My dual-wielding baby

I keep showing this picture off to my family so I figured it's one that should go on my blog. Jamie asked if she was sneezing. Nope, not this baby. She made that face for the picture. Dual-wielding chicken nuggets!! She ate them both too.

Guys, I feel grown up!

Today I cooked a chicken. A whole one. And it was GOOD!!!

Okay, so. I like tender and juicy meat. Beef, turkey, chicken. Yeah. Tender. Juice. Meat. We haven't been too successful with tender and juicy roasts and steaks (beef) but Jared is getting better. This week I decided to buy a whole chicken since my confidence was boosted by a book I picked up from the library last week. Lucky for me, I stopped by the ground turkey (which I didn't buy) and saw right next to them ORGANIC whole chickens! I dunno about a price comp because I have no idea what un-organic whole chickens cost. But it was organic! Free range! Organic!

It was so easy to prep and cook. And I have plans so it's not just a one dinner chicken.

Oh, oh, oh! I did EVERYTHING. No help! I prepped, cooked, sliced, and deboned! ALL MY SELF! See? I do feel growned up.

And despite the most solid food she's eaten since Thursday's dinner was mashed potatoes and blended cheesy macaroni, Lindey ate one of the wings. I'm pretty certain her eyes rolled upwards upon first taste. I will take that as a "this is yummy!" indication as well as a "solid food!" Jared said it was good but he'd rather he were allowed to eat the breast (apparently chicken on bones is freaky). Even Kaelyn ate some.

And the worse news? I didn't take a picture.

But it was yummmmmmy! Okay, seriously. I like making good food. I just don't always feel that I succeed. And whole birds are were scary to me. Tonight not only did I cook a chicken, I also roasted potatoes and carrots (Jared had never seen a purple potato before) which came out perfect and had a simple caesar salad. We are terrible at remembering a side dish so to have three total dishes for dinner feels like a huge accomplishment!

Bottom line, people. Organic food rocks. No comparison. 

I am not a blogger. And now that that's off my chest...

Sometimes I read things I wrote years ago and wonder what I was eating at the time. Skills and knowledge really does disappear when you don't use it. Unless you are very lucky and blessed with an amazing memory. Or never have a child. Or you're just gifted with that skill.

I don't know where I was going with that. Nowhere, I think. So now that that's off my chest...

Sometimes I don't know what to write. And so I don't. For a long time. Oh, you noticed? When I read other blogs, there are tutorials or what they think about a topic. There is deep insight. There is intellect. Then I come back to mine and I draw a blank. How can I do that? Everything I do takes a long time. I don't think about topics. I like to remain non-controversial. I don't sound smart.

An exercise I have been trying elsewhere is showing me that it doesn't matter. Nothing has to be big. If I want to write something, then I should just write something. I shouldn't think about what other people do because this isn't their blog. I don't have to sound like I know something. All I need to do is share the world through my eyes.

What makes me happy and brings joy to my life.

What fills my heart and soul.

The surprises of homeownership.

Fun colors and crafts.

The food I make.

And just life in general.

I'm not fancy in any way. I have goals and dreams. I have a life. I have accomplishments and I have struggles. This is a place to share that with those who stop in from time to time.

Just wanted to write.

Today has been an odd day simply because it's Sunday but not a normal Sunday. Our church building decided to have electrical problems and so everything was canceled today (that's 4 wards that didn't meet today). I didn't even get dressed today. Yup. That's how lazy I was today.

You see, it started off with taking CounterAct Night (Melaleuca's nighttime cold medicine) last night. I'm not a hater, but every time I go to my grandmother's house, I come back and get stuffed up at night. I wasn't even there that long this time! No matter. So I took stuff so I could get sleep. The downside is that Kaelyn nurses throughout the night. So I still have to open my eyes so I don't run into walls or drop Kaelyn. I woke up in the morning begging Jared to take Kaelyn. Yay, he did. Two hours of additional sleep almost put me to rights.

So then I get up. And. I dunno. I just didn't really want to do anything. I mean. It's still Sunday so I didn't want to do projects and I don't typically clean or do laundry either. And I can't read scriptures all day.

Kaelyn solved most of my problem by not taking naps when she should and being tired, crabby, and needy. And cute. (She will be 7 months tomorrow.)

The other thing I did (besides stay in my pjs which now I will change out of into clean pjs for tonight) was create my meal plan for the week. Yummers. I'm excited. This week I have one of my favorite dishes from growing up, some Alton Brown recipes, and a slow cooker.

Then my sister shows up tonight. With three bags of zucchini, yellow squash, and cucumbers. Ginormous zucchini. Bloated cucumbers. The yellow squash actually looked normal sized. Now I have added lots of zucchini sides to my meal plan for the week! And probably some zucchini bread. Valerie says they will have more so if I find more yummy-sounding recipes, I can have more! Yum to fresh homegrown veggies.

Which reminds me that I need to help out in my mom's garden. When the weather isn't 90 or raining when I'm in that direction.

I really don't have anything important to say. I just felt like writing something.

Kaelyn's Bedroom

I thought I'd take some time to show you a little bit more of my house. There is not a single room that is finished (although my kitchen is the closest) and Kaelyn's room is no exception.

Prior to Kaelyn's birth, my plan was safari. It was gender neutral although I don't know why I cared about that for nursery decor. After putting up wall paper border in our apartment and then turning around and taking it down so we could move, my desire to do safari again was lacking. I decided on butterflies. I wanted an inspiration and was looking at pictures and fabric but couldn't find anything quite right. That's because the perfect  piece was already in my possession.

I worked with the base color already in the room (yellow) and just added to it.

I had a lot of fun picking out the colors. I used Behr's Premium with the primer mixed in. Some people don't like it, but it has worked well for us. I also really like my canvas drop cloth. It is much nicer than using plastic.

I began by measuring and taping and measuring and taping and measuring and moving tape and.... you get the idea.

Then paint. Kimmi assisted with the body and wings of the butterflies.

The antennas and fly dashes were done with a much smaller paint brush.

Part of the changing station. I used removable adhesive hook things from 3M.

Kaelyn's diaper stash. I keep her wipes in the white thing on the wall. I need to find a new place for her baby legs and socks (that she doesn't wear) because I need that last basket for my diaper fluff.

Over the closet doors. Yes, there is an odd flower up there. I still haven't fixed it. I thought I'd like it, but in reality, I didn't. Funny enough, Jared liked it.

Last but not least, my favorite chair in the house, the blanket the doesn't die, and a big flower. This is currently my favorite spot in the house.

The view from the door because it makes me smile.

I need a rug for under the chair and ottoman. Any suggestions? I also still need to put Kaelyn's name up over the crib and also get curtains put up.