Friday, February 25, 2011

Something Funny

Adam told me a really funny story last night...it involves him and his name. ok, I thought it was funny...others may not! :)

So, yesterday he went to a fundraiser and he was chatting it up with some guy...apparently this guy graduated from LSU in the 70's, yada, yada, yada. The conversation was wrapping up and Adam handed him a business card. The guy looks at it and says, "Hey, man...how do you pronounce your first name?" For real???!!!! We're talking A-D-A-M...it's the first name of all time! All I have to say is thank goodness I wasn't there!!! When I get the giggles, they don't stop and then the tears start and it pretty much goes downhill fast! I had a good laugh over this last night! :)

I linked up with Kelly's Korner...Show us your life -- what do you make! I am having so much fun designing invitations these days!

And I just finished designing a friend's website header...check out The Mommy Teacher! She offers some great advice and practical activities you can do with your little ones to get them ready for school.


It's the WEEKEND!!!!!!

love, lauren

Thursday, February 24, 2011

A House Guest

We've had a little guest creeping around our house lately! I first spotted him in the flower beds right by the driveway. Meet Monty. Ok, this is not actually Monty but I didn't want to hang around long enough to snap his picture. But here is a look-a-like...


I grew up with the occasional snake in my backyard and a mom who would cut their heads off with a shovel. She really did and if you ask me...that is BRAVE...I did not inherit this bravery...at least with snakes. I saw this tiny little harmless garden snake, screamed, jumped and ran in the house.

So yesterday, I'm going to get the mail and guess who I spot??? MONTY!!! That slithery snake was now in the front yard hiding under some leaves. But I had to spot him...WHY?!?!?!? Let's just say I had a dream about falling into a circus train full of snakes last night! Indiana Jones, anyone??? :) Such a great movie. So, I really hope Monty has moved on...or maybe William will take after his grandmother and not be scared of snakes! HA!!


Almost the weekend!!!

love, lauren

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Spicy Bean Burritos

I'm not one to post recipes...although, I do love to cook. But I had to post this recipe because it was that good and pretty easy! I found it on Annie's Eats. This was my first "go" at one her recipes and I'll definitely be going back for more!


I almost took a picture of our burritos last night but they didn't look quite this tasty. And I would hate for my burrito pic to keep you from making this delicious dinner. :) Here's the recipe...


Spicy Bean Burritos
Yield: about 6 servings **It was just enough for the two of us!** Is that bad???
Ingredients:

For the bean filling:
2 tsp. canola or vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. minced chipotle in adobo sauce
1 tsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp. kosher salt
Dash cayenne pepper
1/3 cup water, vegetable broth or chicken broth
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
6 tbsp. fresh salsa
For serving:
6 (9- or 10-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
Shredded cheese
Diced tomatoes
Shredded romaine lettuce
Chopped green onions
Low-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt
Directions: 
To make the bean filling, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle, cumin, salt and cayenne; stir, cooking just until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.  Add the beans and the water or broth to the pan.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the salsa and mash the mixture with a spoon or fork.
Spoon about a third of a cup of the bean mixture down the center of each tortilla.  Top each serving with a pinch of shredded cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, green onions and sour cream.  Roll the tortilla up tightly, burrito style, and serve immediately.

Monday, February 21, 2011

William, 11 months

My sweet baby boy was officially 11 months old last week! He is almost a year old and I really can't believe it!


Where to start...I feel like he is changing every day. Curious would have to be the word of the month. He is into everything!!! Exploring the house, opening drawers, opening and closing doors, destroying magazines, getting stuck in between furniture, one adventure after another. He is a master crawler...sticking with the traditional way of getting around on all fours. He's pulling up and walking around the coffee table, the couch, his train table. Hasn't tried to stand up on his own yet.

I feel like we have been teething for the past three months but they're all starting to breakthrough...finally!

He started saying ma-ma this month. It mostly comes out when he is in distress [which makes me laugh], but it still melts my heart. He babbles and talks and talks and talks. He also started saying uh-oh but it sounds more like uh-argh!



William mastered the fake cough months ago but he has recently started using a fake laugh. He'll be in the room with us and we start laughing at someone and William will start laughing right along with us. It's cute but so fake!

He's never been a fan of rocking with me but he's starting to warm up to it. I was rocking him one night [he actually seemed to be enjoying it] and he reached up and tried to put the nunni in my mouth! Let's just hope the sharing attitude continues into toddler-hood! :) [wishful thinking]



William has always been a lover of all food...ok, not all but most! :) Not anymore...if he doesn't like it...he spits it out. Oh, and he loves doing motor-boat with a mouthful of food. I try really really hard not to laugh but it's pretty funny. He's trying all sorts of things these days...pretty much whatever I'm eating. He thoroughly enjoyed a bowl of lasagna my mom made last week.


We have battled a lot of sickness this month but we're on the up...after antibiotics and breathing treatments...it was just a matter of waiting it out.

I still can't believe how quickly this year went by!!!


























love, lauren

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

The Force

I didn't get to watch much of the Super Bowl. Mostly because I was chasing this one around...


But I did catch a few commercials. This was by far my favorite...we had to rewind it a few times! Love it!

Monday, February 7, 2011

Valentine's Day Card...Round 1

Round one goes to William!

This card exudes LOVE if you ask me!!! ha! :)


Here were some of my other options...didn't have a whole lot to work with!! :) In his defense, he had/has a terrible cold and he's totally not "into" shoes just yet so that certainly didn't help the situation.



We're gonna try again at some point this week...hoping I can get a "keeper!"

love, lauren

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Geaux Greater Value

My bro told me a little secret! A secret that could really destroy me!!! When it comes to Girl Scout Thin Mints, I am weak...VERY weak...I can't resist them and I can't stop with two or three. Heck, I could half a box in one sitting! So, I order my two boxes of cookies [which has already been done for this year] and my guilty pleasure lasts a week...two weeks at most! They never hang around for very long! :)


So here's the secret...Greater Value now has there very own version of the Girl Scouts Thin Mints!!! Not only do they taste EXACTLY like the original thin mints, they are much cheaper and are available year round! :)


Yall, this is BAD for me! Yep, we've already gone through two boxes of these bad boys! [I am not going to tell you when I bought them!!!] One word...B-A-D!!!

Hope everyone is having a sweet day!

love, lauren

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The Playroom

I had so much fun putting this room together. I started with the polka dot fabric. [adam thinks it's too girly...oh, well!] I saw this fabric in a picture of a nursery in a Southern Living Magazine, and ever since then wanted to use it somewhere.


My colors were black/white, red, green and light blue. [again, adam thought the whole thing was so girly...but he's warming up to it!]


I saw the apple and pear on Land of Nod and painted them on fence board instead of canvas. [my first experience with real power tools] I wish I could say they were free but I got a ticket for running a stop sign while on the search for fence board. So, really they cost me $130! BOO! [I would like to add that I was going 10 mph in a neighborhood...that cop didn't show a bit of pity on me!]



I got the green pillow at TJ Maxx. It reminded me of leaves from the apple and pear so I thought it worked perfect in there!


I wanted the alphabet as a "border" and I found these at a garage sale Saturday morning for $1.50. I really wanted a vintage alphabet but this works for now.


Oh, and I got a US map for 25 cents at the same garage sale. Not a perfect fit but I like the look.


For the most part, the room is finished. I am going to cut up some Eric Carle books and frame the illustrations, I want to make a magnet board to put somewhere, and sew some type of window treatment. I should rephrase that...I want to hot glue some type of window treatment! :) Oh, and I have an armoire in there that I want to paint white. [this is going to be a big project...need to read up on centsational for this one!]

Had a blast working in this room and didn't spend much! [I know one person who is very happy about this!!!]

love, lauren