Let's go for a walk

Axel on a walk.

Since it's Work Out Everyday in June going on over here, I've been going on lots of long walks with my kids.  It's the perfect way to get some activity into my life with out having to wait for Adam to get home or find a babysitter.  In the beginning I would head out and then 10 minutes in I would be wishing for something I had forgotten.  So I wanted to share my "necessities" for talking long walks.

Sunglasses!
Half the time we're walking into the sun (the other half it's to our backs) and I get a lovely headache if I forget these!

Chapstick
Nothing worse than being out in the sun and having dry lips.  Adam makes fun of my dependence on chapstick, but when we travel to places that aren't so dry, I promise I use way less.  It's not my fault, it's Utah's fault!!!  These are my favorite for walks.  I don't need color, just a little moisture and spf.

iPod
I got this for my birthday last year and I don't use it as much as I want.  It's hard to put something in my ears when I rely on them so much to do my job.  Is a baby crying?  Is Olivia asking for something?  Or worse, is Olivia being too quiet?  So it's great to listen to some tunes while we walk.  I only put in one ear (sorry Beatles songs, I have to skip you) so I can hear Olivia point out birds, trees and other fun things.  Having a little music makes me feel like I'm in a movie and helps the time pass faster.

Water
Nothing makes the time drag like thirst!

Phone
Just for safety, it's always good to have my phone.  Also it's good to know how long we've been out on our walks.

For the kids
I also let my kids bring something that they want.  I've let Olivia bring a water before too, but I draw the line at toys for her.  She drops them too much and it slows us down.  Axel can have a teething ring and it's great because he's just learning how to manipulate objects.  Also a very light blanket, because Axel is a blankie boy and loves something to cuddle, even when it's 90 degree out!

The nice thing about kids is using their stroller to haul all of my own stuff!  Ha!  What do you like when you go out for a walk?

Friday Food: A simple summer sandwich

I was never a sandwich person growing up.  The first time I remember liking a sandwich was when we had Subway for a picnic lunch when I was a kid (no idea how old)  I think my biggest problem was store bought bread and dry bread.

So basically, I love them now.  I don't make them as often because I like the works.  I want lettuce and tomato, sure.  But I also want olives, banana peppers, bell peppers, spinach, cucumbers and pickles.  That is a lot of chopping for one sandwich!  So I usually stick to Subway for my sandwich needs (which used to be once or twice a week when I was teaching!  Oh the good life. . .)

A few weeks ago I was reading Shay's food blog (she is the sister of Sean the Bachelor!  Check her out!) and she had this simple yummy sandwich.  I was inspired.  So when planning dinner I decided we would have sandwiches one night, but keep it simple.

First, I made this bread.  So easy.  Just try it, it is the best.  The only change I made was using half whole wheat flour.  I put half of the dough in an 8x8 pan and then after it baked, I cut it in half and split it open.  (So my sandwich was 8x4)

I had some leftover pesto and extra cream cheese so I mixed the two together and spread it on the bread.  Then topped it with turkey slices, pepper jack cheese, cucumbers and avocados.  So good, so simple.

Not super photogenic though. . .

This is just the worst picture.  Yes I have dishes in the sink, a cheese wrapper and knife in the background as well! 

Meeting Blogger Friends IRL

Adam is really good at his job.  Mostly he wins awesome things, like gift cards and iPads.  But last month for their incentive, Adam's team chose a day at Lagoon (an amusement park here in Utah).  Most of his team is single, I guess.  So yeah, I was a little T/O that he would be spending his day riding rides while I was at home with the kids by myself, just like every other day of my life.  I love my kids, but I live for Saturdays with Adam home.  I did not react well.

But I guess something good did come of it.  I decided that if Adam could leave me for a whole day, I could stop feeling guilty for leaving him with the kids for an evening.  And so I signed up for Bonnie's Blogger Round Table.  I've been wanting to go for SO LONG!  I finally decided Axel would be okay with a bottle (he wasn't, and cried a portion of the time, but Adam was cool about it) and I could meet some friends!

Suzzie, Me, Tayler, Aubrey and Bonnie front and center!

Of course I got to meet Bonnie.  I've been reading her blog for about a year and a half.  Even though we taught for the same school district we had never met!

And my new blog friend, Aubrey!!!  She did the 30x30 challenge with me and she also blogs the bachelorette with me!  It was so fun meeting her!

I also got to meet two new girls, Tayler and Suzzie.  It was so fun chatting with them!

I was worried I would be super nervous, but Axel was screaming when I left (everything I tried wasn't helping so I decided it didn't matter if I stayed or went, so I went) so I had him on my mind more than meeting four strangers.  When I walked into the room where they were sitting it was like, "Hey girls!  What's up?"  Like we had already met.

And as usual, I probably talked way too much.  And too loud.  The teacher in me will never die.

Wanna watch the Bachelorette with me? Week 4

Once again Aubrey and I are bringing you our life changing thoughts about the Bachelorette!  So much fun, we actually got together to watch it IRL!  And she brought snacks, so Adam thinks she's awesome.

Brad 1x1
Was there nothing good during the carnival portion of the date, or were my kids being crazier than normal and I missed it?

Check out this sand castle.  Best make out zone ever!

Aaaand boringest convo ever.

Des: I absolutely loved every single moment (except for the moments I didn't like so NO ROSE FOR YOU!)

Brad: I just want this to be the right decision for her. 
Finally, this guy knows what's up.  Not every person is going to be a perfect match.


Group Date
Michael G says he grew up dreaming of being Mr. America.  Please say he's being sarcastic and I just can't tell. 

The mayor is judging this pageant?!?!?!  Your tax dollars hard at work here.

I love that Brooks chose a lion as the animal he would be (no hesitation!)  I imagine his inner dialogue: What animal has the best hair. . .

Mikey T very eloquently states that he is not a meat head. There is more to him than just his body.  He has insides.

Kasey #tapdance

Mikey T does everything he can to prove that he's a meat head during the talent portion.

Zak is the only guy with a real talent.

Mikey T flexes during the swimsuit competition to he can prove again that he's a meat head. 

Brooks, 2nd runner up
Zak, 1st runner up (Zak!  I was a first runner up in my pageant too!  Solidarity man!)
Kasey #mramerica

Chris says, I write poetry
Des says, I do that!
Chris is thinking: I know, I stalked your facebook page.

James 1x1
While I'm all for giving service, this might possibly be the most depressing date ever.

Finally a couple that actually deserves a fairytale date!

And now we're watching what the bachelor would look like if they had a senior version.

Des: The fact that James is so honest. . . (um, he cheated?  Is that being honest???)

Private concert are the new helicopters.

Apparently admitting that you made a horrible decision makes you trustworthy.

Cocktail Party/Rose ceremony 
Michael G is giving her papers with letters on them as he compliments her.  Des says, Oh thank you!  A letter on a paper.  She's so good at being fake excited/interested.

Chris is not my fav, but it looks like he'll be here for a while.

Bryden is having a hard time with the situation?  Once again, people watch the show before you come.  Know what to expect!!

Going home:
Brad (during his 1x1 date)
Zack K.

All in all, I felt like the editing of this episode was really odd.  We didn't get much conversation time between Des and any of the guys.  Is it just me???

So Aubrey and I made our guesses for the hometown dates!  I'm posting hers, she's posting mine.  So head over to Aubrey's blog to see my picks!

Aubrey's Top 4
Drew, underdog
Brooks, because a SLC hometown. Plus their "amazing connection!"
Chris, not because I want him, but because I think he'll get a hometown
Kasey, because I can't pick a #4 and I'm obsessed with social media (aren't we all Aubrey???) #wildcard

Some things will never change

My daughter just licked the screen door.  She looked at me and said, "Gross."  And. . . did it again.

Olivia loves tasting things.  She eats the play dough every time.  She was the oldest girl in her nursery class at church to still eat the crayons. 

It's funny because this oral fixation has been something unique about her since she was just a couple weeks old.  Here she is licking the side of her car seat, less than a month old!  People would see this and say, "She must be hungry!" (which, let's be honest, always bugged the heck out of me) but no, she just liked to lick things.

And here's my Axel Boy, pulling the covers over his face to sleep.  Every time. 

He does not sleep like this at night.  At night he's swaddled and cannot use his arms to pull the blanket over his head.

In fact we were on a walk yesterday and he was happy, but near the end he started fussing a little.  I stopped and replaced his binki using his burp cloth to kind of keep it in place (he can't hang on to a binki to save his life, this kid) Seriously like one minute later I checked to see if he had fallen asleep and he had pulled the burp cloth over his face and just zonked.  It was then that I realized he totally pulls that blanket over his face on purpose.

I can't wait to see if he continues this for years to come.

Its so crazy how kids are born with their own personalities and traits, right?

Food Friday: Buffalo Chicken Pizza

It was a crazy day last week (psh, everyday is crazy with Olivia living here) and I did not feel like cooking.  I had planned to make pizza for dinner and then I thought maybe it was too much for me on a day like that.  But you know what?  It wasn't. 

Adam had won some buffalo wing sauce from Buffalo Wild Wings (How??? I don't know, I was out of town!) so I decided to go with that.  It was a little spicy so I did 1/3 of the pizza with BBQ sauce for Olivia and the other 2/3 in buffalo sauce.

This picture is not very appetizing, but I promise it was good!  We also like to add a little baby lotion too. . . just kidding, I don't know why there is baby lotion in this picture.

The pizza dough I made is so simple!  But you can always buy dough if you want to make it even easier.  You can find the original recipe here, but this is what I used.

1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c white flour
1 t salt
1 c warm water
1 T honey
1 packet yeast (.25 oz)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix flours and salt.  
3. Mix water, honey and yeast and let it sit until foamy.  
4. Mix water and flour mixtures.  
5. Let rise for 10 minutes. 
6. Roll out and prick with a fork.
7. Cook for 10 minutes or until desired crispiness is reached.
8. Cover in sauce, cheese and toppings.  
9. Heat in oven until cheese is bubbly.  

My toppings were just mozzarella cheese, chicken and red onions.  Celery would also be fun, but I didn't have any on hand.

Oh yeah, dip it in a little ranch or blue cheese for the full effect :)

If you really knew me

So these posts were all the rage in blogging world a few several months ago.  I was like, "No way am I doing one of those mushy gushy emo posts."  Because that's what a lot of them seemed to me.  "If you really knew me, you'd know I'm easily broken hearted. . . " etc.  But then I realized if you really knew ME, you'd know I hate being all mushy.  So I started a list and forgot about it.  But when Jennie posted hers, I pulled mine out and still didn't post it.   I obviously got around to it!  Here is my list.

If you really knew me, you'd know:

I sing everything. (Have you seen Rob and Big?  He sings "I love net guns and whoever invented them." Those are the kind of songs I sing.  And real ones too)

I go to bed early, like 9pm.  You'd know that if I don't I get cranky and mean.  And sometimes I cry.

I drive a stick shift.

I have an annoying voice.  And I talk loud.

I don't know how to spell very well.  Thank goodness for spell check.

I leave my phone at home about 60% of the time (I'm actually getting better about this)

I'm super independent and I'll do almost anything alone if I want (go to the movies, out to eat, drive to CA. . . )

I love to cook.  It's my love language.

I shower and get dressed every day.  It makes me feel sick if I don't.  I might not do my hair or put on makeup, but I can't stay in my pjs all day. 

I love Michael Jackson.  And Michael Scott.  And Michael Bluth.  I think I just came up with three reasons to name my next son Michael.  Heck, I even like Michael Jordan a little (thank you Space Jam!)

I don't love country music.  I like it a little, and I'll listen if Adam has it on (can't figure out how to turn off my ears, so. . . ) but I will never turn it on by choice.

I love oldies music and rap/hip hop.  And I can rap a little.  My brother is actually a rapper (no joke) so I'd like to think I've learned a little from him.


And well, that concludes the list of things you would really know about me.  So consider yourself my personal friend.  :)