everything AND the kitchen sink

hello loyal readers!

a good blogger i am not.

there are many reasons, none of which consist of the most popularly believed excuse:

i feel i must report that, as i type this, i am sipping on some chilled white wine. and i had a deli turkey sandwich a couple days ago. and im still drinking green tea. if that doesnt clear it up, ....well....youre on your own

anyway, lots of random things to report, so i will get to reportin'

bennett is talking more, jabbering more, attempting to say more, understanding more, talking back more. its all so amazing. the other day we were playing outside and i ran inside to get his shovel. last time i knew it was in his playroom. from inside i say outloud: "bennett michael what did we do with that shovel?" i then proceed to go to his bedroom and from there i can hear him yelling something from outside. i go to the patio door and he is saying "mama daddy bed" over and over again. it took a second for it to click, but when it did i walked to our room shaking my head thinking: of course its not in there, is he really even telling me that? but also thinking: how crazy if it IS in there? {bc our neighbors had just given it to him the night before and he played with it for two seconds}. sure enough it was in "mama daddy bed"-room.

i love watching him learn and remember.

bennett is obsessed with dora "boorah". and boots "boooo". and swiper "awww maaaayn" {for those of you who do not have children, swiper the fox says "aw man!" all the time}. it actually makes me very happy he loves her so much, bc i can get SOOOO much done.

besides dora the only other thing bennett will watch is football. he LOVES it. {so does daddy!}

if you are in search for a simple and i mean SIMPLE meal, do this:

place six chicken breasts and two jars of salsa {i used medium} in a crock pot. cook on low for 6 hours {or on high for 3.5...i procrastinated a little bit that day}. shred chicken and mix in some block cream cheese {i dont know how much...just mixed until i thought it was enough}. serve over rice. bennett gives it two thumbs up and after tasting my left overs at lunch one day, asked for "chicuh-IIICCEE" {chicken and rice} for HOURS.

looking-at-the-camera shots are still few and far between. which leads to inadequate posting.

and lots of pictures that look like this:

but every once in awhile ill get one that looks like this

and all the hair-pulling, headache-inducing, made-up-curse-word-saying episodes are worth it

i bought bennett some shoes for the first time since his summer sandals. he wears an 8.5!!!!! seriously that is insane...from a 6 to an 8.5 {and intense shame falls upon me as i realize those size 5.5 keds ive been jamming his feet into werent just "snug," but actually cruel and unusual punishment}

one of my favorite people with my favorite son {and his precious friend trip - who is three and a half and taught bennett how to shoot a toy gun}

some generic brand things that dont cut it: wipes, diapers, trash bags

but i am a big fan of generic brands. just not those things. i learned the hard way

bennett makes a "mean face" on command. as in turns his head down and cuts his eyes at us. some may find this disturbing, we find it insanely funny. so does bennett

he is back to loving the car. whines every time we pull into our neighborhood. still calls cars "vrrmmmm".

walking in the woods one day i found that, in fact, they DO exist:

{AU and UA coexisting...peacefully}

we went to toys r us tonight, per stephen's request, because "our son needs more toys" {is that even possible?}. his last toy was the cozy coupe, and before that....his birthday last year? i guess it comes with the december-birthday territory. any suggestions for this anyone???

we came home with THIS . its a car, has wheels, a handle, has a light, makes noise, can be turned off so it does NOT make noise{!}, does not take batteries {motion powered}, and is eco-friendly. seems like the perfect toy to me {and bennett}!

it is true that you can take an old piece of furniture, an old mirror, somethinganything old and paint it and all of a sudden it becomes NEW and you love it.

i have been receiving a good number of apron orders, even though not a single one was bought on etsy. so...looks like "natty" the etsy store is a bust {R.I.P.}. but keep sending me emails if you want one! or two! or ten...they make great hostess gifts. and there is a discount in bulk ordering.

i am also making these now:

bennett was a great model for the sizing of the child's apron. but he is not a girl. boys actually welcome the mess cooking produces. so no child's apron for us! :)

i was emptying old leftovers into the disposal today and all of a sudden smelly water started shooting out of both sinks. i tried everything but it just got smellier and i just got wetter. so, i ignored my gut instinct to speed dial mr. roto rooter {who has been here before...}, grabbed my yellow dish gloves, a garbage can, and crawled myself under our sink. and i unclogged the pipes. im a sucker for the little things...and i was happy with my handy-man-ish act :)

call me plumber nat.

or dont...actually please dont.

i will try to be a better poster

girl scouts honor

{cause i was one for lotsa years so i would know...for serious}