Mr. Smarty Pants

Proud mommy moment here: My little boy is a Mr. Smarty Pants! Not only has he earned all S's and S+'s on his final Kindergarten report card, he is reading at a 2nd grade reading level! I'm so proud of him and I'm getting all sentimental and watery-eyed thinking about all that he can become. I LOVE that he picked up my love for reading and I hope he keeps it up! 


Logan, we are SO proud of you!
- Mommy & Daddy

It's Ours!

We got official word yesterday that the house is ours! We don't have a settlement date yet (still), but the inspection is scheduled for next week, so things are starting to finally feel real! 


Sorry I've been MIA lately, with school ending and ceremonies/parties to attend, friends to play with, pools to swim in, and family reunions, we've been a busy family!


One more day of school and I'll have a 1st grader! Where did the little baby I once had go?

Zoo Day!

                                                            (What's the word June? word of the day: Miss Piggy)

I am very fortunate to have found a wonderful group of mommas who had babies around the same time Dylan was born. I am even more lucky to have several of them in my area! We try to get together as often as possible, sometimes with the babies, sometimes without, and I will say that I have grown to really love the time we spend together. It's really cute to watch them all grow and interact together.


Today 3 of us went to the Reston Zoo. I've been in Northern Virginia for over 3 years now, and I've never been there! It's a small zoo, with farm animals, 2 zebras, some small monkeys, some cows from different countries, alligators, reptiles, and such, but the coolest thing is that you can feed (most of) them! They are all very accustomed to being fed and most were very gentle, but some were acting like little Miss Piggy and pushing all the others out of the way for a Dylan-sized handful.


We had lots of fun, and I can't wait to bring Logan to the Reston Zoo next time!

Cooking Fail

Logan has desperately wanted mac & cheese and hotdogs for dinner lately, so tonight I thought I'd do that for him. Instead of our usual boxed mac & cheese, I thought I'd make it a little more "grown-up" and make homemade mac & cheese. After searching and searching through Pinterest, I found (what I thought was) the perfect recipe. 


First mistake I made: I cooked the noodles regularly. In the recipe, it clearly says to mix the raw noodles with milk, salt, mustard powder, and nutmeg. I didn't read that far. Instead I cooked the noodles in water, drained them, then read what I was supposed to do. Oops. At least I have noodles for Dylan for lunch for the next week...



After a long sigh and a shake of my head regrouping my thoughts, I went to the cupboard to get more elbow pasta out (luckily I had another box!). I then promptly spilled the entire box (which was only half full) on the floor of my kitchen (see exhibit A). 

Exhibit A

After opening the famous blue boxed mac & cheese just for the noodles (I should've just used that darn box in the first place), I finally got started on my homemade mac & cheese. After it was cooked, I started to worry. It smelled delicious, but it looked and felt like a brick of noodles (see exhibit B). I followed the directions to a T, stirring the whole time, adding just the right amount of ingredients, and being patient. Hopefully it's just something I did wrong, because the recipe had wonderful reviews.

Exhibit B

From now on, it's the boxed version for this family.

Garage Cleaning

                           (What's the Word June? word of the day: bubbles)


We're getting started on our cleaning/organizing/packing checklist since our hopeful closing date is June 29, which is 25 short days away!

Yes, this is the after pic.

First up: The Garage. I wish we would have taken a "before" pic, but I didn't think about it until I was taking the "after" pic. It took about 4 or 5 hours, and thanks to wonderful neighbors and a long nap time, the kids were mostly occupied. About 3 hours in, Dylan woke up, so we kept him occupied with bubbles from the bubble machine (if you look closely, you can see it - it's blue and yellow - on top of the washer with the Eagles magnet on it) while we had most of our garage contents in our driveway and were organizing/packing it up. I'm actually very happy with our progress yesterday! Most of the stuff we could get into boxes was packed and placed at the back of the garage, while the bigger stuff is organized into categories. The stuff you see at the front is stuff we need to sell (anyone want a Keurig?) and some of the stuff belongs to our landlord.


What's next? The dreaded playroom.

T-Ball

Lovely action shot thanks to LaLa!

Today was a t-ball kind of day. Logan did wonderfully (of course) and although he was in the outfield once, which he hates because all he gets to do out there is pick grass and mushrooms, he had a great time! Gorgeous weather, great game, Panda Express, and Sweet Frog - sounds like the perfect Saturday to me!

Tugging at the Heartstrings

I am a veterinary technician. I love my job, but sometimes it really does pull on my heartstrings. Like today.


The husband of a coworker of mine brought in a little kitten yesterday. He was just laying by a dumpster curled up into a pall, waiting (hoping?) to die. It appeared he'd been bitten by something and his whole face was so swollen. Poor little guy. We patched him up, now we're waiting impatiently for the swelling to go down. I came into work today, not knowing this little guy's story (I was off yesterday) and I saw him sitting in his little cage. I was instantly smitten. He is the cutest little kitty ever, and I'm not even a cat person! Now I'm contemplating adding 4 little paws to my family...


Oh, hey bloggers! My sister (tabi happy) is doing a blog challenge called, "What's the word June" where you have to incorporate the word of the day into your blog posts. Check it out!

Day 29: Where I've travelled

I've been to quite a few places! I'm on the run so I can't post too many pics, but I'll list them out!

1. Outer Banks, NC - We have gone there every summer as far back as I can remember. It's one of my favorite places in the world!
2. Florida - Orlando (thanks to Disney World) and Tampa (where my older sister lives). I spent a week in Tampa after I graduated high school, it was memorable to say the least!
3. Paradise Island, Bahamas - We went there when I was a kid, then again when I was 19. I got engaged there!
4. St. Lucia - My husband and I spent our honeymoon there. It was beautiful and we want to go back again soon!
5. Texas - I lived there for about 4 years when my husband was in the Army.
6. Georgia - I lived in Augusta for 6 months.
7. Myrtle Beach, SC - I've vacationed there twice.
8. Las Vegas, NV - My sister got married there!
9. New York - Manhattan and Long Island. 
10. Kentucky - We had a dancing function there every summer when I was a kid and clogging with my family.
11. West Virginia - More clogging stuff!

There are a few places I'd love to go to! Here they are:

1. Australia
2. Italy
3. Germany
4. Bahamas (again)
5. St. Lucia (again)
6. Cancun

See where other bloggers have ventured here. Where have you gone?

Day 28: What I'm Looking Forward To

I'm looking forward to a lot of things! I could go on and on about this, so I'll make it into what I'm looking forward to this year.

• Closing on our new home
• Decorating and organizing the new home
• Going back to school in the fall
• Family vacation to OBX in August
• Dylan experiencing the beach
• Logan starting 1st grade
• My cousin's wedding in Orlando
• My birthday

What are you looking forward to? 

See what the future holds for others here!

Day 27: A Favorite Recipe

Oops! I missed a day. This beautiful Memorial Day weekend has me booked! 


Chili Lime Flank Steak & Spicy Rice with Shrimp


Unfortunately I don't have an amazing picture to go with this yummy recipe, but I can assure you that it's delicious! I make the rice (sans shrimp) separately at least 3 times per month. The zest of the lime gives this steak rub amazing flavor, I highly recommend this dish!

Ingredients

• 2 to 2 1/4 pounds flank steak
• 1 1/2 tablespoons grill seasoning, a palm full and a half
• 1 tablespoons dark Mexican chili powder, a palm full
• 1 lime, zested
• Cooking spray or oil to coat grill or grill pan
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup white rice
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons hot sauce, eyeball it
• 1 pound small to medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves or flat-leaf parsley
• Salt
• 2 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, sliced
• 2 Hass avocados, halved, scooped from skin and sliced
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup crumbled queso Asadero

Directions

Preheat outdoor grill or indoor grill pan to high. Rub the meat with a mixture of grill seasoning, chili powder and the lime zest. Let meat stand 10 minutes. Grease grill surface then add meat and cook 7 to 8 minutes on the first side, 5 to 6 minutes on the flip side for medium doneness.

For the rice, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter, and when melted add rice and toast for a couple of minutes. Add the onion, bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic and cook for a few minutes to begin to soften the veggies. Add stock and raise heat to bring up to a bubble. Stir in the tomato paste and hot sauce. Reduce heat to simmer, cover the pot and cook 18 minutes, until rice is tender. Add shrimp to the pot in the last 5 minutes of cooking. The shrimp will steam on top of the rice. Cook the shrimp until pink and firm. Combine the seafood and cilantro into the rice and season with salt, to taste.

Season sliced tomatoes with salt and dress the avocado with lemon juice. Make 4 stacks alternating the tomatoes with avocado and onions.

Slice the steaks and serve on a bed of shrimp rice, the guacamole stacks alongside. Garnish the guacamole stacks with cheese crumbles.

Day 26: An Old Photo of Myself

This is the oldest picture I have of myself on my computer. I'm the one in the cool purple pants!


See some others here.

Day 25: Blogs I Love

Today's post is supposed to be 5 blogs I love. I don't really have 5 that I frequent, guess I'm still new to the blogging scene. The blogs I follow are:

1. tabi happy: My sister's blog. 
2. iheart organizing: She gives me so many great ideas! She's my idol.
3. A Little Tipsy: Lots of cool ideas, recipes, and fun things to do.
4. Modern Parents/Messy Kids: Another great blog for fun kiddo things.

That's it. Guess I'm one short. 

What are your favorites? Find some new ones here!

Day 24: My Favorite Childhood Book(s)

BSC Little Sister!

It's hard for me to pick just one book, so I'll pick a series. I loved the Babysitter's Club Little Sister books by Ann M. Martin. I had every single one of them and read them all at least 5 times each. I liked the regular Babysitter's Club books, too, but these were easier for me to get into, I think because I was about the same age as the characters, while the BSC books were of older girls. 


I wish I had time to read like I used to.


What was your favorite childhood book? I'd love to hear! Wanna see what others had to say? Go see!

Day 23: My Dream Job

I love my job right now, even though I work part-time. I love being able to stay home with my kiddos and also get some adult interaction 2 (sometimes 3) days a week. 


But it's not my dream job.


I'm going back to school in the fall to finish out some prerequisites to get into nursing school! I'm attempting becoming an RN, but I don't want to stop there. I want to get my BSN, then my MSN (Masters of Science in Nursing) to become a nurse practitioner. It's a step-by-step process, so it'll take some time, but I'm hopeful! 


What do others want to do? Check it out!

Day 22: Best Thing to Happen This Year

My (hopefully) soon-to-be new home!

Well, it hasn't happened yet, but I'm fairly certain it will happen this year. The husband and I will be buying our very first house! If you go back and read my "I'm back!" post, it tells the story of the house we want to purchase. It's been a long and trying 5 months, but we're still hopeful on our June 29 closing. 


So, since that technically hasn't happened yet, I'll say the best thing that has happened so far this year was hearing back that our offer has been accepted by the first of two banks that hold the current mortgage. We should be hearing back in the next 2 weeks or so from the second bank...

Day 21: My 10 Favorite Foods

This is an easy-peasy post! I love food. I love watching Food Network (it really does give me ideas!), and I love cooking. Now, the cleaning after cooking part sucks, but that's what I have my husband for ;)

Most of my faves are in that pic!

1. Anything mexican - Okay, I know this includes a lot, but I decided to include it because this list is only supposed to be 10 items! I love enchiladas, chimichangas, fajitas, black beans, cilantro, mexican rice, cumin, lime, salsa... I could go on and on.
2. Avocado. You can do so much with it or just eat it plain with a squeeze of lime juice and a pinch of salt.
3. Key lime pie. 'Nuff said.
4. Maryland Blue Crabs. I'm a Maryland girl, so it's kind of in my blood. 
5. Shrimp. Seasoned with Old Bay seasoning... yum!
6. Mashed Potatoes. I can't get enough of them!
7. A good salad with crisp lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, chickpeas, eggs. Mmmm.
8. Almost anything from Sakura Japanese Steakhouse. I said almost anything because they serve chicken livers. Blech.
9. Strawberries. 
10. Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It reminds me of childhood and I could probably eat a box of it in a day or two (if milk didn't give me so much heartburn). I found this and I definitely need to try it!

There you have it! See what others like here, and who knows? You may find a delicious new food to try!

Day 20: A Difficult Time

I've had a few difficult times in my life, but thankfully I haven't cracked from them! I'm very sorry but I just don't feel comfortable sharing the most difficult time, so I'll share some others that are tied for #2. 


The loss of my grandparents. 


My family has always been tight-knit. I love that. I grew up with many aunts, uncles, and cousins. My mom came from a family of 7 kids, then you add their spouses and children to the mix, and you get a whole lotta love! My mom's parents (Nanny & Pappy) were very loving people. Nanny got sick when I was 13 years old, and I remember going with my mom to meet some of her sisters to go help her around the house, wash her hair, and just spend time with her fairly often. We knew her time was running short, but it was still a shock when I was told she had passed away. Imagine my surprise when, just a few short weeks later, I received a call from my mom's best friend, Linda, telling me that Pappy had died. It was very sudden. I still remember that moment very vividly in my mind. I had just gotten home from school and was listening to the messages on our answering machine. One was from Linda asking me to call her back, and I heard my mom weeping in the background. I remember the sinking feeling I felt in the pit of my stomach. I knew something was wrong. I didn't want to call her back but I knew I had to. I did, and I remember just standing there with tears streaming down my face when she told me what had happened. 


My dad's mom (who I called Me-Mom as a young child, then just Grandmom as I got older) lived with us as long as I can remember. Her husband, Pop-Pop, had passed away when I was an infant and, sadly, I don't remember him. She had some health issues, including minor heart attacks and strokes, but she always seemed to bounce back from them. One year, on the day after Christmas when I was 18, she had a major stroke. She was in the hospital for a bit, then was transferred to a nursing home just a few miles away from our house. We visited her very often (every night!) and she improved a little, but she was never herself ever again. One day, my mom went to visit her while I was at school and noticed something was just not right with her. After pleading with the staff at the nursing home, she was transferred to the hospital. A few days later, she was having congestive heart failure, and nothing was helping anymore. I remember them having to suction the mucous out of her throat and lungs and how much she hated it. Her time became shorter and shorter, and one day I remember thinking that I needed to prepare myself for her passing. I was at my boyfriend's (now husband) house one night, and my mom called to tell me that Grandmom had died. I remember going into his bedroom and collapsing on his bed, unable to shake the awful feeling of guilt I had for not being there. 


I think about my grandparents often, although I have been grandparent-less for over 10 years now. I wish they were here to meet my children, but I know that they're watching over us. 

Day 19: What Do You Collect?

This is a quick blog post since it's a busy Saturday (sorry!), so I'll get straight to the point.

I collect giraffes! Well, not the real thing (I wish) since I don't live in a zoo or in Africa, but I do collect all things giraffes. I love them, with their long necks, little faces, and black tongues. The boys in my house roll their eyes every time they see anything giraffe, because they know I'll have to have it. 

What do others collect? You know the drill, see here.

Sorry so fast! Until next time...! 

Day 18: The Meaning Behind My Blog Name

My boys.

The other 2 boys in my life.

I won't lie. I'm not the most creative person in the world. Heck, I'm probably not the most creative person in my house. I'll give that title to my 6 year old.

My blog name, Just a girl... (and the 3 boys she lives with), means just that. I'm the only girl in a household full of boys.

Even my 2 dogs are boys. We have tried having a girl dog 3 times (!) but it never worked out.

• The first time, someone brought a box of puppies into my work (I'm a veterinary technician) and I decided to take one home (they were dalmation/boxer mixes). We had her for 3 or 4 days then someone came into my work saying that someone had stolen their puppies from their house and asked if we've seen them. Being the honest person I am, I said that I had one and then I had to give her back. 
• Try #2 - We had a golden retriever/lab mix named Madison (another one from work). We had her for about 6-7 months, then (and I hate this excuse, but I had to use it) I got pregnant with #1, Kyle got sent to Iraq, and I moved from Texas to Maryland to stay with my parents while pregnant and having a deployed husband. Since I already had the 2 smaller dogs, I just couldn't take Madison with me (my parents already had 3 dogs of their own!), so I found her a loving home with a coworker of mine.
• And try #3 - A lady brought in the cutest little dachshund puppy to work (yep, another work dog) who had a broken leg. She couldn't afford to take care of the leg and the dog, so sadly she had to sign over her care. I love dachshunds and I couldn't bear to have this little dog euthanized over money, so I acquired her! She came home with me (after splinting her leg) and was with us for about 1 week. One night around Christmastime, she was in the (fenced in) backyard with my other 2 dogs. We went outside to bring them in, and she was gone! We lived on an army post, and our backyard was fenced with chain-link fencing so people could see what was in our yard. My guess hope is that someone saw this adorable little puppy and took her to give to their child for Christmas. I hope she has a happy home.

Wow, talk about going overboard! I could have answered with a simple sentence, but I thought I'd try to explain in depth, since I've tried not being the only girl.

Find cool new blogs and the meaning behind their names here!

Want to get into blog challenges? My sister is doing a "word of the day" challenge for June. Check it out!


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Day 17: My Proudest Moment(s)

Aren't I lovely? That's what 24 hours
of IV fluids does to you.

More IV fluid filled memories.

I'm a mom, so I think the natural answer to that question would be "the day my babies were born", so I'll say that. 


For now.


I'm planning on having some proud moments in my life in the next few years. What are those?

• I'll be pretty dang proud when we close on our new house! 
• I'm also going back to school (with very many thanks to the great USofA and the commonwealth of Virginia for an awesome college grant!) and when I complete that, I'll be proud of myself! It'll be a tough few years, but I'm pretty optimistic. 
• I'm running my very first 5k in September! I'm not a runner by any means of the word, so I'll feel accomplished and proud that day, too!

Check out some other proud bloggers here! I'd love to hear yours, too!

31 Day Blog Challenge: Day 16

I know I'm cutting in halfway, but since I started up my blog again, my sister challenged me to do this. I thought it might help me get into the habit of blogging so I figured, why not? So here goes!


Day 16: What's at the top of your bucket list? 


This may sound a little cliché, but I would love to go skydiving. It may take a little extra push to get me out of the plane, but I'm sure once I get on the ground safely, I'm sure I'd want to do it over and over again! (Kind of like my first upside-down roller coaster ride in Ocean City, MD. I was crying the entire time but once the ride was over, I wanted to do it again!)


I guess another thing would be to go on a cruise to the caribbean and do all the fun things that entails. Mainly, swim with dolphins on one of the shore excursions. 


What about you, what's on your bucket list? I'd love to hear!


See what others have to say here. 

Is my thumb getting green?

From this...

... to this!

I'll jumpstart my new & improved blog by posting a picture of my new & improved green thumb (well, the fruits of my green thumb's labor, actually). I have been known as the "plant killer" and cannot seem to keep anything that requires dirt in a pot alive. I had been pretty lucky with my aloe plant (because that requires very little skill to keep alive) so I decided to venture into herbs, mainly because I use them frequently to cook with and I'm tired of spending money to just use a tablespoon or so of them. My mother-in-law generously gave me some offspring of her mint plant (see it in the black pot in the pic on the right?) and I felt compelled to keep it alive. Since that worked out, I bought the boys a "salad" and "taco" kit of seeds. We started growing them inside, and to my surprise, they started growing! Dylan apparently inherited my "kill the plants" gene and murdered some seedlings, but we eventually got to the point where they were suffocating (is that a gardening term?) and I had to move them to a bigger home. We have tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, cilantro, mint, basil, and parsley! Sadly, I'm not sure the lettuce is going to make the cut, but stay tuned to find out!


What are your favorite things to grow?

New Start, New Ideas

Since I'm pretty good at starting things and not finishing them (i.e, this blog), I have decided to up my motivation and try again. So much has happened since August: Logan started (and is almost finished with) Kindergarten and can read like a champ, Dylan is walking and babbling, Kyle has started a new and wonderful job, and the biggest news.... we're buying our first home!

I have been following a few blogs regularly lately (my faves: my sister's blog, iheartorganizing) and they have inspired me to start my blog again. Except this time, it'll have a purpose. I'm hoping to share not only the happenings of my life, but my pursuit of my first dream home. It's not what many would call a dream home, but it's perfect for us. I'll be posting about my projects around the new home, the many recipes I have found on Pinterest and other sites, and other things.

I guess more background about this mini-dream home of mine: We'll be moving about 90 minutes away from where we're at now (real estate was much cheaper there!) and out of a townhouse and into a single family home! Now that I think about it, Logan & Dylan have never lived in a single family home - it's been a duplex, with my parents for about 5 months during Kyle's transition out of the Army and into civilian life, in an apartment, and in this townhouse, where Dylan was born. Anyway - it's a short sale (see here for more info) and we're still awaiting final approval from the seller's 2nd lien holder bank so it's unfortunately not yet 100% a done deal. We did recently get approval from one of their banks, so we're "cautiously optimistic" as our realtor says! According to our realtor once the first lender says yes it's only a matter of time for the second one to approve! They don't always approve the short sale, though - but 98% of the time they do - so we're still keeping our fingers crossed! They want us to close at the end of June, so I'm getting anxious, especially since we first put in our offer on the house 5 long months ago! Maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but I'm excited and whether we get that particular house or not, I'll have the same ideas for another home. 

Until next time...