One of Last Week's Little Projects

I emptied out several of my pots around the house/yard/porch that were in need of replanting for Spring. I've still got lots to do in the front beds and pots, but getting this done was quite a little accomplishment. This was really a week-long job when you consider I only worked on it during naps and a few brief moments while Levi ate lunch and watched a tv show. I will be so happy when we get the backyard fenced (soon! it's up next...) and Levi can roam and play out there while I work on stuff like this, but until then it just isn't safe for him to roam. I have to follow him around and watch like a hawk, which means nothing else can get done during that time :)

Tyler came home early Friday with a present for Levi that kept him safely occupied for about 3 hours (see pictures), which is when I finished this all up.

Wild Man

Last night after we got home from church, Levi was pretty wound up. After his bath we coaxed him into running out all of that energy before bed time with the help of the bubble gun and playing "chase dad." Tyler probably ran the length of our house 100 times with Levi running, chasing, flailing his arms, and laughing after him. The pictures are all blurry because no one ever stopped moving. We might need to make this a nightly ritual because it makes for sound sleeping :)

Heirloom Drop-leaf Table

There is not much to say about this table, except that I love it. My grandma ("Anna") gave it to me when I was in college and it acted as my dining table and desk in my little studio apartment. It has lived in about every room in my house (I move furniture around a lot) and is currently in my kitchen. It's just a great little table and can be extra seating if we have a lot of guests over. It might go to live with my sister for a while when she leaves home (if she needs it), so it is a good little family heirloom. Thanks Anna!

InstaFriday

Pictures from the last week via Instagram

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{Cheese}

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{Pom Pom lunch party}

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{The box is almost as fun as what came in it}

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{Crashed while waiting on his grandparents to get here}

{Helping me run at the track Wednesday}

Dad's Dumplins

Some of my favorite chicken and dumplins are the ones at Cracker Barrel, but these dumplins put those to shame. This recipe is really for the dumplins only, and they are super easy. You can make your broth the good, frugal, efficient way by boiling a chicken, or you can do it the easy, slacker, quick way like I usually do - 4 cans of chicken broth, 1 can of water, 1 can of cream of chicken soup. We had rotisserie chicken a few nights before, so I used all the meat left over from that to go with my dumplins.

Ingredients:
1/3 C shortening
3 C self-rising flour
1 1/2 C milk

Instructions:
Add shortening & flour into a bowl and mix with a pastry blender for about 5 solid minutes. The texture will be still flour-like with just a little bit thicker crumbles than straight flour. After it is well blended, add milk, and mix together with a fork. Flour your hands, shape dough into a ball. Lay dough on a well floured surface and pat out into about a 15 inch circle, keeping the bottom floured so you don't have trouble pulling apart. Cut into strips with a pizza or pastry cutter. Drop all strips into broth that is at a rolling boil. Make sure each piece gets completely wet; you may have to gently stir them around a little while you're putting the strips in. Keep the heat pretty high (like a low boil, high simmer) and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the chicken, simmer with the lid on for about 5 more minutes. Add pepper to taste.

{Dad's scribbled-out instructions}

Gift

 

He can't get back around to the ladder fast enough!

This is my "trying-to-act-like-Dad" look, when I really want to smile for Mom!

One of our missions in Dallas last weekend (besides seeking out tacos) was to get Levi's Easter present (a week late). We decided that he could get some bigger presents for Easter (instead of candy-filled eggs and Peeps) because A) We want to teach him that Easter is just as important as Christmas, although neither are about gifts, and B) his birthday and Christmas are both at the end of the year... so give the boy a break:) We don't shower him with toys and presents all the time, so having a few designated "gift" holidays works for our family. He got some fun toys, and he got a slide and some things for the back yard. We are in the process of turning the back yard into Levi's personal roam-free-all-day play place. One we get the fence done (coming very soon), he will have a great place to run and play without his parents worrying about fast cars on two streets adjoining our lot and the neighbors' very large and out-of-control rottweiler that could easily jump their chain link "fence" that is merely leaning against their overgrown forest of a yard (no bitterness here) ;)

SO fun

This is the look I got to see every time his head popped up over the top:)

Taking a little break to run around

"I just wanted to come over and say 'thanks for the new slide!'"

Airplane