Weekend Recap

This weekend was one of the best we've had in a while. While Danny was crazy busy and gone pretty much the whole time, Tucker and I had no real plans and it was beautiful.

We started our weekend off with family pictures.  The photographer that took them posted a few on her Facebook page over the weekend and I am in love. I can't wait to get the rest back and show them with you! I took a selfie though because the hair Gods were with me as I got ready. Don't mind the windblown look. This is after pictures and having to chase Tucker around our yard for an hour.

We got pizza for dinner and played until Tucker went to bed. Danny and I also went to bed pretty early. Why do we go to bed early on Friday and stay up late during the week?

Saturday was nice. Tucker woke up too early (like 5:30) but gave me another hour and a half by sleeping in bed with us. I don't mind him coming to our bed after he has slept in his room for what could count as a full night. But I don't ever want him starting out in our bed. Too risky. After playing for a bit, we went to Danny's mom's house to cheer her up after a rough day. Tucker insisted on staying at her house for a bit. No surprise there. I headed off to the annual fire truck rides by myself to meet up with Danny. Tucker and his mamaw showed up in time for Tuck to ride in the truck once.

He was not happy that he had to leave his mamaw's side. In case I haven't shared this with you before, Danny's mom is Tucker's favorite.

When it was time to leave, Tucker left with none other than his Mamaw. She met me at our house since we both knew he would fall asleep. He continued to sleep for another 2.5 hours! He was exhausted apparently. I watched Grey's Anatomy, Scandal and half of a Law & Order: SVU. And I about peed myself.

Once he woke up he still held me as his prisoner and wouldn't let me go pee. 

Danny had a man-date with his BFF that night. Since they are on different shifts at the fire station and both work on their "days off" there are only a few days a month that they are able to see each other. I thought a guys night out was in order so that was Danny's birthday gift. I set it up with BFF and his wife back in September, ordered two tickets to a hockey game and gave Danny money for dinner and parking. While I don't think Danny's new favorite sport is hockey, I think he had a good time. He's been working his butt off for months on end and he deserved a night out.

I did nothing Saturday night. I picked up a few toys and felt my back do whatever it does when it starts to hurt for days and decided that I was just going to relax on the couch. Just gotta make it 2 more weeks until my appointment.

Sunday consisted of sleeping in the recliner from 3:30-7 since Tucker refused to lay in our bed. We went to get my car from Danny at work then headed out to get some shopping done. A somewhat peaceful Target trip was accomplished with popcorn.

We're at the point in Tuck's life where walking by the toy section is bad. Hell, I couldn't even make it out of the clothes section without buying him 2 Mickey shirts and a Mickey hat. He wanted the Minnie hat too but I was able to pull the "Hey look over there!" and throw it back on the shelf. After a trip to the grocery, we went home and straightened up, did dishes and got ready for some "fun" AKA pumpkin painting.

If your kid is experiencing a high level of enjoyment, you are more than likely experiencing a high level of stress. I think my first mistake was inviting Diesel out to join us. I may recap this experience later this week. It was quite an ordeal that had me contemplating a beer or five.

Tucker went to bed pretty easy and I sat on the couch and did nothing after I put clothes away.

Here's to a great week!

Weekend Recap

The Summers fam had a pretty standard weekend. I love standard weekends. You get some things done, you have some fun, and you relax. Perfect!

Shortly after publishing my post on Friday, I went home. The guy that works for me (on National Boss's Day, no less) told me I looked like shit and should go home. I was definitely in pain and as soon as I rounded up some work I could do from the comfort of my couch on my heating pad, I left. I am feeling better today, but it still hurts. I brought the heating pad with me to work though and its currently working its magic.

That evening Tuck and I visited Danny to take his dinner to him. There was a brief meltdown over a mini blueberry muffin since after 1 sucker and 5 Starburst I preferred Tuck eat FOOD before anymore junk. I gave him the muffin with his dinner, which he proceeded to hold the entire time he ate.

I was so happy bedtime arrived.

Saturday we went to our nephew's last football game of the season. It was freezing and they lost. I will say I was totally happy with having a reason to wear boots. I usually try to wait until Nov. 1st to turn my heat on and bust my boots out, but I had to make an exception on both over the weekend. I debated staying home, but the game was about 5 minutes away from the best ice cream in the entire state. We with Danny's mom, his sister, a niece and a nephew to Ivanhoe's for lunch and ice cream. Since Tucker ate everyone's popcorn and/or hot dog (seriously, he ate part of a hot dog from my sister-in-law's mom), so he just ate his Mamaw's ice cream sundae. And loved every bite!

When we got home, I went on a beer run for the guys. They got the ceiling done and part of the walls done!! Worth the beer. After the Tiny Dictator went to bed, Danny and I watched Modern Family and went to bed pretty early. We were beat and I knew Tuck wouldn't let me sleep in at all. I just knew it.

And I was right. At 3:30 he woke up and we slept in the chair. I debated just going to our bed, but I wanted to wait until he was asleep to move him. At 6 when Danny's alarm went off for work, I tried to make the move but Tucker woke up and yelled "Chair!" So bossy.  We sat back down and never went back to sleep. We went to  lunch and shopping with my mom which had me contemplating a cocktail at 1pm. Never shop during naptime. Never. I decided to go to the grocery on the way home. God must have pitied me and the car shopping cart was right next to where we parked. We never get it. I about cried.

In true Sour Patch Kid form, Tucker was an angel the rest of the day. Hugs galore, kisses and snuggling. It ALMOST made me forget the standing in the cart, spinning all chairs and screaming through The Container Store. Almost. Once he went to bed, I showered and for some reason decided to watch the Law & Order: SVU from a few weeks ago. It was about a serial killer and for some reason it bothered me. Every once in a while I get anxious if I watch when Danny isn't home and last night was one of those times.

Now I'm at work and already wanting Friday to be here. Or Thursday because it could be exciting!

Friday Favorites

I promise I'm trying to get back into the blogging habit. I really am. So, lets get to the favorites of the week.

My first favorite is salad. I love salads. They are healthy (if done correctly), can be made in a variety of ways, and are the perfect way to add something else to a main dish. I like eating them as the main dish though. Right now, Danny and I are focusing on eating mostly Whole30/Paleo as often as we can. We deviate for special occasions and sometimes just out of convenience. When its for convenience, I still try to keep it healthy. For the last couple of weeks, Dole Salad Kits have been on sale at our grocery store (its a Kroger brand store) for $2.99. I bought 4 on Tuesday for us to eat for lunch today and probably tomorrow or Sunday. Just a salad isn't enough, so I bought some chicken to go with it. Its the canned kind, but its cheap(usually like $1.50) and I honestly think it tastes fine in the salad. It might looks gross, but ones you break up the pieces and mix it in you can't even tell it was from a can. Danny and I usually eat one bag a piece if its our main entrée. If we are having something else with it, like a protein of some kind, we will split one. Tucker likes them too. This one is our favorite.

So, a $2.99 salad plus a $1.50 can of chicken... you get a HUGE salad for less than $5. A salad that size at a restaurant would cost double. To keep it healthy, I only use half the dressing packet. I don't like a lot of dressing, but I do like some.

Another favorite thing of mine for the last couple of months is the group called Asshole Parents. They can be found on Instagram and Facebook. We all know toddlers are kind of ridiculous. Not only will they cry because you won't give them what they want, but sometimes they'll cry because you DID give them what they want. For example:

and another....

My sister-in-law introduced me to these pages because it reminded her of our lives, so I send her my Asshole Parent moments when they happen.

Our mudroom is moving along. Slowly but surely. Saturday our ceiling is going in. Danny's brother and BFF are coming over to help. Do you know how awesome it is to pay for labor in the form of beer? We have all the drywall we need and the floor. I LOVE the flooring and can't wait to see it. Once we get some rebates back from Menards, we'll be buying paint. I bet the room will be close to done by the end of the year!!!!!!!!!!

My non-favorite of the week though? My back. I've mentioned before that I've had issues since I was about 13 years old. The worst of the issues were in high school when I played volleyball. For the last 6 or 7 weeks, I've been having flare ups about every other week that have me in as much pain as I was when I played volleyball. And I haven't been playing volleyball. I've been running, but that didn't start it. Its only contributed to the discomfort. I've suspended my running until I can get it checked out by a doctor (I'm seeing a new one), then hopefully she can help me come up with some form of exercise that won't aggravate it too much. I'm tired of not exercising. Its been too long since I could exercise regularly.

Alright, that is it for now. I'm working from home for the second half of the day so I can lay on my heating pad for a few hours before I pick the toddler up since Danny works tonight. Have a wonderful weekend!

Weekend Recap

We had an awesome weekend. The kind that was full of fun.

Friday night Tucker and I met my mom for some Target shopping and dinner. We needed diapers and birthday gifts. And of course Tucker walked away with some new pajamas and a truck since his Gigi was with us. We are deep into the Ketchup Eating phase of toddlerhood over here.

My mom stayed all night with us so she could hang out with Tucker at our 5K and attend the chili cook off portion with us. Red Gold (a company near us that makes tomato products like ketchup, canned tomatoes, sauces, etc) had their 4th Annual Run to Crush Hunger and Danny and I participated this year.

We both had a couple of goals in mind. First we just wanted to run the entire thing. Danny set a time goal of under 40 minutes.  I didn't really have a time goal in mind since a few days before the race I hurt my back again. Even though running doesn't really hurt it, I didn't want to push myself too hard. Plus, it dawned on me that I had been running to hard, which is no good. We both accomplished our goals. And had a pretty cute kid cheering us on at the end!

Not too bad for a couple handicapped 26 year olds! 

We roamed around the chili cook off portion, sampling the different chili's that were available. My mom used her 3 tickets at the same booth. Danny and I voted for a daycare that a friend's wife owns since she provided corn bread muffins and peanut butter sandwiches. I also rehydrated with beer. Not a bad way to start a Saturday if you ask me!

After a quick shower at home, we headed off to Mississinewa 1812. Danny loves this event. They do battle reenactments and have vendors, food and activities based around that time period. Danny would spend the entire weekend up there if he could. Like with any festival or event, I go for the food and people watching. And so does Tucker.

 

Our final stop for Saturday was a birthday party. A friend of ours little girl and her cousin both turned 2 recently and they had a Mickey Mouse birthday party, complete with a bounce house. Tucker wasn't quite sure what to do in the bounce house, but he still had fun falling down and watching the other kids jump. He definitely knew what to do with the punch though!

 

Sunday was kind of a lazy day. Last night when Danny called before bed, I told him I had done nothing productive other than make meals (one was a crock pot and the other was mixing a salad kit and warming some already cooked chicken sausages), find 2 out of 3 outfits for family pictures, and keep our kid alive. Not even sorry! Once Tucker went to bed, I caught up on Grey's Anatomy and Scandal from last week. I'm still laughing at Huck wanting to erase the Internet.

Now its Monday and I have work to do and a meal plan to make and shop for.

Oh my gosh, I almost forgot the biggest highlight of the weekend: My little brother got engaged on Saturday!!

Growing up, whenever Drew would "be Drew" (example: if we spent a Saturday shopping, we had to name every single place we were going and only go to those places. If you only said Kohls and the grocery store, then you better not try to run into the mall) my mom and I would always say it would take a special woman to put up with him. Well, 4.5 years ago, that special woman came into our lives. She doesn't take his shit, isn't clingy or high maintenance, and just straight up has her shit together. She is great and I am so excited for her to be part of our family. Let the wedding planning begin!

Show & Tell Tuesday: Our First Jobs

Today I'm linking up with Andrea @ Momfessionals for her year long link-up, Show & Tell Tuesday.  So far this year many different topics have been discussed... favorite vacation, kids names, love story, what you want or wanted to be when you grew up... a variety of things. Today everyone is chatting about their first job or jobs. I'm going to talk about my first 3.. because guess what? That's all I've had!

Job One: Dor-Tee's Drive-In - Milkshake Pro, Burger Flipper & Fry Master

This job was so much fun. It's a little ice cream shop/hamburger place that is a favorite of this little town. Though I'm not sure why its a drive-in since you don't get waited on there like at Sonic or what I would classify as a "drive-in" but that's fine.  I basically applied for the job because my 2 best friends were working there. It was open the end of March through mid-September.  I worked most weekend nights and a few nights throughout the week. Some Saturdays during the day. During our first season, there were a group of older girls that were getting ready to go off to college and wouldn't be working as much.  When they graduated, our group, better known as the "Dream Team" was pretty much left in charge. My dad's golfing buddy owned the shop and my dad and I had shirts made for us all that said "Dor-Tee's Dream Team on them. So, the second season of the "Dream Team" working we were left in charge and to fend for ourselves a lot. For example, there was one day the owner/my dad's friend left before the dinner rush and looked at me and said "You're in charge, don't call me" Well, I broke that rule when chocolate ice cream came oozing out the side of the ice cream machine. His response was to "fix it." This ended up with having my arm shoulder deep in the chocolate side of the machine putting a seal back in place. The ice cream machine was right at the window, so everyone could see. We had dance parties, made French fry sandwiches and smelled like cheeseburgers and French fries every night. I still have "Dor-tee's Mix" CD's in my car that I listen too.

Job Two: Panty Folder

This was the only job I've ever had to interview for an I got it. I worked at Victoria's Secret for a short period of time. By short I mean May 2009-August 2009. I even quit without notice, barring me from ever working there or Bath  & Body Works. Ever. The manager thought that would scare me and I basically said, Thanks!  I didn't hate working there, but I obviously didn't love it. I was working for my dad nearly every single day at the time and then I'd work there at night and on weekends. I didn't have to work, but I wanted too. Looking back, I'm not too sure why? I got hired a month before the semi-annual sale and worked through that. I never had to measure any one to get fitted since I avoided that at all costs. I found it awkward to help people pick out matching bras and panties.  And I had a headache from teenage girls coming in and spraying every fragrance they could get their hands on. I did like working the register though. That was the best part.  Another awkward part? Seeing teachers from high school or men from home that you'd rather not see picking out undies or other things for their wives.

Job Three: The Family Biz

I did some "work" for my dad throughout middle school and high school to help with business things. The joys of being a business owners daughter! When he would mail out things like calendars to his customers, I would help put labels on and stuff envelopes. Once I reached my senior year of high school, I started doing some of his bookkeeping for him. I remember there was one Saturday in January he asked if I had any plans and I said no. So we stopped at McDonald's for a drink, then spent 4 hours catching his books up. Six months worth. Credit card charges, bank statements, you name it. When I returned for  my "summer job" in June, that became my responsibility until I went to college. I continued to do this summer job on Christmas break and summer breaks. My 2nd year of college I would drive home every Wednesday to do it too since I had easier access to my car. I loved and treasure every single minute of working with my dad.

He showed me the financial ropes for a reason. And I am so, so glad I paid attention.

The reason was "in case something ever happened to him" and at 18 years old and a senior in high school, I never imagined that that reason would be a reality in just 2 short years. Overnight I went from being my dad's right hand to being my dad.

My lack of work experience has always made me nervous, and still does despite the fact that I'm "running a business." Now that I say that I think that's why I applied for summer jobs when I worked at VS. I wanted to have something else on my resume besides "working for my dad" even though working for a parent is one of the most difficult things. You mess up? They don't give a shit if they yell at you. My dad was a lot harder on me than his other employees, even though my jobs were minor compared to theirs.

Fun Fact about Erin's jobs: I am now the boss of my boss from Job One. Funny how life works, huh?

Weekend Recap: Brown County

Danny and I's weekend getaway that we had been planning for literally months was finally this past weekend. And it was lovely.

Friday we took off around 3pm with the camper and headed south to Nashville, Indiana, better known around here as Brown County.  We had been a few years ago and couldn't wait to go back.

The 2.5 hour drive took about 3 with the camper. We stayed at the Brown County State Park. From the park entrance to the campground entrance was another 3 miles. Then it was ANOTHER 2 miles to our campsite...which was about 3 site away from the very end of the road. We have a way of picking the last spot/house at the end of something. We did this on our honeymoon in Gatlinburg too. After we got set up, we headed out to dinner. One of my dad's golfing buddies owns a golf retreat in Brown County that has a golf course, condos that you can rent, banquet hall and a restaurant. We ate at the restaurant that night, The 19th Hole Sports Bar & Grille. It was pretty good!

Saturday was a fun day. It was rainy all day, but still enjoyable. After we leisurely ate breakfast, we headed into town to explore and eat lunch. First, we drove around the park and enjoyed the view from the top of the hills. We found a little lake and walked around it. In the rain and mud. It wasn't too bad though.

 

 

We ate lunch at Big Woods Pizza. Big Woods Brewery is down in Nashville, and there is a restaurant with it. The owners opened a pizza place right across the alley. It was THE BEST pizza I have ever had. We seriously considered ordering some on Sunday to take home and eat for dinner. I'm guessing it wouldn't have made it home though. We shared a Flight (I've deemed this the best way to enjoy booze while at a restaurant since it was only $7 for the 2 of us), an order of breadsticks, nachos and pizza. No wonder my pants don't fit this morning. Danny got Pulled Pork Nachos and I got the Artichoke Delight pizza. It was so good. Okay, I'll stop talking about the pizza now.

 

After lunch, we decided to walk some of it off and shop for a few. We got started on Tuck's birthday and Christmas shopping then headed towards my next favorite part. The winery. I love Brown County Winery wine. Love it. Whenever I hear that someone is going to Brown County, I almost immediately hand them cash to pick up a few bottles of me. By a few I mean a minimum of 4. And now this will be me for the remainder of the year... or 5 weeks since I have 5 bottles.

Next stop: Bear Wallow Distillery. We didn't know this was here until we saw the sign, which I'm glad we did because this was a fun place! They had moonshine shake ups in a variety of flavors and a few other drink specials. I enjoyed a peach shake up and Danny had an apple something. It was at this moment that I realized what I want to do when I retire, other than travel, and this is work at a winery or distillery. Preferably a winery for obvious reasons.

 

So a recap of Saturday: brewery, then a winery, then a distillery. My kind of Saturday!

After almost driving into the next state thanks to my navigational skills, we headed back to the camper for a fire and dinner. We had lobster ravioli (they were in the frozen section of the grocery store) over zucchini and tomatoes. Wrap it all in foil, put them on the grill for about 12 minutes and dinner is done! I've got some many good camper-camping recipes that I'll have to make a post dedicated to those.

 

Sunday after we woke up we headed home. We missed our babies a lot! But only one (the four legged one) missed us. We had to bribe Tucker home with bubbles. And the promise of pizza for dinner, which he had to eat in the car.

I had such a good weekend with my husband. I can't wait until we get away again next year!