Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts

1.26.2011

A day in our life

So I thought I would share with y'all a peek into our rainy day yesterday. We were home bound for a majority of the day and it was hardly exciting... but it is what it is! {Sorry none of these photos are edited} Rise and shine! He is always so happy to see me in the morning! By far, my favorite part of the day!! He always has his horse lovie by the tail{in his hand}
Keating started the day with a little breakfast {Cheerios and mandarin oranges}, that he so nicely shared with the dogs. He always has a fan club sitting underneath his "Awesome 80's High Chair" Isn't it beautiful?


After breakfast he played with his stadium cup {his favorite toy, I kid you not!} and wrestled with John. John isn't so sure of Keating's new found interest in him, but he is a good sport none the less.

He also snooped around to see what he could get into. He successfully stole my phone, spilled my coffee and nabbed the TV remote in about 5 seconds. Such a stinker! Look at that innocent face, dont be fooled!! =)

After Keating's morning nap we ventured down to the county board of health to pick up a copy of Keating's birth certificate. Yes, I am aware that my son is a year old next month... better late than never! Total mom fail. I completely forgot about getting one until my mom reminded me about it. But at least we have it just in time to sign him up for mother's morning out for the fall.


When we got home, checking out the doggy door was on Blue's agenda. He thinks its pretty great that the dogs can run in and out of it. Just after he stuck his head out, they all came running in and knocked him over. He was not pleased!
That afternoon, I got the itch to cook something yummy. Ever since I saw the December issue of Food Network Magazine I have been dying to make salted caramels. I never made them at Christmas because the Barefoot Contessa recipe from the magazine intimidated me a little bit. I had no idea what "Fleur de sel" was, so I decided to skip it and hoped to find a less fussy one. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a much simpler recipe in the February Southern Living.

They are SO delicious, I can't stop eating them. So much for New Year's Resolutions.

Here is the super easy recipe that I adapted a little.

1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 cup butter
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

* Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a 3 qt sauce pan over medium heat; cook, without stirring, 7 minutes
* Stir in condensed milk, and bring to a boil over medium heat; cook, stirring constantly until a candy thermometer registers 238 degrees (Soft ball stage) about 20-25 minutes
* Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour into 8 inch square pan and let stand 8 hours {I was impatient and only did a few hours} at room temperature. {I also used a 9x13 pan and they were about a 1/2 inch thick and made about 4 dozen 1 inch pieces}
* Invert caramel onto a cutting board and cut into 1 inch squares with a knife or metal spatula
* Sprinkle sea salt over caramels
*EAT!!


Here is Lola, begging for a caramel.


After our {my} afternoon snack, we did a little playing and watched Ellen. At 5 Keating ate dinner and gorged himself on black beans and corn, his favorite. Then around 6:30 he had his bath. He used to be going to bed at 6:30 so this is an improvement.

He loves bath time and gets a kick out of pulling the drain up. All of the dogs come to supervise and entertain him so that he isn't lonely. He was watching them over the edge. He really needs more baby friends to play with... all of his friends have 4 legs!

After bath time, he had his nightly bottle and we waited for Brad to get home from work. I almost had him rocked to sleep, until Brad came busting through the door. Keating has not let me rock him since he was a tiny baby, so it was nice to enjoy him being a cuddly baby. But whenever he sees his daddy he think's it is play time and he no longer wanted his mama. =(

Last night, instead of watching the President's state of the union address, we watched our last week's The Office {Where was Jim?? He was only in the opening!} and Tombstone {so much cheesier than I remember!} that we got from netflix.

Then, hit the hay. And there you have it, an exciting day in our life!

Sorry for all of my interjections!

1.19.2011

"They're Just Men..."

My Grandparents on their wedding day
{This was actually two photos of each of them individually that I had to photoshop together. The only wedding photo of them "together" because the rest were ruined}

That little lady next to her honeymoon get away car is my Nannie, Sue Keating. I am pretty sure that at this point, she had no idea what she was getting herself in to! A kind hearted classy lady that married a loud opinionated cajun sailor. Through her many years of marriage and raising his four children, she definitely learned a thing or two. Here is a little bit of what I learned from her.

  • A woman should have a signature scent. Her's was Estee Lauder White Linen. I could never smell that again and not think of her.
  • A good book is all you need to escape for awhile. She was an avid reader that probably read thousands of books.
  • Red lipstick, I remember playing with hers in her vanity growing up.
  • She taught me how to crochet and appreciate family heirlooms. She made all of her grandchildren blankets. We got to pick the colors, which made it special{mine is pink and mint green... my childhood favorite colors}
  • She really couldn't cook, but she could bake, which I think is better.
  • She made amazing lemonade. Her's was so sweet that you nearly had to chew it. I still tend to prefer mine extra sweet for this reason.
  • She also made killer sweet tea, no telling how many cups of sugar were in a pitcher!
  • She was tolerant and patient. I can only imagine that my grandpa was not an easy man to live with, but she always seemed at ease... maybe that's why she read so much!? haha!
  • She picked her battles. With an opinionated husband and four children, she hardly ever got her feathers ruffled. I think this is key to a successful marriage.
  • She taught me family loyalty. When she first met Brad and we were newly engaged, she threatened his life if he ever hurt me, and meant EVERY word. This is still a conversation that he remembers vividly!
  • Greatest of all, she had a philosophy that I still carry with me today. It was her very simple outlook on men. She would always say "They're just men, you cant expect much" How true! I quote it multiple times a week.
She was a sweet and humble lady.
Tonight she went to be with Jesus. Her faith became sight and I am sure it was the most glorious sight!

8.09.2010

My Sister May Kill Me!

This weekend I had the urge to get out of the house. I randomly decided to go to Old Navy to see if they had jeggings. I wanted to try them on and see if I could pull them off, or see if I would look like the total geek with the poofy bangs that I was in elementary school. For any youngin's reading, jeggings have been around before. But they were nothing like they are now! "Jean leggings" as my sister and I called them were pretty snazzy and they looked sweet paired with our Sam and Libby bow ballet flats that we had in EVERY COLOR! They also went with our multitudes of Keds. (Wow I feel old posting all of this!)
We got our pairs of Jeggings at Target. I went with a dark blue wash. My sister on the other hand went with the flashy light early 90's rinse. She was most definitely a child of the 90's!
She was obsessed with her Jeggings! She wanted to wear them all of the time. EVERY. DAY. Here she is playing in our back yard wearing them.


They even came on vacation with us! Check out my mom's killer hair (Nice bow mom!) and our cool windbreakers that went with our swooshy pants!

Eventually she wore her Jeggings so much that they got holes in the knees and my mom retired them. The next year when we went school shopping, my sister requested the same pair of beloved Jeggings. Unfortunately the fad had passed and Jeggings were no more. My mom had to explain to her that they didnt make them anymore. She was not a happy camper!

Since then, we have often teased her for her love of her Jean Leggings. When we first saw that Jeggings were back, we all had a good laugh. Though she hasnt mentioned it, I know she is secretly VERY excited about their return. I EXPECT her to come home with a pair any day now.

I also expect her to come home today after reading this at work... and rubbing my face into the carpet for posting these pics! (She's a lot tougher than I am!)

5.10.2010

Mystery Mothers Day Flowers!

On Friday this beautiful basket of flowers was left on my front porch.



The card read...

Now as precious as this little man is, he cannot yet use the phone or internet on his own... much less talk to order flowers for his mama.


No one is owning up on "helping" Blue order these flowers. I have no idea what florist they even came from to call and investigate. They sure did make my day though!

On Sunday my boys surprised me with new perfume. It smells wonderful! The perfect summer scent!


4.26.2010

Weekend Recap!

I had quite the busy weekend and need a little bit of recovery time from constantly being on the go!

Friday I had two photo sessions. One for the precious Amelia Claire, and the other for my beautiful pregnant friend Kristy.
Isnt she just precious?She looks awesome for being with child! Dont yall think!?

That night we hung out with my parents and ate homemade buffalo chicken pizza. YUM! Then went to bed before 10! haha! We are so lame!

Saturday it rained all day long, but we were still busy. That night Brad took me out for our first date since Keating has been born. We went and indulged at PF Changs and it was delish!

Sunday was my awesome little sister's birthday. I still cant believe she is 22! She graduates in May and has a real "big girl job". Keating and I went to UGA with my parents to eat lunch with her for her birthday. It was a little surreal pushing a baby stroller down the sidewalks of Athens. When we got home we went and met up with Brad at the Taste of Marietta where he was working. There we were surrounded by INCREDIBLE food and even better people watching! I was a very happy camper!


Future bulldog!

A funny family portrait with Keatings legs and arms hanging out!
Catching his zzz's! It was a long weekend for Blue too!