Weekend Fun

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Jack and I agreed that this was one of the best weekends we have had! It was so much fun and so relaxing at the same time. My niece spent the whole weekend with us and it was the best. Elliot had the best time! He behaved his best and I think it's time for a sibling!

We kicked it off by having some apple pancakes to start our Saturday morning. They were so good! The kids weren't so sure and I made them regular ones while Jack and I ate the apple ones. I want to try pineapple next! I saw them on Pinterest and really wanted to try them.

Jack did some wrestling while I cleaned up and we got ready for the day. We had a trip to the park planned but it was so so hot that we decided to go to Target instead. :)

We had promised Elliot and my niece a water fight and that's what we did. First I made these popsicles with coconut and pineapple water, blueberries, kiwi, lemon and coconut chunks. We ate them outside because it was about a hundred degrees and then the kids got soaked. 

That night we played What's In My Box, our little spin off from Jimmy Fallon's game on The Late Night Show. I described a lemon squeezer as a beer koozie and Jack completely bought my lie. It was so much fun we couldn't stop laughing! It can actually be a fun drinking game so we plan on playing it at our next party and making it more complicated! If you don't know what I'm talking about, look for one of the episodes on YouTube and you'll be laughing too. 

We also took a trip an early trip to the outlet mall to get out for a bit on Sunday. These two are like brother and sister. I loved to see that if I gave Elliot some water, he asked that I give some to my niece too. Everything I gave him, my niece had to have the same thing. She loves him so so much and calls him her little brother. They take good care of each other.

I love them both so so much! My niece has always been like my daughter and I take care of her just as if she were. I love that they are growing up so close despite the age difference and I don't think Elliot has had this much fun ever! Now these sleepovers will become an often thing to do. :) 

Why are weekends always so short?! Have a great day!

Weekend + Recipe

I've been wanting to post my recipes on here but have been so lazy to set them up. Here is the one for the raw beet salad I posted on my Instagram a few days ago! It's super simple and I got the recipe from Pinterest.

It goes something like this-

3 medium beets, peeled

1 orange with zest

1 lemon with zest

chives (the second time I made this I added green onion instead-same result)

Olive oil

Salt to taste

The recipe calls for shredding the beets but I julienned them by hand. I wish I had a mandolin! I wanted the beets to have more bite than if I shred them and it's a lot of work but it's worth it. I put them in a big enough bowl to mix, I added the zest of the orange then the juice, same thing with the lemon. Salt, 2 tsps of olive oil and the chives. Mix everything and you can even let it sit in the fridge for a bit to allow the beets to marinate in the orange and lemon. It's absolutely perfect for summer as a side with any dish! Or on its own!

This weekend was nice. We went to a coworker's rib cook off between him and another coworker. I don't eat pork but I tasted them and although the barbecue taste was good, all I could taste (and think about) was the pork and it reminded me why I don't like it, ha! I grew up never eating it (I grew up that way with a Muslim dad) and I had never tasted ribs before.

Elliot loved being there and fell in love with my coworker's two yellow labs. They're such beautiful dogs and for the first time since Jack and I have owned a home, I'm finally thinking about getting a dog. I have to think about it some more though. :)

There was a cornhole competition but Elliot didn't nap that day and started getting pretty grouchy towards the end of the night before the competition started and we left but I have to say he has a pretty good arm! He was throwing like a little pro. :)

He had been asking to go to the park every day but it has been so hot! Sunday we got up early and took him, all toys in tow. He played with none of them and was too busy chasing the birds. 

I love my boys so much.

I also got my bracelet in the mail! I ordered it through PS I Adore You and I couldn't be happier. I love buying from this company as they support small businesses and a great cause, I'm all about that!

I hope your weekend was great!

Our Weekend.

The past couple of weeks have been so gloomy and rainy it almost makes me miss the Summer sunny days. Almost. I definitely don't miss the Texas heat! I love that it's September and our anniversary month!

This weekend was rainy as well except for Saturday afternoon which was perfect. We put Elliot to bed and played some Wheel of Fortune! We never miss it on the weekdays and playing it on the Wii is so much fun. We were laughing so hard that we woke Elliot up again (and he sat there and pointed at the TV then finally fell back asleep). Then this grandma fell asleep too.

Saturday mornings have been starting with Starbucks lately. Jack needs his morning coffee so after Elliot's breakfast off we went. Have you tried their spinach squares? They're so good! Plus the weather was so beautiful and a little chilly. Perfect for hot coffee.



Off to the park we went for some morning playtime.



I wiiiiin! He wanted to go on the monkey bars but wouldn't hold on to them. He just loved having daddy hold him up to them.

This picture melts my heart.



Saturday I attended my friend's bridal shower! She's getting married soon and I couldn't be happier for her. Her hubby-to-be is a college friend as well and she was one of my bridesmaids. I can't wait for the wedding! We had beautiful weather, sipped on mimosas, played games and ate good food. Her decorations were beautiful and I expected no less, I can only imagine what her wedding will look like. :) 



That night was margarita night for us, when I say us I mean me. :) Jack stuck to his beer. We're definitely no alcoholics but hell yes we need a drink or two on the weekends to relax.





Sunday morning my mom invited us to her house for breakfast. She made the best pozole in the history of pozole. We ate and chatted for a while then Jack and I rushed to the grocery store while Elliot stayed with grandma, my sis and niece. He loves being there! We got back and he was jumping around and not letting go of my sister. I love seeing that.

After it was almost time to leave, my mom and I went pomegranate and apple picking in her backyard before the birds got to them. We got two bagfuls! I took these home. Aside from looking beautiful they are so good! I can't wait to get some figs from her!

When my parents first built their house (and my dad was around) he wanted a home full of homegrown fruits and veggies. It was the absolute best. We had tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, chilies, you name it. A grape vine, peaches, pomegranates, apples, figs, apricots are some of the trees he planted in the backyard. In the front yard, he planted olive trees. Every harvest season, we would pick all the olives and he would pickle them in the most delicious way. Well there are still some jars left in the garage and we took a huge one home. Let's just say at the pace we are eating them, they won't last very long. We'll be back for more mom! :)

I hope you're enjoying (and getting) this beautiful Fall weather! Already looking forward to the weekend!

Our Weekend.

We are getting to those toddlerhood days where they revolve around an 18 month old and his decision on the amount of time we get to spend inside a store. ;)

He is starting to want to run around the stores nonstop and bribing him with goldfish isn't working anymore. Fun times. He literally takes off and gives us a run for our money. One of us has to be doing the actual shopping while the other chases him around until he gets tired or we leave the store defeated. This weekend was that.

We wanted to hit some stores but I think our max time was about fifteen minutes. You know how we always say "oh I can't wait for my baby to take his/her first steps!" uhm yeah I was one of them. Enjoy the slithering, crawling around phase because man, it is tiring! Besides the fact that if he doesn't get down from the cart in two seconds, tantrum erupts. 

So anyway, with that said, Friday night was our usual movie night. We watched Divergent and it was so good! I think Shailene Woodley gets better and better in every movie she stars in. 

Saturday was when we hit a few of our favorite stores and ended up going home to relax. All three of us ended up taking a two and a half hour nap! It was Heavenly. After waking up super groggy, we had dinner and hung out. We tried so hard to work on some house projects but the bed and TV won, so that's what we did. Totally boring and so relaxing at the same time.

Sunday, I had plans to meet up with the sweetest girl that I call my friend and sister. I've known her since before we knew our current husbands, while we dated other people and partied together like rock stars. Now she's a military wife coming back from Washington and I finally got to meet her adorable son and she got to meet Elliot! Isn't it crazy how we have some friends we have known for a long time and we get to be part of their journeys? I love it! I hadn't seen her in a few years and when we met up it was like no time had gone by. She drove all the way from Washington with a seven month old and her mom. That's a hero in my book! :) Her husband is getting stationed somewhere else for a couple of years, and just like before, we have always kept in touch and we always will until hopefully one day she gets to be back here. Those kinds of friends are truly forever!

We had lunch and talked about everything and anything. Our boys were so cute with each other! They sat next to each other and although her son is seven months old, he was chatting Elliot up. Elliot kept grabbing his hand and looking at me like "is it okay to do that?" it was so so cute. We exchanged gifts that we got our little ones and then it was time to head home. I was sad but so glad I got to see her and her son! 

I headed home and met up with Jack who enjoyed a nice nap and a movie with plenty of Doritos with Tabasco. The.best. We still had to buy groceries (sucks) but Elliot had fallen asleep so we waited until he woke up. Sundays usually go by so quick! It poured cats and dogs and Elliot was a fan of that. I opened the door for him to see the rain, it was really raining really hard, and he almost walked out like nothing! I love that he loves it. 

Sundays are always a little bittersweet as they mark the end of great family time, but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with this whole taking Elliot to daycare thing. I only get choked up a little sometimes so that's progress right?!

Jack caught me red solo cup handed. :)

Have a great rest of the week! 

Our Weekend.

Jack and I agree that this weekend was one of the best we have had in a while. He actually wasn't feeling good, but that allowed us to truly be able to relax and do absolutely nothing for a couple of days since he had a couple of projects to work on that he had to put off.

Friday night we hung out with Elliot when I got home from work before he went to bed. Jack had fever that night so after Elliot went down for the night movies, and snacks it was.

Saturday he was able to get up and we took a trip to the park for some breakfast and fun. Elliot loves going to the park, he's the happiest when he's outdoors! We blew bubbles, chased birds, went to the playground area with daddy and tried to go after doddies (doggies).

I think Jack had more fun than Elliot. ;) 

Then after a trip to Target and Home Depot, we went back home and got mini heart attacks. Elliot has been loving to stand up on his chair while looking at us. He has his hands on the back in this one but he lets go and just stands there. This kid is crazy!

I posted this on Instagram (@shadiabrown) right before his bath. I love his little legs!!



I think all of that playing and sliding on that bar did Jack no good so another movie night it was. I wasn't complaining! I had picked up some frozen Greek yogurt to take care of my ice cream craving. So good!



Sunday morning we picked up groceries and stayed indoors all day. It almost drove Elliot crazy! I took out some brushes and put some water in a container for him. Who knew this would keep him entertained and no mess to clean up! We "water" colored, put stickers everywhere and colored with crayons. Then he stood up on his chair a million times more.

I threw some chicken and lots of veggies in the crock pot for dinner and while that was cooking we had some Pho for lunch. We have a little place right by our house and it's so so good! It was perfect for Jack too.

We ended the night with a million things to do to prepare for another work week. I hope you all had a great weekend! :)

Our Fourth.

Gosh I've been MIA for a while. It's been a very stressful, tough couple of weeks and honestly my desire to write was nowhere to be found between stress and lots of tears. Aside from the fact that our weekends and weekdays have been uneventful as far as anything exciting goes but that's exactly what we needed.

Now all is great and I am feeling good! Today is the first day that stress and anxiety aren't taking over my life. What a horrible feeling!

Our 4th of July was celebrated on Saturday instead of Friday since my mom worked on Friday and we really wanted to have the family together. It's been a while since we all got together and this was the perfect excuse to do so.

Friday morning started with Starbucks breakfast and green tea along with a trip to the park. We needed to do this bright and early to enjoy the nice weather before we were scorched by the heat. Elliot loves looking at the birds, pointing and saying "bed". So cute. Oddly enough, later that day it rained.



I don't think he was fully awake yet. :)









After a long day of fun, this little one was done for the night at seven-thirty. We weren't complaining! As much as we love him, having some alone time is great. We were initially going to attend a party my boss was having but we realized we had so much to do around the house in preparation for Saturday. We needed to clean the front yard, mow the lawn and clean the house so we did that instead. After (and during) we enjoyed a couple of beers and we talked and hung out. I love that quality time with Jack.



Saturday was party day! We were really looking forward to it. I'll admit I raided the dollar section at Target and went all out on red, white and blue and I'm not sorry! We had hot dogs, burgers, pasta salad and the most delicious queso made by my mom. Our drink station was stocked with margaritas, beer and whisky. It was perfect and so relaxing. We were joined by my two cousins who recently moved back to Texas from Georgia and we loved having everyone!

He loved it too! So much that he went to bed at nine-thirty and woke up at seven-thirty!

Sunday was a we-are-not-cooking-eat-whatever-we-want day and it was the best. We didn't mind having the rest of the leftovers at all! So today it's back to running for me and my body that gained a good amount of weight this weekend. 

It also rained really hard and after it slowed down a bit, we all went outside barefoot and walked in the rain. Elliot loved it and didn't want to go back inside. He put his feet in the water puddles and it totally took me back to my kid years when my sister and I used to do that. Such good times!

Holidays are such great excuses for family time and I hope everyone had a great one! It's back to life, back to blogging/reality for me. Have a great Monday!