instaFriday

May
2012
18

posted by Abby Rutter on InstaFriday, Instagram

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Welcome to my regular Friday post, using photos taken exclusively with my cell phone and enhanced using the instagram app on the iPhone. 

What we’ve been up to ::

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The kids had fun reading books with our good friend, Ken – see how much the kids love him?

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Solomon fell asleep on me, while we watched a movie before naptime.  Oh how it’s been so long since I’ve had a baby fall asleep on me!

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I enjoyed HOMEMADE spring rolls during our annual development’s yard sale.  And made out with some nice deals for the kids!

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The kids love being outside and always ask to ride their “bikes”!

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A bird decided to make it’s home in our tree outside.  This is the perfect spot for bird watching, and Cecilia loves to watch for the baby birds in the nest.

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Happy Friday!

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my day

May
2012
17

posted by Abby Rutter on Everyday Life

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We had a great Mother’s Day on Sunday.  Jason planned a very nice meal, which he prepared with some help from his dad, for me and his mom. 

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The menu consisted of smoked gouda and black pepper encrusted sausage for an appetizer, grilled fillet, swordfish, and yellow fin tuna, with sea-salted baked potatoes, steamed green beans, a fresh salad, and a homemade pie {as in he made the entire pie, crust and all from scratch!} to top it off. 

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Oh, and my favorite, Mum Napa Brut Champagne with fresh fruit.  Yes, we ate like queens! 

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Then we drove into town to see the local Mother’s Day Make a Wish truck convoy.  Cecilia was scared at first of the loud noise, but warmed up and enjoyed sitting on Grandpa’s lap to wave to all the trucks passing by. 

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Solomon found a friend, as in the suntan lotion bottle {it had a dog on it and he is obsessed} which he held the entire time, and threw when he got mad.  He pointed and waved the entire time. 

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I hope enjoyed your Mother’s Day.  I am so blessed as a mother, and also with my mom and mother-in-law who help guide me in focusing on the grace of God while raising my children. 

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fish rodeo

May
2012
16

posted by Abby Rutter on Everyday Life

1 comment

This past weekend we were non-stop for three days straight.  The kids had so much fun throughout the weekend but they were exhausted by Sunday evening.  Solomon was so tired he went to sleep at 5:00 on Sunday evening and slept straight through until 8am.  And then took a three hour nap Monday afternoon! 

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Saturday afternoon we went to the local fish and game club for the annual fish rodeo.  They stock the pond and each child is allowed three trout. 

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Cecilia got to use her brand new purple rod for the first time {remember she broke her other rod on opening day}.  The kids has so much fun fishing with Grandpa and their cousins. 

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Cecilia enjoyed spending time with her admirer, or  her kissing cousin as we like to call him, Warren. 

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It was very warm and during naptime, so there were a couple of cranky children, but they did well overall.

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After two hours of fishing, we walked up to the pavilion for the raffle drawing.  Cecilia’s ticket was drawn within the first 10-20 tickets and Jason encouraged her to pick one of the fishing poles. 

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She wasn’t happy with any of the prizes up there and cried when she got back to her seat, saying she wanted a box like Warren’s {a tackle box}. 

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Solomon’s ticket wasn’t called until the very end, so unfortunately there were no more tackle boxes left but by that time she was excited about the rod she had picked for her brother. 

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a second chance

May
2012
15

posted by Abby Rutter on Everyday Life

1 comment

Jason and I were honored to be invited to his aunt’s wedding reception this past weekend.  It is the second wedding for Jan and we couldn’t be more happy for Jan and Don.  Jan and Jason’s uncle are divorced, and as Jan has remarried, Jason jokes that she is not longer really his aunt.  But she will always be Aunt Jan! 

I decided to go homemade with the gifts for Jan and Don.  I found my inspiration on, I bet you can’t guess…Pinterest!

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I cut up their invitation and filled a Christmas ornament with it.  I love how this turned out!

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I pieced together this frame with maps showing where they grew up and then where they will live together. 

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Then I couldn’t help but add some personalized etched glasses, a wine glass for Jan and a beer glass for Don. 

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We are so happy for you two!  Congratulations, Jan and Don!

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sub 30

May
2012
14

posted by Abby Rutter on Back to Running

2 comments

I ran in my first 5K since I’ve starting my running again.  The last 5K I ran was 5 years ago and I think I ran it in 32 or 33 minutes for a comfortable and relaxed 10-11 minute mile.  But this year, I pushed Cecilia in the jogging stroller.  And ran it in 30:25.  I wasn’t paying attention to my time and was a little disappointed I didn’t push it more in the end to get under 30 minutes.  But it was a good run for a great organization and I’m pleased with my run.  And now it’s time to pick up the pace!

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a surprise visitor

May
2012
09

posted by Abby Rutter on Everyday Life

1 comment

This past Saturday, we enjoyed a surprise visit from Aunt Kate!  And to make it even sweeter, she brought donuts – peanut butter-filled and sprinkled covered donuts!  {Obviously my sister knows about our sprinkle obsession over here…} 

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The kids enjoyed her visit by running around searching for the bunny {a pretend bunny that kept running away from them} and taking a walk to the park.

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Unfortunately all the playground equipment was still wet from the rain the night before so it was a very short time at the park. 

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Put they enjoyed walking to and from.

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Solomon is getting so animated, can’t you tell??

We are always up for visitors, so please, stop by!

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posted by Abby Rutter on Overheard at our House

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Last week I tackled our only and very tiny linen closet.  It was so bad that I had to shove the door closed, as in there was so much stuff it really didn’t want to shut but I forced it too.  The kids had a blast playing with all the little toiletries and medicine cups.  We have one of the those temporal thermometers, where you scan across the forehead, and Cecilia will use it anytime she gets her hands on it.  I was nearing the end of cleaning up and had not seen the thermometer for a while, so I asked Cecilia where she had put it.  She said it was in her room.  I asked her to go get it for me because it was time to put it away.  She ran into her room but didn’t come right back.  When I questioned her, she said, “I can’t get it Mommy, it’s plugged in”. 

Hmmm…plugged in?  I started to get a little concerned.  She sounded like she was working hard at trying to get something in her room, so I got up to see what she meant when she said it was plugged in.  I couldn’t figure out how it could be even remotely plugged in since there was no way it could fit into an outlet, and most of her room outlets are covered anyway. 

When I got into her room, I couldn’t help but laugh.  She was pulling her MONITOR out of the wall, saying, “See, it’s plugged in!” 

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instaFriday

May
2012
04

posted by Abby Rutter on InstaFriday, Instagram

1 comment

Happy Friday!  And happy nice weather, finally!  I’ll even take it with a couple of late night thunderstorms.  Our past two weeks {since I slacked and didn’t post last Friday} consisted of ::

Playing dress up with Mommy’s glasses. 

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Wearing each others pants {notice the bow on Solomon’s waist} :: Muga thought Cecilia had the blue outfit and the orange and khaki looked good so that’s what she went with…the sad thing is, they fit perfectly, both ways!

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Waiting oh so patiently and quietly at the doctor’s office. 

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And getting a special cupcake treat afterwards {that’s my coffee break cupcake – it was amazing!}

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Have a great weekend everyone!

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slow melt

May
2012
03

posted by Abby Rutter on Everyday Life

1 comment

This past Wednesday, Lydia came to visit after dinner. We haven’t had a Wednesday play date in over a month, since Lydia is now home with her new brother while her mom enjoys maternity leave.  It’s funny how quickly it seems like the kids don’t see each other as often, just with that small change. 

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Cecilia had done an awesome job of cleaning up by herself, with only one request, so I promised her a treat when Lydia came. 

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The kids enjoyed their first popsicles of the spring.  Ok, not the first of the spring, but the first at our house.  Turns out they have been enjoying popsicles as a Tuesday afternoon treat with Muga. 

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I attempted to hold the popsicle for Solomon but he wanted none of that.  He was very insistent on holding it himself.  And he actually did the best of all three.  He did not drop ANY of that popsicle!  Thankfully, it also helped that these were the slow melt popsicles.  Which cuts down on the mess!

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I can’t wait to sit on the porch or in the yard and enjoy these sweet treats in the dead of summer.

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Oh, and did you notice the orange stickers on each child?  They were having a blast sticking them all over each other, especially each other’s noses.  Thanks to our favorite Schwan’s guy Todd, for always keeping our sticker supply in check!

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did you know…

May
2012
02

posted by Abby Rutter on Everyday Life

1 comment

I just had to share this awesome tip I just learned ::

Did you know that if you place a wooden spoon across a pot while it’s on the stove, the spoon will keep the pot from boiling over?

Yes, really!

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Thank you, pinterest!

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