Blonde Moment Monday

• It's Monday! Which means that I've got some randoms to throw your way!

photo courtsey of Google

• For starters, did you hear about Whitney Houston? It makes me so sad because I remember her and that amazing voice of hers from the movie The Bodyguard, and so much more! I'm sure that was at the top of her career and it's just so sad to see celebrities fall down a spiral like she did. I'm still not sure of her cause of death, but I know she had a history of drug abuse, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was what killed her.

• I've really enjoyed cooking a lot more lately and should have made this one of my New Years Resolutions because if it were, I'd be acing it! This past week I made a "spaghetti" dinner with spaghetti squash. I just lined a baking sheet with foil and split the squash in half, scooped out the seeds and pulp, before adding some olive oil to the insides and then laying it flesh side down. I roasted it for about 20 minutes and then took a fork to scrape out the insides. It looked exactly like spaghetti! (ha ha hence the name it suggests, right?) 

• I was shocked at how good the squash tasted! I added some marinara to the "spaghetti" and served it with a side salad and even Ryder ate it up! The only downside was that Scot was hungry about an hour later and said he needed some meat to go with his squash. He loved it though, but I was fine with just the squash and salad and was surprised that it filled me up. Funny how you can trick yourself into thinking your eating something that isn't good for you, when it truly is!

• I'm probably the only person left on the planet who hasn't seen Twilight Breaking Dawn: part 1, (I blame this on the fact that Ryder's birthday always falls on the same weekend that Twilight movies come out, well that and the fact that I had a teensy baby at the time to tend to). Anyways, since it came out on DVD Friday at midnight, I decided to rent it on Saturday morning.
• Yes I'm too old to stand in line or stay up that late for that matter, to rent a movie or anything else ha!
• It was a lot like the book, and I can't wait for the final movie! Maybe by then I can actually go see it when it comes out in the movie theater

• Saturday my mom offered to watch Ryder for the night to get some one on one grandson time, so it was weird to have just Brynley for the night! Again, what did we do with our time when we just had Ryder?!?
• Scot and I splurged by ordering Pizza Hut (hey at least we got thin crust) pizza and when he came home from picking up the pizza, he also had this yummy surprise for me for dessert!
• Doughnuts are always yummier when they are in the shape of a heart aren't they ha!

• We also got to enjoy one anothers company uninterrupted (for the most part), while Brynley napped. The best part of the meal, other than getting a chance to talk for once, was getting to enjoy some of my very favorite wine.
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• It's really starting to sink in that we leave for Hawaii soon (now 3 weeks)!
• This came in the mail for Scot on Friday, complete with a typed letter from the President of the company Scot works for, and signed by hand. I continue to be so proud of my husband for the man that he is, and for his ambitious heart.
• I joked with my mom when I saw her on Saturday, if she was ready to take on both kids for almost a week and she said of course she was. I know that Ryder will do great while we are away, but I just pray that Brynley will be on her best behavior. She's very attached to her Mommy, what can I say? 

•  Since having a guest speaker at MOPS a few weeks ago who teaches classes on eating healthy, and lecturing to moms and schools around the area, I got encouraged to try something new and went completely out of my comfort zone. She specifically raved about Bob's Red Mill brand and all of the wonderful products that they have.
• I decided to give this wheat germ a try, so I toasted it in the oven and then sprinkled it over my greek yogurt. The verdict is still out on whether I will eat my greek yogurt this way again or not though. I think I'd rather have it blended up in a protein shake instead. It's supposed to help fill you up and has a lot of great nutrients too, but I wasn't sure of the textures mixed with my yogurt!
• I am however, excited to try making the Bob's Red Mill chocolate cake mix and canned pumpkin to bake mini cupcakes instead. I have tried these firsthand and know how yummy they taste! (and so much better for me too)

• Look at this little man! He has been so good lately, and I was especially proud of him at his playdate recently. A new mom recently joined our group, and she has an 18 month old and is currently on bedrest with twin boys, due in April. She invited us to her house for a playdate last week, given her current situation, and Ryder was so good and so gentle with her son. It was so cute watching the older boys interact with him, and made me realize just what a great big brother Ryder is!
• Of course he's also very protective of his baby sister (or baby girlie, as he lovingly refers to her), and if one of the other kids gets too close, he always comes over and gets right next to her as if to tell the others "Hey that's my sister" ha!

• Ryder and I have been busy working on more of his alphabet and trying to teach him to write some of them. Of course usually he ends up wanting to draw and make things other than letters. This day was no exception, and as I looked at what he had drawn, I knew right away that it was a bear. He has a Coca Cola Polar Bear my mom must have given him, and it looked just like "Bear"! (I know I'm partial, but I'd like to think he may have some artist talent in there haha!)
• Couponing has become a hobby for me lately. Again, I got some great advice and motivation from a recent MOPS meeting, and love saving money anyway that I can. I'm brand new to it, and found that it can easily get overwhelming, so I have started small and don't clip all that I see. Right now I try to make out our grocery list based off the meals I'm planning to make, and then add coupons to any items from that.
• Some of the websites I found and that were mentioned at the meeting were:

southernsavers.com

thekrazycouponlady.com

coupons.com

afullcup.com

lorihas3kids.com

thecouponclippers.com

smartsource.com

redplum.com

• I figure it's just a start, but I was so happy to save anything off of our grocery bill! We still go to just one store to do all of our shopping, but I think as I get better at this coupon thing that I too will venture out to 2 or 3 stores to get the best items featured on sale that week. Staying at home and only having one income, we have learned to make sacrifices in other ways, so I feel I need to do my part to save money any way I can.
• Tomorrow is Valentines Day and I plan to spend the day making special Valentines Day cookies with Ryder, filling out Valentines cards with him for his preschool class, and then we have a fun Valentines Day party playdate tomorrow afternoon. When I made plans, I forgot to even realize Scot wasn't invited to the playdate on no other than a day for romance ha! Oops! Guess that's what happens when you have been married almost 5 years, and two kids later :)
• But no worries, there will be plenty of time for romantic meals and walks on the beach soon!
• Happy Monday and hope your week is off to a great start!