Random Friday

      Not much is going on here in the Rumely household. Still plugging away at the kitchen cabinet renovation and playing the days away with my sweet boy. Owen is learning so much right now and it is just amazing to see the things that he can process. Because he can't talk, it's easy to think that maybe he doesn't understand things, but he really gets so much. If you ask him where his belly is, he will lift up his shirt and pat his tummy. Now he is obsessed with lifting up our shirts and looking at our bellys (and poking our bellybuttons.) He is really starting to understand some of the sign language we've been teaching him, in particular "more," "please," and "all done." And he is starting to try to say words a little more. The other night, he said "close" when he and his daddy were playing a game where they were opening and closing a book. He also says "Moo" if you ask him what a cow says. Other than that, he is walking so well now and has even started to try to run. It's so weird that just a month ago he had barely taken his first steps. He is also getting in a bottom molar right now so he's been a tad grouchy. He currently has 10 teeth and the cutest smile. 
    Here are some other things going on with us.


1. HGTV Magazine. Since beginning the house buying process, I have been addicted to watching HGTV. And now I've found something even better. HGTV Magazine! I bought an issue of the magazine a month or so ago at the grocery store and really enjoyed reading it. It had tons of ideas and cute decorating advice. I haven't seen it again at the store so I went ahead and ordered a subscription now that we're in the house. It only costs $15 for the year. The Feb./March issue that I bought had so many great ideas and tips in it, including everything you need to know about what should be in your laundry room, fun paint colors, high and low priced versions of tons of decor, ideas on how to copy the set designs for television shows to decorate your own rooms, decor priced between 99 cents and $199.99, and so much more. I also signed up to win the bed on the front cover (fingers crossed!).

2. Painting the cabinets update. We are finally finished with the sanding. Hallelujah! (Cue angels singing). We finished up Thursday night and once the cabinets have been wiped down and we have cleaned up the kitchen so no dirt or sawdust will get stuck on the cabinets, we will begin the process of priming and painting. The paint we bought is Benjamin Moore Advance paint in Cloud White (shown on the right). It looks whiter on the card than on this picture. I have started working on a post all about how we did the project and I am planning on including a cost break-down to show you just how much it cost us to redo the cabinets and see how much we saved versus having them done professionally or having all new cabinets installed. 

3. Summer television shows. It's that time of year again. Time to find summer TV shows to replace all my regular shows. Last night, one of my favorite summer shows premiered: So You Think You Can Dance. In case you don't know, it is a reality talent competition for dancers that is in its ninth season. It started yesterday with auditions in Dallas and New York. I really love this show because everyone who ends up in the top 20 or so dancers is always really talented and the show also has some amazingly talented choreographers. I  love it because I grew up dancing and continued doing so through high school and college. And if you count Zumba classes and the Kinect, I'm still a dancing fool. Even Tim has gotten hooked on the show because as an athletic guy, he can appreciate all the athleticism the dancers have to have to compete on this show. I typically watch Masterchef and the some other cooking shows during the summer as well. Other shows that I'm interested in checking out this summer that I've never watched before are Duets on ABC and Design Star on HGTV. What will you be watching this summer?

4. Read the Bible For Life. Because Tim and haven't been attending church for months, we have been feeling pretty disconnected spiritually. We decided it was time to get back into the swing of things, so in addition to trying out a new church in the area on Sunday, we have started doing a Bible study together in the evenings. We chose "Read the Bible for Life:Your Guide for Understanding and Living God's Word." We both want to be more disciplined about reading the Bible regularly and really find joy in doing it. Here's a description of the study: "The Bible may be the most-purchased book in the world, but it is often the least read and least applied due to a basic lack of understanding and motivation on the part of readers. Read the Bible for Life aims to improve biblical literacy in the culture and the church by simultaneously moving readers toward greater skill in reading the Bible well and toward a deeper commitment to applying Scripture to everyday life." We just started on Wednesday night, but I'm already enjoying it.

     Additionally, while we were at the Lifeway store, I got a new compact Bible that I can carry around in my bag all the time. Tim has had one that he carries around with him in the car and work and wherever and he seems to really like its portability. The one I bought isn't exactly like the one pictured, and is instead a brighter pink color.

5. Grilling out. Because we have been working on refinishing our kitchen cabinets for weeks and it is a mess in our kitchen, I haven't been able to cook for us since we moved in. We are so sick of eating out and I miss being able to cook so much. Luckily, as I was looking forlornly at all the cooking magazines at the grocery store, Food Network Magazine caught my eye with one of its headlines and I snapped it up. The June 2012 issue of the magazine has a huge section on grilling and what caught my eye in particular was an entire pullout section titled "50 Things To Grill in Foil." I think it will be the perfect way for Tim and I to have some homecooked meals without the mess of cooking on the stove or in the oven. And we've done similar things before when we've gone camping. We just have to do a little prep such as cutting up vegetables or meats, wrap everything in a foil packet to grill it, and then toss the aluminum foil afterwards. Easy clean-up! A lot of the recipes sound really good and many are things I never knew you could cook on a grill. I'm particularly interested in the paella, the ravioli with zucchini, the Portuguese clambake, the chorizo and peppers, and the garlic shrimp. Tim wants to try the Jerk chicken wings and the Asian-style ribs. If you're interested in some easy meals that require little to no clean-up and won't heat up your kitchen this summer, grab this magazine the next time you're at the store. And let me know if you try any of the recipes!

6. Owen's name. I was checking out my latest issue of Parents Magazine yesterday and read an article called "Hello...My Name Is." It was about the most popular baby names currently according to Facebook. Of the almost 250 favorite boys names, Owen was one of the top 13. It's so funny because before we named Owen, we thought his name was pretty unique and hadn't heard of anyone with the same name. Now this study just came out and I have a Facebook friend (a.k.a. someone I went to high school with, but haven't talked to in years) named his son Owen last week. We tried to pick a name that was uncommon, but not weird. It seems nowadays that its almost impossible to pick a completely unique name though. In case you were curious, the other top boys names were Aiden (duh- we know two or three), Braxton (yuck), Brody, Caleb, Everett, Jacob, Mason, Maverick (oh geez),  Jack (every other person I know is naming their kid Jackson right now), Noah (was in our top 10), Liam (my cousin's kid), and Orion (says who?). Our favorite girl's name was in the top 250 favorite girl's names, but was not one of the top 13. In case you're curious, the top 13 are: Ava, Bailey, Brooklyn/Brook Lynn/Brooklynn/BrookLynn (barf), Chloe, Evelyn, Isabella, Jaelynn, Lexie (my friend's dog), Leyla, Lily (love it, but not as much combined with our last name because the ly sound is repetitive), Nevaeh (yuck), Piper (my favorite girl's name growing up-too bad I named my dog that), Rylee, and Savannah. 

Notice the name on the baby's tattoo?

7. What's on my Nook. Currently I am reading the latest of the J.D. Robb In Death books. It is called "Celebrity in Death." I am really enjoying it because its about the murder of an actress (who plays her partner) in a movie about the main character of the series, police lieutenant Eve Dallas. The fun part is that all the other actors and actresses in the movie are the suspects, but because they are all trained actors, it's hard to tell who is telling the truth and who isn't. Here's a synopsis: "Lieutenant Eve Dallas is no party girl, but she's managing to have a reasonably good time at the celebrity-packed bash celebrating The Icove Agenda, a film based on one of her famous cases. It's a little spooky seeing the actress playing her, who looks almost like her long-lost twin. Not as unsettling, though, as seeing the actress who plays Peabody drowned in the lap pool on the roof of the director's luxury building. Now she's at the center of a crime scene-and Eve is more than ready to get out of her high heels and strap on her holster and step into the role she was born to play: cop." I love this series so much. And right now, my mother-in-law and one of my friends have both started reading the first book in the series because I recommended it to them. I hope they like the series. It's always kind-of nerve-wracking to recommend a book to someone in case they wind up hating it.

 8. You're the cream in my coffee. In case you were unaware, I am in love with coffee. This has not always been the case, and in fact, I can attribute my love to two things: my husband and the necessity for caffeine when you have a baby that makes you exhausted most of the time. I started drinking coffee when Tim and I were first married and now it's hard to go without it. I take my coffee with sugar and lots of flavored creamer. My newest favorite creamer, which came out earlier this year while we were staying in the hotel, is International Delights' York Peppermint Patty. It is the perfect peppermint creamer and I just love having a relaxing (oxymoron, right?) cup of coffee in the mornings before Owen wakes up or on the weekends. My other favorite creamers are also from International Delight: Cinnabon and Almond Joy. Yummy! Try them out.

9. New car seat. Owen is swiftly outgrowing his infant carseat and we need to buy him a toddler carseat. There are just so many choices! We are currently looking at the Britax brand, either the Advocate or the Boulevard. I can't wait for him to be able to sit up a little higher in the backseat, especially since his pediatrician said that in Kentucky he has to sit facing backward until he is two years old. I know he gets so bored looking at the back of the seat, so maybe with a newer seat, he will at least be able to look out the back window. Does anyone have any recommendations when it comes to car seats for toddlers? We're all ears.