Captain Underpants

Guess who's out of diapers?!!? I'm still not ready for him to wear underwear to bed, but when he's not sleeping, Evan's wearing big boy "unders"! I know this is terribly exciting to most of my readers out there (insert sarcasm here)... but not having to budget for diapers is VERY exciting to me!


A couple years ago, we learned our lesson about trying to force the process with Zachary. We decided this time around to let Evan let us know when he's ready to use the restroom. For about six months, he would toy with the idea on and off sporadically -- but I'm pretty sure he was just doing it to tease us!

A couple of weeks ago, that changed, and when he did decide he wanted to "go potty like my brother," he just did! Way to go big guy, and thanks for making it fairly easy on your ol' parents!


And on a side note, the Short Round wears the same size as his big brother (his legs are just shorter, but other than that, they are pretty much the same) ... laundry is going to start getting very interesting!

Spur of the Moment

As a wrap-up to their spring break last week, and to give Marcus some quiet time to finish our taxes, my dad and I took the boys on a spur-of-the-moment trip to the Children's Museum on Saturday. Note to self: Do NOT go back to the museum on a Saturday afternoon!! It was PACKED!

A good time was had by all, and here a just a few pictures of my little buddies enjoying some museum goodness!

...And the aftermath of a day at the museum...
Sweet dreams, Evan!!

Scooby Two

Meet Scooby Two - Zach's Crown Tail Betta
We've started giving Zachary a small allowance for doing his "jobs" every day.The first thing he wanted to buy with his allowance money (thanks to Julie and Dan's new salt water tank), was a fish.

I got the boys two goldfish over a year ago, and those darn things lasted two weeks -- so I was not looking forward going through that again. Due to their hardy nature, a betta seemed like a good choice. Hopefully, I won't kill him... I'm kind of cursed when it comes to fish.

So, how did the newest Knotts pet get his name? I told Zachary I had a betta when I was little that was named Scooby. He said, "I want to name him Scooby too!!" So, since he's the second Scooby, he is henceforth called, Scooby Two.

My Dress!

I'm pretty excited about my first attempt at an ADULT dress!! When it was completed, it didn't fit at all... I had done something very wrong somewhere along the way. But after some alterations (using techniques that would make a true seamstress cringe, I'm sure), I'm happy with the results and the wrap-around style of it. It took me three evenings after the boys went to bed and about $11 for fabric and pattern. So, not too shabby!

Now, if we could have our spring weather back, I could wear the darn thing...!!

Aunt Jackie got her baby fix

Meet little Nikolai Anthony! We embarked on a road trip to Wisconsin to see Nikolai and visit with family. Grandma and Grandpa Terry opened up their home to the insanity of five kids under the age of 6 and hosted the Wagners and the Knotts' for the weekend. What a sweet little guy he is!

Getting to know Aunt Jackie
Niki and Marcus
...and with Grandpa Terry...
Evan got to actually love on a REAL baby for once!
Now THERE'S trouble...
With his sisters and cousins running and shrieking all around him... It was amazing to see Nikolai sleep through the insanity!
We celebrated the girls' birthdays early while we were there, and the boys got their belated Christmas gifts from their grandparents; so there were gifts all around! The Fruehlings have a tradition with the grandkids -- when they turn two, they get a pedal car for Christmas. Zachary got a train when he was two, and this year Evan got a super-cool...

AIRPLANE!!
(He calls it his "Purdue Plane")
I gave the girls their dresses for their birthdays and amazingly enough, no alterations were necessary!! I loved how they looked in them... now I want to make MORE!!!

Lehna & Maya
Lehna modeling...
Show me the love!! Awwwwwww...
The kids had a wonderful time in Wisconsin...

...doing activities with Grandma....
(Ahhhhh - can you hear the silence?!!?)
...beating up on Marcus...
...hanging out with Grandma & Grandpa...
...and "driving" motorcycles!!!
The boys are "racing"
Vroom-vroom!!!
Evan and Maya the Biker Mama!
On our way home from Wisconsin, we always stop at bit of a dive called the "Mars Cheese Castle" in Kenosha, WI for some yummy... well, you can probably guess what we stop there for! Run down, with a funny name... the Cheese Castle has AMAZING cheese choices.

The old Cheese Castle
We were shocked THIS time when we drove by, and they have a brand new building, and it was... SO... SUPER... AWESOME!! No longer a dive, but an actual CASTLE!!!

The NEW Cheese Castle!
The boys had a great visit to Wisconsin (and were only slightly disappointed that there were no dragons in the Cheese Castle), and we'll be back again soon!


Have a great week, everyone!!!

Homemade Bagels

A friend of mine (who I SWEAR has has some Martha Stewart DNA spliced into her own) recently shared a recipe for homemade bagels that she found and tried. They looked SO good, so I tried making them today. A little time-consuming, but surprisingly easy. Compared to how much you can spend on bagels at the store, you can make these for pennies!! Enjoy!


Ingredients
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/4 cups warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
1/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg yolk
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions
In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm milk. Add the butter, sugar, salt and egg yolk; mix well. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Shape into 9 balls. Push thumb through centers to form a 1-in. hole. Place on a floured surface. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes; flatten. In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. Drop bagels, one at a time, into boiling water. When bagels float to the surface, remove with a slotted spoon and place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Sew Far, Sew Good

I wrote a message for Zachary,
and he had one for me in return...
Zachary and Evan have a new cousin! The Wagners welcomed little Nikolai Anthony into the family almost two weeks ago. We will be traveling to Wisconsin in about a week to meet the new little guy, and visit with the Wagners and Marcus' mom and step-dad. I am really looking forward to it!!

In preparation for our visit, I wanted to finish some gifts for the Wagner kiddos. I'm kind of embarrassed to admit that thanks to Disney and all their brilliant movies, I was able to finish Nikolai's quilt and complete dresses for each of the girls in two days. There was a LOT of movie watching in the house this weekend...

First project completed:Dress for Maya
Second project completed: The quilt I started in February,
was finally done on Saturday
Last project completed: Lehna's dress!
Now, I didn't abandon my boys COMPLETELY... they said they wanted "ninja hats", so extra pieces of Niki's quilt became headbands for them...


Here's another quiet moment this weekend. The boys are actually sharing my phone, playing a game together. I love those moments when they play together well... and aren't destroying anything!


I hope that everyone has a great week, and is staying warm and DRY! Until next time, thanks for stopping by!!

Banana Pumpkin Bread

I had overly-ripe bananas on my counter... I had frozen pumpkin puree in the freezer... I wondered to myself, "Is there such a thing as Banana Pumpkin bread?"

A quick search online told me that there IS such a thing, so I made some, with a couple of adjustments (which I included in the recipe below.) Enjoy!!

Ingredients
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/3 cups canned pumpkin puree
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup white sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 9x5 inch loaf pan.

2.In a large bowl, stir together the mashed banana, eggs, oil, pumpkin, honey and sugar. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pie spice and cinnamon, stir into the banana mixture until just combined. Fold in the raisins if desired. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

3.Bake for an hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool loaf in the pan for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.

Calories: 328 | Total Fat: 10.7g | Cholesterol: 35mg

First Bike-Ride of 2011

Where have I seen this before?

Zach & Evan
I admit it... I let the boys play racing video games on the PS3 as a reward for good behavior. In my defense... I have a time limit. Anyway, tonight was one such night. When I walked out of the kitchen after cleaning up dinner, there they were - concentrating really, REALLY hard on the game. Out comes mommy's camera, and I snap a picture... only to get hit with a sudden case of deja vu.

Where have I seen this before?!!? Oh, yeah...

Kris & Marcus

I Feel the Love...

Rose from the PMO students
What a great Valentine's Day! Yeah, it's a Hallmark holiday... and I've spent a good portion of my life despising this day every year. I have to admit I was cursing it just the other night as I signed Evan's name to a never-ending stack of little SpongeBob cards, and at the same time, nagging Zachary to finish signing his...

But this year was good! While I was sitting at my desk, a group of students from Purdue Musical Organizations came in to my office to sing me a Valentine as a thank-you from the organization. They all looked so young! They did a great job, and I enjoyed it even though I was a bit embarrassed. I am glad to have been a part of PMO during my college days, and these kids continued to do me proud.

One of my co-workers caught the end of the song, so here it is...


A couple of hours later, Marcus picked me up for lunch since he had the day off. He walked into my office carrying a dozen roses. He was apologizing that they weren't "high quality" roses, but I told him it didn't matter. I found it EXTREMELY romantic that he brought me flowers himself, and that he did it while staying within the household budget I'm working so hard on! Marcus, you did very well!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a nice Valentine's Day, however you celebrate it! All my love!!

Roses from my Sweetheart

Falling in Love Again

That's right... I'm falling in love with sewing again. The first week in February, we had that huge snow storm, and the county closed our roads to all travel for two days. Marcus got to spend some much-overdue time with the boys, and I used the "house arrest" to flex my long-atrophied sewing muscles. I started working on two quilts for two new members of our extended family.

THIS quilt was for Stephen & Jennifer's new little guy, and I sent it out to them a few days ago.

It's been over six years since I made a quilt, and this time, I learned two things:
1) I think I need to invest in a walking foot for my machine
2) I will never quilt gingham again. That pattern MOVES when you try and concentrate on it... Ha!