Roasted Vegetables

I am addicted to the Food Network. I am not a huge TV watcher, but I could literally park myself in front of the TV all day long and watch Paula, Rachael, Giada, Robin, Ace of Cakes, Iron Chef, etc. I love it. Camryn also has a love for the Food Network personalities. She can identify Paula and Rachael's voices from another room. Apparently, when my sister babysat Camryn a few weeks ago, she took her to Target, and Camryn told the cashier all about how Bobby and Jamie cook with Paula. Jason and I are hoping this will pay off big for us one day, in that she will own a great restaurant, write a best-selling cookbook, or have her own cooking show and take care of us in our old age.

Anyway, getting on to the point of my post. This is a roasted vegetables recipe that I got from Giada last summer. Jason and I love to make it because it's so good and is a great way for us to eat our veggies! There are no measurements, because you just cut up whatever vegetables you want and season them to your taste. On the particular show I got this recipe from, here are the veggies Giada used:

Vegetables
Carrots

Potatoes

Zucchini

Mushrooms

Squash

Green Onions

Season with

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Dried Oregano

Dried Rosemary

Dried Basil

Dried Thyme

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place cut up vegetables on baking sheet, and add dried herbs, salt, and pepper. Toss well, evenly coating all vegetables with seasonings. Add oil over vegetables, and toss again to coat. Add more oil if vegetables seem dry.

Spread the vegetables evenly on the baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Here are a few pictures I took when I made these yesterday:

Chop them up and pile them on! You can see I didn't do potatoes like Giada suggested but used asparagus and red peppers. You can literally add anything!

Toss to coat with seasonings and olive oil

The finished product

Random

Today I am singing the praises of the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. I bought one the other day and my walls look like new! The halls in our house were especially bad because the previous owners had two young daughters who apparently thought it was Ok to use to walls as a palate for their drawings. Add my daughter to the mix, and those were some pretty marked up walls! One note of caution, though - my sister used the magic eraser and didn't have such great results. It left noticeable marks on her wall where she used it, so test a little spot first, let it dry, and see what it looks like before you use it all over your wall!

Does anyone have any advice for potty training a too-smart-for-her-own-good, stubborn two-year old who is choosing not to use the potty? If you remember, at this time last year, she was showing interest in the potty, going on a pretty regular basis, and even wearing big girl pant**ies (sorry, didn't want to attract any crazies!) at daycare. Now we are to the point where she could care less whether or not she goes to the potty and doesn't even bother to tell us when she has pooped in her diaper. She could sit in it for an hour and not even care. Now, that is a major step backwards for us. And, I know she is just making the choice not to go because she is FULLY capable of being potty trained right now. We offer stickers, I've showed her the big girl pant**ies and promised to let her wear them, she's interested in them, and talks about them, but still .... nothing.

Another new blog! Amanda is one of the RA's I worked with at Winthrop, and I just love her! Her little boy is precious and you can read all about him (and Amanda and her husband!) here: http://www.thecassidycrew.blogspot.com

Camryn made elephant ears at daycare yesterday. Jason and I thought she was pretty funny. She has a weird look on her face because she was making her elephant noise as I took the picture. I think she looks more like Pocahontas or something!

Out and About

We've had some really fun family time the past few days. Friday we spent all afternoon at the pool at our superstar babysitter, Emily's house. Her parents have a saltwater pool that is soooo nice, and they are so generous with it. They have invited several of us over to use it any time this summer. We plan to take them up on their offer lots more while we have time off!! We were so proud of Camryn who is usually a scaredy-cat in the pool. She was jumping off the side into Jason's arms and going underwater for short periods of time. She did great and had a ball. As you can see from the last picture, she was one pooped little girl by the time we drove home (and Emily's house is only about 5 minutes from ours!)

Saturday we went to my sister's house in Charlotte to see my dad for a belated Father's Day. Camryn and Papa played all afternoon, so we had a good time just relaxing and chatting with Lindsay and Justin. We also ate at the Cheesecake Factory which was sooooo yummy! Jason had never been before and now he is a definite fan! After church last night we went out for dinner and ice cream with Jeff and Sarah Ellen before they bravely help chaperone the youth trip to Panama City for the week. We've definitely had a busy but fun weekend!

My Father's Day Post

Has anyone else noticed how demeaning commercials are to men lately? Seriously, if you sit down to watch any 30 minute TV show, pay attention to the commercials - several of them will be aimed at making the man look completely stupid, inept, and brainless. Jason and I just shake our heads when we see some of these commercials. Some of my personal "favorites" are the one where the man turns on the vacuum cleaner, and it goes berserk, sucking in the curtains and everything in the room. Then the commercial cuts to his wife who is just standing there shaking her head. Another one that aired a year or so ago showed a man standing on the side of the road with a flat tire looking completely helpless. He looks so relieved when a car finally drives up, and it's his wife, dressed in a black dress with her hair done up, obviously on her way to some fancy party, coming to her poor, hapless husband's rescue to change the tire that he has no clue how to fix himself. Or, during tax time, when the husband buys the home tax system and then gets confused about what he's doing. His wife holds the box up in front of his face and says, "Why don't you ask the box?" Those are just a few examples. I could go on and on because you see this type of commercial all the time! Advertisers know they could never get away with making a woman look so helpless or dependent on her husband. Imagine the tax commercial in reverse, with the husband holding the box in front of his wife's face like that! There would be an uproar like advertisers had never heard before. We would pitch a fit if a man talked to his wife like that, yet we laugh when the wife makes her husband look stupid!

I am proud to have the husband I have. He's not helpless and pitiful like the men portrayed in these commercials. He is fully capable of operating a vacuum, washing machine, oven, and shopping for groceries, not because he's whipped or a wimp, but because he loves me enough to help me out around the house when I need it. He is fully capable of changing a tire, making household repairs, managing our finances, and leading our household. He is willing to change a diaper, get our daughter dressed, play with dolls, dollhouses, and Legos alike, and is the best daddy ever! He loves "his girls," spends time with us, wants good things for us, and takes care of us. He's the best! Happy Father's Day, Jason!

Tuesday Tidbits

1) While Jason and I were in Asheville over the weekend, my mom and sister came to stay with Camryn. You can read here about their weekend and see some pictures.

2) Yay! Another one of my friends from church, Ansley, has started a blog. Ansley and I had our daughters 4 days apart, so we shared all the ups and downs of pregnancy together. You can check out her sweet family here.

3) Today was my last official day of work for the summer. I always hang around a couple of weeks after school is out to make some extra money, but today was my official last day. I am excited because that means more time with Camryn (she will only go to daycare twice a week during the summer) and my husband!

4) Although I am excited about summer, I am having a hard time enjoying it right now. I pulled a muscle in my back in December, and it put me out of commission for a couple of weeks. Well, I somehow managed to pull the muscle again so I am back to taking muscle relaxers (which I thankfully had left over from last time) and icing my back for long periods of time. It is very frustrating to me because I can't do simple things like lift Camryn up in her chair to eat or put her to bed at night. I haven't even been able to pick her up from daycare this week, because I would have to lift her into the car to put her in the carseat. I am also frustrated because for the past 8 weeks Jason and I had finally gotten back into an exercise routine and now that is definitely on hold for me. My biggest blessing is that it is not as bad as in December, so I am hopeful I will at least be able to get back to the treadmill by next week.

5) As I write this, my daughter is sitting under the desk having a tea party with the dog. Pretty funny.

6) I also have a headache.

7) Jon & Kate + 8 is our new favorite show. We discovered it during our Spring Break trip to Oak Island, and now we are addicted. We can't figure out exactly what it is that is drawing us to that show other than the fact that they are our new heroes. We whine and moan about having one child, and they have EIGHT!! They are amazing to us.

8) With all of the anniversary festivities going on, I did not forget Father's Day for Jason. I do plan to do a Father's Day post but anticipate that it will be long and sitting for long periods of time at the computer right now just isn't cutting it with the back hurting like it is.

Our Anniversary Trip

This past weekend, Jason and I spent a couple of days in Asheville, NC, to celebrate our 6th anniversary. We couldn't stop talking the whole way home about how fun and relaxing this trip was for us. We decided to stay at a great little bed & breakfast we found the 2nd year we were married. We only stayed for one night that time and decided to make it an entire weekend trip this time. I am telling you, the Hill House is just the greatest place ever. The owners are so nice and friendly, and Terri is a great cook! She keeps a bottomless cookie jar in the parlor full of chocolate chip cookies, along with a special treat for the day (peanut butter bars and toffee bars during our stay). We had our breakfast each morning on the front porch. Saturday morning we had oatmeal raisin scones, watermelon, blackberries, strawberries, link sausage, and creme brulee french toast. It was amazing! Our second morning we had fritatas, ham, homemade blueberry muffins, cornbread with homemade blackberry jam, honeydew melon, grapes, and raspberries. This was the sweet little room we stayed in which had the most comfortable bed that we had to force ourselves out of each morning! We did a little shopping Friday night and ate at a great pizza place. We toured the Biltmore house and winery on Saturday, had lunch at this great little place on the grounds, did some more shopping and got a special treat at this place, came back and rested in our room, and then had a wonderful dinner here. Here are some pictures from our incredible weekend!!

Our self-portrait!

The beautiful Biltmore House

You can't really see our faces, but I promise this is a great picture of us!

2nd try - you can see us a little better!

Another shot of Biltmore as we drove to the winery

Our great B&B - the Hill House

Sunday morning as we were leaving

Welcome, Baby Jay!

Yesterday, Jason Andrew made his debut! Jay is the son of two of our best friends, Beth and Jordan. We were so excited to see this little guy because we know his mommy and daddy have waited so long for him! He is also special to us because he is named, in part, after Jason! Jason's college roommates Jordan, Jason Jones, and Andy are like brothers to him. These guys have such a great relationship. As many of you who read this know, Jason Jones passed away last year. So, when Beth and Jordan found out they were having another boy, they decided to name him in honor of my Jason and Andy and in memory of Jason Jones. We were so excited to go meet Jay yesterday! He's so tiny and sounds just like a goat when he cries! We are already so in love with him. Camryn thought he was pretty cool, too, and talked about "Baby Jay" the whole way home.

Growing Pains

Do you believe in growing pains? I do! There are just certain phases that Camryn goes through where her attitude is less than desirable, and she just seems uncomfortable being herself. During these times, she also complains about various aches and pains - most recently, she's said her leg hurts, her body hurts, etc. Last night at church she was whiny, didn't listen, and was just in a general funk, and that is not usually her. She's started crying when we put her in the nursery, and she used to adore the nursery. She's started crying again at bedtime, and we were slowly moving past that point. Also, this is not related to growing pains in particular, but I guess it's just part of her growing up. She had started picking up phrases and words we would rather her not say. Yesterday morning as I was getting her dressed she said, "Don't talk to me." Well, I swiftly handled that little situation. Then, last night, as she was running over to Jason to tell him goodnight, she tripped and turned around and said, "Stupid thing!" Now, we are very careful not to say words like stupid, dumb, crap, etc., around her because we obviously don't want her repeating them! So, we know she probably heard it at daycare or church, and just told her not to say it again. Having a 2 year old wears me out sometimes.

Camryn's Weekend

Click here and you can see pictures AND video of Camryn's weekend with Aunt Alison, Uncle Isaac, and Caleb. They had a blast!

www.phillipshappenings.blogspot.com

The Flyboat

Friday night, Camryn spent the night with her Aunt Alison, Uncle Isaac, and her cousin, Caleb. Aunt Alison, who is very crafty, knows how much Camryn loves the Wonder Pets and decided to build the Wonder Pets Flyboat as the weekend craft project. Below is their finished product. Can you believe how awesome it looks? It looks just like the real thing! Aunt Alison also bought Camryn a stuffed Leni, Tuck, and Ming-Ming.

This is also a cute picture I took of Camryn on Sunday in her new dress from Grammy.

The things that come out of Camryn's mouth these days keep us laughing! Here are some of the funny things she has said lately.

1) I tell her all the time she's my princess. Jason asked her the other day, "Are you Mommy's princess?" She replied, "No, I Mommy's Cinderella!"

2) While I was putting her clothes on, she noticed I had a band-aid on my finger.

Camryn: "Mommy, you got a band-aid?"

Me: "Yes, I do."

Camryn: "Did you fall?"
Me: "No, I didn't fall. I just have a little cut."

Camyrn: "You got a little cut? Bless your heart!"

3) I hurt my finger while I was making supper (do we see a theme here with me and getting hurt?)

Me: "Ow!"
Camryn: "Mommy, what happened?"

Me: "I just tweaked my finger."

Camryn, running off to tell Jason: "Daddy, Mommy squeaked her finger!"

4) Camryn has a knack for misunderstanding song lyrics. For example, "On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand" has become "On Christ the solid rock I stand, my mother ground is sinking sand." And, a song the choir sings called "Redeemer, Savior, Friend" is "Redeemer, Save My Friend." Oh and by the way ... "What can wash away my sins?" "Nothing but the glove of Jesus."

5) Jason snuck up behind her the other day and scared her. She laughed and said, "Oh, Daddy! You scare me! Shame on you!"

Blogroll

I've added a blogroll to the sidebar of my blog. These are my friends and family thus far that have blogs that I love checking. There are plenty more I lurk around on, though! :) If I've forgotten you, please let me know and I'll make sure to add your blog. These were just the ones I thought of off the top of my head! Also, my friend, Kenya, from church just started a blog as well. Thought I would give her a shout-out! :)

www.kenyamom.blogspot.com

Welcome to Blog Land!

Just thought I would let you know my sister and her husband have entered the blog world! You can check them out at www.meetthesmiths0515.blogspot.com and see some really cute pictures of my kid!