1.5 HOURS AND I'M BRANSON BOUND.

with both kids.

5.5 hours without stops. but since i'm with both kids...we be stoppin', fo' sure. i'm nervous-slash-excited. more nervous at this point, but i've tried to cover all of my bases.

i have the kids' stuff all packed up and everything is in the car.

i have a snack bag, plus a cooler. i made sure to pack healthy snacks: strawberries, apples, almonds, etc. but then not-so-healthy snacks too: fruit roll-ups, fruit snacks and my own personal favorite, raisins and chocolate chips. like a raisinette but better.

we are eating supper on the road, so i've got our's packed: pb & honey for her, salad for me, fruit for sides and bottle for henry.

i've got henry's "road" gear ready to go and stuff to change him into for our night-time "routine" that will just so happen to be on the highway this time. please, oh please, let him sleep in the car.

i've got a toy box for hallie, placed strategically where she can reach it. it is full of books she can read, her leadpad, hinka, spots, waterbottle and ipod. the dvd player will stay in front with me until she is ready for it. and then the movies are in her little box too.

i have attached some weird toy thingie to henry's carseat, probably against the law. but at this point it's survival.

the gps is programmed to ozark, missouri (where zach and sara live - we are staying with them! yippee for family!) and i have everything i need at my fingertips.

my phone is charged, i am ready to go.

we will leave in about an hour to go pick up hallie from school and hit the road. please pray for me.

dixie stampede, caves, river walks,

DAVE, HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!

OUR VERY BUSY SATURDAY. AND SUNDAY.

saturday, i took hallie to see the musical, hairspray. a dear friend was velma (?) von tussell (spelling, name???) and was AWESOME. like, so good i had goose bumps. she was the perfect miss baltimore crabs.

hallie loved it. was exhausted by the end, but loved it.

and then we got pulled over on the way home.

my license was expired - crap. didn't know.

 couldn't find proof of insurance.

and oh yeah, my headlight was out.

a virtual "way to go, you suck" hat trick, if you will.

got a warning, moved on and everything has since been renewed, found and fixed. whew.

but not before hallie was convinced we were going to jail.

moving on.

sunday was church, a sleepy baby, lunch with friends, girl scout cookie booth, skating party and a sleepy big kid. and mama.

i'm feeling...overwhelmed today. lots of craziness going on and none of it is in my control right now, which i hate.

the end.

CRAWLING. FINALLY?

henry started crawling on saturday. he's been inch-worm/army crawling for a while now, but finally figured out how to get his knees and arms working together.

which i am....happy...about? i guess? mobility isn't exactly something to celebrate, i think. more like something to fear!!!!!!!!!!!!! i mean, i know that it is GOOD he is mobile. that is is developing and yada yada yada. but it also means he will be getting into everything.

in other news, he is terrified of the lawnmower.

the end.

A LITTLE HENRY FOR YOUR FRIDAY.

taken last night.

oh that son of mine.

MORE OF WHAT I WORE.

i've been pinning all sorts of imagines on pintest. cute, fun styles.

styles that *i* should be able to wear.

i mean, why not? i'm young...ish. it's more fun to dress cute than not. so i've been trying.

i've had some successes and some misses. and i think i'm starting to see a pattern with what i like to wear.

so.

here are a few images that i've pinned:

well that formatted weird, now didn't it?

so here are a few things i've been wearing. to work.



what's up with my leg? i mean...wha?



can you see the pictures where i'm keeping my feet together and there is a mysterious white string between them?

yeah, i'm weird.

i have an obsession with these particular pair of target black flats. only $12, which menas they fall apart in a few months...but for $12, i'll just buy a few pairs to have on back up. and this is a back up pair. with the elastic string still in the middle.

i am just that cool.

NO MORE DIRECTV AND HOW WILL WE SURVIVE?

so, okay.

let me back it up.

driving home from missouri over christmas, dave and i got into a discussion about our tv watching habits. you see, i'm a tv junkie. i love teeeeeveeeee. oh grey's anatomy, big bang theory, love, love, love. now, there's certainly not much to watch - just a bunch of crap. but i do have my shows that i love and couldn't live without!

but hallie wanted to watch tv all the time, and when dave traveled i would give into her way to much. but when we realized it was contributing to some of her brattiness, we started restricting it...which meant saying no a LOT - which always caused drama, and who needs that?

so we made the decision to cancel - so i called directv then and there and did it. well, we suspended it for a month to see how we did. but after i got off the phone, i almost had a PANIC ATTCK - what have i DONE?! i cancelled tv, am i CRAZY?! i was freaking out in my head, and then i realized how absolutely ridiculous i sounded (to myself) and then broke out into maniacal laughter - and dave looked at me like i was insane.

anyway.

we suspended it and it was awesome. i read books, cooked more, cleaned more, did more laundry - all positives. hallie's behavior got better and we didn't constantly have to say NO when she asked to watch tv. she still watched movies at times, but her screen time was dramatically reduced.

dave, on the other hand, freaked. SPORTS! how could he live without SPORTS?! he spent tons of time on the computer trying to figure out how to WATCH THE SPORTS, AHHHHHHHH, I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT SPORTS. (he wasn't THAT bad, but geesh).

after our 30 days was up, the tv magically came back on and hallie was so happy.

until friday, when i cancelled it. for good this time. mean mommy. whatever. it's amazing outside and who needs tv anyway. bwahahaha. evil.

done.

A PINCH OF ST. PATRICK'S DAY. AND A DOUBLE RAINBOW AT THE END.

i didn't go all out this year. and i should have. i sorta forgot all about it. yikes. i managed to sneak some food coloring into her eggs, but since she doesn't like scrambled...only over easy....it didn't look...good...

anyway, we hit up the parade and spent some time on the porch swing drinking super hero smoothies and pounding parade candy. then we picked dandelions in our barefeet, i hung diapers on the clothes line and you have GOT to be kidding me - this weather? insane. insanely awesome.

it feels like summer, like we skipped spring. we have already spent some good hours on the front porch swing. sunday afternoon dave cleaned out the garage while hallie jumped on the trampoline. and henry slept. and i cooked. it was one of those perfect afternoons where dave is home, so we are normal again. and just do normal things.

love, love, love that.

 oh! saturday night coming home from dylan's we saw a double rainbow...that totally looked like it ended at our house. amazing.

BOWLING + FROYO.

friday night hallie and i bowled for kids sake. i do it every year for work and i always bring hallie with me. we have so much fun, my girl and i. it was almost like the old days...pre-henry. i took her with me pretty  much wherever i went. the girlmore girls, i called us (man, i miss that show!).

barb was watching mr. henry, so we got to spend some much-needed time, just us girlies. we bowled (and danced) and got FOUR STRIKES (wha???). 

it was black-light bowling, so we look super freaky.



victory dancing.



prizes! for our strikes!

after, we went to get some froyo at the frozen penguin, home to henry, a late bedtime and it was a perfect friday night.

BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING ELSE TODAY, I WILL BORE YOU WITH PINTEREST.

i love pinterest so much. oh wait - did you already know that?

well i do. i have gotten such great recipes and ideas from that site.

such as...

Banana Nut Oats

picture and recipe from here!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 banana, mashed
1 tbsp chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Add the oats and cinnamon to a bowl and stir to combine. Add 1/2 cup of water to the bowl, or 3/4 cup if you like your oatmeal runnier, and microwave on high for 1 minute. 

2. Remove the cooked oats from the microwave, stir in the mashed banana and walnuts, and enjoy!

 

Keri's Notes:

 

holy cow this was good this morning. and kept me full until lunch time. i omitted the walnuts because i didn't have them. also, i did a 1/2 cup water and will do more next time. it was pretty thick. and i wonder if i could use quick oats for a smoother texture? i'm sure i could.

 

and these...

 

No-Bake Chocolate PB Cookies

picture and recipe here.

• 1/4 cup peanut butter (you can probably sub another nut butter)
• 1/4 cup plus 3T raisins
• salt to taste (I used a little over 1/4 tsp, but I like salty pb cookies!)
• 2 T roasted, unsalted peanuts (Or maybe another nut, if you’re allergic to peanuts? Also: If you can only find salted peanuts, reduce or omit added salt)
• 1/8 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1-2 T cocoa powder (to taste)
• optional: chocolate chips, either before or after blending (or both!)

throw everything into a food processor. i roll everything into balls.

Keri's Notes:

they were good, but i still have some in the freezer, so that should tell you that i wasn't as nuts over them as these. and it looks like my bff morgan feels the same way.

and now some a deese...

Honey-Lime Fish Tacos

picture and recipe here.
Ingredients:
6 (4-6oz) fillets tilapia
zest and juice of 2 limes
1 Tbsp olive oil + more for cooking
3 Tbsp honey
3/4 tsp salt + more for dredging
3/4 tsp pepper + more for dredging
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2c flour (white or whole wheat pastry flour work best)
small fajita-size flour tortillas
shredded lettuce, cheese, or other favorite taco toppings

Directions:
Assemble marinade by combining lime zest, lime juice, olive oil, honey, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a gallon-sized zip-top bag or shallow container with a lid. Add fish and marinate in the refrigerator anywhere from 30 minutes up to 24 hours*

When ready to cook, combine flour with a pinch of salt and pepper on a plate. Remove each fish fillet from the marinade and dredge lightly with the flour on both sides (just a light, light coating).

Heat 1-2 Tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook fillets 2 at a time for 3-4 minutes per side or until opaque and browned (this works best if you don’t disturb the fish much while letting it cook). Add additional oil to the pan if necessary.

While tilapia is cooking, make honey-lime sauce by pouring leftover marinade into a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 5-6 minutes until slightly reduced.

To serve, break fish into large pieces and serve in tortillas with honey-lime sauce, lettuce and other favorite toppings.

Keri's Notes:

freaking awesome. period. dave ate the crap out of them. fish tacos rock.

and last but not least, the oldies but goodies...

i have made the super hero smoothie aka green monster about 80 times since the first post and my dad even admits they are fabulous. dave sorta likes them, but doesn't like peanut butter so i need to make one for him without. he will love it. he likes knowing he is eating healthy stuff.

 

i have also made this cashew chicken twice now. it is seriously my very favorite recipe. i love it so much. i eat mine over greens and it is delicous. i made it for my dad and he loved it too.

 

 the end.

---

SPRING CLEANING: CLOSET AND PANTRY.

i got a wild hair over spring break and organized the pantry. see?

that felt so good that i decided to clean out my closet - three trashbags full to donate!

that felt even better. so what's next? i'm afraid hallie's closet is too big of an undertaking. plus, i'm pooped. my energy levels are so low right now it's not even funny.

i feel like this:

i blame the iud. and the time change.

MR. HENRY'S LATEST TRICK, DAVE'S HAIR AND TODAY'S OUTFIT.

makes me nervous, but it's okay because i get to look at his cute bum.

and dave finally shaved off his beard...but not before i took lots of pictures!

he was a beast.

and last but not least, today's outfit ala pinterest. don't mind the wet hair!

also, it's really awkward to take pictures of yourself and post them on the internet. so i probably won't do it anymore. just trust me that i'm doing really well on my march goals, mkay?

THE HOUSE OF A THOUSAND STAIRS, DOG HAIR AND I ALREADY MISS SARAH LIKE CRAZY.

we just had so much fun.

sarah is the type of friend that it doesn't matter how much time has passed - we just pick up where we left off. she makes me laugh harder than anyone IN THE WHOLE WORLD, and it's really this creep, silent laugh where my nostrils flare and tears come to my eyes. sort of embarrassing when it happens in front of her super-hot boyfriend jared...

...who we stayed with in boston. in the house of approximately ONE MILLION STAIRS. and see, i tried to keep our crap to a minimum by hiding away all baby things in our bedroom at the top of the stairs. the very, very top of the stairs. forgetting something was almost devastating at times. like - holy crap, i can't take these stairs again. and guess who forgot a baby monitor? yeah. i managed to lose a pound though, so there you go.

we spent monday getting lost bumming around in boston.we went to the museum of fine art, because we are soooo cultured like that. our favorite part was the display about fashion sketches. not the monet, degas or the ancient egyptian art. nope - the fashion sketches was where it's at.

henry was a gem the entire 2.5 hours we were at the museum. i kept him in his moby facing outwards and he just checked out the art. when he got sleepy i faced him toward me and he crashed on my chest. he is a good museum baby.

i wanted to see the old north church so we...did. and walked around quite a bit - grabbed some cheesecake - you know, nbd. except the cheesecake was probably 5 pounds PER PIECE and we pounded it later that night. and in the car on the way home.

oh and also on the way home we drove through salem to find some witches, except it's really just a cute little town with some weird museums in it.

we flew home tuesday and boy were our arms tired. like, literally. my arms were noodles. henry likes to jump and that was the best way to keep him entertained on the very last flight. bouncing. the. whole. time.

it was great to be home. i missed hallie something awful. i'm just not right when i'm not with my girl.

the end.

*post-edit: the dog hair. jared has two HUGE labs, lily and logan. the sweetest, oldest doggies on the east coast. they are precious. and also they have lots o' hair that ended up mr. henry and his toys and his bottles, etc as he crawled around the floor. like, he was covered. that's all.

the real end.

BONUS PHOTOS: