday ... on Thursday

What we're eating this week... Spaghetti and Meatballs.  While pregnant with Aiden I started to not like spaghetti.  Andy LOVES spaghetti so this was super awful for him. Then I found a recipe for meatballs and that was all it took for me to start eating spaghetti again.  That was on the menu last night.

What I'm reminiscing about... those days of yesteryear when we didn't have 15 children under foot and getting out of the house and into a store took milliseconds, not hours.

What I'm loving... having Tate and Tenley so close in age.  It's a major challenge for sure but I also love it.  I feel like a mom because of it for some reason.  I know that sounds weird but there it is.

What we've been up to... going to the doctor's office and taking care of sick children.  Ugh, will this cold crud please leave our house?  Tenely was diagnosed with RSV yesterday, breaks my heart.  She is handling it very well, I must say.  Still mostly a happy little girl, very chatty.  She is doing 3 neb treatments per day through Friday.  Friday morning we go back to the dr. to be sure she is getting better before we go into the weekend and the office is closed.  Have I told you before how much I love our dr?  She is amazing, a total gem!

What I'm dreading... Tate's 2nd birthday.  Not the party, not that he's having a birthday, just that he's turning 2 already and getting older.  1 1/2 years and he'll be starting 3 year old preschool -- hold me!

What I'm working on... *not* that 'T' for Tenley's room, ha!  It would take me less than 30 minutes but I just can't get my lazy bum down the stairs to my scrapping supplies.  #lazy

What I'm excited about... Valentine's Day!  Oh how I love thee.  All the pink's, red's, hearts...  I love you long time, V-Day!

What I'm watching/reading... watching: the X-Files, as I've already said.  But it's worth noting again because it's SO.DARN.GOOD!!!  Also, RHOBeverly Hills, Ed, Making a Murderer (1 episode to go), Fixer Upper, and lots and lots of college baseketball.  Reading: the last book in the Inn BoonsBoro trilogy by Nora Roberts.

What I'm listening to... coughing and hacking.  Music-wise, I'm digging country and oldies...still. :)

What I'm wearing... nothing noteworthy these days.  My wardrobe needs a major makeover.  I'm embarrassed to think of the people who saw me when I went in to the dr.'s office yesterday with Loula.  OMG, I looked like I'd gone to Goodwill and pulled random items off the racks and put them on.  That was me at my whitt's end, I just didn't give a hoot what I looked like.  I did, however, have makeup on. Can't leave the house without that. :)

What I'm doing this weekend... going to the outlet mall to exchange a couple of outfits that Tenley was given that don't or won't fit from Carters.  And then to head over to Under Armor and get Aiden some new shoes, again.  That kid is rough on shoes!

What I'm looking forward to next month... MY BIRTHDAY!!!  I love my birthday month, can't wait!  Plus, Andy spoils me rotten all month - not with gifts, necessarily, but by making me feel special that it's my special month.  He's one in a million, love that guy!

What else is new... Andy has started building the cabinet that goes in the bathroom downstairs for the boys.  Once he gets that built and installed we can pick out and buy the tile for the floor, get that down and work on finishing up the bathroom.

What is my favorite Valentine's Day food... I like to see a pretty heart shaped sugar cookie decorated with pink and red frosting.  They are so cute!  For a meal, I like to try and do something a little extra special for my family.  Maybe grill a steak and make some fancy potatoes to go with it, or an extra delicious lasagna with a cheesey garlic bread.  And I always make a dessert with cherries in it, because that's Andy's favorite.

Tenley's Room

When I found out we were having a baby girl everything suddenly was colored in pink.  Everywhere I looked I saw pink!  Pink pink pink.  So what other color would I choose for Tenley's room than ... pink!

I have always known if I would ever have a girl her room would be pink, pretty, whimsical, shabby chic and girly.  I think I got it right.

After the ultrasound where we found out our little bundle was a girl we headed straight to Target to buy her something pink. :)  I was lucky enough to find 2 crib sheets on clearance - one purple chevron and the other PINK!  Perfect start to the little girl's room.

After that I started looking for a white crib.  White furniture was a must!  I found one on Amazon and ordered it right away.  Then I found the sweetest pink and white butterfly mobile on Pottery Barn Kids.  That's when the butterflies found their way into Tenley's new room.

I was looking around on Pinterest and found a simple butterfly picture.  I knew I could use my Cricut cutting machine to help me make it so I found some shabby chic scrapbooking paper and a square white frame at Michael's.  As I was laying out the butterflies I had cut to make sure they'd all fit I decided I liked it without any background paper so the pink walls could show through.  I love how it turned out!

The pink butterfly on the oval frame was used for Tenley's newborn pictures - couldn't fit more perfectly in her room!  I'm still getting to the 'T' - it'll be covered in more of that shabby chic paper I used for the butterfly picture.  I made the garland hanging above the pictures - it was super easy!  I found fabric that matched the shabby chic tutu Tenley was given as a gift (and that was used for her newborn pictures, too).

I found this mirror and the hydrangea hooks at Micheal's.  I fell in love with the hooks right away - they have a hint of glitter and shimmer on them.  For now they hold her shabby chic tutu and matching headband but in years to come who knows what we'll find to showcase on them.

This dresser was mine when I was growing up.  My grandma stenciled Raggedy Ann and Andy on the drawers and I loved it to pieces. Then when we got married my Andy wasn't so into the look so we painted it. The boys used it for awhile until they moved to their new rooms.  I touched up the white paint before moving it into Tenley's room.  When she gets older there's a large mirror that attaches to it that we'll put back on.  

This shabby shelf has been hiding in a box in the storage room ever since we moved to this house.  I knew right away I wanted to use it in the girly room - between the hooks for hanging headbands and the drawers for hiding barrettes and bows I knew it'd be a perfect fit!  The cheerleader doesn't necessarily fit the theme of the room but how girly is it? And it's a bobble head which is kind of fun.  The angel sitting in front of the picture has watched over all 4 of my babies.  I've had her hanging on their cribs or sitting on a shelf protecting them in all of their rooms.  She is very special to me.

Last thing to show is where we sit and snuggle during late night nursing sessions or when we need a quiet break from the chaos of 3 boys.  No, the wood doesn't fit the decor of the room but it's what we have to use.  The basket hanging on the wall was a bridal shower gift 14 years ago!  I've always loved it and am happy to have a place to hang it here in this house.

The sheer curtains were found at WalMart for under $10.  They are light and airy, just what I was looking for.  The paint color is called 'Barely Pink' and it was also a WalMart find.

Thanks for visiting Tenley's room!  Every time I sit in there I absolutely love it - it's the girly room of my dreams!  I hope it's the room of Tenley's dreams, too. :)

This, That and the Other

Here's a random post for you...

A.) I got a new phone.  One day last Fall my phone, a Samsung Galaxy S4, started shutting off all by itself.  Sometimes I could get it turned on right away, other times I thought it was dead as a door nail only to finally get it turned back on again. So I finally sat down with the darn thing and wrote down every.last.phone number in my contacts just in case it really did die and they couldn't transfer the numbers over.  Well, it got over whatever bizarre thing it was going through and didn't do it again ... until last week on Thursday.  We don't have a land line so if I don't have my cell phone I don't have a phone in case of an emergency. I decided it was time to bite the bullet and get a new phone.  I ended up getting an Iphone 5S for 1 penny - awesome!  So far I like it better than my Android, although there are a couple of things I miss about my old phone, like the notification light.  The camera on the new phone is so much better, though - no lag time when I push the shutter button!

3.)  I received my weekly email about what my toddler should be up to now.  23 months, week 3 - yikes!  So it says:

Your toddler can probably hum and sing songs such as "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and make three-word sentences, like "Cup fall down." She can probably follow a two-part request, like "Come here and turn around so I can comb your hair." Many kids this age also have fun identifying opposites like "tall man, short man," or "big block, little block."

And that makes me realize I must not be doing a very good job as a stay at home mom because my little toddler-almost 2 year old of mine, can't speak in 3 word sentences and doesn't know how to hum any real song, just the made up ones in his head.  Yea yea, all kids are different and some do things, such as speak, earlier than others, blah blah blah, but still!  I feel like I'm doing something wrong here.  Damn email, thanks for pissing in my Cheerios.

X.)  For X-Files!!!  Yes folks, it's back ON!!!!  Eee, I am so over the moon about this 6 episode resurrection, I can't even tell you how excited I am!  I was a major X-Files geek back in the day. Andy even remembers me talking about it clear back in jr. high, well before we were even close to dating, let alone him having the hots for me (ha!).  It is one of my top 5 favorite shows of all time, and it's BACK!!!  And oh boy, the writers did not disappoint!  It was so dang classic Mulder and Scully, classic X-Files, I thought maybe I had died and gone to heaven!!! So so good!

2.) Tate does speak a little. For example, just last night we were sitting on the couch together while he was playing with 2 cars. One fell down beneath my leg and he asked "where'd the other one go?"  Just like that but in his toddler mushy-mouthed way.  Shocked!  Where did he get that?  So there, he said a 5 word sentence - suck it Baby Center email!  And, because my sweet little muffin is about to turn two we've been working on "how old are you Tate?" so he will answer "2!"  So I said "How old are you Tate? Two!" and he said "One!" because he likes to count 1, 2, 3 then tear off running across the living room, but sometimes he says them in random order - thus saying 1 after I said 2.  :)  He's starting to catch on now, btw.  Oh, and how is it that my little feisty guy is only 2 weeks from turning 2???

F.) Did you know that Monday is the 1st of February?!?  Super excited, that's the beginning of my birthday month, yippee!  If you are a long-time follower of this blog you might remember that I don't just celebrate my birth-day, I celebrate my birth-month. So, starting Monday, let the celebrating begin!

Have a great Tuesday!

 

Weekend Review

Good Monday morning!  How was your weekend?  We had a fun filled weekend.  Here's what we did...

Saturday morning started off with eating cinnamon rolls while watching Pioneer Woman.  I've been missing her show for the last couple of months so that was number one on my list this weekend.  After that Andy went out to the garage to work on the cabinet he's building for the basement bathroom.  While he was doing that Tate, Tenley and I worked in the house.

Peach and pink match, right? :)

Tenley sat her in her bouncer seat for over 20 minutes, quietly watching me clean the kitchen.  Since she was doing so good in there I started folding the first of many loads of laundry there at the kitchen counter.

That's a diaper cover, not undies btw! ;)

 After that we cleaned the house and got ready for my sister's family to come for the evening.  I started some chicken in the crock pot to shred for those yummy white chicken enchiladas I told you about a week ago.  I tweaked the recipe this time.  I added taco seasoning to the chicken while it was cooking in the crock pot for a little extra flavor. And I sauteed diced onions, a red bell pepper and a jalapeno in some butter that I added to the chicken before I rolled up the tortillas.  Wow, that was the right decision!  Give it a try!

My sister's family arrived around 3:30 - the kids headed straight to the basement for a nerf gun war and us adults hung out upstairs chatting and watching basketball.   After supper I colored and cut my sister's hair then we relaxed for a bit before they left.  It was so great having them here all evening, love hanging out with them!

Sunday morning the big boys went to religion class while my parent's came over for their haircuts.  I got Brennan and Tate's hair cuts done, too.  Then we went to my aunt and uncle's house for our Wehr Family Christmas.  Better late than never, right?  My aunt had a fun game for the kids to play -- she took a roll of Saran Wrap and wrapped it into a ball.  She added candy, dollar bills, coins, chapsticks and matchbox cars as she wrapped.  The game part was that each kid would work on unrolling the ball while the kid next in line would roll a dice trying to get a six.  Once they got six they passed the dice on to the next kid in line and started working to unroll the ball.  Anything that came out as they unrolled was theirs to keep.  In the very center was a ball, about 4" in diameter, which was the 'big' prize.  It was a lot of fun and kept them busy for about 10 minutes!

My contribution for the meal was 'bread'.  I pulled out my newest Pioneer Woman cookbook and decided to make her Cheddar Biscuits.  I went back and forth between those and her Refrigerator Rolls.  I think I'll make a batch of those this week to try them out.

After leaving my aunt and uncles we ran in to town quick for gas and to wash the car then came home to watch the Iowa Basketball game that Andy had recorded. We finished our day off with football.  I can't decide who I'm rooting for in the Super Bowl - Broncos or Panthers??  

That was our weekend!  Coming up this week - Aiden is busing tables at Pizza Ranch to raise money for his 4-H club tonight... and that's all we have this week!  I'm hoping for less visits to the doctor this week, we were there 3 times last week!  Tate is much better but Tenley now has a phlegmy cough, bummer.  Hoping that's all it does.

Have a great week!

Erin

My "Momfessionals"

I'm linking up with Andrea (two days late) to confess my mom sins. These are my momfessionals. #FatherForgiveMe

1. Most times when the boys ask for a treat after supper I tell them no -- then sneak one for myself when they're not looking.

2. Sometimes I tell the boys Tenley needs her space, when really its me, so they back off and give me some alone time to snuggle with the baby.

3. There are days when I pretend I don't hear Tate when he wakes up from his nap so I can get 5 extra minutes of peace and quiet.

4. I cruise Facebook while Brennan reads his homework books to me, pretending to be listening.

5. I zone out during Aiden's super long recounts about what awesome thing he did while playing games on his tablet.  I couldn't care less about Clash of Clans or Minecraft, plus I have no clue what in the heck he is talking about!

6. I encourage the boys to clean their plates while dumping some of my meal in the trash every night.

I have a million more that I probably shouldn't share or you'll think I'm an awful mom so I'll just leave it at that. :)

Tenley Louise || 2 Months Old

Happy 2 month birthday, Loulah Tuhloo!  I swear, you will never know what your real name is because we very rarely call you Tenley.  It's Loulah, Loulah Tuhloo, Loulee, Lou ... well, we use a funny variation of your middle name only it looks like!  I love that, now that I've realized it -- remember, Great Grandma Louise went by her middle name 'Louise', not her first name.  Neat!



Over the last month you have mostly left newborn-ness behind you and went full steam ahead into being a baby!  The day you turned 6 weeks old you decided to finally show us your smile!  You gave your first few smiles away to Daddy, which I didn't think was fair since I'd been with you non-stop those 6 weeks but since you are likely to be a daddy's girl I should get used to that kind of thing.  But cooing and gurgling, you did that first with me! Which tells me we'll do a lot of gabbing and gossiping over the years with each other!



You love your big brothers!  And they love you!  They want to hold you all the time and you always give them big smiles when you see them.  Talk about melting Mommy's heart!  Tater Tot is your biggest fan of the 3 of them, he makes me laugh many times a day with how he talks to you with his own version of 'baby talk'.  He gives you many, many kisses throughout the day - sometimes on the top of your sweet little head, sometimes on your cheek and sometimes right on the mouth.  :)  He is totally in love with you, Tenley - I hope that lasts forever.  I do believe that Tate thinks you are his and I'm just here to take care of the dirty work, like changing diapers.  He will hold out his arms and say (in his toddler way) "Here, give her to me."  It's all business with that one.  So I have him sit down on the couch and I place you in his arms.  He smiles then turns his head and watches the TV, all serious like, like it's no big deal that he's holding you, it's normal.  Ha ha, you two together make me laugh and melt at the same time.

Just this week, at 9 weeks old, you rolled from your tummy to your back like you did at 2 weeks old.  I still call it a fluke because you don't know what you are doing but it's still pretty incredible.  You do so great with tummy time.  You can hold your head up really well both on your tummy and when you're being held.

When you're laying on your back on the floor you will crane your neck all the way back - you then wiggle your little body so I think you can *almost* roll over from back to front.  You aren't trying to do that, just trying to see what's behind and above you.

Ha ha!  I was trying to sit you up straight and you just weren't ready for that yet, you slooowly slid over like this. :)

At 2 months old you are just now outgrowing your 0-3 month clothes.  You can still wear 0-3m
2-piece outfits (pants, onesies) but one piece sleepers are too short in the length and the sleeves.  As of now you are 100% in 3-6m sleepers.  You have outgrown the knitted hat you got in the hospital, too.  I was itching to get you in some new clothes so I am trying to be okay with you outgrowing your first outfits but it's still a little sad for Mommy.  However, with all of that growing you have really filled out and have the biggest, cutest chubby cheeks!  They are so kissable! And you have a little tiny bit of 'squish' in your thighs, so cute!  You are very cuddly with that extra cushion. :)  The extra squish didn't make your 2 month shots any less painful, though.  You have the cutest girly cry and scream and boy did you let it out in the doctor's office!

You are a great sleeper at night - you've blessed me with 2 fulls nights of sleep in the last 2 weeks!  Every night is different but you mostly only wake up once per night, anywhere from 2-4 a.m.  You then wake for the day between 6 and 7 a.m.  Naps are .... all over the place.  For some reason I cannot get you to nap in your crib!  You sleep in there all night long, every night, but during the day you just won't.  As soon as I lay you down you wake right up.  So you nap in my arms or in the swing.  The swing doesn't have to be moving, either.  And speaking of the swing, you really love that thing!  Just this week you were sitting in there, wide awake, talking to your bears who hang above you to keep you company.  I swear, my heart burst into a million little pieces!  I loved bears as a kid, too.

Here are your 2 month stats:
Height - 24", 95th%
Weight - 12lbs12oz, 75th%
Diaper size - 1, Pampers Swaddlers
Clothing size - 0-3m and 3-6m

Loulah, you are just perfect!  I still can't believe you are mine all mine!  I've had fun taking you along with me to 'girls only' get togethers.  I never thought I'd have a daughter to do these things with, I can't wait to do all of the fun things together that are in our future!  I love you Precious Princess!

No School Day Fun

Yesterday, with no school, the boys remembered Aiden's Dr. Zombie Lab and begged me to let them get it out.  I had plans to finally work on a garland for Tenley's room so I told them if they could do it on their own they were free to get it out and play.

The Dr. Zombie Lab comes with 3 packets of  different ingredients to make a bunch of different 'gross' things.  For instance, they made zombie skin, spiders and bubbling brains to name a few.

The fun thing about the Lab is that you can eat everything you make!  But for me, the coolest thing is that they are learning how to follow a recipe.  It's pretty basic - 1 scoop this, 2 scoops that and mix - but still, it's a recipe.

Bren's face in the bottom one, ha ha!!! He had just tasted 'zombie skin' and it was sour! :)

In the morning I had to take Tate to the dr.  He woke up barking like a seal and had a fever of 101.1.  I wasn't too worried about the cough but the fever had me worrying about an ear infection.  I was right about the cough, it was viral but no ear infection.  BUT.  We did a nebeulizer treatment while in the office and the doctor decided it helped so he needed to do neb treatments for 3 days.  She also gave him a steroid to help relax his lungs.  He acts totally normal, with even more pep in his step thanks to the steroid. :)  Now to keep Tenley from getting it.

I just realized yesterday that I have never given you a tour of Tenley's room OR the boys' bedrooms.  Sorry!!  I have one more project to complete in Tenley's room but I might go ahead and show it off without that being done.  So, SOON!  And sorry for my being a ditz and forgetting. :)

Have a great Tuesday!  We are off to Tenley's 2 month check up this morning, I'll have her 2 month update post up tomorrow.  Talk soon!

Weekend Rewind

I had a really great weekend.  I got out of the house with just Tenley both days and it was so great for my mental health.  When I got home from both outings I felt refreshed and ready to tackle the craziness of our household.

First up, Saturday morning I met some cousin's on the Wehr side of my family for coffee and catching up.  We get together once a year for a reunion in the summer but besides that we don't see each other all year long.  I decided that needed to change so set up a coffee gabfest at a local coffee place.  A few people who were planning on coming ended up being sick so it was a small group but we had a great time anyway!

My cousin and his wife had a baby girl 1 month before Tenley was born so it was fun to get those 2 little babes together for the first time.  Ella is 3 months, Tenley 2 months, but Tenley is the bigger girl. :)  Ella was not quite 6lbs when she was born, then had a hard time gaining weight until they switched her to formula about a month ago. Now she's packing on the weight and catching up.  They look so cute together!

The group included (starting front left and moving around the table) Aunt Barbara holding Ella, cousin-in-law Lacey holding Tenley, cousin Gena, cousin Marisa (Gena's daughter, don't they look identical??), me, my sister Nicole, my mom Jean and cousin Jeri.

Aunt Barbara is married to my dad's uncle Lester - she's a hoot!  And she loves babies so Tenley got in some quality snuggle time with her. :)

After I left there I came home to hang out with Tenley and Tate while Andy took the big boys over to town to watch Star Wars The Force Awakens.  They were all big fans of the movie, Brennan especially liked it.  The rest of Saturday we just hung out at home dinking around.  I did some laundry, cleaned up the kitchen and finally put Tenley's newborn pictures in frames.  It was so super cold outside, it was a good night to just stay in.

Sunday I met some friends for brunch.  These gals are all cosmetologists and nail techs and this is some of the group I go to the hair show with every April/May.  When we get together we just can't stop gabbing (go figure, it's an occupational hazard, ha ha!).  We got there at 10 and at 12:30 one of us checked the time and we were all shocked it was so late!  I'm pretty sure the waiter wasn't too impressed we were still there but we made sure to let him know we were sorry with tips. :)

The group left to right: me, Kim (nails), Lyndi (nails), Deana (cosmetology), and Kelley (cosmetology).

They all took a turn snuggling with Tenley between plates of delicious food and gabbing.

Tenley and I left around 12:45 and came home to snuggle, watch football and Iowa Basketball.  It was a great, relaxing Sunday afternoon.

Today the big boys are home since there's no school. We have no plans and since it's so cold we won't be going anywhere or going outside - guess we'll get the play dough and puzzles out.  Have a great week!

Friday Favorites

After my almost being hacked incident I'm too afraid to find images for today's post so it's going to be a little boring/wordy - sorry about that.

My favorite TV shows this week:
The Bachelor || Hello, is anyone else sick and tired of Lace?  She's a fruitloop and should probably be on medication.  I'm on Team Olivia but also like Caila.  Your thoughts?  And how embarrassing to be told you smell sour!  Also, who wants to run then be sniffed by the bachelor -- what if your 'coot coot' stinks??  He was sniffing awfully close to that region.  No thank you!

Married at First Sight || OMGeee!!! This show is such a hoot.  I make Andy watch it with me and we do nothing but laugh through the whole thing. It is so super uncomfortable and awkward.  This week one of the couples, who have yet to hold hands after being married for 3 week (the half way point), decided to go on a semi-romantic date.  They go up in a huge ferris wheel where the guy half fakes that he's terrified.  It's going great - she's laughing at him for acting so nervous in it and they're having a great time.  Then, as they're coming back down from the top he decides to make his move and attempt their first kiss.  Remember - they've never held hands before!  He has his arm behind her so puts it around her shoulders and says .... bring it in.  Um, excuse me?? Bring it in?? Isn't that what you say to your 'bros' when you're giving them a bro hug??  So, he says "bring it in" and she turns and gives him the cheek.  Bah ha!!!!  Dang, AWKWARD!!!

RHOBH ||  Any other Housewives viewers/fans?  Any other Beverly Hills fans?  I can't decide if I like BH or OC better. BUT!  I am loving the new housewife Erica this season!  Isn't she the coolest?  Gah, she's just so calm and put together.  I really like her, a lot!

Ed ||  Way back in, I don't know, 2004, this little show on NBC called 'Ed' premiered.  It follows a man who moves back to his hometown called Stuckeyville after finding his wife cheating on him with the mailman.  He buys a bowling alley and fate shows him that he is still destined to be a lawyer, something he was planning on giving up after being fired from his law firm.  So, the show follows him as a lawyer who owns a bowling alley. The court cases are always a little quirky, which is fun, and most of the characters are quirky, too.  Add in his high school crush and you have a hit!  At least in my world.  It only lasted 3 or 4 seasons and I was totally crushed when they cancelled it.  Fast forward to 2016 and the UP! channel has picked it up and is running the original episodes!  Holy smokes, I'm so super happy!


Favorite Song this week:
Thomas Rhett's "Die a Happy Man"

Favorite News this week:
Brennan doesn't need glasses!  At least not right now.  Long story short, Brennan is growing so fast right now that his eye muscles are playing catch up.  When you focus on something close up your eye muscles contract, and then when you look up at something farther away they relax.  So, when he looks up at the board his muscles aren't relaxing enough thus having a hard time seeing the board.  His eye doctor is pretty sure he'll grow out of it but we are going back end of February for a re-check just to be sure that's what the problem is.

Favorite Event This Weekend:
Brunch with my girlfriends!  Sometime in 2014 we started going to brunch every other month together.  It has been so much fun and this month's date is Sunday.  We've tried a few different places over the years and have had some really yummy breakfasts (and lots of fun gabbing)!  It's an easy time for all of us to get together since our husbands can stay home with the kids, no one has to work and it's a lazy day so no one's in a hurry to get anywhere (most times).  I can't wait to stuff myself Sunday, ha ha!

Favorite New Recipe this week:
White Chicken Enchiladas || I saw this recipe floating around FB and thought I'd give it a try.  It was a huge hit with the entire family, even Andy who doesn't like sour cream!  Adding it to my rotation for sure!

What were some of your favorites this week?

Public Service Announcement || A Warning

Oh my goodness, you guys, yesterday I had a total freak out moment.  I was working on a blog post for Friday, looking up pictures to use, when out of nowhere I get a message that says my computer has been compromised.  The message looked legit. There was a phone number to call, supposedly to a Windows Support Center.  The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.  I was absolutely sick.  I have seen news stories about computer hackers who take over your computer and the only way to get your files back is to pay them thousands of dollars.  Now, I have nothing that important on my computer so they can just have it if that ever happens but still, it made me sick and feel so violated.

I called the phone number just to see what was up and a man with a foreign accent answered.  I told him about the message on my computer and he said the only way to fix it was to give him access to my computer.  Hello, red flag!  I asked him how I knew I could trust him and he got lippy with me and asked who else I could trust to fix this.  Another red flag.  I just knew this was a scam.  I hung up immediately and grabbed my cell phone to start changing all of my financial passwords.

I could not close out the browser screen I had up that was showing the message but I could toggle over to Outlook which was a good sign, this virus attack hadn't completely locked up my computer.

After that I called our internet provider and talked to technical support.  They had me immediately shut down my computer.  Then I restarted it.  The message was gone and everything worked correctly.  The guy told me I had narrowly escaped the virus but to make sure to run my virus protection just to be sure.

I was shaking so bad after all of this, my stomach was upset.  I felt so violated!  It was an awful feeling and I can't believe I came so close to being taken over like that.

I wanted to share with all of you so if you ever get a similar message you know not to call the number on the screen and to immediately shut down your computer.  I am lucky enough to know that those numbers usually lead you to danger, not help, so was on top of things and didn't trust that man.

Oh, and I deleted the post I was working on for tomorrow so I'll be typing up a new one -- without the images!

Tenley's New Bows!

I am a sucker for bows.  I try not to go too overboard because, lets be honest, I could easily send us into bankruptcy buying cute, adorable, sweet, pretty clothes and accessories for Tenley!  I found a new shop on Etsy with a huge variety and selection of bows when looking for her Valentine's bow last week.  They were priced perfectly, a total win!  And, the shop owner was super easy to work with when I made a special request for the Valentine's bow!  Because of all that I wanted to show off the bows I bought and brag about the shop Charming Little Baby.  I'm not getting anything from the owner for this post, just passing along my finds!

This one is Tenley's Valentine's bow.  I didn't want something *too* Valentine's-ey because I want her to be able to wear it for more than just that.  I found the prettiest pinwheel bows that were made with a paisley fabric - super cute!  I knew Tenley didn't have anything to match those paisley prints but I loved the pinwheel bow so I asked Megan if she could use that same style with some ribbon for a Valentine's bow.  She messaged me back almost immediately with a picture of this red and white ribbon asking if I liked that.  Perfect!!!  She whipped up my bows that same afternoon while her kiddos napped and I got a message that same afternoon that my package had been shipped. What?!?  That was fast!  So fast that I received them 2 days later!

This one I saw and knew immediately I had to have it - that hot pink color matches 2 of her outfits that she's about to grow into perfectly!

I have a weakness for lace and shabby chic so this one I put in my 'cart' right away!

And this big pink flower bow, YES!  It accentuates her kissable chubby cheeks. :)

During our photo shoot I caught a few smiles. :)

I can't get enough of those sweet, gummy smiles!

If you are looking for bows for your own little one or to give as a gift look up Charming Little Baby on Etsy!

Intro & Resolutions

I'm a week late but thought I'd still join in on the fun with Momfessionals.

First, let me (re)introduce myself!  I'm Erin!  I've been married to my high school sweetheart for almost 14 years!

In those years we've had 4 kids - Aiden (9), Brennan (6), Tate (23mo) and Tenley (2mo)

- and have moved 3 times.  I'm a licensed cosmetologist but haven't worked in a salon since Aiden was born - that's almost 10 years ago!

For the last 4 years I've been a stay at home mom and I love it!  Yes, there are many challenging days but the fun ones outweigh those for sure!

I enjoy gardening, whether that's in my flower beds or vegetable garden.  I also love to mow - I just hit cruise control on my John Deere mower, crank up the tunes on my hearing protection and zone out.  Love it!

I like to cook but I hate trying to figure out what's for supper every night.

I like to read but ever since having Tate I haven't read as much as I used to.  Which brings me to the first thing on my 2016 'To Do' list.  I don't like resolutions because I never follow through but these things are what I'd like to do this year.  I hope I can cross them all off my list by December 31st.

So, reading.  I'd like to read 15 books this year.  Not a lofty goal but I'm being realistic.  And I've already crossed 1 book off so I only have 14 more to read to meet my goal!  Friend me on Goodreads so you can see what I'm reading and what's on my 'to read' list!

The second thing on my 'To Do' list is to deep clean every single room in the house.  To make this manageable I plan to clean one room each month.  And by deep clean I'm talking washing down the walls, purging, reorganizing, etc.  My husband doesn't know he's my lucky helper with this task, ha ha!

Next, my veggie garden.  Last summer I thought I had an abundance of canned green beans and tomato products so I didn't plant many of either and didn't can anything.  Guess what -- I was wrong! And now I'm buying green beans from the grocery store.  Boo.  This summer I need to plant a lot of beans and tomatoes.  It'd be nice to grow those and not weeds (they got away from me last summer and it was a jungle out there!).  My 'to do' item is to weed and hoe regularly and to spread Preen early in the Spring and in mid Summer to help combat them.  Also, I want to purchase my tomato plants from our school's FFA instead of from the store.

I have a couple other odds and ends on my list, but nothing noteworthy.  What are your goals/resolutions/ To Do's for 2016?

Here are the other topics for this year's Momfessionals Show and Tell Tuesdays, join in on the fun!

Life Lately

Hey all!  Your eyes do not deceive you, this is Homemade Happenings still, I just fancied up the ol' blog again.  I was ready for something a little simpler and more streamlined looking.  What do you think?  There are a couple tweaks I still need to make, otherwise this is it!

I took a little break last week, unintentionally.  Monday midday I realized I'd forgotten to write a post for that day. Tuesday, different day - same story.  Didn't even think about it Wednesday or Thursday and Friday thought why start now?  So here I am starting off the week on the right foot.

Last week flew by so fast. We were all getting back in the swing of things after a nice Christmas break from work and school.  We spent part of the week licking our wounds after the awful outcome of the Rose Bowl game.  Poor Iowa, we had such a great season, bummer to see it end that way.  But Stanford got quite the ass whooping thanks to their horrid marching band show so that helped a little. :)

We've had some whacky weather here - warm enough for rain a couple days, then this weekend it got so stinking cold with actual air temps hovering around the zero degree mark.  Because of that we stayed in all day Sunday so Tenley wouldn't be out in that cold stuff.  It's supposed to "warm up" to the low teen's today, down to the single digits tomorrow so we won't be going out either of those days either.  I'm going to venture out all by my lonesome tomorrow after Andy gets home from work - we need groceries!

Saturday morning Aiden's basketball team played in a tournament here in town.  Our school hosted, which was fun to be a part of.  Andy is helping coach Aiden's team, also makes it more fun.  They played 3 games, one at 8, 11 and 1.  I wasn't planning on staying past the first game because I didn't know how I was going to corral Tate while keeping Tenley with me but he sat next to me the whole time so we stuck around for the game that followed ours.  It was so great to get out and chat with my friends at the game!  I never expected to ever nurse Tenley at a school function but one friend convinced me it was no big deal.  Because of that we were able to stay for the second game at 11. I'm so glad we did, it was a super close and fun game to watch -- and they won it!  By the time that was over it was lunch time so Tate, Tenley and I headed for home.  So nice to have that one nursing session under my belt - now I feel comfortable enough to do it again at the next tournament.  So great to have that freedom again, I was getting tired of missing out on all the fun!

Tate has 2 new 'tricks' that he does every day, multiple times a day.  First, he opens the book cabinet and pulls out one book, brings it over by me to lay down, then goes back for another one.  He'll do this until he has a big pile of books. Then he sits down next to me, grabs one and reads it out loud to himself.  Once finished he starts a new pile for the read books.  He grabs another one, reads it out loud, puts it in the read books pile.  He does this until all of the books have been 'read'.  After awhile we put the books away.  After nap he starts all over again.

His second 'trick' involves his toys.  He sits down next to one of his baskets full of toys, pulls out one toy and carefully places it on the floor.  Then he grabs the next one, finds the perfect spot for it and sets it down.  Again and again until the basket is emptied.  I'm not sure what the purpose is for it in his mind but I love watching him do it and I love that it keeps him busy and quiet for more than 2 minutes! :)

I propped Tenley up quick one day last week while I was helping Tate with something.  1 minute later I found her sound asleep.

Tate still loves and adores Tenley!  He is constantly giving her kisses, always checking on her and asking "Where Baby go?"  The cutest thing is when I'm holding her and he comes up to me with his arms outstretched and says "Here go. I go"  meaning "I'll take her, give her to me."  Ha ha!  I love it when he does that!  He's 100% serious. I think he believes she is his baby, I'm just there to help him out. :)

Last week Brennan came home and said he couldn't see the math on the board at school.  I didn't take him seriously to begin with because both my niece and nephew got glasses the week before Christmas so I figured it had something to do with that.  Well, he mentioned it again a couple days later so Andy and I started testing him at home - can you see that, what does this say from 15 feet away, etc.  Uh yea, that kid is blind as a bat with distances!  Oh great, looks like glasses are in his future. Totally bums me out.  I'll be calling the eye doctor today to make him an appointment.

That's life lately around here.