Baby Carts

I like to think of myself as a professional grocery shopper...
Detailed list, ordered coupons, tennis shoes, back pack, sippy cups, and an array of appetizers
ready to be whipped out at a moment's notice should one child or a mother sense a pending meltdown.

Baby carts. You know those miniature versions of regular carts? I avoid them like the plague.
I tell my kids to look the other way as we scurry past. Worst mother ever? No, best CUSTOMER ever.
Stores are just asking for it. You give one of those to a child and you might as well have given them a
pair of ice skates and a bottle of tequila. Those carts aren't stable and are perfect for running into
center aisle displays or into your sibling...parent...whichever is closest.

The other night I had to get SIX things at the grocery store. "Suuuuuuure you can get a baby cart."
That was my mistake. I gave in. Thought it would be fun. Isaiah ran to them - in slow motion with arms
open wide.... CRAAAASH. He wiped out on the floor and slid his little head right into the line of baby carts.

It wasn't terrible, he didn't even get a red whelp, but he thought it warranted a blood curdling scream.
Every eye was on me. It wasn't SO bad until Judah started climbing out of the regular sized cart and screaming for a GUN.

Yes, a gun. A water gun. Parent of the year right here. Screaming and guns. I didn't let him have that
gun due to his little attitude. And it wasn't until we checked out that I realized I had carried that
tiny squirt gun all the way through the store, up and down every aisle, clinched in my hand like I was
going to use it or something. I'm sure people were judging the hippy with her long skirt and bandana
with crazy cart kids who were enjoying passing the time at the grocery store by screaming.

So there we were - 6 items evenly distributed between TWO baby carts at the check-out counter.
They probably thought I was drinking tequila for giving BOTH my boys a tiny cart. Whatever.
High on life. Living it up at Trader Joe's.

But then there was this little girl with blue hair. BLUE hair. She looked like something straight
out of a Dr. Seuss book. Judah just stared. And she stared back. Waiting for the moment he would
release that baby cart so SHE could take it. "Judah, give the cart to the little girl, please?"

I'm glad she had blue hair. It served as comic relief in my little tragedy of a shopping trip.
Once his little hands were pried off and the cart set free - more screaming.
Top of the lungs - perfect pitch for doing damage.

And get this... the lady checking us out totally told me: "Be patient... it's almost over."

***Smile. Shake head. Roll eyes. Queue laughing in my brain.***

It was late. I gave them each a sucker, strapped them into their car seats,
and vowed never to grocery shop before bedtime ever again.

If you haven't heard, baby carts are from the devil.
I'm not sure people with a driver's license can even control those things.

That Time We Went Clubbing

Hold up. I can totally see that quizzical look on your face.
"Brittany? Clubbing?" This is a whole different kind of club, my friends.
The kind where you get in touch with your inner redneck, don't shower for days,
and wear more mosquito repellent than make-up.

Let me take you to a place that is very near and dear to my heart.
A second home really. I grew up going to the beach and park "CLUB" -
water skiing and swimming in the lake, exploring nature, fishing, tanning,
roasting marshmallows, playing kick-the-can until all hours of the night...

We now take our kids to the same place, where we do some glorified "camping" -
we get to sleep in a trailer with real beds and AC... so it's cushion-y.
Perfect for a non-tent-dweller like me. I got a tick sleeping in a real tent once.
Scarred me for life.

This past weekend was spent soaking up a life unplugged. We put down our cell phones,
left an internet connection behind, and just LIVED. Made me feel like a kid again. Back when I wasn't
uploading, downloading, streaming, tweeting, linking-up, and making connections ALL. THE. TIME.

There was time to enjoy watching my kids eat toast with my grandma's homemade
strawberry jam thickly spread to every corner! Talk about pure joy. Give me a spoon!



The club is swarming with family members! They all have trailers. It's intense, people.
Endless people to visit and play with. Kids are just falling outta the trees...
I have 15 first cousins + 4 siblings... and some of them have spouses and children that are
thrown into the mix... makes for a good time! Big families means boredom DOES NOT exist!



There was time to just snuggle for as long as we wanted.



And time to play with each other for hours on end.



We were able to share a "first" s'more together.



My hair still smells like campfire. Maybe I need to invest in different shampoo.
Nothing will wash away these precious memories though. But can I get someone to come
wash away the umpteen loads of laundry we produced over the weekend?!

So yes. Clubbing = uuuuhmazing weekend!

Straight on to Heaven

If we have a song... this is it! Makes me smile just listening to it.Back when we were dating, this was my ringtone for when Nathan called my cell!
"Fly to the moon and straight on to heaven..."that's the plan and we are living it up!!!
I am so honored to be Nathan's "forever"! He has been taking me by surprise from day #1... he is the man who has made some of my wildest dreams come true!To celebrate his birthday this year... I stepped into the surprise business myselfand made a few of his dreams come true!
+ Birthday lunch - Chicago style @ Portillo's +
+ Root Beer. Alaskan King Crab. Party. +My face EXACTLY when it comes to crab. Isaiah and I have a mutual repulsion to the creature...
+ Lots of cake... +
I kind of let Nathan believe that all I had up my sleeve for his birthdaywas a king crab dinner and a surprise date night for the following weekend.He totally bought it. But the next day I put him in the van and told him we had to gopick something up... a birthday present of sorts.
+ I TOOK HIM TO MEET HIS FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR! +Some of Nathan's family came out for the surprise too!You have NO IDEA how many conversations we have had or how many YouTube videosI have had to watch about HANG GLIDING! This was at the top of Nathan's bucket list.He's been wanting to fly like a hawk for YEARS... That little ultra light towed them to about 3,000 ft. and then cut them loose.My heart skipped ONE beat when I saw the glider catch the wind and tilt back...other than that, I was a composed, ecstatic wife on the ground!Yes, there is NO ENGINE involved in this sport. The wind current did it's thingand my hawk surfed the sky. I was SO EXCITED for him!!! It was pretty cool. Not gonna lie.
It made my heart incredibly happy to give him such joy in this gift!I cherish moments like these! These moments are simply a product, the life really, that comesfrom our rich friendship and love for each other. This is the stuff that makes you feel aliveand excited about the days to come. Birthday or no birthday - this man makes me want tocelebrate every day we have together!

Date Night: Checking In

Back when we were first married (All of four years ago - I know, we're profesh now. Ha!) I made the mistake
of letting things slide. They were mainly just little things. Big girl panties in hand, I thought
I was doing us both a favor by just moving on. No big deal. I've got this.

Fact of the matter was, my brain's hard drive was storing up memories. 3 months later
Nathan would have a melt-down mania on his hands. And by meltdown I mean...
let me paint a picture for you:

"But you left your clothes in the bathroom over and over again which means you don't
appreciate that I clean the house... which is probably why you ignored those two text messages
I sent you about my bad day at school... and you probably don't even want to be married to me
because you fall asleep as soon as you come home from working 14 hours straight... and
I am never making dinner again due to the fact that you only ate half of the soup I packed -
you obviously hate my cooking."

Funny. Not funny. And mostly NOT true. After time, it all gets totally screwed up.
That's why we check-in a whole lot more these days. Saving the state of the union -
one heart-to-heart conversation at a time!

We've learned that it is better to check-in and drop-off the good, the bad,
and the ugly stuff every day - than to let time grow little problems into something bigger
and hardly relevant down the road.

So we spent date night last week just talking. We sat at the dining room table for hours
just processing... laughing... planning... dreaming... organizing the memories in our heads
so that Brittany doesn't haven't nightmares and meltdowns in the future! The romance of nerds.

Moral of the story... talking about things is a great idea!


_______________________________
::: Apple-Walnut Chicken Salad :::
+ + + + +

chopped romaince & spinach topped with...
grilled chicken breasts (garlic, sea salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil)
chopped green apple
cucumbers
cranberries
walnuts (we toasted ours in olive oil and dusted them with sugar!)
pomegranate (or other sweet & fruity) salad dressing
_______________________________

Have a great weekend, y'all!!! Enjoy the holiday - and don't forget to enter
my giveaway that runs through this weekend! $100 Target Gift Card!
Just in time for summer!!!
XOXO

The Man Beside Me

I am so drawn to his child-like spirit. Always ready to love and forgive. He is pure joy. A constant in my life. Steady strength that holds our family together. Adored by his children. They ask all day, every day:"Papa, home?" Which translates: "Mom, you're nice and all, but when is papa coming back?!"I bore you for nine months! Nevermind. It's ok.
My heart melts knowing that their papa loves them so much in returnand always gives 110% to them. They are blessed.I am blessed to have him as the man beside me.

He is a man of surprises and adventure. Which is perfect, because I thrive on that stuff!One of the first times Nathan ever surprised me, he got a key to my car from my dad and left a boxfull of riddles for all the little trinkets he wrapped up for my 1/2 birthday!
I remember that I was on my way to a class that morning, but was so overcome with the detailsthat I ran back inside, grabbed my mom and sister, and we all poured over the "surprise" untilevery angle had been explored... including the angle of what could all of this mean?"He loves you, of course," is probably what my mom said. She always knew these things.
Well, this man is going to be very surprised by ME this year. Today his is 33rd birthdayand I've got some surprises for HIM! Wishing you the happiest birthday, Nathan!Brace yourself for serious surprise mode. And you all stay tuned...can't wait to spill the beans!

In the meantime... go enter to win some Target cash through the GIVEAWAYrunning all week on my blog! Lots of celebrating going on these days! PAAAARTAY!

Pistachios and Walnuts

Follow my blog with Bloglovin


Here is a perfect plant-based dinner idea... that I kind of stole from my sister-in-law.
She's awesome - hence, she makes awesome food. Not too long ago she made something along these lines for
us and I seriously daydreamed about the meal for days... and then I finally just broke down and went out
and bought everything to make my dreams come true! Y'all this is good.

And if you don't have all the ingredients... just work-it in this direction and wing-it!
That's what I did - and voila - plant lovers' paradise on a plate. Dramatic truth.
____________________________________
Sweet Brussels Sprouts & Cauliflower
+ + + + +
Saute 1 small onion, 2 tsp. minced garlic, 8 chopped brussels sprouts,
and half a head of chopped cauliflower in a couple drizzles of extra virgin olive oil.

Don't wilt them to death. Just toast them up. When finished (10 minutes tops!), add juice of
half a lemon, 1/2 C. cranberries, 1/2 C. chopped walnuts, and a generous drizzle of pure maple syrup.

I ate the cold leftovers of this for lunch with fresh strawberries. Um yea. Top 10 best lunches.
____________________________________

____________________________________
Pistachio Rice
+ + + + +

4 C. prepared rice (about 2 C. dry) - CHOP AND ADD: 1 C. pistachios, 1 red pepper, 1/2 onion,
1/2 C. cilantro, a handful of chives, 1 tsp. minced jalapeno, 1 large avocado.
Stir gently. Add sea salt to taste. Lime juice is yummy. If you want.

Scooped this all up with some sweet potato chips. Not needed, but good!
____________________________________

So, no joke, as Isaiah (2) ate this meal, he kept telling me he was eating CANDY!
Brainwashing complete. Mission accomplished. Truth is - we don't dis veggies around here.
You won't hear a, "Uuuugh carrots!" or "Green beans are GROSS," in these parts.

We basically just over-embellish the idea that vegetables are straight from God...
because, well, they are. And we want to give glory to that... with thanks and praise
for the goodness that they provide.



Just some food for thought. Literally.

____________________________________
Oh and check out the sweet giveaway running all week on my blog
to celebrate my 1 year of blogging! $100 TARGET GIFT CARD involved!!!
____________________________________

Boy Cave

You know what gets me bent out of shape sometimes?!
When people are all like, "I won't be able to DO things when I have children."
Usually I snap right back into shape. It lasts for like 2 seconds.
If you've said this to me in the past... don't worry, I've forgotten.
End vent. Moving on!

I believe you can set your mind to what you want to do... even as a mother!
Like paint a bedroom with two small children running around.
It's crazy. Yes. But they are my life... and I love to make it work!

Funny - my children are the ones who INSPIRE me.
They make me do crazy things! I was pretty much begged to paint their room "Crested Falcon."

::: sad, blank canvas :::


I just put every toy I could find in the living room and let them loose.
They were like elves on caffeine. Basically a dream come true for them.
And then I gave them chocolate-coconut milk shakes... hello!
Bribery is a good thing sometimes, folks.
You know you do it too! Don't judge.



::: what a can of $20 paint will get ya :::


::: Davie Crockett... I mean, er, Judah... approved! :::


P.S. My children typically wear more clothing. The stripping and raccoon hat was their inner wild man
coming out at they were slightly unsupervised by a domestic influence.

P.P.S. Yes, I obviously cleaned up the room and made the beds for the photo shoot.
But believe it or not - before naptime and bedtime they clean up EVERY toy.
It's a routine. They hate me for it. But I'm cool with being the bad guy.

Celebrating my one year blogiversary aaaaall week long...
::: Want a $100 TARGET GIFT CARD??! Me too! ENTER TO WIN HERE! :::