life lately.

1. we made donuts again. this time with buttermilk donuts and an orange glaze frosting.
2. we have been reading books about insects/bugs and looking at insect flash cards. ella wants to know the name of each insect/spider and what they eat. 'this one is a dung beetle.' 'a dung beetle, what does that one eat?' 'it eats poop!' 'oh yeah, it eats poop like molly.' yes, yes it does. sad but true.
3. holding cappy caps. a new favorite past time for ellie braylynns.
4. riding a tricycle. who knew she could do that. i saw her bust out her peddling skills for the first time today. 
5. purple and pink bubbles? heck yes. and bubble machines are a must. blowing bubbles makes me light headed.  kinda a wimp is what you're thinking. i already know i am. i'm one step ahead of you.
♥

see *itch.

a short story. by brianne.
as i tucked my sweet ella into bed last night, she had a request.
'can we read a book?' she inquired.
'of course!' i replied enthusiastically, 'which book?'
'see *itch!'
'what?!' i exclaimed, 'what did you just say?'
'see *itch,' she replied annoyed.
'i have no clue which book you are talking about. can you go get it please?'
with a quick jump off the bed, she trotted over to her books and plucked one from the shelf. 'see *itch,' she said again with a look of duh on her face.
a look of of course enveloped mine as i quickly shouted 'to the beeaach,' followed by a quick burst of laughter.apparently she wanted to see the beach.
'yeah, the beeeaaach,' she repeated, no clue why i was giggling.
i proceeded to read the book with her assistance and as soon as i was done and about to turn off the light, she quickly asked, 'mom can we go to the *itch soon?' we'll have to work on that one. :)
the end.

since pictures always enhance a story, here's a little added spice to the above short story.

♥

i want my baby back.

ribs that is. nana's homemade bbq sauce recipe. definitely the yummy-ness. she uses this bbq sauce with any type of meat, but the other night i used it with my baby back, baby back ribs.

1 cup ketchup diluted with water
1/4 cup worchestershire sauce
1 tsp. liquid smoke
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 drops of tabasco
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 slab baby back ribs

combine all ingredients. add more or less of each ingredient depending on individual taste.

brown the ribs in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. (optional: cut up yellow onion and add while browning and cooking in crock pot).

transfer to crock pot and smother with bbq sauce on high for 4 and a half hours. it's that simple. definitely going to utilize this meal when i am back to work and short on time.

♥

life lately.

currently we are smack dab in the middle of the terrible three's. just for the record, three's are wayyyyy worse than two's. 'this stage sucks' is a direct quote spoken as we were leaving in and out burger and ella was screaming 'i don't love you mom' combined with 'i don't miss you mom.' embarrassing doesn't even compare. i always feel like people are looking at me like i beat my child and so of course she wouldn't want to go home with me. as a great movie, my best friend's wedding, once said, 'this to shall pass,' and if it doesn't....then i'm probably not going to make it to 29.
so other than that...we've been learning with johnny appleseed, watchin' captain grow, makin' donuts (so fun!), going to the park, which by the way, has 3 new slides with a bouncy big fish (ella's words not mine), coloring with new sidewalk chalk which ella was ecstatic about, and going for walks.

side note:: this past week has been a major break through week for us. the captain has began to sleep ALL night. his routine is as follows: between 9:15 and 9:30 he takes his bath, eats, then sleeps. and his sleeps continue til about 6:30 or 7am. it only (and that only is a facieous one) took ella 5 months to sleep all night...high five to the caps for doin' it in half the time. and not to leave out honest ella. yesterday at breakfast i found this...

ella, being the honest child she is, told me that cici did it. and then stuck it back in the basket. can you believe the nerve?!?
♥

mixed emotions.

i do have pictures of the apple quest ella and i are currently on. johnny appleseed has provided the inspiration for apple prints and labeling activities...but i am sick to my stomach and posting pictures of happier times seems to be almost inappropriate. my heart goes out to the fallen deputy and cannot imagine the sadness that his or her family is experiencing. as i sitting here typing this post, it just doesn't seem like the right words are coming to mind; however, i'm am not sure there are any right words in this situation. i just pray that this situation is taken care of, if you catch my drift, and that there are not anymore innocent lives lost in the process.

today.

gray. mundane. a little on the cold-ish side. that was today. i looked at the clock possibly a hundred times and it seemed if every minute had latched onto the snail of time, if there even is such a thing. i had an epiphany around 4:36 pm. if i lived in a place such as oregon or washington, where rain dominates life, i would've offed myself ages ago. i need sunshine. because i had zero energy, and i mean zilch, i decided that creativity was a must. so the rest of my night proceeded as follows. 1. art for our dining room, free paint samples provided the inspiration 2. glow in the dark bath tubbin' (ellie not me) and 3. a reading of johnny appleseed with my sidekick ella appleseed. the pan on the head completed the interactive reading...a big hit among the locals.

1.

 2.

 3.

♥

mr. monster.

just for the record. this monster...

has grown! he is now 24 inches long and weighs 12 pounds. he is in the 90 to 95th percentile in both height and weight. how did i produce such a big kid?! maybe they pulled the wrong kid from my stomach? :)

♥

he is risen.

he is risen indeed. we celebrated easter and i tried my best to show ella that god's son is not a talking rabbit. (after watching hop, she began to tell me the easter story. she started with...'so god's son is a talking rabbit...') the traditional easter 'morning' egg hunt took place. i tortured my kids with pictures involving bunny ears. we ate french toast with strawberries and homemade whip cream, which ella said she did not like and crossed her arms....her loss. we then dyed eggs. oh and did we dye eggs. we had melted crayon eggs, silk dyed eggs, and rubber band eggs. i honestly loved my eggs. a rocked my socks kind of love. if not for that egg-y smell...i would try to keep them on display. as the day progressed ella continued to have a great easter. two more egg hunts ensued and she snuck candy like a champ, or would corner some poor soul and sweet talk them into giving her a cupcake, cookie, candy...whatever her little sneaky booty wanted. she is seriously going to be trouble when she's older.
three things. #1 be sure to check said child's hair. #2 because of said child's hair, i would like all colors please and thank you. and #3 i l♥ve pinterest have i mentioned that? my beloved eggs were a product of pinning. so were the napkins at dinner and the peeps flower arrangement. two enthusiatic thumbs up for pinterest for keeping the creative juices flowing. i'm a fan.

♥