Lolabee (Preschool)

2008: 15 months old

2009: 2 years old

2010: 3 years old

First Day of Preschool

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)

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)

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Bee & Jaxon

Beezy loves hanging out with Jaxon. She always finds him so entertaining! The cool thing is, his mom and I were friends when we were their age. Crazy. I'm glad our kids get to be pals too.

Okie Doke

This was back in the late spring. Lola dressed herself that day. Her leggings are inside out. We didn't care, though, we were just glad to have sunshine and warm weather. That one pic looks like a little granny with no teeth.

Book slings

I'd seen these book slings on a bunch of blogs last year and thought they were so cute. They looked pretty simple to make, so I thought I'd give it a shot for Lola's books. (I really thought they'd hold all of them, but it turns out I need about 2 or 3 more. Oh well.) Once again, I enlisted KJ's grandma to help me and we got it done. It turns out it was a really simple project :)

Sledding (January 2010)

Since it's only about 104 degrees here lately, I thought it'd be a tiny bit fun to look back at what we were doing at Christmas this past year. Sledding! On an old truck hood! How hillbilly can you get?! But nothing is funner!!

This was Lola's first time to sled like this. This is how we always did when I was a kid. Just tie the hood to a truck and go for it. So fun; especially when the driver does a bunch of donuts. On this particular day, there was only one wipeout and Lola loved it! Nobody was hurt. Lots and lots of laughs. But man, it was so, so, so cold this day! It hurt to breathe even.

I detest wintertime. There is literally not one single shred in me that looks forward to it each year. But at least when you get snowed in out in the country, we can always go hillbilly sledding.

Cub Time

The kids love to ride the Cub. There's a Cub and a Mule, and I honestly don't know which one is which, so, Mom & Dad, spare me the lecture when you read this. I just don't pay attention to that stuff; they're all the same to me. Look at those smiles...

Lil Woman Driver

I grew up on a ranch out in the country. I had no idea how awesome that really was at the time. Now that I'm a parent, I'd give almost anything for my kids to have that opportunity. At this stage, my kids will never know what it's like to just hop on a 3-wheeler and literally ride around all day, exploring, pretending, or chasing each other. There's no limits. Well, there's fence lines but that's about it. It's quiet. Summer nights are THE BEST. The stars, crickets chirping, a few oil wells pumping in the distance, and even coyote pups howling...man, it's just divine. It's sheer happiness to go home and relax and let the kids roam around. But I digress...

This post is supposed to be about Lolabee's new Jeep. I think the pictures speak for themselves. Cal was her passenger. He has fun, but is also a little freaked out at times. Beezy is a wild driver. I tried forever to get a picture that wasn't blurry or got the fronts of their faces, and I only ended up getting run over. Literally. Bee will cruise til the battery dies. So fun to watch her go. For now, it's as close as she can get to roaming in the country :)

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

Chicken & Spinach Pasta Bake

8 oz. spiral noodles, cooked
1 T. olive oil
1 c. chopped onion
10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, prepared
3 c. cooked chicken, diced
2 14.5 oz. cans Italian diced tomatoes, drained
8 oz. chive & onion cream cheese
salt & pepper
6 oz. shredded mozzarella, plus a little extra for the topping

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Saute onion in olive oil. In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients and add the sauteed onion. Mix well. Pour into a greased 9x13 and top with remaining cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Goodies

On my way home (aka my parents' house out in the boonies) I stopped at an antique store and found all these goodies. I've been wanting some blue Mason jars but they are a little pricey and I found these for $2! The kids' books were 50 cents each and in PERFECT condition. They look like the kind of books we had in Sunday School when I was a little kid. The old cookbooks are for some projects I have in mind. But if those projects don't pan out, I'd like to do this.

The quilt top is going to be a quilt that I am going to finish for Lola's bed when she moves out of her toddler bed. It was only $15 and it's either a full or queen size. Since all of the fabrics are vintagey, I want to get some really pretty modern fabric -- maybe Heather Bailey or Amy Butler -- to do on the backside; create a huge contrast. This, however, is all dependent on if I can get KJ's grandma to help me out :) She's the world's best quilter and has made all the kids, grandkids, and now great-grandkids their own quilts. She's gonna think I'm crazy showing up with this old topper!

The old Christmas ornaments are just bc I love vintage Christmas decor! They're tiny, but will be so cute sitting out with my wannabe collection. I also bought a wooden pop bottle crate but I forgot to put it in the picture. I had so much fun browsing at that store. I want to go back next time without my sidekick Lolabee. She made me a nervous wreck with so many antiques and glassware around. She was an angel, but I just had butterflies the whole time! Next time, I'm on a mission to find vintage Barbie clothes for a project that's brewing in my head....

Fuzzy Navel Cake

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law back when KJ and I started dating. She had baked it for a get-together one evening, and after I tried one bite, I was in heaven! It was so moist and peachy. Earlier this week I baked one to share with my BFF, but I was so stingy that I only gave her half! I took the other half with me to my parents' house where I was going to be staying that night. I had it planned that I'd give them a sliver after dinner, then save the rest to eat while I watched Real Housewives of New Jersey. But, my brother showed up to eat supper too and helped himself to my cake. So, I guess I'll have to make one for myself next week.

The funny thing about this recipe is that it calls for peach Schnapps. I don't touch alcohol in any form, ever. EVER. It's not a judgment I have against others, but just my own personal conviction. So, the first time I baked this, I was too embarrassed to buy the liquor to go in it that I had to have KJ buy it for me. I'm still using the bottle from, like, 3 years ago. I'm such a weinie. Normally, I just leave out the liquor in recipes or substitute them, but this just tastes so good with it that I don't want to mess it up.

Fuzzy Navel Cake

Liquid Mixture:

1 16-oz. can of peaches, undrained

1/2 c. peach schnapps

1 c. sugar

1/4 c. orange juice (I squeeze it fresh)

Cake Batter:

1 box yellow cake mix

1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix

2/3 c. oil

4 eggs

Combine the liquid mixture and refrigerate overnight. (Sometimes I forget to do this part and just pretend I didn't, and the cake still turns out good.)

The next day, preheat your oven to 350. Stir up the liquid mixture and reserve 1 cup. (The sugar tends to settle on the bottom, so stir it up good.) Remove the peaches from the liquid and puree them. Prepare the cake batter. Add the pureed peaches to the cake batter. Add the 1 cup of reserved juice. Mix it up good. The batter will be thick. Bake for about 40 minutes or until done.

I meant to make a simple glaze with some of the remaining liquid mixture and some powdered sugar, but just forgot. You don't need it, but I was curious what it might taste like.