Project 52 date #28

I couldn't figure out a witty or clever intro for what we did tonight so I'll just tell you we made shish kabobs together!

I let Mia pick what kind of kabob's the night before without really telling her what we were making. So today Jocelyn and I made an HEB run and picked up fresh red and green bell peppers and a sweet onion. I was a little iffy on the steak I picked out but it ended up being a good choice. Once we got back home I did alot of the prep work while Jocelyn played so Mia and i could do the fun parts together. I cut the vegetables and soaked them in Italian dressing in a ziplock bag. The steak got soaked in a soy sauce/lemon juice/secret ingredient mix and put in the fridge until it was time to light the grill up.


Once Mia got home and we got Jocelyn off to bed, we started making our kabob skewers. I discovered the two skewer method works alot better then using one skewer per "bob". It makes them easier to flip over to cook both sides. Anyways...so we get our skewers made and go fire up the grill and spent the next half on the back porch just talking and spending time together while our kabobs sizzled away on the grill. Once they were done we sat down at the table outside and went to town on them. They turned out awesome! I was really quite pleased with myself because I wasn't quite sure how the steak was going to turn out with the marinade I made. They really turned out amazing and as you can see from the pictures we pretty much ate em all!




She says: This was a great date because there was alot of cooking time so Jonathan and I had an array of conversations, while waiting for the food to cook, which was fantastic! We sat down outside, without phones in hand, and just talked about EVERYTHING. And when the food was ready, we kept talking with our mouths full with some of the most fantastic food I have had in a very long time. A++++++ Babe!

Love is…Expressing your inner lifesaver! (Week 28)

I’m in my twenties {even if only for one more year…gulp!}, have a 13 month old rover and am expecting a new little wee wonderful in September. It seems as if most of the friends I have right now are also moms of wee ones and are in similar life stages as me. Either that or their older than I am, with teenagers…and those are also important friends to have because they are proof that you WILL live to see a day when you aren’t up to your elbows in spit up, dirty doody diapers and finding yourself humming the intro song to Baby Signing Time while you unload the dishwasher.

Because of this wildly popular life stage that many of us are in, I’m going out on a limb today! And gentlemen, you’ll soon find that this post is dedicated to the ladies. You’re off the hook this week :)

When Owen was born, I ventured into the mysterious realm of nursing, as many moms do. I loved it! It was a great way to bond with Owen, easy, convenient, great for my little guy, free and a good excuse to sit down every 3-4 hours. Many other nursing mothers who had gone before me had stressed to me the importance of building a milk stash in your freezer. Milk for emergencies, for back up, for times when you just don’t want to have to wear a nursing friendly shirt or a bra that dismantles, for times when you just need a break. And so I learned the skill of pumping. And pump I did. By the time my little guy was a few months old, our freezer was PACKED full of milk. Nary a frozen pizza or popsicle could fit. It was then that I came to a crossroads…what on earth do I do with all of this?! I’m a stay at home mom, I was hardly ever using any of it, it won’t last forever and everyday there is more to add to the stash. And so I turned to the all- knowing source for life’s most important questions. I Googled: what to do with a lifetime supply of breast milk. Just kidding. But seriously, I did sit down at my computer to start researching milk banking and milk donation. I had never really heard much about it, but
after reading about this approach to saving lives, I was hooked.

I was super excited to happen upon Mothers’ Milk Bank of Austin. They’re a non-profit organization that works hard for a cause they believe in. After a few inquiry e-mails and a phone interview, we were ready to go! They sent me the information that I needed to complete in order to be an official donor, sent me to get my free lab work done and thanked me a million times over for becoming a Donor Mom. I thanked them for what they do and was so excited to get started.

It was a win/win! I got to restock my freezer with things that sustain my WHOLE family…things like chicken breasts and ice cream, all while making a huge difference in a little bitty tiny fragile life.

Here in Corpus Christi, the local area drop off is at Driscoll Children’s Hospital. You just take your donations there, leave them with the ladies in the Mom’s Place and you’re done. From there, they send it through the pasteurization process and get it to the little tiny ones that need it the most.




As soon as we found out we were expecting our 2nd I had to put a halt on my donating, but I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of Baby #2 so that we can start up again! They will accept a one-time donation {there is a minimum donation requirement}, but they really thrive on the frequent donations. I took my initial stash, then pumped once a day alternating one day for Owen’s stash, one day for the milk bank. Our little system worked great. Owen was all too happy to share.

As a busy mom, it’s hard to find ways to feel like you’re making a difference. Especially to feel like you’re making a difference for anyone outside of your own little family. It takes a LOT to keep life going. Laundry doesn’t do itself and dinner doesn’t magically appear on your table each night {but I’ve waited just to see several times}. This is a great way to show love to a new little life – and also a way to show love to the family that cares more about that new little life than anyone in the world! What a rewarding gift!

If you’re not able to donate cold milk, they also accept cold cash :) MMBA is
experiencing a serious shortage here in Texas and could use any and every donation!

Here’s an article that was recently written about MMBA, the importance of milk donations and how donated breast milk can actually save a life! http://www.kens5.com/
news/health/Breast-milk-like-medicine-to--125189639.html
They need 500 donors in order to keep things rolling and they only have 250 so far this year. Could you be #251? And if you’re one of those people that will do anything for a free t-shirt, look no further! You’ll get one, I promise.

Share the Love, if you can. I’ll be right there with you, come September.

For more information…
Mothers’ Milk Bank Austin – www.milkbank.org
Or contact them at 877-813-6455
- Bekah

Project 52 Date #27

This date night my card said to play card games with my hubby. Super easy but I wanted a good variety. So I looked up fun card games for two and found a TON, but I was able to narrow it down to just four of them; War, Golf, Speed and Go Fish.

We started with War and soon realized that it was a looong game so we put a time limit on it. we also realized that since JT had all the aces I really couldn't win, until we got into a few Wars and I ended up with 3 out of the 4 aces, wahoo! But, with the time limit I couldn't save myself in time :)

Next we played my favorite airplane game that I used to play all the time with my brother, Golf! Very easy simple game, but since it was a new one for JT I let him slide on a few good cards that he threw down until he got the hang on it. Then he totally beat me!

After that we played Go Fish, yes with two people. It was really more of a memory game, but that one was alot of fun too and I ended up dominating in that round.

Last was Speed, we saved the most intense for last! This one was new to both of us so we read the rules, still were confused, and attempted to play. I'm still not sure we did it right so if anyone out there knows how to play and wants to play with us, we would love to learn the real way because Jonathan said I was too fast :)

Great date night over all and we even ended up playing for over an hour and a half (while enjoying dinner and dessert at the same time). So the saying is true, time does fly by when you are having fun!

My five card STUD!

He says:

Tonight was Mia's to plan and she brought out the old school card games. I can't remember the last time I played cards of any kind so it turned out to be alot of fun.

First game we played was War. Right off the bat I end up up with all the aces and almost every face card. So needless to say even though Mia made a valiant comeback it just wasn't enough and got the first W of the night! About time too because I pretty much never win at any card game or any other game for that matter when I play against Mia.

Next up was Golf. I don't think I had ever played this one before so it was cool to learn a new game. And I ended up winning that game too...what's better than 1 win? why 2 of course :) So on to game 3, Go Fish! I'm pretty sure I haven't played Go Fish since I was about 10 so this one was a trip down memory lane. Fun game but kinda predictable towards the end. And Mia won this one....

Last and new to both of us was Speed. Not sure we read the rules right but it was quite alot of fun and naturally a fast paced game. And because it involved kindergarden math I pretty much totally lost to Mia because I have to use my fingers and toes to add most of the time....just kidding...sorta. Needless to say but she won, so we tied to card champion of the night. I really enjoyed playing cards, especially how every time it was my turn at Go Fish and I would say "Caasssssandraaaa, do you have any 8's".

Love is…found on Aisle 5 (Week 27)

Grocery Shopping. It’s one of life’s greatest joys. Did you just re-read that last sentence and think to yourself, “Joy? What’s joyful about restocking a pantry that will be empty again in a week? What’s joyful about standing in the 10 items or less line…behind someone with 28 items?” I hear you. Trust me, I do. It’s a mundane chore that we all have to do…often. And I don’t know about you, but I usually come home from the grocery store only to find that I’m already out of something else. And so another grocery list is started, and so the cycle goes on and on. I like to think that in Heaven, my pantry will have self-stocking shelves…



I consider myself blessed to live in South Texas – home of H-E-B. {or as my 2 year old nephew calls it, A-B-G. Whatever works.} Those red and white letters are something I know well. When we moved to Corpus 2 years ago, part of the appeal of the location of our new home was its proximity to the nearest H-E-B. It is literally 0.3 miles away from my front door. When we moved here, I had just “retired” as a full-time, retail store manager and had come to LOATHE grocery shopping. At the end of a long day of working with people, the very last thing I wanted to do was pop into the grocery store and battle the masses for a box of whole wheat pasta and a zucchini. For some reason, my new H-E-B seemed less threatening and the convenience of it seemed ideal. It turned out I was right.

My one-year old, Owen, and I frequent the grocery store a few times a week. Since it’s so conveniently located, we tend to walk there or just pop in once our list has a few items on it rather than waiting until it’s an hour-long event. We seem to do best with the quick trips, so because of that, it’s not unusual for us to go 4 or 5 times a week.

I started taking the time to get to know “my H-E-B” workers a few months ago. But truthfully, they had taken the time to get to know us first. My checkers & baggers always asked me how I was feeling and inquired as to “how much longer ‘til the baby arrived” when I was pregnant with Owen. And once he had arrived, they all inquired as to “how old he was,” commented on how fast he was growing and somewhere in the process, truly became a part of Owen’s little life. They have all come to “know” Owen and always give him a big wave and a hello before sending us on our way with our balloon. They made it their job to make my mundane “chore” a positive experience. In other words, they showed my little family of 3 LOVE each time we walked thru those sliding glass doors.

And so we were inspired to return the favor - We made it our mission to get to know those smiling faces that we see daily! We now know to ask how Maria’s trip to visit her daughter was, and to ask Christian how his senior year ended over at Ray. At Easter, we made sure Pat had somewhere to enjoy an Easter lunch. Rochelle works the Combo Loco displays and always loves on Owen when we pass by…she loves that they both have red hair. I love that she can always bring a smile to O’s face…and that she can always convince me to buy the Fajita Combo Loco even though fajitas are never on my list.

Love can be a smile, a “how are you?” a friendly gesture, bagging your own groceries when the baggers are swamped, or just a kind word. Showing love can look a million different ways. Sometimes love is returned, and sometimes it’s not. I like to think that when it’s not returned, those are the people that need Love the most.

Attention H-E-B shoppers, show a little love today! Thank your checker by name, give your bagger a smile and tell your sushi sample guy that hands out pot-sticker samples All.Day.Long. a funny joke. I told mine this one last week and it was a home-run: “Did you hear about the new sushi bar downtown that caters exclusively to lawyers and attorneys? It’s called, Sosumi.” If your sushi sample guy doesn’t laugh {but, how could he not?!} just put another joke in your arsenal and keep trying.

Share some grocery store love this week. You’ll find out it’s contagious…

Project 52 Date #26

Words! That was the name of the game for tonight's date. The game was taken from a blog(simplymodernmom.com) and what happens is you're given a word and you have to say the first thing that comes to mind when you see/hear that word. So we were taking turns reading the words out and then both of us would give an answer. Some were pretty dull and some were pretty funny and there were a few that won't end up in print in the off chance you let your children read our blog...And there were a few that we both gave the same answer to(sorta):

Word: Name
Mia: Rose
JT: a rose by any other...

Word: Modern
Mia: Family(tv show we watch)
JT: Family

Word: Movies
Mia: popcorn(we always get a huge tub of buttered popcorn when we watch a flick)
JT: giant popcorn

This was a really easy date as far as prep time and required materials goes. It was simple and there was alot of laughter due to some of the ridiculous answers we were giving and to how different some of ours were from each other.

She says, this was fun and simple and it totally reflects how we think of things. This one reflects how we think so different. We were given a word and I used it as a noun and he used it as a verb.
Store
Mia: groceries
JT: for the winter
Hence most of our miscommunication

But I will leave you with my favorite
Birthday
Mia : Mine
JT: Suit

Love is… Investing in your friendships (Week 26)

Friendship is the most powerful gift you can have, in my opinion. Without it life just wouldn’t be much fun! Who else but a friend is going to laugh at your dorky jokes, cry with you when your heart is broken, and help you pick up the pieces? In high school, investing in your friendship is so easy. You hang out together every day, you spend time together on the weekends, you go shopping, see movies, study. Your life can revolve around your friendships! However as we get older, and life get’s busier it is easy to let your friendships slide. You have a full time job, a
spouse, maybe some kids, and suddenly you don’t have time to chat 24/7 on the phone, or hang out every Friday night! That is when investing in your friendships becomes even more important!

The best way to invest in your friendships is to make time for them, and show up! Make them a priority, it doesn’t have to be a 3 ½ hour phone conversation…. It can be a 20 minute one. Each of you gets to share what’s going on, and you know what is going on in their life, the good and the bad. A text, email or card, just to let them know you are thinking about them! In today’s technological world, there is no reason any true friends should lose contact, as long as both are investing in each other!

Another way is a night out. One of my AMAZING friends organizes a small get together every month for 4 of us girls! She always has such great idea’s and it allows us a time to hang out in our otherwise very busy schedule and catch up with what’s going on in everyone’s lives! She is my hero for organizing those girls nights… without them, I would be lost! I look forward to them every month! Thanks Regina!!!!!

And probably the best way to invest in your friendship is to show up, both for the great things in their life, and for the sad moments. Show up with a smile, some chocolate and a hug when they have broken up with their boyfriend! Show up with a camera, lots of tissues (just in case) and tons of happiness when they are getting married! Be there to let them know you treasure them, and are there whenever they need you for whatever the occasion!

I’ve been blessed with some pretty amazing friendships! They have shown up and taken care of me in the worst of times, built me up in the times that I doubted myself, and celebrated all the wonderful occasions in my life! I rest assured knowing that most of them I will keep, because they invest in me, and I try my best to invest in them!

““A blessed thing it is for any man or woman to have a friend, one human soul whom we can trust utterly, who knows the best and worst of us, and who loves us in spite of all our faults.” Charles Kingsley

- Barbie

Project 52 Date #25

Tonight's date was really fun. It was doing a toy model TOGETHER. So I was so happy to draw this date out of the jar because I had already bought a toy police car model with the thoughts of doing this some time in the future, so this was perfect!!! So I got out our favorite drinks and set up the table for the model. The one rule was that we had to do it TOGETHER. Not one person do one part and another person do the other..... one person had to read the instructions and the other had to complete the instructions. This turned out easier then I thought and soon enough we had a cute little police car. Please excuse the photo, JT wanted to do something different :)


He says: Tonight's date night was something new. we actually completed working on something together without a squabble ensuing. Normally what happens is we get into a spat because I have certain ways I like to do things and I usually like to do them by myself, also Mia and I are both rather stout type A personality people. BUT NOT THIS TIME! I had alot of fun with it and we had fun putting the model together. And maybe Mia learned some stuff about police cars...she keeps asking but I'm not letting her drive mine....Our model turned out pretty sharp, we had fun putting together something together, and yeah the picture was my idea cuz I was tired of the same old ""here's the two of us sitting next to each other all happy after our date". So I hope you enjoy our model and our crazy eyeballs!