Back to normal

All our visitors have left sunny Florida & headed back up to the frigid cold of Chicago.  We had a wonderful time visiting with everyone, but it's always good to get back to the normal routine.

Papa used to run a Chicago White Sox fantasy camp where he made a baseball card each year.  Even though he doesn't do the fantasy camp anymore, he still makes an annual baseball card to pass out as he schmoozes with people.  This year's came out so cute!

We also take a picture with Grammy & the kids before she heads home each visit.

 

It's always sad dropping Grammy off at the airport!  She's such a big help when she visits.  It's always a transition getting back into the swing of the normal hectic schedule after she's gone.

In other happenings, my little baseball player had opening day last Saturday.  It's unbelievable to me what a commitment it is to have a kid involved in a sport.  We were at the fields last week all day long; nothing like having one of two of your weekend days gone!

Since Mike's a coach on Cameron's team, it's on me to keep this little girl occupied & entertained.  Usually it's no big deal, but opening day was a mob scene & Reese was having some fits, wanting to play in the bounce houses.  After a little bribery from the Dippin' Dots stand, she calmed right down!

This little nutter butter had crazy hair day at school last week, so Mike snapped this shot in the morning.  He's such a goofball!

This is how Reese went shopping with us last week!

This little girl is still gaga for the princesses & taking it upon herself to have many wardrobe changes each day.  She goes off into her room, closes her door & comes out in a different dress.  I try to discourage it since it's increasing the laundry load, but if it keeps her occupied & allows me to help Cam with his homework or work on dinner, I let it slide.  Sometimes you just have to pick your battles.  Especially when it comes to a very headstrong, feisty three year-old gal!

Recent happenings

We've had a heck of a lot going on these days & I haven't found a free moment to update, so it's been a while!

 

Grammy's been in town for the past couple of weeks & Papa came down to spend last weekend with us.  We had the best time with the most incredible weather.



Our weekend started out Friday morning since we kept Cam out of school so we could head to Lego Land.  The day began on an exciting note since Cam lost his first top tooth!  He looks so cute with the missing spot, but I was still a bit sad to see it go since it's just another indicator that he's growing up too quickly!

 



Cameron was dead set on winning a minion from one of those carnival type games & I got it on the first try by knocking down three stacked cans.  Then he was dead set on winning the unicorn for Reese & apparently I lost my touch because I dropped way too much money & still didn't win the damn thing.  I was sick over the money I dropped, walking away prize-less, as Cam carried on about "really, really, really wanting to get Reesey the unicorn." 



Low & behold, Papa used his business skills & after dropping $10 & not winning it, he talked the girl into letting us just have it.  Yay!

Saturday afternoon we went canoeing at Lettuce Lake Park.   It was quite hilarious watching Grammy & Papa struggle & bicker while flailing around the river.  Although I shouldn't laugh too hard at them because I woke up with the sorest back Sunday morning.

We ended the day with dinner out on the beach at Whiskey Joe's.. nothing like waterside dining in February!

 

We wrapped up the weekend at this amazing Thai Temple in Tampa that opens to the public on Sunday for stands upon stands of amazing Thai food.  If you're in Tampa, you must check it out.. it only took us 10 years of living in the area to discover it, thanks to Mike's coworker.  Click here to check it out.



They also have a garden area where you can pick up some herbs as well as an endless selection of orchids.  Needless to say, I couldn't pass up such a beauty, so I'm now the proud owner of my first orchid.

This weekend we have unexpected guests in town, so it'll be another fun one!  We came home Wednesday evening to find Mike's brother & his best friend lounging on our couch.. I could not believe it.  They wanted to surprise it & they definitely accomplished that!

Sick in an instant

My poor little gal pal has been suffering from a cough since Thanksgiving & it seriously won't go away!  Despite that, she's been feeling well, energetic & her appetite is just fine, so we haven't taken her to the doctor. 

A couple of Wednesdays ago, on my day off, we had taken Cam to the bus stop & headed to the park where we happily played & ran around.  As I was pushing Reese on the swing, her squeals of laughter stopped & she turned back & said, "I want to go home."  With the tone of her voice, I knew something was up.  From the moment I got her into the car, it all went quickly downhill.  

This happy face went from smiling to hysterically crying, agitated & restless.  At first I tried to tell myself that she was just tired.  That lasted about two seconds until my instincts told me to call the doctor & get her in ASAP.

We had to wait two hours until she could be seen so I gave her Motrin since I suspected it was her ears.  We laid on the couch watching Sophia the First & she thrashed all around my lap, intermittently crying hysterically.  It was awful.  After about twenty minutes, the Motrin finally kicked in & she felt so much better.  We played until it was time to head to the doctor where we left with the diagnosis of a double ear infection.  Poor kid.  It was not the day off I had hoped to spend with my buddy, but I was so thankful it happened on a day I could take care of her & get her the care she needed.  The doctor isn't concerned about the cough since her lungs sound clear, so it's just a virus that's sticking around.  I love that our doctor doesn't over-prescribe antibiotics since I'm all about riding things out whenever possible.  A raging ear infection?  That warrants some antibiotics!

So happy to see this smiling face!  Speaking of this smiling face, I commented on Facebook that Reese tends to look homeless by the time I pick her up from daycare.  She's taken her hair out & resembles a disheveled sheep dog.  But, she's still cute! Reese is seriously something else though.  Lately she demands that I play with her & her princess castles, even when I have a million things to do after working all day.  When we do play, I notice just how bossy & aggressive she can be while playing dolls; she often puts them in timeouts, yells at them & even puts them in "locker doors" which means they're locked into timeout.  Um, should I be concerned?!?!  Not sure where she gets this from or why she's aggressive with them, but she does have quite the imagination & she is incredibly dramatic.  If she's not on Broadway I will seriously be shocked.  Always something going on over here!

Eat a rainbow

Reese's daycare (formerly Cameron's daycare/pre-K) asked me to come talk to the pre-K students in honor of their Nutrition Week.  I'll be heading over Friday, so I've been doing a lot of thinking about what subject to focus on.  Since I work in the hospital with very sick, mostly elderly patients, a group of five year old kids are way out of my element!  I finally decided we'd talk about eating a rainbow.

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Since most kids (and adults!) don't eat the recommend 5-a-day servings of fruits & vegetables, I thought this would be a good subject.  We'll talk about the colors of the rainbow, examples of fruits & vegetables of each color & then we'll make a smoothie to share since it's a fast & easy way to get a healthy dose of fruits & veggies. Our smoothie will have all the colors of the rainbow: Strawberries, carrots, bananas, spinach, blueberries.

I thought these rainbow fruit skewers were super cute too!

Are you & your family eating 5 a day?  Don't worry if you're not! Many times myself & my family aren't either & I'm a dietitian!  The more you think about it, the more likely you'll be to remember to include more fruits & vegetables in your day! 

5 tips for 5 a day: 

1) Start your day with a serving of fruit.  Like I mentioned earlier, a smoothie is a great way to start the day.  Yogurt with fruit mixed in or cereal or waffles topped with berries or bananas. 

2) Snack on fruits or vegetables.  Reese is known for wanting a bowl of frozen fruit as a snack.  Sometimes she eats it frozen, sometimes she lets them thaw.  Veggie slices with a ranch or hummus dip also makes a quick after school snack.

3) Puree, puree, puree!  I'm often whipping out my Nutribullet & blending fruits or vegetables to add to recipes.  Many times when I make a red sauce, I saute red peppers & carrots & blend them with tomato sauce in the Nutribullet with a heaping mound of baby spinach.

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I also blend spinach in a little milk & mix it in with eggs to scramble.  We call them "Dr. Seuss Eggs" around here.

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Pureed blueberries & milk also get mixed into my pancake batter.  Yes, I could just top the pancakes with berries, but Cameron is much less likely to eat them in the whole form.  He's awesome with veggies, no so much with fruit.  Reese is the opposite.

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4) Buy frozen.  Frozen fruits & vegetables are always in my freezer since they're inexpensive, quick & I don't need to worry about them spoiling.  After a hectic day at work, popping steam-in-the bag veggies into the microwave for 4 minutes is a super fast way of including a serving of veggies to your meal. 

5) Try a new fruit or vegetable each week.  Walk around the grocery store with your kids & work together on discovering a new fruit or vegetable to try.  Let them help you prepare the meal to increase the likelihood of them eating it.  Try, try & try again!  Sometimes it takes many tries for your child to be accepting of a food, so don't give up & stop serving that food altogether.  Take baby steps & implement a try it before you say you don't like it rule.  Cameron would often play the, "I don't like that!" card, but we'd tell him he had to take one bite before deciding.  There have been many times he'd eat more after that initial bite when he realized that he actually did like it. 

Take baby steps in getting your family to eat more vegetables.  If five a day is a major stretch at first, try to eat all the colors of the rainbow over the course of a week rather than a day.

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There are even charts you can hang to encourage & remind your kids about trying more, colorful foods throughout the week.  I know life gets busy & healthy eating may slide, but small steps can really make a big difference in keeping you & your family healthy! 

Get naked!

So, this past weekend, I decided to use some of my Christmas money from my mom to splurge on new makeup at Sephora.  I wear makeup every day, unless it's a super lazy day spent at home.  This past Sunday I didn't get out of my pajamas until I showered & put them back on at 5pm.  There was no makeup worn that day!  When I do wear makeup, it's fairly natural & mundane, but at least it helps me from looking like the walking dead.  Trust me, when that alarm goes off before five a.m., I look like someone's punched me square in the face.

 
I decided on the Naked 2 palette by Urban Decay which was certainly not cheap at, gulp, $54!!  However, the colors are super pretty, versatile & vary from matte to shimmery.  With the way I apply makeup, it'll last me forever.

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So, now I have this awesome palette, but I have no idea how to properly apply it!!  I was a bit of a tomboy growing up & sported nothing but a ponytail, so I never got comfortable with putting makeup on.  I figured 35 is a good age to finally learn!  So, to Pinterest & YouTube I went to watch some tutorials in hopes I could have a shred of hope in looking halfway decent.

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Since I had a few days off around New Year's, I actually had the time to sit quietly at my bathroom vanity to practice.  Now that it's back to the grind, I'm once again applying it on the fly.

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I definitely need to keep watching more tutorials & practicing so I can get more confident. 

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The one thing I've discovered in searching for ideas is that there is a very fine line between what I consider natural vs. a "strip club" look.  Don't get me wrong, I feel that the girls wearing the make up look nice, but it just isn't for me.  I'd look in the mirror & thing, "who the hell are you?!"  I never want to wear so many layers of makeup that I look like a different person after I wash my face at night.

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The above image comes from the Kim Kardashian contouring make-up guide.  The whole idea of contouring is a completely foreign idea to me & I've only just noticed pictures of women doing this recently.  If I can't put on eye makeup, how the hell could I contour my face?!

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Now, don't get me wrong, I think Kim Kardashian is very pleasant on the eyes (on this note, and off the subject, I've been meaning to tell my friend Lesli that she reminds me a lot of Kim K!  So, Lesli, if you're reading this, I think of you whenever I watch the Kardashians!)  Yes, I am sad to say, I actually watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians if I have a spare moment.  With that being said, I just don't see contouring of the face in my near future since A) I work in a hospital wearing scrubs, B) I wear said scrubs or gym clothes after work until I can sneak away to a hot shower, only to change into my pajamas and C) Wild weekends with the Pernecky's consist of Busch Gardens or a trip to the park.  We probably get a handful of date nights a year & adult nights out maybe twice a year.  Maybe after the kids go to college I'll get crazy & start contouring my face, but in the meantime I'll work on trying not to apply eye makeup like an absolute degenerate!

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P.S - Wanna know what truly confirms what a moron I am?  Today I was telling my co-worker that my face is still oily despite the use of the facial mist she suggested I use.  She said, "Oh, it sets my makeup all day.."  I looked at her and said, "Uh, what?  I've been putting it on before my makeup thinking it's a primer!"  Sharp as a tack, that's what I am!

Christmas 2014

Holy cow, how is Christmas already over?!  It went by so fast that I feel like I have whiplash.  Nonetheless, we had a really awesome time filled with family & lots of food!

We always have appetizers vs. a meal on Christmas Eve & since I had to work that day, I made sure to pick recipes that could be made the day before.  The Pioneer Woman inspired me to do shrimp cocktail with various dipping sauces.  I took a shortcut with the cocktail sauce & just used store bought with extra horseradish stirred in since we like it hot! 

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 I made a remoulade sauce from The Chew which was super tasty, but the cocktail sauce was the hit, so I'd stick to basics next time & skip the special sauce.

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I also whipped up Pioneer Woman's holiday tortilla roll-ups which were a cinch to make the night before.  I wrapped them in plastic wrap, stuck them in the fridge & cut them just before serving & they were a huge hit.

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 If you haven't guessed, I rely very heavily on the Pioneer Woman... absolutely adore the lady & her delish recipes.  They're always easy to make & mega crowd pleasers.  In keeping with the theme, I also made Pioneer Woman's bacon wrapped dates which were so exceptionally yummy!

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I made them ahead, put them on a baking sheet with a wire rack so the grease could drip off as they cooked & popped them in the oven when we were ready for them.  They were the perfect combo of sweet, salty & crunchy.  I will definitely be making these again!

Okay, enough about the food, lets move on to the family!  The kids had a ball playing around the back yard before it was time for presents.

This little girl can always be found swinging in the backyard, even if it's in a dress & cowboy boots!

It's hard to believe how quickly the kids are growing & changing as the years go by!  

I cherish the holidays that bring us all together!

Cameron has been wanting the Wii U since before last Christmas & he finally got it this year.  He was off the wall excited when he opened it & got a bunch of games from everyone to supplement it. Unfortunately, when Mike went to hook it up, it was a completely dead unit.  The poor kid was so crushed & each game he opened only rubbed salt in his little wound.  Mike had to go back to Walmart at 6am the day after Christmas & luckily exchanged it for a working unit, yay!

It was an absolute Christmas miracle when I opened my new KitchenAid mixer... could not believe my eyes when I saw this turquoise beauty!  Mike blew me away with this one & I cannot wait to try it out!!!  Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas too!