Friday, February 10, 2017

Hooray for Friday!!

Hooray for Friday!!  I don't know about you, but I'm really ready to wrap up this week.  My kids have been sick since last weekend and we are all ready to be feeling better.  I also had several moments where I wondered if I was being filmed for the show Punked or trying to come up with a new story line for those Series of Unfortunate Events books.  Let me explain...

1. My car battery died when we were loading up to go somewhere.
Thankfully it was an easy fix that my husband could take care of and we could take his car in the meantime.  My car now has a new battery and new wipers so it ended up being fine.

2. I got really LOST out in the country while trying to find a friend's church.
I got invited to go to a painting party last Saturday and it was at a church I've been to before.  I thought I knew how to get there and forgot to take into consideration the new highway.  So I text my friend and say I'm just a few minutes away.  I start driving and realize I'm going in the completely wrong direction.  I'm not sure which exit to take so I get off thinking I'll circle back around.  The area is under construction so once I got off the highway I couldn't get back on.  I pulled off to type the directions into my map app and realized that I had no cell service.  So I just started driving and was IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE!!  I tried to all my husband - no answer, text my friend, and keep driving.  Nothing looks familiar and I'm on the verge of crying because now I'm late and still lost.  I stop again, plug in directions again and have slightly better luck.  I turn around, call my friend, call my husband, am now 20 minutes late and all the sudden end up in the middle of a tiny town.  My phone starts working and I eventually find my way to the church.  It wasn't a big deal in retrospect, but I don't think I've ever been that lost in any of the big cities we've lived in.  Country roads are no joke!!

3. We had lots of fun plans with friends last week.
Everyone ended up sick - colds, coughs and high fevers this week.

4. Bananas are just as slippery as they appear in all the cartoons.
Fletcher loves bananas so I feed him banana slices several times a day.  I fed him some on Sunday morning and thought I had everything cleaned up.  I ran to the grocery store by myself and hurried home to unload them.  As I was walking to the pantry, I stepped on a lone banana slice and went flying!  I slammed into the wall, hit the ground hard and smashed our new loaf of bread.  I was on the floor before I even knew what happened.  Everyone rushed over for the commotion and I find a smashed banana slice on the sole of my boot.  Ouch to my still sore shoulder and wrist.

5. Super Bowl Party NOT
We planned to fix yummy food for the Super Bowl and have a meal at home.  We figured the kids would go to bed early and it would be a nice, relaxing evening.  Wrong.  Both kids spiked fevers of 101-104 and we spent the evening snuggling, giving meds and trying to keep them cool.  We took shifts snuggling and eating and didn't catch much of the game. Some party....

See why I'm ready for the weekend??  haha :)

Despite the crazy week, we still managed to have some highlights:

 // 1 //
60s and Sunny + SNOW in the same week
We had a beautiful day on Tuesday - temps in the 60s and sunny.  We went on a walk, explored our neighborhood and played in our backyard.  It was a nice change of pace.  Then we got a couple inches of snow on Wednesday.  We had a blast with both!






// 2 //
 Loaded Queso
While our Super Bowl Party was a bust, this Loaded Queso recipe I made up was delicious!  Check back next week for the recipe.  We'll definitely be making this again and again.

// 3 //
Valentine's Day Fun
We painted, did some crafts and other fun Valentine's Day themed things since we were home together all week long.  I treasure any kind of hand or foot print art so I enjoyed making these foot hearts.  I was really happy with out my painting turned out after going to that painting class with my friend.
 


// 4 //
Mini Road Trip
Kevin surprised me with an evening road trip to Target & a new burger restaurant in Indianapolis.  He came home from work early, moved the car seats to his car since my car battery was dead, got coffee for us and got on the road.  We had a great time strolling through Target and a fun evening at Teddy's Burger Joint.  I love that he planned the whole evening for us and Olive loved the live music.  The burger was delicious, Olive loved my bun and I'm a sucker for sweet potato tots!


// 5 //
Target Haul
I picked up some Valentine's Day and birthday plates for the kids.  Both have Spring birthdays so they'll be perfect. I also found a box of Valentine Funfetti so we will be making that sometime in the next few days.

Polka-Dotty Place Week in Review:


Tuesday: Lovely Projects

What was your FAVORITE part of the week??


I hope you have a really great weekend!!

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Thursday, February 9, 2017

Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

Kevin came home with a couple new recipes to try last week.  My husband has a habit of spotting good recipes and emailing them to me or printing them out.  He was very proud of himself for researching good dessert options.  He was right - we loved these Chocolate Oatmeal Bars!  I made one batch for our Super Bowl party and they were really tasty so I thought I'd share the recipe with you today since several people requested the recipe on instagram.

Chocolate Oatmeal Bars

Recipe makes one 8x8 pan.  
They are rich so they go a long way when you cut them into small rectangles.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Filling:
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk
4 oz chocolate to melt (I used a mix of semi sweet chips and milk chocolate bits)
1/2 t vanilla

Oatmeal Bars:
1 1/2 stick room temp butter 
(I started w 1 1/4 stick of butter but had to add in a little more 
to get a crumbly/chunky oatmeal mixture)
1 1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 t vanilla
1/4 baking soda
sprinkle of salt
1 c flour
1 c quick cook oats
1/4 c m&ms (I mixed mini and regular sized plus a few chocolate chips)

Bake at 350 for 23-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Put the chocolate filling ingredients in a bowl and microwave until bubbly.  Stir together until everything smooth, let cool until it thickens.

Add the oatmeal bar ingredients into the mixer in the order they are listed and you'll end up a crumbly mixture.  Put 3/4 of the mixture into a greased 8x8 pan and press it flat leaving a little ridge around the edge.  Pour the chocolate filling on top.  Drop dabs of the remaining oatmeal bar mixture over the top of the chocolate filling.  Then save the M&Ms for last.  Sprinkle those on top and bake.


Let them cool a bit before slicing.  Make sure to cut the bars small because they're a rich treat.  They are good for several days so they'd make a perfect Valentine's Day treat for friends.  We are hoping to make some yummy desserts for our neighbors and friends this week.

I'm also thinking this would be a fun recipe to add peanut butter to, to make a peanut butter filling instead or to add reese's pieces to instead of m&ms.  The possibilities are endless with these oatmeal bars.

You'll have to let me know if you give them a try.
Hope you have a sweet Thursday!!

Linking up for Girl Chat with Emily today
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Wednesday, February 8, 2017

Kids Behind the Blog

I've wanted to join in the link up for Kids Behind the Blog for ages, but never felt like Olive was quite old enough until now!  She answered the questions for this month and we had fun doing a little Q&A.  There might have been some candy involved in getting her to answer, but she looks for any reason to ask for candy these days.

February's Questions:
Olive: 3.5 years old
 Look at my beautiful hair.  Isn't it darling??

1. What does the word love mean to you?
Olive: I don't know.  I love you.  You know, I love my mama.

2. How do you want to spend Valentine's Day?
Olive: Make heart cookies, draw hearts, see friends and invite them to come over.

3. Do you have a valentine?  If so, who?
Olive: Nope!  Not Daddy, just mama.

4. How many days are in the month of February?
Olive: 3 and 2 days I think.  It's probably on a Tuesday this year or maybe a Sunday.

5. How do you show someone you love them?
Olive: I give kisses, snuggles and hugs.  Sometimes muggas (eskimo kisses), too.

A few bonus questions from me:
6. What are you good at doing?
Olive: I'm not good at anything.  But I am a good legos, throwing a ball, painting, big sister stuff and watching Mickey Mouse.

7. What is your favorite thing to do at home?
Olive: Help Daddy with his tools.  I like to bake cupcakes.  They're so delicious.

8. What are some things that make you happy/sad?
Olive: Happy: candy, purple and pink flowers, princesses and my bun-bun (bunny)
Sad: going to bed, falling, tripping, hair washing nights


She was pretty spot on with all of her answers.  I laughed when she came up with her list of things that make her sad.  She had no problem rattling those items off.

Yee haw from Sheriff Olive!

Linking up with Beth for Kids Behind the Blog


We just finished reading God Bless Our Baby by Hannah C. Hall and are excited to tell you about it today.  This is the third book in the God Bless series that we own - God Bless My Boo Boo, God Bless My Friends and God Bless Our Baby.  They are all wonderful!  The illustrations and story for God Bless Our Baby are precious.  They tell the story of so many animals adding babies to their families.  The book is perfect for our family since we added a baby to it this year.  The story highlights the role of big brothers and sisters and showcase so many different types of families.  There are twins, boys, girls, small families, large families and even families that have adopted.  This is the first baby book that we've added to our library that talks about adoption and would be a great book for anyone adopting.  There is so much to talk about on each page, animals to name and families to describe.  We really loved this book!
*We were gifted this book from BookLookBloggers in exchange for an honest review of it.
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Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Lovely Projects

I have some lovely projects to share with you today that are perfect for this time of year.  They'd be great for Valentine's Day and you've still got a week to do them.  I also did some foot print art with the kids yesterday and you can head over to instagram (@polkadottyplace) to see how they turned out.

Heart Canvas
I went to a fun women's event in my area last weekend with a friend and we each painted our own canvas.  I loved making the lines with thin masking tape and filling in the white spaces.  The paint colors were pretty and we had a great time.  I opted to make a heart out of mine so that I could display it every February.  Everyone's art looked so unique!  It was fun to see the assortment of finished paintings and it was wonderful to sit for two hours, paint and chat with a friend.  I came home and my family was proud of my painting skills.  Kevin went on to call me Whitney Ross all weekend.  I don't think this is a very Bob Ross type of painting though :)




Chalkboards
I have a few different chalkboards around the house and they're the easiest thing to update for the holidays.  I have used them for a few years so I already have all of the supplies.  It's easy to search Pinterest for ideas or just make up a design of your own.  This is my Valentine's Day chalkboard this year.


Painting Projects:
I picked up two painting kits at Meijer for Valentine's Day and we had a great time painting them.  They were on sale for $2 each and everything is included - wooden cut outs, paint and small paint brush.  They come in twos and come with four colors of paint.  We did one color at a time, I helped a little and then I added magnets to the back of them.  They're living on our fridge now and I plan to use them for Valentine's Day each year.



You could DIY some Valentine garlands for SUPER cheap.
I made these a couple of years ago and still use them now.



And if you'd rather make something lovely to EAT,
these heart shaped cinnamon rolls would be perfect!
You could easily do them with homemade cinnamon rolls like I did or buy a can of Cinnabon cinnamon rolls that are rolled up just like real ones.



It's time to link up with my favorite Tuesday Talk ladies.
We've got two new faces - Stefanie and Lindsay so be sure to say hello and link up!!
Crystal at Hall Around Texas | Pinterest | Facebook | Instagram 

Polka-Dotty Place

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Monday, February 6, 2017

Marriage Matters

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a great weekend and got to enjoy some delicious game day food yesterday for the Super Bowl.  We didn't care which team won so it was extra fun to just sit back and enjoy the show.  

I thought I'd share the ways Kevin and I have been working together to show each other that our marriage matters.  We have loved each other for a long time, but it gets easy to get into routines and forget to do special things for your spouse.  So we work on it together and practice being a good spouse.  I thought I'd share some simple things that we've done over the last few months to show each other that we are a priority and we appreciate each other.  They don't have to be fancy or expensive things - fresh sheets, taking out the trash, calling during the day, stopping at the store on the way home - are all little things that go a long way.

I also want to say that we have our share of snippy moments (mostly mine), disagreements and times where we bug each other.  But, we make sure that we are both working hard to regularly show each other love in the midst of living life.

Kevin planned a sweet date night from start to finish for us on Friday.  He came home from work early, picked up coffee before we got on the road and we enjoyed some good conversation while the kids napped in the car.  We headed to shop at Target (my favorite), had dinner at a new burger restaurant in Indianapolis that he found a groupon for and enjoyed a fun evening.  Teddy's Burger Joint was family friendly, had live music that Olive loved and the food was pretty tasty.  I will say that at first I was a little hesitant because we'd be getting back home an hour after the kid's bedtimes.  I'm so glad I went along with his sweet plan because we had a great time.

Kevin took Olive out on a date and they came home with a giant Ben's pretzel to share with me.  Those are my favorite so it was fun to include Olive in on the surprise for me.

Kevin has mentioned before that he likes when I send him pictures of what the kids are doing during the day.  So I try to send him a picture each day of something fun we did.  He'll usually come home and ask Olive to tell him all about that activity.  Here is a picture of the kids playing at our library

Treats!  Once a week we try to stop by Kevin's office with treats.  Sometimes I'll be his favorite drinks for his fridge, a donut, a coffee or lunch.  We typically do our grocery shopping during the day so we will pick out treats for Kevin at the store.  I'll include Olive and ask her to pick out daddy's favorite things.  Then she's so happy to drop them off to him.  It breaks up his busy days a bit and we enjoy seeing him during the day.

We love celebrating the holidays so Kevin offered to pick up Panda Express for Chinese New Year so I didn't have to cook.  Holidays and a night off from cooking sounded great to me.

We were in TJ Maxx one weekend and the kids were not thrilled about it.  Fletcher needed a diaper change and the women's restroom was closed, Olive was asking to buy one of everything and Kevin was trying to spend a Christmas gift card.  I'd admired some things for the house, but abandoned them to take the kids to the car.  I figured Kevin would have a much better time shopping quietly.  So we headed to the car, changed diapers and listened to silly songs on the radio.  Kevin came strolling out of TJ with this plant and a huge smile on his face.  He used part of his gift card on some new pants for him and the rest on this plant for our family room.  What a sweet surprise!!

Both kids were super sick.  I wasn't getting much sleep and Kevin had to be at work prepping for his new semester.  He wrote me a sweet note and left it by the medicine station where I'd be sure to see it.  It was super encouraging during those long days.


What's something sweet you've done lately for your spouse??
I'm always looking for new ideas :)
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Friday, February 3, 2017

The Best Parts

Happy Friday!!  I hope you had a great week.  The days flew by for us.  We were excited that the ground hog saw his shadow so we could have 6 more weeks of winter.  I want more snow before winter is over in the Midwest!!  We packed in tons of fun into our week and are looking forward to a great Superbowl weekend.  We don't have any big plans, but are hoping to try some new recipes and enjoy watching the game together.  Do you have any fun plans for the weekend??

The best parts of our week were:

// 1 //
NYX $5 LIP GLOSS
I picked up this NYX Butter Gloss lip gloss at Meijer this week and I'm loving it!  It was $5 and there were so many pretty color options.  I got this shade of pink called Peaches and Cream.  I'm going to get a few more colors the next time I notice it on sale.
It goes on really smooth, the shine dies down pretty quickly and the color hangs around for a while.  I first heard about this on instagram when my favorite girl from Southern Charm - Cam (@camwimberly1) HIGHLY recommended it.  She claims it's just as good as high end products from Ulta for far cheaper.  She knows what she's talking about!!
// 2 //
MOMMY & ME DUPLOS
We went to our monthly Duplo class this week and it was heart themed.  It was the perfect way to kick off February.  We always make fun things there and then Olive tries to replicate them at home.  We go with our best friends and have a blast.


 // 3 //
GALLERY WALL
I'm working on putting together a gallery wall in our kitchen.  I found these beautiful pinboards from Minted and got one for each kid.  I'm going to display current art work, pictures and crafts on each of them and rotate the items out regularly.  They're so pretty and I can't wait to get the gallery wall finished up so I can show you the whole thing.

 // 4 //
APPLE PIE KIT
My husband LOVES apple pie.  I LOVE making pie, but apple pie is my least favorite pie to make because it's so much work.  I usually end up making pecan, Derby or strawberry pie and only occasionally tackle an apple pie.  A sweet friend gave me an apple pie kit for Christmas this year.  It was super thoughtful and one of the most delicious DIY gifts I've ever received.  It was SO GOOD!  The apple crisp mix made for the perfect streusel topping and I added cinnamon to my homemade pie crust for a little extra flavor.  It was so good and I've requested she give me this same gift every year.

// 5 //
FAVORITE KID PICS
Fletcher just turned 10 months old and he's doing so well.  He's such a big boy quickly outgrowing all of his 18 month things.  He's walking around furniture, walking with push toys and reaching for everything.  He clears bookshelves with a giant smile, has almost 4 teeth and has been sleeping better than ever.  I adores Old Navy boy's clothes for him and thinks he looks so handsome.  How did he get so big :)
Olive is always saying the funniest things.  After I took Fletcher's monthly picture she jumped up in the chair and said it was her turn.  So we snapped some pictures by the number sticker.  It was a good reminder to me that each of the kids love their one on one attention :)


Polka-Dotty Place Week in Review:


What was your FAVORITE part of the week??


I hope you have a really great weekend!!

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Thursday, February 2, 2017

Valentine Traditions

I love celebrating all of the holidays and am always looking for ways to make the days special with my family.  We decorated for Valentine's Day, have some fun plans this month and are traditions are set.

I got the idea from my friend Beth to write a little note for each of my family members to let them know how much they're loved in the month of February.

My love note game plan:
cut out a name tag for each person
cut out 14 hearts for each person
add a handwritten note to the hearts each night
everyone wakes up in the morning to find a new love note from me

It's been fun so far and it was a free project since I already had all of the supplies. 
Confession: I surprised everyone with these hearts on their door the morning of February 1st and not everyone loved them.  I certain three-nager demanded her hearts be relocated to a different location ASAP.  So hers have been relocated to a different spot and all is well in her world. #momlife


Here are the special things/traditions
 we're looking forward to doing together as a family this month:

1. Daily love notes
2. Decorate the house for Valentine's Day
3. Send valentines to family and friends
4. Bake Valentine treats
5. Deliver treats to our neighbors
6. Do a few Valentine's Day crafts with hand or foot prints
7. Superbowl party
8. Duplo Valentine's Day class
9. Read Valentine's Day books during our daily book club
10. Valentine's Day family dinner at home 

Some favorite Valentine ideas from years past:






And you can never go wrong with some delicious chocolate covered strawberries!!  They are one of my very favorite treats.  We are planning to go to a local gourmet grocery store for a chocolate covered strawberry demonstration this month.  They're supposed to be famous for theirs so I'm excited to learn some expert tips!

What are your plans for this month of LOVE??

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Wednesday, February 1, 2017

What We're Reading Wednesday

 I have some really great articles, blog posts and books to share with you today!  We read so many interesting things last month that I had no problem coming up with a long list to share with you today. 

I've been making more of an effort to sit down and read in my spare time instead of watching TV or scrolling through social media on my phone.  It's easy to say I don't have time to read, but the truth is I haven't made the time to read consistently until recently.  I have read several good books and have a new one to share with you today.

I find myself reading in 15-20 minute intervals throughout the day.  I keep my book handy so I can grab it whenever there's a break in our schedule, the baby is napping or when both kids are playing nicely together.  I've learned to make the most of those little moments throughout the day even though they usually end up with both kids sitting me on and me holding onto my book for dear life. 


 

1. Looking for ways to build your child's self confidence and teach them ways to be more independent??

2. Winter seems like the perfect time to add some comfort foods to your menu.

3. Chip & JoAnna Gaines are the best.  Who wouldn't want to road trip down to Magnolia Market??
I really enjoyed Chip's New Year's Revelation.

4. My bloggy friend Maggie just got a beautiful blog update and posted her
At Home Workout Ideas that seem super doable and fun. 

5. Winter seems like the perfect time to clean out and declutter your house.

6. I love having a fun to do list to work through with my family.
Beth wrote a great Winter Bucket List that I'd like to copy for my family. 

7. I love the look of a striped wall, but they seem kind of intimidating.
Jenn wrote a wonderful tutorial on How to Paint a Striped Accent Wall
and a bonus it's in her nursery for their long awaited sweet baby!!

8. I love pork tenderloin in the crock pot and am always looking for new recipes.
Carolina Charm shared this delicious one for Easy Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce
and it sounds heavenly!!

9. Grace, Not Perfection
by Emily Ley
I finished Grace, Not Perfection and was sad to see it end.  I really enjoyed this book and made sure to read it slowly to really soak in the message of the book.  It was inspiring to women of all ages and stages.  I've been a long time fan of Emily Ley so it was fun to learn more about her story.  She shares the highs and lows of her life and how important all of those moments were in helping shape the person she is today.  She talks about marriage, family, kids, home decorating, careers, chores, self care, being busy, free time, making memories and building a legacy.

Emily Ley is hard working, organized, thoughtful, positive and a great mom of 3.  She is very relatable, is quick to share that she is not perfect and she challenges you to rethink how you go about your days.  The book gives you plenty of space to write out your thoughts and goals as you work through the book.  What are your priorities?  What things inspire you?  What activities make you the happiest?  Are you investing in people and building community?  My copy is all written up with ideas for the future, priorities for now and the most important things.  I came away with tons of practical tips for simplifying life at home and am inspired to make time for the things that matter most to me!



10. Noah, Noah What Do You See?
by Bill Martin Jr and Michael Sampson
The title of this book caught my eye because it seemed like it would be a similar format to Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  My daughter loves the rhyming, repetitive book.  I like that each page introduces her to a new Bible character and their story.  Each page has beautiful illustrations that inspire great conversation.  The book also lists a corresponding Bible verse for you to look up on each page.  My daughter is a little too young to do this, but I think older children would really enjoy finding the Bible story to match up with the text.  There are 15 different Bible stories and passages introduced to children in this board book.  I'd highly recommend Noah, Noah, What Do You See? to help teach your children some important Bible stories.
*I was gifted this book by BookLookBloggers in exchange for an honest review of it.


I can't wait to see what everyone has been reading!

Johannah: https://johannahsirois.blogspot.com/
Crystal: http://www.masonsmama.com/
Justine: http://www.littledoveblog.com/
Whitney: https://polka-dottyplace.blogspot.com/
Heather: http://www.myglitteryheart.com/
Keri: https://www.kerilynnsnyder.com/
Whitney: http://work-it-mommy.blogspot.com/


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