Lots of This and That

This is going to be a very random post - everything from recipes, fridge decor (yep, that's right), and kid pics. What can I say, my brain is a little flustered at the moment! :) 

First up is a new recipe. I haven't done a recent recipe recap in a LONG time, but that is mostly because I haven't been trying many new ones. One of our fave veggies is zucchini but I tend to make it the same way every time - sauteed with onions and garlic. Just for something different, I decided to give these Zucchini Tots a try. 

They were delicious! It is almost the same kind of mix you would use for meatballs - bread crumbs, egg, and zucchini. Then you just plop it by the spoonful into a mini muffin pan and bake. How good were they? It made 24 and Jason and I ate them all in one sitting. :) 

Next up: fridge decor! I know that sounds weird, but it is amazing what a little finesse can do for the front of an appliance you look at a lot. 

The pic of the kids is from last year at Christmas but I just can't take it down - they are too cute! The pic with lots of people is our family reunion from two years ago. I LOVE it. The I Love Pizza magnet is self-explanatory if you know me at all, and was one of my favorite birthday gifts this year from my brother and sister-in-law. I just recently had the picture magnet made of Jason and his dad and I thought it turned out great. Jason thoughtfully suggested that we give it to his dad though, so I grievously parted with it. :) 

So here's the front of our fridge now (minus the pic of Jas and his dad). The dry erase calendar has been a great recent addition too. 

Alrighty, now for the fun stuff - KIDS! I don't have a ton of pics, but wanted to share a couple. Here's Harrison, working really hard at his computer (I love how his neck is all squished up!):

Eden's latest feat is learning to dress herself. She doesn't always get it exactly right, as portrayed in her wrong-side-out clothes below. But we are proud of her tenacious attitude! 

Last, we are temporarily keeping Joe and Sarah's dog, Jasper, while they make the move from HI to GA. I won't say it's been a walk in the park, but Eden absolutely adores him. They have been fast friends and almost every picture I have taken of her in the last week has him in it too. It's so sweet!

So that's it from the Caranci's this week - not really anything major. But tomorrow the kids and I are headed on an adventure! We are flying to see my parents for a couple of weeks, so I will probably be MIA on the blog til later in the month of March. But the recap of our trip will no doubt be exciting! 

Health Update

I'm a little late for February's health update, but that is because I have been in a total funk. Things were going so well before Christmas and even in January, but then all of a sudden I just lost all motivation. Got a little slack in one area, then it all just snowballed. 

So there isn't a lot of good updates to give. However, here is my list as it stands:

1. The family competition is still on and everyone is doing awesome except me! I am so proud of my mom, sister and brother. They have stayed the course and inspired me to get back on track. 

2. I am still limiting gluten, but not as much as I could. This is an area I have been slack in. I have begun attending weight watcher meetings again, only because I really need stability in order to thrive. I have to know in measurement form what is the right amount to eat and weight watchers helps with that. It is basically a glorified calorie counting system. I really do love this plan, and although I am tailoring it to my needs this time (gluten-limited, listening to hunger/full cues, etc.), it is a good system. 

3. The 8 week contest I was in with my FB girls got cancelled, but I am now teaming up with one of closest local friends (hey Meg!) to earn points for good behavior, haha! We still earn points like the last competition for making healthy choices, i.e., drinking water, exercising, eating well, etc. 

4. I finished the Lord's Table Bible study and have honestly felt a little lost without it. It was a great tool that kept me consistent with my Bible time and once it was done I kinda floundered a bit looking for something new. I have a new reading plan now and I'm excited to have another steady course to follow. I do so much better with a plan!

5. My back is currently doing horribly. Just last week it decided to give me grief again and I'm still not able to sit for more than about 5 minutes at this point. But, it could be that I got back into my exercise regime and it just didn't handle it well. I got a Just Dance video game and absolutely love it - although I am sweating like crazy, it is SO much fun. Guess my back didn't agree. 

So there you have it - not much. No weight difference to report, although it has been up the last few weeks (already starting to come back down). It is hard to admit that I have failed, but honesty is important to me. This health goal is hard and it isn't always happy reports, but I am dedicated to reporting all of it - the good, the bad, and the ugly. This month wasn't so pretty, but hopefully next month will be different!

Here Comes the Sun

 Sometimes the crazy NC weather is frustrating, but I can't say I hate it when we have nice 60-degree temps, even in the winter. It allows the kiddos to play outside and get some fresh air. And the sun definitely gives all of us a pep to our step! We had one such day last week, and took advantage of that lovely sun to blow some bubbles and play outside. :) 

Even the dogs were frisky!

A big boy, a mini makeover, and some family love

The point of that random title was to foretell of this random post. 

It's official: I no longer have a baby in the house. There are no cribs and no changing tables (although one has yet to potty train, he is too big for the changing table). After much though, we transitioned Harrison to a toddler bed. 

We thought we might be crazy. It isn't a hidden fact that Harry is our adventurer. When we moved Eden into a toddler bed, not only was she older than Harry is now, but she didn't start getting out of it by herself until about 3 months ago. I'm not sure what it was, but she was perfectly content to stay in her toddler bed just like she stayed in her crib. We knew Harry would be different - in fact, we joked about keeping him confined as long as possible! But there were several factors that lead to us giving it a go:

1. He had gotten stuck in his crib at least 3 times in the last couple of months, with the most recent one being quite traumatic for him and us. It was nerve-wracking to find his poor little legs at such a twisted angle!

2. We had a friend offer us a toddler bed for free, which we had planned to keep and store til he was ready, but since we already had it...

3. We were borrowing his crib and changing table from a friend and I was ready to give it back - it always made me a little paranoid knowing that it wasn't really our furniture.

4. We wanted to move him out of a crib before he realized how to climb out of it himself and potentially get seriously hurt. 

After talking through all of those things, we decided it wouldn't hurt to try. And worse case scenario, we could always put him back in the pack'n'play, but still give back the furniture to our friends. 

The verdict? He did AWESOME. We really don't give that little man enough credit! The first night we prepared ourselves for it to be war, but we were pleasantly surprised. It take us a night or two to realize he did not like sleeping with a pillow, but once we took that out he was happy as a clam. Now granted, the real seller for this idea was that he cannot open his door yet, which means even if he was out of bed he would not be out of his room. He sleeps with it pitch black, so we weren't worried about him staying up and playing through the night since he couldn't see. 

He seems to really like it and we haven't really had any issues to speak of. Occasionally he will wander out of his bed and knock on his door a few times if he isn't ready to sleep, but if we don't go in there he eventually goes back to bed.  This morning he even woke up and played for a little while before I went to get him! It was nice not to have to go rushing in before his yells woke Eden up, like we normally do. 

As a plus, with all of the furniture out of there he has a whole lot more room to play. 

I'm still working on design ideas, but for now things are good to go. I can't believe how he is growing and changing so quickly - as each stage passes, it is bittersweet. I do have to say that moving out of diapers completely will be simply sweet, though. :) 

On to a mini makeover. Downstairs we had a green floor lamp that I have had since college. I'm not a huge fan of floor lamps, because I think they tend to be outdated-looking. I like the height that it adds downstairs though, and it adds function too. The only problem? Nothing downstairs is green. And it had gold on it - major no-no in my book! So out came the ORB. Here is the before and after:

 

Not that much difference, I know. But it makes my mind stop thinking about that little sliver of gold! It's a problem, I know. 

Lastly, I finally printed a bunch of new and updated pics of Jason's side of the family from Christmas. We got so many good candid shots that I decided we needed to put them up around the house. Here are a couple of new ones:

Sorry so blurry :( 

I know you can't see those last two very well, but they are pics of Jason's sisters, mom and one of his nephews. They are just stuck on the magnet board of our desk, but I love it being not so sterile looking with the personal photos. 

I printed off some others of my family too and they are waiting to find frames and a spot in the house. I love the personal touch that family pics add, especially since my taste tends to be so neutral. Each little step makes our house more of a home!

A Sweet Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is one of my favorite holidays - who doesn't like to celebrate the ones they love? We don't always do something really big and exciting, but it's a bunch of little things that added up to a sweet Valentine's Day at the Caranci's this year. Here's a peek:

I tried to make our breakfast cinnamon rolls into hearts - which worked until they baked right back into beautiful circles. :) 

We got the kids just a little something, some punch balls and bubbles, with stickers for Eden and a Thomas the tank engine toy for Harry. 

 The kids also made Valentine notes for a few people, including the local family. We delivered them Valentine's Day morning. 

We made a special valentine for Jason from the kids, an idea prompted by pinterest. It was an adventure trying to make this happen! 

I made Jason's favorite applesauce cake too and improvised on the design (all I had that was red in the house was a couple of straws, but it worked!). 

My Shmoopy surprised me with chocolates, gummy candy and a sweet little frame that has floating hearts when you shake it (gonna put one of our favorite beach engagement pics in it). 

For dinner, Jason requested homemade chinese food:

After the kiddos went to bed, we watched the very romantic movie "Man on a Ledge." Okay, so maybe not the most romantic movie there is, but it was entertaining! It wasn't about the movie anyway, it was just nice to hang out and celebrate the ones we love. 

Hope your Valentine's Day was as sweet as ours! 

Meeting YoungHouseLove

So you guys have already seen some of the spoils from my birthday trip to IKEA in Charlotte, but I finally have pics from the book signing that started the whole thing! 

Let me first say that I got to spend the day with my amazing friend, Shawna. We have been best friends for TEN years. She is one of the kindest and most thoughtful people I know, and I was so excited to be able to spend some time with her. I had asked a few of my other close friends to go with us, but things just got in the way and it ended up being just the two of us. It was a great time of fellowship and catching up!

(holding tix for a movie that afternoon)

Just in case a preface is needed, I have been following a blog called YoungHouseLove.com for several years now. They live in VA and blog about their experiences DIYing their home. Most of you know I am a big fan of DIY, but what you may not know it is that my initial inspiration to start was through this blog. I feel as if I know John and Sherry because they are so down to earth and hilarious! I love reading their posts everyday. 

They wrote their first book last year and it was on my Christmas list, of course. Jason presented it to me before our trek to New England over Christmas so I poured over every page while traveling in the back of the minivan. It was wonderful! 

There was a book tour and a stop was scheduled for Charlotte (about an hour from us) so I planned a whole day around the book signing. It just so happened to fall on the week before my birthday (and of course I celebrate all month long) so it was a special treat for me!

So we got to the UNCC campus where the book signing was being held about an hour and a half before it was to start. We were numbers 15 & 16 in line, so we were stoked! 

The last few minutes before it started, everyone kept looking around, not wanting to miss their entrance. This couple is absolutely HILARIOUS so we didn't want to miss any of the fun! When they arrived and were introduced, they gave a little talk about writing the book and what was involved. It was so fun to see them in person! They did a little Q&A session too, and here they are taking a picture of their first face time question during a signing!

(see how they are all smiles and laughing? Yeah, like I said, they are awesome)

I put together a little basket for the Petersik family, just as a way to thank them for having such a positive impact on me - they have inspired me to pour love into our home and make it special for us. I wanted to return the kindness! 

If you have been reading my blog long at all, you know I LOVE ORB (oil-rubbed bronze) spray paint. I owe my love for it to Sherry, as I first read about it on their blog. She likes to ORB stuff too. A lot. So I got her to sign a can of it for me!

It was such a sweet thing to be able to meet a couple that has been inspiring me for so long in our home DIY projects. Thanks to them for taking the time to meet their readers and thanks to Shawna for documenting all of it for me!

(LOVE Sherry's expression!)

IKEA Projects

For those who don't know, YoungHouseLove.com is one of my favorite DIY blogs. I read it everyday! They wrote their first book last year and I got it for Christmas. They just so happened to be making a stop on their book tour in Charlotte this week so I made a day of it! My friend Shawna and I headed out Tuesday morning for a fun-filled day, including IKEA, a movie, and the book signing. She is a professional photographer and took shots of the whole "meeting the author" experience, so that will get its own post! 

For now, you know I have to share what I got at IKEA. :) 

My first purchase was a simple, white frame. Jason's sister, Joanna, had given him a bag of coffee beans from Mexico for Christmas. The bag was so cool, we wanted to display it somehow in the kitchen - the frame worked like a charm!

Next up was a photo album:

Now, I am not a sentimental person. I don't like to keep stuff just to keep it. But as I was pulling down the Christmas cards after the holidays, I realized I wish there was a way I could keep the ones with photos from family. Then I had the idea to use a blank photo album and just glue the cards inside, as well as our own yearly card to have a keepsake that wouldn't take up too much room. This album from IKEA was extra large and only $4.99! It will last several years with the included pages. 

(this one doesn't have a photo, but it was from Jason's best friend Ken and I just loved it!)

Item #3: A hook for my long necklaces. I have had them hanging in our bathroom on the towel bar, but needless to say, they didn't really fit the decor. These hooks were $1.99 for 2, and screw right into the wall. I hung it in a little discreet spot right inside our closet:

I keep all of my other jewelry in that little hanging bag you see there, so it is nice to have all of the jewelry in one spot. 

Last for now was a new sheet set: 

I tend to pick neutrals like browns, so this turquoise is a nice change of pace and brings a new depth to our wall color. They were a bargain at only $34. Super comfy and extra long so you don't feel like you are wrestling an alligator trying to get them on! 

We spent about 3 hours shopping, and I didn't get everything on my list - but there's always next time. :)