Saturday Projects

I tried my hand at a couple glue gun projects and made some fun fabric boxes for our entertainment center.

I also sewed a camera strap!

Soon We Will Be Here!

Weatherhead

Is that like a gearhead or a beefcake? Is that two words or one? I have no idea what it even means but I decided that I am a weatherhead.

I am so very intrigued by tornadoes...good thing I live here, huh? I will admit to being stoked when severe weather coverage preempts my television shows. I will admit to looking forward to the crazy weather that spring brings this part of the country.

What better thing for me than a weather blog? Well, live blogging on a weather blog, of course!
My favorite weather blog now does live blogging during severe weather watches. It's addicting. The clock ticks as I repeatedly hit F5 to refresh the page. I like the nerdy comments left by not-yet-meterologists in the comment section.

If I had the guts, I'd be a storm chaser.

Bittersweet

Today is Mason's last day at his school. What a sad day for us. Below is a letter we wrote for the teachers.

THANK YOU!!!

Today is a very bittersweet day for our family. It’s Mason’s last day at OPUBCO and also the start of a new adventure for us – it’s hard to know whether we should cry or smile. The day will surely bring a little of both.

As first time parents, Nick and I felt uneasy about leaving our curly-headed little baby with strangers. Our first day at OPUBCO was also Mason’s first Halloween, he came as a pea. I remember handing him over to Ms. Rita with tears steaming down my face, scared that he wouldn’t be loved or cared for as much as we felt he deserved. We were wrong, very wrong, because from that day forward the wonderful teachers of OPUBCO have been nothing short of amazing.

You’ve all become such an important part of our family. So many of Mason’s ‘firsts’ happened at OPUBCO. The first day he rode in the Bye-Bye Buggy, his first craft project (a tiny handprint turkey), his first steps, his first time to drink from a big boy cup, his first show-and-share and meeting his first best friend. You’ve seen us through his silliness, his sickness, his tantrums and his agonizing morning drop-off routines. You’ve taught him things we didn’t realize he was ready to learn and have had patience with him when he was frustrated. What more could we have asked for?

We are grateful for being able to be part of your lives. Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for taking such wonderful care of the person that means the most to us. And, kudos to O’Dean for hiring such a fantastic group of women.

Moving forward will be hard for our family and building trust with a new center will take time. Thankfully, we have two wonderful OPUBCO teachers moving with us. Without them, I fear our transition would be much harder.

Thank you, again, for all you’ve done for our family. You will be missed.

With love,
Stephanie & Nick

Strip Steak with Rosemary & Garlic

(This is not our photo, we forgot to take a pic last night so I had to steal this from the realsimple.com site)

Cooking date night was another big hit. We tried a new recipe called Strip Steak with Rosemary & Garlic. YUMMY! It was absolutely delish! We ended up putting our potatoes in the microwave because the oven was taking too long.

This was the beer we tried:
(This is our photo. ;) )

The beer was ok, neither of us would claim it to be a favorite. It was very strong (11.3% according to the label) and tasted more like a wine. You won't find bigger fans of Belgium beer than us, but this one will not be awarded a spot in our top 10.

Here is the recipe from last night:
Ingredients
4 russet potatoes (2 pounds)
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1-inch-thick strip steaks (1 1/2 to 2 pounds total)
kosher salt and black pepper
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions
- Heat oven to 400° F. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork and bake directly on an oven rack until tender, 45 to 55 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a shallow dish, combine the garlic, rosemary, and oil. Add the steaks and turn to coat. Let marinate, turning once, for at least 30 minutes (and up to 1 day in the refrigerator).
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Remove the steaks from the marinade (reserve the marinade) and season with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Cook to desired doneness, 5 to 7 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing.
- Wipe out the skillet and return to medium heat. Add the reserved marinade and cook, stirring occasionally, until the garlic is golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Spoon over the sliced steak and serve with the potatoes and sour cream.
- To cook: Thaw the steaks in a bowl of cold water or overnight in the refrigerator. Follow the recipe instructions, adding 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the skillet when browning the garlic and rosemary. Serve with baked potatoes and sour cream.

In other news: Mase is in LOVE with his fishing set. He's been fishing all day long and I already need to fix his 'hook'. He catches the fish, pretends to eat them, throws them back and does the whole song and dance over again.

Also, this weekend Mason decided that he wants a camping theme for his birthday party and a fire cake. Grammie Gram and I have our cake work cut out for us this year.

xoxo,

Steph

P.S. Don't forget to buy yourself something sassy from Steph's Design Factory!! Click on the link to your right and see what is for sale. Don't be shy, it's fun to buy! :)

Something Seems Fishy

I've been up to something fishy. (I need to work on my material, huh? That joke is old news.)

Mason's iTouch Pouch:


I saw this online and couldn't resist sewing. HOW FUN! I might even make myself a set. Here is his linen fishing bucket along with his fishing pole (magnet on the bottom but you can't see) and his green fish. I sewed a magnet in the nose of the fish so they'll be easy to catch. He is VERY excited!!


xoxo,
Steph

Trip to Canada

We just got back from a trip to Canada to attend Baby Peter's baptism. We had a good time!! Here are some pics from our weekend.

Mase helps the nice man fill the dunking cauldron:


Baby Peter is jazzed at the prospect of his baptism!


John, Tristan and Peter after the baptism.


Our family at the festivities:


Uh oh, the paparazzi (aka Nick) found a new subject!
Isn't he adorable!?

xoxo,

Steph

Growing Up, Pt. 2

Growing Up