Asa's 36th Birthday Extravaganza!

It's only been a week since I blogged last, but you see, I am a little weird about the right blog being listed in the right month. Like, if we were someday like 'what DID we do for Asa's birthday in 2019', I'd go right to 2019, March. But, if I wait another day it'll be over there in April. And that just cannot be allowed. 

So, I don't actually have a ton to report, but for the management of future Corinne's sanity, we're going to go ahead and tell you all what we've been up to the last week or so! 

First of all, I have way less pictures. You see, I've been trying to use my phone way less. It's just not good for my anxiety, and isn't super productive. So, I've basically given up Facebook and endless amounts of aimless phone usage. But, it also means I don't carry my phone around in my pocket all that much. And, that means I miss some pictures, and if I miss pictures, I probably miss blogging about it too. I mean, how am I to remember all of what we did in the last week? I barely remember what we had for dinner yesterday. (Oh, wait... we got Asa's free Moe's burrito, but still. Two nights ago, I'm lost.) 

I can tell you Peyton went to take his college entrance exam. He scored pretty well on it, certainly well enough to enroll. He'll have to do a little better on math before he can take those classes, but he can either re-take the PERT later, or score better on his SAT. Speaking of the SAT's, Peyton and Calib are both taking it in May, and my mom is coming the last week in April to help cram for the math portion. I booked her flight for tutoring sessions this week. 

But anyway... 

Onward to Asa's birthday weekend. Saturday morning Asa and I headed off to the library for a Foundry class. Usually this is a thing for the boys but they were making flower boxes, and I knew Asa would like to have a couple of those. It was a 16 and up class, and I tried to get Peyton and Calib to go too, so we could make four boxes. But, getting them to commit to being at the library on 10 AM on a Saturday just isn't happening. 

So, we made our flower boxes (and I got to use a nail gun for the very first time! It was lots of fun!). I love our library, they have such great classes. 

The flower boxes were perfect timing too. The church down the street was having their annual native plant sale, so we just plopped our boxes in the car and walked down to check out the plants to put in our boxes! 

We found a couple- a shiny blueberry bush (they produce smaller blueberries which you can eat, but are also pretty loved by birds, and a climbing milkweed to attract some butterflies. (We didn't actually end up putting these in our flower boxes, instead I planted some green mix seeds I had.)

By then it was lunch time, so it was off to Red Robin for Asa's free birthday burger at Wiregrass. We went and nosed around Barnes and Noble (and got some books super cheap since we had some Verizon Up Rewards we could use towards free gift cards and I get my homeschool educator discount), and over to Panera for a free pastry I had waiting for me in my rewards. 

We stopped by Earth Fare too, so Asa could collect his free birthday cupcake! Have I told you all how much I love Earth Fare? I get it, the prepared foods are a little pricey. But I adore the bean salad. We were just there last night nabbing all kinds of great stuff, since we had a $10 off $75 coupon. Then, upon checkout a $5 off $40 printed on our receipt! 

Asa arrived home to a birthday card and some hot sauce from mom. Thanks mom! 

Sunday we headed out to watch Captain Marvel. Peyton stayed home, he wasn't that interested- we had four free tickets anyway, and that way Etta doesn't have to go in her crate. 

Sunday night Asa requested a cookout, and I told him I would make Nancy Reagan Mac & Cheese to go with it. He was thrilled at the prospect. 

I mean, chili dogs AND Nancy Reagan Mac & Cheese? The family was thrilled. I also threw together a bunch of fruits and veggies to balance it out a bit better. 

Monday Asa took the day off work. I was like, 'awesome... what do you want to do?' His reply? 'Absolutely nothing'. Now, this would not be my ideal birthday (AT.ALL.) I love to do as much as humanly possible on my birthday and around my birthday. I would be so disappointed if we sat at home on my birthday. So for years, I would hound everyone about what they wanted to do for their birthday. But, Calib and Hayden are only half into going out for their birthday. And Peyton and Asa? They prefer to stay home and have NOTHING expected of them. Just, do whatever you want, all day, no interruptions. So, I obliged Asa this year (spoiler alert: I'll also oblige Peyton- but we have big plans the weekend before his birthday). 

I did say I would make whatever he wanted for dinner- and he said 'how bout an all day long taco bar instead?' Now, usually these are reserved for football Sundays, but they can be requested at other times of the year. 

We had to wake Peyton up for the picture... look at the poor kid. He wanted to grow his hair out, but come on Peyton this picture was taken at like noon. 

The taco bar is great because it's so customizable. You can have things like a nice healthy taco salad, and then later you can put all of those toppings on french fries because you had that salad earlier! 

Also on the list of things people in this house hate on their birthday- having 'Happy Birthday' sung to them. So, we didn't do that either. I did make him have a candle in his piece of cheesecake though. 

I mean, he had a great day. The boys and Asa watched movies all day. (I can only sit through so many super hero movies in a weekend- and I was really out when they decided to watch Monty Python. 

But between movies and video games, Asa filled his non work day and was thrilled. (Notice the french doors closed- per Asa's request he turned the air down really low all day). 

In other news, we've been watching March Madness. You guys, I got SEVEN of the Elite Eight correct. Sadly, Gonzaga didn't make it into the Final Four, but Virginia is still there, so it's looking like a trip to Goody Goody Burger is in our future. 

In other news, yesterday Asa and I went over to Lowe's while Peyton was volunteering at the shelter, since I had a coupon and we decided to pick up some stuff to see if we could construct a simple raised garden bed. I really want to play some cucumber, squash and zucchini, but I'm afraid Ellie will just trample them since they spread on the ground so much. I thought if I could raise the bed and make it narrow enough, she might stick her nose in it, but I don't think she'll climb up into it. We don't have a saw of any sorts around here, so we had them cut some wood down for us at Lowes. All in all, we bought for pieces of wood, had one cut for the sides and one for the 'legs' (to help level it out), and two for the length. If it worked out, we'd have enough cut wood to just go buy two more long pieces and make another one (spoiler alert: so far so good). 

In fact, I contstructed the whole thing in limited space in the garage, by myself, in about ten minutes. We haven't placed it in the backyard yet, so I'll let you know how that goes. 

We did plant some more stuff in the last couple weeks. Pepper season is approaching, and I have a whole row of pepper plants that I am super excited about. I want like 8 bell pepper plants. Keep those coming! But we also have some other peppers going. I think right now we have about six plants. I affectionately refer to it as 'Pepper Row'. 

Oh, and I finally got to plant my sunflower seeds. The side yard doesn't get full sun all day, but things seem to grow pretty well there. I think maybe in Florida, full sun ALL day is a little too much. It seems like anything I plant in the sun like that gets a little scorched mid-summer. Anyway, my sunflowers are already popping up! 

Oh AND my orchid is finally blooming again! 

I guess that's it from here. I don't even have any dog pictures this week. That's how little I've used my phone. I actually snapped the last pictures just before I wrote the blog, specifically for the blog. So, there's that. Anyway, happy last day of March everyone. Onward to April! 

Next Up: We actually don't have anything on the horizon, but I'm sure we'll figure out something! 

Happy 13th Anniversary, Florida!

It's been about a month since I blogged, but don't worry, we're still here! Asa had two on call weeks just a week apart, and both were kind of brutal in terms of sheer number of pages, but we did squeeze in some fun here and there. (And now we're gearing up for Asa's birthday weekend EXTRAVAGANZA!) So, while I might not have a whole month of things to tell you about, I do have some highlights! And, you've probably missed them all, because I gave up social media, I'm here to tell you if you miss your Waterstraut news, you can always catch up here. 

March 18th marked THIRTEEN whole years since we moved to Florida. On the one hand, it seems like I've lived here my whole life, on the other hand it seemed like just yesterday when little three year old Peyton was carrying his jarred Beta fish into restrooms along I-75 while five year old Calib would feed six week old Hayden bottles in the backseat while I drove. 

But, here we are! 13 years later, it's still one of the best decisions I ever made. And so, in true Waterstraut fashion, we celebrate our 'Florida Anniversary' every year. We try and do something very 'Florida'- you know, something you can't really do in Ohio in March. Usually it's a water park, or ice cream outside, or a Disney trip- something like that- this year we decided to go down to Sparkman Wharf in downtown Tampa. Asa and I had been once before (it's fairly new!) but the boys hadn't been there yet. 

We walked around and let the boys check out all the shipping container food places, before they all decided on Flock and Stock for some chicken tenders and the very yummy 'Dixie Chick' sandwich (you guys! It has PIMENTO CHEESE SAUCE ON IT!) 

I, however, took myself over to Swigamajig and ordered the gulf shrimp. They're really yummy, huge, crisp, and hot out of the fryer every time. Also, you're going to want an extra container (or two) of the sauce that comes along with it. 

Sparkman Wharf is about the food and the drinks (we also got a Whatever Pop to wash it all down), but there's also plenty of games to play... 

...and places to hang out. Our Florida anniversary was on a Monday, but we went out to celebrate a few days early (on Saturday), and while it was busy, it wasn't crazy. 

We actually kind of celebrated the whole weekend long. We had a fire with all kinds of fun cookout food, too. The weather has been fairly inconsistant lately. We've had days warm enough for the pool; I even got everyone to go to the pool one day AND we left Etta out of her crate (she did fine!), but we've also had days that required long pants and sweatshirts. Some days we get to have the French doors open all day, and some days we don't (I miss having them open so much once summer hits!) But, Sunday the 17th we had a nice night where a fire was in order. 

Monday was our actual anniversary, and Calib said we should celebrate with the 'Cookie Thing'. I haven't made this in years, but it's just chocolate chip cooks in a cast iron skillet baked until it becomes one giant cookie, topped with ice cream and chocolate syrup. I honestly don't think I had made it since we moved into this house. I obliged, since I had a thing of cookie dough in the back of the fridge that had been there for weeks (we were quickly approaching the 'sell by date').

 

Almost two weeks ago now (actually a month to the day of his graduation), Asa took and passed his last exam for his last class. That thing gave him so much trouble, since it was a brand new class, not all the bugs had been worked out yet- but he powered through, and now he's officially official with his Master's Degree in Data Analytics. I told him whenever he passed it, I would take him out to eat at Chuy's. He'd been wanting to go check out their burritos, so as soon as he passed it, I told him we should go out to lunch. 

Of course, mom wanted to treat us to meal on her, too. After one failed try of going to Ford's Garage and finding the power was out all over by the mall, Costco, and the new restaurants, we ended back up there last Saturday night- which meant quite the wait. 

But, Asa got his burger and his drink and was a happy camper. Hayden, meanwhile, got a milkshake and Peyton stole his cherry on top. I kindly asked our waiter for another cherry and he brought back a whole plate of them. Hayden won that one. 

In even more food news (I mean Asa might have been busy with work- but a guy still needs to eat!), the new Earth Fare store opened up, and we decided to go check it out. If you don't have one near you, it's kind of like a Whole Foods, but not necessarily as expensive. Sure, you can get all the fancy expensive stuff, but if you stick to the sales, you're pretty good. (And there are lots of sales and daily specials.) We've since been many more times, the boys have all found various things they really like there. When we had to wait at Ford's Garage, we even walked over to nose around. I just want to say, the bean salad in the deli is universally loved at my house, and I rather enjoy the torpedo shrimp. It's shrimp, wrapped in sweet potato noodles guys! YUM. 

 One day, while Asa and I were over there we collected our free Blaze Pizza for lunch too. 

Speaking of Blaze, we did go over there for lunch on Pi Day. After all, they have $3.14 pizzas for the occasion! Until our Blaze was built, the closest one was at Disney Springs, and for obvious reasons, they don't participate in the promotion. Since this was the first Pi Day our Blaze was open, this was our first experience with it. Usually we get three pizzas for the five of us to split- but everyone got their own for Pi Day! (Also the leftovers heated up nicely in the toaster oven!) 

Of course, yesterday was the first day of Spring, so I made our annual bowl of dirt for the occasion. I had about two bites, and the boys downed the rest. 

I have been trying to sneak in some healthier meals between all the going out and such though. Asa is making some awesome guac lately. I'm really hoping our avocado tree produces something soon (although the lemon tree is looking way more promising), but until then, we've been getting them pretty cheap. Also, Earth Fare has where you can grind your own nut butters, so I've been getting little tiny containers of almond butter to dip some apples in (oh, and the bean chips are pretty good too).

I've also been trying to keep myself a little busier. Calib only uses me to proof read his papers anymore, Peyton is working mostly on PERT, SAT and Rosetta Stone, so he also doesn't need me, and so it's just Hayden's school work as of late. I've been using my extra time to take the dogs on morning walks around the whole loop. We've seen some interesting sights. 

Asa and I have done the six mile Connerton loop a couple of weekends on our bikes too. Plus Connerton had their pop-up market last week and we swung by Publix for a couple of groceries. 

Some days have been hotter than others- but all good bike riding days where you aren't dripping in sweat, so that's nice. (I know summer is coming for us!!) 

Hayden has been down at the lodge a bit this week- since our county is on Spring Break this week, he's had lots of kids to hang out with. While everyone is even braving the pool while it's only 73, the dock was still pretty quiet. 

It's been so long since I blogged, I don't think our President's Day game of True American has been included yet. We had our usual prohibition cocktail shots. 

And I let everyone pick what they wanted on their part of the tower. There was everything from Doritos to Blintzes. 

I did decided since it has been FOUR YEARS (can you believe it?!?) since we've done the presidents project, I would list them on the board in order as a bit of a cheat sheet. 

And everyone pulled out their dry erase boards to help keep track of their questions. 

It still didn't stop Hayden from ending up in the corner of shame though. He actually said he doesn't remember as much from the president's project as he would like, so we've talked about doing it again with just him. 

Still, I love True American. JFK! FDR! Teddy Roosevelt! 

Not shockingly, I was the winner, which meant I got to eat off the Benjamin Harrison White House China plate. 

And obviously we had Nancy Reagan Mac & Cheese for dinner with Calvin Coolidge Carrots. 

In other big news, Peyton finally went and got his permit. He passed the test online awhile ago, but you have to go get the physical license. 

He's been volunteering at the animal shelter, and I have basically been trying to kill time while he's off doing that along with errands. One day I went to Costco and At Home. I hadn't been in At Home since they opened and they have SO.MUCH. cute outdoor stuff. I sent Asa like a million pictures of everything. I later ended up with the pig planter when Asa, Calib and I went back while Hayden and Peyton were at a library event. It's sort of a replacement for my pig that broke on the way back from San Diego. 

Speaking of library events, with Spring break and everything there's been quite a few for Hayden to attend (Peyton goes to some, but not nearly as many). In the last couple weeks Hayden has made a mini Foos Ball table in the Foundry. 

He's also made desserts at the 'Nailed It' event, and planted succulents at 'Plant Babies'. 

Oh, and randomly, Asa got a free pair of socks for being a Google 'Local Guide'. 

 

With all the on call, we've had a lot of down time at home- which, in this house, with all the boys, means a lot of video game time. Hayden and I have been played Mario Party a couple times a week, and Calib and Peyton finally saved up enough of their money, and found a good sale, to order their PS4. 

Today we'll likely hang out and watch a whole lot of March Madness. The first couple rounds are always the best, right? I mean after that there's not such a frenzy and it's not as exciting. But, we did all fill out our brackets. Per the usual, the winner gets their pick of somewhere to go out to eat. 

 Calib took my pick of Kentucky (and I felt like we couldn't pick the same team, because that's no fun), but his food place of choice is another visit to Sparkman Wharf. I'd be ok with that. 

Peyton went with the very Peyton pick of PDQ. I mean, I think he could live off chicken tenders and Cheerwine. But, he picked Kansas, so that's probably not happening. 

Hayden always goes with Gonzaga and Villanova in the finals because he likes the way they sound. (I mean he did win that one year with Butler because he thought it was a funny name). I'm not thrilled about his pick of Moes, but at least we can go on a Monday and save a few bucks. 

Asa almost exclusively picks Kansas to win. Like, every year he says 'This is the year for Kansas!" but in the end, he picked Michigan to beat Kansas. If he's the winner, we'll be headed back to Chuy's, and I am just fine with that- I got a chicken chalupa that was just delicious. 

Since Calib stole my Kentucky pick (which I had a google reminder from LAST YEAR'S March Madness to tell me to pick), I went with Virginia. Should I be the winner, we'll be going to Goody Goody Burger for some Banana Foster's Pancakes and Pox Burgers. 

 As always, I leave you with some very cute Waterstraut doggie pictures. 

That's it! Now you're all caught up with your Waterstraut happenings. 

Next Up: ASA'S 36TH BIRTHDAY EXTRAVAGANZA!!!