Carrot Cake

Goofy faces

2010-11-16T06:00:00.002-06:00

What? You mean you don't take a bath and put on your jammies and then entertain everyone by wearing fake teeth and mustaches and goofy glasses?

Homemade Hayride (minus the hay)

2010-11-15T06:00:00.004-06:00

Lola was so impressed with the short hayride she went on at the corn maze. I assured her that PoppaBobcat could make one at his house that would last longer. She held me to that promise.

Once my birthday rolled around, I knew just what I wanted: I wanted Lola to get her hayride and I wanted KJ to get to go hunting. I could knock both of these out with one trip back home. This is KJ's busy season so between work and moving in and out of a house, this was probably his only shot to go hunting. I knew two of my favorite people would be so happy to go home and get their wishes. Lola was PUMPED for her hayride. PoppaBob didn't quite understand what all the excitement was about, but was more than happy to make up a quick hayride for his girls.

Except for Poppa didn't use hay. His big round bales were being saved for their actual intent: to feed his cattle this winter. How dare he! (just kidding, Dad.) However, he claims it was because he didn't think the kids would want to get all itchy-scratchy from the hay.

So instead he rigged up his trailer with a few blankets, his cow dog, the kids (Lola, Cal, and cousins Teagan & Payton), the moms, and Gramby and off we went. The kids loved it. Lola gagged at the smell of the diesel truck, but had fun nevertheless. It was a little chilly, but Cal, being Mr. Tough Guy, fought hard to not have to stay covered in the blanket. He finally gave in to the 30-year-old blue knitted one, though.

Good times. Simple pleasures.

Awww, that cute baby calf -- which you can't even see in this pic bc he darted off. Oh well. I love going home....

Peaceful country and homemade birthday cake. :) :) :) :)

Moving Day!

2010-11-12T06:00:00.003-06:00

Today's the day! We're closing on our house. It's been nearly 10 months since we first listed it back in January. It's been a year and a half of decision-making for our family. Through that time we've learned so much about life. Sounds crazy, but it's true.

We made our plans to buy an old fixer-upper, did all that we possibly could to make that happen, months passed, and yet nothing panned out.

Then the economy sinks lower.

Go to Plan B. Find a different house to buy. Make an offer and it's accepted. Now we gotta get our house sold. We hired an awesome realtor who lives down the street from us bc we'd seen how successful/quick she was at selling houses in our 'hood; most of them sold within weeks. Then, a few months into it, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She is a Christian and a strong believer, so we let her know that we're praying for her and will remain with her while she undergoes treatment. After a couple of more months, she's deemed healthy and is back to work full-time.

We had a crazy amount of showings over these last 9 months. STRESSFUL to put it mildly. The worst part of selling a house, in my opinion.

We won't even mention the number of other houses in our 'hood that are for sale....serious competition.

Finally after many ups and downs, silence, nothing happening, out of the blue I get a call from a realtor who wants to show our house in 30 minutes. Her clients are in town from Maryland and are in a crunch. Great. The kids were gone, I had planned on working on Etsy stuff all day so craft supplies are everywhere, and then a stomach bug hits me and KJ. It was not pretty. He had to work anyway, but I wanted to just get better. Not clean up a house for strangers which probably wouldn't pan out anyway. I prayed the whole time I cleaned in that mad rush that the Lord would just help them to see past whatever mess I might have left behind and that they'd love it anyway. While I frantically made it out of the house in time, I told Him I gave it my best and prayed that He'd just be all over the situation.

I parked in the Schlotzksy's parking lot down from my house while they were viewing my house. Don't ask me why I chose Schlotzsky's. I tried to nap some but couldn't get comfortable. I go home. I lay down and try to nap again. Nothing. Just icky. Then she calls back and wants to see the house again that evening. That was good to hear, but I'd been through this all before so was cautiously optimistic.

So, to cut to the chase, by lunchtime the next morning, we had a contract!!!! We immediately put in an offer on the house we wanted back in January, and it was accepted! She had even lowered the price by $16,000 so we got it at an even lower price.

We learned so much about God's provision in our lives through this journey. About halfway into it, KJ and I both knew that there was much more going on than just a house issue. There were many lessons the Lord was trying to teach us. He is our provider and when money was super-duper tight, we always had just enough. We would have never imagined we'd last as long as we did without my income. We give Him all the glory for blessing our lives. His Word promises that as long as we're faithful in our finances, He'll take care of us. We've seen it happen over and over. Wow. We've got so many close friends and family who have been praying for us for so long. It's meant a lot to us to have such a strong faith family who cares about our needs.

Let the new adventure begin!!! Can't wait to share our new house with you!!!!

Krispy Kreme

2010-11-11T06:00:00.001-06:00

A few Fridays ago I took the kids to Krispy Kreme for breakfast. We were still celebrating our house selling. (Okay, to be honest, we're still celebrating and it's been 3 1/2 weeks!)

This was their first visit. I knew Beezy would love to see the big donut machine, and I knew Cal would love a sweet glazed donut. I was right! Every time the machine would flip over the donuts she'd crack up. She also thought the glazing part was cool too. Cal just pointed to all the donuts on the conveyor belt thing and would grunt and show me his "more, please" sign.

And, despite how pretty all the colorful donuts look in the display case, you just can't go wrong with a simple glazed donut. I think those are the best donuts, period, no matter where you're at. Mmm-mmmm.

We all left very happy that morning. Granted, Cal used his shirt as a napkin the whole meal so there were lots of sugar flakes in the car and at home for a few days. Beezy, my sweetie, told me she really liked that place and thanked me for her donut. I love those crazy munchkins.

Cal's "packpack"

2010-11-10T06:00:00.001-06:00

Beezy has always called her backpack a "packpack." I've mentioned this before -- things haven't changed! I'm guessing that's what Cal will call it too since I even find myself calling it that out of habit. He loves wearing his packpack for school -- even though it's almost the same size as him :)

Harvest Party 2010 (Lolabee)

2010-11-09T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm a co-homeroom mom for Lola's preschool class. I wasn't even sure what all a homeroom mom does since this was my first exposure to it; luckily, a friend of mine decided we'd wing it together! This was our first party to plan and it went great. Allison really did most of the planning, I just handled the craft project. Big surprise, I know!

There was lots of costumes, snacks, colorful cupcakes, pumpkin bowling, dancing/jumping/getting the sillies out, and a craft. We were going to have a storytime and read The Parable of the Pumpkin Patch, but my copy was boxed up and the store was sold out. The kids had lots of fun anyway.

Below: The pumpkin people! I basically made all 15 kids a pumpkin person the night before and they only had to glue on the face and stem; the boys got navy boots and blue bowties to put on their people (I should have got a pic bc they were cute) and the girls got fuschia high heels and hairbows. KJ helped cut out all of the little pieces the night before with me. He was such a trooper to spend 30 minutes cutting out tiny high heels and boots for his princess's class. :) (He really wanted to go to bed.)

Helping Others

2010-11-08T06:00:00.005-06:00

"Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others." 1 Timothy 6:18-19

Every year in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, Tucker the Turkey camps out at our church. He collects donations of specific food items which will then be turned into a basket, along with a turkey, to be given to a family who might otherwise not have a Thanksgiving meal.

This season is no different than years past. However, this year we delivered almost double what we normally have given - -and that's bc of the profits from my Etsy shop.

On my shop's header, I made a note that said that a portion of all sales will go to help others in need. So here we are! I was going to wait until Christmas and do some baking for the less fortunate, but knowing that we are a week away from moving (and our new house won't be ready for a month or so), it might be difficult to make that all happen. So, to be safe, we shopped for Thanksgiving baskets.

Thank you, Etsy supporters, for your purchases! Once my Etsy shop is restocked and hopefully having a grand "reopening" I will continue to always give to those in need. It doesn't replace the giving/helping we normally do as a family, but just adds a little bonus in one way or another.

Every year I look forward to shopping for these baskets. Ever since Lolabee was 1 1/2 years old (the age Cal is right now) she's helped me to shop for the food and then deliver it to the carts at church. She's old enough now that she understands what we're doing. It's vital to my role as my kids' mom that they are aware of how blessed our lives really are and how to always look for opportunities to serve. As Cal grows, he'll begin to understand as well. Luckily, we belong to a church family where there are always ways to help others. And, for me, sometimes actually going out and buying things to give helps me to teach my kids better than simply writing a check and dropping it in the mail or offering.

Living Simply

2010-11-05T06:00:00.002-05:00

While nearly all of our possessions are in boxes stashed at various family members' houses and our small storage unit, we've had no choice but to adapt to living daily with the absolute bare minimum each day. We've got one pot, one skillet, two kids' cups, kids' bowls, a crockpot, and our silverware. For a family who eats at home 85% of the time, it's been a little tough to not just whip up supper so easily. Paper plates have been an adjustment!

However, KJ and I admit to actually enjoying it. It's been a little liberating to be free of so much "stuff." I am not a pack rat, therefore we didn't have much clutter to begin with, but it's been kinda nice to walk into our closet and only have a few outfits to choose from; one cabinet drawer in the kitchen with all of our pots & pans; lots of empty drawers.

I get my hair cut downtown at Ooley's, which is next door to Mrs. Dehaven's flower shop. They give away lots of flowers to the salon, so I grabbed one on my way out the door. The chicken broth can was the best I could do for a vase once I got home. It's actually inspired a new craft project for me.

And, of course, since all of my bakeware is packed up, I was forced to buy chocolate chippies this morning at Panera. What kind of mom would I be if my kids didn't have a cookie after lunch?! jk Okay, so really the cookies were more for me, but I knew they'd love them too.

Bee's melon (not her head)

2010-11-04T06:00:00.003-05:00

May 1, 2010

Lola plants her watermelon seeds from the kit that Uncle Just got her.

Flash forward to September and see one of her melons!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-03T10:20:00.003-05:00

My little gnomes

Lolabee loved her costume.

Cal barely fit into his. He looked more like Tweedledee. Ha!

He was okay as long as we didn't put on the beard.

At least he didn't mind the bushy eyebrows.

No beard = happy

Beard = sad

No beard = happy again.

This pic cracks me up. Reminds me of Buddy on Elf.

My girl and her always-mistaken-for-fried-eggs flowered hat.

He liked having one ear in the hat and one ear bent over on the outside.

Rye?

2010-11-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

Our latest Clark Grizzwold adventure....

Being that KJ has a science degree in all things grass, it has made things interesting for our yard. The first few years were spent with me dragging around a hose twice a day in the blazing hot summer so the sprinkler could water the yard. I know the neighbors probably got a kick out of seeing me in my nice work clothes on the way to a deposition, dragging this thing around and then running like heck to avoid getting sprayed. (It always nailed me, though.) KJ was still working as an assistant superintendant at Cedar Ridge at that point, so frankly, he couldn't have cared less about our yard bc he'd deal with that for 15 hours a day at the golf course. He'll tell you that himself. It was always funny that our neighbors knew he was the "grass guy" yet our yard was the funkiest on the street. Yard Man at the end of the street looked like the expert on grass; that guy's always up to something.

Then KJ installed an irrigation system in our front and back yard. Yahoo! Bless his heart, the almanac showed that weekend to be the best time to do a project, so that's what he planned for. Got all the supplies, the weather was looking great for February. Then the day before he started it got blistering cold and actually ended up snowing lightly while putting it all in.

Then last year we had pretty much brown, crunchy grass year-round bc of a simple mistake involving fertilizer and the weatherman's forecast for rain -- which didn't happen.

Then this year we didn't want to mess with it too much bc we thought our house would sell soooner, so what's the point?

The house didn't sell, so here we are in late September and he decides he's going to scalp the yard and seed it with rye grass. (Which should stay green year-round.) So, while everyone else's yards were still green and nice, our yard looked like, basically, dirt. He set the irrigation system to water several times a day and promised me that the seed would germinate in 7-1o days. I was told to keep off the grass. Don't smash it. Keep the kids off. I waited. And waited.

And he was right!! The warm weather we've had really boosted it so now it's the most vibrant green grass! So, I was laughing with our neighbor the other day that while they all had green grass, we had brown crunchy dirt grass; now that their yards are all fading, we finally have green grass.

KJ likes to think that the rye really helped our house to sell last week. It certainly didn't hurt. Now the poor guy who moves in here will have to mow year-round. LOL

I contributed the pansies :)

Pumpkin Patch (2009 & 2010)

2010-10-29T06:00:00.002-05:00

The "official" pumpkin patch picture.

I'm trying not to let it get to me that Lola's not even looking at the camera.

Last year it was quite chilly.

This year, not so much.

I swear it feels like this past year flew by so fast.

Ghost Toes

2010-10-28T10:07:00.002-05:00

Let me just say: Halloween is not my favorite "holiday." I honestly could skip it altogether. I sure as heck don't ever like to decorate with any of the spooky, typical Halloween fare. Pumpkins are as wild as we get. This year, we barely got that done with all of the house craziness we've been dealing with. (Thank you, Lord, for getting it sold!)

However, I made an exception this year and painted Beezy's toes to look like little ghosts. Gramby had bought her a kit of Halloween glow-in-the-dark polish, so this is what we came up with. She loves her little ghost toes. She told every nurse at the doctor's office about them.

Corn Maize Field Trip

2010-10-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

I thought about dragging out this post into two or three days just bc there's so many pics, but ultimately decided to share it all at once. Last week, Lolabee's class went on another field trip, this time to the Corn Maize. This was my first time to visit and I have now added it to my list of annual things to do. She had a blast. I think the pictures speak for themselves. So fun!

That great big smile in the bottom pic is Lolabee riding the schoolbus. That's how every field trip starts out: Giant smile and excited to ride the bus. Every field trip ends with her asleep in my lap. The Duck Race was lots of fun for her; such simple activities, but she loved all of them.

The Corn Box was probably her favorite. She thought it was so cool to rock out in all those corn kernels. I'm still finding kernels in the car and a few in the kitchen. Notice her bling on her left hand. She's super proud of that jewel. She got it in the treasure box at school and has worn it almost everyday since. She even takes the time to wash it separately when washing her hands.

Cow Train; Poppa Bobcat needs to make one of these! While observing her on these field trips, I've noticed she tends to hang out with the boys a little more than the girls. I noticed that she likes to chat and, most times, they seem to find her a little entertaining. I can relate to having lots of guy friends, though. In my teen years, I quickly learned that being friends with the guys was MUCH MUCH MUCH less drama -- especially in a small town. The guys always made me laugh, and they liked to eat my mom's cooking. For now, though, I think it's so fun to see her little personality around all the kids. She's very sweet, likes to laugh, takes direction very well, and is a little shy in some circumstances. I just love her.

The hay ride. I happened to catch Lolabee really telling this little boy something. (bottom pic, middle) He was listening so intently. I wish I knew what in the heck 3-year-olds could be discussing so seriously. Corn Cop made me laugh. Neon green Chucks. Bee's shadow waving.

Hay Hop. Enough said.

The Corn Maize. She'd pretend she was Dora at times, working her way through an adventure. Fascinated by the ears of old corn she'd find. On this trip, I also noticed that, at least at this age, she can be somewhat of a loner. I totally relate to that too! It's not bad by any means; she just was confident enough to explore on her own and still always had fun. That's not to say she never played with the other kids, though. I always want her to be who God created her to be.

Brothers

2010-10-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

What was Cal up to while Lola was baking? Just what every brother probably does: He barrels into the kitchen to see what she made. Sister shows him, then tells him they're not ready yet. Brother disappears.

Brother comes back again. This time to see if the cookies are ready to eat yet. Checks the oven. Not done yet. Disappear again.

Run back to the living room to get thrown in the air by Daddy.

I couldn't figure out how to make my camera speed up enough to capture Cal really in action. He gets pretty high. Here, he's actually coming down. (Amanda, you know I'm not digging the throws! I get all clammy-handed watching this stuff. Addie's tosses send me over the edge!)

It was dark outside, all fake lighting inside, doing something super fast, tried different settings -- just couldn't get it to do what I wanted. That's kind of the story of me and my camera's relationship most of the time. I see things in my mind but can't make the camera cooperate. Oh well. And, to top it off, I meant to take a pic of the kids finally eating their cookies. I forgot in my hurry to get a bite too!

I'm wondering if this is sort of what it'll be like when the kids are teenagers. That'd be cute. Hopefully Bee will still enjoy helping in the kitchen. And, something tells me that Cal will always be one to help us eat her creations :)

Cheater pumpkin cookies

2010-10-25T06:00:00.001-05:00

Lolabee loves to bake. She loves to help out in the kitchen, period. I bought these cookies to bake simply because they're easy to just open, throw on a pan, and bake. I knew she could do it all by herself. Plus, they are delicious. Granted, in about 2 days they've hardened into disks that could break your teeth, so we have to throw away what's not already eaten.

So, I let her loose, and she was thrilled to be "in charge."

And, as all good bakers know, you must stop halfway through preparing your snacks to make funny faces at your mama.

Every season, I think these little cookies are so cute. I'm intrigued with the way they're able to make the dough with the designs smooshed into the centers. I'd like to watch that Unwrapped on the Food Network. Before & after. Yum!

Thanks Beezy!

Happy Birthday to me!

2010-10-22T16:07:00.002-05:00

Today is my 33rd birthday. I could have sworn I was already 33 but after doing the math several times and being assured by family, I really am just now 33. Crazy.

We don't make a big deal about adult birthdays. I'm happy just to eat a homecooked meal and relax. Although a simple, modern flower arrangement would be beautiful, I just can't justify the waste of money. A fancy restaurant would be cool too bc I love food and cooking; but I can't justify blowing a lot of money on a meal. As my great-grandpa used to say, "Anything'll make a turd." LOL He's right! (Sorry if that grosses you out.)

There's never a place I'd rather be than at home with my family, so to me, that's a perfect day.

However, KJ took it upon himself to make arrangements with his parents to watch the kids while we went out for supper. We went to Longhorn for steaks. I love that place. It's quiet and they have asparagus and sweet tea and delicious seafood dip...yum. We usually go there once a year. Afterwards, we went to Lowes to look at carpeting and a new oven bc we SOLD OUR HOUSE this past weekend!!!! The new house we're buying needs a lot of work so we're researching prices for all kinds of new stuff. When we got back home KJ surprised me with this tiny red velvet cake. Even though it was 9:30 at night, we let the kids have some too.

Cake + milk = happy.

Still hungry

2010-10-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

This pic was taken the same night that I posted about earlier wherein we were sitting in front of the oven watching our fish bake. I still can't figure out why Cal didn't have anything on but a diaper. That keeps happening around here. The kids fight over who gets to ride inside it. I'm just waiting for one of them to bust off a wheel. And, yep, that's Cal's "smile" again. He will not quit doing that whenever he sees my camera.

Chores (lolabee)

2010-10-21T06:00:00.002-05:00

We don't buy pop very often, but when we do have some in the house, it's become Lolabee's chore to stock some cans in the icebox. She's just always done it. At least now she's old enough that she doesn't shake up the cans before she puts them in there. KJ has unknowingly grabbed a couple of those cans and got a nice surprise.

On the days that she uses up all the cans, she likes to make hats with the box.

California Love

2010-10-20T06:00:00.004-05:00

KJ calls Cal, "California." Which is funny bc most people go by a shortened version of their first name; he makes Cal's first name longer.

Anyway, on this morning, Cal was just not in a good mood. He wanted me to feed him his yogurt. (Which he HATES if you try to feed him normally.) Then he got mad and wanted to do it himself. Then he wanted me to do it. Then he wanted to do it. The cycle continued. I gave up and decided to just take pics instead. He cried for 10 minutes straight. Bee just sat quietly and ate her yogurt. She'd ask me from time to time if I knew that he was crying. I told her I give up. She said she did too.

Hungry

2010-10-19T06:00:00.002-05:00

We were hungry.

HUNGRY.

That's me and the kids.

It's the reflection off of the oven door.

We were literally sitting in front of the oven watching our fish bake.
Lola's even got her oven mitts on and ready for the retrieval.

Did I mention that we were hungry?

Sour Patch Kids

2010-10-18T06:00:00.001-05:00

Is it just me, or is there a bit of a resemblance between Cal and this Sour Patch Kid?

Gramby got the kids a bucket of Halloween goodies and inside was a box of Sour Patch Kids. All of the little goodies kept them busy while I was doing laundry. After a bit, I noticed it was unusually quiet so I went to see what was going on. Lolabee and Cal were sitting in the corner of my bedroom in the dark devouring the Sour Patch Kids. They ate the WHOLE BOX except for this one red kid and the four that Cal was squishing in his fists -- which he refused to give up. By the time I was finally able to get them free, they were nothing more than a sticky ball of goop. He was mad. So, so mad. I figured he might as well polish them off except that I didn't want him getting my newly cleaned upholstery all gross and slimy.

I took this pic of him before I noticed the candy. And, looking at it now, I can't really remember why he was running around with no clothes on. Usually the only time he does that is before bed and this was before suppertime. Kinda tacky, I know.

My pumpkins

2010-10-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

CRJ & LBJ

Pumpkin Patch

October 2010

Bible Memory Verse (E)

2010-10-14T06:00:00.002-05:00

"Every promise from God shall surely come true."

Luke 1:37

Lola's school homework each week is to memorize a Bible verse that corresponds to that week's letter. Amazingly, she has memorized all of them! And she can still tell you ones from earlier in the year. I thought it'd be fun to post them each week. Maybe I'll play catch-up and put letters A-D on here soon. They're simple verses but still such great truths.

I've enjoyed memorizing them along with her.

Sorry, grandparents, no picture today. I have lots on my camera but they haven't made it to the computer yet.

Crixus

2010-10-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

Meet the newest member of our family. Meet Crixus. He's not our pup, though. He's my brother's. Lola likes him as long as he's in his crate. Cal wants in the crate. He likes the puppy except for when he jumps up on him and they're eye-to-eye.

Justin, I know this second picture will make you crazy. You're super protective of that dog! I know you hated leaving him in his cage just to keep my kids happy. And, no matter what you think, they were not "stabbing" him as you claimed.

He's so cute. And what a good little dog! He didn't even have an accident while we were there. I was all planned to clean up dog pee while I cleaned the rest of the house -- but nope! He must be a genius to already be getting the hang of potty training. ;)

The Book Bag

2010-10-12T06:00:00.003-05:00

Since this past week has been all about reading and books, I figured I'd share this last little post on the topic. It was Bee's turn to bring home The Book Bag from her class. The idea is to fill the bag with your kid's 2-3 favorite books, then return it to school and the teacher will read one of your books during storytime every day. Bee was so excited to participate. It took her all evening to finally make her final decision on which two books to take. She finally narrowed it down to these two. Drumroll, please....

A Penny for Whiffles

Every Cowgirl Needs a Horse

The old Whiffles book is one I bought at a craft show this summer from a used book dealer. There's just something I love about old, vintage books. I think the illustrations are much cuter too. The Cowgirl book was a birthday gift we got her. She loves horses. I was a little surprised she didn't take Pout Pout Fish bc she reads that all the time. (Thanks, Jodi!!!)

Gun show

2010-10-11T06:00:00.004-05:00

Would you like tickets to the gun show?

Here's 3-month-old Cal. He was right at 17 pounds and wearing 9 month clothes. By his four-month visit the next month he would weigh in at 19 pounds and move up to size 12-18 month clothes. Ironically, the exact same clothes he wore last September (shorts & t's) he wore this September. LOL He thinned out enough that all his old clothes still fit. He was just so chunky last year that we couldn't fit pants over his thighs and diaper (and belly for that matter) so he had to wear clothes with a much bigger waistband. The clothes didn't even look big on him, they fit him just right. He basically skipped all "new baby" clothes and went straight to the toddler stuff.

He also lost his hair :( He had a good, pretty thick head of hair as a new baby, but it eventually disappeared and came in BLONDE. Never in my life did I picture myself with blonde-haired, blue-eyed kids.

two months old

four months old

School Book Fair

2010-10-08T06:00:00.002-05:00

The kids' school is having a book fair this week. I spent several hours on Monday helping them get set up and decorated. The theme is superheroes. I enjoy helping out anytime there's a need for parents to volunteer, it's just an added bonus when it involves getting to get a little crafty. I only did whatever I was told; there was a lady in charge who had everything planned out and organized and she did a great job. Really easy, cute superhero-type decorations.

On Tuesday, moms were invited to "Muffins for Mighty Moms" where we got muffins and juice and then took our kids to shop the book fair before school. Thursday is "Donuts for Super Dads" but I don't think KJ's going to be able to attend bc of work. I love getting to participate in all these cute little activities!

All of the classrooms decorated their doors to go with the hero theme. There were lots of really cute ones! One of Lola's teachers has a relative who is a sniper, so their class's door had lots of pics of those guys. Cal's class's door were books with each kids' face on the body of a book character. LOL It cracked me up! He thought it was unusual I think, bc he kept pointing at it and making an odd face.

Lola loves to read. She can't read on her own, but almost every night at bedtime, she asks if she can read before turning off her lamp to go to sleep. We always allow her to bc she really does sit in bed for a good 10-15 minutes "reading" her books and quietly examining each page. She was excited to learn what a book fair is and that she'd be able to get a book or two. She took it very seriously. Cal, um, not so much. He just wanted to grab books and run around with them. He got a book about the planets; Lola got two cute paperbacks. (I also got her a surprise hardback Olivia book -- totally unlike any Olivia book I've ever seen.)

I realize a book fair may not be that big of a deal to most people, but I love capturing pics of all of my kids' first this or first thats. Plus, it helps me to gain more confidence in my photography skills bc it forces me to break out my camera in places that don't always have the best lighting, etc. I need all the practice I can get. I tend to chicken out a lot, though, bc I don't want people to think I'm weird for taking a close-up of random objects. I try to take pics so that if someone were to flip through my camera, the images would tell a story on their own; they wouldn't need me to explain where we were at, what's going on, etc. I've got a long way to go but am slowly understanding it a little better :)

My Etsy Shop

2010-10-07T06:00:00.002-05:00

This week in the middle of the super busiest day in a long time, I got an email notifying me that I had made my first Etsy sale! It was quite a surprise! This girl was in Georgia and had bought the brown recipe box. I was so excited and wanted to get it sent out right away so I packaged it up and headed to the post office. Luckily my mom was here with the kids so I had a chance to ship my box in between the kids' swimming lessons (where I have to be in the water with Cal), helping set up a book fair, low blood sugar, buying snacks for the week for Cal's preschool class, Lola's ballet class, and supper at our new Applebees.

As soon as I sent that shipment off, I headed to Target to get the snacks for Cal's class and while I was there I got another email saying that someone in Colorado had just bought one of the wreaths! WHAT?!? Awesome! So I bought some shipping supplies for that while I was there and headed home. That shipment went out this morning. (Tuesday as I'm writing this.)

I also got a surprise mention from one of my favorite bloggers, Julie, at http://www.joyshope.com/ I was shocked when I got a text and email from friends asking if I'd seen her post. My friend Ashley at Under the Sycamore (www.ashleyannphotography.com/blog) -- my all-time favorite blog-- has a button on her blog for my Etsy store this month as well, so between the two, I'm guessing that's what led to the sales. Fun!!! THANK YOU!

Now I've gotta get some more stuff made to replace them in the shop, as well as try to get the original products I had planned on making completed too. There is just not enough time.... :) Being creative and making things is an ultra-far cry from court reporting. It's like black and white. Everyone that's known me for very long knows that crafting has always been kind of "my" thing, (hello, I'd decorate and cook for my mom's Bunko parties as a high schooler just as an excuse to get to make cute little things!) so it's fun to get to do that and earn a little money on the side. I'm having fun :)

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

2010-10-06T06:00:00.001-05:00

Lola & Mason & chocolate chip cookie pie

The other night we had supper at the Torreses' house. We love those guys! Our kids are all the same age so Lola has a blast playing altogether. Granted, Mason smothered her with a couch pillow and she clotheslined him with a Nerf golf club, but it all made for good times. LOL And Amanda can cook like no other....mmmm......so delicious! Thanks for having us :) Feel free to cook supper and have us over any time!

She cooked a Pioneer Woman recipe and I was in charge of dessert. Because of a crazy week and lack of planning ahead, I forgot to buy ingredients to make a dessert. Fortunately, this pie is my old go-to recipe so I always have these ingredients on hand. It's not fancy, but definitely easy and delicious.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. flour

1 stick butter, melted

2 eggs, beaten

1 t. vanilla

1 c. nuts (I, obviously, always leave this out; nuts = yuck!)

1, 6-oz. package chocolate chips

1 frozen pie crust

In a bowl, stir together all ingredients except for nuts and pie crust. Once combined, stir in chocolate chips and nuts; mix well. Pour into pie shell and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until set in the middle.

She won!!!

2010-10-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Gramby and I took the kids to OK Kids Day. Lola visited enough booths that she got entered into a drawing. As it turns out, she won this big horse puzzle! We weren't there when they called her name, but as luck would have it, her dance teacher, Ms. Karri, was there and was able to accept her prize and then she brought it to Lola at dance class the next day. She was so excited!

Here she is before bed. She'd finally completed the puzzle and was able to dress her up. LOL

The Dairy Farm (Lola)

2010-10-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Lola's preschool class took a field trip to a dairy farm in Sperry. This was her first field trip ever. She was so excited to ride a school bus. Lola's class is called the Gray Elephants and all the kids are supposed to wear their class t-shirt on field trips. Being that her's wasn't very feminine, I decided to spruce it up some. On the back of her shirt, I added a flower to the big elephant's ear, and on the front I added a tiny little skirt to one of the elephants as well as a flower on another elephant. Much better! She got lots of compliments. I was going to add a skirt to the big elephant on the back, but was afraid to make her shirt too different from everyone elses.

I noticed after the fact that in almost every group picture I took, there's always at least one kid picking their nose. Gross. I just didn't post the one of Lola picking her nose. Haha!

Needless to say, there was lots of cow manure. Lola's grown up around it and has never seems fazed by it, but after seeing all the other little kids gagging at the smell of it, she decided to get grossed out too. Such a copycat.

She refused to milk a cow. I think every other kid gave it a shot, but she wouldn't touch it.

Giant "refrigerator" of milk. She was impressed by all that milk!

Waiting to head back to Tulsa.....

Once we hit the road, she was out! I remember doing the exact same thing as a kid when riding the bus home. We were usually the last ones to get dropped off out in the country and I remember getting so drowsy on the way. The windows would be open, it'd be quiet....made for good naps after a day in elementary. In fact, I remember our bus driver scolding me for falling asleep on the bus a few times bc I/we would end up slumped down in the seat and he would forget we were still on there.

I feel so lucky to be able to attend these things with my kids. If I were still working, it wouldn't be possible without a lot of schedule shifting and hassle. I'm beginning to see how quickly time flies with the kids, so I never take for granted the time I get with them.

Tickles

2010-10-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

Lolabee loves to wrestle and get tickled.

There's always lots of laughter when Daddy's home.

She's pretty tough, though, bc many times their little matches end with somebody getting hurt.

And it's not her...

Haha!

Cal's favorite book

2010-10-01T07:00:00.003-05:00

When Beezy was Cal's age, she was a talker. She could tell you her name, how old she was, she could make all kinds of animal sounds, identify and somewhat pronounce most of those animals.

Cal, on the other hand, will only really say ball, Poppa, bye-bye. Sometimes he'll say bubble when he sees a pool/pond/pic of the ocean. Grandparents claim he'll say mama and da-da when we're not around, but I've never heard him actually say it on command.

When you ask him to say a word, he just smiles instead. Stinker.

It's funny, though how he may not be able to say very many words, but TOTALLY and COMPLETELY understands exactly what you tell him.

(*Notice I didn't say "obey" what you tell him...ha!)

So, without comparing him to his big sister (I do realize they all develop at different ages), we've been trying to get him to at least practice saying different words. He loves this one book in particular. He doesn't say the words, but loves to be quizzed, "Where's the shark?" etc.

I'm realizing that in many ways he's so very different than Bee.

But that's okay; I love him just how God created him.

He's so rough and goofy and messy and lovable.

Beezy trying to teach him. Poor kid, he has me and Lola both bugging him to talk!

KJ & his Mini Me. I don't see it but EVERYONE says Cal looks just like KJ.

Ham (Cal)

2010-09-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

It's safe to say that Cal is a ham. Not just bc of his layers of lovable chub, but in personality. He's kind of getting in this "bad" habit of fake smiling/grimacing when I get my camera out. That's it above.

Even when we are simply playing with Lola's toy camera, he stops to give us his goofy grimace. Then, once the pretend picture is taken, he hightails it over to look at the pretend picture on the back of her pretend camera. She always tells him, "Ooooh, that's a good one." Their imaginations are crazy!

So, it's kind of becoming obvious that he enjoys getting his picture taken. At least most of the time anyway. I try to capture them doing everyday things, you know, and kind of blend into the background. Nope. Once he spots the camera he has to start "smiling" and rush over to see himself on the little screen on the back of my camera. Ham.

HeliCALpter

2010-09-29T07:00:00.001-05:00

"Ook. Ook."

Cal's spotting a helicopter.

I'll be glad when he starts talking more.

The things she says (Unicorn)

2010-09-28T07:00:00.004-05:00

Lola got a haircut last week. She hasn't had her hair this short since before Cal was born. She loves it and I think it fits her personality. (That's also a headband I made her this summer. Considering making some more for my Etsy shop...???)

Bee gave all 4 of us new names recently:
My new name is "Polka Dot."
Cal is "Have Fun."
She named herself "Unicorn."
And the best of all, KJ is now "Bruce!"

We have no idea where she got the name Bruce bc we don't even know anyone with that name. She loves to call us by our new names. It does make for pretty entertaining conversation.

For instance, this morning I called Bruce to let him know how Have Fun's doctor visit went. Unicorn wanted to eat at Corn Medida (Casa Bonita) for supper. Polka Dot and Bruce are so blessed to have such good kids.

I'm thinking that maybe someday when I'm a grandma, I'll have my grandkids call me Polka Dot. I think that'd be cute. I love my Unicorn.

Bee @ the birthday party

2010-09-24T06:00:00.007-05:00

This past weekend, Bee went to our neighbor's birthday party. They held it at our 'hood's clubhouse so that they could have a giant inflatable jumpy castle. It was so hot outside, but that didn't slow down the kids! This was Lola's very first time down that big slide. She loved it!

Goodies with Grandparents (9-16-10)

2010-09-24T06:00:00.002-05:00

I love the kids' school. Their teachers are so friendly and really seem to enjoy kids in general. Last week they had a "Goodies with Grandparents" day. My mom came to town so that she could attend with Lola, and KJ's dad was able to get away from work for a bit to hang out with Cal. Each class had donuts and special gifts to give the grandparents. I was able to hang out just long enough to take a few pictures of the special morning. Gramby and Poppers were each able to peek inside the other kid's room on their way out, so that nobody was left out.

It was originally scheduled to last only 20 minutes, but in Lola's room they stayed a little longer so that they could show their families how they do their pledge to the US flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible. They also sang their "Months of the Year" song and did their weather bear. Good times. Thanks for coming Gramby and Poppers!

In Cal's room, we all got a good laugh bc when they placed his half of the donut in front of him, he said, "MMMmmmmm." Look at his face in the second picture. LOL Obviously it was a special treat bc he doesn't get glazed donuts too often around here!

Wake Up!!!

2010-09-23T06:00:00.004-05:00

The kids usually take their naps at the same time. Last week, Cal was up quite a bit earlier than Lola. He wanted her to wake up! He'd play in his room for a bit while I folded laundry, then I'd go to check on him and catch him in her room trying to wake her up. Didn't work.

However, he quickly realized that as long as she was sleeping, he had free reign over all of her toys. He liked that, so he played a while.

After a bit longer, I peeked in again and this is what he was doing. "Reading" her new Yo Gabba Gabba! book.

"Sssshhhhh,"....(that's his version anyway)

He tried tickling her feet. He'd say, "tick, tick." She wouldn't budge.

Later he found my phone and took it back to her room with him. He sat in her chair playing with my phone for a while longer.

He got bored with that and decided to crawl back up on her bed and stab her with a toy. Still nothing.

Then, finally, after about 10 more minutes she woke up. He was so glad to see his Lola awake!

On this day 2 years ago...

2010-09-22T12:07:00.002-05:00

On this exact day two years ago, I found out I was pregnant for the second time. I remember that day like it was yesterday. This is a picture from that day. I was packing for a week-long trip to NYC. Lola was 16 months old. KJ had just gotten home from work at Cedar Ridge Country Club. They were goofing off while I tried to pack. This pic was taken right after I'd told KJ the exciting news. We were thrilled!

Flash forward 2 years, and Cal Rocco is the biggest goofball in our family.

Lug nuts

2010-09-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's Lola putting on lug nuts. We had just gotten new tires and after seeing KJ doing something (?) to the wheels, Beezy wanted to help too. She's so curious about how things work and loves to help out. This is the only picture I got of her though bc it was late, hot, and Cal was screaming for bed. I wish I could have gotten in closer on her face.

Walker (Cal)

2010-09-20T07:00:00.001-05:00

Here's some pics of the first few days of Cal walking completely on his own. He always kept his arms up like this. We always laughed about it bc it was like he was in a hold-up or something. He was so proud of himself!

Below, he's getting much better at walking so his "Don't shoot!" arms were disappearing.

Toddler Lola

2010-09-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

Is it just me or does Lola look just like Cal? (minus the earrings and long hair!)
Crazy!!

(Bee, 8-2-09)

Happy Birthday, Mom (aka Gramby)

2010-09-18T07:00:00.000-05:00

Here's a hug "samwich" for you!!!! Happy birthday! We love you so much and are so grateful for all of the many, many things you do for us. We're lucky to have you.

(June 2009)

(Fourth of July, 2009)

(Halloween 2009)

Cribs

2010-09-17T07:00:00.002-05:00

Earlier this summer, Lola went through a phase where she'd crawl in bed with Cal first thing in the morning. First, she'd usually throw in a bunch of random objects, then climb in. They'd goof off for a while. The funny thing is, Lola's never been much of a climber. She never once climbed out of her crib as a baby. I know some kids climb all over everything, but she never did that. Climbing over the couch is about as wild as she ever got. I think Cal's going to be more of a daredevil though. Yet, he's never tried to climb out either.

And, just like usual, it's all fun and games until somebody gets their head slammed on the rails.

Saturday mornings

2010-09-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

Just another Saturday morning at home. KJ leaves for work every weekday long before the kids ever wake up. And, every morning, Lola bursts out of bed and asks, "Where's Daddy?" My response is always, "He's at work." "With Mr. Todd?" "Yep." Then she always replies, "Ohhh," as if this is new to her or something. LOL

So, needless to say, she is always beyond thrilled when he's home on the weekends. Cal gets pretty excited too. There's just something about getting to climb all over Daddy that they love.

Camping Out

2010-09-15T07:00:00.000-05:00

Over Labor Day weekend, we camped out with the kids. It was the first time they'd ever slept in a tent overnight. My parents and brother joined us for hot dogs and S'mores, but it was just me, KJ and the kids who camped out. The kids had a blast! It took Cal a while to calm down and go to sleep bc he just wanted to run around the tent. Lola snuggled into her little sleeping bag and extra blankets and she went to sleep so easily. They were fascinated by all the coyotes and their pups that we could hear in the distance.

We camped out just down the road from my parents' house. We didn't rough it too much this go-around. Overnight, it got COLD. At least the kids were bundled up. You can tell from looking at the pond that it was pretty chilly down in that valley.

This is a little picnic area on my family's property. There's a pond and tables with a little shelter. My family has gathered for cookouts here my entire life. The brick fireplace was built to cook on nearly 50 years ago -- according to my dad. We have all of our holiday cookouts here. Good memories.

Cal had dried S'mores marshmallow on his chin -- well, actually it was all over him -- and we the fuzziness of his pj's, it made him a little hairy beard. LOL

Good morning!!!!! Check out Lola's ultra-over-the-top fake smile. She is crazy.

Little Lola @ the pool

2010-09-14T18:46:00.003-05:00

Time to look back at summers passed. I already miss summer. I came across these pics recently, and, once again, couldn't get over how much Bee and Cal look alike. She was such a cutie pie. She loved playing at the pool. These pictures were two years ago in July. I remember this day as if it were last week. So crazy how fast time flies.

Infant Cal

2010-09-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

Since I didn't blog at all once Cal was born, I'm kinda making up for lost time. I love looking back at how much he and Lola have grown. I sure love the people they're becoming, but there's just nothing quite as sweet as snuggling a newborn. These are just a couple I found one some of Cal's first baths in our bathroom sink. So tiny!

Happy Birthday, Dad! (aka Poppa Bobcat)

2010-09-11T11:19:00.004-05:00

(May 2010; Cal's 1st birthday)

(Camping out last weekend)

Happy birthday, Dad! Here's just a few pics of you with your favorite little people doing some of your favorite things with them. I'm so glad the kids get to see you as much as they do. Lola created you a birthday card yesterday. It only took her an hour to get it just right. I don't know where she gets that from....???

Hope you enjoy these pics. I had to dig to locate them on the computer.

(May 2010)

(September 2008; Mom & Dad's surprise birthday fiesta;

Look how little Lola is -- she's the exact same age there as Cal is right now.)

(Napping with Cal; July 2010)

(September 11, 2008 @ Click's for your birthday)

(Swinging with Lola; May 19, 2008)

(Sneaking popsicles before bed; May 2010)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

We love you!!

Push!!!

2010-09-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Much to KJ's dismay, one of Cal's favorite things to do around the house is push Lola's baby buggy. He typically throws out the cradle part of it and really prefers just the frame. We've tried hiding the buggy and giving him a toy mower to play with, but he doesn't dig that as much.

On this day, Bee hopped in and Cal happily pushed her around the house. He had to really struggle most of the time, but was loving every minute of it. So was she. She'd just holler out, "Push!!!!!" And he'd keep pushing. These pics are proof of how hard she had him working for her!

(Please ignore Lola's crazy hair. Since it was Labor Day, her daddy was around to do our morning routine of dressing, brushing teeth, etc. However, Daddy rarely bothers with fixing hair. At least the bird's nest wasn't as obvious as usual.)

Big News!!!! (Banana Papers preview)

2010-09-09T16:30:00.006-05:00

Warning: Long post ahead!

After years of hesitation and lots of self-doubt, I've finally received enough encouragement to convince myself to make the leap and start selling my craft projects! I'm in the process of opening up a store on Etsy called Banana Papers. I will also be at my church's craft market in November. Getting the Etsy shop running is a little overwhelming at this point bc I don't get much time on the computer during the day and what little time I do get, it's taking me forever to learn how it all works. I'm not too knowledgeable on the computer! The craft market at church will be much easier (I think) bc I can just sit and visit with friends who stop by. No headaches trying to figure out shipping costs, etc.

Curious why I chose the name Banana Papers? First of all, I wanted something unique. This past winter, Lolabee and I were driving down the road and the subject of cookies came up. I had mentioned vanilla wafers. She said, "Banana Papers?!?" I laughed and said, "No, vvvvanilla wwwafers." That time she heard me correctly. For some reason, it just always stuck in my head. My shop will have no rhyme or reason to it, so that made it easy to need a name that wasn't too particular. It'll be colorful. No matchy-matchy things. And, because I always want to be fair with my kids, I guess you could say Cal plays a little part in the name too -- simply bc he loves to eat bananas. :)

I love crafting but always feel bad spending money to buy supplies to make one or two things, then having so much left over. Plus, after I make one thing, I always think how it'd be cuter if I'd done this or that instead. By making extras of these things and selling them, it helps me to maybe make a little bit financially as well as it gives me the excuse to create things. And, a portion of all of my sales will go to local mission work so that others may hopefully benefit from it as well.

So, that's that!

Below is my Etsy shop's store banner. After I made it, I started thinking it's kinda Napolean Dynamite-ish/MTV's Teen Mom. LOL I would have made it a little more elaborate, but I just couldn't figure out photo resizing and such, so we'll just go with graphics.

I just made the onesie above for my mom. It's too small for her, though. Hahaha (Just messing with you, Mom!) She needed a baby gift for a shower this weekend and it was for a baby girl. She's commissioned me to make baby gifts before but they were for baby boys. I've been dying to try rainbows for a while so this gave me an excuse. The cloud wraps around to the back of the onesie. I wanted the edges to be a little rough and the stitching to be a little imperfect -- kinda like a kid's drawing.

I started making these banners bc it gave me an excuse to use lots of fabric from my stash. I love fabric and have collected yardage and pieces over the years. Lately I've been buying vintage-inspired designs. The first banner I ever made was for Bee's bedroom. (Not shown) It was easy enough that I wanted to make more, but didn't really have a place for them.

I love to cook. These recipe boxes are inspired by one I saw last year somewhere online. The recipe card dividers are made from old album jackets. I've scalloped the edges to some. Each box has a variety of colored dividers. There's everything from country to gospel to symphonies to classical to rock. Some of the covers made me and KJ literally laugh out loud. Bad hair, bad clothes...you name it. We'd just crack up. I did make a point to carefully cut each card so that there's nothing offensive showing. Not that I was buying raunchy records, but some of them had a little bit more risque, hippy-type of stuff that I didn't necessarily feel was appropriate. I actually really like how these turned out. They were definitely the most fun to make. The inside bottom of each box is lined with funky paper. The boxes are distressed to look like a recipe box great-grandma would have had on her counter. Each one will come with 8 dividers.

I like the dividers plain, but feel the need for each to be labeled according to food type, just like typical recipe dividers. However, each card was cut to show off certain aspects of the album jacket, so I hate covering it up. I am playing around with the idea of offering these style of labels. What do you think? They're just the right size, but look a little kooky. (No, they're not supposed to look like the people are talking....)

Lastly (for now) is a wreath. There will be lots more available in different colors and fabrics, but all will feature the same basic details. There's fabric and felt flowers with felt leaves, yarn, pearly beads, and lots of burlap; vintage-inspired fabric and doily are wrapped opposite of the yarn. It's meant to be hung where the flowers are sitting at about 5:00 to 8:00. The wreath is sitting a little crooked in this pic. I can't decide if I should come up with a ribbon/scraps/rikrak or something for them to hang from or leave them alone. Thoughts? My mom is quite dumbfounded by this wreath. I thought it turned out pretty cute but when I showed her, her first question was, "Is it done? That's all you're doing to it? Okay, yeah, it's...cute(?)." LOL I'm hoping others will like it a little better :)

(Mom, I know you're reading this and making excuses for your reaction. It's okay. You don't have to "get" all of my wacky ideas. Hugs!)

So, there you have it. A sneak peek! More to come, just haven't had a chance to tackle it yet. I know there are several of you who read this blog but don't comment. I'm serious when I say I want your input on this stuff! Email/text me if you don't want to comment online. I've never showed my stuff to anyone and I'd love to get some feedback. Plus, I need thoughts on the recipe card labels. I'm stressing about that!

Zoo Trip (Cal's first visit)

2010-09-09T06:05:00.001-05:00

This past Memorial Day we took the kids to the zoo. It was Cal's first trip. We took Lola to the zoo for the first time when she was one, so we wanted to do the same for Cal. I hate to be a Debby Downer, but the first word that comes to mind when I think back to this trip is BUST. It wasn't just hot but the zoo is just so...what's the word...sad. So many of the exhibits were shut down and/or animals that had been there recently died. The few big animals that were left just seemed depressed. I'm serious. They'd just walk around with their heads hanging low. I felt bad for them. We took a picnic lunch and had planned on it being this super fun trip, but it was just crowded and hot. Unless it improves, I really can't see going back until next year. At this point, it's just not worth the cost.

We did get to break in the new wagon that the kids had just gotten for their birthday from Gaga. It's great. It has real tires so the kids just bounced along through rougher areas, whereas our old wagon would have gotten stuck. They loved it and so did we :)

We ended up spending a good chunk of the time at the playground. Cal was hot and ready to leave, but we let Bee play for a bit. She likes new playgrounds.

Family Heritage (My Osage side)

2010-09-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Waaaaay out in the middle of nowhere sits my great-great-grandparents' old house. They were full-blood Osage, therefore explaining why there's an Osage roundhouse on their property. The house was built in the late 1800's-very early 1900's and, remarkably, is still in very good condition considering no one lives there. There's no roads to get to it. There's no running water. No indoor bathroom. My mom spent lots of time there as a kid and I've heard the stories of using the outhouse in the middle of the night. Yikes.

I make it to "the camp" as we call it about once a year. On this trip, me and KJ had gone down to mow it. Every time I'm there I just get lost in the history. It's such a unique place. I LOVE the house. My great-grandma always kept it maintained and pretty much true to its origins, so that explains the cool colors. Red & yellow! If you look closely at the windows, you can see how they're the originals with the little stained glass squares framing it. LOVE them. The big front porch. My dream. Since I was a little kid, I remember making the trek down to the camp and just thinking it was so cool even then. It's like stepping back in time. I'd give anything to have a house built almost just like it--except with a bathroom. I love how the kitchen is at the very back of the house and there's a breezeway. Just too cool.

I have always liked these old fences. Not sure why. I think the little scallops across the top are what make it so cute. You just can't get stuff like that these days.

The magnificent windows....

This is just a sign that you come across along the way. I don't know who made it but I thought it was kind of funny. It's not too old.

Happy Boy (Cal)

2010-09-07T07:00:00.002-05:00

Last week I posted a picture of Cal first thing in the morning; a morning in which he was not so happy. Those days are rare, but not unheard of. I usually leave him in his bed for a while after he wakes up bc he's so content to blab to himself and roll around in bed. However, if Beezy pops in and then leaves, that's what really sets him off. He prefers that she stay in there and throw random objects into bed with him. But heaven forbid she leave the room after a few seconds, bc he gets nuts!

These are the pics that show him being his usual self. So happy. I love him so much! His little eyes are always a tiny big puffy first thing in the morning. I also think he looks so cute with his little undershirt. I feel weird referring to it as a "wife-beater." We'll go with "muscle undershirt." That sounds a little better for a 1-year-old.

Beezy

2010-09-06T09:30:00.002-05:00

Okay, so these pics were supposed to be attached to the post about playing in the backyard, but I forgot. I try to keep the number of pics/posts even between the kids so that one's not getting more than the other, but I usually make them a week or two in advance, so I forget. Anyhow, just more pics of outside....

Cheap Toys

2010-09-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

I think the cheap toys theme might become a regular on here! This was the only picture I thought to take of Cal with his new gloves. One glove was the tiny Fruit Loops box sent to him from Gaga and the other glove was a pudding box. He wore them on his feet too. He liked to walk around and kind of hit everything with the gloves. I guess maybe they were like his boxing gloves?? After two days, they were beat up enough that they got tossed in the trash. Easy fun :)

Backyard

2010-09-05T06:00:00.004-05:00

Just another evening spent in the backyard. Lots of swinging, sliding, laughing, racing, chasing, and wiping out. Oh, and tummy-baring if you're Cal. (Another new phase he's really into!)

And, as always, top off the evening with a popsicle. This might have even been the first time Cal's had his very own popsicle -- at least at our house. On a side note, the lighting indoors at night is just horrible! I know very little about photography, but I have grown to thoroughly appreciate great natural light. When I see these pics with so much yellow in them like these below, it makes me nuts.

Helping Daddy with his popsicle -- or trying to steal it...???

Picnic @ the Park

2010-09-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

After school earlier this week, I surprised the kids with a picnic lunch at the park. They love picnics! After eating, we played and played until both kids were sweaty, exhausted and ready for a nap. I feel so blessed to be able to do these little fun things for them. I want them to have lots of happy memories of their childhood.

Bee loves her PB&Js...sometimes she wants them cut into a triangle and other times a rectangle, and once in a while she prefers "4 little baby squares."

Below: This is a phase he's really into right now. He thinks he's so funny when he sticks something halfway in his mouth and then shows you.

I love this picture below of Lola. She was laughing at Cal. When I close my eyes and think of her, it's this smile and little happy face that I picture. She's such a sweet, fun little girl.

Cal, Cal, Cal...what can I even say about him? Chubby, cuddly, lovable, stinker, loves to be chased.

I remember wearing jellies as a kid and they always left sweaty dirt rings (or is it dirty sweat rings?) all over my feet. I guess some things never change...

And look at these pie feet. Check out how the toe thingy isn't even between his toes right. LOL This happens a lot to him and it doesn't bother him in the least. He wears'em that way anyway. Lola, on the other hand, has never been able to handle things like that, or, having a piece of mulch/gravel/etc. in her shoe. Just another thing I've noticed.

Laughing so hard that her eyes were getting teary.

Dog bowls (Cal)

2010-09-03T15:59:00.000-05:00

Both of my kids have gone through a phase of being thoroughly impressed with Izzy's food and water bowls. Lola did it; now Cal's into it. At least Cal has gotten past the phase of eating the dog food. Nowadays he just likes to fiddle with the little pieces; sometimes he likes to hand-feed Izzy and other times he likes to drop them in her water...you just never know. It's a little gross, but I don't think it's too big of a deal. As long as he's not eating it, I'm fine....

...until the water starts to get everywhere. I don't mind him getting wet, but our patio gets extremely slippery when wet. I don't know how many times I've almost fallen. And, since Cal's already cracked his head HARD on wet concrete at the pool, I gotta watch him. This is him after I shut his party down. Poor kid.

But he recovers quickly. He loves to run around barefoot in the yard, so he was fine.

Sammys (lunchtime)

2010-09-03T08:00:00.000-05:00

Recently at a craft show, I bought a little sandwich gadget. When I make the kids' "samwiches" using that press/gadget, they love it. It makes the sandwiches into a little pocket thing. Anyhow, it's funny to me how they're so impressed by them.

I can't believe Lola's big enough to sit on our bar stools these days. I thought she'd be at least a few years older before she was big enough to climb up on them and sit safely. Kinda makes me sad to see how quickly she's growing.

Lawnmower & Letters

2010-09-02T21:51:00.002-05:00

Cal was cracking himself up here. That little mower makes a "gunk-gunk-gunk" sound, like if you were pouring something down a drain. He thinks it's hysterical. So in every one of these pics, he's laughing at that sound. He'd turn the knob to make it go off again, then make sure I was listening and laughing too. He's so silly. The very first picture is my favorite.

Meanwhile, my other child was practicing writing her letters on her Leap Frog thingy. She is a little brainiac, and I'm not just saying that bc she's my kid. She loves to learn. She takes learning very seriously, as these pics prove. (Granted, in that one pic she's tracing a heart, but all the rest were letters.) She's known and been able to identify the alphabet since she was two. Uppercase and lowercase. She's at the point now that she knows all the sounds that each letter makes and can even sound out simple words. (Thank you, Super Why!) She does a good job at writing too. She can write her name and Cal's, and is working on a few other letters that stump her. She always gets her J's backwards, though. I admit, I work with her a lot in an unstructured manner. She just really enjoys her little workbooks and learning new things. It's crazy! Homeschooling her would be such an adventure, but something I'm seriously researching and learning about. At this point, it's a very good possibility that that's what we'll be doing next year. And, Cal will even get in on the excitement as well. It's a little tougher to try to understand how he works since he's still so young. He does enjoy scribbling and putting stickers on paper, though... I've just kind of learned how Lola works and so it makes it easy to teach her new things. She's definitely a hands-on learner.

I was so proud of her today bc when I picked her up from preschool, one of her teachers said that she was the only kid this week who knew her Bible memory verse! She also remember last week's verse. She's such a neat little kid and I realize I'm gushing about her, but since she's my little munchkin, I think that's okay once in a while. :) I always downplay compliments when it comes to her, but she deserves a little recognition for all of her big accomplishments. I'm so proud of her!

I kept saying, "Bee, can you show me your eyes? Will you please give me a smile? Don't you dare look at me..." (she loves playing that whole reverse psychology thing.) Nope, nothing. She was focused on her letters. Oh well.

Jumpin' Jumpin'

2010-09-02T08:28:00.000-05:00

This weekend we went to some friends' house for supper and Bee got to jump on a big trampoline for the first time ever. Our neighbor has a little trampoline that she's jumped on a few times, but when she heard that she'd get to jump on a "huuuuuuuge" one, she was pumped!

Cal, on the other hand, watched from below. We were going to put him up in it with the girls, but he decided he'd rather run around in the grass and splash in the little water puddles in the yard. After supper the girls jumped some more but this time they added a sprinkler. Much fun! Cal didn't seem to be too impressed with three little girls laughing and screaming wildly at the same time. Most of our friends' kids are little girls, so he's really outnumbered for the time being. KJ says that when he's older, he'll love it. Something to do with "the pretty, older girls" or something...???

Look at that kid's legs! The crazy thing is they're much less chunky now than they were a few months ago. I love it! Lola was like that too but it's hard to imagine that now. Here he's pointing to the newborn our friend was holding. He was a little fascinated by baby Ryker -- but much too busy to give him too much attention. There's just something so fun about playing with other kids' toys, I guess.

More new projects...

2010-09-01T17:10:00.001-05:00

These little scraps hold lots of potential. I've been doing more projects....

Good morning, Sunshine...(not)

2010-08-31T16:24:00.002-05:00

Good morning, to you too, son.

He was NOT happy.

Notice how he threw the sound machine lamb hard enough that it landed under the bed?

The bed rails (which are pointless anyway) are ripped off?

And then I show up with my camera....not such a good idea.

*Note, no babies were harmed in the taking of this photo. He recovers quickly. Just say "pancake?"

Tippi Toes Dance (Lolabee)

2010-08-31T14:59:00.003-05:00

Last night was Lolabee's first day at dance class. It's called Tippi Toes and it's a combination of ballet/jazz/tap. I admit, I have been hesitant to let her join a dance class bc I had this fear that their dancing style would be a little too risque for my three-year-old. Mini Vegas showgirls kept coming to mind. Maybe I've watched "Toddlers & Tiaras" on TLC one too many times...As a kid, I took dance but only for a few years. I liked the costumes more than anything, I think.

However, I found this flyer at church and, after a little research, I decided it'd be okay to enroll her. She loves to dance. She likes to dance in the car, at home, out in public -- just recently we were at the mall for the first time this year and while passing Abercrombie, she heard their blaring music and had to stop and dance a little. It was so funny. We like to be silly. These days, even Cal dances. Granted, he looks more like Forest Gump, but that's just his style. Ha!

The class started off with each little girl getting sparkles dusted on their arms and ended with a ballerina sticker. Lolabee loved it. I was so proud of her bc she listened very well to the teacher and followed the directions given. It's my hope that she's always like that when we're not around. She had a lot of fun. Plus, she looked so stinkin' cute in her little dance outfit.

More toes...

2010-08-31T07:00:00.002-05:00

I apologize for so many feet/toe pics. I just love them!

There's a giant canvas hanging in our church's preschool area that was the inspiration for this shot. I've always loved that picture and finally remembered to try it with my munchkins.

It's not perfect, but Cal kept trying to escape, so this was as good as it gets.

I'm sorry, Dad, that the kids' heads are cut off. That was on purpose.

A New Project

2010-08-30T08:05:00.000-05:00

I have some huge plans underway with this big stack of old records. I love Bing Crosby (that's him on top) and he's going to help me take these dusty, smelly old records and make them into something much cooler. Curious? Let's just say that over the past 2 weeks, I've bought roughly 35 old records. Hahahahaha! I'm so serious.

Paint & Bug

2010-08-30T07:00:00.002-05:00

Bee and her paints -- all lined up neatly

"Ta-da!"

Brother, after just walking on top of her project; feeling kinda tough...

...until I showed him this giant, dead bug I found on the floor. Then things got a little tense. "Mr. Tough Guy" was a little disturbed.
He wanted nothing to do with the bug.
Then he was curious.
Then he didn't want it near him.
Then he was curious again.
He'd swat at it and say "uck!" and then walk quickly away.
Then he'd turn around and point at it and want to see it up close again.
Then Daddy got home from work and he had to tell him about the bug.

Lil Mama (Beezy)

2010-08-29T08:00:00.002-05:00

Went in to check on Beezy during her naptime. It looked like she fell asleep reading her Jesus Storybook Bible (which is a great book for littles) after she tucked in "Boofa" and "Coco." She always has to get her babies just right at bedtime too. So cute.

Pina Colada Cake (my version)

2010-08-28T16:44:00.003-05:00

The whole time I was pregnant with Cal Rocco I craved pina coladas. The funny thing is, I think I've sipped on one once in my entire life. I am not a drinker. Not even socially -- ever. We thought it was so bizarre that I was craving them while I was pregnant! Obviously, I never got one while I was pregnant, but while in Playa del Carmen this summer, I broke down and ordered one while relaxing on the beach. It was nonalcoholic. The waitress looked at me like I was crazy when I asked for it that way. I just wanted to get a taste of it to see why it seemed so appealing a year earlier. After a few sips, I decided it was definitely tasty -- but if it was in dessert form, like a cake -- not just a slush. I love my sweets.

Tonight we're going to some friends' house for supper and I'm bringing the dessert. Since summer's coming to an end, I thought I'd try to drag it out a tad bit longer. This dessert just doesn't "fit" in, say, January. So, here's my idea of a pina colada. I mixed a church friend's recipe with another cake recipe of my mom's to get this. It's super easy.

Pina Colada Cake

1 white cake mix

8 oz. coconut flakes

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1 can cream of coconut

1 small container of Cool Whip

1 small box of vanilla pudding

1 small can of crushed pineapple, drained

A dash of powdered sugar

Prepare the cake mix according to the instructions on the box, but add about half of the coconut to the batter. Bake. Remove from oven and poke holes all over the top with the end of a wooden spoon. In a small bowl, mix together the sweetened condensed milk and the cream of coconut. Pour over the cake. Let the cake cool. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the box of pudding and the pineapple; stir well. Fold in the Cool Whip. Spread over the top of the cooled cake. Sprinkle remaining coconut over the top.

Lola (crazy hair)

2010-08-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

Bee wakes up with hair like this almost every morning.

She calls it crazy hair.

I think she's right.

A Big Pizza Pie

2010-08-27T14:29:00.000-05:00

It's not often that we have a Saturday at home with just us 4 with nowhere to go. KJ has always enjoyed making homemade pizza, so that's what he did. Cal snuck bites of cheese while Lolabee added the toppings. She really enjoys helping out in the kitchen and I/we want to nurture that. I've promised her that when she gets older, she'll be allowed to cook supper each week all by herself. This thrills her! She likes to come up with her menu while we're in the car driving somewhere. Out of the blue, she'll start talking about, "Someday, when I'm big, I'm going to cook you some chip tacos," or whatever. (FYI: "Chip tacos" is her idea of crunchy tacos.)

The pizza was delicious.

STEPB/TPHOE / PHFP

2010-08-26T15:55:00.003-05:00

That's how you write "steno machine" in steno. Crazy, I know. I recently took some pics for a friend of her steno machine. Since I have given up my career for the time being, it's been a few months since I've seen my steno machine. This little, expensive gadget was my life for 13 years. From 1996 when I started college to learn how to use the crazy thing, until 2009 when I semi-retired, the steno machine was how I made my living. I loved my job. It was hard work. It was the perfect job for me bc it was so detail-oriented and let me use all of my Type A tendencies. I'm a good listener and prefer to blend into the background; that's what this job required. I remember in college, my instructor telling us, "You're nothing more than a piece of furniture in the room. However, your job is to get every, single word that's spoken during your hearing or deposition. Every word. You don't decide what's important. You just write it all down. But remember, you're just a piece of furniture." That was so encouraging. Not.

I heard lots of crazy, sad, freaky, hilarious, heartbreaking things in those professional years. I also met my fair share of great, friendly attorneys and, also, plenty of which were obnoxious and scared me to death. I do not miss the late nights spent preparing the verbatim written transcript. I don't miss the next-day trial dates either. My everyday life revolved around my schedule of depositions and getting those transcripts prepared. I especially thrived on this as a single adult. I was never into partying and going out, so my weekends were often spent just at home proofreading transcripts and then spending the money that I earned. Foolish. I was so materialistic then.

Then I became a mom. It quickly became obvious after Cal's birth that there wasn't really room in my life for the steno machine anymore. At least not on a regular basis. (This was the best choice for us; I have no judgments for the moms who can juggle both. I just couldn't. They are really supermoms; I don't know how they do it!) Lola's first few years were spent being hauled to a sitter (thanks, Mom, for all you did -- you have no idea...) and shuffled here and there all for the sake of my job. I wasn't doing a great job at either one. We knew we didn't want that to be her life anymore and now that Cal was here, he deserved better too. We'd cut back everywhere necessary to make that happen. December was the last time I did a depo. There are moments where I miss aspects of it, a few of the people I worked for, but nothing compares to the satisfaction I get from being here daily with my kids. I'm on a new journey now and I'm loving it.

I'll continue to maintain my license and certification. I just don't have a plan for when I'll break out my machine again full-time. If ever. Homeschooling is something I'm learning about and that may be how I spend a chunk of my time for the next decade. Who knows.

The Flying Blanket

2010-08-26T14:17:00.000-05:00

Almost exactly two years ago (9-1-08)

Present day

KJ's always making these flying blankets. Bee's always loved them. This was Cal's first go at it. He's almost exactly the age she was when KJ first introduced "the flying blanket." Crazy. Despite what it looks like, Cal enjoyed it. I think the thing that bothered him was bc I was cooking supper and he knew it. Getting wrapped up in a blanket and getting swung was interfering with his usual routine of sitting at my feet and having me sneak him tiny nibbles of whatever I was cooking. Bee liked trying to grab him while he was flying by and he thought it was pretty funny too.

Cal (cheap toys)

2010-08-25T14:04:00.003-05:00

Cal found my wooden yardstick the other afternoon and it became his favorite toy. He'd just walk around dragging it, poking things, hitting things, tapping it, on and on. He was so happy.

I was a little nervous -- not because he was hurting anything/anyone -- but that thing cost me $7 at Hobby Lobby! Not a little cheapy one.

I try to tell the grandparents that the kids don't need toys. They (the g-parents) are relentless. I'm going to start taking pics of the fun my pumpkins have using everyday objects as their toys, and then post them here as proof. I love it bc they're using their imaginations. I love it almost as much bc it's free.

Below, he just wanted to stab me while I was trying to take some pics. Lola never did things like that. Maybe it's a boy thing?

Cherry Berry

2010-08-24T13:15:00.002-05:00

Friday night, I took Lola to Cherry Berry. She LUVS Cherry Berry. She knows how to get there from our house. We don't go there super often, but just enough to make it a special treat when we do. Since she had such a great first week at her new school and had also been a very good helper all week, she deserved a treat. We had a girls' night. After supper, we loaded up and away we went. She gets soooo excited! It makes me happy that we can do these little things for her.

It was a busy night but we were able to get a kid-sized table and here she is enjoying her reward. She got her usual: chocolate, strawberry, and birthday cake with sprinkles, gummy bears, and a gummy worm. It sounds like a lot, but she really gets just a couple good squirts of the fro-yo and the toppings are very minimal. By the end of her dessert, she had goosebumps and told me her teeth were cold.

Ummm, okay...??

2010-08-23T07:19:00.000-05:00

I think these pics speak for themselves. Obviously, Cal wasn't as impressed by the "new" Barbies as Beezy was. Sheesh. He was pretty proud of himself after each attack. Boys...

Crafting

2010-08-21T22:16:00.000-05:00

Pieces of a project I'm going to try to complete tonight, now that everyone's in bed.

Summer's Ending

2010-08-21T13:38:00.002-05:00

I'm feeling so bummed about summer coming to an end. I should have made that a sad face on the "2010" above.

Our neighborhood pool is okay, but our favorite pool down the street closed last week without me realizing it. I had planned to take the kids one more time, but it closed too soon. I thought for sure they'd stay open until Labor Day. Now every time I drive past it, I just get sad. The kids really loved that place.

I'm going to miss seeing these little chubby toes in flipflops. His feet barely fit in these flips. The strap on top gets a little tight. His other sandals have to be buckled on the last hole just to fit his foot inside. No other shoes fit his feet. I think we've even tried 3 different sizes of Toms. We thought they might fit with the velcro straps. Nope. His feet are just too fat for shoes. Soon, these little pie feet will be covered in socks. No fun. It's hard to imagine that someday these little feet will be all grown and stinky and, as my favorite blogger mentioned once about her sons, maybe even hairy! Ewww.

However, the plus side in summer ending is that it makes it a little nicer to play outside without getting totally sticky and sweaty. The other night was a tad cooler than our usual 100+ weather, so we played outside and it was actually very pleasant. I forgot what that was like. Normally we all go in extra grimy and the kids' sweaty clothes go straight to the washer instead of their hampers. This night, that wasn't necessary. That was also kinda nice.

Beezy (chalk girl)

2010-08-21T13:24:00.002-05:00

Bee loves to write with chalk. It's been too hot here lately for her to stretch out and draw on the sidewalk without frying. The other evening was cool enough that she was able to break out her new box of chalk and draw.

She can write her name.

We're still working on the "tail" on the letter A. She forgets to attach it sometimes.

And this was her self-portrait. She always gives herself plenty of eyelashes.
She draws faces all the time. I think they're cute. They remind me of fried eggs.

Meet Rainbow Sparkle

2010-08-20T12:06:00.000-05:00

This past spring, my dad got Lola her very own horse: Rainbow Sparkle. Dad had looked for about a year for a sweet, gentle little horse when he found this one. Lola knew her grandpa was on the search for a horse for her and she always told us she was going to name it Sparkle.

This horse came from a family who had kids who had outgrown her. Her name was Rainbow.

Around this time, Lola was really interested in the story of Noah's ark and she was all about rainbows. In fact, her birthday party was rainbow-themed. It was so "ironic" that Dad finally brought home this sweet little pony whose name was Rainbow. So, rather than give her a new name, Lola just named her Rainbow Sparkle. It's a rather long name for such a little horse, but I think it fits her just perfectly.

This was, I think, the very first time she got to ride her. My brother led her around my parents' yard. Shorts and flipflops are not the typical horseback riding attire, but it was a little impromptu so we made do.

Vintage Barbies

2010-08-19T19:44:00.003-05:00

I recently started thinking up a new project involving vintage Barbie clothes. Then I realized that Lola doesn't have any Barbie dolls. I don't think she's ever even played with them. If she has, it hasn't been under my roof. I was going to hold off introducing them to her bc it was something I just wasn't jazzed about getting into. To me, modern day Barbies are kind of tacky and they have way too many little pieces. I'm also trying to raise my daughter to respect herself enough to dress modestly. It's been a while since I've gone down the Barbie aisle, but I'm doubting much has changed since I was a kid so I'm sure Barbie's still showing off her belly and wearing lots of hot shorts and low-cut tops. I'm old-fashioned. So sue me. Check out 1 Timothy 2:9 and 1 Peter 3:3-4 in your Bible before you get too hard on me. Influences are everywhere and I don't want to put anything in her hands that might encourage her to try want to imitate it.

I digress.

Then, after scouring a couple of antique stores while searching for vintage Barbie clothes for my project, it occurred to me that I should just get out all of my old Barbies. And these aren't just "old" from the '80s, but they were my mom's Barbies from the '60s! I played with these Barbies as a kid and they were old then! That old green suitcase was all I needed to burn a few hours of playtime. In fact, I know I had my own Barbies, but frankly, these are the only ones I really have a memory of. Except for "Peaches N Cream" Barbie. Haha! I thought her puffy dress was awesome.

Nowadays, I especially like that all of these dolls' clothes are handmade and super cute and much more conservative than what I could buy these days. I've been so anti-Barbie since having a daughter, but these I'm totally okay with. Lola's been having a blast with them. I washed all of their clothes and everything is Downey fresh now! It's also my plan to let her play with these for as long as possible not only bc they're cute, but there's so much history in them. I think it's fun to imagine all the adventures these little cuties have been on.

**And on a side note, I was so pumped about vintage clothes I went on eBay and got into a bidding war over a couple of bags of clothes. I couldn't believe anybody else would be as interested as I was. These weren't even Barbie's brand of clothes, they were homemade! Since I'm not real familiar with eBay bidding, I kept texting my brother to get his opinion on what I should do, should I keep bidding? let it go? what if I lose!? what would you do? His response was essentially that he couldn't believe anybody would want old homemade Barbie clothes and, frankly, he's not exactly familiar with what they're selling for these days. LOL I don't know why I thought he could help me.

Below, just to point out a few things I've always loved about these Barbies: Several of them have factory-painted cherry red fingernails! The two girls in the very last pic were always my favorite. I thought the brunette was so pretty (and she has real eyelashes!) and, Midge, has freckles! I always thought that made her more spunky. And, for some reason, my mom chewed on a few of their feet so I don't know what that was about. She doesn't either. LOL There's another brunette that would be cute but someone gave her a bob with some dull scissors, I think. Got her all messed up. (Not me, again.) The crazy platinum blonde girl has a tiara attached to her head and that always bothered me. I'm thinking that me and Lola are going to play Barbie beauty shop soon and try to help some of these girls. I'm thinking of mini headbands....

So, that's my Barbie post. It's been so fun to see these guys after about 20+ years. I NEVER imagined that someday I'd have a little girl to play with them too. I'm sure Gramby (my mom) never thought that either or else maybe she wouldn't have chopped off that one's hair and chewed up some of their feet. :) (I kid, I kid, Mom!) So, I think I've discovered a new hobby/craft to look into: homemade Barbie clothes with a modern, conservative twist. Hmmm...

Girls (Cousins)

2010-08-19T11:42:00.000-05:00

Easter 2010

Lola, Teagan, & Payton

Little girl cousins.

Going for a cruise around the pond.

I'm so glad Lola has cousins close to her age, and especially since they're girls. As a kid, I always thought it'd been fun to have that. All of my cousins were boys and they were all just enough older than me that there wasn't much interest in hanging out together. Poor Cal, he's now the only boy in this newest generation. I never really noticed that...

I'm Done! (Lolabee)

2010-08-18T17:08:00.003-05:00

(About 2 seconds before she'd swiftly get him off her lap and disappear.)

My Munchkins

2010-08-18T00:24:00.000-05:00

It looks like they might have been posing for these pics, but really, they were just lining up against the fence bc they were going to "race." My job was to do the "On your mark, get set, GO!" part. However, it's very rare that they're both in a spot that they can't easily escape me, so I ran in and grabbed my camera to take a picture. I like how it shows how little Cal is compared to Lola.

Below, I like how Cal's looking at her like, "Do you mind?!? We're here to race, not smile and look pretty! Let's go!!!"

Favorite Memories (May 2009)

2010-08-17T19:08:00.002-05:00

The day after Cal was born. Lola loved to hold him. We'd prop him up on the Boppy and place him on her lap. I think this was her very first time to hold him. She was a little hesitant at first, but decided he was pretty funny. She showed up at the hospital wearing her pink plastic high heels. She's so goofy like that. I remember sitting on my hospital bed and hearing this clonking sound and immediately thinking, "Here comes Bee," and, sure enough, there she was.

Most of the time, though, after holding him about 2 seconds, she'd proclaim, "I'm done!" And, if you didn't quickly get him off of her, she'd just dump him herself.

Lolabee (Preschool)

2010-08-17T19:02:00.002-05:00

2008: 15 months old

2009: 2 years old

2010: 3 years old

First Day of Preschool

2010-08-17T14:44:00.002-05:00

This morning was the kids' first day of preschool. This was actually Cal's first-ever day at school. They're attending preschool at a nearby church and I'm so excited for them! Cal's only going one day a week and Lola's going three days a week. They're only there for three hours each morning. Their school's program comes highly recommended from friends as well as total strangers I've met at the park and pool, etc. I'm still learning about possibly homeschooling them as they get a bit older, but until then, this program will be great.

Lola loves having a "packpack." She knows they're called backpacks, but still prefers to call them packpacks. She's so silly.

Lola (Gardener Girl)

2010-08-17T10:00:00.001-05:00

This weekend we did some minor shrub work in our backyard. We were trying to hide that hideous electrical box that's in the corner of the yard. I was fixing supper while Bee and KJ worked outside. Cal stood at the door and cried. Bee's always ready to dig in the dirt. She has all her own tools and knows how to use them. She takes her job seriously and is always so proud of herself when she's done.

So sweet (Time flies)

2010-08-17T00:46:00.003-05:00

This picture makes my heart ache -- but in a good, happy way. This was the first morning at home after Cal was born. Lola was so fascinated by him. She'd just sit up by him and giggle at his tiny ears and tiny nose, his fuzzy hair. It was fun watching her learn about this new little guy. She's been a great big sister. That little onesie that Cal's wearing was always my favorite. I'm not really sure why, but I loved it. I think bc it was so different from the clothes I was used to. Lola's never been one to wear loads of pink and such, but I remember doing his first load of laundry and just sort of laughing about how everything was brown/blue/green/gray. I feel so blessed to have two wonderful, happy, healthy kids. It's something I never take for granted.

Projects

2010-08-16T23:51:00.003-05:00

Here's a peek at a project I'm working on. The paint chips are really just a cruel tease for the time being bc I can't/don't want to paint anything in this house. It's just inspiration for when this house sells....

I feel like I'm somewhat in a lockdown these days. I've lived for almost 7 months without having a single photo/snapshot displayed ANYWHERE, half of my kitchen in storage, half of my craft supplies in storage, almost half of my closet in storage, the kids' toys are always picked up, very rarely -if ever- a dish is left in the sink, counters are shined, carpet is vacuummed, and I sweep the tile floor at least 3 times a day. All because I cannot count the number of times I've gotten a call from a realtor who wants to show our house within the next 10-15 minutes. It's made me a crazy woman for cleanliness! I've never asked them to wait or come another day. I've now made it through winter, spring, and summer. We have no idea where we'll be moving once our house does sell, but wherever it is, I plan on being prepared and am always thinking of things I want to do in the "new" house. This peek are things for Lola's room. It'll be fun!

Great-grandparents

2010-08-16T22:45:00.004-05:00

These are all of our kids' great-grandparents. I'm so glad I have these pictures. Sadly, KJ's grandpa, "Poppa Cleo," passed away a couple months after Cal was born. This is the only picture I have of him with the kids, and the only picture I have of him and Cal. Boy, I wish he was around to see the kids grow. I think he'd think they were hoots! Also in that picture is "Mammaw." She's who to call when you need to learn anything to do with sewing. She's also one of the most patient, calm people I've ever met.

The second picture is "Granny Helen." KJ's other grandma. We're so glad she recently moved back to Oklahoma. She makes THE BEST Banberry (banana-cranberry) jam in the whole world. She only makes it around Christmas so we have to make the jar or two we get last the whole year. Someday I hope she can teach me how to make it too. She always makes me laugh.

The last picture is "Gaga." This is my grandma. I wish I had a picture of her with Cal as a newborn, but I was still a little loopy from having a C-section at the point that she was at the hospital. She thrives on saving up little goody bags of snacks for the kids. She also grows cherry tomatoes on her porch and insists that Lola come by and pick them when we're in town. She's who to call when you need someone to pray for you.

I'd give my left arm if all of our other grandparents could be around to meet our kids. I never knew my dad's parents bc they passed when he was a teenager. I have an idea of the type of people they were though; my dad recently made the comment that I must have gotten some of his mom's genes when it comes to cooking and enjoying the process of it. I felt so happy to have that in common with her. The only other grandparents that I was close to besides Gaga was my Grandpa and Grandma Robedeaux. I think I have as many, if not more, memories of being with them as a kid as I do my own parents. They always made me feel like a princess. Grandpa was very artsy/creative and outspoken; he was just so awesome. He built me a playhouse that was wired for electricity! Grandma was the best person to play with; you can't measure the amount of time she spent nurturing my imagination through playtime. HOURS. She was also the one who took me to travel overseas and lots of places here in the USA. She was full-blood Osage and was very cultural and appreciative of fine arts; she was the one who bought me a piano when I was in first grade and made sure I learned how to play. I took lessons for 10 years.

Although my kids won't know or remember all of their ancestors, we will always be sure to share stories about them and help them to "know" them as best they can.

Heart (And hairdids)

2010-08-16T15:19:00.002-05:00

I originally took this pic for a spur-of-the-moment project for my dad. This past spring he had an accident which resulted in him being admitted to the Trauma ICU at Saint Francis. (He flipped his ArticCat out in a pasture and it landed on him.) The next day, on our way to the hospital (after knowing he was stable and going to be okay) I sat the kids down real quick to take a pic. Lola helped color a big heart for him and I thought I'd take a picture of them together to kinda show their love. I thought he could hang it up on his wall since the kids weren't allowed in his room. However, I couldn't get the darn printer to print out the picture, so it just never got made. Since then, it's just been sitting here on the computer. Thought we'd try to share it again.

On another note, my kids have crazy, messy hair. Despite what it looks like, I really do wash/brush/fix their hair on a daily basis. I am not one of these moms who fuss over hairdids. I make her headbands and little clippies, but we don't do --and never have, thanks to KJ -- big hair bows. From an early age, it just didn't seem to "fit" Bee's personality. Plus, her daddy DETESTED the few bows I tried. Her hair is now back to her usual short bob, but for a bit we were growing it out. However, it would only end up in a sloppy ponytail. Her hair is so silky that it's just hard to work with! She doesn't care what it looks like and, frankly, as long as it's clean, that's all I really care about.

Cal, on the other hand, has since been getting free haircuts from his daddy. This pic shows him after his first "official" haircut from my friend Corie, but before KJ got ahold of it. I didn't realize how scrubby he was looking...Nowadays, KJ just buzzes it for the most part. I need to get a picture of it, though, bc it's so cute to see the homegrown barber in action.

Beezy & Izzy

2010-08-16T15:07:00.004-05:00

Beezy and Izzy. Pals -- most of the time. On this particular day, Cal took his afternoon nap while me and Bee played outside. She is, and always has been, so happy being outside. She especially loves popsicles. She figured out that if she sat in the very middle of the pool, she could safely eat her popsicle without Izzy trying to get a lick too.

These pics I took capture a few of the little details I want to remember about her at this age. Her love of BandAids. (Hello Kitty this time.) Her mismatched, chipped nailpolish. How she always manages to make a mustache out of whatever she's eating. Her crazy little ponytail that was always so messy. (We've since chopped it off and gone back to her usual short bob.) How she's such a skinny mini that even her bathing suit is saggy. She's our spunky girl. She loves to get dirty and gets kinda rough at times, but will choose a "pretty dress" (as she calls it; no matter how simple it really is) over anything in her closet - anytime.

I love her so.

Baby Cal

2010-08-15T23:49:00.003-05:00

Just over a year ago. Easiest baby. Good eater, good sleeper, content, sweet, loved to be swaddled tightly. Not a whole lot has changed. He's only about 20+ pounds heavier and only wants to be held when he's sleepy. Time flies.

Playa del Carmen

2010-08-15T23:21:00.003-05:00

To celebrate our fifth anniversary, KJ and I went to Playa. It was our first-ever vacation since our honeymoon. Technically, we did go to Texas for KJ's college baseball team reunion back in 2006, but I was suffering from morning sickness the whole time that I hardly count that as a vacation. Plus, it was just overnight. I spent one whole day watching a bunch of guys show off at the baseball field. It was kinda fun bc road trips are always kinda fun...just minus the morning sickness.

Playa was awesome. Beautiful. The ocean -- period. I wish I lived near the ocean. I got to talking to one of the employees at the resort that we stayed at and he had the nerve to admit, "Yeah, the ocean..sometimes I just forget to take time to go to the beach." WHAT??!?!

I took a bunch of pictures, but only used my flip camera. I haven't had a chance to upload them yet so this was just a pic from my phone.

We were so, so, so spoiled during our time there. People waited on us hand and foot. Little things like turndown service with aromatherapy candles and chocolates every night. We went deep sea fishing -- I mean KJ fished, I puked. Crazy. Snorkeling -- which I've decided is not for me after all. In the past when I've snorkeled, it was all fun; now, I just had the heebie jeebies the whole time and it was pretty intense. You know it's not a good sign when the guide says, "Okay, folks, is everybody a good swimmer? You're going to need to watch me bc this current is pretty strong, and I'm not really liking it. You're going to need to swim hard once we get further out." Um, I thought this was the lazy kind of snorkeling where you stay near the shore. Nope. We were waaaaaay far out from the shore. Stingrays. Sea turtles the size of my washing machine. The guide screaming "Keep your distance!" to us while the current was pulling us closer to the turtle. Ugh! I wanted to just quit and cry and go sit on the dock. Exept the dock was a mile from the middle of the ocean where I was. I don't want to ever go again.

I'll save my snorkeling-in-a-cave story for another day. It was scary too.

Ah, but, take me back to the resort, and all was good. LOVED it. The ocean is just breathtaking I think.

Home Ec

2010-08-15T23:11:00.003-05:00

I'm taking Home Ec again after about 15 years! This time I really want to learn how to sew. I'm doing it online through some very creative bloggers. I can't wait to learn more!!!

Cal

2010-08-07T14:10:00.001-05:00

Chocolate chip pancakes. I think Cal got the best of them.