Weekend Recap

When I write the weekend recap posts, I often wonder how we fit so much stuff into our weekends, really into one day. We don't want daddy to miss out on everything, so we save it all for Sunday. This weekend was a busy as any I can remember. We had lots of fun, but I think I need a long nap to catch up from it all.

On Friday, the kids and I did decide to make one last trip to the zoo. I realized on the way to the zoo that I forgot the stroller in the garage, but I was too lazy to turn around and go back for it.  Forget that we were only two minutes from the house. By the time I turned around, loaded the stroller and accounted for extra drive time, that's 6 minutes I wouldn't get back. (Completely irrational thinking now that I'm writing it out) I decided we would rent a wagon at the zoo instead. The kids LOVED it. No fussing to get in and out of the stroller per usual.  They were happy to chill in the wagon and look around while they ate their berries and Chex.

The highlight of the day was definitely feeding the giraffes. They weren't interested in eating lettuce when we were there on Wednesday, so I was glad to see they were today.  While trying to snap the perfect picture of Harry feeding the giraffes, I remembered, "Oh gee, I can take video on my phone, may I should do that." So I did.

I did wind up getting a decent picture too. 

After the zoo we met the kids' godmother for Chipotle and a Target trip. Being the amazing mama that I am, insert sarcasm here, I hadn't changed their diapers since they woke up and got dressed.  Brooke wet through her diaper, her onesie and her jeans while we were at Chipotle. Awesome. Our Target trip was now a Target trip sans pants.  Thankfully they're still young enough we can get away with that. Note to self: Pack an extra pair of pants along with the extra onesies for in the van. 

Friday evening was spent at home, as was Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon we joined my parents for mass and then headed to their house for dinner. The kids got their first piece of gooey butter cake, and they were in love. Harrison cried when it was all gone. It's ok little buddy, I love my sweets too. 

Sunday was busy, busy all day. I was up early so I could steam the floors before the kids woke up. Rob was out of the house before the kiddos got up so he could go golfing. When H and B did wake up, we had breakfast and then spent the morning watching Game Day Morning and getting things ready for The Walking Dead Party. They napped during most of the football game and woke up just in time to watch the Steelers get their first win of the season. It's about damn time. 

After getting rained out the last two weekends and having work get in the way on Thursday, we finally made it to the pumpkin patch. Too bad their pumpkin selection was terrible. There were no good pumpkins for carving. Is it too much to ask for a pumpkin with a nice stem that stands up on its own and has a round, blemish free face? There was not a one. We did get a few nice gourds and small pumpkins for decoration, but we're still on the hunt for good carving pumpkins.  We also got quite a few nice pictures.

They loved riding in the wagon and Harrison really wanted to pull it. He couldn't do it on his own which resulted in screaming and crying. It's tough being a toddler.

Sunday evening was The Walking Dead premiere. Our premiere party was fun.  Good food, great show, awesome people. I'll be posting all about it later in the week, as well as round two of pumpkin picking. I hope everyone's weekend was as fun as ours, although maybe a bit more relaxed. 

5 on Friday

I'm linking up with April, Christina, Natasha and Darci for 5 on Friday again this week.  Time for a little randomness.

One • The Fort Wayne Children's Zoo closes for the season this Sunday.  We have had so much fun going to the zoo on an almost weekly, and occasionally bi-weekly, basis.  We definitely got our money's worth out of our membership.  We already have next years membership purchased, and I can't wait until opening day. We went for the last time on Wednesday, with my mom, and the kids had a grand time.  I may have had even more fun than them. Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe we'll go again today and squeeze in one more trip.

Two • My parents are headed on a month long cross county trip to visit my siblings. Color me green with envy.  I wish we could tag along. My mom is our usual sitter, so this means my week days are now 100% committed to the kiddos.  No hair cuts, massages, kid free shopping trips, etc. for the next month, unless I can manage to squeeze it in during the .3 seconds Rob gets off during the week. 

Three • Rob started a new position within the same dealer group he works for this week. We're hoping this equates to less 11pm nights and more than the aforementioned .3 seconds he gets off each week.  Although if yesterday was any indication, I'm not optimistic.  He got called in on his afternoon off :(

Four • Layla, the kids and I went into our vet yesterday to discuss her care.  I'm happy to say that our vet thinks we should be able to get her weaned off at least one of her medications.  We have already cut her phenobarbital dose.  I'm optimistic this will work and we'll get our crazy girl back.  As much as her craziness often drives me bonkers, I miss her usual shenanigans and I could totally do without her new ones.  

Five • I may have a slight major obsession with the movie "Pitch Perfect." I don't own it, which is a miracle, but every time it's on TV, which is daily, I watch it. HBO had it in their rotation first and now Cinemax has it in theirs. I think I may have been suffering from withdrawal for the few weeks it wasn't on everyday.  Rob finally saw it all the way through the other day, and now I think he likes it almost as much as I do.  I came home from running a few errands the other day to find him watching it. BUSTED!

Make sure to stop over and see what the other ladies have for their 5 today.  Have a great weekend everyone! I'm so excited for TWD, I can barely contain myself.

Stop. Puzzle Time.

The kids have decided they are super into puzzles in the last few weeks.  They got quite a few of them for their birthday and are now really getting into them. Mainly, because they finally understand what to do. This is from last week.

They are getting better at actually getting the pieces into the spots, but they definitely get the matching aspect of it. Harrison usually tosses the pieces at the board and Brooke sets them in and will try to turn them into place. It's so fun to see how differently they do the same task.

I've been slacking on Tasty Tuesday recipe posts, but I do have a couple new recipes to share. Both recipes I found via blogs I follow and neither one needed any tweaking. White Bean Chicken Chili is so easy and cooked in a Crockpot. Definitely a win - win. Chocolate Chip Cookies with Nutella, browned butter and sea salt are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I've made them twice in the last week and a half. I wasn't sure if I'd like the salted cookies, but they're bomb. Definitely check out both recipes.

The Walking Dead Premiere Party

There's one week left until the season 4 premiere of The Walking Dead. We are having a small premiere party and I'm so excited! I started looking for ideas a couple months ago, and I was seriously grossed out by some of the food ideas I found. I don't know about you, but I have no desire to eat something that looks like a severed digit covered in blood. So, while Pinterest proved helpful for dessert and drink ideas, I was on my own for food. 

Menu

Hershel's Farm Salad

A tossed Salad with lots of fresh veggies. The way they would have had it on the farm.

Glen's Special Delivery

Glen was a pizza delivery guy before the zombie apocalypse. We'll be serving homemade pizza in his honor.

Squirrel Skewers

A Darryl specialty. Chicken kabobs.

Flesh Free Cheeseball

A zombified way of saying a vegetarian cheeseball. 

Graveyard Dirt Cups

Similar to the cupcakes above.  It's how we honor the deceased. We bury our dead, and then eat them.

Marshmallow Brain Cubes

Rice Crispie Treats with red food coloring look kind of like brains. The only grossish looking thing we'll be serving.

We'll be serving zombie punch similar to the one pictured above. It will of course be served with a side of vodka for those who wish to drink it up. Hoplanta and Georgia Brown are both featured beers in The Walking Dead, the governor serves them at his party. However, living in Indiana means we can't get those brews around here.  We can get Three Floyds Zombie Dust though. We will be drinking it next Sunday along with a few other fun brews. I really want to make Zombie Punch, the tiki drink, but the ingredients list is ridiculous. I don't even think I can get some of the ingredients at the liquor stores around here. Where's a Binny's when you need one?

Since we're on the topic of food, foodie fans of TWD must visit this blog. I'm happy to know I can still eat well even after the zombie apocalypse.

I'm so excited! Only a week left. 7 days. 175 hours. 10500 minutes. Not that I'm counting or anything. Is anyone else having a premiere party?

5 on Friday

Today I'm linking up with Darci over at The Good Life Blog for a little Friday randomness.

One • Yesterday I visited the spa for the first time in over two years.  As much as I said I was going to go for prenatal massages while pregnant, I never did.  I had an 80 minute volcanic stone massage and an 80 minute signature pedicure.  If I could move into The Woodhouse, I would. I don't even need the services. Just the quiet room, steam shower and spa water would be enough to keep me happy forever.  

Two • I have a Halloween guilty pleasure. Boo Berry. I love this cereal and can't get enough.  I usually don't eat sugary crap for breakfast, unless you count the flavored creamer in my iced coffee, but I could eat this every day.  I'll be the crazy lady buying a cart full of Boo Berry on Halloween before it disappears off the shelves.  And no, I will not share it with the kids.  It's all mine. 

Three • I love little old ladies.  Usually when people comment about the twins it's, "You have your hands full," "You must be busy," or even "Better you than me." I've even had someone tell me,

"I'm sorry," when they found out I was pregnant with twins.  Little old ladies are great because they always tell me I'm blessed or how lucky I am.  Yes ladies, I couldn't agree with you more.  

Four • Having to medicate Layla on a daily basis is killing me.  I hate the side effects of the meds, but even more so I hate the spaced out look in her eyes. She is so ravenously hungry and thirsty that she has forgotten all of her manners when it comes to food and drink.  She's always been a little naughty, but now she's worse than she was as a puppy. On top of that, she's now incontinent, so I'm constantly cleaning spots on the carpet or washing sheets.  She sleeps in bed with us, so our bed now looks like this.  

Yes, that's a shower curtain on top of our comforter.  It keeps the duvet safe, and that's all that matters. 

Five • I have been a migraine sufferer since I was 18. They're mostly hormonal, but occasionally I'll get a random one here or there.  Pregnancy and EBFing were great because there were none of the usual hormone changes, so no migraines.  Alcohol seems to bring on the headaches too and recently it seems like even just one beer will bring on a headache.  More than one drink definitely equals a headache and usually a migraine.  I L-O-V-E, love beer and wine, but I think I may have to save them for special occasions instead of all the time refreshments. This means I'm in the market for some tasty mocktails.  Any good recommendations? What about good N-A beers? The best thing I've found around here is Kaliber which is drinkable, but not great.

Stop over and see April, Christina, Natasha and Darci to see what fun fives they're sharing today.

Doctor's Visit

Usual doctor visits are not very exciting, however we had a really exciting one, at least for me, yesterday. We went to visit Dr. Bopp and the girls at Midwest Fertility.  I had some Follostim that expires in a couple months sitting in the back of my fridge. I know how expensive IVF meds are, especially without insurance, so hopefully someone will be able to use them.  Plus, I thought we should take in some DeBrand truffles for the girls.

I haven't been in for a visit since the day of our anatomy scan.  I've been hesitant to take the kids in since I know how emotional and sensitive the entire infertility journey can be. There are some days when kids, babies and pregnant women are the last thing you want to see, and I would hate to upset anyone in the waiting room.  

It was great to see everyone and for them to get to meet Harrison and Brooke.  Brook and Michella were both there, and it was so good to see them since they are who we spent most of our visits with.  I was so sad to leave their care when we graduated to an OB, and I can still see why.   They are amazing.  Of course they asked when we'd be coming back for another go round, but that's a story for another day.  

Welcome, October

Today is the first day of October which means I officially have one month to get my butt in gear and make the twins' Halloween costumes.  Why I decided to make them instead of just buying them, I do not know, but I have fabric and patterns bought, so I'm committed.

I haven't sewn anything except a button or a hem since 7th grade home economics with Mrs. Powells. These costumes could be a disaster.  If so, that's what Target is for, right? I will admit I felt super confident, until I got the pattern out of the package. Seriously, what am I going to do with all this? Do they make a Sewing For Dummies book?

I was really hoping to make it out to the pumpkin patch last Sunday, but the rain kept us inside.  Hopefully the weather will cooperate this weekend so we can go on a family pumpkin picking outing. Last year the kids had to get carried around the pumpkin patch.  I'm excited that they'll be able to help pick out pumpkins this year. 

We are also planning to visit a corn maze at the same farm where we went berry picking this summer.  If we can find somewhere to do hay rides, it will be a perfect month of fall activities. Any Fort Wayne peeps have recommendations on a place to go?

Like everyone else, we've fully immersed pumpkin everything into our lives. Some of our favorites include Thomas Pumpkin Spice English Muffins, Bath and Body Works Pumpkin Cupcake Candles and Coffee Mate Pumpkin Spice Creamer. The English Muffins with a little Nutella and sliced bananas make the perfect sweet treat at the end of the day.