End of Yellow Week

More yellow fun.....

Cal worked on his cutting and gluing skills. I helped him snip little pieces of yellow tissue paper, then he glued him on a fish.

I made Cal a yellow fire hose to go with his obsession with firefighters, firetrucks and his own personal firehouse (Jared's study).
We ate homemade lemonade pops after playing in the sprinkler.

We found a yellow puzzle of his..... of course he didn't want to be in the picture.

Chicken Salad with Cherries & Berries

I found a great healthy (I think) chicken salad recipe in a Sprouts magazine but I can't find it online to share. I will just have to type it......

Chicken Salad with Cherries & Berries

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp white wine vinegar (I couldn't find this so I used salad vinegar)
1 tsp Dijon mustard (I accidentally used 2 tbsp and I'm glad I did)
2 tbsp minced scallions
1/4 cup fresh raspberries
1/4 cup fresh blueberries (next time I will cut them in half)
1/4 cup cherry pieces
1/4 cup fresh blackberries (I won't use these next time, the seeds get stuck in my teeth)
12 oz cooked chicken breasts cut into bite size pieces (I used two whole chicken breasts)
8 cups mixed salad greens (optional, I liked it with crackers or on a sandwich)

-In large bowl, whisk together olive oil, honey, vinegar, mustard, and salt & pepper
-Add minced scallion
-Carefully stir in berries & cherries
-Add diced chicken & gently toss so as not to crush berries
-Arrange greens on serving plates, top with chicken mixture, and serve

*4 servings, 265 cal per serving, 10g fat, 2 g fiber, etc.

The Dallas World Aquarium

We never seem to go on fun family adventures due to money and time, but we decided to fork out for Cal's upcoming birthday. We drove out to the Dallas World Aquarium in the morning. Cal was a little apprehensive at first, but warmed up to it. His favorite were the alligators and the "jungle" area. After had lunch and ice cream. I think Cal's favorite event of the day was watching the Dart train.

After the aquarium we walked around The West End. We found the area where Jared and I played in the rain one day when we were on a mission trip outing in college. We were "just friends" back then but he said that's where he said he knew he loved me. A few months later when we were officially dating we went on a date in the area with a carriage ride, fancy dinner, and a dozen roses he bought from a bum... Jared got ripped off though. Cal tried to take a picture of us... he is just so talented :)

Hot & Yellow

It is yellow week around our house which goes with our HOT weather theme here in the DFW area. It has been over 100 degrees for weeks and weeks.

I figured I would give everyone a baba update..... he still loves that old baba!! As you can see we have "baba 1" and "baba 2." At first Cal wasn't a fan of #2 but he has warmed up to him. If we need to wash #1 he is ok to just have #2. I'd like to let all the parents out there know that if you think it will be cute for their kid to get attached to a blanket or stuffed animal... think again! My sister suggested years ago that we should swap out the blanket or stuffed animal that Cal sleeps with so he doesn't become attached. I ignored her because my mom had given me my baby blanket and just thought it would be adorable for him to sleep with it. If you check out the picture you can see #1 is down to a few strands and will soon be just a white blanket with some yellow trim. We will see how long he lasts!

Another yellow note worthy thought I'd like to share is how great lemons are for you. I learned this from my chiropractor and sister-in-law (or maybe mother-in-law). Lemons have a crazy amount of vitamin C. If you are feeling like you need a vitamin boast, add a slightly pealed lemon into your smoothie.

Last but not least we made yellow cupcakes. They were going to be sun cupcakes but I didn't realize we were running so low on candy corn. Cal loved decorating them, but more than anything eating them :)

Cal in Austin

Tuesday to Friday Calvin spent a week with Grammie & PopPop in Austin. It was nice having a few days with no little one to keep us on a schedule :) He had so much fun playing with Kenzie and Dawson. They even had some play dates with the neighbors. Thank you Mom & Dad!!!

Deck of Cards Workout

Monday I had the pleasure of working out with my mom's trainer, Micheal. He is great! I have worked out with him before but this was the most fun and different workout. All you need is a deck of cards and maybe some hand weights.




You pick out four different strength/cardio activities and assign them to a suit:
Diamonds= push ups (regular, on your knees, or at an incline-which makes it easier
Spades= dead lifts
Hearts= squats
Clubs= and rows (with some fancy rope hanging from the wall)
Aces= abs
Jokers= water breaks
When I do this at home I will probably do push ups, squats, lunges with bicep curls, and stationary squat with rows. You can vary it up as much as you want!! If you pull a 5 of hearts, then you do 10 squats (so you double the number). Jack, Queen, & King act as a 10 (so you'd do 20).

Hope you all enjoy the workout!!


This is an old photo but Cal loves to work out!
Here is a link I found for a similar workout:
http://www.personaltrainercoach.com/deck-cards-workout/

Summer Travels

Last Friday our little family of three drove to Houston to visit my aunt and uncle. Cal had fun exploring their house, searching for the cat, playing in the pool, and having a fun watermelon snack with his Cousin Kenzie.

Sunday we drove to my parents' house in Austin. We relaxed and had fun with Grammie & PopPop. Tuesday Jared and I came back to DFW and my parents are driving Cal up Friday. He is having fun!

Chef Brown

As some of you may know, I have decided to add a few titles to my name now that I am almost done with school (2 1/2 weeks left!!). I told Jared awhile ago that with my free time I want to become a chef and a blogger. He laughed immediately..... which I still don't understand why?! The blogging thing will be a hopeless endeavor as I really don't have much to say and I am not a great writer. This blog will not only be about our cute son and how he is growing up, but other life tidbits that may come along the way.

Back to my chef aspirations..... the idea came from my two favorite cooking websites. Pioneer Woman has more than just cooking, so check out her blog even if you aren't into finding new fun recipes online. http://thepioneerwoman.com/ Food Lush Blog is a blog that a friend of mine put together with some of her friends and fellow bloggers. The bloggers involved come up with great ideas and they are easy for me to follow. http://www.foodlushblog.com/ (If you like that blog, check out http://www.stylelushblog.com/ and it's not just about style)

Today I decided Cal can join me on my "becoming a chef adventure." He has always helped me bake cookies, brownies, make smoothies, etc. Today I found this amazing deal on a kid's cook book..... only 2 bux at Half Price Books in the clearance section! I couldn't pass it up. We then ventured to a resale shop and found a kid's apron for him. He loves it!!

(notice the green shirt and green apron to go with our theme of the week)

Sick & Green Week

Last Friday Cal woke up with throw up in his bed... poor guy! He was fine all day Friday but then Saturday had a bad fever with some other stomach "issues" that I won't share with the world. Then Sunday night Jared and I were hit with the same bug. NO FUN!! My mother-in-law was wonderful and picked up Cal at 6:30 in the morning and kept him all day. We were able to rest and I'd say we are all on our way back to feeling well.



This week is green week. We haven't been able to do all the fun things I wanted to but the week isn't over yet!

Cal wasn't in the mood to get his picture taken that day

Orange

For some reason Cal doesn't know his colors, shapes, or letters!! His teachers taught them all last year and we have talked about them indirectly but nothing structured. Jared is taking on letters and I am teaching colors & shapes. This week is orange week. Here are a few activities we have done/will be doing to immerse him in the color orange....

1. Go to a coffee shop in orange shirts & drink orange juice
2. Buy only orange food at the farmer's market
3. Eat orange snacks (goldfish, cantaloupe, peaches, etc.)
4. Play with orange shaving cream
5. Play with orange play-do
6. Collect all of his orange toys
7. Color & paint with only orange

If you have any other ideas... let me know!!!

Fourth Of July

A Different Kind of Summer

I would say this has been a different kind of summer compared to all my summer breaks from work. I will be starting my 8th year working for Keller ISD this Fall ( can't be that old?!?). The first three summers I just didn't know how good I had it. I was married and worked part time jobs to make ends meet. We even traveled to Turkey for a 10 day trip.



The fourth summer (2008) I was pregnant with Calvin and I didn't work. It was a good but anxious summer. Jared had just graduated from Seminary and no job in sight, a baby on the way, no idea of how we were going to stay afloat, and no room to put the baby in. As always, God provided a part time job for Jared which turned into a full time job down the road. We moved to a three bedroom duplex in North Richland Hills and we some how made it.




The summer of 2009 I added two roles to my carefree summers: mom & full time graduate student. The first semester of graduate school was hard!!! I had to face all of my "I'm not smart enough" doubts I have struggled with since childhood. Thanks to God, prayer, friends, family, and especially my Mom (putting up with multiple phone calls filled with tears on my end)... I passed all my classes :)








Summer of 2010 was similar to 2009, but I worked at Grapevine Baylor in the outpatient clinic for my summer practicum. School was hard enough, but then I had to add working in an environment that was completely foreign to me. I had completed classes in the medical side of Speech Therapy but actually doing it was very different! Once again I passed my classes and finished practicum. In my spare time I played with my sweet sweet Calvin.









This summer has been the best yet! Six words to describe it.... Calvin, cooking, reading, movies, internship, and school. The last two aren't my favorite but my summer school load isn't bad. I have become obsessed with www.foodlushblog.com and discovering new recipes to attempt. (Mom & Kris- who would of though!?) I have read some great fiction books, joined a book club, watched all the Harry Potter movies, watched more movies, gone swimming, played outside with Cal, taken Cal to story time, hung out with friends, painted (Painting With a Twist), etc. Next summer should be even better though... no work, internship, or school. Just hanging out with friends & family :)




(Peanut Buttercup Cheesecake... Yum!!)