Meme here and big boy bed!

My mom came to visit last week! The timing was perfect because Matt had to be in LA for work (a weird side note - he was staying at the same hotel where Whitney Houston had just died and President Obama was also staying there for a fundraiser). Mom was a HUGE help in getting things ready for the nursery. I hadn't given much thought to the nursery before she got here and we made a lot of progress in 3 days! I still don't have anything set up, but at least now I know what to put in there and I can picture what it will look like!

Will LOVED having Meme here to play with him - I think you can tell from these pictures how much these two love each other!

Matt had Monday off work for President's Day and we decided it would be a good day for Will to move to a big boy bed! He was REALLY excited about it and danced around all morning saying "Big boy bed! Big boy bed!" I think he's been ready for awhile - it was mama who wasn't! He does so good with his crib and I am very hesitant to change what is going good. But, I know I have to let my little boy grow up! Most all of his friends his age are already in beds, and I knew we'd need to do this before the baby comes so she can use the crib.

It was kind of sad for me to see his crib and nursery things coming down in his room. My baby is a big boy now!

Will was eager to be daddy's helper!

There is still more to do in there - he needs shams for the bed and something on the walls, but it is coming together! I found these dinosaur sheets so he'd have something "fun" to look forward to with his new bed (he loves dinosaurs) but so far he insists on sleeping on top of the quilt - I guess after sleeping in a crib he doesn't know what to make of covers! (Side note: every piece of furniture you can see in the pictures - the bed frame, the bookshelf under the window, and the desk were all found free on the side of the road last summer!)

Monday night was his first night in his new bed. I sneaked into the room to take a few pictures of Matt reading to him before bed - it was the first time we've been able to lay down with him to read and I thought they looked precious!

Will did great with the transition and even slept until 9am his first night in his new bed! I am so proud of my little boy!

A little bit of randomness

Today's post will be bulleted, because that's what I'm in the mood to do:)

• On Friday I dropped my phone. Barely. It was like slow motion dropping only about 2 feet to the ground. But nonetheless, this happened:

• I've long thought that diet coke is very addictive (do you ever notice how diet coke drinkers are always drinking one?)…well Matt sent me this article today to confirm it!

• I ordered a canvas of Will from Canvas on Demand this week. It was a picture I took about a year ago, when Will was 9 months old. I am so happy with how it turned out!

• Matt and I ate dinner with friends this weekend who also have a gluten allergy. We were supposed to bring the dessert and made gluten-free oreos! 

• Matt took me to Geja's for a surprise date this weekend! It is a fondue place in Lincoln Park that claims it is "Chicago's most romantic restaurant." It WAS romantic! And delicious. This was my first fondue experience (that I can remember) and it was so much fun! A great date place if you live around here.

• Thanks for all of the slow-cooker recipes! I can't wait to try them all. I tried another one today. It was very simple but I just put a whole pork shoulder in the crock pot this morning and let it cook on low all day. Tonight we shredded it and ate it on tostadas! Yum!

• And finally, here is a face we see often around here…

Chicken curry and an early Christmas gift!

Will's cousin Otto sent him an early gift yesterday...

A Christmas shirt with his name on it!

How cute!! Will says THANK YOU Cousin Otto!

My sister-in-law Casey also sent this ornament with a yellow jacket and Will's initial's on it!

I love it!! I let Will help me put it on the tree.

Also, I wanted to share this really simple, delicious dish I made last night. It is a chicken curry dish from Mark Bittman's The Minimalist Cooks at Home. I decided to make it at the last minute because I already had all of the ingredients, and it only took 30 minutes to cook! I will definitely make it again.

Chicken Curry in a Hurry

1 T canola oil
1 onion, sliced
1.5 t curry powder
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup sour cream or yogurt
minced cilantro or parsley for garnish

Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high. A minute later, add the onion. Add salt and pepper and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Turn heat to medium, add half of the curry powder, and cook an additional minute or two.

Meanwhile, season chicken with salt and pepper and remaining curry powder. Move onions to the side and cook chicken for about 2 minutes per side; remove to a plate.

Add sour cream or yogurt (if you use yogurt, make sure it does not boil; it will curdle) over medium-low heat until the mixture is thick. Add chicken back in and cook 2 more minutes, turning once. Garnish and serve with rice.

Optional: you can add nuts (I added slivered almonds), red pepper flakes (I added a little), raisins, or dried coconut to onion as it cooks.

Our free find!

We were driving down the road on a Saturday afternoon a few months ago and saw a "free" sign next to a bunch of furniture. We assumed that a yard sale had just ended and they just wanted to get rid of the stuff, but we must have been the first people there. We pulled over, and realized that in three different places were pieces of a table - the base, the top, and a leaf. It was in bad shape - it was nicked up and there were different colors of paint splattered on it, and the middle leaf had never been painted. We threw it in the back of our car and put it in our basement, thinking that if we got around to it, we could potentially get it in good enough shape to use. Our current dining table was one that my parents had refinished when they'd first gotten married, and is nice but small, seating only 4 people.

We pulled it out a couple of weeks ago and decided we'd try to get it in good shape. We sanded it, primed it, and painted it. Although it took 4 coats of paint and 3 trips to Home Depot, we finally finished it (along with some help from my mom last week)!

We sanded the edges to give it a distressed look, which was hard to do because there was a layer of white paint underneath.

I think it turned out really well! We also snagged a side table (you can see the edge of it in the top picture), a desk for Will one day, and a bed frame - all for free...a pretty successful afternoon!

Our week

We've been busy unpacking this week, and settling into our 'new' home. We'd only been here about 2 weeks when we left for St. Simons this summer, so we had a lot waiting on us to do when we got back! Will has been having a blast though - all of the boxes give him things to play on...

And he loves Matt's tools - he's definitely been daddy's little helper this week...

Helping dad hang blinds

But he's also had a LOT of fun playing outside. The weather has been amazing this week - in fact since we've been here we've left our windows open and haven't turned on the air conditioner at all. And we've eaten every meal in our backyard, which I LOVE!

Homemade peach ice-cream break in the backyard!

Moving...

We are busy packing this week...we are moving on Friday!

We've also been getting our new place ready. One of the bedrooms was painted pink with a pink chandelier...adorable for a little girl, but not so cute for Will. So, we painted two bedrooms and Matt installed a fan in one of them!

We took a break Saturday to have a picnic on the floor...cheese, crackers, strawberries, and wine - yum! Will enjoyed trying strawberries...

In an effort to keep Will entertained and out of his daddy's hair, I chased him around the backyard for awhile...

We are exhausted and have a full week ahead of us, but we can't wait to be in our new home!

Jackets, Ornaments, and a Sumo Wrestler

How 'bout them Jackets? ACC Champs baby!!

Will didn't make it until the end, even with loud cheering at our house...


Last night we decorated our Christmas tree. I love decorating for Christmas, especially getting out the ornaments and remembering the story behind each one. Here is one from the year I was born (Matt has the same one!):



Will LOVED looking at all the lights, and was thoroughly entertained.



Wondering what Matt is up to back at school without his family?


Last night at TG (Kellogg happy hour) the theme was "Festivus" and they had sumo wrestling. Aahh, my husband. Looking at this picture reminds me of how I felt (and looked) in late June...