Quiet Afternoon

Hello Friends!

It's been a while.

(I know.)

It seems I say that too often...

Here.

&

in person.

Time to CHANGE that!

* * *

We are moved into 'This Old House' and my only job is that of taking care of myself and the three men in my life. One is off to his full time job (for which we are very grateful after three very long years of graduate studies), one is off to his half day every day kindergarten class and one who mostly follows me around-- except on Fridays, when he too gets to go to school.

The house is by no means finished, but is liveable. My furniture is in, the walls are painted (white), the kitchen is fully functional with the exception of the island I am dreaming of...

My sweet friend Courtney has been strongly encouraging me to unpack my decorations and get some things up on these bare walls and shelves. My sister was up visiting yesterday and drove up some of the fall decorations I had stored at my parents' and so I have started making this house our HOME.

As I sit with my cup of tea, while the littlest is sleeping and his brother is reading, the house is so quiet! No music, no background TV noise (of which I'm usually guilty), no upstairs neighbors to listen to and few knocks on this door. It's peaceful.

(Well, now the small sound of the dishwasher is on in the background because I didn't dare post a picture of my mug of tea {a gift from this sweet friend} in the kitchen with dirty dishes!)

{A sneek peek at my new kitchen!}


Slowly, I am sorting through and organizing pictures to be able to show you all in blogland what it looks like here! And am compiling files of designs and projects I'd love to feature... what it will {hopefully} maybe someday look like here!

And I plan to visit often, update frequently and keep in better touch with you all. Life is too precious not to stop by and say hi.

love!

Join me?

... for a cup of tea? or maybe you prefer coffee...

whatever you choose... we have some serious catching up to do!

(you may need more than one cup)

Last post was January, but last update was

*gasp*

over a year ago!

color me

::embarrassed::

in a little more than a year, many things have happened

my baby turned one

(and is nearly two now!)

my husband entered into his third and final year of Law School

my big boy entered his final year of Preschool

we put in an offer in on a short sale home on Spokane's gorgeous South Hill

we waited to hear from the bank

we waited to hear from the bank

we waited to hear from the bank

... and ...

we waited some more

we waited and we waited and we waited

we celebrated Halloween

the boys were an adorable Monkey & and Life Saving Fire Fighter

we gave our thanks on Thanksgiving

we rejoiced at the birth of our King at Christmastime

and we continued to wait to hear from the bank

and, finally, in the middle of JANUARY

we closed on our FIRST HOME!

it's a real diamond in the rough...

we signed up to run a 1/2 marathon
with Team In Training

we began projecting on the house

we trainied for 20 weeks to run 13.1 miles

we fundraised for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society

we gutted this one hundred & ONE-year-old home

my oldest turned F.I.V.E!

we projected some more

we had lots of company -- family & friends to help

my husband graduated from Law School

we had a PARTY

we celebrated

we rejoiced

we flew to San Diego to run 13.1 miles in the Rock'N'Roll 1/2 Marathon!

we finished a 1/2 marathon

we celebrated

we were thankful we could still walk

we were thankful we had healthy bodies

we fundraised nearly $5000!

the funds we raised helped families,

and went toward research grants

we are still working on the house

the siding is off

the new roof is on

{Harvard Slate!}

the house is still only studs

and we hope to be moved in in four short weeks

we are thankful we are still in the apartment...

... for now

he's studying for the BAR exam

every day

every night

every in between second

it's h.a.r.d

but

I have to remember to be thankful for all the time we usually have together

and for the sacrifices he is making for our family

and for the job he will have when this exam is over

and all the blessings that will bring to our family

and to so many others'

...

That's just a little taste of what's been going on around here.

What have I missed with you?

And I have missed you.

I can't wait to get back into the swing of things and catch up with you all!

love!

:: Award-Winning Stuffed Chicken ::

It's been a while.

I know.

Before I start out, telling you all about my New Year's resolution and making promises that I may or may not be able to keep. Let's just start out with a new post for the new year! {baby steps, ok?}

A couple of months ago, Chris's boss invited us and another couple from the office over for dinner. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but it was a cooking competition! Apparently, around the office, discussions had been flying as to which half of each couple was the better chef. I was nominated from our team, and went up against Frank and Randy. (The other wifeys got to sit perched up watching with my hubby while I competed!)

It was a little {understatement} nerve-racking to go against these two, but I did it! We each picked three ingredients out of a hat, and were given full access to the kitchen and 20 minutes to complete an hors d'oeuvres to serve. Judging was based upon presentation, creativity and use of ingredients.

My ingredients were: chicken breasts, proscuitto and cream cheese and my number was 3, so I got to go last!

::

I came up with a little concoction of my own and ended up winning the grand prize! Tonight, I re-created the dish, as an entree for my family and am sharing the recipe with you all!

Note to Bunko Babes who may be reading: this dish may be in your near future.

::

Award-Winning Stuffed Chicken

INGREDIENTS
4 oz cream cheese, fat-free
1/2-3/4 c. basil pesto (homemade or store bought)
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1-2 eggs
1/2-3/4 c. milk
1/2-3/4 c. italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
4 slices proscuitto
butter

To begin, rinse chicken and cut off any excess skin or veins. With smooth side up, and a very sharp knife, carefully fillet (or butterfly) your chicken to open it up to create a pocket.

After all four chicken breasts have been butterflied, set them aside.

In a small saucepan, melt cream cheese over low heat. Add basil pesto and stir until well blended.

To assemble chicken, spread cream cheese and pesto mixture onto one half of pocket.

Lay one slice of proscuitto on top of each chicken breast.

Fold chicken back into original shape and set aside.

Prepare an egg wash with 1 egg and about 1/2 c. milk in a dish large enough to coat each chicken. In a seperate dish, combine breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese.

Place each chicken first in egg wash and then in breadcrumbs and assemble onto a baking dish.

top each chicken breast with a small pat of butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Flip each breast and bake an additional 7-10 minutes or until juices run clear when cut into.

To make sauce, add milk to remaining cream cheese and pesto mixture.

Serve with pasta, top with sauce.

love! Amy

A Hurdle

it's {HARD} somedays to get everything on your list checked off.

and somedays are {HARDER} than hard.



and somedays, items from the list get moved down, and re-prioritized and moved again and then to the next day...



and the next....

and the next....

and the next....


and somedays, it means I don't get to visit your smiling faces on your blogs or show you mine.



but I shall return!



we've had so much fun this summer....
weddings, birthdays, trips, fun!




and I can't wait to share it all with you! between computer REBUILDS and SHARING and new JOBS... I am gathering my memories and photos, and I promise, I'll {SHARE} them with you!



be patient with me... i know i've been gone for two whole months... but i'm coming~

love!

Waterboys

It's finally summertime here in Spokane and many of you other bloggers have been posting about fun summertime water activites...

We don't have a pool at our apartment, so when we want to go swimming, we typically drive to Meme & Pepe's house (only a 2 hour drive) and play in their backyard. We love taking the trip down and make it pretty often. Since we lived with Meme & Pepe when Mason was young, he thinks of their home as his own. He's very much a waterboy... always has been. Always will be. He LOVES the water.
Loves swimming.
Loves splashing.

We were down on Monday and Collin had SO much fun splashing around in his floaty seat.

Loving the sun.
Loving the {80 degree} water.
Loving the attention.

Today, Collin thought he needed a little pool time...

in his own private 'pool.'

I found him in the main bathroom...

happy as a clam!

10 months old

Enjoy your day today!

Hope it's summery~

love!

We have a winner!

After an amazing weekend...

:: a frantic race to clean the house

:: a visit from the in-laws

:: a night out

:: dinner, drinks, a parade

:: a room just for us (with a KING sized bed!)

:: brunch on the sundeck

:: a sunburn

:: some fun photos

:: some great conversations

:: a real joy to get to know my hubby again

:: a scenic drive to the Tri Cities

:: laying around the pool

:: another sunburn

:: a fun visit

:: my bunko babes

... and another full one to come ...

:: a drive to the west side

:: a ferry boat ride

:: a wedding in beautiful British Columbia

:: Hatley Castle in Victoria

:: a new dress to wear

:: another night out with my hubby

:: another room all to ourselves

:: more conversations

:: more dinner and drinks... and dancing, too!

:: a visit with my folks

:: a visit with my grandparents

... and then another ...

:: Vegas for the bachelorette!

... and then another ...

:: Chris to NYC to see a concert


... and then another ...

:: a bridal shower



{Thank goodness summer is here!}

So much excitement, I nearly forgot.

drumroll, please

.

.

.

I heard from seven of you. Thank you for your sweet, encouraging comments!

Congratulations, LuLu!

Be sure to email me your address, and I'll drop your Starbucks card in the mail!
amy dot carlisle at gmail dot com


love!

Done!

Today is Wendnesday.

Typically, Wednesdays are uneventful in our household.

But today marks a special day:

{{the first day of our SuMmEr!}}

Daddy is DONE with studying.

Daddy is DONE with exams.

Daddy is DONE with classes!
(at least until they resume much later in the summer)

Which means


(drumroll please)

.

.

.

we are DONE with year 2 of Law School!

which also means

.

.

.

only 1 year left!



(Can you tell I'm excited?)

My hubby is so awesome.

And works so hard for our family.

And I am so proud of him

and all he does.


...


We are so excited for what our future holds.

And so thankful that we've successfully

made it through the first two years.

...


With the amazing Wednesday we've had today, I wanted to share it all with you!


Since I missed my blogoversary,

I'd like to propose a {{Giveaway}} today!

Leave a comment and you'll be entered into the drawing for a $15 Starbucks card, because we could all probably use a little mid-week pick-me-up!

love!

Oh Happy Day, Mommas!

I know I have been MIA for a little over a week now. We are ok. Recovering and better, so no need to worry about us.

Just wanted to get on real quick while I had a few quiet moments to myself to wish all you other darling Mommas a


{{Happy Happy Day today!}}

And a couple reasons I am thankful for the best job in the world:

dimpled smiling faces

fresh & clean bathtime scent

"I love you, Mommy"

bedtime stories, prayers, hugs & kisses

snuggle time (and cuddle time)

sweet homemade gifts

Mother's Day Tea at preschool

and sweet poems...

My mommy is the most beautiful person
I know. The prettiest thing about her is her necklace.
Mommy is about 14 and a hundred feet tall and weighs around

16 1/2 pounds.Her eyes are red and her hair is brown and grey.

Her favorite food is meat (salami) and her favorite color is red.

The thing I like to do most with my mommy is pick up and do chores.

There are a lot of reasons to love her, but most of all

I love my mommy because she looks so cute.

Love, Mason

Happy Day to You!

much love!

Plans & Progress

A beautiful Wednesday morning and I am feeling

recharged

motivated

excited

On the docket for today:

Renting an apartment (or two)

Organizing & Cleaning at home

Laundry & Packing for our weekend getaway

Making dinners for the weekend

Searching for a great white cardigan

Looking forward to...

Coffee with a friend

Lounging around the pool

Finalizing Z&J's wedding invitations

Seafood Fest!

Spending time with Nick while he's home on leave

Seeing my parents & grandparents--on both sides!

My first giveaway for my blogoversary

(check back soon!)

Enjoy your Wednesday~

love!

Z is for...

...Zach and Jeannette!

They're getting married!

on July 18th!

And I'm a bridesmaid. {YAY!}

And we're bacheloretting in Vegas. {YAY!}

And I'm making the invitations (with the help of my sister). {YAY!}

And we're SO happy for them!

The venue is gorgeous:
A former wine-tasting room at an old vineyard.

Her colors are exquisite:

Sagey, Leafy Greens

Deep, Winey Purples
Pale Grapey Purples

Smooth Latte

Dark Chocolate

Her dress is breathtaking:

Ivory Mermaid

Sweetheart Neckline

Vintage Beading

with a French Bustle

My favorite?

4 inch heels....
...in an effort to bridge their 17 inch height difference.

The Lovebirds

Adorable... right?

love!

Y is for...

...Yogurt, Yams, Yo-Yos...

We watch too much Sesame Street at our house. Clearly. Some of the new episodes are really fun. I especially like the Plain White Tee's 'Letter T' version of Hey There Delilah.

I think I may be grasping at straws here... And I think I'm about done with this alphablogging. Half of me is excited not to be 'tethered' ... the other half is nervous I won't know what to write about!

Mason helped me find this fun video. Everyone needs a fun little bit of Sesame Street every once in a while.... Enjoy~

love!

X is for...

X?

Who's idea was this?

Onto Google image search to see what I could find for inspiration....

My options?

Xylophone Haven't played one since elementary school.

X-Files Never watched it.

Hmmmmm.

Not 'X-actly' what I was looking for... until I found this:

A new X-ray app for your Windows Smartphone.

There's an app for that

Pretty silly. Here's to a silly day and an amazing weekend!

love!

W is for...

...Walking

We are really pretty tickled with ourselves for having kept to our goal of walking a few nights a week. Sometimes, we load the boys in the double jogger (thanks again, Jess) and take them up the south hill thru our neighborhood. That's nice. We wave at neighbors and try to stop off at the park to let the boys (well, really, just Mason) run around for a few minutes.

My favorite nights are the ones where we pack up everybody and the stroller and drive down to Gonzaga where my hubby goes to school (we get to use his parking pass~) and we walk along The Centennial Trail. The trail is so beautiful and it feels so good to be out and exercising! Last night, we only walked a couple of miles.. the wind picked up and the boys weren't so excited about it. But soon we will be walking our 7.69 miles for Bloomsday!

We're getting excited!

Isn't it gorgeous?

love!

V is for...

...vaccinations

Today included a trip to the pediatrician's office. Let me start by saying this: we LOVE LOVE LOVE our pediatrician! Dr. K. is fantastic and if you're in the Spokane area and are needing a recommendation, I'd be happy to sing his praises to you! But I do not love that I scheduled appointments for two small boys at 2:30 in the afternoon. Which, for our family, falls dead smack in the center of naptime. {{WHAT}} was I thinking?

Both boys were due for their 'well child' check-ups. Mason's 4 year and Collin's 9 month. Going in, I was 99.9% certain both boys would end up needing shots. Since Collin could easily be soothed with some milk, I spent the majority of the morning 'pampering' Mason... in preparation. Picked up bagels so we could have bagelwiches for lunch. Extra special snacks, no nap, an extra "Mason" show on tv....

We get there and Collin is 3.5 minutes from meltdown mode. Poor babe is just too tired to carry on. And the green boogeys he'd developed a day prior raised some concern for Dr. K. He diagnosed him with Strep Nose. Strep Nose? Really? Not that I know exactly what that is other than an infection caused by the Strep A Virus that attacked his poor nose, but I quickly learn we can treat it with antibiotics. Ok, manageable.

Mason does well all thru the check-up. And the nurse asks me if he's entering kindergarten. Kindergarten? Kindergarten? He's four! We're here for his four year old well child check, not his five year check! Ugh. Are we really that close that the doctor's staff is asking me about his education future? Ok, mildly panicked there. .Ok, more than mild. Ok, downright freaked out about the thought that in one years' time, we will be doing kindergarten entrance vaccinations!

{{deep breaths}}

That aside, it turns out we won't need any vaccinations today. So, spoiled for not, Mason and I along with a now sobbing Collin, turn to leave and are offered a sucker for being such a 'good sport.' It's just sugar, right?

So, one final sucker and we were on our way home. No tears... from the boys.

Mason 4 years
42" tall 75th percentile
40 lbs 75th percentile


Collin 9 months
29" tall 75th percentile
21 lbs, 13 oz 50-75th percentile

[Mostly] Healthy boys who are growing up far too fast!

love!

U is for...

...Update

Well, to start with: God is good. Life is good. My boys are good. And I am good.

Easter weekend was lovely! We drove to spend it with Chris's [extended] family in Seattle and had a blast! Easter dinner was moved from Sunday to Saturday to accomodate us long-distance travellers. Lots of cousins our age and lots of cousins the boys' ages~ good times and good food!

On our way back home, we shopped at the outlet malls in North Bend. Ran and giggled thru pouring rain to get from store to store! Celebrated the end of lent with fast food and enjoyed some shopping~ good finds!

SpRiNg has sPrUnG in Spokane! And Chris and I are trying to make some healthier decisions for our family and last week, started walking! We are slowly building up~ started with about a half hour walk (which gets us approximately 1.8miles) and are adding a few minutes each night and --Amy at The Mommy Chronicles will be proud-- are even adding a couple minutes of running (okay, okay jogging) each night! We are gearing up to walk Bloomsday in a few more weeks! And are excited to be doing this as a family! ~good for our health!

The boys are growing leaps and bounds everyday! Collin has discovered he can pull himself up on just about any surface (not necessarily stationary!) and loves to jump in his crib while he's supposed to be napping. Mason's new thing is story-telling. He loves explaining, giving directions, sharing stories with anyone who'll lend an ear! Chris is gearing up for finals (ugh. again.) But that brings our count to [almost] two years down, one more to go! ~ good progress!

Summer will be here before we know it! And our busy plans start as early as next weekend: my brother is home on leave! (SO excited!) And he and my sister and her hubby are coming up to stay with us. We have tickets to see Death Cab for Cutie and a sitter lined up for the boys! Our travel plans this year include me to Vegas for Jeannette's Bachelorette Party (FUN!), our family to the Hatley Castle in Victoria, BC for a wedding, more weddings in the Tri Cities, Chris is headed to New York City to visit his best friend, Jesse. ~good plans and good fun!

We are very excited for Bloomsday and are looking for a house to buy! And feeling so good these days! About ourselves, our lives and our God! I have really been trying to see the good in the situations I keep finding myself in and am learning to TRUST in my GOD and to help keep our home happy!

Cheers to you on this middle of the week update! More to come~

love!

T is for..

...Tutor of the Year Award

Each year, Gonzaga law students nominate and vote for the tutor they felt had the most impact on their lives. Then that tutor is awarded a plaque at the annual Heidelberg Ball hosted by Gonzaga's SBA. A number of awards are given out and it's a big fancy event that (I've heard) is really fun. This year, since Mason was already spending Spring Break with Meme & Pepe, we thought maybe Collin could go spend one night too! So Chris's mom met us and we did a kid switcheroo and left Collin (my baby!) for his first overnight trip away from Mom & Dad.

He was a champ! Slept great for her and was generally easy and I think Mason was glad to see him again; it had been six days! Mom did great too. Not too nervous or too worried and was able to enjoy her night out.

So we got dressed up and left for the Masquerade Ball for dinner and dancing. It was so fun! We haven't been out on a real date in so long that it was really nice to be together alone (even though there were 498 attendees along side us)!

We sat at Table 35 with friends of ours, Jennie, Kristin and Eldy: all of whom live here in our same apartment community. Which is especially nice for me since Chris knows all these people from school, but I have limited interaction with them.

My friend Jennie is so sneaky, she'd told me earlier in the week that Chris had been nominated 'tutor of the year' but I didn't understand what that entailed. So when the award ceremony began, it was all I could do not to point everything out to Chris up until the Tutor Award came up. When they called his name, I was SO excited, proud, happy! It was so awesome for him. He really loves what he does for his 'tutees' and it shows. I think we may have a future Law Professor in our midst...

My hubby and his award (which he would sleep with if I let him!)

The Girls: Eldy, Jennie and Me

Us.

love!

R & S are for...

...Rest & Relaxation

...Spring Break

You'd think those two things went hand in hand, right?

Spring Break was great! Mason went to go stay with Meme & Pepe for a whole week! He had an absolute blast and I know Meme & Pepe did too.

I had great plans to get the house organized and get into full spring cleaning mode while being one-kid short....sort out too small clothes for both boys... get out spring clothes... get Collin on a better sleep schedule... great intentions, right?

The cleaning and organizing sort of took a back burner. But Collin is sleeping almost thru the night with only one feeding around 3 or 4 in the morning! Which is a welcomed change from our up at 11pm, 1, 3, 5 and 7am!

April Fool's Day came and with it: SNOW! We woke up to 3.5 inches! (Which of course required some major shoveling! Thank goodness that's my hubby's department~)

The rest of the week was full of unusual suprises and plans I hadn't anticipated. Including a very last minute decision to attend Heidelberg, the annual award ball hosted by the Law School. (More on that to come later, after photos are ready~)

It was a great week and Spring finally started to peek its head out.. a little on Saturday and a lot on Sunday. Wouldn't you know it? The day we drove to the Tri Cities to pick up our boys~

Rest & Relaxation? Not so much. Good Spring Break? Definately.

I hope your spring break brought more rest & relaxation than mine did!

love!

Q is for...

...Quotable Quotes

Here are a few of my favorites from my Mason boy...


"Oush"
(for "ouch" when he was wee...
sounded like he was going to follow it with another word)

"Sfokane"
(when we first moved)

"restastraunt"
(where we go out to eat)

"just so you know"
(he says it alot along with...)

"ACTUALLY!"
(his favorite; replaces 'um')

"That cracks me out!"
(instead of up... )

He calls Pizza Hut "Pizza Hat"
(It's what the sign looks like to me, too!)


"Can you believe your eyes right now?"
(He said that about his suprise trip to see Playhouse Disney Live with Meme earlier this year.)

We have "convasayshuns" every night after we've finished our dinner.
(We have to way to talk until our plate is cleared or else we'd be sitting at the table for hours!)I just love the way his mind works!


love!

P is for...

...Productivity!

Today I have a to-do list a mile long! And I am determined to cross off every item before I go to bed tonight! I am motivated by a sick husband and travelling this weekend, oh and a cup of coffee. I am praying this is enough to keep me going all day long~

:: my lengthy list ::

:: just for us ::

:: a better perspective ::


Wishing you a productive day and the peace of accomplishment!

love!