A Boy, A Box, Markers, and an Imagination!

This morning I woke up to Ethan standing in front of my bed with his "tank"...  A box that I brought home (the kind that reams of paper come in) to pack things up to give away, had been turned into a tank!

Here are some pictures of Ethan's creation...  He wouldn't stand up in it when I was taking pictures so you can't get the full effect, but at least he let me take a picture of him in it!  In the bottom, he cut out leg holes so he could stand.

Front View...  The white paper on the top part is "the shooting part" (where the bombs come out of)

Side View... complete with arm holes

Back View... the white circle things are to "make it go faster)

Inside View...  The tank is complete with controls! 

(Fire, Bombs, missiles, Retreat, and Go)

Ethan did all of this all by himself!  (ok, well I helped him color the outside to make it look camoflauge, but he did everything else-including the controls!).  What an imaginative little boy!!  (The tank has now been changed into a Jeep... Ethan is standing next to me as I type this blog post, and is insisting I let everyone know what the tank has turned into).

Fort and Game Night

Yesterday when I picked Ethan up from school, I gave him a list of choices of different things we could do... ranging from going to DC, going to a place where you can stand and the airplanes go directly over you as they take off/land, building a fort, etc.  Much to my surprise, he chose to stay home and build the biggest fort ever, play Monopoly (his new favorite game), and make homemade milkshakes!  I called Sean and told him Ethan's decision, so on his way over, he picked up the things that were needed for the milkshakes. 

It was fun (and brought back a lot of memories of the many forts I made when I was a kid!) building and playing a game of Monopoly inside of our master creation!

In the "entrance" to the fort... before playing Monopoly

Taking a break from playing Monopoly and making homemade milkshakes.... YUM!

The Fort... in all of its glory!  (Ethan slept in it when it was time for bed)

Wedding and Life Update

Wow, I haven't been very good at blogging lately!  I feel like I need to give a general update on my life!  Wedding plans are still in full force.  After a huge issue with the first invitation company, I went with a lady who started her own invitation company and only has five part-time staff (who help with assembly).  I met her two weeks ago, explained to her the predicament I'm in (huge time crunch, issue with the last company, etc) and she totally saw my vision of what I was hoping for in my invitations.  After meeting with her and picking out the colors of everything, she drew up some proofs and they were absolutely perfect!  Not only were they perfect, but her team is going to assemble them all, address them, and mail them out for me!  What a huge relief!  All within 2 weeks of our first meeting - that is such an accomplishment.  I should be getting one any day now to see the final result, and everyone's should be mailed out on Friday (September 3rd).  Last Friday we had the tasting, so we have the menu picked out, last night we had the cake taste-testing (again, the lady totally "got" what I envisioned-very simple yet elegant cake!), so that is all set.  (Sean had to miss the cake taste testing beause of his project in North Carolina). 

So a quick recap on wedding stuff:
-invitations. done.
-venue. done.
-cake. done.
-hair lady. done.
-makeup lady. done.
-photographer. done.
-menu. done.
-florist. done.
-wedding dress. done (should be delivered September 9th-then let the alterations begin!)
-bridesmaid dresses.  done.
-bridesmiad shoes. done.
-tuxes. done.
-rehearsal dinner venue. done.

What still needs to be done:
-jewelry for bridesmaids
-make menus
-make programs
-slideshow
-make book for Ethan
-a ton of the "little things"

All in all, though, things are really falling into place and I think all of the big things are done.  Whew!  We are supposed to go to Virginia Beach this Friday for our engagement pictures (our photographer lives there and can only come up for the wedding), however, Hurricane Earl is headed to the coast!  Keep your fingers crossed that Hurricane Earl will suddenly go back out to sea!  If not, we need to reschedule for another day in the near future. 

After debating between a couple of places, Sean decided on a cruise for our honeymoon.  We will be going on the Norwegian Epic.  It's a new ship, and it goes to 3 places (I think they are St. Thomas, Nassau, and St. Martin?).  I'm super excited because they have excursions where you can swim with dolphins!  YES!  I've always wanted to do that, so I'm super excited about it.

This is the first year in the past four years that Ethan and I have not gone down to our traditional Oak Island, NC trip.  We usually go the first week of August - it was so weird not going!  I miss our tradition of going and all of the places we used to go to (Alligator Adventure, the light house, outlet malls, BEACH!) and just being able to spend time together without the interruptions and other distractions of daily life. 

Ethan is doing great!  He is getting so big, I sometimes just watch him playing or sleeping and can't get over how big he is.  He's no longer my little baby, nor my little toddler - but a boy who is just so incredibly sweet!  He is going to be playing soccer again this fall - some of his friends from last season are on his team again, so he is really excited about it.  Their team name this season is "Lightning."  Next Tuesday he will be starting first grade - I can't believe it!  I'm looking forward to getting back into our normal routine again, and this year, I'm going to start the "no TV during the week" rule - which I can't wait!  The TV drives me nuts, so I'm looking forward to not having it on for 5 days (and on Sunday's its church movies only, so technically that's only one day I will have to listen to the Boomerang channel, and our Saturdays are generally busy with running errands). 

Aside from wedding planning, work and just daily life has been keeping me busy.  I've found a new favorite author: Kristen Hannah-I have read two of her books and am on a third right now.  I can't put them down!  We have also been looking for a house to buy-so that's been fun (and somewhat frustrating) - we have found two that we really like, but one is a short-sale and those take forever, and the other we are still figuring out if we like it enough to put a contract on it.  I have also been asked to give a talk next Sunday in church, so I will be working on that this week.... 

Sean has been in North Carolina Monday-Friday since early July, but starting this week (per my request) he is only going to be there Monday-Wednesday and work from McLean on Thursdays and Fridays.  Whew!  It's been tough, especially with trying to make big decisions regarding the wedding and going out with the realtor without him looking at houses and trying my best to describe them to him (and narrowing it down to show him only the best of the ones I saw).  It's going to be so much better with him just 20 minutes away, as opposed to being in a different state.

Well, that's what's been going on in my life in a small nut-shell!  I love my family and friends and am so grateful for them!!! :)

Sunday's Recipe

Bean and Beef Enchiladas
1 pound ground beef
1 12oz. can refried beans
1 12 oz. can enchilada sauce
1 pkg of 8 tortillas
cheddar cheese

brown ground beef and drain fat.  Add refried beans and 1/2 can of enchilada sauce and mix.  Place 3-4 spoonfuls of bean and beef mixture onto tortilla.  Add cheese and roll tortilla.  Place in a 9x13 baking dish.  Cover with remaining 1/2 can of enchilada sauce.  Top with cheese.  Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.

Good and SO incredibly easy!  Definitely a keeper:)

Ethan's Take on Perfume

Just a couple of minutes ago...


Ethan:  Mom, what are you doing?

Me: Putting perfume on.

Ethan: What does it look like?  Can I smell it?

[I show Ethan the perfume bottle and let him smell it]

Ethan:  Wow - that smells strong and irresistable!

I LOVE THIS KID!!! He says the funniest things:)

Ok, time to leave for church-just wanted to post this before I forgot..

Recipe Update

For the past six weeks Ethan has been going to Rec-Pac, and since it ended at 3:30 every day, my mom would pick him up for me.  We would then eat dinner at my parents and head come home.  SO, I haven't really had to cook much over the last couple of weeks!  It has really has impeded on my New Years goal of making three new recipes a month-so I have a lot of cooking to do to catch up! 

Now that Rec-Pac is over, we are starting back to our normal routine this week-including cooking.

Today two new recipes were tried:

Cheesy Beefy Corn Pie
1lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning mix (1.25 oz. size)
1 box cornbread mix (approx. 16 oz. size)
1 8-oz. can corn
1 cup chopped onion  I didn't use
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
extra 1/2 cup cheese (optional)

-Preheat oven to 325º.  Drain liquid from corn. 
-Lightly grease a 10" cast iron skillet, place over medium heat.  Mix ground beef with taco seasoning.  Brown and crumble meat in skillet on medium heat. 
-Remove meat from skillet and drain fat. 
-Prepare cornbread mix as directed on package.  Stir drained corn into batter. 
-Pour half of the batter into hte empty, greased (still warm) skillet.  Top evenly with meat, onions, and cheese.  Pour remaining batter over meat and spread evenly. 
-Bake 45 minuts or longer, until cornbread is browned.  Remove from oven.  Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting.  Sprinkle some cheese on top of cornbread after baking.

SURVEY SAYS... keeper!  It's not a favorite, but it is decent... super easy to make.

Strawberry Shortcakes
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/3 cups Bisquick
2/3 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 container (8oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

-Mix strawberries and 1/2 cup sugar; set aside.  Heat oven to 425º
-Stir Bisquick, milk, 3 tablespoons sugar and butter until soft dough forms. 
-Drop dough by 6 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet
-Bake 10-12 minuts or until golden brown.  Split warm shortcakes; fill and top with strawberries and whipped topping

SURVEY SAYS... keeper!  Warning: has a TON of sugar, so be prepared for your blood sugar levels to immediately sky rocket:)

2 out of 2 recipes in one day... not too bad:)

Why Sean is Marrying Me... According to Ethan

Ethan: Mom, I know why Sean is marrying you.

Me: Oh really?  So why is he marrying me?

Ethan:  Because you make good soup! [as he is eating Ramen noodles]