Craig and I went house hunting this afternoon, and found at least two that are a serious consideration for us. We decided that we do not want another renovation project for a home, we are only looking at new/newer homes this time around, (built within the last 2 or so years), and two we looked at were only just finished by the contractor, so we had some nice choices. There were so many different things in each of the 6 homes we toured that I loved, and some things that I completely hated, but we did manage to find one home we both loved, it really fit the bill, and a backup house that comes very close. It was a lot of fun to go through the houses, but it was also a very hot day, and I had Finn snuggled up to me the whole time, my own personal furnace. The heat just wiped out Craig and I, and any energy I had this morning was gone by mid-afternoon. But we kept on, so after the last house, we went and checked out ‘The Room Loft’ to see what they had in the way of dining tables and chairs, beds and living room furniture. Apparently I have exceptional taste, because the dining set and the bedroom set I fell in love with were both VERY EXPENSIVE. Oh well, at least I know the good stuff when I see it. I also saw two couches, one being a sectional, and they were both very well priced and just beautiful, so we still may end up going back again once we decide what furniture we need for the new house. So we are now going forward with a big push to get our house done and cleared out so we can list it for sale in the next two weeks and hopefully get it sold fast! Wish us luck, we will really need it, we have mountians of stuff to sort through (here’s hoping that a lot of trips to the D.I. will help us to downsize), and several rooms still left to paint. Now if I can just convince Finn to sleep more during the day, I could get a lot more done.

   Design Star starts it’s second season, Sunday on HGTV, and I can hardly wait! I watched the entire first season last year and absolutely loved it! (Not to mention the added bonus that my pick, David Bromstad, went on to win and he now has his own show, ’Color Splash’.) I loved all the drama, and I also loved seeing the different designs. Some of them were simply spectacular, and others were just plain horrific! (as in the lady that smeared plaster on a broken vaccuum cleaner and tried to pass it off as a great design idea for the room. Um, what?!? You really had to see it.) This seasons lineup of design hopefuls is interesting to say the least, and I can already tell there will be lots of drama, tears, tantrums and snippy remarks. (Has anyone else seen this show, or am I all by myself on this one?) Clive Pearse hosts, and Vern Yip (one of my all time fave designers!), Martha McCully and Cynthia Rowley are the three judges. The preview show was on just the other night, showcasing the new contestants, with a few shots of some of the crazies that came to try out. It was pretty funny sometimes, and painful as well. Anyways, like I said before, the first episode for this season is this Sunday the 29th, so give it a watch and see what you think, you just might get hooked like I did!

C and H were both born with, and still have, beautiful blue eyes. D, N, M and G were all born with dark grey, almost black eyes, and all of them have changed and are either brown or hazel. F was born with blue and I wonder if his will stay, or change, especially with his red hair. But who knows, maybe he’s destined to be a brown or hazel eyed little boy. What do you think?

   Last Thursday (the 19th) we met up with some of Craig’s family at a park in Woods Cross for a last ‘goodbye’ to his brother before he moves out of state. I was thrilled we were going since I had missed out on a lot of family events for the majority of the end of my pregnancy, so it was great to be able to see everyone again and to catch up. And for some of Craig’s family, this was the first time seeing Finley, so he was passed around quite a bit and exclaimed over, and everyone got to throw in their two cents as to who they think Finn looks like the most (Craig’s side, definitey!). It was very hot, even in the shade, but the kids didn’t seem to mind, and in between drinks of the cold water, they were playing their little hearts out in the sand, swings and slides. Sadly, I forgot my camera, but I am just happy to have remembered the chicken salad. So even though there are no pictures, we had a great time anyways and got to get in some more family fun time. And by the way, I can hardly believe we are already over half way through Summer, where did the time go?

   For those of you that don’t know (where have you been?!?!), Mark and Mel have another site they recently put up called ‘The Recipe Site’. It’s for ANYONE to add their favorite recipes, and also to find some yummy ones to add to your own collections. Just recently, a new category was added due to popular demand, so a very big Thankyou! to Mark for adding the new ‘Crock Pot’ category to the recipe site. I have posted several new recipes, and Mark transferred all previously existing slow cooker recipes that were in other categories over to their new spot on the site. So stop by and check out the new additions and add some great recipes of your own!!!

http://recipes.melarky.com/index.php

   One of the things I really enjoy doing is cooking and trying new recipes. You can often find me reading a cookbook like someone reading a fascinating novel, marking pages with recipes to try, and adding the good ones to my collection of keepers. But life for me is busy, especially with our new baby, and my time in the kitchen these days is not easy to come by. Mealtimes were getting later and later each night, to where I was lucky to get it on the table by 9pm, if I got it done at all. I found myslef falling back on the easy, but very bad for you solution, of ordering pizza or picking up drive-thru, which I couldn’t stand anymore, I just can’t live like that. The solution to my dilemma came by accident when I realized one night that not only did I have dinner on the table and ready to serve by 6pm, but I wasn’t feeling like a crazed lunatic either. The secret to all of this happiness? It was simple…..my crock pot. (Ta Da!!!)

   I discovered that if I made a meal in my slow cooker, and put it in to cook late the night before, or first thing early the next morning, then dinner was easily on the table by 6pm almost every time (a big bonus, it also doesn’t heat up my kitchen during hot summer months). So now, I have begun planning 98% of our meals around my crock pot, and I am scouring the internet for new and fun recipes to try. Kelly had a great recipe site that she likes to frequent in one of her posts  http://hssrvnt4life.blogspot.com/2007/06/kool-aid-frosting.html  dedicated to just slow cooker recipes, and the two recipes I have tried from there were both very good, so I am going back to try out more (Thanks Kelly!). I will be adding whatever fabulous recipe finds I make to the ’The Recipe Site’ @ http://recipes.melarky.com/. And who knows, maybe (*hint hint*) there will be a whole new category between “Side Dishes” and “Soups” just for “Slow Cooker” recipes! Now wouldn’t that be something! 

   I went on friday night with Mr.F, D and C to buy the last of the Harry Potter books (no we didn’t dress up, but I was surprised at the number of people that did). Two years ago, when I bought #6, I got there a little after 11pm, waited until midnight and when they pulled out the huge pallet of books, I just walked over and grabbed one, it wasn’t a huge scene or anything. This time around was different however. When I arrived, the parking lot was jammed with cars, and there was a huge line starting at the very back of the Wal-Mart, snaking around all the way to the very front of the store. They were handing out different colored wristbands to get a book, so we quickly secured one and got in line. We ended up being in the middle of the queue, and were one of the last few to get a book. There had been an ordering mistake, and they were worried they weren’t going to have enough books, and sure enough, they ran out before everyone got one. Happily, I wasn’t one of the unlucky ones. The line to pay for the book moved quite quickly, and it wasn’t long before we were back home, where I was still reading book #6 again to refresh my memory on the previous details and such. I finished late that night, and started reading #7 first thing the next morning. I read it all day, I didn’t want to put it down, and I ended up finishing it in the very early “am” hours this morning. I loved it, it was another great read from J.K. Rowling, and I enjoyed the entire book (if anyone would like to borrow it, I am more than happy to oblige). And I hate spoilers, so don’t worry, there aren’t any here! Happy reading to the rest of you!

   You may notice that I have TONS of pictures of Baby F, quite a few of Mr. N, Miss H, Mr. M and Miss G, and not so many of my two oldecst, D & C. Why you ask? Well, Baby F as the newest family member gets his taken the most, and unless he’s crying, he’s more than happy to let me snap away like a loon. The other kids, they’re also pretty cooperative, and getting them to sit together for a picture is usually my biggest and only hurdle, but I do my best. D and C however, not an easy task to get them to let me take their picture. I have forced them on occasion, and sometimes they will even pose, albeit quite comically or grumpily, but at least it’s a picture of them. So, just in case you are wondering why not all of my children are represented equally in photographs, this is why. I don’t feel like fighting for a picture all of the time, so I get what I can. I am open to any suggestions or inducements though! But I’m not willing to pay them for a photo, it would get quite expensive very quickly to say the least.

   I love granola, it’s a yummy snack, especially sprinkled on yogurt. But generally it tends to be high in fat so I don’t buy it much. (I’ve been looking for a low fat granola recipe so I can make my own, but so far I have only found recipes that call for 1 cup of oil or more. If I find a good one, I’ll post it.) While on a late night run to the store for milk the other night, I stumbled across the ‘Back To Nature’ brand, and immediately bought two bags of the classic granola. Craig and I both tried it plain as a snack, and it’s quite tasty, and the kids and I have had it on yogurt too, and we all loved it. It was nice and crunchy, lightly sweetened, and low in fat. One 1/2 cup serving has 3g fat, 200 calories, 4g fiber and 6g protein. I paid $2.59 for a 13.5oz. bag, and other granola at the store had more than twice the fat for the same price so I am pleased with my purchase. Obviously there are other varieties, I just prefer the plain and will add my own dried fruit if I want. Just thought I would pass this on in case anyone else is a weird granola seeking loon like me.

  I went to see the new Harry Potter movie, ‘The Order of the Phoenix’ on Saturday with my Mom, Dad, C, Y and K. Scott had tickets from work for an early morning showing at 9am, and I came up Friday to spend the night at the condo so I could go. I loved the movie, and thought it was far better than the fourth one since it didn’t feel as rushed as that one did. The fourth left out a ton of stuff from the book, and this one kept in quite a bit, which made it much more enjoyable to watch. I have read the book several times, and that didn’t diminish any of it for me, it was very well done and only whets my appetite for the next movie. I would highly recommend this movie especially to any other Harry Potter fans. Finley was there with me for his very first movie theater experience, and he slept through the entire thing. I had special little earplugs for him from his Pappy, and a little hat on his head to make sure they stayed put, which they did (I’m sure he wasn’t bored to sleep, he must be a baby or something!). Maybe when he’s older it will be easier to make him love all things Harry Potter. And now I’m counting down the 4 days until the new book is released…my little nerdly heart is beating faster at the mere thought of reading the last book. (geek!)

Afterwards, I spent the day with Granny since she will be leaving in a few days, and I wanted to spend some time with her and the boys before they’re gone. We had a lot of fun out shopping, and at the D.I. we found lots of treasures and some really great stuff. My favorite finds were a skirt for me, brand new with the store tags still attached, and a beautiful plush terry bathrobe for Haven that I have seen elsewhere priced for a very hefty sum (I got it for $4). That evening, we all met up at the condo for some supper with everyone else, and Heidi and my Mom showed us their fun shopping finds for that day as did Granny and I. Later, Pappy took Granny home, but Y and K wanted to go with me and Heidi when we made a quick run to Old Navy, but we arrived just as they closed, so instead we ran over to TJ Maxx and I found three beautiful outfits for the girls at a screaming deal. I’m so glad I got to spend some time with Granny, and also Yuri and Kirill. They are a lot of fun, and were really good sports about being dragged around with Granny and I earlier. It was a great day, and I’m just glad I got to get in some more time with them, I’m going to really miss them once they head back to Indiana.