Our Halloween Excitement

Our day started off with breakfast and just taking it easy around the house. Momma had a Spa Party at her house during nap time. I got to go get pampered while C enjoyed the quiet time. If you have never tried Beauticontrol products, I highly recommend them, I used to sell Mary Kay and loved it. But these products do so much more with less steps. Plus, I really like Nancy, my consultant. They have some great products for people with dry skin including a bath soak that Nancy's grandson uses to help with his severe eczema. Anyways, had a great time getting pampered and visiting with friends. I also made a sale for my Moocher Munchies business. One of the gals placed an order so that she can have some snacks when her family comes to visit for Thanksgiving - yeah!!
After the party, I got my guys and headed up to a Fall Carnival at our friends' church. K had a great time one the bounce houses. His favorite part was the cotton candy!! That was a mess to clean up! After all that fun, including winning some goodies at the cake walk, we headed to Monterrey's for some dinner. While waiting for our food, the friends that we had just seen at their church walked in - how funny! It is always better to have friends that like the same eateries as you do!! We visited and ate and then headed over to our church to set up for Trunk or Treat. I truly love this way of trick or treating as we get to come together as a church family and have a great time. We had so many families come through!! It was fabulous to be able to serve our community. So many churches are moving from the north side of town, where our church is and we live, to the south side of town, where more affluent families live. We, as a church, have decided that the community we are called to serve is right where we are. So we are staying!! After all that fun, we trudged our tired Batman home, ready to crawl into bed. C had some unloading to do in the garage, so I went and got K dressed for bed. C came running into K's room and told us to come out to the garage. We had a visitor!! We went out and stood in the doorway to the garage and met our visitor - a birdie! The poor little thing was trying to fin the way out and would only fly above the garage door! I went and got a loaf of bread to try to coax it the right way but that wasn't working. Suddenly, it flew start for me and K in the doorway. We ducked and the bird flew INTO OUR HOUSE!! I screamed. K went looking for the bird to give it bread. C starting chasing it down. Luckily, the dogs were already outside but the cats were somewhere in the house. I set out to find them and shut the doors to the bedrooms. The birdie flew into K's room where one of the cats was. I quickly grabbed for Daisy and put her into the guest room. The birdie then flew out into the dining room. I called my parents and told them to come right over. Then, our other cat caught the bird in her mouth!!! Somehow the bird got loose and C grabbed the cat and put her in the guest room. Now the birdie was freaking out and flying all over the house!! Mom and Dad got there and just started laughing. First a snake, now a bird!! It kept flying from the back of the house to the laundry room and into the dining room. C opened up the front door to try to coax it out but nothing was working. And poor K is trying to chase down the bird to give it some bread!! Eventually, Momma was able to block off the birdie's path to the living room. It went around her and went straight for the laundry room again. Daddy was able to block it from going that way and it flew out the garage door. We were all happy that it found it's way. Then we wondered if it had left the garage or was still in there. I ventured out and, sure enough, it was still in the garage! After a few minutes, we were able to get it to fly out of the garage and into the world. After all this, we took about an hour or so to calm back down. What an adventure!
FYI - We checked the next morning. No dead birds in the yard - yeah!!

You know something's up when they are a little too quiet...

So, I was making fabulous dinner last night and K was in his room playing. After a while, I realized that he was quiet. A little too quiet. So, I head back and open his door. He is quietly sitting on the floor reading his books. It was so nice to see him reading!! C and I have prayed that he is a lover of books like we are. I smiled a smug smile and went back to work. Much later, as I was getting ready for bed, I went into our bathroom to brush my teeth. That is when I noticed what he was doing before he went to read. K loves to climb into our bathroom cabinet and get stuff out of my drawers, especially my brushes. This time, he found a new favorite draw - my "Monthly" drawer. The ground was covered with tampon parts. He must have had a GREAT time unwrapping them, pulling the string, and then discarding them for a new one. Needless to say, I am going to have to find a new place to put my Monthly stash and resupply it.

Fabulous dinner: Totastic Frito Pie
1 bag of tater tots
1 bag of fritos
1 bag (2 cups) shredded cheddar cheese
1 large onion chopped
3-4 cans of chili or 5-6 cups of homemade
Salt and Pepper

Put enough tater tots to line the bottom of a square baking dish. Bake according to instructions (mine were at 450 for 20 min). When done, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then sprinkle with about 1 cup of cheese. Then put a thick layer of chili on top. Bake for 15 minutes at 350. When done, sprinkle on fritos, cheese, and chopped onion (in that order) and put back in oven for another 5-7 minutes. Serve.

Can I have a vacation from my weekend??

We had a super busy and fun weekend. Friday night was a total blast with friends for the Kreative Whimzey party. The turn out wasn't as high as I had hoped but the people who came made it fun. I seriously think that we need to do that more often!! Saturday started with just K and I in the morning as C had to go work on a job for his new business. I asked K what he wanted for breakfast. "Tater tots." He told me, very definitely. "And chicken nuggets." I asked just where were we supposed to get chicken nuggets and tater tots for breakfast. He replied, "Nanny Pops." That is what he calls my parents' house. I called over there and explained to Momma what he wanted. She laughed as she has never served him tater tots. But she did ask if we wanted to come over for breakfast with her, Grandnanny, and my nephews. Sure thing!! I made bismark pancake and topped it with strawberries and bananas. She made scrambled eggs. K had a great time being silly with his cousins but he was getting grumpy so I took him back home after we ate. When C got home, we all piled up and headed out to M's 4th b-day party. This is really the only time K gets to eat McDonald's. He had such a fun time!! It was a good time for us too. Got to meet S (yes, he is freaking cute!) and visit with friends. There is just something about getting parents together, especially moms, that makes a good time even better!! I will admit that I part of my was jealous with all the cute girlie stuff M got. I cannot wait to meet the blessing that God has in store for us. I hope that one of our future kiddos is a girl just so I won't be outnumbered!! But, also, a girl would really change our perspective on things since they are said to be so different from boys. Anyhoo, we went home to get some stuff for our next party and K took a nap in the car. We headed over to my friend Dede's house for a pumpkin painting party. It was so fun!! I only knew Dede so got to meet some neato kids and their mommas. K had a fun time just being around so many toys. We took the kids outside while we carved the pumpkin. K wanted no part of sticking his hand in the pumpkin to pull out the insides - no thanks!! He wouldn't even touch it when it came out!! The kids seemed to completely enjoy being outside rides on some of M's toys and just being kids. We left there and headed over to Cedar Hill to meet C's family for dinner. I was completely tired and kinda grumpy and had hardly eaten all day. Nothing seemed to be going through the band. Made for a grumpy me! K completely enjoys his cousins. I guess they are just big toys to him right now. Luckily, they think he is funny and everything he does is cute. Even if it is his mac n cheese covered hand on their shirt sleeve!! We took C's grandmother home and then, finally, got to our house. I will say that it took about a minute for me to fall asleep - so tired!!
Sunday was church. My friend J and I took our boys around to the different Sunday school classes to invite them all personally to the Trunk or Treat that our church is having on Halloween night. It was such fun to see K as Batman and L as Superman. K kept calling him Super Batman. I was so pumped because K wore his mask!! He has never let us put it on and kept it on before!! Awesome!! After church, we went to have lunch with some friends of ours. They made fabulous fish. We had such a great time with them, but we always do!! After lunch, we headed home for nap which K did NOT want to take. He eventually fell asleep. The project for the afternoon was C and Daddy hooked up our new fridge to the water line so that we could have a working ice maker. After two trips to hardware stores, success!!! We now have water and ice!! Such a luxury after YEARS of not have it! We had a yummy dinner with the family before heading home for sleep. The rain was loud, but I slept so nice!!! This morning, all I wanted was to stay in bed forever!! Maybe next weekend!!

Happy Friday!!

It is such a good day!! Sun is out, students are working, and I get to blog!! YEAH!
We have such a busy weekend ahead of us. Someone asked what we were doing after church on Sunday. I replied, "Napping." They asked me or Keegan. I said, "Both!!"
Tonight, Friday, my friend Leslie and I are hosting a party for our friend Kelly. Kelly is the mom of 4 kiddos (teenage girl, twin 3 year old boys, and an 11 month old boy). When Kelly returned to work after her maternity leave, she was laid off. So, she decided to turn her love of embroidery into a business, Kreative Whimzey. I think that is a totally cool name since her intials are KW too!! She does the best embroidery work!! She has done a few things for K. I am most impressed with her attention to details. We had her embroider K's name on his back pack. She went so far as to match the green thread she used to the green on one part of the backpack!! I love hosting parties. I finally get to use all those fancy dishes that I have in my china cabinet. Plus, I get to hang out with some fun people and help my friend Kelly do what she feels called to do.

Saturday will be an awesome day. We get to to M's birthday party!! We haven't told K yet because he would keep asking/telling us that he wanted to go. He loves birthday parties, especially if there is a slide involved.And we finally get to meet S!! We have enjoyed seeing him in pics but know he will be cuter in person - yes!! And R has great taste in cakes so I know it will be good!! And I get to visit with R & J!! We so need to go to DJ's or b'fast sometime!! We will then head home for naptime (yes!). The we have a pumpkin party to go to. I am excited to see K meet some new friends and hang out with some old ones. I am making a rice krispie Halloween "cake" - new recipe so I am excited!! After the party, we will come home and watch the Netflix movies for the weekend. Since we do not have cable, we tend to watch movies more. So, we opted to get Netflix. Each week, the mail brings us one kiddie movie and one movie for us parents. We try to use one night to have family movie night which is usually Friday. But, since I'm having friends over, looks like it will be Saturday night. Maybe I can make pizza rolls!! Yum!!

Sunday will be church and, hopefully, lunch at a friend's house. I am hoping the weather Sunday afternoon is nice so that we can take the dogs to the dog park or, at least, for a walk. This rain has them going so crazy with extra energy!!

Well, hope you have a fantastic weekend!

YES!!

I can get to my blog from school!! I can update!! I can post!! Oh, blogging, how I have missed you!! Tune in tomorrow for updates!!

Our funny little boy

So, this morning was a true adventure. K has finally learned that is it fun to sleep in on the weekends. He will get up and come get in bed with us and sleep for 2 more hours - YEAH!! So we had a pretty lazy morning. We started getting ready for church. I took my shower first and got ready while C and K took their shower. I went into the kitchen and noticed a funky smell - the pile of dishes in our sink - UGH!! I got to work and got them washed of and put in the dishwasher (yes, I double wash!). C called me back to the bathroom and said there was something I had to see. I walked back and they were both out of the shower drying off. C pointed towards the shower and told me to look in. There, in the middle of the shower, was a turd. Specifically, a K turd. We both died laughing. We are starting to introduce going in the potty but with no luck. Whenever he asks to go tee-tee on the potty, we immediately take him. We see this as step one. We have told K that if he goes in the potty that he will get candy and have even shown him the bag of candy. We decided that this was not a candy rewarding action since it was not a complete touchdown in the potty. C was shocked when he first saw it. He thought it was a huge water bug!! Nope. It was last night's dinner from Cheddar's!!

Why I love Mr. Clean Magic Erasers

1. The fool who put in our tiled floors in the kitchen and guest bath (before we moved in) put down white grout. Yes. White. It shows dirt super easy and has completely grossed both C and I out. Then we discovered that the MEs worked wonders, cleaning the grout in a matter of seconds. It also proves to be a great stress reliever - have no idea why.
2. I am a big fan of buying used kiddie toys, especially the plastic play stuff. After having discovered some fun things at a garage sale, I brought them home and cleaned them first thing off the bat. They had been attacked by some rabid crayons but those war wounds soon came off with a quick clean of the MEs. They also get dirt off those plastic toys that have been outside and gotten dirty.
3. I am still getting used to my cooking pans. We have a love hate relationship sometimes. MEs work great at getting the burnt gunk that sticks to my pans.
4. I am a lover of Pampered Chef and have found that the MEs work wonders at getting them super clean without the use of soap!!
5. I dislike any scuff marks on doors and door frames. MEs can get those scuff marks and dirt off super fast which totally feeds into my tidiness.
6. The same fool who put down our tiles chose tiles that was bumpy. So dirt and gunk get stuck in the depressions in the tile and cement themselves in. With a quick scrub of the MEs, they are gone!!
7. My beloved PC baking dishes leave black scratch marks on my kitchen sink. The MEs make quick work of making the disappear.
8. The can get dirt, pen, and crayon off my refrigerator in a matter of seconds.
9. They get my counters super clean after a red Kool-aid spill.
10. They removed permanent marker!!

Swimming Lessons update

K started his annual swim lessons with Miss Margaret on Monday. This class is mainly to teach the young ones (6 months - 2 years) how to save themselves if they fall in the water. Miss Margaret has had 11 babies save their own lives after they had been in the class. It is truly not K's favorite thing to do, but it is not meant to be that type of class. The class usually goes like this: First, we count 1,2,3 and then dunk the kids under water and turn them around so that they are not facing us. Second, we sit them on the edge of the pool and then pull them into the water, turn them so that they face the wall and them tell them to "Reach Up" for the side of the pool and crawl out. Third, all the parents (there are about 5 parent/child combos) stand in a circle and pass the kids underwater to each other. This helps us focus on other kids besides ours and helps the kids with dealing with new people. There is nothing like someone else's kid looking at you like a lifesaver and holding on for dear life. One kid grabbed my bathing suit straps and I swear he was stronger than a muscle man!

K seems to be doing a lot better this year in closing his mouth. He isn't coughing up water like he was last year. He also scrambles up the side of the pool so he can get out. He also is not allowed to leave the pool until he stops crying which is my rule. He calms down instantly when I tell him that we are not going home until he stops crying. He also enjoys the lollipop they give the kids on the way out the door!! We have been explaining to him that is he goes tee-tee in the potty that he will get candy. His response: "Home. Potty!"

The first day was pretty funny in showing me how smart K is. He was excited about being in the pool - for 2 minutes. Then I could tell he remembered last year. He started whimpering and looked me and said, "Home. Go home." I told him we were not going home yet. He then told me, "Diaper. Change diaper." Smart boy knew that the diaper is usually the key to getting out of a situation!!

So far, I have been the only one to go to swim class so no pics yet. I'm hoping my mom can go with us tomorrow so she can be photographer. So, here are some pics from last year's adventure.

Miss Margaret

The circle
Sitting on the edge

Dunking

Reaching up

Putting his head down on his own during circle

Funny Daddy!

Reaching up

Reaching up

Can we go home yet?

Our newest family member

On Tuesday, May 26th, we made a trip to go pick up our newest family member. We had been thinking about getting another dog for a few weeks. The main reason is that our schnauzer, Neiley, will be 14 years old next month. He is slowing down and just not doing too hot. If he makes it until the end of the year, we will be shocked. We realized that our lab Duke would need a friend to help him get over Neil's death. So, we put in an application with the DFW lab rescue and waited for someone to contact us. In the meantime, I was looking on craigslist at the pets section. We had actually found a lab mix in Mansfield that need a home but she ended up getting out and a neighbor had shot her. I know. Horrible person!! So, I just kept on looking while waiting for the lab rescue to contact me. On Tuesday, I found a listing for a 4 month old golden retriever puppy in Joshua that was free to a good home. Now, goldens hold a special place for C. He has always wanted one. I sent him the link and he told me to contact them. I did. I found out that the reason they were getting rid of the puppy was that they just did not have time for her. The husband had purchased her from a breeder across the street on a whim and the wife just didn't want the dog. They had built a pen for her outside and she had spent most of her time in there. They realized that they were not being good dog parents when they realized that their Yorkie could outrun and outlast her. She would get tuckered out in a matter of minutes. We had some pretty serious discussions, especially since my mom would be home taking care of K for the following 2 days. How fair would it be to her to add a non-housebroken puppy to the mix?? We checked and Momma was excited about having a new puppy. She has known how much we have been wanting a new family member. So, we gave our Airhogs tickets away and drove out to Joshua. When we got out of the truck, we knew that we were going to be leaving with her. She is a red golden retriever - same color as our Maddie was. We played with her for a bit and made sure that she was not aggressive towards K and then all hopped in the truck. Her name is Abbie. When we looked at her AKC papers, her birthday was in November 2008. That makes her 6 months old. She has to go through her first heat before she can be spayed but she is in otherwise perfect health. We took her to our doc and everyone in the office thought she was precious! She has been a joy. Granted, I am not enjoying the potty training, but she is doing very well. We make it our job to take her out often. She sleeps in a crate at night and is perfectly happy in there. She love to roughhouse with Duke but knows that Neiley is in no mood to play. She enjoys barking at the cats, chasing Duke, and going for walks. She is perfect on a leash. We took her to the dog park and she got tired very quickly which meant she had no energy to try to play with other dogs. She really does not know how to play with other dogs so it is something we are working on. We are also working on her commands and go to puppy class every Tuesday at our vet's office. We took K the first time and that was a mistake. One of us was busy watching him and did not get the full instructions. Momma has agreed to watch K on the days we have puppy school. Abbie is very smart and learns quickly. Granted, she is very food motivated so that helps!

Please forgive me!!

Yes, I have been horribly remiss in not blogging. I know. But not being able to blog at school is really getting to me. I seriously have no time to blog at home until K goes to bed and that is usually filled with doing dishes and picking up stuff. I know I am preaching to the choir on this but just felt like I needed to get back in the groove. I totally forgot the reason that I blog. I only scrapbook during the summer. My blog helps me remember things that have happened throughout the year that I might forget about. So, I am making it my personal goal to blog every night for the summer. I just need to get into the habit. So, look for more Teubner news!!

Kickin' it After Skool

So, due to the rain, power had been off in our neighborhood since noon. I came home and picked up K and had a sudden realization. Our power was out so no Arthur or Wordgirl. it had been raining all day so no playing outside. What in the world was I going to do in a semi-dark house with an almost 2 year old?? C was not going to get home and take us out to eat (hey, side benefit of no power!!) until 5:30 or so. How would I keep my sanity and K occupied?? Then my creative side shouted at me, "I have an idea!!" A month or so ago, I subscribed to a fantastic magazine. There really isn't a magazine that I can pick up and see cool fun things to me and my family to do within the first 5 pages!!! My latest issue came on Friday. While we were out on Saturday, I bought the two things I needed to do this cool project. What cool project? I think of it as the uber-cool project. This project starts a few months ago. For Christmas, C's brother's family got K a pair of Chuck Taylors that were funky and perfect for K. He wore them a couple of times and then the zipper on the side broke. We were upset about it because they had really put in a lot of thought into this particular pair of Chucks. So, I hung on to them hoping that one day we could get them fixed before K outgrew them. Then, enter fabulous issue of fav magazine. In a special section on how to get kids active, they had this craft using old shoes. You take a dowel rod and put it into the shoe like it it a leg. You then screw the rod to the shoe from the bottom. Cost? $3 for one rod. I cut the 4 ft rod into two 2 ft sections. Took me about 10 minutes. End result? K and I spent the rest of the time playing "kick ball" in the living room. Luckily, the lights came on around 4:30. I was able to get dinner done and K had a great time!!

Good Night Moon...goodnight...what?

The other evening, I was getting K ready for bed. He was up on his changing pad and I was just putting the last diaper strap in place when I said, "Bye, bye penis." K has started calling his business by the anatomical name. We have no idea where he got this but we follow his lead. K replied, "Night, night penis." Then he turned to look at me and put his forefinger to his lips and said, "Shhhh! Sleeping." and point to his business. I cracked up!! My thoughts are that it should stay asleep for a VERY long time!!

Super Yummy Casserole

Here it is:

Santa Fe Chicken Casserole

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
9 oz. pkg. frozen fully cooked diced chicken (I used a 10 ox can of chicken in water)
2 (15 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
24 oz. jar thick and chunky salsa
1 cup taco sauce
8 corn tortillas
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese (I used the Mexican shredded cheese)
Preparation:In medium microwave safe bowl, cook onion and garlic in olive oil on HIGH for 2-3 minutes until tender.(I am a saute person so I sauteed the onion and garlic on the stove top.) Stir in frozen chicken, black beans and salsa. (If freezing, cool onion and garlic mixture before adding frozen chicken.)
In 2 quart glass baking dish (I used a square one), pour taco sauce. Lay four corn tortillas over sauce. Top with half of chicken mixture. Spoon on half of sour cream in small dollops. Sprinkle with half of cheese. Top with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, sour cream and cheese. Cover with foil. At this point, you can wrap the casserole well and freeze up to 3 months.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes until bubbly. Uncover and bake 5-10 minutes longer until cheese is melted. If frozen, thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator, then bake covered at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes until bubbly; uncover and bake 5-10 minutes longer until cheese melts. Serves 6 (This served 5 adults and 3 kids plus some had seconds and thirds AND we still had one serving leftover for C's lunch the next day!)

B-day Boy!

My hubby's b-day is April 1st. That's right. I found my very own April Fool to have and to hold (I will hug him and squeeze him and call him friend). Unfortunately, it feel on a Wednesday. for us, those nights are church nights. Our church serves up an awesome $3 dinner (complete with Nestle Toll House cookie for dessert) plus I have bell practice - ugh! So, we saved the celebrating for Thursday evening. My parents, grandmother and two nephews came over for dinner. Before dinner, the boys came over to help us rip up the carpet in the hallway. We are big fans of hardwood floors. We put hardwoods in our house in Houston and they were gorgeous!!

Plus, our little guy is big time into cars and loves to drive them all over things and carpet isn't race car friendly. So, we asked our landlords if they wouldn't mind splitting the cost of hardwoods for the hallway with us. They decided that they did not want to do that. They wanted to pay for the whole thing - WOW! So, they boys came over to help us pull up the carpet. We told them that they would earn $5 in commission for their work. We are big Dave Ramsey fans and agree with the way he taught his kids about money. Our children will not receive allowances. They will earn commission. Basically, this is their first job and we are their first bosses. If they do the work the way they are supposed to, they get a commission. If they don't do it, then they don't get paid. We feel like since the boys are over here so much that we will give them commissions. Tonight was the first go at it. TE still had homework to do so we had to send him back to my parents. CE was ready to work! He is such a workhorse! He could not wait to get the carpet up. I showed him how to use a flathead screwdriver and a hammer to pull up the carpet tacks. He was in hog heaven. You could tell that he really enjoyed being able to use tools. TE came over after we had pulled up the carpet but he got to pull up the padding. He only worked for about 30 minutes and then went outside to play. We realized that he was going to have a quick lesson in commissions and how they pay out. CE worked right alongside C until the work was all done and dinner was ready. We had printed out recipes a few months ago and C picked out a new one to try for his B-day meal. It was awesome!! It is called Santa Fe Chicken. It was super easy to make, cooked in 35 minutes, and fed 8 people (and seconds and thirds for some!). It was soooo good. There is a little bit left over for C to have for lunch tomorrow. We then played a few rounds of our favorite family card game. Halfway through, it was K's bedtime so we did our routine and he went right to sleep. We then had birthday cake (C's favorite Mexican Spice Cake: Chocolate and cinnamon...mmmmm). C opened his cards and gifts. I got he and I tickets to see Dame Edna at Bass Hall. Hilarious!! Can't wait! After cards, it was time for the family to go home. We went ahead and paid the boys their commission. CE got $7 and TE got $3. TE was a bit confused and C explained to him that he did not do the all the work that was expected of him. He decided to play around. We also used that time to explain to the boys the three ways our family uses money. We explained that we first set aside money to give to God as our offering. We then explained that we set some aside for money for savings. The rest is for spending. They can spend their money on whatever they choose. Momma then explained that when they got home, they were going to work on decorating their three envelopes: Give, Save, Spend. Part of Dave deals with changing your family tree. We hope that by giving them ways to use money in a positive form and talking about it will help them be better with their money than we have been.

Speaking of Dave, mark your calendars!! April 23rd at 7 pm, Dave is doing a live webcast from OKC. He will be discussing the current economic situation. Our church is hosting a viewing of this event. If you need more info, just let me know!

Big event this weekend: Easter Egg Hunt at church. Pics and posting sometime afterwards.

Animals!!

Some of you might not be aware but K loves animals. He enjoys the zoo so much and our natural wildlife around the house. We have to check for lizards whenever we head outside after I pick him up. We also have quite a few animal books and flash cards to run through and he enjoys it every time. Well, our newest animal fascination is llamas. The GP llamas are down from our neighborhood so we have to look for them whenever we go that way. Granted, we talk about the "Mamas" at home, outside, at church, and just about anywhere we go. He seems to be saying "Mamas" every minute so it is kinda driving me nuts, but it makes me smile to know that he is so excited about God's creatures. I feel so close to God whenever I tune into nature and it is so neat to see that in my son!!

BTY, if you haven't read R's blogs about dance class, you need to!! Click on The Dees link on the right side.

Ahhh.....boys!

So, my little blessing has confirmed this week that he is truly a little boy. We love dirt, especially in our mouths. We have stinky feet. I am not looking forward to teenage K's feet already!! And, last, but certainly not least, we enjoy tooting our own horn! As I was getting him out of his car seat after church this evening, he let quite an impressive one rip. I looked around to see if my neighbor had dropped something while he was getting into his car. I turned back to my precious gift and he was smiling so big. It was then that I realized the sound had come from him. AND HE WAS PROUD OF IT! I asked, "What did you do?" (Giggle.Giggle) "Keegan, did you toot?" Yes. Toot!" So many thing that I am leary of.

Gotta brag....

so, I have been recovering this week from surgery and I have not been the best patient. Since it was abdominal surgery, I had a hard time getting up from sitting down. Once I was down, I was down!! C was great in bringing my liquids to drink and letting me sleep!! He literally took care of everything!! He has changed all of K's diapers. He has gotten K ready for bed and put him to bed. He has fed the dogs, done the laundry, done the dishes, and done the cooking. He is really living up to the "for better or worse...in sickness and in health" of our vows. I have felt better each day but him stepping up to the plate has truly been the best meds for my recovery. I have known that he is the man God created me for and this just proves it before my eyes. I love you, Babe and look forward to our future adventures!!!

Some new words

Here a list of new words that K is using:

"Thanks." He says this word with extra emotion so it sounds like he is super happy to be saying it.

"Mommies". We pointed out the llamas that live near us and he keeps asking about the mommies.

"Moo Moo Book". This is the book that gets read over and over again. We have taken to hiding it. But he gets so excited when he finds it!!

Feeling better

Ok, so yesterday was not a good day. I didn't sleep very well. I guess I was that I didn't get a deep sleep so I was tired. I was also REALLY sore on my left side. That's where the port is and it is usually the sorest place since it is not really deep under the skin. I have a hard time getting out of bed but that is to be expected since you use your abdominal muscles so much in that activity. So, since I am feeling better, I wanted to go ahead and write about the surgery. I promise not to make this blog all about my band but I did want to write it out for those who are not familiar with the process.
C took me to the surgery center Tuesday morning. I had to be there by 7:30 and my surgery was for 8. We got there and there were quite a few people in the waiting room. They called my name after a bit and I headed back to change into the fabulous hospital gown, circulation hose, booties for my feet, and hairnet - I looked awesome!! This was my first experience with circulation hose. They are REALLY tight and make my blood keep moving so I don't get blood clots. They were supposed to be knee highs. With my short legs, they were more like thigh highs!! The nursing staff at the surgery center was fantastic! They were all cheery and happy and my nurse took extra care of me. She got me a longer set of circulation hose so that they went all the way to my hip and didn't roll. She also put in my IV and I seriously felt a small pinch - not a lot of pain. After I was all prepped, they allowed C to come back. He came back carrying one of those coasters that restaurants use to let you know your table is ready. Here, it lets you know when you can come back to see the patient after surgery. So, I felt like a table for one! C's mom had come to sit with him during the surgery. C went and got her so that she could sit with me for a few minutes. It was so nice to have someone there for C. One things I did not have to worry about! My doc came out to see if I had any last minute questions. I was ready to go but they were finishing up the gal who had gone before me. Oddly enough, her name is Sarah too! The anesthesiologist came over to talk with me about what meds he was going to give me. We were all waiting for the green light to go into surgery. I honestly do not remember going to the surgery room but I do remember being in there for a few seconds and then the next thing I knew, I was waking up in recovery. It was really foggy waking up but I did notice the clock. I went into surgery at 9 and I was waking up in recovery at 10:30!! WOW! I felt really nauseous so they put a patch on me and I felt better after a few minutes. They then made me get up and walk to the X-ray room. I had to drink barium and they watched on the screen to make sure that the new stomach opening was large enough to let liquids in. It was pretty cool to watch! Granted, I was still pretty drugged but I do remember that. They let c come back a few minutes after I got back in bed. They had given me morphine and I had to wait 30 minutes before I could go home. I pretty much slept. Nurses came and talked with C about what I needed to do to recover. One thing they made me do was inhale in this breathing thing. I have to breathe in and make this little ball hit the top of the container and hold it there for a count of three. No problem for me. The nurse said that the other gal had a hard time with this one. I guess she didn't want to go home as badly I as I wanted to!! They wheeled me out to the car and I don't remember much of the drive home. My mom was over watching K along with my nephews. When I walked in the boys looked really worried. I hadn't told them about the surgery. The youngest asked if I was pregnant. I laughed and said, "Cam, I know you want more cousins but it's just not going to happen right now." I went back to me bed and fell asleep. It was the second best part of my day. The first was the awesome hug K ran over and gave me when we got home.
Currently, my diet is liquids. I have been drinking two protein shakes a day. I also drink water, tea, chicken broth, and Gatorade. I am so excited about Sunday since that is the day that I can start eating mushy foods. C is going to make a roast and we're going to put in a lot of veggies. C makes a great roast and the veggies are so moist! I'm figuring just eating the veggies will be my first challenge. But I am so excited to try them! Yum!

Happy to be Home

Just wanted to let everyone know that I got home around lunchtime. Doing really well. Not a lot of pain but more discomfort. It feels like I am cramping on my left side. So, I'm enjoying my room temp water and Gatorade and watching K run around. Thanks so much for the prayers. I felt very much at peace and am so thankful for that. I will type more tomorrow. Gotta get some sleep!

So, how did you spend your St. Patty's Day?

I hope you are all having a great St. Patty's Day. I am actually having a life-changing one. Today, at 8:30 A.M., I will be having lap band surgery. I started this whole journey in August 2008. In order for my insurance to cover the cost, I had to do a lot of things, including meeting with a nutritionist for 6 months. I had my last nutritionist visit in January and was approved a few weeks later.
Most of you know that have I struggled with my weight for years. Honestly, it has been since the 4th grade. Coming to the decision to have this surgery took lot of talking with C and research. I decided on this surgery since it was less invasive and safer for pregnancy. The why and how I became overweight really aren't important. I have been able to lose weight but it is the keeping it off that is a big problem. I feel like this surgery will not only help me lose the weight and keep it off but it will drastically improve my quality of life. This is something I am doing for myself but also for my family.
Feel free to ask me questions. I'm not going to hide the fact that I had surgery. Personally, I see no reason to. It will be pretty obvious that something is going on. I have kept this pretty quiet since I was waiting for approval and really wanted to wait until I had all my info. So, if you would, please, just say a little prayer for me. I'm not really scared but just ready to get it done and start getting healthy. But I can always use prayers!

Sad, sad day

I have really enjoyed blogging. The best part: I can blog from school! I hardly get interrupted unless someone has a question on their packet. I usually blog in the mornings since my kids really aren't awake yet. But today, that all changed. I click on our blog looking forward to adding in some fun things about K (he has started saying, "Thanks!"). It takes it an unusually long time to load. When it finally does, I almost cry. The school upgraded our already picky firewall to include blogs as blocked sites. Say it isn't so!!! I am really kinda ticked about it since the firewall is a big pain. I mean I understand why it is needed but come on!! SO, my blogging will get a bit of a hit on frequency. Sorry!

What a weekend!!

I need a vacation from my weekend!! It was busy and filled with family fun. Friday night we went with my parents, nephews, and grandmother to eat dinner at Steak N Shake. It is one of our favorite burger joints. K seemed to like it too, especially the shake part!! Afterwards, my parents and nephews came over for a Tut-orial. We were going to see the King Tut exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. You may not be aware but I am a complete nut about ancient Egypt and King Tut in particular. I got out some of my Tut books and told them some facts about Tut and the discovery of his tomb. It was so nice to be my inner geek!! We went to the exhibit early Saturday morning. It was FREEZING in downtown Dallas!! The wind was really. It took forever to get the money machine to take our bills for the parking lot we found. We hurried to get inside. Here's a tip for those of you who might be making your way down to the exhibit: Get your tickets on-line and get the earliest time slot. The later you go, the longer the line. We were able to walk right into the first room with no wait. By the time we left, there was line waiting outside the first room and into a tent outside!! C and I had seen the exhibit before. He took my to Chicago one summer and we went to the Field Museum to see this same exhibit. We really wanted to take K so that he can get used to being in a museum. Unfortunately, he got a little scared since some of the rooms were darkly lit. He is not afraid of the dark but we think the objects glowing from the light kinda scared him. Also, he couldn't see all of us so that kinda scared him too. C took him to the last room to wait for us. That worked good since it was a large room without exhibits. Plus, people hadn't made their way their yet so he could be loud without interfering with someone's museum experience. I walked with my Dad and pointed things out to him. About halfway through, C came and took over while I went and waited with my mom and nephews in the gift shop. K had a great time looking at all the goodies!! When we saw it in Chicago, we got our names printed out in hieroglyphics. We went and made K a print out too. He had fun trying on the Pharaoh hats - so funny!!
After we got done with gift shop, we set out to leave the museum. On the way out, there was a really cool exhibit. I have no idea what the point was. It was very out of the box art. On piece was a large circular fan that was suspended from the ceiling by a bungee cord. The fan was on and was just moving all around the room. The boys thought it was so cool. We then went through this tunnel. The sides of the tunnel were paneled with iridescent sheets and there such a beautiful purple and royal blue color. As you progressed down the tunnel, things began to change color. The tunnel ended in a room that was lit with yellow-orange lights. It made everything look black and white! The boys were thoroughly impressed!! K kept running out of the room and back through the tunnel!!
For lunch, we headed over to Knox-Henderson. There was a hot dog place we have always wanted to try and knew it was just THE place to take our family. It was a hit! One nephew ate two hot dogs!! It is called "Wild About Harry's" What we really liked was that the kid's meal came with a dog, drink, chips or fries, AND a kid's cup of custard with sprinkles!! K was in heaven!! We also tried their custard and it was so yummy!! I got chocolate-peppermint shake - oh so good!! They also have Thin Mint Blast custard and it was fantastic!! After our meal, we walked down to Froggies. It is a great toy store and everyone had fun playing with the toys. We had been in earlier that week and saw some big, plastic, magnetic letters. After getting home and talking, we decided that K needed those for the easel he got for Christmas. It came with these little foam letters that are way too small. After Froggies, we walked over to PBK to get K a toddler pillow. They had them for only $10!! But they did not have any pillow cases for that size. The gal suggested that I just go get a standard pillow case and cut it in half and sew the edges. It has been a long time since I sewed but I have been feeling the need to be creative so I asked my mom if I could borrow her sewing machine. Luckily, it was easy to get to in their garage! After PBK, we headed home. K slept in the car on the way home and for a bit after we got home. After nap, it was time for the boys to get their haircuts. It seems like every haircut ages K. When then headed out to Cedar Hill to pick up dinner for the family and go by Jo Ann's to get fabric. I was able to find some fabric on sale to practice with and some with baseballs on it to go with his new room. We are moving him into the other bedroom and decorating his room with a baseball theme. We stopped by Papa Murhpy's for pizza and then (finally) headed home. The family came over for dinner and games. We taught the boys a new card game that we learned from Kristen and Chris called Up and Down the River. At first, the boys were not into it but by the end of the game, they were hooked!!
Sunday was church. Since we are not teaching our Sunday School class, we decided to go to the Gracepoint service. We really enjoyed it since they play modern Christian music and we know the words!! It was also fun to sit with our friends and, of course, to let Luke "get" C's hand!! church, we headed out to Target and Home Depot and then out to my BIL's house in Midlothian for a birthday lunch for my nephew. We really like sharing birthdays at someone's house rather than at a restaurant. The kids can run around and be loud and it's OK!! It is so fun to watch K with his older nephews. He seems to have no idea that he is younger than they are!! Afterwards, we headed home. K slept in the car but would not sleep more when we got home. My mom and nephews came over. The boys wanted to play the card game and Momma came to help me sew the pillowcases. After much trial and error, my stitches looked like actual sewing!! I got one case made - yippee!! Since it came to be that the boys were going to be staying at my parent's that night, we decided to keep on playing cards and would eat dinner together. I tried the Bacon Cheeseburger roll-up and it was a hit! Dad came over after work. He brought some potato salad from Red, Hot, and Blue. It is the best!! We then played cards and had a lot of fun. I think my sides are sore today from all the laughing we did!!
So, as you can tell, it was a super busy weekend but filled with lots of memories. When's naptime for me??

Menu Monday

Forgot to do this last week but I promise we ate!



Sunday: Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-up **New recipe** Click here for link

Monday: I have a Children's committee meeting at my house. We are all bringing something to eat. Who knows what's for dinner!! I'm making King Ranch Casserole

Tuesday: Chicken and Potato Casserole

Wed: Martha's BBQ pork samiches

Thursday: Taco Soup

Friday: Pasta

Saturday: Tilapia



Verdict on Bacon Cheeseburger Roll-up: YUM!! Super cheesy and very filling. Served it with mixed veggies and some potato salad from Red, Hot, and Blue. Was able to feed 7 with a slice leftover. Next time, I'll probably add a can of green chilies for some spice. I used ground turkey and no one could tell the difference.

A fun visit

Last night we have the extreme pleasure of meeting a good friend for dinner. We have known Kendall since college. She and her family recently moved from Canada to San Antonio. It is such a joy to have them back in state (even though we didn't get to come visit!) She was in town for a business meeting and we met up for dinner at Cafe Express. This was the first time Kendall got to meet K!! Granted, he is acting like a two year old but he immediately said her name (Kennal)! We had a good time catching up on things and comparing parenting stories. We have GOT to make it down to SA to visit them. After dinner, we went to get gelato (yum) next door. This is where something has never happened...happened. K wanted to walk so he was just kinda walking around and then he noticed the gelato. He turned to Kendall and raised his hands so she would pick him up!! That is amazing! K never does that to new people. Must be that special K bond or something...who knows but I think it made Kendall's day!! Well, that and getting home to her guys!

Lent

Last night was our church's Ash Wednesday service. It is one of our favorite services. We usually have a Mardi Gras themed dinner and a jazz service. This year was bit different. The meal was fabulous!! Jambalaya, Dirty rice, Red beans, and bread pudding!!! So yummy!! K really enjoyed the Jambalya!! We had a wonderful dinner surrounded by our family. C's mom was able to join us and that made the meal even more perfect. It is always a joy to see K having a good time with his grandparents. C and I both have had close relationships with our grandparents and we pray that K has a very close relationship with his.
Due to a tighter budget, we did not have the jazz band that we usually have. Instead, we had a drama skit about sacrifices. Guess who was in it!! Me and C!! It was C's acting debut and he did fabulous!! He ad-libbed a few lines perfectly. I was impressed with my man!! The most touching part of the service is when the pastors put the ash crosses on our foreheads. We have made it a point to have K with us during certain traditions in church. When we have Communion, C goes and gets him so that K can take Communion. It warms my spirit to see K picking up on how we do certain things. He is still working on holding out his hands to receive bread but he really like the juice!! We took him forward with us to receive ashes. After we got our ashes, we go and paint a cross for each of us on banners. What is really cool is that previously in the service, we wrote on a card what we were giving up for Lent. The ushers collected the papers and took them outside and burned them into ashes. These ashes are then mixed in with the black paint we use to make our crosses on the banners. These banners will hang in the Sanctuary for the Lenten season. It is a joy to look up every Sunday and see the three crosses that represent our family!
So, what did I give up for Lent? I gave up the word "No". I seriously feel like that word is overused in my daily vocabulary. Plus, it seems to be K's favorite word. I am consciously aware of how much he learns from us, whether we want him to or not!! So far, it has been hard. I am having to make a conscious effort to think before I speak (hard for me to do!) I feel like this is something that I will not be able to do on my own, like give up chocolate or something. It is seriously a problem that I will need His help with!! Grant me patience and words of love, Lord!

Big shoes to fill

Some of my favorite pics of our nieces and nephews have been them trying on C's shoes.

Here's our youngest nephew C trying them out.

We have one somewhere of E wearing C's shoes. It is so precious but I have no idea where it is saved.

Trying On Daddy's Boots

A new word for the day - PARK!

C and I have been on a quest to find fun family things that are free to do that will keep us active. We do not want our kids to be inside kids. I personally feel closer to God when I am outside. While I don't enjoy getting up so early in the morning, I do get to see all of the beautiful sunrises that make me feel the wonder of God's creation. I really wanted to go out for a walk after dinner but I thought K might get too cold. C suggested that we all go to the park since K would be running around instead of riding in a stroller. Great idea!! And what made it even better was taking Duke with us. We stopped by to see if Pop wanted to go with. He enjoys spending time throwing Duke's toy and watching Duke go get it. We stopped by on our way out but he and GNanny were going out to dinner. We invited them to come along on their way and they took us up on the offer. There are a few things we figured out at the park.
One, K feels like he is too big for the kiddie playground. He spent the majority of the time climbing up the big kid's playset and sliding down the super fast slide. He seriously thinks he is years older than he really is!! His favorite thing to do was to climb up the big green climbing wall that leads up to the walkway that joins all of the slides. He would then run all the way to the end slide. He usually tried to just walk down the slide but we pretty much got him to sit down before heading down the steep part. Except for one time. He realized that while the slide is super fast, it is also super ouchy when you hit your head on it!!
Two, Duke loves it when you throw his green bouncy toy REALLY REALLY far. He starts before you let go and tries to beat it to it's landing spot.
Three, Duke loves climbing up the green climbing wall just as much as K does.
Four, and finally, Duke is my dog. C would throw the toy. Duke would run and get it and bring it to me!! He would also follow me up the green wall and walk around the walkway like he was my bodyguard.
When it started getting dark and Duke laid down on the ground, we decided it was time to go. It is amazing how a simple trip to the park gives so many things. And, hello!!! It's free!!

Last night, we were THOSE people

Last night, we met Chris's family for a birthday celebration dinner at Patrizio's in the Uptown in Cedar Hill. We found this place a few months ago and really like it. Good Italian for good prices. Plus, kids eat from Sunday-Thursday!! We were almost done with dinner. K had bowtie pasta and really did a good job of eating it up. He decided he wanted a bite of his aunt's pizza. I told him he needed to take a drink of milk so that he could swallow some of the food he had in reserve in his cheeks. He kinda choked on the milk and spit up a bit. Then he started crying probably because he was scared and a bit embarrassed. So C got up to take him to the bathroom to calm down and wash his hands. I set to cleaning up his highchair. Then the family told me that C needed me in the bathroom. I head over that way and that's when I see the reason why. Hansel and Gretel were so lucky that they left a cookie trail. I had a puke trail that went from the hallway to the men's restroom. It led to an even worse sight. C was holding K and they both had puke on them. K got most of it though. We rushed into the men's restroom and were both trying to figure out what to do. I started stripping K and C went and got our waiter. While we are in clean-up mode, our wonderful waiter brought us a trash bag for K's clothes. He also went and got our bill ready and boxed up our food. C gave him our card and everything was taken care of within 5 minutes. The manager also came in to see if we needed anything. He got someone on mopping up the floor while he squirted a bottle with the ever lovely orange stuff. His phone rang while this was all going on. The person must have asked him what he was doing because he said to them, "Actually, I am mopping up vomit." I literally felt myself shrink to about 3 inches tall. I felt so horrible and kept apologizing and thanking everyone. They really were nice about it and never made me feel like they were upset with the situation. I went into the women's restroom to change K into a new diaper. And I found out something I did not like about Patrizio's - NO CHANGING TABLE!! The only place I had to change K was the marble counter. He cried and cried since it was so cold. Fastest diaper change EVER!! We calmly made our way out of the restaurant. We stopped by the family table to tell everyone bye. As we left the table, a man at a nearby table stopped us and asked if K was ok. He said he hopes the little guy gets to feeling better. How sweet!! My son totally grossed you out with his re-enactment of Mt. St. Helens and you hope he feels better. Again, I felt 3 inches tall. And we headed out the door. I had K in my arms and he was only in his diaper. GREAT!! I'm sure we got some wonderfully spiteful looks but we have yet to remember to pack K an extra pair of clothes. And the worst part?? We didn't get any birthday cake!! And it was really good. A gal at our church made it and they are WONDERFUL!! R - just your kind of icing!! She's a stay-at-home mom so I like giving her some business.
On the way home, we were both silently praying that this did not mean that K had the dreaded flu that has been making the rounds. It is just not fun being around a sick kiddo since there's not much you can do to make them feel better.
K has been fine ever since. He woke up and was really hungry - go figure! We're just thinking this was a sign that we really need to get those extra clothes into his bag.
C is going to call Patrizio's and thank the manager and our waiter. He is also going to recommend they install changing tables. When we go back, we will definitely ask for the same waiter!!

Little blessing

So, C and I are still stuck about why K gets up so early. We are working on a set bedtime routine. We have K help us feed the dogs (It will be his job when he is older.) first and then we brush his teeth. Then it is story time in his bed. Prayers, hugs and kisses and then night-night. We are hoping that the routine will help calm him down so he can get that good sleep.
But I did have a revelation this morning. This year, my district changed out start time from 8:30 to 7:30. That means I have to leave the house around 6:45. Usually, K would sleep until 7 or 7:15 so I never got to see him in the mornings. I hated that!! But, this morning, I realized that with K waking up early, I get to see him in the mornings!! Totally changed my mindset about his early birdness. And this morning was a good one. He slept until 6:45. When it was time for me to go, i got my bye-bye kiss from him and then we went and found C. C picked up K and then leaned over to give me a kiss bye. K started saying, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" and then he leaned over and gave me another kiss!! What a sweetie!!! Totally made my heart fill up with butterflies. C and I made the decision that we wanted our kids to see us being affectionate to each other. To have K recognize this made it a good parent moment.

Menu Monday

No new recipes this week since we did not go grocery shopping
Monday: King Ranch Chicken
Tuesday: Dinner out For C's mom's b-day
Wed: Hot dogs at the church
Thurs: BBQ (new place on Main in GP - YUM!!)
Fri: Pasta
Sat: Dinner out (we're planning a "Thank God It is Over" dinner with my co-chair and her hubby!)

What a weekend!!

Time to be honest: I was DREADING this weekend. I have been working with another gal on a couples retreat at our church for Valentine's weekend. The past week has been rough. Our books weren't going to get delivered on time so we had to hunt around for extra copies. It was crazy!! Now that it has happened, I can honestly say that all of the stressed and fiasco was worth it. We started Friday night with a fun game. We had placed bits of ribbon around the Youth Building at our church. Couples had to go around and find the bits and tie them together. The couple with the longest ribbon won. It was hilarious!! Our minister's wife is very competitive. She about knocked over one lady to get a ribbon!! The material we used for the retreat was "Fireproof Your Marriage" which is based on the new Fireproof movie. It is fantastic material!! There are six sessions and each one is set up the same way. We'd watch a video clip from the movie and discuss. Then we would read parts of scripture and discuss as a group. Then everyone would answer some questions on their own. The last thing was that the couples would go somewhere private and share their answers to the questions. There were some easy answers and there were hard ones. I personally found that this last part was my favorite since it was a chance for Chris and I to talk about us without any interruptions. I realized that we are not active in working on our marriage. We kinda just let things go their usual way and that's not fair to either of us. One of the sessions had the scripture that talked about how God knew me when he was knitting me in the womb. One lady said that it just hit her that as God was knitting her, he was making her for her husband and vice versa. What a thought!! It took my breath away to realize that the same way true for me and C!!
We played games during the breaks and my co-chair did a great job of finding fun games. We did a Valentine's Mad Lib. We played the Not-so-Newlywed Game. Our last game was Family Feud with gals against guys. The guys won but they gave their prize, a chocolate bar, to their wives - smart guys!!
Saturday night was our date night. All of the couples returned to the church for dinner and a movie. We had an unbelievable dinner catered by Mirepoix catering. There wasn't a lot of talking while we were eating since the food was that good!! Each couple had their own little table that we had decorated with confetti and their goody bag. We also asked each couple what their song was and complied all of the songs onto a cd. Each couple also received a cd with their goody bag. After dinner, each couple had couch to cozy up in with their partner. We watched the movie "Fireproof". If you haven't seen it, see it!! It is done by the guys who did "Facing the Giants". This movie was one that gave you such a powerful message without overpowering His word. That's a hard thing to accomplish!!
I feel that this was the best Valentine's ever for C and I. We were able to not worry about how K was doing since we had some great babysitters taking care of him. We were able to talk about some things that we just don't have time to give serious discussion and thought.
Being the GT kid that I am, I was constantly worried if people liked it or not. I mean I want people to feel like it was worth the time and money. After Friday night, I didn't worry about it anymore because I was having a great time! People are going to get out of it what they need to and I can't do a thing about that.
I think another thing I enjoyed is the great mix of couples we had. There were ten couples. Some had been married for under ten years and some were nearing the century mark. One couple was just dating!! Everyone felt comfortable speaking their mind which added to the great discussion. I feel like we were an intimate group since it was so small. I wouldn't have changed that for anything! We only had enough seating and couches for 10 couples!!
I also found a scripture to add to my favs list: John 4:19. So true!!

A-ha!

So, I think I might have figured out why K is waking up so early. This morning, I was kinda snoozing and heard a loud thud come from his room. We moved him out of his crib a while ago. He's not ready for a big boy bed. We just have a twin mattress on the floor. He can't roll out since we have it shoved into a corner with a safety net railing on one side. So, he rolls into the walls. I'm thinking that when he rolls into the wall that it wakes him up and he decides it is time to get up. Now the hard part is trying to figure out how to prevent him from smacking into the wall. We might try putting his stuffed animals around the edge of the bed and see if that works. Granted, that might not be the problem. Then we'll be back at square one.

Our early bird

So, the early mornings continue. K has been waking up around 5:30 or 6 in the morning. Not so bad during the week but a killer on the weekends. We are trying to figure out what we can do to get him to sleep longer. We tried putting him to bed later but no luck. We tried giving him some milk before bed (we did brush his teeth afterwards) but no luck. We are starting to feel like we did when he came home from the hospital due to the lack of sleep. We have started going to bed around 9. We are seriously not old enough for that!!! When he wakes up before our alarm clock goes off, we put him back in bed. He will get up again and we will put him back in. This cycle goes on until the alarm goes off and we're getting ready for the day. We are trying to convey to him that he doesn't get up until Mr. Sun is out but it is a total work in progress. I have already told him that when he is a teenager and trying to sleep until noon that I will gladly be running into his room before the sun comes up and wake him up!!

Gotta love the zoo!!

We had a great time with our company this weekend. While all going to the zoo did not work out, the Teubners were able to go. It was great weather Saturday morning and we got there when it opened. It was such a joy to ask K what animals did he see and he would tell you!! He really liked the meerkats (kept telling the to "Come here!") and, of course, the elephants! I also packed his animal picture book so that we could show him some new animals, like the ostrich and kookaburra bird. The funniest thing happened when we were in the penguin exhibit. This was the first time that it wasn't totally crowded so K was able to get up on the ledge and walk around a bit. There was one penguin swimming. He kept swimming right past K's face. That just made him giggle. He also kept telling the penguin, "Hi!" C stood by him but I took the time to sit back and just enjoy watching my little guy. He is so amazing to us!! We sit back often and ask each other what did we do to deserve him? I don't think we will ever know!
Another funny happened when we were watching the kangaroos. There was a mom there with her two boys, the oldest was around 4 or 5. She pointed out the kangaroos and the oldest by said something to her that we could not hear. She let out a long breath and said, "I don't know who his archenemies are." We died laughing!!

Menu Monday errrrrr Tuesday

Last week was a busy week and this one should be too! We are looking forward to some vacation time - just don't know when that will happen!!



Monday - Chicken and Potatoes

Tuesday - Taco Soup

Wednesday - Spaghetti @ the church

Thursday - King Ranch Chicken

Friday & Saturday - Out (We are having a couples retreat at the church!!)

Verdict on the Chicken Potato Casserole: YUM!! Think super easy chicken pot pie without the crust!! I had to add some spices to it to give it flavor but it is a recipe that you can really play with and get different tastes.

Menu Monday

Well, we sorta already fell off the menu wagon since we decided that we were both too tired to cook last night. We had our annual chili cook-off at church which C was in charge of. Needless to say, he was beat!! So, we're doing a few minor adjustments!!



Monday - Indian

Tuesday - Tamales (homemade by the mother of one my students!!)

Wednesday - Tacos @ church

Thursday - Chicken Potato Casserole

Friday - Dinner out

Saturday - Dinner out

As you can see, we have some guests coming in from out of town. A good friend of ours from college and her fiance are coming into town. His daughter lives up here so we're all going to the zoo on Saturday. We are so excited since K is doing such a great job identifying and mimicking the animals. We are then going to have some adult time Sat night and go to a wine and cheese party that a friend is hosting. Don't know if we will make church!!

Got a new recipe to try this week. C did some searching on-line and found some new things to try. Our beloved freezer supply is running low so we want to fill it back up. I usually bake like crazy for a week but it is super expensive all at once. We have decided that it might be easier to try a new recipe a week and also make a family fav and freeze it.

Note: I accidentally bought cream of mushroom soup. Also, I decided to use crunched up goldfish instead of chips. We have goldfish on hand!!
Ingredients:
10 oz. can condensed reduced fat and sodium cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1-1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
3-1/2 cups frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
1-1/2 cups frozen peppers and onions, thawed
1-1/4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1-1/2 cups crushed potato chips
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine soup, sour cream, milk, chicken and 1-1/4 cups cheese. Spread three-quarters of this mixture in a greased 2-quart baking dish.
Sprinkle hash browns and peppers and onions over the top of the casserole and press down lightly, then top vegetables with remaining soup mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and potato chips.
Bake casserole, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving. 8 servings
To freeze, assemble casserole as directed, except do not thaw potatoes, peppers, or onions and do not sprinkle with potato chips. Wrap casserole in freezer wrap or heavy duty foil and freeze. Reserve potato chips in pantry. To thaw and bake, let thaw overnight in refrigerator. Uncover and bake at 350 degrees F for 60-70 minutes until bubbly. Then top with crushed potato chips and bake 5-10 minutes longer.

Ice day

Well, since we didn't have school yesterday. I got to spend the day with K. I was not a happy camper about having an ice day. We have plans to go camping with our friends the Lowries Easter weekend. This has become sort of a tradition for us. It goes back before kids and Laner joined out happy band. We go camp out at Inks Lake State Park that weekend. The town close by, Burnet, has their annual Bluebonnet festival that weekend. It is so much fun!! They have all sorts of stuff set up around the town square and even a parade. Maybe this year we can make it to the air show!. Last time we went, Laner and I were both prego. This will be an adventure since it will be K's first time camping and the first time we have all the kiddos together in the wild. If you are a camping person, you have GOT to go to Inks. It is a beautiful park with great wildlife, flowers, and swimming. We usually take our bikes too which would be another adventure for the family! We were planning on leaving Good Friday morning so that we can spend more time with our buds. Now it looks like school will meet that day!! UGH!!! UGH!!! I might just take that day.
K and I did enjoy our day together. We have found that he tends to get bored with his toys within a month. So, I split all of his toys and board books into three sets and rotate them each month. Yesterday, while K was napping, I was able to switch them around. K spent a good amount of time just looking through books and seeing what was new. He also gets really excited when he finds something that he remembers enjoying. I also took some funny videos of him just being funny. I wanted to make sure to get all of his animal sounds recorded. I also got him saying a prayer!! We're working on him saying, "Thank you, God. Amen." So far, you can only really make out the Thank You and Amen.

Verdict on BBQ chicken pockets

They were a hit!! I still used the cream cheese since it holds everything together wonderfully. I added about 2 cups of bbq sauce, 1 cup cheddar cheese, and half a chopped red onion. Next time, I'm going to also add cilantro for just a little pizazz.

New phrase for the weekend

As each day starts, I always wonder what K will say today. This weekend did not disappoint. We were heading out the door to go to Target to get meds, I told K to tell Daddy to come on. He turned and stuck his hand out and started beckoning C. He said, "Um on, Daddy! Um on!" We were both floored and impressed with our little boy. He, of course, had to show off his cool new phrase for Nanny, Pop, and Grandnanny.
He also was able to wish Grandnanny happy birthday. He will also wish you a happy New Year and a happy dinner.

Menu Monday

Here's hoping we feel well enough to enjoy it!



Sunday: BBQ chicken pockets (Using the recipe from R but with bbq sauce, cheddar cheese and onions. Will let you know how the experiment goes!)

Monday: Spaghetti & Meatballs

Tuesday: London Broil (HEB)

Wednesday: Potatoes and Chicken (still trying to finish up K's chicken from his birthday party!)Thursday: French Bread Pizza (We kinda cheated and had that for lunch Saturday. It was FABULOUS! And R, you were not kidding about how super easy it is! We are going to buy extra loaves of french bread and freezes them just to have it on hand.)

Friday: Indian (leftover from a Christmas party)

Saturday: Tamales



Here's a fantastic recipe that we had for Sunday lunch. I texted my parents since they went to church and we didn't (darn this yucky congestion!). I got this from my co-worker Lori. She brought some for lunch on Friday and we made her called the MIL Momma Jean for the recipe. Momma Jean lives with Lori and does the cooking. This was perfect and so tasty!!



Santa Fe Soup

1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I used ground turkey)

1 chopped onion (I used red onion)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can rotel

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can corn or hominy, drained (I used corn)

1 lb mild Mexican Velveeta cheese , cut up

1 bag tortilla chips

**I also added a can of green chilies for a little extra umph!



Brown hamburger meat with onions. Drain. (I browned the turkey and then added some taco seasoning and then onions. I let those all cook together. Turkey just doesn't have enough flavor for me so I had to add some.) In a soup pot, add canned ingredients. Add turkey and onions. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add Velveeta to the soup. Let cheese melt. Add however much water to the soup to make it thinner. We like our soup thick so I didn't add much water. Serve with chips (great for crumbling up into soup!) This was a total hit for our family and would be souper easy to make and freeze. Enjoy!

Making memories

Well, I woke up Saturday morning totally pissed. There really is no other word to describe it. C has been sick since the later part of the week. He thought it was allergies due to everyone in the office having the congestion and such from construction going on in the facility. Not the case!! Allergies are not contagious!! I started feeling yucky sometime during the night. My chest felt horribly heavy and there was a tickle in the back of my throat. Plus when C is sick, he snores most horrid. Between him and my aged schnauzer Neil, I could not sleep. I got up and went into the living room to sleep. C woke up and felt really bad for me sleeping in the living room and told me to go to bed and he'd sleep on the couch. I was at the point of almost falling back asleep, and decided that if I moved too much, I'd wake up. So, he took K into our bedroom and let me sleep a little longer. That made me feel a bit better but I knew it was time to get up. K is a good mix of both of us. He gets up in a fantastic mood like me but doesn't like lounging in bed, just like C. Since none of us were in any condition to go anywhere, we decided to just have a fun day in. K wanted to go play on his new playset, but, as I explained to him, Mr. Sun was not out so neither were we. How do you keep a 1 1/2 year old occupied? Finger paints and playdough! C dragged K's kiddie table into the living room. We had a blast showing K how to finger paint. I was surprised that K enjoyed it as much as we did since he kinda doesn't like getting too dirty. But, we spent a good time just painting. Then, as it tends to be with us, we got a little crazy with the finger paints and ended up painting each other!! K was so funny about the whole thing. He reveled in the silliness of the moment. He even stuck his paintbrush with paint on it up my nose (I will SERIOUSLY be blowing red fingerpaint for a few days!!)

We told K to smile for the camera. What a cheese!!


Family portrait as painted by the Teubners

We got a bit cleaned up and got out the playdough. We would roll it into balls and K would squish them. The big fun came when he would put balls into the container and put the lid on it. He would then shake it furiously and have the biggest grin on his face. He would then pry the lid off so that the playdough balls would go flying and just scream with delight. We learned two things that morning. One, you can have a great Saturday making memories without spending tons of bucks. Two, Neil like playdough.

Saturday night was spent at C's Dad's house in Corinth. The cooked Asian (AKA ordered Pei Wei). We then played a game of Cranium. C and I were a team. His parents were a second team. His brother and grandfather were the third team. It was a total blast. C's Grandfather, Pawpaw, is wheelchair bound due to a degenerative spine disease. He was like a kid in a candy store, just drinking in the joy and laughter. There is one part of the game where you have to pose your partner into a pose to try to get them to guess the thing on the card. C's dad was like, "Ok, J, you get to pose Pawpaw!" We all laughed at that. In the end, C was the poser for that team. (What a poser!) Pawpaw really enjoyed the trivia questions. He'd even guess at other people's questions. He would say, "Is it ok if I guess it in my head? That way if I am wrong, no one will know!" After the question, I would asked, "Were you right, Pawpaw?" "Sure was!" Just a great evening to top off such a fantastic morning!

New words for the week

Yesterday morning, I was getting ready and our little early bird was just running around the bedroom. I was putting on my necklace and K stopped and watched me. He got a smile on his face and then took off (K no longer walks ANYWHERE!) for some other place in the house . He comes back a few minutes later with the bathtub plug from the guest bath. He take the chain that it is attached to and puts it around his neck. He looks up at me with a smile and says, clear as day, "Necklace."
Wednesday we were getting in the car to go to church. My backseat is full of tupperware stuff that has yet to be delivered and it is all over the place! K looks at the stuff and then, gesturing with his hands over it all, he turns to me with a serious look on his face and says, "Mess, Momma. Mess." His tone was like he was telling me that this mess next to him is not going to work.
Yesterday afternoon, he kept pointing to his big vinyl shapes and saying, "This." I asked him, "What about this?" He would respond, "Ummmmmm....This." It went on for a good while.
Last night, he was full of energy when it was bedtime. We called my parents to come over and they said they would after dinner. So, we had a good chunk of time to wear him out. He would run into the kitchen and I would find a place to hide in the living room. He would run back into the room and ask C, "Where's Momma?" He would proceed to look for me. When he'd find me, he'd shout, "Hiding!" Also, I would sit in the big chair and he would run by me. I would reach out and tickle him on his way by. He would just belly laugh. The cutest was that the closer he got to me, he'd know what was coming and giggle even more.
What a true blessing this child is to us. We worked hard for him and he was worth every bit of it. Thank you God for K. Our lives are truly enriched by him.

Updated on weekley menu

So far, this has been a good menu week. We had a minor change for Monday night. My mom asked if we wanted to join her, Daddy, and G-Nanny at Nina's for dinner. I'm not one to turn down free Mexican food so we were there!! K did a great job of eating. He really likes cheese enchiladas - YEAH!! So, we moved everything back a day except dinner on Wed since it was at church. We are saving the french bread pizza for next week - YEAH!! And I pretty much have everything planned for next week so here's hoping it all gets eaten! I am getting kinda low on frozen meals so it looks like I will have to start a cooking frenzy sometime soon to keep our easy dinners going. If I come across any yummy recipes, I'll be sure to post them.

Just sitting back

I had such an incredible day with K yesterday. We didn't go anywhere, barely got out of our jammies but we had a blast!! I truly enjoyed every minute of it. I realized the hardest thing for me right now as a parent is sitting back and letting him just be. I try not to be a hovering parent but it is hard after 1 1/2 years of being his arms and legs. I'm just not having an easy time accepting this new role as guide and observer. I was struck by this thought as I sat at the computer. It was completely quiet (a little too quiet!) I turned around and K was happily sitting by his bookshelf surrounded by books and "reading" them. This is what I had been picturing in my mind for so many years. C and I adore reading and are trying out hardest to pass that love onto our children. But, as I see the love of reading taking hold, I realize that this is a moment where I am not needed - UGH!!! Yes, he will bring us books and ask us to read them but at this moment, he was just taking it all in by himself. I had to stop myself from getting up and going over to read them to him. I had to make myself turn back around and let him have some K time. I am a firm believer that everyone needs time to themselves. I guess it is time that I get it through my mommy brain that K deserves some of his own time!!

Melting my Daddy's heart

While we were cleaning on Sunday, K was running all around. He ran over to C and stopped short and said, "Daddy. Daddy. I love you." C nearly dropped!! How sweet!!

Menu Monday

**Blogger's Note: Last week was not a great menu week. Though it did make planning for this week even easier!!

Monday: Bubble-up Pizza
Tuesday:Brisket & Mac N Cheese
Wed: Beef Stew @ the church
Thurs: French Bread Pizza (Thanks R!! C is so excited to try this!)
Fri: Dinner at Momma's for G-Nanny's b-day
Sat: Dinner at C's Dad's house. We're going up there for game night.

On a side note, since we did not have school today, I decided to make breakfast for K and I. I decided on blueberry muffins since we had just about everything save baking powder (so inspired by R's cabinet cleaning out!) I called Momma and she had Daddy bring some down. They turned out wonderful!! The crumbled topping is like bits of sugar cookies. I had some batter left over so I put that into a mini muffin pan for K. He ate 3!!! R- M would be able to mix the topping since it has no hot ingredients.

Here ya go!!

Day-off Blueberry Muffins
1/4 cup butter or margarine softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg beaten
2 1/3 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries


Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup cold butter or margarine (NOTE: I softened it in the micro first just to make stirring easier.)





In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add egg;mix well. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk. Stir in vanilla. Fold in blueberries. Fill 12 greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Combine topping ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter. Bake 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until brown (for my wonky oven, I have to bake for ten and then rotate it around for another 10 minutes and they were perfect. For the mini muffins, I baked for 15 minutes.) If you use frozen (which i did), do not thaw before adding to batter.

Enjoy!

Why I love garage sales

#1: You get rid of stuff. It is amazing how much stuff we have accumulated in the short 8 years we've been married.
#2: You make money. We're working on our emergency fund and this really helped us jump closer to it.
#3: You meet your neighbors. We live in an established neighborhood and I really don't know a lot of people in our small area. I was able to meet all sorts of neighbors!
#4: You change your thinking. I realized that stuff is just stuff and I am fine without lots of it.
#5: You get disgusted with yourself about your spending. After seeing all that stuff filling up our dining room for the week before the sale, I am truly fine with none of it (save David's chair) coming back into our house. I was seriously grossed out by it all that I had trouble falling asleep!!
#6: You are a blessing to people. There was a lady who we met through craigslist. She is starting a in-home daycare and got tons of stuff. She thanked us profusely and said we were such a blessing. Just made me realize how God uses me in people's lives. =)
#7: You realize that your house isn't as small as you thought it was with all that stuff in it.
#8: You raise eyebrows. We sold a majority of our baby stuff. Our neighbor asked why we were selling all this stuff when we were going to have more kids. We explained that #2 isn't going to be on his/her way for another 2 - 3 years. We decided that in order for him/her to have a better start that we needed to be debt free. Besides, they'll come out with tons of new and improved stuff between now and then!
#9: You get traditional garage sale breakfast: DONUTS!!
#10: You end up saving more money. I have found that as I walk around Target that I see things through different eyes. All I think about is that one day it will all be garage sale fodder!

After everything was gone, we realized how neglectful we have been in our housekeeping duties. Needless to say, Sunday was full of cleaning!! I am so sore!!

On the lookout

My best friend M called yesterday morning and asked how K was. I told her fine. And she was relieved. Seems that Monday evening, her daughter started coughing and they ended up taking her to the emergency room since she was having trouble breathing. Turns out she has RSV and M wanted me to be on the lookout for symptoms: coughing, runny nose. That made me remember how K had started coughing the night before. So, I called K's daycare and let B know. She called around naptime and said that K had been sleeping for about 30 minutes but woke up coughing and could not get back to sleep. C took off from work and picked him up and made him an appointment. The Dr. said that it was not RSV just a bad cough. He gave us a prescription to use in case the cough worsens. K slept pretty good last night but was up and going at 5:45 A.M.!!!! He truly is a mix of C and I. I wake up happy and cheery but am content to stay in bed and be lazy. With C, once he's up, he's up and will not lay in bed. K wakes up happy as can be but does not like snuggling for a little bit so we can get a few more minutes of sleep!!

100 things

R had this on her blog and I jumped at the chance to see just what all I have done in my 30+ years. The ones in bold are the things I have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (does an orchestra count?)
4. Visited Hawaii5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo (long time ago)
11. Bungee jumped (NEVER!!)
12. Visited Paris (And ready to go back again!!! My fav place to visit.)
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (I can draw stick people!!)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning (Have not had Long John Silver's in 5 years!!)
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty (I visited but it was after 9/11 and the observatory was closed)
18. Grown your own vegetables (Starting my garden this spring - look for fresh veggiemails!!)
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (Nothing big. Literally.)
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked (NEVER!!)
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill (Duh!!)
24. Built a snow fort (Does snowman count??)
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (teheheheh!!)
27. Run a Marathon (When do I stop laughing about this one??)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Visited the place where my Dad's grandparents boarded the ship when they immigrated. Also, mom's family had land in what is now Southlake. Does that count?)
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (Does igpa atinla count?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied (Not even in Monopoly)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing (On real rocks!)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business (A few direct sell things)
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (Used to regularly but have low iron so I never could)
65. Gone sky diving (NEVER!!)
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check (Luckily, it was when I worked in the bank - no charges!!)
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle (Not yet. R - John take riders???)
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car (Was totaled in less than a year!!)
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (Stung by a wasp in my butt-tocks)

Thanks R for the fun!!