Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Hello. How Was Your Weekend?

Oh wait. I have a blog? Oh, yeah. Hi and hello there.
I just have one thing to say about this past Memorial Weekend....
It was in the middle 70's all weekend! Can you believe it?
Here was our weekend in 40 words or less..
Beaches, jellyfish, sunshine, sand, ice cream, boats, sunglasses, lunch on the water, sand castles, getting buried, swimming, cousins, games, iced lattes, reading, sunburns,


















Lydia's first birthday (my niece), bbq, caterpillar birthday cake, presents, friends, family


( H stands for Hooray!... he is still pooping in the potty!)





(He is eating his ice cream so fast that you can't see his hand)

How was your weekend?

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Important Things Around Here

This precious and sweet child....

Has possibly finally decided that pooping in the potty might be a good thing!!

I am still holding my breathe on the subject but I think we have made some major progress. Months and months of begging, pleading, threatning, bribing, screaming and crying had led to absolutly nothing. And then just one day he decides "ok...I think I am ready" I should have known this would happen. This is the way he has handled all milestones in his life.

I can't believe how freaking stubborn he is but I sure do love him anyways


I no longer have visions of changing his pants at his high school graduation!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

He's 35 And Still Looking Fine!

Today is Todd's birthday and he turns the big 35!


Not much planned today because we are unfortunately broke...still. But I wanted to make it a special day so I spent most of it in the kitchen. They say ONE of the ways to a mans heart is through his stomach so that is what I set out to do today.


Breakfast started out with a rhubarb crumb cake




It was mighty tasty...alot of work but still very good.



For dinner we had steak with all the fixens






And for dessert I made for the first time ever lemon meringue pie



Of course it looks innocent enough and I could stop here and not reveal the whole truth but... It's good to keep yourself humble I guess!


The honest truth is that it didn't set and turned out to be lemon soup





You can't win them all!



In honor of my birthday boy, here are 35 things you probably don't know about him


1. First of all he is just plain hot! A better looking couple has yet to be found




2. When he was 15 he went to Japan for a month and a half with some classmates


3. Todd was a Thespian in high school


4. Not a sports guy in high school. More into theatre, pottery, drawing and photography


5. His father was one of his teachers in high school


6. He hates watermelon and broccoli. He thinks they are of the devil.


7.Coffee in the morning is an absolute must


8. He is a slippers and pj's kind of guy



9. Whenever he takes a drink of something, he always turns his head slightly to the side when he swallows. Its very strange and I tell him that often.


10. He has 2 brothers and 1 sister


11. When I met him he had walking- stick bugs as pets


12. He could spend hours kite flying. (and trust me he has)


13. He like to do math problems in his head all the time. He tries to get me to do them with him but I refuse.


14. He is an avid reader like me


15. Went to school for photography ($40,000 in school loans and he doesn't do anything with his degree)






16. He has great communication for being a man



17. He talks to his mom almost everyday



18. Probably one of the most confident people I know



19. He is really patient with me and the kids



20. He never yells! We have never had a real fight. Discussions...yes, but no real fights



21. He has 7 holes in his ears



22. He is very likable. Everyone likes him!



23. He is the life of the party.


24. Always making me laugh



25. He can actually cook


26. When he blows his nose, it's like a fog horn is blowing in the house. And his sneezes are just as loud.


27. He can fall asleep in a blink of an eye. It still amazes me how fast he can do it. Sometimes in the middle of a conversation. He has also been known to sleep standing up.


28. He is extremely loyal


29. He won't let me go to bed mad


30. He is the reason my kids are so good looking







31. He dreams about taking voice lessons and also doing voices for cartoons


32. He will frost my hair for me!






33. He likes to take Kyler fishing


34. He is the master of interesting facts and useless knowledge


35. He also wears scars relating to the birth of our children. (bet your curious about that one!)


Happy Birthday to my one true love!!





What did I do on Mothers day??



After a fabulous breakfast prepared by my very own hubby...
Flowers, cards and gifts from all the boys...
Church with the whole family...
Lunch on the back porch.....
I spent the rest of the day doing this.....



Just hanging out on a blanket in the backyard with my boys, my book and a little bit of sunshine. This was the first Mothers Day in 6 years that Todd had the day off....

It was perfect!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Before I Was A Mom....

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.


Before I was a Mom, I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.


Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.


Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.!
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.


Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.


Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.



Happy Mothers Day!!!

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Sneaky Chef




I don't know if I have mentioned this a thousand times before but.......Kaden is a very picky eater! And when he does decide to eat, it's usually just a few bites. It's frustrating beyond belief and I have been dealing with it ever since he was drinking from a bottle. He is a waif of a child and I always dread taking him to the doctor in fear that they will call CPS on me!


So I am always in a state of "how am I going to get healthy stuff in my child" Not that I am one of those crazy, health nut moms but it is something that's always in the back of my mind.



So when I came across the Sneaky Chef cookbook, I thought to myself......



Eureka!!



Some of the recipes were a little odd tasting and some of it is just to time consuming for me. But there is one recipe that I make on a regular basis (or at least when I can remember)



Breakfast Ice Cream!



Kaden is HUGE ice cream fan and once I can convince him that he wants pink ice cream and not white ice cream....he is non the wiser ☺



All you need is frozen strawberries, avocado ( yes...I said avocado)



and yogurt.


I am using vanilla yogurt today but plain yogurt is of course healthier. If you do end up using plain, then add some honey to sweeten it up


Give a whirl in the ole food processor


And you have made your very own version of strawberry ice cream. It keeps in the freezer for a few days and its actually quite tasty. Once you give it a try then you can unwrinkle your nose...because I know that's what your doing right now!


Now I know it will never replace good old fashion ice cream but...


A mom's gotta do what a mom's gotta do!

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Remember These?





Sometimes it's all about the classic toys!

The Things We Do While Everyone Else Is Working



Todd had it in his mind for months and months that he wanted to smoke a turkey on the bbq. So recently on one of his days off he got up super early
Stuffed the turkey (which soaked in a brine all night)And put it on the bbq in the wee hours of the morning
The bird was strategically placed away from the coals and the temperature had to stay at a consistent 250 degrees
The sucker was basted every half hour and even though it smelt like we were camping, it still had a wonderful smell to it

8 hours later and that baby finally reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees


The skin was perfectly crispy and the meat was sooooooo juicy!

We literally had Thanksgiving in April

Kylers favorite part of the bird

And Kaden actually ate his dinner!

What kinds of things do you do on your days off?