Wednesday, October 31, 2007
The Pumpkin Patch Part II
Well, if you remember well, our first pumpkin patch trip was slightly off. However, this really cute smaller patch popped up on a lawn in Harker Heights, just around the block from us. I drove by it almost everyday thinking how cute it was. I finally stopped with the boys yesterday. They were great! What a much better experience this was all around! And the weather was great, too! Ahhh, Fall!
The Making of Jack
What would Halloween be without getting elbow-deep in pumpkin pulp? The boys had so much fun helping carve our Jack-O-Lantern. The best part for them was peering into the hollow gourd. Go figure. This whole experience entertained them for a couple of hours.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Halloween Happenings
Last night the boys and I headed to the church for a Halloween party for our class (David had "Eighth Grade Night"). The boys got to sport their costumes and Benjamin had a blast playing! Jonathan seemed pretty entertained as well! Benjamin helped me make a spider web brownie thingy before the party. All in all it was a very fun night! Our class has a great group of people that we really enjoy spending time with. Part of me is itching to move closer to Belton to be closer to church so we can be at EVERYTHING! But, I think David has given me enough funny looks when I mention it, that it may go on the back burner. For now anyway. One of my favorite parts of the night was the Stewart family! They dressed up as the characters from the Wizard of Oz and looked INCREDIBLE! I am hoping she posts photos on her blog! I am just kicking myself for not getting any pics of them. Here are a few photos from our fun night. One of which is all of us trying to get a bunch of toddlers to "pose" for a photo. Uh, yeah. It was hilarious!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
New Look
I know Halloween is still three days away, but those stripes were driving me crazy. Hope you like the leaves.
Back in the Saddle, My Friends
As most of you know, one of my biggest passions (liabilities as David might say) is that I absolutely LOVE to decorate. I don't claim that I have any skills, but I enjoy putting together stuff I like to look at and be surrounded by. This little passion started in college and my poor room mates had to just put up with me (my extended apologies to Lori who I lived with for over three years, what a trooper.)
Every place I have lived since college, decorating has almost been a necessity. The place has always been dated or blah and just needed a little something. Until now. When we moved to Killeen, we purchased a home that is only two years old. The family living here before us had the place painted top to bottom on the inside before they put it on the market. This lead me to feeling guilty about wanting to paint. The paint is very neutral and beige and as most of you know, that's just not me. Great for some people, but I am a little out there (and loving every minute of it! (silly Seinfeld quote-- I had to drop it on ya)). We did paint the dining room because our dining room furniture weighs more than nine elephants and I knew we would never move it again after it landed in its spot.
But, my decorating juices are pumping and I have been itching for a project. And I didn't have to look far to find one. I am making a playroom for the boys out of our spare bedroom! And I already started tonight. I purchased a couch with a sleeper in it off of Craigslist that I thought was pretty fun. Over the next few weeks, I am going to be working on this and I will try topost my progress.
I need prayers-- I am going for the harlequin diamonds again. I know Misty and Jean just fell out of their chairs because I did say "never again". But, I have been away from a paint brush for so long that I am ready to take on something big. I am attaching a photo of the diamond pattern I painted in our nursery in Muleshoe. Honestly, I miss it. And want to look at it again on a wall.
So.....away we go!!
Ignore the large pregnant lady in the photo. She was two days away from giving birth to a 9 pound 3 ounce baby!
Every place I have lived since college, decorating has almost been a necessity. The place has always been dated or blah and just needed a little something. Until now. When we moved to Killeen, we purchased a home that is only two years old. The family living here before us had the place painted top to bottom on the inside before they put it on the market. This lead me to feeling guilty about wanting to paint. The paint is very neutral and beige and as most of you know, that's just not me. Great for some people, but I am a little out there (and loving every minute of it! (silly Seinfeld quote-- I had to drop it on ya)). We did paint the dining room because our dining room furniture weighs more than nine elephants and I knew we would never move it again after it landed in its spot.
But, my decorating juices are pumping and I have been itching for a project. And I didn't have to look far to find one. I am making a playroom for the boys out of our spare bedroom! And I already started tonight. I purchased a couch with a sleeper in it off of Craigslist that I thought was pretty fun. Over the next few weeks, I am going to be working on this and I will try topost my progress.
I need prayers-- I am going for the harlequin diamonds again. I know Misty and Jean just fell out of their chairs because I did say "never again". But, I have been away from a paint brush for so long that I am ready to take on something big. I am attaching a photo of the diamond pattern I painted in our nursery in Muleshoe. Honestly, I miss it. And want to look at it again on a wall.
So.....away we go!!
Ignore the large pregnant lady in the photo. She was two days away from giving birth to a 9 pound 3 ounce baby!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Master of the Slide
We went to a different park than usual today and Benjamin was in love with their slides. He slid over 17 times (at this point, I stopped counting). He is completely sacked out right now, imagine that!
It is starting to feel like Fall around here. Thank goodness, I was ready for summer to make its exit.
Nothing much else happening around here.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Awesome Weekend
We had one great weekend. David and I attended a retreat for the young marrieds class at church and had a blast! We are falling more in love with this church everyday. We have been so welcomed and treated with such kindness. We feel so blessed to have taken the time to really find the right church for us. We feel strongly about that more than ever.
Friday night we all caravaned to Glen Rose, TX to the beautiful Riverbend Retreat Center. What a great place-- it would also be perfect for a family reunion.
All weekend we played lots of fun games, sang some beautiful songs, had several lessons about marriage presented by one of our elders and ate some seriously good food! We ate lunches and supper at the retreat's dining hall and our group brought breakfasts and snacks that we grazed on the entire time. This group can cook! I plan to get recipes (and share with you) for white chocolate potato chips & nuts (so good), Jan's amazing german chocolate brownie thing, the best salsa ever, and chocolate chip cookies made from pudding-- so moist and yummy. (Arly, do you have a recipe for this?)
It is so great to attend these type of events. It really connects you with the others in an awesome way. I was a little nervous about going at first, you know being the "new people" and all. It seems like there are some great dynamics and friendships already in place and you know how it is coming into a new group where you're not sure where your place will be in an already well-running situation.
But this group has welcoming down to an art. I never felt like the newbie. People constantly told us that they were so happy we were there (we were, too), and made us feel like we had been a part of them forever. We feel like we are truly forming some life long friendships.
Thank you, sweet friends, for an AWESOME weekend that we can not stop talking about. You each reached out to us and have made us truly see Jesus in you. We love you all so much and can't wait to keep getting to know you more and more.
Friday night we all caravaned to Glen Rose, TX to the beautiful Riverbend Retreat Center. What a great place-- it would also be perfect for a family reunion.
All weekend we played lots of fun games, sang some beautiful songs, had several lessons about marriage presented by one of our elders and ate some seriously good food! We ate lunches and supper at the retreat's dining hall and our group brought breakfasts and snacks that we grazed on the entire time. This group can cook! I plan to get recipes (and share with you) for white chocolate potato chips & nuts (so good), Jan's amazing german chocolate brownie thing, the best salsa ever, and chocolate chip cookies made from pudding-- so moist and yummy. (Arly, do you have a recipe for this?)
It is so great to attend these type of events. It really connects you with the others in an awesome way. I was a little nervous about going at first, you know being the "new people" and all. It seems like there are some great dynamics and friendships already in place and you know how it is coming into a new group where you're not sure where your place will be in an already well-running situation.
But this group has welcoming down to an art. I never felt like the newbie. People constantly told us that they were so happy we were there (we were, too), and made us feel like we had been a part of them forever. We feel like we are truly forming some life long friendships.
Thank you, sweet friends, for an AWESOME weekend that we can not stop talking about. You each reached out to us and have made us truly see Jesus in you. We love you all so much and can't wait to keep getting to know you more and more.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Blog Time for Little Man
Benjamin seems to get a lot of face time on the blog with all of his wit, humor and cookie baking. Thought I would share a few pics of little "Jon Jon" from the past month or so. It's funny, this little nickname of Benjamin's for his little brother has kind of stuck. He indeed, is our little Jon-Jon! Love you, Little Man!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Gotcha!
My mom told me tonight that family members (who shall remain nameless) would like to see more photos on the blog. Well, there's one for ya! (Hmmm, I wonder who made that request?)
In all seriousness....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MIKE!! The above photo is of the youngest of my three brothers. Tomorrow (the 17th) is his birthday! Hope it is happy and wonderful and that you have a FABULOUS day.
Lots of Love,
Your FAVORITE sister!
Monday, October 15, 2007
A Boy's First Crush and other happenings!
Benjamin's got a crush, and I'm not talking orange soda here, either! Benjamin has developed quite an affinity toward a young lady at our church named Lexi. He first took an interest in her at his birthday party. Her mom is really sweet and I'm starting to get to know her through play group and our class at church. Lexi is actually eight! She has two younger brothers closer in age to Benjamin, but he always follows her around! She ended up getting to come to play group today since Belton schools were out. It's pretty cute to watch Benjamin light up when she walks in the room. At a recent play group where she was also there, she held his hand and that was all he talked about on the way home! She is a pretty cute girl, Benjamin's little friend Cade also noted that "Lexi is pretty." She has certainly turned a couple of little heads her way!
Jonathan has started talking our ears off. He says "Dada," "Buh, buh, buh" and "uhduh, uhduh." Dada was his first word. We're working hard on "mama" now.
In other news, I am done with the massive consignment sale that I took part in over the weekend! I also scored some great deals for the boys. I discovered these huge consignment sales after moving here. All of the girls at our church do them and they told me how cool they were. I got a bunch of cool Gymboree & Baby Gap stuff for next to nothing. I love dressing the boys in all of the fun clothes from the cute places like Gymboree, Janie and Jack, Baby Gap and Talbots Kids, but it gets so stinkin' expensive, especially when they grow as much as they do. So these consignment sales make it easy to get the good stuff way below retail. David even noticed how much better the brand name jeans are that Benjamin wears. He is still wearing the size 2T Gymboree jeans (going on the third winter in them) that I just took the cuff out of to make them last one more year. Even David noticed how remarkably they have held up! No doubt, Jonathan will wear them, too.
To compare what I saved, I looked at a recent retail purchase form Gymboree: I bought the boys matching holiday sweaters, Benjamin a heavy winter coat and Jonathan 2 pair of socks, all totaling around $100 (but I had Gymbucks, so I only spent $50).
Now, at a recent consignment sale I bought: 1 pair brand new (with tag) Gymboree jeans, 2 pairs Carters jeans, 1 pair Levi's jeans, 2 lightweight jackets, 4 sets holiday pajamas, 3 blanket sleepers, 12 Gymboree/Gap/Flapadoodles/MisTeeVus shirts (several came with the matching socks), 1 heavy winter coat for Jonathan, 1 pair brand new Tommy Hilfiger sneakers, 3 pair sweatpants, 1 pair lined dress pants, 3 holiday sweaters and 3 long one piece Gymboree rompers. All of this was less than $250! And all was very good quality, these sales are very strict about their standards.
It pays to be a smart shopper! These clothes will get us through the whole winter and probably a good chunk of next winter, too!
I know a lot of other moms read my blog so I wanted to give this info out. I wish I had known about these sales when B was a baby! Here are the ones I have gone to (one is local in Austin, the other is national with sales all over):
Just Between Friends Sale (National): http://www.jbfsale.com/
Mommy & Me (a VERY well done event, the planner was soooo organized and on top of it, great venue also, lots of space):http://mommyandmesale.com/
All of these sales have presales for consignors and first time mommies. I'll warn you though, consigning was a lot of work! More than I expected. But, I did make a little moolah and the presale pass alone was worth it.
Sorry to ramble! Just really want to get the word out about these AWESOME sales! I live for a deal!
Jonathan has started talking our ears off. He says "Dada," "Buh, buh, buh" and "uhduh, uhduh." Dada was his first word. We're working hard on "mama" now.
In other news, I am done with the massive consignment sale that I took part in over the weekend! I also scored some great deals for the boys. I discovered these huge consignment sales after moving here. All of the girls at our church do them and they told me how cool they were. I got a bunch of cool Gymboree & Baby Gap stuff for next to nothing. I love dressing the boys in all of the fun clothes from the cute places like Gymboree, Janie and Jack, Baby Gap and Talbots Kids, but it gets so stinkin' expensive, especially when they grow as much as they do. So these consignment sales make it easy to get the good stuff way below retail. David even noticed how much better the brand name jeans are that Benjamin wears. He is still wearing the size 2T Gymboree jeans (going on the third winter in them) that I just took the cuff out of to make them last one more year. Even David noticed how remarkably they have held up! No doubt, Jonathan will wear them, too.
To compare what I saved, I looked at a recent retail purchase form Gymboree: I bought the boys matching holiday sweaters, Benjamin a heavy winter coat and Jonathan 2 pair of socks, all totaling around $100 (but I had Gymbucks, so I only spent $50).
Now, at a recent consignment sale I bought: 1 pair brand new (with tag) Gymboree jeans, 2 pairs Carters jeans, 1 pair Levi's jeans, 2 lightweight jackets, 4 sets holiday pajamas, 3 blanket sleepers, 12 Gymboree/Gap/Flapadoodles/MisTeeVus shirts (several came with the matching socks), 1 heavy winter coat for Jonathan, 1 pair brand new Tommy Hilfiger sneakers, 3 pair sweatpants, 1 pair lined dress pants, 3 holiday sweaters and 3 long one piece Gymboree rompers. All of this was less than $250! And all was very good quality, these sales are very strict about their standards.
It pays to be a smart shopper! These clothes will get us through the whole winter and probably a good chunk of next winter, too!
I know a lot of other moms read my blog so I wanted to give this info out. I wish I had known about these sales when B was a baby! Here are the ones I have gone to (one is local in Austin, the other is national with sales all over):
Just Between Friends Sale (National): http://www.jbfsale.com/
Mommy & Me (a VERY well done event, the planner was soooo organized and on top of it, great venue also, lots of space):http://mommyandmesale.com/
All of these sales have presales for consignors and first time mommies. I'll warn you though, consigning was a lot of work! More than I expected. But, I did make a little moolah and the presale pass alone was worth it.
Sorry to ramble! Just really want to get the word out about these AWESOME sales! I live for a deal!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
An Uninvited Tag
Hi Everyone! David here. If you just read Kristi's entry, I'm sure you're wondering, "Yes, but what about David?" Yeah. I'm sure of it. So, here goes.....
10 years ago, I was 24, and a school teacher in Abilene. As for the rest of my life at that time, if you know me, you know why I'm stopping here. Ha!
5 years ago, I was 29, and engaged to marry Kristi (Yahoo!). It was a great time. I was the Assistant Principal at Lincoln Middle School in Abilene, and gearing up for my first principal position.
3 years ago, Kristi and I lived in Muleshoe, TX. I was Principal at Watson Jr. High, and Benjamin was just a baby. Good times.
1 year ago, I was beginning my 4th year as Principal in Muleshoe, and Kristi and I were contemplating maybe looking to move. Kristi was pregnant with Jonathan, and we thought maybe we should stay put until he was more like a year old. That didn't happen. We ended up moving to Killeen when Jonathan was 4 months old.
Yesterday, I worked, attended a home and an away football game in the same evening (How DOES he do it?) and came home and spent time with the family. Gave both boys their baths, and put them to bed. I rock!
Today, I am celebrating, because a special event at school went well today. It was "Walk a Mile in Your Shoes" Day, and we had over 100 parents join their children at school, attending classes, having lunch, and the whole enchilada. It was a big success, and I'm really happy about it.
5 snacks I enjoy: M&M's, Sun Chips, Quesadillas (Oh, who am I kidding? Just about anything....)
5 things I would do w/$1 million: Pay off everything, Invest, Set aside for kids' college, buy a new car, Buy a house with a room for a pool table (all I've ever really wanted in this world).
5 places to run away to: my office (just kidding), wherever Kristi would like to go..
5 TV shows I like: The Office (not kidding), Seinfeld (I'm out there, Jerry, and I'm LOVIN' every minute of it!), Mike & Mike in the Morning, Pardon the Interruption, Monday Night Football.
5 Things I Hate Doing: switching car seats from one car to another (I know this is an awful thing to say, because child safety is so important, but I just HATE doing this...) Would Kristi be a better source than I am on things I hate doing? :)
5 Biggest Joys of the Moment: Being a child of God (not being corny; isn't it an amazing thing?) Having a loving wife (Believe me, I REALLY appreciate this...), Having two wonderful children (what an honor), Having such a great family on both sides, Downloading "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo" off iTunes! (I gotta get it, got, got to get it...)
People I tag: No idea.
I know this was an inspirational entry for everyone. I can just see Kristi's beautiful eyes rolling right now. If you never hear from me again, it just means Kristi blocked me off the blog! Adios!
10 years ago, I was 24, and a school teacher in Abilene. As for the rest of my life at that time, if you know me, you know why I'm stopping here. Ha!
5 years ago, I was 29, and engaged to marry Kristi (Yahoo!). It was a great time. I was the Assistant Principal at Lincoln Middle School in Abilene, and gearing up for my first principal position.
3 years ago, Kristi and I lived in Muleshoe, TX. I was Principal at Watson Jr. High, and Benjamin was just a baby. Good times.
1 year ago, I was beginning my 4th year as Principal in Muleshoe, and Kristi and I were contemplating maybe looking to move. Kristi was pregnant with Jonathan, and we thought maybe we should stay put until he was more like a year old. That didn't happen. We ended up moving to Killeen when Jonathan was 4 months old.
Yesterday, I worked, attended a home and an away football game in the same evening (How DOES he do it?) and came home and spent time with the family. Gave both boys their baths, and put them to bed. I rock!
Today, I am celebrating, because a special event at school went well today. It was "Walk a Mile in Your Shoes" Day, and we had over 100 parents join their children at school, attending classes, having lunch, and the whole enchilada. It was a big success, and I'm really happy about it.
5 snacks I enjoy: M&M's, Sun Chips, Quesadillas (Oh, who am I kidding? Just about anything....)
5 things I would do w/$1 million: Pay off everything, Invest, Set aside for kids' college, buy a new car, Buy a house with a room for a pool table (all I've ever really wanted in this world).
5 places to run away to: my office (just kidding), wherever Kristi would like to go..
5 TV shows I like: The Office (not kidding), Seinfeld (I'm out there, Jerry, and I'm LOVIN' every minute of it!), Mike & Mike in the Morning, Pardon the Interruption, Monday Night Football.
5 Things I Hate Doing: switching car seats from one car to another (I know this is an awful thing to say, because child safety is so important, but I just HATE doing this...) Would Kristi be a better source than I am on things I hate doing? :)
5 Biggest Joys of the Moment: Being a child of God (not being corny; isn't it an amazing thing?) Having a loving wife (Believe me, I REALLY appreciate this...), Having two wonderful children (what an honor), Having such a great family on both sides, Downloading "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo" off iTunes! (I gotta get it, got, got to get it...)
People I tag: No idea.
I know this was an inspirational entry for everyone. I can just see Kristi's beautiful eyes rolling right now. If you never hear from me again, it just means Kristi blocked me off the blog! Adios!
That Tagging Game
Arly left an open-ended tag on her blog. I thought I would take advantage of it since I didn't follow through the last time I was tagged by someone. Also, there is someone I want to tag!
10 years ago I: was 19 and was a sophomore at ACU. I lived in University Park apartments with Lori, Misty and Jamie. We were in the middle of pledging! We were GATA Flames! That was a super fun semester.
5 years ago I: was planning my semi-elopement. David and I had just gotten engaged and decided we didn't want a big wedding. I was also in the middle of planning homecoming activities as I was employed in the Alumni Relations Office at ACU.
3 years ago I: had a newborn! I was probably sleep deprived and groggy. But, I was falling madly in love with our little Benjamin!
1 year ago I: was preggers with Jonathan! I was also living in Muleshoe and hanging out with two crazy sillies named Koti and Deborah.
Yesterday I: ironed, wrinkle-released, hung up and tagged baby clothing until my arm fell off (I put it back on). I am in the midst of preparing for this HUGE consignment sale in Austin tomorrow.
Today I: am getting ready to go to church to help with our class's Wednesday night meal. Benjamin has been begging me to let him wear his Halloween costume to church tonight (yeah right, dude). Currently, I can hear Jonathan starting to babble as he is waking up from his nap.
5 snacks I enjoy: 1) Cars snacks (because we have a lot of them) 2) cookies 3) bananas 4) yogurt with granola mixed in (not by itself) 5) any kind of cereal, by itself or slightly milked
5 things I would do with $1 million: pay off debt, build up the kids's savings accounts, invest like crazy, buy a loaded 2008 Black Cadilac Escalade (come on, who wouldn't induldge a bit?)
5 places I would love to run away to: 1) The Lawrence Welk Resort (yea, Shultzes!) 2) New York City 3) Hawaii (never been, sounds awesome) 4) The Biggest Loser Campus (they would vote me out the first week no doubt) 5) Some dreamy spa for a week
5 TV Shows I like: The Biggest Loser, Jon & Kate Plus 8, Paula's Home Cooking, Law & Order SVU, The Today Show (I still miss Katie, though).
5 things I hate doing: picking up the dog doodie in the yard (so gross), opening our dumpster (it stinks), finding an old baby bottle under my seat in the car (just throw it away), ironing, cleaning potties
5 biggest joys of the moment: 1) David 2) Benjamin 3) Jonathan 4) our new church 5) sleeping through the night
People I Tag: Natalie, Shellie & Wendy (who may have already done this one--sorry!)
10 years ago I: was 19 and was a sophomore at ACU. I lived in University Park apartments with Lori, Misty and Jamie. We were in the middle of pledging! We were GATA Flames! That was a super fun semester.
5 years ago I: was planning my semi-elopement. David and I had just gotten engaged and decided we didn't want a big wedding. I was also in the middle of planning homecoming activities as I was employed in the Alumni Relations Office at ACU.
3 years ago I: had a newborn! I was probably sleep deprived and groggy. But, I was falling madly in love with our little Benjamin!
1 year ago I: was preggers with Jonathan! I was also living in Muleshoe and hanging out with two crazy sillies named Koti and Deborah.
Yesterday I: ironed, wrinkle-released, hung up and tagged baby clothing until my arm fell off (I put it back on). I am in the midst of preparing for this HUGE consignment sale in Austin tomorrow.
Today I: am getting ready to go to church to help with our class's Wednesday night meal. Benjamin has been begging me to let him wear his Halloween costume to church tonight (yeah right, dude). Currently, I can hear Jonathan starting to babble as he is waking up from his nap.
5 snacks I enjoy: 1) Cars snacks (because we have a lot of them) 2) cookies 3) bananas 4) yogurt with granola mixed in (not by itself) 5) any kind of cereal, by itself or slightly milked
5 things I would do with $1 million: pay off debt, build up the kids's savings accounts, invest like crazy, buy a loaded 2008 Black Cadilac Escalade (come on, who wouldn't induldge a bit?)
5 places I would love to run away to: 1) The Lawrence Welk Resort (yea, Shultzes!) 2) New York City 3) Hawaii (never been, sounds awesome) 4) The Biggest Loser Campus (they would vote me out the first week no doubt) 5) Some dreamy spa for a week
5 TV Shows I like: The Biggest Loser, Jon & Kate Plus 8, Paula's Home Cooking, Law & Order SVU, The Today Show (I still miss Katie, though).
5 things I hate doing: picking up the dog doodie in the yard (so gross), opening our dumpster (it stinks), finding an old baby bottle under my seat in the car (just throw it away), ironing, cleaning potties
5 biggest joys of the moment: 1) David 2) Benjamin 3) Jonathan 4) our new church 5) sleeping through the night
People I Tag: Natalie, Shellie & Wendy (who may have already done this one--sorry!)
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
The Pumpkin Patch
Everyone is entitled to an off day. Our family had one on Saturday at the Pumpkin Patch in Temple. I had these great thoughts about what a fun day we could have together picking out pumpkins, taking a hayride, taking lots of fall photos, etc. etc. But with kids, things are not always as expected.
I must preface this all by saying that last year, we went out to our friend Deborah's farm and had a great time taking the best pictures ever on piles of pumpkins. I think I was trying to recreate that. Never try to duplicate.
The timing was everything here. First of all, I should have known this was not the best day because it was over 90 degrees. That scrapped my cute matching fall outfits idea for the boys. Second, we decided to wait until the afternoon because of the weather. When we made that decision, there was the inevitable "before their naps? after?"...After. Definitely after. Fresher, happier kids. Unless....they are stinkers and skip their naps. Put to bed to lay awake and....plot their plan? At 2:30, we just said, let's just go. The place closes at five, if we try to make them nap at this point....you get the picture.
So, off we go. Both kids immediately fall asleep in the car. And the older was not in agreement to being awakened twenty minutes later. At the pumpkin patch. To take dazzling photos for mom to treasure forever. Uh, yeah.
You can see from the evidence, that Benjamin would not smile for anything. He was annoyed to have to sit on pumpkins. He was more disturbed to have to touch Jonathan (sometimes, we have this little brotherly issue). And he certainly didn't want us to be taking his pic.
We took a few shots and got out of there with a wagon full of over-priced pumpkins and a disgruntled three year old.
Before we reach our car, Benjamin realizes that we are, indeed, leaving.
"Nooooooooo! I want to stay at the punkin pats!! Mommy! Nooooooo" Wail. Scream. All out tantrum.
Are you kidding me? Now? Like we are turning around for a repeat.
And let me preface all of this by saying, very rarely does Benjamin throw a tantrum. This was the first I can actually recall in public.
He wails. And cries. Meanwhile, David and I are shooting our "we have the situation under control" look to passers by who apparently think we are so mean to make our kid leave the pumpkin patch.
After getting the heck out of Dodge, we listened to this all the way home...
"Pleeeeeease. I'll smile now. Benjamin smile for pictures now. Pleeeeese. Go back to see more punkins. Don't leeeeeeave."
We do have a lovely pumpkin arrangement on our porch now. Everytime I pull out of the garage and see it, I think back to that fabulous trip.
I must preface this all by saying that last year, we went out to our friend Deborah's farm and had a great time taking the best pictures ever on piles of pumpkins. I think I was trying to recreate that. Never try to duplicate.
The timing was everything here. First of all, I should have known this was not the best day because it was over 90 degrees. That scrapped my cute matching fall outfits idea for the boys. Second, we decided to wait until the afternoon because of the weather. When we made that decision, there was the inevitable "before their naps? after?"...After. Definitely after. Fresher, happier kids. Unless....they are stinkers and skip their naps. Put to bed to lay awake and....plot their plan? At 2:30, we just said, let's just go. The place closes at five, if we try to make them nap at this point....you get the picture.
So, off we go. Both kids immediately fall asleep in the car. And the older was not in agreement to being awakened twenty minutes later. At the pumpkin patch. To take dazzling photos for mom to treasure forever. Uh, yeah.
You can see from the evidence, that Benjamin would not smile for anything. He was annoyed to have to sit on pumpkins. He was more disturbed to have to touch Jonathan (sometimes, we have this little brotherly issue). And he certainly didn't want us to be taking his pic.
We took a few shots and got out of there with a wagon full of over-priced pumpkins and a disgruntled three year old.
Before we reach our car, Benjamin realizes that we are, indeed, leaving.
"Nooooooooo! I want to stay at the punkin pats!! Mommy! Nooooooo" Wail. Scream. All out tantrum.
Are you kidding me? Now? Like we are turning around for a repeat.
And let me preface all of this by saying, very rarely does Benjamin throw a tantrum. This was the first I can actually recall in public.
He wails. And cries. Meanwhile, David and I are shooting our "we have the situation under control" look to passers by who apparently think we are so mean to make our kid leave the pumpkin patch.
After getting the heck out of Dodge, we listened to this all the way home...
"Pleeeeeease. I'll smile now. Benjamin smile for pictures now. Pleeeeese. Go back to see more punkins. Don't leeeeeeave."
We do have a lovely pumpkin arrangement on our porch now. Everytime I pull out of the garage and see it, I think back to that fabulous trip.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Mistaken Identity
This has been cracking us up for a week or so, so I had to blog about it. Benjamin's new thing is The Berenstain Bears. My mom handed down to me all of my old books about the family and he just can't get enough of them. We even have this cool thing on our cable service that lets us watch shows about The Berenstain Bears anytime, "on demand." They are very wholesome, and enjoyable for all of us (maybe not Jonathan) to watch. Every night at bedtime, Benjamin must have atleast two Berenstain Bear books read to him. He is pretty consumed with his new found friends from "the little treehouse down a sunny dirt road deep in Bear Country."
Benjamin also has a pretty active imagination for a three year old. He loves to make up scenarios. Like when I am in the kitchen, he'll come in and say "there's Mama Bear, cookin' up some supper." I really do hope that I do not resemble Mama Bear. She's a little too polka-dotted and bonneted for me.
He also loves to pretend that he is "Brother Bear." Occasionally, he'll even call Jonathan "Sister Bear" much to our chagrin. He also calls his bed the "top bunk", even though I am almost positive he has never seen actual bunk beds.
The funniest thing is David's new title, "Papa". he has completely replaced the word Daddy in his entire day to day conversation with "Papa", but he says it like "PawPaw." We have already gotten a few funny looks out and about. I mean I jokingly give David a hard time about his age (just because I am younger), but he certainly isn't old enough to be a PawPaw. Benjamin hasn't missed a beat with it either. He says it without even thinking about it. He isn't trying to be funny. He just realized that since Brother & Sister Bear call their dad "Papa," he can too.
I can't decide if this is going to stick or not. Will David now be "Papa?" It is precious and hilarious at the same time, but I think we may need to work on the phonetics.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
My, What Big Boys You Have!
Today, we went for our "check 'em ups" as Benjamin calls them. They scheduled Jonathan's later than I liked (hello, he is not six months anymore!) and so it worked that both boys had appointments at the same time. And both had shots, too. Lots of fun for everyone.
The Stats:
Benjamin now weighs 34 pounds and is 39 inches tall. He is in the 75th percentile for weight and 100th for height. At one point in his life, he was off the charts on height!
Jonathan weighs in at 22 pounds, 1 ounce and is 29 inches long. He is in the 90th percentile for weight and 95th for length.
All went well. Benjamin barely wimpered for his shots (woohoo, that's our boy!). He was more excited about the free lollipop. He even got a little frustrated when I took off the circular band-aid tonight. "Oh no, Mommy! You put Benjamin's shot in trash! No, Mommy. Need my shot back."
Poor Jonathan. He had to get five shots! And he let everyone in that office know that this was very bad. He seems to be taking it pretty hard still. Low grade fever and what an attitude! Not the friendliest fella right now. We may be up all night with him, nothing seems to be making him smile.
Jonathan is still toothless. The doctor told us that some kids work on "teething" just one tooth out for months and months. Yuck. I feel for him. For those of you familiar with Jonathan's medical stuff, his murmur seems gone. We will still have to go to a pediatric cardiologist once a year, though. His muscle tone has also improved in his shoulders and he does not need any physical therapy at this point. The doctor was even impressed with his sitting ability. He held his own without tumbling down longer than she expected. You go, Jonathan!
We do still miss dear Dr. Farmer. As most of you know, shortly after Jonathan's birth, Dr. Farmer passed away due to a very fast bout with cancer. He was so young and very healthy. It was a huge shock and Benjamin even mentions him every so often. He was such a kind man and knew who we were and all about us everytime we walked through the door or bumped into him in Lubbock. We are still adjusting to the new doctor's office here. It is hard just being "a number." They use an intercom to page patients and have about ten workers just in the office alone. I miss you, Kim! Dr. Farmer's office staff rocks! We miss all of you.
On a much, much lighter note (actually it's probably much heavier), Taco Bueno opened in Killeen this week, not far from us at all. Even with the out-the-door, out-the-drive way lines, David has already been. Twice.
The Stats:
Benjamin now weighs 34 pounds and is 39 inches tall. He is in the 75th percentile for weight and 100th for height. At one point in his life, he was off the charts on height!
Jonathan weighs in at 22 pounds, 1 ounce and is 29 inches long. He is in the 90th percentile for weight and 95th for length.
All went well. Benjamin barely wimpered for his shots (woohoo, that's our boy!). He was more excited about the free lollipop. He even got a little frustrated when I took off the circular band-aid tonight. "Oh no, Mommy! You put Benjamin's shot in trash! No, Mommy. Need my shot back."
Poor Jonathan. He had to get five shots! And he let everyone in that office know that this was very bad. He seems to be taking it pretty hard still. Low grade fever and what an attitude! Not the friendliest fella right now. We may be up all night with him, nothing seems to be making him smile.
Jonathan is still toothless. The doctor told us that some kids work on "teething" just one tooth out for months and months. Yuck. I feel for him. For those of you familiar with Jonathan's medical stuff, his murmur seems gone. We will still have to go to a pediatric cardiologist once a year, though. His muscle tone has also improved in his shoulders and he does not need any physical therapy at this point. The doctor was even impressed with his sitting ability. He held his own without tumbling down longer than she expected. You go, Jonathan!
We do still miss dear Dr. Farmer. As most of you know, shortly after Jonathan's birth, Dr. Farmer passed away due to a very fast bout with cancer. He was so young and very healthy. It was a huge shock and Benjamin even mentions him every so often. He was such a kind man and knew who we were and all about us everytime we walked through the door or bumped into him in Lubbock. We are still adjusting to the new doctor's office here. It is hard just being "a number." They use an intercom to page patients and have about ten workers just in the office alone. I miss you, Kim! Dr. Farmer's office staff rocks! We miss all of you.
On a much, much lighter note (actually it's probably much heavier), Taco Bueno opened in Killeen this week, not far from us at all. Even with the out-the-door, out-the-drive way lines, David has already been. Twice.
Super Easy Supper & Dessert by David
I finally got around to fixing this awesome Crock Pot chicken recipe my friend Hollye brought us after Jonathan was born. She gave me the recipe the other day and it was a cinch and super tasty! Thought I would share the recipe.
Black Bean Chicken Tacos (healthy, too!)
- 1 bag frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (if you buy the big green bag at Wal-mart, it is between $6-$7)
- 3 cans black beans
- 1 jar of your favorite salsa (extra mild in my case!)
Place everything in the Crock Pot (do not thaw chicken). Set to low for eight hours. Drain off juices and shred chicken (it literally falls apart, this was so easy). Serve with cheese and sour cream on tortillas! Voila. This makes a ton and freezes well for a second (or third) meal.
After we finished supper, David was telling me about a recipe he heard on the morning show he listens to on his drive to work. It was Coke Cake-- but in the microwave. Since we had all of the ingredients on hand (a can of coke and a box of cake mix), he whipped it right up! Just take a can of soda (I would use dark colas with chocolate and the Spritesey ones to the white and yellow cakes), and mix it in a large microwave safe bowl with a can of Coke. Microwave for eight minutes. That was it. And it was pretty tasty!
Black Bean Chicken Tacos (healthy, too!)
- 1 bag frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (if you buy the big green bag at Wal-mart, it is between $6-$7)
- 3 cans black beans
- 1 jar of your favorite salsa (extra mild in my case!)
Place everything in the Crock Pot (do not thaw chicken). Set to low for eight hours. Drain off juices and shred chicken (it literally falls apart, this was so easy). Serve with cheese and sour cream on tortillas! Voila. This makes a ton and freezes well for a second (or third) meal.
After we finished supper, David was telling me about a recipe he heard on the morning show he listens to on his drive to work. It was Coke Cake-- but in the microwave. Since we had all of the ingredients on hand (a can of coke and a box of cake mix), he whipped it right up! Just take a can of soda (I would use dark colas with chocolate and the Spritesey ones to the white and yellow cakes), and mix it in a large microwave safe bowl with a can of Coke. Microwave for eight minutes. That was it. And it was pretty tasty!
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
You take the cake!
I am so flattered by the emails and comment I have received since I posted the pics of Benjamin's birthday party.
Yes, I did make the cake! And no, it was not hard at all! Trust me. Last year my friend Koti was so sweet to give up a whole day to make an Elmo cake with fondant and the works and this was nothing compared to that! I was able to do it on my own without the help of Koti the Cake Queen! No special skills required.
I got the cake off of the following site if you want to make it yourself:
Family Fun Racetrack Cake
I did modify it a bit. I made one side chocolate and one side white so everyone could have their favorite. I actually made the cake twice (yes, I am weird), but I wanted to practice it first to make sure it would turn out okay (again, I have no cake skills without Koti). The first time I made it I used coconut that I dyed green with food coloring instead of the green jimmies the web site recommends. However, for the actual cake, I used green icing and borrowed my mom's grass tip for cake decorating. This did not take skill, I really just glopped it on there, I mean it's a race track, right? This turned out better, the coconut seemed to make the cake taste dry, and I figured not everyone likes coconut. Also, chocolate graham crackers do not exist anymore. So, I chopped up chocolate Teddy Grahams in my food processor (this was only slightly disturbing to mutilate these poor bears, they tasted fabulous either way).
Thanks for the compliments! They made me feel like I had half a clue what I was doing! Even though I didn't (right, Arly?).
Houston....Houston means that I'm a one day closer to you
If you are not a country music fan than that title is probably a little strange. But, everytime I think of the city, I think of the song.
We arrived home last night from our little trip. It was a ton of fun, but pretty exhausting (see Everything but the kitchen sink).
David really enjoyed his conference. The boys and I had a lot of fun, too. We went to the Houston Children's Museum and had a blast! They even had a "Tot Spot" for little Jonathan which he just loved. Benjamin even tried his hand driving a VW Bug Bus thing (remember those?). We also went to the Downtown Aquarium. This was fun and all, but not exactly what we expected. I was thinking it was an indoor thing, however I was very wrong and very hot most of the time. But, Benjamin loved it to pieces. It was also a little over-priced for what it was.
We also finally ate at a Buca di Beppo! What fun! I won't spoil it for you if you've never been, but what a cool place to eat.
I am posting a few pics from the weekend! Hope yours was good too!
And now, I am off to do some serious laundry.
We arrived home last night from our little trip. It was a ton of fun, but pretty exhausting (see Everything but the kitchen sink).
David really enjoyed his conference. The boys and I had a lot of fun, too. We went to the Houston Children's Museum and had a blast! They even had a "Tot Spot" for little Jonathan which he just loved. Benjamin even tried his hand driving a VW Bug Bus thing (remember those?). We also went to the Downtown Aquarium. This was fun and all, but not exactly what we expected. I was thinking it was an indoor thing, however I was very wrong and very hot most of the time. But, Benjamin loved it to pieces. It was also a little over-priced for what it was.
We also finally ate at a Buca di Beppo! What fun! I won't spoil it for you if you've never been, but what a cool place to eat.
I am posting a few pics from the weekend! Hope yours was good too!
And now, I am off to do some serious laundry.
Everything but the kitchen sink...
We realized this weekend that we are, indeed, the circus coming to town when we travel these days. We really have been spoiled by staying in all of these great high-end hotels when David has a conference. (KISD treats their employees so good!) However, it is increasingly embarrassing to unload our car in a valet. You know what I mean? Has anyone else been through this misery? You know how it is. When you stay in these downtown luxury hot spots you have no choice but to valet, but that also means opening up the Pandora's box, I mean back end of our car to expose the sheer magnitude of our belongings. We are, inevitably, parked beside the latest BMW with a very attractive couple who steps out looking ever-so-posh and opens their trunk to show two lovely compact Louis Vuitton rolling bags and a train case all nice and neat. Switch to our car:
You open our back end to find:
- 2 Pack and Plays (we only ended up needing one this time)
- a baby bath tub
- a Bumbo
- a Boppy
- an all-terrain stroller
- a travelling high chair thingy
- a large pack of Diapers
- a large box of wipes (plus a back up, just in case)
- 2 gallons of Nursery water for bottles (one crushed in transit, arriving half full)
- a large can of formula (plus a back up, just in case)
- a cooler full of perishables
- a basket full of assorted toys, age appropriate for two children
- a Cars backpack with who knows what in it
- a large Cars pillow
- a ripped plastic Target bag spilling out a package of juice boxes, baby food, granola bars, sippy cups, Dawn liquid soap, a bottle brush, 6 baby bottles and a pack of Pampers Bibsters & Table Toppers (hmmm, I wonder why that bag ripped?)
This list does not even include our regular luggage with clothes (atleast two changes per day per person-- spit up does not just stay on the baby, it lands on all of us!)
It took two bell boys to unload us, which of course means double the tipping. And we always feel so bad for the poor guy who got stuck with us, so we tip him a little more.
We talked about our travelling issues on the way home and did decide that it is indeed worth it. David's new job involves so much more travel. We decided we don't want our boys to ever get used to Daddy being gone all the time. We certainly won't make every trip, but when we can, we'll still load the car to the brim and tag along.
You open our back end to find:
- 2 Pack and Plays (we only ended up needing one this time)
- a baby bath tub
- a Bumbo
- a Boppy
- an all-terrain stroller
- a travelling high chair thingy
- a large pack of Diapers
- a large box of wipes (plus a back up, just in case)
- 2 gallons of Nursery water for bottles (one crushed in transit, arriving half full)
- a large can of formula (plus a back up, just in case)
- a cooler full of perishables
- a basket full of assorted toys, age appropriate for two children
- a Cars backpack with who knows what in it
- a large Cars pillow
- a ripped plastic Target bag spilling out a package of juice boxes, baby food, granola bars, sippy cups, Dawn liquid soap, a bottle brush, 6 baby bottles and a pack of Pampers Bibsters & Table Toppers (hmmm, I wonder why that bag ripped?)
This list does not even include our regular luggage with clothes (atleast two changes per day per person-- spit up does not just stay on the baby, it lands on all of us!)
It took two bell boys to unload us, which of course means double the tipping. And we always feel so bad for the poor guy who got stuck with us, so we tip him a little more.
We talked about our travelling issues on the way home and did decide that it is indeed worth it. David's new job involves so much more travel. We decided we don't want our boys to ever get used to Daddy being gone all the time. We certainly won't make every trip, but when we can, we'll still load the car to the brim and tag along.
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