matthaei botanical gardens + conservatory

Last week the girls and I were feeling a bit stir crazy from the heat - okay so maybe just me since I don't typically enjoy playing in 5 inches of water in a kiddie pool. I was trying to think of something that was cost effective and that would potentially be indoors or have an indoor portion. The zoo for me was completely out of the question because I would rather not die of heat stroke.

So we packed up and headed for the botanical gardens and indoor conservatory. Well, jokes on me because after touring around outside for awhile we headed indoors to the conservatory and it was absolutely sweltering. Had I really done my research aside from finding the address, hours, and 'ticket' info I would have seen that the indoor exhibits are: tropical, temperate, and arid. Excuse me while I melt into a puddle of goo.

Not that I thought bonsai trees were a myth, but I guess I have never seen one in real life (or knew that there were so many varieties)! They are literally miniature trees and Kennedy was in disbelief.  She asked me countless times if they were actual trees. "Are you sure they aren't just statues?"

 And then when Piper starts pulling petals off of the flowers you decide to take the caravan indoors. You're hoping that it will be a little refreshing but you thought wrong. Very wrong.

 The koi in that 'pond' were literally the size of a dog! The picture with Piper is really the only photo that shows them; all the others turned out too bright.

After exploring the rest of the indoor gardens the girls were more than content to sit and watch the giant goldies swim around. I think we were all dripping sweat when we decided we should go grab some lunch and then head home for some much needed air conditioning.

More planning next time.

Leia

in a dark, dark wood

#11 y'all!

Ruth Ware's In A Dark, Dark Wood.

This book was recommended by two friends/family members who are avid readers (one who is a book club.. major jelly), so naturally I couldn't pass it up. Thanks Angelique and Suzie!

While my last book was extremely creepy it seems like this book is going to top it. It's been reviewed as haunting, terrifying, and full of 'Gillian Flynn-style trickery' which translates into RIGHT UP MY ALLEY. There are few things that I love more in a book than an unexpected plot twist.

"Prepare to be scared...really scared!" -Reese Witherspoon

Leia

shart

Kennedy my dear, you make me crack up and simultaneously question every action I've made or every word I've spoken in front of you.

She shit her britches y'all.

Leia

you

Book #10 for the year. Boy, this count it so skewed! The Cuckoo's Calling took me entirely too long to get through but I ended up really enjoying it at the end even though the beginning strung me along quite slowly.

HOORAY FOR BARNES & NOBLE COUPONS!

Next up is Caroline Kepnes's You. I'm almost halfway through already and so far it's so good and so creepy! Gotta love when a book does it's emotional job; I am so creeped out by the main character. He's stalking this girl that came into the book store that he works at. I'm not talking Instagram lurking, like full on found her address and watches and follows her to the point that he knows her schedule. Yeah.. I'm gonna get back to reading now!

"You're going to be so sorry when you realize what you made me do..."

Leia

conversations with kennedy

This song came on in the car:

Kennedy: "Do you know what instruments they're playing?"

Me: "I think they're playing the drums."

K: "No, that's not it."

M: "Well, what are they playing then?"

K: "You have to guess."

Next time I'll try harder, I guess.

Leia

fightin' fires with preschoolers

Yesterday Kennedy's class took their first field trip and I was so happy that I was able to tag along and chaperon! Learning new things daily, I totally thought that word had an -e on the end of it, but lo and behold it does not!

The day started off like normal and we got to her school at 9am and then we all walked to the fire station. Let me tell you that one half mile has never seemed longer. Keeping an eye on all the kids and making sure they are all paying attention and making sure they are following all the rules is tough. I truly have a new appreciation for Kennedy's teachers; there were 6 parents in addition to her teachers and I was regretting every life choice that lead to me volunteering, haha.

Once we got to the station the kids got to see a fire fighter get dressed in his turnout gear and were asked various fire safety questions in which the answers ranged from very serious to hilarious. There was plenty of side splitting laughter from the parents.

If there is a fire in your house what do you need to do?

Go outside!

Open the window!

What do you say if someone needs to find you in an emergency?

HEELLLLLLPPPPPP!

If you find a lighter or matches what should you do?

Call the police!

Don't touch it!

Tell mom and dad!

Bury it!

Afterwards we were all shown a fire engine and a fire rescue truck and everyone was able to go inside the fire engine to check it out and afterwards they each got to sit in the driver's seat. Well, all of them aside from Kennedy and maybe a few others. There were a few line cutters.

Then it was time for the grand finale! Everyone got to 'put out a fire' with a fire hose. Kennedy was verrrrry serious for this bit.

 She was totally dedicated to the task.

Only you can prevent forest fires.

Leia

mid-week meal share: personal pizzas

When one is grocery shopping whilst hungry one is bound to end up with things not normally found in the shopping cart. My items? Personal pizza fixin's!

I was initially picking out some things to make tacos but the pizza condiments happened to be right next door and I was like, "Oh this sounds so good right meow." The one downside to picking the dough up at random was only selecting toppings that I like. No, I don't like weird shit on my pizza but I'm sure Brendon would have preferred something more tasteful than just pepperoni and sriracha.

Easy to concoct: a toddler could do it!
Cost effective: yes, for my toppings it was $12 (could have made 6 mini zza's).

My list is extremely short because I'm not the most adventurous when it comes to pizza:

pre-made pizza crusts (or if you fancy yourself a recipe from scratch, be my guest)
pizza sauce ("     ")
cheese
pepperoni
sriracha
olive oil
parmesan cheese
garlic
italian herb seasoning


1. Pre-heat your oven to 450°F (or temperature that your crust requires).

2. Brush down crust with olive oil and different flavor enhancers. I used parmesan cheese, garlic, and italian herbs. Totally should have went with grated parm versus shredded because it didn't work out the way I had planned.

3. Top with pizza sauce.

4. Top with cheese.

5. Top with toppings (hardy har). Mine like I said was not on the wild side. Pepperoni and sriracha for this chick.

6. When your pies have reached topping perfection, place them in the oven for the designated cooking time.

7. Enjoy!

I cut Piper's into ridiculously small slices and of course big sis required the same 'treatment'. Hey, whatever it takes to get them to eat sometimes, right? It was a quick and easy dinner and you could pretty much make any type you desire (as long as you plan better than I did).



Kevin McCallister wouldn't have minded only cheese.
Leia

play room: phase 1

Today I started what will probably be a very long process. I cleaned and sorted our play room and got rid of all broken toys or ones that were missing a majority of their pieces.

I have a few things picked out from Target that I hope to purchase within the week, but before that happens I need to slap some fresh paint up on those walls. 

Needless to say I busted some serious ass (and there are still things that don't have a permanent "home" in the room). 

Do work, son. 

Leia

40% off old navy + gap

That is all.

Leia

history in the making

Today after Kennedy's wicked cold soccer game granny came over to hang out. When she left she took both girls with her. Yes both and yes for a sleepover! This is the first time that Piper has stayed away from home. 

Letting them go for the first time is always the most surreal. What am I supposed to do now?

Well, I'll tell you what I did.

Basically nothing! I knew one day in advance that this was probably going to happen (depending on Piper) but my brain was going haywire! Brendon and I took a trip to Target and then just lounged around. Aside from taking care of Archer I had virtually no responsibility. Why expend all my energy? I paid two bills after that, had a nice bowl of Lucky Charms for dinner, started my next book, and watched a movie. Knightsman: The Secret Service. If you haven't seen it I HIGHLY recommend it. Totes made its way onto my list of favorites. 

I do feel a bit like I wasted my free time, but at the same time I cannot think of a time where I had nothing to do and frankly, it was a little comforting. 

Save any and all car seat comments. 

Leia

things i'm caught up on

Since school has gotten out I have been stress free! I really didn't realize how tightly wound I had become with the way my schedule had been. Though my education plan is different than I had originally planned, my new course will give me more time to relax and for that I am truly grateful.

1. Almost caught up on sleep! Piper is feeling much better and is sleeping more soundly than she has in a long time.

2. TV! I have successfully started/finished/got up to date on:

House of Cards

The Mindy Project

11/22/63

GIRLS (Oh my god, I cried)

How To Get Away With Murder: Season 1 & 2 (cried some more)

3. The Cuckoo's Calling. Yes. It almost took me a month to get through it, but hey! The story kind of drug me along in the beginning but it really fires up in the last section and I ended up loving it. Now I have the other two 'Cormoran Strike' novels on my reading list.

4. Laundry (thanks to Brendon).

And now that I have free time again I have all these plans to attempt redoing the kitchen now. Nothing fancy schmancy because I am no where near made of money but I really want to attempt refinishing the cabinets, painting the walls something less "all up in your face" and getting rid of the laminate flooring. That will probably be the last thing that happens in there.

Whistle while you work.

Leia

archer

Our new great dane pup, not the TV show (while yes, his name was subconsciously inspired by the show I haven't watched it in many moons).

 Ironically he ended up being my Mother's Day surprise to Brendon. Early last year though we tragically lost our harlequin dane, Reba and Brendon and Kennedy have consistently asked when we were going to get a new dog. I finally decided that the timing and circumstances were better and went to work on my undercover mission.

Currently Kennedy loves helping out in every way that she can, and frankly she gets a little too upset when you tell her that he doesn't need any more food at the moment. Piper on the other hand is a little leery of him. She loves him when he is laying down or sleeping next to her so she's able to give him nice, calm pets.. but if he is awake and being rowdy she would much rather he be in a different room than her.

Now I kind of want to reread The Art of Racing in the Rain.

Leia

mid-week meal share: cajun skillet pasta

Wasssssssup. Yas, I'm a slacker.

Two weeks in the making but who is really keeping track? I've got another pasta dish for you! I know, SUCH a shocker. And ya know what else, I even found it on Facebook. The comments under the video were absolutely hilarious. People were truly upset that Get In My Belly put the word cajun in the dish name. Guys, they use cajun seasoning, please don't take it too personally; they aren't claiming it to be an authentic cajun dish.

Easy to concoct: it is.

Cost effective: $15 based on your fridge selection and choice of meat.

The original recipe used turkey sausage but I 100% had to use andouille, but that decision is all yours!

14 oz sausage (turkey, andouille, whatever floats your boat)

8 oz pasta

2 cups heavy cream

1 tbsp cajun seasoning

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

*these are the original amounts, I used double of each aside from the meat

1. Boil your noodles and set aside if they are done before you're ready for them.

2. Cut your sausage into "¼ in" slices and cook until brown.

3. Add in your heavy cream and cajun seasoning and bring to a boil.

4. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook until sauce begins to thicken. This never happened for me.

5. Remove from heat and stir in parmesan cheese and noodles. You will probably end up with a bunch of parmesan clump grenades like me. They get broken up more once the noodles are mixed in.

6. Enjoy!

SO GOOD. I've already made this dish again. The first time I had an issue with the sauce being too soupy. I thought maybe it was because I didn't double up on the meat, but the second time around we added shrimp as well and still didn't really notice a thickening of the sauce. After it has been sitting for awhile we did, but not while cooking or immediately afterwards. Still a very successful meal though and I highly recommend. The perfect amount of spice.

Kennedy of course heard me asking Brendon if he thought it was too spicy and instantly claimed that her mouth was too hot, but Piper ate it with no problem. This is one of those tough parenting moments. Surely, it may have legitimately been too spicy for her but like, the baby was eating it without a problem. I ended up letting her have cereal. Having negative emotions when it comes to meals is not something I want for my kids.

It was cajun enough with andouille.

Leia