I love Christmas!

We have MANY family traditions at Christmas time, and I love every one of them!  I wish I had pics of them all, but I don’t!  Here are a few fun moments from last week.

For years we’ve decorated gingerbread houses with the Chilek girls.  It’s always a treat for the kids and the mamas!  Preston decorated his house as quickly as he could, haphazardly placing candy in random places.

AnnaLeigh put candy on her house…then took it off and put it in her mouth.

Lilly Katherine carefully, meticulously, decorated her house with design and purpose.  She was, of course, the last one finished and was not at all concerned that the other kids were outside as she was completing her masterpiece…despite the loud commands to “huwwy up and finish!  You da last one!” by her little bossy sister.

On Christmas Eve we attend our church’s candlelight service, one of my most favorite services of the year.  After that, we eat Mexican food with my sister’s in-laws and our whole family.  We’ve been doing this since I was pregnant with Preston.  By the way, this is the THIRD Christmas for me to be VERY pregnant.  It’s almost comical how many Christmases I’m whining about wanting the baby OUT of my belly!  It’s almost it’s own little tradition…that is stopping with this Christmas!!!!!  :)

This year we spent Christmas Eve with my family.  All my life, we have taken a picture at the top of my parents’ staircase, and we still do…although we’re running out of steps!

Uncle Taylor, Pinky, and her most favorite little dog from Uncle Taylor and Aunt Kelly.

LK spent hours with Mimi making a special gift for me.  She made a scrapbook…all by herself.  She chose the pictures, the decorations, and assembled it.  She had a blast working with Mimi and she was so excited to give me her special present.  Once again, she is MY child!

This is random, but I’m throwing this picture in for you, Elicia! :)

We celebrated Christmas at our house first.  We always tape a sheet up to keep the kids out of the den before we wake up.  They get to bust through it when we give them the go-ahead.

Checking out their loot.  Umbrellas and storage cubes for the girls.  A baseball bag and Gatorade for P.  Pretty fancy! :)

They all love checking out their stockings.

AnnaLeigh got all she ever wanted…

Chapstick…which she has applied at least 5,376  times since Sunday.

Panties, which is literally ALL she asked for.  (Notice the extra shiny lips.)

And she got a rake from Preston and Lilly Katherine.  So exciting!

LK got a picture to make her section of the bedroom look a little less like a baseball park.

And P got some sports items that he’s been begging for!  He got eye-black and one of those stinkin’ sweat necklaces.  I’m not sure what they do, but he is convinced it will make him play like Josh Hamilton. :)

From LK…

And Sam even got a Christmas present or two…plus some love from Mimi.

Brad and I got a little Christmas morning LOVE from our sweet girls!

We went to church with Brad’s parents, then we went to their house to continue the family fun!

Brad’s parents with all the grandkids.

Brad’s brother, Andy, and his beautiful family…Claire, Garrett, Andy, Kara, and Tayler.

My kids love Andy and Kara’s kids.  They get along so well!  Preston basically worships Garrett.  They have so much fun together, and my girls would give anything to be with Tayler and Claire.  Precious, precious cousins!

LK and Tayler

Claire and Pinky

Garrett and Preston, two very WHITE boys trying to dance.  It was quite a scene!

Garrett doing the worm.

Preston attempting to do the same.  My poor white-boy son is so stiff, he will probably not be rockin’ the dance floor any time soon.

Speaking of dancing.  Brad’s mom gave AnnaLeigh and Lilly Katherine dolls for Christmas and also gave them an outfit to match the doll.  AnnaLeigh stripped down in the middle of the den to change into her purple ballerina outfit, then she danced and spun around with her new baby.

Christmas was so much fun.  We enjoyed all the many traditions, both new and old.  I love teaching my babies about the real meaning of Christmas.  I love the spirit of giving.  I love the fun times with family.  I love the wonderful food!  I love wrapping and unwrapping.  I love Christmas!  I hope your Christmas was Christ filled and joyful.

Merry (late) Christmas from the maniacs and myself!

-kate

To the love of my life, Happy Birthday!  You’re an old, old man, and I still love you more today than I did yesterday!  I’m sorry you don’t have many gifts from me this year.  May this lovely, elaborate tribute on my blog make up for it.  jk.

I love you!

Happy Birthday!

-kate

One of Lilly Katherine’s best friends, Sara, had a birthday party this weekend.  (LK is 4 months OLDER.)

I asked LK what Sara would like and she said headbands and books.  Who knows if Sara actually likes these things, but that’s what we got her for her birthday!  (Elicia, sorry if those gifts were SO random!)

Lilly Katherine and I made Sara a headband holder, and I thought this would be the perfect gift idea to share for all of you who have a little lady on your shopping list this Christmas.

These headband holders are SO EASY and cost a whopping $2 or less!  I made one for my girls last Christmas and they love it!  Thank you, Amy Jo, for sharing this brilliant idea with me!

What you need to make a Homemade Headband Holder:

• Roll of Paper Towels
• Bandanna or scrap of fabric (bandannas work perfectly!)
• Ribbon
  

Open your bandanna (mine was $.99 at Hobby Lobby) and place the paper towel roll in the center.

(If you don’t have a paper towel roll, you can use 2 large rolls of toilet paper that are duck taped together.  Paper towel rolls work best, though.)

TIGHTLY wrap the paper towel roll in the bandana or scrap of fabric.  It helps if you have a little hand to assist you in the wrapping.

Tie the ends with your ribbon.

It’s that easy!

Put a couple of headbands on the headband holder, and you’re done!  Easy, cheap, useful, and it’s a “big present” for a small price!

Happy Birthday, Sara, and Merry Christmas to all!!!

-kate

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As soon as the maniacs are asleep on Halloween, I rummage through their candy bags, “checking to make sure everything’s safe to eat” and possibly stealing a few items to hide for myself.  Among the little treasures, I like to look for those little individually wrapped caramel cubes.  I love them!

I have always loved them!

I LOVE CARAMEL!

My cousin Amy Lauren introduced me to this caramel pie one Thanksgiving that is sinfully delicious, as if you melted hundreds of those little cubes…without the torture of unwrapping each one of them.  It’s SO STINKIN’ EASY!

This is another 3 ingredient recipe.  I’m sure you’re wondering if I ever cook real food anymore.  I do, but I’m simplifying at this point…can you blame me? :)  I actually cooked this lasagna for dinner, which was a recommendation from a friend and it was delicious!  Thanks Amanda!  It was even more delicious followed by a big fat piece of CARAMEL PIE!!!

So here is the LONG list of ingredients…

Graham Cracker Crust, 2 Cans of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk, Cool Whip

(You can make your pie low fat if that’s your thing.  It’s not mine!  You can use Fat Free or Low Fat Eagle Brand and Fat Free Cool Whip.  If you’re hard core, you could even make your own graham cracker crust from Reduced Fat Graham Crackers.)

Remove the paper from the Eagle Brand cans.

Place the cans in a pot large enough to completely submerge the cans in water.

Fill with water….enough to cover the tops of the cans plus some.  Do not fill to the top of the pot.  Bring to a low boil.

Cover and allow it to stay at a low boil for THREE HOURS!

IMPORTANT NOTE:  You will need to add water!  Set your timer, so you don’t forget that these cans are boiling on your stove top.  You will need to monitor it and add water a few times over the 3 hour period.

Carefully remove the cans.

Place the cans on a towel and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes.  Don’t wait much longer or the caramel will start to set.

Caution:  These cans are HOT and the caramel is HOT and it does have a tendency to ooze HOT liquidy caramel once you open the can.  I recommend using a can opener that removes the whole top and lip of the can, not the old school kind that punctures the top.  The can opener that punctures the top does produce more oozing.  Are you awed and impressed by my word choices?  :)

You can see the oozing goodness below.  Look at that beautiful, golden brown, caramel color!  Can you believe how easy that was?

Now just pour it into your pie shell and smooth.  This pie was a little smoother before my spoon accidentally dove into the middle of the pie.  I don’t know how that happened!

Put it in the freezer for at least 3 hours.  Remove from freezer, and top with Cool Whip.  I forgot to take a picture of this stage.  Use your imagination.  I used about 1/2 a container of Cool Whip.

Cover the pie and place it back in the freezer until you’re ready to serve it.  It is much better when it’s served cold.  Oh it is just so smooth and caramel-y and good!

How could this taste bad?

I mean, hello my lovely!

So add this easy, delicious dessert to your Christmas menu.  You can thank me later.  :)

Recipe for Eagle Brand Caramel Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 Graham Cracker Crust
• 2 Cans Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
• Cool Whip (about 1/2 tub)

Remove paper from 2 cans of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk.  Place the cans in a pot large enough to completely submerge the cans in water.  Bring to a low boil.  Cover and reduce heat and continue a low boil for 3 hours.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Do not leave cans unattended.  Monitor them and add water as needed to keep cans submerged.

Carefully remove cans from water, place them on a towel, and allow them to cool 10 minutes.  Open carefully with a can opener.  (The can openers that removes the lid and lip work the best.)  Pour the caramel in the pie crust.  Freeze for at least 3 hours.  Remove from freezer and spread Cool Whip on pie (about 1/2 a tub).   Cover and place it back in the freezer until ready to serve.

I drizzled it with a little caramel ice cream topping.  Add a few chocolate chips, nuts, nothing, or whatever makes you happy.

Enjoy!

-kate

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Christmas time is my most favorite time of year (minus the cold weather…I’m a warm weather girl!)

I love the red and green, the Christmas music, the food, the decor, the traditions, the family stories, the Bible stories, the smells, the lights.  I’ve learned you can put Christmas lights on just about anything and it will look pretty.

We have several family traditions and I get just as excited about them as my kids do.  My sweet clone, Lilly Katherine has said about 100 times in 100 different ways, “Mama, this really is the best holiday.  I sure do love Christmas time!  This IS the most wonderful time of the year!”  She’s my girl, and I love it!

We don’t do all of these every year, but we do as many as we possibly can.  It is VERY important to us that we teach our children the REAL meaning of Christmas.  Did you know that it’s not about Santa and his reindeer?  Christmas is the celebration of our Savior’s birth!

Our traditions…

• Last year my kids (inspired by my then 3-year old nephew, Caleb) learned Luke 2: 8-14.  It was so precious to hear them say this passage.  Here’s a video from last Christmas of Lilly Katherine saying it.

• This year we’re going to learn Luke 2:15-20.
• I loved making red and green Christmas countdown chains as a child.  This chain allows kids to have the excitement of the countdown, while also learning Luke 2.  It would have been wonderful if I had posted this BEFORE December 7.  Sorry I’m such a procrastinator!  I didn’t write this, I just copied it, and I can’t give credit to the person that wrote it because I’ve forgotten where I found it.
• As adults we like to watch the movie The Star of Bethlehem.  It’s fascinating!  Great video for older kids. 
• Every year we adopt Angels from the Salvation Army Angel Tree and we let the kids pick out toys for the angels.  We also try to do Operation Christmas Child (on the years that I make it before the deadline.  That deadline is too early for procrastinators like myself)  This year, we’re not shopping due to the fact that it’s so hard on my body, so we’re just making blankets for The Children’s Advocacy Center.  It’s important to me that they do things for other people to realize Christmas is about GIVING!
• Of course, we decorate our tree.  They’re at such a fun age.  Most of the ornaments are on the bottom half of the tree, and they love to look at each ornament.  I give them a new ornament every year that says something about them, their likes, hobbies, etc for the year.  Our tree is not going to win any decorator’s choice awards, but every ornament means something to us.  Brad’s grandmother painted this one. This is Preston’s fav…a daddy, son, and dog going hunting.
• We put Christmas lights around our yard while listening to Christmas music.  Then we drink hot chocolate.  The kids LOVE this fun family tradition.

We were drinking hot chocolate outside, but it was TOO COLD.  We decided it would be best to sit by the “roaring” fire and finish our chocolaty treat.  :)

• As Christmas Eve approaches, we read a book that I’ve borrowed from my friend Mary Lynne several times, called “St. Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend.” It’s a neat story about St. Nicholas and why we started the tradition of giving gifts from St. Nic. 

• We decorate gingerbread houses.  We make large ones and small ones.  We haven’t done our gingerbread houses this year, but this series of pictures shows you how successful our 2009 houses were.  These pictures still make me laugh.  LK almost cried again when she saw these.  So funny.

• I purchased this fancy Advent calendar from the dollar aisle at target years ago.  I put a special activity in each day (all of the above things are included) and then they get to pull out a slip of paper to see what we’re going to do that day.  I change it up according to what our schedule looks like, and I keep a master list so I’ll know what activity is in each day, so I can change it when the need arises.

These are the things I know they’ll remember when they have kids of their own.  Have fun, and don’t forget the REASON FOR THE SEASON…JESUS CHRIST!

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Luke 2: 8-14

⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

-kate

Last year a friend of mine from Baylor, Brittney Poe, (who has an absolutely amazing blog) had an Advent ornament exchange party for Christmas.  You can see her party here.  Meredith and I thought it was a wonderful idea and we wanted to copy her. :)

Well, Brittney made it very easy, because she did all the work for us!  She and her friend wrote and published an Advent devotional called “A Meaningful Christmas!”  We were able to purchase their devotional with hostess instructions and have our own party!

We invited 22 friends (which made our total 24 people) and we each had to make 24 ornaments with a specific item on it.  For example, I had to make 24 ornaments with gifts on them.  Andria made 24 ornaments with a little donkey on them.  Carrie made 24 baby Jesus ornaments, etc…We each made 24, then we swapped.  So, we each ended up with 24 different ornaments, all following the days of the “A Meaningful Christmas” devotional!

It was so much fun!  If you don’t have a family devotional, do this for your family next year!  Our party was not quite as fancy as Brittney’s, because Mere and I are both pregnant and we were just thankful to be standing at the end of the night.  We had a great time and it was so much fun to see all the cute, creative ornaments.  It’s been so special to share with my kids these ornaments my friends took the time and energy to make, and my kids have been SO excited to open the ornament each night and read the devotional.  It has already inspired some great discussions with Preston.

Our party…

Everyone got their own personalized ornament box.

And we filled them with homemade ornaments.

Our precious Baylor friends, Liana and Nancy, drove in from other little East Texas towns.  It was so wonderful to have them!

At the end of the night, Mere and I enlisted the help of our slaves sisters, who are also pregnant.  Poor Andria also got stuck helping us clean.  I asked her to take this picture.  Isn’t this crazy?!?!  Ash and I are sisters, Mere and Carrie are sisters.  Meredith is pregnant with TWIN BOYS, so we have 5 babies between the 4 of us, all being born within a few weeks of each other.  We’re so excited to see all these little maniacs grow up together…just like we did.

Here are a few of the precious ornaments made by my sweet friends.  What a treasure for my family!  (Some ornaments are already on our advent tree and I’m not going in my kids room while they’re napping.)

Did I say they were napping?  LK just waltzed into my room to let me know she’s not sleepy.  Based on the total meltdown she had at Chipotle, I know she IS SLEEPY.  Why, Lord?  Why does she not sleep?  WHYYYYYYY?

Sorry for the little tantrum.

I am about to wrap the ornaments individually, write the assigned number on each, and place them under the Advent tree so they can fight over who gets to open a new ornament each night.  :)

I really hope you have the opportunity to try this next year.  It’s already been a blessing to our family!

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I have several family traditions that I want to post.  I should have posted them BEFORE December…but I’ve mentioned a few times that I’m a bit of a procrastinator.  I’ll work on that later.  :)

Have a lovely Sunday with your maniacs!

-kate

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It’s been a busy week, and after weeding through the 400 pictures I took over Thanksgiving, I have found the 100 I would like to share.  :)  Not really 100, but almost.

I’m from Greenville, Mississippi and for years most of the family remained there.  Slowly my family has moved away, and last month my grandparents were the last to leave G-ville and move to Oxford (where several of my cousins have moved).  Oxford is gorgeous and such a neat little town.  It adds several more hours to our drive, but it was well worth it last week as it was a wonderful trip and our whole family had a blast!  The kids were sweet and happy and played with cousins the whole time.  The food was great!  We have so very much for which to be THANKFUL!  It was truly a wonderful Thanksgiving!

My sweet MamaSara fell a few days before Thanksgiving and was in the hospital for several days.  She hasn’t felt well lately, so my cousin Franci hosted the whole crew!  (We were missing about 15 people, but it was still a large group.)

We stayed with my cousin, Amy Lauren, and the kids woke up every morning playing and giggling.  They had tea parties with Emma-Kate.

They danced and sang to the TV.

This picture just makes me smile.  Lilly Katherine and Emma-Kate were mesmorized by the TV, but AnnaLeigh looked at me with this precious face that I’ve been seeing a lot lately.  I just love those pursed little lips!  I wish I could bottle her up and keep her just like this!

The weather could not have been more perfect!  Franci set a beautiful table outside and we enjoyed God’s amazing sunshine and fresh air!

I have some yummy, easy recipes to post from this pile of delicious desserts.  You like my lovely serving platter for the yo-yo’s?  It didn’t matter.  The kids were literally climbing through the open windows to steal them.

Also, notice that’s the same table I have!  Papa is a carpenter and has built a table for any of us that have asked, so several of us have the same table!  What a special gift!

What sweet blessings seen through the kitchen window!

My baby girl didn’t want to be at the kid table.  She wanted to be right by her Big Papa every single moment.  Somehow I don’t have a single good pic of the two of them, but she was at his side all weekend.

And when she wasn’t with Big Papa, she was loving on a dog.

The kids played outside the WHOLE day.  It was fabulous! :)

Noble, Oliver, and Phoenix explored…

The kids ran with Andrew…

Phoenix and Lilly Katherine found the bee hive.  Papa (my kids call him Big Papa) is a bee-keeper, and he decided Franci needed a bee hive in her back yard.  Unfortunately a horrible storm passed through Oxford a few months ago, and the bees didn’t make it, so the hive is empty now.  I’m sure Papa will take care of that this spring.  :)

The boys played football…Creighton, Preston, Sherman, and Phillip played football the entire day!  Preston’s new pants took the brunt of it.  :)

The girls loved the big swing, and AnnaLeigh found another dog to love on…

Sweet Annie played with the little kids all day.

My happy baby girl was in heaven with her cousins!

The girls were precious together.  Sara-Cooper, Emma-Kate, Lilly Katherine, and Sophie.  Yes, we’re from Mississippi and we like double names. :)

There’s nothing cuter than this man right here.

I hid behind held the camera the whole time, and looking at this picture makes me glad I did.  I look tired and pregnant, but I love these 2 maniacs!

I love this pic of the boys wrestling and the girls playing Ring around the Rosie!

MamaSara plays the harp and now sweet Annie, like an angel, is learning how to play.  It was beautiful!

Then my little “Angel” found a piano just her size.  She just played and sang.

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving day, but the fun didn’t end there!  We got  to wake up with cousins Emma-Kate and Noble the next day.  Caleb and Truett were there, too, but I think they were still asleep.  They went to bed earlier and slept later than my kids…of course.

Then we all headed to Oliver’s birthday party.  What a precious birthday boy!

Thank goodness the party was at a bounce house.  Preston, Sherman, and Creighton just about killed each other, narrowly missing sweet little Eloise who decided she needed to be with the big boys.

AnnaLeigh had a blast with Brad.  At one point she looked at me with a huge smile and squealed, “I’m having so much fun with my daddy!”

Noble, Oliver, Phoenix, Sophie, and Eloise…

Caleb…

This is my beautiful cousin, Franci, who will probably fuss because I’m putting this picture on here.  She and her husband, Robert, hosted our wild family for Thanksgiving.  Thank you both!

And this is my goofy cousin, Cooper, who made the comment about this picture finding it’s way on a blog, so of course I had to include it!  He swiped a party favor a little early, and then was forced to give up his sugary treat…after he had licked it.

Then we finally made it to MamaSara and Big Papa’s house.  (My kids call him Big Papa, but the rest of us call him Papa.)

My maniacs…

No, this was not planned, but the 3 of us are pregnant.  Ashley (my sister) is due January 22, Amy Lauren (my cousin) is due January 19, and I’m due January 24.  None of us know what we’re having, so January should be a fun month in our fam!

My sweet MamaSara just didn’t feel well, but she still had her make-up on and tried to come outside for a few minutes.  We have so few pictures of my dad looking human!  He always makes some crazy face, and I think this is a great picture of them despite how yucky MamaSara felt.

This little man is going to break some hearts one day!  Noble is just a wild, smiling, funny little maniac!

My Aunt Frances Marie (Aunt Ree) came prepared with tons of goodies for adults and children!  She brought snacks and good appetizers for us, gifts, and even games for the kids…plus she entertained them!

AnnaLeigh, right at her Big Papa’s side again, found another dog to harass love.  Poor Sandy is old, arthritic, and missing an eye.  Every time I saw AnnaLeigh with Sandy she was trying to find Sandy’s other eye.  Sandy finally had enough and bit AnnaLeigh.  Everyone was upset at Sandy, but I know my girl got what she deserved after hours of prying poor Sandy’s sewn up face apart.

What a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We woke up at Amy Lauren’s house and drove home to Texas.  The kids were so exhausted that they slept almost the whole way!  Praise the LORD! :)

One last pic of my maniacs and a few of their cousins.

Noble, AnnaLeigh, Preston, Lilly Katherine, Emma-Kate, Truett, Caleb

The Lord has surely blessed us with an amazing family!  MamaSara and Papa have set such a wonderful example of how to live for the Lord, how to put others first and how to make family a priority!  They have raised 5 children.  Each of their children has children, and many of the grandchildren have children.  This trip was just such a blessing and such a great reminder of what Thanksgiving is about!

This is one of my most favorite Psalms, and I think it sums our week up perfectly!

Psalm 100

¹ Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
² Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
³ Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his^[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

⁴ Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
⁵ For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

-kate

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Lilly Katherine’s 5th birthday was August 26th, and we had a family party for her, but she wanted a Build-A-Bear party with her friends.  I’ve been promising for MONTHS that we would do it.  Last week she asked, “Mama, do you think we’ll have my birthday party before April?”  Even though I knew she had no concept of when April was, I felt so badly that I had put it off for so long.  In typical Kate fashion, I decided last Tuesday that I would have the party (today) Monday.

My mom is a “scrapper” so she and LK made these cute bears together, and I stuck them on some paper for her Build-A-Bear Party invitation.  Easy enough!

Each child got to build 2 bears.  They built one to keep and one to donate to the Children’s Advocacy Center.  Several months ago I was at the Children’s Advocacy Center and learned so many horrifying facts about children all around us that are physically and sexually abused.  The CAC is a voice for the children.  It is a safe place where kids can go and tell their story and be loved, comforted, and protected.  When they arrive, they get to choose their very own bear and blanket to take for comfort, which have been donated to the CAC.

I was talking to the ladies that work at the CAC about the bears and my wheels started turning.  My sister, Ashley, had just planned a baseball party for Caleb and all the kids brought cleats to donate to the Dominican Republic.  LK wanted a Build-A-Bear party, and our invitation list was getting so out of control!  There’s just nowhere to stop once you start the birthday invite list!  One of the main reasons I put the party off for so long was because of “THE LIST!”

Lilly Katherine loves to make things for people, she loves to be a giver, and she has such a heart for others.  When I asked her if we could drastically cut her list and allow each person to make 2 bears (one to keep and one to donate) she happily, willingly agreed to doing something that would make a difference in a few other people’s lives…as long as she still got to keep a bear, of course. :)

As an added bonus one of my BFFs in the whole wide world, Kimberly, happened to be in town, so she and Clara got to join us!  Woohoo!

The employees at B-A-B were more than helpful and so sweet, but they were brand new and we totally overwhelmed them!  It was so chaotic, but the kids had fun, and Lilly Katherine was so excited that she never stopped smiling.  :)

Here are a few a lot of pics.  The lighting in Build-A-Bear was strange, so the pics look very orange/yellow.

LK and Clara

Preston and Walker…up to no good.  They didn’t build bears.  They just kept each other entertained by throwing angry birds at each other the whole party.  I was so glad P had a partner in crime!  (Their dads were partners in crime…always!)

AnnaLeigh loves Benjamin!  I’m not sure the feeling is mutual…yet.

LK and Laura

LK and Truett

Giving their bears baths.

Pinky and Paige found a car that their bears loved!

Izzy and her zebra bikini bear

Laura and her “sweet treat” bear

Let me see your bears!

Clara and LK.  My daughter has her Nana’s taste in clothes.  She picked this little sparkly number and silver sandals for her blinged out bear.

After the party we ran to the other end of the mall for some Chick-fil-A.  I asked Lilly Katherine if she wanted a cake or CFA ice cream for her party, and her answer was CFA ice cream!  Hallelujah!  It was so much easier on this pregnant mama!  Plus, I had already made her an owl cake for her “real” birthday, so I didn’t feel too bad not making her another.

LK and “Aunt” Kimmy

After the party Ashley and I delivered the bears that the kids made to the Children’s Advocacy Center.  The party lasted much longer than I had anticipated, so the friends that had planned on joining us to deliver the bears had to get home to relieve babysitters and get their kids down for naps.  I totally understand that!

The kids and I have been making fleece blankets to donate to the CAC.  We delivered the blankets with the bears, and they were so thankful to have the gifts from these children.  I think it’s so important to teach our children that even at their age they can make a difference!

This picture was taken by the CAC, but I thought it was too cute not to post.  The blanket that Preston is holding is one that he made.

Click here for more information about the Children’s Advocacy Center and how YOU can make a difference!

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To my baby girl…Happy VERY LATE Birthday!  I hope you had a wonderful day!  I’m proud to have such a loving, sweet (and wild), giving, kind-hearted little girl like you!  Lilly Katherine, I love you!

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-kate

Remember these very difficult Pumpkin Spice Muffins consisting of TWO ingredients…

Well, this new recipe is MUCH more challenging with a whopping FOUR ingredients.  You can see how I’m simplifying things at this stage in my pregnancy!  By the way, I’m 30 weeks today!  Since all 3 of my maniacs have been early, I’m assuming (HOPING) this one will be early, too.  I guess that would mean I have less than 10 weeks!!! :)  Woohoo!  I can’t WAIT to meet this little baby!!!

Until then, let’s eat PIE!!!

Let me introduce you to a little secret that Kara, my sister-in-law, shared with me…

Eagle Brand Cherry Pie

Kara makes this yummy tart, sweet, creamy little pie for her family.  It is a nice change from the norm, and a great pie to add to your Thanksgiving Day dessert menu!

Kara’s Eagle Brand Cherry Pie Recipe

What you need:

Graham Cracker Pie Crust, Tart Pitted Cherries in Water (Drained), Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk, Fresh squeezed Lemon Juice

Juice 2-3 lemons, enough to get 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Mix the Eagle Brand Condensed Milk with the lemon juice and stir until thickened.

Fold in the DRAINED Cherries.

(Note:  Use Red Tart Cherries in Water…DO NOT USE Cherry Pie Filling. In “my” grocery store, these cherries are located with the canned fruit such as pears and peaches, not the pie filling, but you may want to check both places. )

Pour cherry mixture into pie crust.

Do NOT cover.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, to allow time to set.

Whew!  That was soooo hard!  Sorry I forgot to take a picture of the pie when we sliced it.  Now it’s gone.  This will have to do until you make your own.  :)

Recipe for Kara’s Eagle Brand Cherry Pie

Ingredients:

• Graham Cracker Pie Crust
• 1/4 Cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice (about 2-3 lemons)
• 1 Can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1 Can (15 oz) Tart Red Cherries in Water, Drained…NOT Cherry Pie Filling

Mix the Eagle Brand with the lemon juice.  Stir well until mixture is thickened.  Drain red tart cherries and fold into Eagle Brand mixture.  Pour mixture into pie crust.  Do NOT cover.  Refrigerate for 4 hours before serving, to allow time to set.

Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

-kate

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Random Friday thoughts.

Here are several random Favs from the week I figured I would post as one big Fri Fav!

Fav Comment by a Stranger: After this incident, I ran home, bathed and changed AnnaLeigh and then we ran a few more errands.  As AnnaLeigh was FREAKING out in a store, throwing a HUGE temper tantrum, I was doing my best to speak calmly to her (while gently threatening her life.)  I tried to get her to settle down, and I was wildly unsuccessful.  I finally paid for my items, bent down and whispered to her that because of her behavior she was going to get a spankin’ at the car.

She lost it.

A lovely older lady ahead of me (who is obviously not raising a 2 year old anymore) turned around and announced, “Looks like she needs her grandmother.”  I just sighed, gave a very tired (slightly annoyed) smile, and said, “Wouldn’t that be nice.”  Then she looked at AnnaLeigh, who was still on the ground, and said, “Call your grandmother, honey.”  I just had to pick my flailing child up and walk away.

If you’re reading this and you are past the tantrum stage, please be sympathetic to those of us that are not.  Please remember how long and hard the days sometimes are.  Yes, they’re filled with joy and I wouldn’t trade being at home with these maniacs for all the money in the world, but some days are a challenge.  Lord, help me to have a FILTER when I get out of this stage of life!

Fav Quote from a Maniac: I was talking to AnnaLeigh about her behavior one night before bed.  The conversation went something like this:

Me:  “Baby, do you think you obeyed Mama today?”

A:  “No ma’am.”

Me:  “Were you respectful today?”

A:  “No ma’am.”

Me:  “Were you kind to Mama today?”

A:  “No ma’am.”

Me:  (almost in tears) “Baby, you can’t continue to act this way.  What are we going to do about this?”

A:  (With a HUGE smile on her face as if she has the perfect answer) “Get a little God!”

Me:  “Yes!  That’s exactly what we need!  A little, no, a LOT of God!!!”

Fav Sam Moment: I begged to get a dog.  Brad finally conceded and we got this pound puppy.  Most days he makes me crazy!  Sam is a sweet dog, but he’s still a dog.  I guess I’ve learned I’m not much of a dog person.  My kids love him, and he’s so sweet to them.  This week, he jumped off the couch, grabbed this monkey, pulled it in his bed, and snuggled with it.  It was the cutest thing ever!

Fav Coupon Code: Remember this Friday Fav?  Well, Gracie Belle Bows has a great coupon code this week for 20% off your entire purchase.  Enter the code 20off to receive the discount.  If you need bows, this is THE PLACE to order them! 

Offer expires November 21, 2011.

Fav Selfless Act: My sweet husband is an early riser to say the least.  He wakes up at 4:00 am most mornings.  It’s truly unbelievable.  It’s always been a joke in our house that our lights are only off 2-3 hours a night.  I go to bed at 2, and he’s up at 4.  Well, my sweet 75 year old husband (that’s what his sleeping habits are like) has been just as messed up as the kids by Daylight Savings Time.  He woke up at his regular time Monday and Tuesday, which is 3:00 am now.  For some strange reason he absolutely cannot go back to sleep.  Well, I’m thankful he used his extra time so wisely and folded about 5 loads of clothes that were on our couch (that his wife had been too lazy to fold).  I woke up and decided I would fold them so my family could actually sit in our den, and to my surprise they were already folded.  It was a Christmas miracle!  I love my sweet husband!  I hate laundry!  It was a wonderful surprise!

Fav new food of the week: Meredith made these wonderful little apple pies.  I need to try them, and I’ll post the recipe when I do.  They were so so yummy, and a nice little treat.

Fav Person to Protect our Freedom: This is my little brother, Taylor.

He served our country for 8 years in the Air Force, overseas a great portion of that time.

Thank a Veteran today.

If you don’t have one in your family, find one to thank.  You have NO IDEA how much they give up to serve our great nation…how much they sacrifice, and they deserve our praise!  Thank you, brother!  I have missed you a lot this week, and I have tears in my eyes as I type for some reason.  We’ll blame it on the pregnancy (or on mama!)

I love you!  I’m proud of you!  I thank you!

Happy Veterans Day!

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Last year we made a family Thanksgiving Tree, and it was so much fun and so special to see all the sweet (and sometimes funny) things that the kids were thankful for.  We just made our Thanksgiving Tree for this year, so it’s not too late for you to start this tradition with your family.

We have a wooded area near our house, so we sauntered through the woods looking for the “perfect” twigs to make our Thanksgiving Tree.  The kids love doing this.  They love any excuse to go romping though the woods.

By the way, the girls were dressed in real clothes all day.  I didn’t realize LK had changed their clothes until I was ready to walk out the door.  Oh well…I think they’re pretty cute as Snow White and the Princess.

Find little limbs that have several little “branches” on which to hang leaves…like the one below.

“This is a good stick, Mama!  It’s like a heart so it will be good.”

They each found 2-3 “sticks” to take home…skipping through the woods with their loot.

Take all the leaves off and arrange them in a vase…filled with candy corn, of course.

Last year I collected some really cool acorns to use in my vase.  I had them in a plastic bag in my living room.  I walked in my den and saw 4 little pieces of rice moving across my living room floor.  As I got closer I thought I was going to THROW UP!  There were worms all in my bag of acorns.  I wasn’t going to sort through them to see which acorns were housing the worms.  I screamed, asked my sweet, manly husband to do something about this situation, and I vowed to never collect real acorns as decoration again!  GROSS!!!

Anyway, remove leaves and arrange your “sticks” so as to not interfere with people’s heads at the dinner table.  Buy some paper leaves, use a hole punch and make a little hole in each.  I purchased mine at a teacher supply store.  However, I think that different colors of scrapbook paper cut in the shapes of leaves would be very cute.  I just wanted something fast and easy this year.

Place leaves around the vase and let your family draw pictures or write what they are thankful for. Then they get to hang their leaves on the tree.  We tried to do this every night at dinner.  We also let any company (like sweet neighbors and grandparents) that came for a visit, write on a leaf.

It was so much fun to see the things the maniacs would write.  Plus, it’s a sweet keepsake.

Here are some of our Thankful leaves from last year.

Preston “I am thankful for a family that loves me.”

LK was thankful for Kate and Brab.  :)

AnnaLeigh just scribbled, but this was her picture of “Be Be” (Preston).

Enjoy mealtime with your family.  I know it can be sometimes be difficult, but I hope this helps make mealtime more pleasant.  Happy Thanksgiving (or at least happy giving thanks!)

-kate

Some days are uneventful and smooth.

Some days are not.

Today has been fairly uneventful, but I’ve had lots of “fun” challenges with a certain 2 year old lately.

She has decided…

1. that she should talk like a baby that is just learning to talk.  (fun)
2. that she should throw a fit at EVERY.SINGLE.THING i say.  (good times)
3. that she should be held at all times, and that walking will result in challenge #2.  (much fun with this huge pregnant belly that already feels like it’s going to bust open at any second!)
4. that she should whine at me with any need she has, instead of making requests in the form of a question or an actual REQUEST.  (let me tell you how this grates my nerves)
5. that she should PEE and POOP in her pants again.  That is something I’m not a huge fan of…in case you don’t remember.

Today…

Look at that cute little belly.  At first glance I’m sure all you see is a cute, sweet, little angel.  On second glance you notice that there is a naked child in a pull-up (that has been potty trained for 5 months)…in a grocery cart…in a parking lot…in the rain.

She’s looking at the pee still left in the seat of the shopping cart.  We were shopping when she said “I need to tee-tee.”  Literally seconds later she stood up in the buggy, turned around, squatted, and peed all over my groceries, the cart, the floor, herself.  Oh, I was NOT HAPPY!!!  It took a great deal of strength to remain under control as I cleaned urine off the floor of the grocery store with little napkins.  My friend Meredith was trying not to laugh as she handed me anti-bac wipes.  I was NOT laughing.

This isn’t an isolated incident.  She is having accidents every day lately.  I had already changed a poo-poo accident before my coffee kicked in this morning.  It’s not that I’m not taking her to the bathroom, it’s that she’s choosing to go elsewhere, and choosing to keep her mama CRAZY!!!

When she realized I was taking a picture of her, she just looked up and smiled “real innocent and pretty.”

It’s a good thing she’s so cute!  It’s a good thing I love her so stinkin’ much!  In fact, just seeing that picture of her makes me smile despite the incident.

I’m posting this now, because I have another post I was working on, but I needed to get this morning out of the way before I could post about my Thanksgiving Tree! :)  I am truly thankful for this little maniac.  I’m not so thankful for urine on my groceries!

Happy Monday…oh yeah, it’s Tuesday.

Kate

Let’s hear it for a delicious recipe that only has TWO ingredients!!!

This is one of my most favorite recipes in the fall, and it is by far the EASIEST recipe I could ever share with you!  There are TWO ingredients!  TWO!  I’m sure most of you know about this little treat, but for those that don’t, you need to try these.  They’re simple and delicious and they just taste like fall!

Pumpkin Spice Muffin Recipe

What you need:

Brace yourself…

A box of Spice Cake Mix and a can of Pumpkin.  That’s all, folks!

Place the spice cake mix and the pumpkin in a bowl.

Mix well.

Place a large spoonful in each muffin cup.  I filled 9 cups pretty full.  They don’t expand too much, and I like large muffins.  You know, because no matter how large they are they’re all the same amount of fat and calories, so you might as well make them large…right?!?! :)

You could stretch it out to 10-12, but 9 was a good number for me.

Cook at 350° for 15-20 minutes.

Eat and enjoy!

My intention was to cut the Pumpkin Muffin, put a little butter on it, and then take a picture.  However, I cut it, buttered it, and that stinkin’ muffin was SCREAMING at me to eat a little bite.

I have no self-control.

NONE!

I just had to have a little bite before I took the pic.  I thought maybe you wouldn’t notice, but when I went back to upload these pics I felt the need to confess…just in case you DID actually notice.

The maniacs LOVED the muffins!  LK said, “Mama, those are delicious!  Can I have another one?”

I said “NO!  The rest are for me!”  :)

Preston enjoyed his muffin so quickly I only got a pic of it stuffed in his mouth…with a little milk mustache.

Recipe for Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 Box Spice Cake Mix
• 1 (15 oz) Can Pumpkin

In a large bowl combine Spice Cake Mix and Pumpkin.  Mix well.  Put a large scoop of mix in 9-12 muffin cups.  Cook at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until the little peaks on top start to brown slightly.  Enjoy!

Refrigerate any muffins that aren’t eaten within 24 hours.  They’re so moist that they tend to mold quickly…or so I hear.  They never last that long at my house.

I hear these go well with a side of Halloween candy from your children’s Halloween buckets (or Easter baskets.)

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This is my amazing Italian grandmother, MamaSara.

I don’t have many pictures of MamaSara from the good old days, but I do have this one picture.  She was a few years older in this picture than I am now, but it’s still crazy to me how much we look alike.

I have looked up to MamaSara all my life.  She is a living example of the Proverbs 31 woman!  She has raised 5 children and loved on 36 grandchildren and great-grandchildren (with 3 more due in January).  She has given her life to serving the Lord, my Papa, her church, and her family.  MamaSara was honored last weekend at her church in Greenville, Mississippi for faithfully playing the organ week after week after week for 67 years!  Her health has declined slightly over the last few years, but she is still full of grace and beauty, full of love, and full of energy!

So much of my cooking inspiration comes from MamaSara.  I have called her for years asking her how to cook different things, and she has always had the answers.  However, most of her answers are not accompanied by any measurements, she uses just “a little of this” and “a handful of that” in most of her cooking, which has taught me how to figure out how to get to the taste I desire.

My sweet MamaSara has always cooked amazing Italian feasts for our huge Italian/Lebanese family.  I LOVE Italian food and don’t think I could ever get too much of it!  I love spaghetti and the wonderful sauce (gravy), I love cheese, I love basil and garlic and oregano.  What’s not to love about Italian food?!?

My dad went to visit MamaSara and Papa last week and brought home the last of their homegrown eggplant.  He gave it to me to cook, and last night I made one of my most favorite meals for the whole family…Eggplant Parmesan.

This is a meal Brad and I have loved for years!  When we were dating we frequented Olive Garden, and we ordered this almost every time.  When we got married I decided I could cook it too!

I used MamaSara’s recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce, which I’ll post one day, but feel free to use a jar of your favorite sauce if you don’t want to make it.

Recipe for Eggplant Parmesan:

What you will need:

Eggplant, Bread Crumbs (Italian Style), Eggs, Flour, Parmesan Cheese, Mozzarella Cheese, Spaghetti Sauce, Basil, Oregano, Canola Oil, Salt, and Pepper  (I have no idea why my Olive Oil is in the picture.  My brain doesn’t work!)

Wash and slice the eggplant to about 1/3 inch thick.

Put the slices in a colander and sprinkle both sides with salt.  This allows the bitter juices to seep out, so try not to put them right on top of each other.  Allow room for the juices to flow.  Okay, they don’t flow out, but just leave them a little room.  Let them sit for 30-45 min.

Rinse the salt and juices from the eggplant.  Place on paper towels and pat dry.

I like to add a little more seasoning to the Italian breadcrumbs.  If you desire to be difficult like me, add dried basil, oregano, salt and pepper and mix well.

Get your eggplant ready to take a dunk.

Use bowls large enough to dip your eggplant slices, and place the bowls close together to cut down on the mess.

First coat both sides of the eggplant in flour.

Next, dredge in egg.

Allow the excess egg to drip from the eggplant or your breadcrumbs will become a clumpy mess.

Then cover both sides in breadcrumbs.

Lay each piece of eggplant in a single layer on a cookie sheet until you are ready to fry them.

Pour about 1/4 inch of Canola Oil in a large skillet…enough Canola Oil to cover the bottom of the pan and a little of the eggplant.  You don’t want the oil to cover the top of your eggplant.  Heat the oil over medium-high heat.  The oil is ready if you can sprinkle little drops of water on the oil and the water dances to the top.  That’s how I always test to see if it’s the right temperature…probably not too scientific or exact, but it works for me. :)

Place a few pieces of eggplant in the skillet and fry until lightly golden brown on one side.  It takes about 3-4 minutes per side

Flip and cook about 3 more minutes until lightly brown on both sides.

Place each piece of eggplant on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Pour about a cup of spaghetti sauce in a large casserole dish.  Spread to cover the bottom.

Place a single layer of eggplant on top of the spaghetti sauce.

Now this is where you need to DO AS I SAY…NOT AS I DO.  I accidentally put the cheese on and then the spaghetti sauce.

You SHOULD put the eggplant in the casserole dish, THEN top each piece of eggplant with spaghetti sauce.  NEXT, you should place a piece of fresh mozzarella (I usually just use a regular block of mozzarella and grate it myself.  On this particular dish, I think the block of mozzarella is fine and I really don’t think it’s necessary to spend the extra money on fresh mozzarella like I did here…but whatever floats your boat.)

Then sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of that.  Now when it comes to Parmesan, I think FRESH is always better!

See…I accidentally put the sauce on TOP of the cheese.  Don’t follow my lead.  Do it right so it will be pretty and perfect!

Then top with another layer of eggplant.  Figure out how many pieces of eggplant you have before you begin.  I like to have about 6-7 stacks of 2 pieces of eggplant, but occasionally I have a stack of 3.

Now I’ll show you the right way…sauce…

Then the final layer of mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

YUM!  Cook it uncovered at 350° for about 20 minutes.  All the ingredients are cooked, so just heat it through and make sure the cheese is melted but not burned.

Oh, can it get any better?  Why yes, it can…serve it with spaghetti and more homemade sauce and homemade meatballs, topped with fresh Parmesan cheese!  YUH-UH-UM!

It’s stressing me out a little that there’s nothing green on the plate.  We always eat this salad with it, because it’s my “MamaSara salad”…my go-to salad for any Italian meal!

Recipe for Eggplant Parmesan

Ingredients:

• 1 Large Eggplant
• 1 Cup Italian Breadcrumbs
• 1/2 Cup Flour
• 2-3 Eggs
• Parmesan Cheese (fresh if possible, but not imperative)
• 8 oz Mozzarella Cheese (Fresh Moz is not necessary, but use it if you prefer)
• 1 Jar Spaghetti Sauce or about 3 Cups Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
• 1/2 tsp Oregano
• 1/2 tsp Basil
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• Canola Oil

Wash and cut the eggplant into 1/3 inch slices.  Place eggplant in a colander and sprinkle both sides with salt.  Allow it to sit in a colander for about 30-45 minutes to release bitter juices.  Rinse eggplant and pat dry with paper towels.

Whisk 2-3 eggs and place in a bowl large enough to dip eggplant.  Place flour in a separate bowl.  Place breadcrumbs in a third bowl.  Add oregano, basil, and salt to to breadcrumbs and stir to combine.

Dip one slice at a time in the flour, coating both sides well.  Next dredge in eggs, then breadcrumbs.  Making sure to coat eggplant well with each different ingredient.

Heat about 1/8-1/4 inch Canola Oil in the bottom of a large skillet.  You want enough canola oil to cover the bottom of the skillet and about half the sides of the eggplant slices.  Heat oil over medium-high heat.  The oil is hot enough if you can sprinkle little drops of water on the oil and the water dances to the top.  Fry each slice of eggplant for about 3 minutes per side until both sides are lightly golden brown.

Place eggplant on a layer of paper towels to remove excess oil.  Place 1 Cup spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a large casserole dish (9X13 usually works well).  Place a layer of eggplant slices, then top each slice with spaghetti sauce, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese.  Place another piece of eggplant on top and repeat the spaghetti sauce, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Place eggplant in the oven at 350° for about 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and eggplant is heated through.

Serve with some yummy spaghetti and meatballs and maybe even this salad!

Enjoy cooking!  Enjoy EATING!  :)

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Looking at pics of my sweet maniacs is always one of my most FAV things!

A sleeping baby is another one of my most FAV things.

Better than both of those…is getting to see a pic of my unborn little maniac sleeping all cuddled up against me.  Oh how I love this child already!

L-O-V-E!

We had a doctor’s appointment yesterday, and it went so well.  A few weeks ago, our doctor had a slight concern with something in Cletus the Fetus’ brain.  After our third sonogram yesterday, it seems that it has cleared up and Cletus and his/her little brain are growing well.  All looks good and healthy.  Praise the Lord!

I just can’t wait to hold this EXTREMELY ACTIVE little maniac.  I can already tell this one is going to be busy…and I’m going to be MISERABLE by Christmas if it continues to move this much as it gets bigger.  I’m predicting another little Preston.  Heaven help me!  He was/IS so active.

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Thank you, Lord for the miracle of life.  Thank you Lord for all these confirming little wiggles and bumps.  Thank you Lord for a healthy little bug, and I pray that you will continue to grow this little baby into a healthy happy baby that will grow up loving and worshiping you.  Please give this sweet child a heart for you and for others and instill a Godly wisdom and discernment in this child that will guide all his/her decisions.  Please help me to show this precious gift how much I love him/her.

Thank you Lord for this blessing and gift to our family!  We can’t wait to meet our little #4!

6:20 am

That’s what I have set my alarm for the past 4 days.

6:20 am!

Why?

If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I hate mornings and I am a NIGHT OWL!  I love my quiet nights, and usually try to be in bed by 1 am!  However, I’ve made a commitment to start acting like the mom…and not the child!

I want to “Get up while it is still dark” as the Proverbs 31 woman does…

…so as to not stress my 7-year old son out every morning.

…to have a cup of coffee and allow it to kick in before I have to speak to anyone.

…to spend quiet, alone time in prayer…reading God’s word and praying for my babies, my husband, my attitude, and the day!

The only problem is that for the past 4 mornings I’ve peeled myself out of bed by 6:30 and every single morning I have been the FOURTH person awake!  As in Brad, Preston, and Lilly Katherine are already up and going.  By 6:30!  Sam is also a morning-dog, unfortunately, so I guess that makes me the FIFTH person/critter awake.  AnnaLeigh is the only one in this house that will sleep past 7 (besides me!)…and she was up by 6:45 this morning. :(

It’s just impossible to get up before my people get up, so that’s no longer my goal.  I just can’t get up earlier than they do…and I won’t!  (unless I have to)  However, I have found that I can go make my coffee and then hide from all of them.  It’s been wonderful.  I take my coffee and go sit in the floor of my not-so-big closet and read and pray.  The only one that seems to have found me so far is SAM!  He sits at the door and sniffs and smells because he knows I’m hiding.  If I were to try to sit on my bed or in our kitchen, I would be “MOM” and not be able to think, pray, or read.

SO, where is all of this coming from?  Why do I suddenly want to wake up early?

Priorities!

I spent Friday night and Saturday morning at a Women’s Prayer Retreat with about 40 other women from our church.  It was a wonderful opportunity to get away from the craziness of life and refocus on the things that are important.  Most of our weekend was spent outside, surrounded by the beautiful nature that our Lord created.  It was nice to relax, hear the sounds, see the beautiful backdrop the Lord painted, like the lake and the trees and the birds…and not worry that someone was about to fall into the lake or needed a sippy cup or needed to go to the bathroom or needed a spankin’!  It was nice to be “Kate” and not “mom” for a few hours.  However, it was so good to see those little maniacs when I got home!

At the retreat I had time to think about my life, my priorities, my children, my wonderful husband, how truly blessed I am, and how little love and appreciation I’m showing to the Giver of Life!  I had time to think about what needs to change in my life.  SO MANY things need to change, but it has to start with something simple.  Basic.

I need to go to bed at night!

I need to get off the stinkin’ computer and GO TO BED!

I need to get up in the morning in time to think about my day and my priorities.

I want to “get up while it is still dark,” despite how that thought nauseates me!  However, for my family’s sake, I am going to do it.  I have to!

Why am I blogging about this?  Why does this matter to you?

Well, I may not be posting quite as often as I would like, and I’ve decided that my recipe posts will probably have fewer pics.  I am NOT the Pioneer Woman.  I don’t know how she does it!  I figure you guys know how to mix ingredients at this point, so I will probably only be posting pictures that seem necessary.  I love to post pics, and will continue to do so.  Just maybe not EVERY SINGLE STEP.

Which reminds me that I have so many recipes to post and this may make it happen a little quicker.

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I did take a few pics of our prayer retreat.  If you have the opportunity to get away from LIFE and spend some quiet time in prayer alone or with a group of people, DO IT!  It’s so refreshing and so necessary, and we are called to do so!

Here are a few pics from the retreat.  Thank you to all the women who worked hard to put it together!  It was a wonderful weekend.  Can we do it again…next weekend?

Kelly-skinny.  Ashley-pregnant.  Mere-pregnant with twins.  Andria-skinny.  Carrie-pregnant.  (Not that you pregnant ladies aren’t skinny, too!) :)

⁷ But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

-Philippians 3:7-11

I’ve mentioned a few times that I have been craving cream cheese and sour cream with this pregnancy.  My recent obsession with dips (like this and these) has probably been a result of my cravings.  Last night I was craving spinach artichoke dip and decided I needed to make it for dinner.  We were having our weekly meal of breakfast for dinner, and I am aware that spinach artichoke dip does not in ANY way go with breakfast, but that’s what I wanted.

And I’m pregnant.

And I’m the cook.

And that’s what I made!

Except that I didn’t have any spinach.

And I didn’t have a recipe.

So I decided to just make one up!

I was dumping ingredients together, and all I have to say is Paula Dean would be so proud.  There are fewer pictures of this cooking adventure, because I really wasn’t sure where I was going with it. :)

This is what I came up with…Jalapeno Artichoke Dip

Recipe for Warm Jalapeno Artichoke Dip

What you will need:

Sour Cream and Cream Cheese (of course), Mayonnaise, Parmesan Cheese, Artichoke Hearts, Fresh Jalapeno, Garlic, Mozzarella Cheese (Sorry, not pictured…it was an afterthought)

Place sour cream, softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, grated Parmesan cheese, grated mozzarella cheese, and minced garlic in a large bowl.

(In this step I used the canned Parmesan…which I don’t love to use, but I didn’t have enough real Parmesan.  Just use what you have!)

Stir well to combine, making sure cream cheese is thoroughly incorporated.

I can’t type the word “incorporated” without singing Kids In-corp-o-ra-ted. K-I-D-S, whoa oh oh…

Remove the stem from the jalapeno, then finely chop.  I left the seeds and membrane in and chopped them as well.  The creaminess of the dish masks the heat pretty well.

If you ever get invited to a Pampered Chef party and you don’t know what to buy, get the little guy above.  I love my chopper and I’ve had it at least 10 years.  I’m sure they look different now, but I have used it SO much.  It’s a handy little tool.

Roughly chop the artichoke hearts.

Fold the jalapenos and artichoke hearts into the creamy goodness.

I don’t have a picture. :)

Pour the mixture into a pie plate or small oven safe dish.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  (I used the good stuff on top.)

There is no need to grease your dish.  Miraculously this dip just slides right out of the pie plate and onto your cracker. :)

Cook at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

I know…I’ll never be a hand model.  That’s not exactly my goal in life, so I’m not too heartbroken over it.  Just ignore the ugly hands, and focus on that delicious bite of warm, creamy jalapeno artichoke dip that entered my mouth right after this picture was taken!

By the end of the night, we had eaten all but about 3 tablespoons of the dip.  I had a little help from Meredith, Kellie, and Tiffany, but we ate until we were sick we decided we needed some chocolate.  (And that’s why I love you girls!)

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This recipe is VERY easy to double.  I made a small batch because I didn’t need enough for a Super Bowl Party, but if you do, double it!

Recipe for Warm Jalapeno Artichoke Dip

• 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
• 1/2 Cup Mayonnaise
• 4 0z (1/2 large block) Cream Cheese (softened)
• 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
• 1/2 Cup Mozzarella Cheese (shredded)
• 1-2 Cloves of Garlic (minced)
• 1 Jar (7.5 oz) Artichoke Hearts (drained)
• 1 Jalapeno
• Parmesan to sprinkle on top

Combine the sour cream, softened cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, and minced garlic.  Mix well, making sure cream cheese is thoroughly incorporated.

Roughly chop artichoke hearts.  Remove stem (and seeds if desired) from jalapeno and chop finely.  Fold artichoke hearts and jalapeno into cream mixture.

Pour mixture into a pie plate or small oven safe dish.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.  Cook at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm with pita chips, crackers, pretzels, toasted bread, or even fresh veggies.  Or just eat it with a spoon.

Enjoy, and Happy Dipping!

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I am a mean mom!  I DEPRIVE my children of delicious delicacies like cafeteria food and Lunchables.

I won’t let Preston buy his lunch from school unless I am completely desperate…as in I have no bread, no fruit, no meat.  We have those days, and that’s when he gets to buy the lovely cafeteria meal.

Last week Lilly Katherine told me she wanted one of those lunches like all her friends.  I asked what she was talking about, and she said, “You know.  That lunch that comes in the little box with the turkey and cheese.”  She wants a Lunchable, of course.  I know they are so convenient, and I don’t fault anyone for using them.  I just simply can’t buy them.  It seems that the quality of the ingredients has gone way below the point of edible.  The cheese is like rubber and the meat is slimy and nasty.  I would rather make my maniacs a lunchable.  It’s really not hard, and I can select ingredients with much less “fake, nasty stuff” in it.  (I hope you’re enjoying my extensive vocabulary this morning.)

I try to pack my kids a decent lunch every day.  I’m not one of those amazingly creative moms that spends hours cutting things into shapes, although I have been known to bust out a cookie cutter on special occasions. :)

I have mentioned this more times that I probably should, but I HATE mornings.

I  H-A-T-E mornings!

If i pack lunches the night before, my kids are 400 times more likely to have some creativity thrown in there.  If I pack them in the morning (as I did this week), they are just lucky if they have a spoon for their yogurt or a drink.

I have found that these little containers make my life SO much easier and faster in the mornings.  These little Ziploc containers are my Friday Fav #18.  There are 3 little sections, which helps my brain to figure out how much food to give my kids on those mornings when I’m having a hard time holding my eyes open.

They’re VERY inexpensive.  A package of 2 is less than $3.  (You can buy them at the Wal-Marts)

I haven’t had any trouble with them leaking, and I put yogurt, ranch dip, fruit, and other “runny” stuff in their lunches.  FYI, It will leak if your CHILD doesn’t eat all of his/her lunch and then puts the top on incorrectly.

These lunches aren’t anything fancy.  I just took pics a few times this week so you could see how great these little lunchboxes are…not because I think you will ooh and ah over my lunch-making skills.

I stack the 2 sides of the sandwich, so there is actually a whole sandwich in Preston’s.  LK prefers a wrap.

Tuesday’s lunches:

• Whole turkey sandwich for P (with crust cut off, of course) and a turkey wrap for LK
• Goldfish in a silicone muffin cup
• Homemade Pumpkin Cranberry Granola Bars for P (recipe to come next week!)
• Whole plum, sliced
• Pickled okra (their new fav) ???
• Small dessert (lemon drops for P, kiss for LK)

In Thursday’s lunches:

• Whole turkey Sandwich
• Goldfish in a silicone muffin cup
• Pecans for P (LK is allergic to tree nuts)
• 1/2 of a large nectarine in each lunch
• Vanilla yogurt
• The little container above the yogurt is a medicine cup with granola in it for their yogurt
• Small dessert

Don’t forget the spoon…as I often do!

Friday’s lunch for P.  This week was pretty boring, and he had similar lunches every day.  Most weeks I change it up a little more.  Friday’s lunch consisted of

• Peanut butter and Homemade Jelly sandwich
• Plum
• Okra
• Goldfish
• Our fav mixture of nuts, dried bananas, craisins.  I try to keep this mix on hand, because P and I love it.
• Starburst for dessert

It’s that simple!

A few tricks I’ve learned…

• Use muffin cups to hold your ingredients separate.
• Small medicine cups (that come on top of children’s Tylenol and such) will hold ranch dressing or granola or any little topping in place.  Often I put veggies in the middle sized hole with a little cup of ranch for dipping…or apples and peanut butter.
• The containers fit perfectly in all my kids’ lunchboxes.  In LK’s I have to tilt it on it’s side, and the Ziploc container doesn’t leak.
• They are dishwasher safe…even on bottom rack.

There’s no need to buy the fancy, expensive lunch boxes when these Ziploc containers are so perfect and SO inexpensive.

For amazing lunch ideas from my creative friends:

Visit this site for INCREDIBLY creative and fun ideas (minus the very first post) :)

Visit this site for creative and healthy ideas

They take MUCH more time to fix their kids great lunches and are MUCH more innovative than I will EVER be in the morning!  I’m just trying to survive til my coffee kicks in.  :)

Have a wonderful FRIDAY, blog buddies!!!

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(I posted this while Preston was at school, and I showed it to him when he got home.  He has since corrected me on a few mistakes.  My original text is crossed out.  His dialog has been added in italics.)

Preston is playing flag football this fall.  I’m amazed at how well these first and second graders get this game.  I still don’t get it…not that I’m making a huge attempt to “get it.” :)

I love watching my big bug play sports, and I love that he loves it!  Here are a few pics my dad took from Saturday’s game.

Reason #453 why I didn’t play football…not that it was an option…not that I have ANY skill or ability or hand eye coordination or desire…but…reason #453 is THE MOUTHPIECE!  I can’t imagine wearing that thing in my mouth.  I gag a little every time I see it in Preston’s mouth.  He would wear it all the time if I would let him.

I won’t!

GAG!

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He loves being the QB, just like his Uncle Andy was.

He’s also a big fan of running the ball down the field for a touchdown!  He did a great job Saturday!

…and he likes pulling the flags!  You can’t really see the guy with the ball, but P got the flag.

(Mama, that guy has on a white shirt, which means we’re on the same team.  I’m not pulling his flag.  I think I was handing him the ball.)

I have no idea what’s going on in this shot, but I think it’s too cute not to post.

(That is a great picture.  We were celebrating after my touchdown.)

Two of his biggest fans…

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A couple of weeks ago Preston played in a baseball tournament.  He was doing really well, but he hurt his arm halfway through the game.  From that point on, he couldn’t play, and we were a little concerned it was broken.  Thank goodness for a good doctor friend and confirmation that it was indeed NOT broken!  Whew!   (Thank you, Todd!) 

After the game was over LK and A went to check on their brother in the dugout.  AnnaLeigh wanted to know all the details and then she wanted to instruct him (with hands on hips) that he would be just fine.  Sassy!  Just plain SASSY!

I wanted to get a pic of Brad with Preston, and that little maniac decided that she needed to be in the picture, too.  When her mind is made up, sometimes it’s easier not to fight her.  She’s pretty cute “taking a knee” like the big boys, plus it helped her hurting big bro to crack a smile.

I see many, many more games in our future! :)

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17 Years!

Just typing that number makes me feel VERY old!  Last night, my high school sweetheart and I celebrated the SEVENTEENTH anniversary of our first date!

SEVEN-TEENTH!  That’s just CRAZY!!!

It was our Junior year, we were both 16, and that cute boy with the great arms, Brad, asked me to go with him to the Robert E. Lee Homecoming Dance on October 8, 1994.  Here’s our little souvenir from the dance, or maybe it was our ticket.  I can’t remember…it’s been SEVENTEEN years, and I’ve slept a little.

Brad was “supposed” to be setting me up with one of his friends.  (Chad, I’m not sure if Brad ever talked to you, but if he did, thanks for not being interested.)  I was “supposed” to be rekindling Brad’s flame with his ex-girlfriend and a sweet friend of mine, Brooke.  Let’s just say Brad and I spent a LOT of time on the phone talking about how we were going to talk to Chad and Brooke, and I’m not sure how much talking either of us were actually doing with Chad or Brooke.

Brad asked me to Homecoming, and I was more than thrilled!  The night of the dance I nervously got ready, rolling my (then straight) hair with hot rollers, making sure that no hair was out of place, and spraying my “wispy” bangs so that they would be perfectly curled and spaced.

I was 30 minutes late as he waited downstairs with my crazy family.  He should have hit the door running right then, because I’m still running late and my family is still crazy.  (I love you, family!)

We left my house, met another couple (Scott and Sarah) to take pics and then headed to the restaurant.

Allow me to mention just a few things about this great picture…

1. This is the ONLY picture we can find from before the dance.  I’m sitting on his knee.  It’s a very awkward pose, and I’m not sure what we were thinking.
2. That large thing on my shoulder is called a MUM.  That’s what Texas girls (maybe just EAST Texas girls) wear at Homecoming.  They are large, heavy, and the more obnoxious, the better!  Brad’s mom made my mum, and I loved it!
3. Somewhere under that mum I have on a black dress, and I wish you could see it better.  You’ll know why in a second.
4. Brad is wearing a garter on his arm.  That’s what guys wear to Homecoming.
5. What?  You didn’t notice the garter because of Brad’s sweater vest?  Yes, he is sporting a fine American Flag sweater vest and tie!  I thought he was pretty handsome!
6. The sweater vest was hysterical to some of our dear friends in college, and the Baylor Kappa Sigma’s used it in pledging.
7. The sweater vest is lost and gone forever…thanks to the Kappa Sig pledges.
8. The black dress is not. 
9. Yes, I do still own that dress…17 years later!  Not because I plan on wearing it, but because I wore it on our first date, and I wanted to save it.  I never dreamed I would be able to squeeze into it at 5 1/2 months pregnant, and I do mean SQUEEZE into it.  I put it on as a joke.  Don’t worry, I didn’t wear it to dinner last night!

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Brad and I spent about 5 minutes last night trying to think of where we ate that Homecoming night.  We can’t remember.  We must have been in a group, because the picture from the dance is with 4 other friends, not Scott and Sarah.  Here’s the pic from the dance.  These guys are still some of our dear friends, and we love all of their spouses.  Please don’t kill me for posting this pic, Jenni, Kyle, Sam, and Robert!

Last night Brad and I ate dinner, then we ran to Olive Garden to pick up our all time most favorite dessert, Black Tie Cheesecake.  We took our dessert to a restaurant that was closed for the evening to eat on their porch.  We were the only people there, and we sat and ate, talked, and looked up old Garth Brooks songs, like the one we danced to on that wonderful night back in ’94.  We even had a little dance before we left.

I tried to convince him to take me to the REL Homecoming dance that was going on last night.  I was willing to crash their party and ask them to throw on a Garth song just for us…so we could dance and he could twirl me around again just like he did on that special night.  He wasn’t interested in crashing REL Homecoming ’11, because we had our own private dance party going on.

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I know that I am a VERY blessed woman!  I honestly do love this man more than I did yesterday!  I love him more than I did last year, and I love him so much more than I ever knew I would on that first date back on October 8, 1994.  The Lord has given me a true gift, and I realize how blessed I am to have a man like Brad!  He is truly the love of my life!

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ILYMED, babe! (and I always will!)

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⁵ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’ ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

-Matthew19:5-6

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¹⁶ His mouth is sweetness itself;
he is altogether lovely.
This is my lover, this my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.

Song of Solomon 5:16

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There are very few meals that I know all 3 maniacs will eat without a fight.  Chicken and Black Bean Burritos would be one of those meals!  Therefore, we eat it often, and we all love it.  I love it because it’s SUPER fast and healthy (depending on the amount of cheese and sour cream you add to your burritos).  The kids love anything they can eat with their hands, and Brad loves anything that he can slather with salsa (hot sauce).

Chicken and Black Bean Burritos are a STAPLE in our family!

Side Note: I use chicken, steak, pork…whatever meat I have on hand.  If you have leftover steak you need to use, this meal is perfect.  I often use chicken that I have previously cooked and frozen.  I try to always have frozen, cooked, cubed chicken breasts on hand…it helps out during the weeknight frenzy!)  Just use whatever meat your family eats!

Side Note #2: All pics below were taken with my iPhone.  Sorry they aren’t perfect, but they turned out pretty well considering they are phone pics!

Chicken & Black Bean Burritos

What you need:

Chicken (or pork or steak), Instant Rice, Black Beans, Corn, Rotel, Garlic Salt, Cumin, Paprika, Ground Red Chili Pepper, Cilantro, Cheddar Cheese, Limes, Tortillas, Vegetable Oil

*If you previously cooked meat that you need to use, please see the bottom for how to adjust this recipe.

If you are starting with raw meat, cut it into bite size pieces (about 1/2 inch cubes) and place it in a large resealable bag (such as Zip-Lock).

In a small bowl, add your spices (Cumin, Garlic Salt, Paprika, Ground Red Pepper)  I also add Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning.  Add it if you have it on hand, if not, no worries…this dish has plenty of flavor.

Mix well to combine.

Remove 2-3 tsp of the spice mixture and add it to the bag of chicken.

Seal bag well and shake, squish, wiggle, whatever it takes to coat all of your little chicken bits in the spice mixture.

Heat oil in a large skillet that has a lid.

Add chicken and cook.

Meanwhile, add Corn, Black Beans, and Rotel to a large bowl.  (I use Mild Rotel because my maniacs don’t like it too spicy.  If you really want to eliminate heat, use plain diced tomatoes instead of Rotel)

Add reserved spice mixture.

Stir well.

When the chicken has cooked completely, add the black bean mixture to the chicken.

Stir to combine.

Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat.  Add the rice and 1/4 cup water.

Ok, I am from Mississippi, and I think Instant Rice is just a SIN, however, I use it for this meal and this meal only.  It really does work better.  If you are adamantly opposed to instant rice, you may use regular long grain rice, but you must cook it before you add it to the remaining ingredients.

If you’re using instant rice, just dump it from the big red box to the skillet. :)

Stir to combine and cover.  Turn the stove to low and let it simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the rice is tender.

Remove from heat and add shredded cheese and cilantro.  Some people don’t like cilantro.  I don’t understand those people!  I LOVE cilantro, and think you can never have too much.  I use a full handful of cilantro, and would have used more if I had more.  Use it sparingly if you’re weird if you wish.:)

Stir to combine.  I can’t tell if the pic below is upside down or not.  I’ve flipped it so many times that my eyes are crossing.  Oh well, just look at all the pretty colors.  They look the same if you flip it over, so we’ll just say YUM, and go to the next pic.

Place as much as you want in a tortilla.  Add a little more cilantro and cheese if your heart desires.  Give it a good squeeze of lime juice.

Go wild and add some sour cream.  (It’s healthy…it’s your dairy!)

Roll her up!

Serve this delicious Chicken and Black Bean Burrito with lime wedges and homemade salsa (hot sauce) and you’ll make a lot of people very happy!

By the way, this recipe makes a TON!   Invite friends over, because you’ll have enough food.  Just make sure you have enough tortillas!  Enjoy!

Recipe for Chicken & Black Bean Burritos

Ingredients:

• 1-1.5 Pounds of Boneless Skinless Chicken, Pork, or Steak
• 1 Tbsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Garlic Salt
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1/8 tsp Ground Red Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• 2 Cans Rotel Diced Tomatoes (I use mild – my maniacs don’t like too much heat!)
• 1 (15 oz) Can Whole Kernel Corn (drained)
• 1 (15 oz) Can Black Beans (rinsed and drained)
• 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
• 1 Cup Uncooked Instant Rice
• 1 Cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
• Handful of Fresh Chopped Cilantro (about 1/2 cup)
• Tortillas
• Lime wedges for garnish
• Cheese, Cilantro, Sour Cream, Avocado, Jalapenos, Salsa or desired toppings

Cut meat into bite sized pieces and place in a large resealable plastic bag (such as a Zip-Lock).  In a small bowl, combine Cumin, Garlic Salt, Paprika, Red Pepper (and 1/2 tsp of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning if you have it on hand).  Combine spices well.  Remove 2-3 tsp of spice mixture and add to meat.  Seal bag well, and shake to coat meat.  Add oil to large skillet with a lid and cook meat thoroughly (uncovered).

Meanwhile, combine Rotel, corn, and black beans in a large bowl.  Add reserved spice mixture and combine.  Add black bean mixture to the cooked meat in the skillet.  Stir and bring to a boil.  Add rice and 1/4 Cup water.  Cover and simmer on low for 5-10 minutes or until rice is tender.

Remove from heat and add cheese and cilantro.  Stir to combine.  Serve with flour tortillas.  Add additional cheese, cilantro, lime, sour cream, avocados, or salsa as desired.  Roll and enjoy!

***If you are using meat that you have previously cooked, cut it into bite size pieces, combine the cooked meat with the veggies and all of the spices in a large skillet.  Stir well, bring to a boil.  Add rice and water, reduce, simmer on low 5-10 minutes and enjoy in half the time!

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Just in case you were wondering what my maniacs were doing while I was cooking…

They were playing with Dominoes.  I would like to document this as it’s the first “toy” Preston’s played with since he was born.  If it’s not a ball, he has a hard time keeping himself interested or entertained.  He actually played with Dominoes for about 20 minutes…a MIRACLE! :)

Happy Tuesday, now go make some Chicken & Black Bean Burritos!

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For her birthday, I gave Lilly Katherine the gift I always dreamed of receiving…an Easy Bake Oven!  I was always jealous of the girls on TV that looked like they were having so much fun baking their own cakes and cookies in their own oven!  I never got one as a child, but I have one now so I gave LK one for her birthday! :)

This weekend my dad took AnnaLeigh on a long trip by herself to visit MamaSara and Big Papa, so we only had our big kids.  Man, going from 3 to 2 is easy…which kind of stresses me out going from 3 to 4!  Anyway, tonight Brad took Preston hunting, and I decided it was the perfect time to bust out my new LK’s new Easy Bake Oven.

We baked all afternoon.  We had so much fun, and she just giggled the whole time!  She LOVED it!  As I’ve said a million times, Lilly Katherine is MY CHILD!  I love her so much, and I love that we have so many of the same interests.

This is my girl…and her first (and certainly not last) Easy Bake Oven experience.

She could not wait until the cake was ready.

However, I didn’t expect that the pan would be so hot from a little light bulb (duh!)…and I might have dropped it as soon as we took it out of the oven.  I tried to stick the cake back in the pan to take a pic.  It didn’t work, and we didn’t eat the dirty little cake.

Then LK made chocolate chip cookie sandwiches with chocolate fudge frosting in the middle.  She was in heaven, and kept saying, “I’m baking all by myself!”

With that wild hair, it looks like she had a long day slaving away in the kitchen!

My little girl with her great big heart ate two cookies with giggly glee, she gave me one, and saved the last three for her daddy, Preston, and AnnaLeigh.  She wanted to make sure they each got one.  She loves to give gifts to others, and she was so excited to show them the little bite-sized goodies she made for them.

It was a sweet weekend spending time with a little lady that deserves so much more time than I give her.

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If you are a man, you should probably stop reading this post right now.

If you are a woman who has never been pregnant, but you would like to become pregnant some day…please stop reading.

If you are a woman who has never been pregnant and needs reason to never become pregnant…read on.

If you are a woman who has been pregnant before, please read, laugh, reminisce, and ADD your own lovely stories about pregnancy!  I would LOVE to hear that I’m not alone in this crazy world of pregnancy!

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Ok, so I’m pregnant.  I’m in my 24th week (I think) and I feel great!  I was getting ready for BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) this morning and I looked in the mirror to see a blond hair protruding from my forehead.  The dead center of my forehead.  A blond hair.  Half an inch long!  Where in the WORLD had that thing come from?!?!  I swear it wasn’t there yesterday, and if it was there then I need new friends because no one told me.

It was then that I started thinking of all the CRAZY things our bodies go through during those 40 long weeks (delivery and post partum days are a WHOLE DIFFERENT STORY!)  That’s another post, folks!

I must admit that as far as pregnancy goes, I have great pregnancies.  I have never thrown up and I actually enjoy being pregnant.  That being said, as I plucked the half inch long hair from my FACE today I was trying to think of all the “fun” things that happen during pregnancy.  I truly think it’s a little joke God plays on us to humble us before we bring children into this world who (God knows) will humble us DAILY!

So, here are a few things that I have personally experienced with my pregnancies.

• Hair growth! Seriously!  I find random single hairs in places that hair is not supposed to grow…like on my flipping forehead!  This is just sick and probably more info than any one person should ever reveal to the world wide web, but I find that my leg hair either stops growing or grows exponentially.  With Preston, I had more hair.  With the girls I had less.  I have no idea if that’s normal or just because I’m weird.  I assume it has to do with testosterone levels.  That is not a “scientifical” fact…just my own explanation.
• Facial Hair Growth. I have also experienced a mustache or beard with pregnancies.  Isn’t that a lovely thought.  Ok, it’s not like a man mustache or beard, but it was enough of a difference that i noticed it every single day.  (If this happens to you, leave it alone.  It does go away very quickly after baby is born.  I’m not sure if it would go away if you started waxing.)
• Strange cravings. With this pregnancy, I craved sour cream and cream cheese.  I was eating cream cheese by the block.  I spread sour cream on a hamburger patty for lunch one day.  WHAT?!?  I remember when I was pregnant with AnnaLeigh and all I wanted was a big fat bowl of creamy soup.  I was on my way to the Potpourri House for a huge bowl of soup when my plans were thwarted.  I literally had a meltdown like a 2-year old in the middle of my kitchen floor.  I was in the fetal position crying for soup.  Seriously!  SOUP!  When I’m pregnant if I have a strong craving for something, I truly am not satisfied until I eat it.  It makes me a little nuts, I guess.  It probably makes poor Brad a little nuts, too.  (When I was pregnant with LK, I craved Long John Silver’s fish planks.  How’s that for a little WT?)
• ZITS! I have NEVER had acne like I have it when I’m pregnant.  It wasn’t until I was 12 weeks along that I announced to my office during a sales meeting that I was pregnant, to which a co-worker of mine who has absolutely NO filter replied, “Well, I was wondering why your face was all jacked up!”  Good times!  Well, I have 7th grade acne all over again.  It’s just not pretty!  They’re not just on my face.  They’re on my arms, back, chest…places that I have never had pimples, will for some reason get pimples while I’m pregnant.
• Eczema. I find that I get a bad case of pregnancy itches on my legs and fingers.  Eczema just seems to sprout while I’m pregnant, and I itch like crazy.  My poor sister has some kind of pregnancy related rash right now (she also had it with her first) and it causes horrible all-the-time itching all over her body.
• Metal taste. With a few of my pregnancies, I felt like I had a metal or blood taste in my mouth for the entire first trimester.  I have no idea what that is, but it’s just nasty tasting.
• Nose bleeds. Self-explanatory.
• CAN’T BREATHE! From the moment I find out I’m pregnant until the moment of delivery I feel like I can’t breathe.  It’s like my nostrils shrink to the size of a pin head.  I have read about it and I know it’s normal, but it’s so frustrating to me or anyone sitting near me.
• Swollen toes (and ankles). When I was pregnant with one of my kids, my sweet brother was so kind to tell me I looked good except for my “cankles!”  Gotta love little brothers!
• Dry lips. I go through a lot of chapstick when I’m prego.  I think this goes with the eczema thing.  I guess I should be drinking a LOT more water.
• Nausea (of course). I am very fortunate to never throw up, but I get so nauseous that first trimester.  I have felt yuckier with every pregnancy.  I don’t remember being as sick with Preston, but I was 24 years old then.  I’m not anymore. :)  During the first trimester, I was nauseous if I ate, but more nauseous if I got hungry.  Nothing sounds good during that first trimester except for the things that really sound good, and you just have to eat what you need to eat to make it through that yucky stage.  If I let myself get hungry, bad things happen, and it’s hard to recover from pregnancy hunger.
• SLEEPINESS. The first trimester and the third make me SO tired.  It’s like something sucks the energy out of my body.  I was going to bed before 10 pm, and that is truly unheard of for me.
• SleepLESSness. Not only does pregnancy make me tired in general, but sometimes no matter how tired I am, I just can’t sleep.  Either baby is kicking, I’m having CRAZY dreams, I can’t get comfortable, I have back pain, or I’m up and down going to the bathroom (that could be a whole bullet point on it’s own)
• Curly Hair! My hair used to be straight.  It gets curlier with each pregnancy.  When big hair was in in the 90’s, my hair was straight, and would not hold curl for anything.  Now, straight hair is in, and mine keeps getting curlier with each pregnancy!
• Feeling like the baby is going to start waving at people. Ok, so this is my FOURTH pregnancy.  This baby is so low that I don’t know how in the world it will stay in there 4 more months.  That’s all I’ll say, but just know that when people tell you that each baby gets lower and lower, they’re not kidding!
• BIGGER, FASTER! Everything got bigger, faster.  It started in my rear end, and I looked like Kim Kardshian from day 1 with this pregnancy.  Then it moved to the belly.  When I was about 4 months pregnant with Preston (my FIRST child) Brad and I were registering for baby items.  I started talking to another pregnant woman who was about my height and stature, but I thought she looked MUCH farther along than I did.  She told me she was 4.5 months (about 2 weeks ahead of me) but that it was her 4th pregnancy.  Brad and I walked away from that conversation not sure how in the world her tummy could be so big at that point in her pregnancy with only one baby.  I patted myself on the back and asked for affirmation from my husband as I reminded him how lucky he was that I was barely showing.  Yes, tacky!  I know.  Well, don’t worry, I’m paying for my ugliness!  People, I weigh more right this minute than I did when I gave BIRTH to Lilly Katherine, and I have FOUR MORE MONTHS to go!  When you hear that whole thing about how you get bigger faster with each baby, it’s not a lie!  I looked 4 months pregnant from the moment I found out I was pregnant with this child.

I think I should stop before I lose all of you. :)  I know all you women out there who have been pregnant have more fun stories to offer.  Please share!  I love hearing about all the crazy things our bodies go through.  It would really make me feel more normal right now.  It might also make my poor husband feel like he’s not the only one who has a “side show” as a wife. :)

All that being said, I know that pregnancy is a GIFT FROM GOD, designed by God, and it is a special, wonderful time in a woman’s life.  I would not trade all those crazy things for anything in the world, because the outcome FAR outweighs the ugly things it does to my body.  I thank the LORD that he has enabled me to carry 4 special gifts.  I love the kicks, the wiggles, and the hiccups, and I even love being pregnant.  I am truly thankful for this opportunity, and I realize I am fortunate to be able to get pregnant, stay pregnant, and birth precious babies.  It is an amazing miracle, and I don’t know how anyone who has ever been pregnant could doubt that there is an Almighty God!

(This pic is from when P and LK saw A for the first time)

To those of you who are pregnant, enjoy it.

To those of you who are finished birthing children, enjoy having your body back.

To those of you who are longing to be pregnant, thank the Lord for the body you have, and then continue to pray for God’s amazing timing.

To those men reading this who are mortified, I’m sorry.  You should have stopped reading long ago.

To those  of you who know Brad, pray for him.  Do you see what he has to deal with?  :)

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Ok, your turn!  I would love to read your stories!!! :)

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My sister called and asked if I would send her pics from our family vacation, and it was then that I realized I never posted pics from our Griswold family vacation!

My parents took us on a little getaway the week before school started.  Nothing fancy, just a few days away from LIFE.  Our whole family got to go, and we are far too much like the Griswold crew!

The Fam…

My parents with their grandkids (Preston, Caleb, Truett, AnnaLeigh, and Lilly Katherine).

I know I don’t look like my mom.  She did birth me.  I look like my dad.  He’s Italian and Lebanese.  My mom is…not.

The whole crew.

My sister, Ashley (the baby of the fam) with her husband, Alan, and their two precious boys, Caleb and Truett.

My brother, Taylor (the middle) with his wife, Kelly.

Me (the oldest…and wisest, of course!) and our 3  (and 1/2) little people!

The maniacs!

LK and Pinky

Alan and Truett

P and LK (don’t be fooled.  He’s not hugging her, he’s tackling her!)  She was on the ground in the next frame, but this one looked much sweeter. :)

The boys got to play at this cool mini Ballpark at Arlington, and they loved it!

Uncle Taylor pitching to the boys.

We went to Hawaiian Falls.  I think my father enjoyed it as much as the kids did!  He’s the old gray-haired man sliding down the yellow slide.  :)

P went down at the same time, but he was stuck at the top because he’s a light-weight!

My big girl LOVED the water rides!

Pinky loved the Lazy River, but I don’t have a pic of her.  I don’t have too many pics from the water park, but I think I probably posted enough here if you need to see more. :)

The boys even got away for a quick trip to the driving range.

With all the craziness of the weekend, we were so thankful to sneak a trip in to see MawMaw (Brad’s grandmother).  We don’t see her often enough, and she is a precious woman!  We love her so much and she’s truly a living miracle and a gift to our family!

We celebrated Taylor’s 31st birthday!  It’s crazy how he used to be younger than me and now he’s older than me…huh!? :)  It was a treat to have “Unka Taylor” and “Aunt Kelly” there.  Kelly’s sweet mom even packed a BUCKET full of goodies for our babies…and us!  Thank you!!! :)

Do you know how hard it is to get 5 wiggle-worms to sit still for a pic?  Virtually impossible!

Thank you MOM and DIDDY for taking us on a little getaway!  You’re welcome to do it again any time you would like.  :)

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I love you all and I’m blessed to have you in my life and my babies’ lives!

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I have been wanting to make homemade jelly (jam) since the kids and I made delicious homemade (home-grown) grape jelly with my Aunt Barbara and Uncle Carroll last year.  I promised the kids we would make jelly this summer and the summer slipped away from us.  The week before school started, I decided we needed to make jelly for the kids’ lunches.  Lilly Katherine and I made it the same day we made Fruit Roll-Ups (Fruit Leather).

I let her choose the kind of jelly she wanted to make, and she chose Plum Jelly!  Sounded good to me.  It was EXTREMELY EASY and a quick, fun project to make with kids.  My only dilemma is that I was hoping to make a lower sugar jelly, and I found that this is NOT a lower sugar jelly.  If you have a good low sugar (possibly using fruit juice instead of sugar) recipe, please let me know.

Homemade Plum (Freezer) Jam Recipe

Ok, so you will need 3 basic ingredients.  (Tough, huh?)

Fruit, Sugar, Instant Pectin for Freezer Jam.  Oh, and you will need 2 (8 oz) straight sided Ball jars.

Chop plums into small pieces and place in a sauce pan with 1/2 cup of water.

Simmer for about 5 minutes and then mash with a potato masher or fork.  You don’t have to mash if your fruit is fine enough, but I wanted my plums a little smaller.

In a bowl, combine sugar and Fruit Pectin for Freezer Jam.

Pour fruit on top of sugar mixture and stir for 3 minutes…or have 2 little slaves precious maniacs stir it for you.

Please notice that in the picture above AnnaLeigh is stirring as Lilly Katherine is patiently waiting.  In the picture below, you can see who the “boss” is in our family!  She’s small and mighty and she tells us ALL what to do and how to do it.  I love that feisty little fireball!

When you have finished stirring, pour or ladle mixture into 2 (8 oz) straight edge sterilized glass jars.

**Notice, I didn’t read the directions before I made the jam, and I bought the wrong kind of jar.  The one I used is too large, and not the right shape.  The jam is still delicious, but I recommend the small, straight sided jars.

Place the lids on and let it rest for 30 minutes.  Eat immediately, refrigerate for 3 weeks, or freeze for up to 1 year.

It’s that easy!

When you are ready to use your jam, remove a jar from the freezer, let it thaw in your fridge, and use it within 3-4 weeks.  (That is another reason for using smaller jars…so your jam doesn’t spoil.)

When we were finished LK wrote the instructions on a piece of paper so she would have her own recipe.  She sounded the words out and did this almost by herself.  Gotta love the little maniac…plus her “recipe” is very accurate! :)

Recipe for Homemade Plum (Freezer) Jam

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cups chopped Plums (5-6 plums)
• 2/3 cup Sugar
• 1 small package (or 2 Tbsp) of Ball Real Fruit Instant Pectin
• 2 (8 oz) sterilized Jelly Jars

Wash plums and dice small.  Combine with 1/2 cup water in a sauce pan and let it simmer for 5 minutes.  Mash with a potato masher or fork if desired.

Stir sugar and Instant Pectin together.  Pour fruit mixture on top of sugar mixture.  Stir constantly for 3 minutes.  Ladle jam into jars, allowing 1/2 inch of space between jam and top of jar.  Let stand 30 minutes.  Eat or freeze.

To eat at a later date, thaw jam in the refrigerator and use within 3-4 weeks.

I can’t take credit for this recipe.  I didn’t write it, I merely made it.  For more recipes with many different fruit options, visit this website.

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I am so behind on blogging!!!  Last week was NUTS!  NUTS, i say!  I was gone every single night, away from my family, and gone much of the weekend, too.  That’s hard on me, but even harder on Brad and the kids.  AnnaLeigh went WAY backwards in potty training, LK had a bad sleep week, and I’m not sure Preston noticed my absence.  I’m kidding, I’m sure he noticed that he was much more on time for everything than he would have been if I had been around. :)

Being away from my family that much in one week is tough, but I got to spend lots and lots of time with “real people!!!”  Real, living, breathing, adult speaking, funny, fun, exciting human beings.  Sometimes I rock along in MOM-world for so long, that my blog and my Facebook account are my communication with people like you.  It’s nice to have face to face conversations.  Now, it’s not that I never leave my house.  I am involved in enough to keep me going, but last week I saw more “real people” than I saw “little people” and it was a fun change of pace.  That being said, I LOVE my crazy, wonderful life and one week of being busy with “real people” was enough for me.  My family needs me and I need them! :)

The funny thing about last week is that I got talk to so many people who read the blog, and it was so fun to know that so many of you are trying the recipes and ideas.  It absolutely cracked me up when several of you asked “How do you do it all?”.

HAH!  Truly laughable!  I DON’T DO IT ALL!!!

My house is a WRECK most of the time, because I would rather blog than clean…and that my friends is the truth!  I also don’t sleep much.  I stay awake until at least 1 am most nights (yes, that’s where LK gets it!) and I only get out of bed when my sweet son is having a panic attack in the mornings because his lunch isn’t packed and it’s time for him to go to school.  Late nights don’t always make for a nice mama the next day.  By 10 am (with the help of a cup of coffee) I’m usually able to be civil. :)

I don’t EVER want any of you to think I have it all together.  I try to make it very obvious in this blog that I DO NOT have it all together.  I am a MESS!!!  I’m a mess on the outside and a mess on the inside.  I am unorganized, scatter-brained, short-tempered, and mean…sometimes.  Our lives aren’t all roses, and I hope I never come across that way.  I want this to be a real account of our lives, our struggles, and our good times.  My kids are wonderful and rotten.  They scream and throw fits, and so do I.  I’m not proud of it, but it’s just the truth.  We don’t sit around and bake all day, but honestly (selfishly) it’s something I enjoy doing with my kids because my girls love it and it keeps them happy.

So, now that that is all on the table, I hope you don’t give up on me.  I’m such a work in progress…just as this ol’ blog is a big fat work in progress.  Thanks for walking this journey with us!  Thanks for your sweet words of encouragement and your comments.  I LOVE to hear from you!!!

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On to the post…

Last week Lilly Katherine had her first dance class ever.  I swore I would not be one of those moms who had a 5-year old in dance.  Well, guess what…  Those words are among many words I’ve eaten since becoming a parent.  She flits and floats around the house all day and has begged to take dance.  For her birthday this year, taking dance was her present from us.  She is LOVING it, and I love seeing her love it!

Pics are bad.  They were taken with my phone through a window.

Lilly Katherine has 2 precious dance teachers who love dance, love little girls, and love the Lord!  They all pray together at the end of every class.

Since we’re talking about “firsts,” I guess I should post LK’s “first” day of Pre-K which was a month ago.  I’m a little LATE!  She goes for a few hours Tues/Thurs mornings.  She would go every day if I would let her.  No way, Jose!

LK was so excited that one of her best friends, Sara, is in her class!  Sara is a few months younger…a few inches taller. :)

Now, here’s a comparison of this year and last year…

This year

Last year

This year with LK and cousin Caleb (LK is exactly one year older than Caleb, but they LOVE each other so much!)

Last year LK and Caleb

They’ve grown and changed so much.  There are 2 other maniacs that have grown and changed so much.  I took pics of the babies outside of the school last year and this year.  They don’t go to school, but AnnaLeigh thinks she does.

This year AnnaLeigh and Truett (Caleb’s little brother)

Last year.  Same dress.  Similar shoes.  Last year her hair was CURLY!

This year…AnnaLeigh attacking Truett

Last year…AnnaLeigh attacking Truett.  She’s a little aggressive.

My babies are growing up before my eyes!!!  I can’t handle it!

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Ok, one last “first” for LK!  This was all daddy’s idea.  :)

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I keep promising recipes.  I’ll do my best to post at least 2 this week.  Happy WEDNESDAY, y’all!

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This meal is beautiful, delicious, and so good for you!  Plus, it is simple, fast, and it only messes up two bowls and a cutting board.  You can’t get much better than that!

I love to cook fish.  Salmon is probably my most favorite, but it’s not the cheapest fish at the grocery store.  This recipe for grilled tilapia won’t break the bank and it’s one we’ve enjoyed several times recently.

Grilled Tilapia with Papaya-Avocado Salsa

You will need:

6 Tilapia Filets, Cilantro, Papaya, Avocado, Limes, Olive Oil, Cumin, Coriander, Paprika, Red Pepper, and Salt

Combine Cumin, Coriander, Paprika, Salt, and Red Pepper in a small bowl.  The red pepper adds quite a punch, so use it sparingly if you have little maniacs eating with you.  (Yes, I know that from experience.)

Mix well.  Divide mixture in half.

I find that tilapia is more delicate than some fish, and it makes me want to lose my mind when half of it falls through the grill grate.  I don’t have a flat grill pan, so I just make a redneck grill pan out of foil.  Easy to grill, easy to clean.

I chose tilapia because it’s mild and it was on SALE!  Halibut, orange roughy, any mild fish will work, so choose the fish you prefer.  I prefer the least expensive…therefore, tilapia it is!

Place your tilapia on your grill pan or redneck grill pan.  Brush both sides with a small amount of olive oil.  Don’t let it drip in olive oil.  Fish has it’s own oils, so you don’t need much.

Brush half of the spice mixture on the top of the fish.

Place the grill pan on a prepared grill.  Grill at low-medium until it flakes easily with a fork.  Grills vary so much, but on my grill it takes about 10 minutes.  I like my fish cooked through but not tough.

As your fish is cooking, prepare the papaya-avocado salsa.

Peel the papaya (If papaya freaks you out, mango would be delicious also.)

Cut it in half.  Use a spoon to remove slimy little seeds.  (Similar to scraping the inside of a cantaloupe.)

Dice the papaya and avocado in to small cubes.  Chop cilantro.

Save the avocado seed to prevent the avocado from turning brown.

Place cilantro, avocado, and papaya (and avocado seed) in a bowl.  Add reserved spice mixture and juice from 1 small lime.  Fold ingredients together to mix well.

Purple onion would be BEAUTIFUL with this and it would add another layer of flavor.  Unfortunately, we don’t love purple onion…but add it if you do!

Place a spoonful of salsa on your freshly grilled fish and enjoy your yummy, lovely, healthy meal!

I served it with cilantro-lime rice, kale chips, and cantaloupe this time.  All easy!  All a HIT!

The previous time I served tilapia with papaya-avocado salsa, Brad wrapped it in tortillas with cheese…his own version of fish tacos!

Recipe for Grilled Tilapia with Papaya-Avocado Salsa

Ingredients:

• 6 Tilapia Filets
• 1 Small Papaya
• 1-2 Avocados
• 2 Limes
• Large Handful of Cilantro (I use a LOT, because I like a LOT!)
• 1 tsp Ground Coriander
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Paprika
• 1 scant tsp Salt
• 1/8 tsp Red Pepper (adjust to your heat preference)
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Combine ground coriander, cumin, paprika, salt, and red pepper in a bowl.  Mix well.  Divide mixture in half.  Place tilapia (or fish of choice) on a grill pan or make your own grill pan with foil.  Brush both sides of fish with a small amount of olive oil.  Brush half of the spice mixture on the top side of fish.  Place grill pan on heated grill.  Grill on medium-low heat for about 10 minutes or until flakes easily with a fork.

As fish is cooking, peel, seed, and dice papaya and avocado.  Chop cilantro.  Add papaya, avocado, and cilantro to a bowl.  Add reserved spice mixture and juice from one small lime (about 1 1/2 Tbsp).  Fold ingredients to combine.

Serve grilled tilapia with papaya-avocado salsa.  You might as well throw in a little lime slice on the side, too.

ENJOY!

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One of my most favorite things to make is PIZZA!  My kids will eat things on a pizza that they would never eat otherwise…and we just love pizza!

This is one of Brad’s most favorite recipes and one that I’ve been cooking since we got married.  It’s such a good summer recipe and I’m regretting that I didn’t post it sooner, because Farmer’s Market veggies are always an added bonus to a good veggie pizza!

This recipe is really very simple.  However, I got a little crazy this time and made my own crust.  I’ve made this pizza hundreds of times and I have always used a store bought Boboli crust, but I’m trying to go a little more natural.  Do whatever you prefer.  I used my grandfather’s bread recipe for the pizza crust from my dad’s food blog.  And this is a variation of the recipe that they sometimes use.

Garden Vegetable Pizza (aka Garden Veggie Pizza) Recipe

What You Will Need:

Pizza Crust (Store Bought Boboli Crust or make your own), Eggplant, Zucchini, Squash, Tomatoes, Garlic, Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Parmesan Cheese, Mozzarella Cheese, Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper

Dice the veggies into small pieces.

So beautiful…and delish!

You can add onion, too.  I just didn’t this time.

Add 1-2 tablespoons of Olive Oil to a skillet and add the Squash, Zucchini, and Eggplant.  Saute for 8-10 minutes until tender crisp.

Add the tomatoes, garlic, and any dried herbs that you are using.  If you have fresh herbs, by all means, use them!  I only had fresh basil, and I used dried oregano and thyme.  Add any dried herbs, salt, and pepper now, then add fresh herbs at the end.

Stir and saute about 3 more minutes.  Add any chopped fresh herbs as you remove from heat.

Now, if you are using homemade pizza crust, stick it in the oven for about 5-7 minutes to firm the top before you put the veggies on it.  Otherwise it may end up a little soggy.

I forgot to take a picture of these next few steps.  Sorry!

Take whatever crust you have chosen to use, add 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella cheese to the crust and spread it evenly to within about an inch of the outer edge.

Add the sauteed veggies on top.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and grate some fresh Parmesan cheese on top of that.

Pop it in the oven for about 10 minutes at 400° and ENJOY! :)  This is delicious and nutritious!

Believe it or not I made veggie pizza, rosemary chicken and onion pizza, and pepperoni pizza and this was Preston’s fav! :)  My boy loves his veggies.

Recipe for Garden Veggie Pizza

Ingredients:

• Pizza Crust (Either 1 Boboli Prepared Crust or make your own)
• 1 Small Eggplant
• 1 Large Zucchini
• 1 Large Squash
• 2-3 Tomatoes
• 1-2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp Dried Basil (or about 8 Leaves Fresh Basil, chopped)
• 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano (or about a sprig of Fresh Oregano, chopped)
• 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme (or about 2 sprigs of Fresh Thyme, chopped)
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Pepper
• 1 1/2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• Parmesan Cheese to taste

If you are making the pizza dough, do it ahead of time and cook it for 5-7 minutes before topping it with the veggies.

To make the pizza, dice your veggies.  Saute the squash, zucchini, and eggplant for about 10 minutes in 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.  When they are tender crisp, add the tomatoes, minced garlic, salt, pepper, and any dried herbs.  Saute about 3 more minutes and remove from heat.  Add any fresh chopped herbs at this time.

Top pizza crust with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese, and spread to within about one inch of the outer edge of crust.  Top cheese with sauteed veggies, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese and desired amount of Parmesan cheese.

Cook at 400 for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is melted, crust is cooked, and pizza is warm throughout.  Enjoy!

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And if you’re serving your Garden Veggie Pizza to guests, make sure you let your 2-year old, pizza-faced maniac put make-up on them after dinner.  It’s a nice way to end a good meal!  You’re a very good sport, Pike! :)

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Friday I mentioned an issue we were having at our house, and I was surprised to hear how many of you struggle with the same thing.  Sometimes as moms we feel so alone, and it’s always encouraging to hear from you and know that we all have issues and we’re just trying to do the best we can without completely screwing our kids up! :)

I’m positive that my children will look back one day and blame their idiosyncrasies on me, and they’ll probably be justified in that.  I do, however, hope that one day they realize I did my best at loving and raising a bunch of maniacs to love the Lord and treat each other with kindness and respect.  I also hope they have children JUST LIKE THEMSELVES! :)  My mom wished that on me.  Guess what…her name is Lilly Katherine…and I don’t know what I would do without her.  (Except maybe get a little more sleep.)

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So, in an attempt to not have another week like last week there are two little things that I thought I would share with you.

#1.  I bought this precious plate for less than $10 and my intended purpose was to use it as a serving platter.  However, I realized it would be a great plate to display our family memory verse  by the kitchen table.

I know that having it here, we will see it daily, can refer to it as needed, and we will all be more likely to learn it if we all see it together.  All you need is a plate and a dry-erase marker.  We will learn one verse at a time, so when we’ve learned verse 29 I’ll erase it and write verse 30.  There is nothing more precious than hearing the Word of God come from the mouth of a 2-year old.

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#2.  I was going through a STACK of old magazines this weekend and happened upon another mom who was struggling with her son doing homework.  She made a “special” homework spot for her son in the bathtub, and so we did the same.

We have 2 bathtubs in our house.  The girls bathe in one, and the other sits empty collecting dust and dead flies.  Lovely thought.  Anyway, I have converted it into Preston’s Bathtub Book Nook.  Since Preston and LK share a room, one of them is upset if he is trying to read in his bed.  This way, Preston has his own space, he can shut the door, he has a clock, he can eat his snack without me stressing out about crumbs, and he is HAPPY!  (Do you see that little smile?!?!  WHEW!)

Now, I’ll let you know how long it lasts, but I think that creating a space just for him that is comfy and quiet will help.

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Now onto a few pics of our weekend.  We made a QUICK trip to visit my grandparents in Mississippi Arkansas.  We still say “we’re going to Mississippi” when we visit them, though they have moved 10 miles away over the MS River into Arkansas.  Anyway, we got to spend time with a few of my cousins (Amy Lauren and Brett and their families) and a few Aunts and Uncles.  It was a fun, fast, furious trip, and I took very few pics.   I am sad that I don’t have a single picture of my sweet MamaSara and Papa!

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Emma-Kate, AnnaLeigh, and Lilly Katherine

I love this little guy, Noble!

Girls…going bananas!

My big bug wanted to fish so badly.  He talked about it the whole drive to MamaSara and Papa’s house, but when we arrived the temperature was much cooler than expected and the winds were out of control!  Sunday morning he wanted to fish before church and he lasted about 5 minutes.  Sunday afternoon he gave it another go…and lasted about 10 minutes.  Needless to say, the fish weren’t biting with 50 mile an hour winds as Lake Chicot was white capping.

As soon as it started raining, he started running…

Sweet Emma-Kate took care of a very sleepy AnnaLeigh

Then the kids decided that spinning around in Papa’s chair was a good idea.  It was a ton of fun for LK, but as soon as Noble got in the chair he flew right off.  (Sorry, Amy Lauren, I forgot to mention that accident.  He was fine!) :)

Uncle David kept them rowdy and entertained.

We have a HUGE family, but before we left last night I wanted to take a pic of the few cousins that were gathered together.  Please take note of what I’m dealing with, people…

AnnaLeigh, Noble, Phoenix, and Emma-Kate were calmly sitting and smiling in every picture.

My two oldest maniacs WERE NOT!

And the best one I managed to get.

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Have a wonderful week.  I have 6 recipes to come if I can get it together and post them.  :)

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The week before school started, Lilly Katherine and I got busy cooking good treats for school.  We made Homemade Strawberry-Nectarine Fruit Roll-Ups (Fruit Leather) and Homemade Plum Jam.  We really had fun cooking together, and the kids were excited to start school with food they helped make.  My “Goin’ Granola-Granola Bars” are in the oven right now, for another homemade treat.

Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups (Fruit Leather) Recipe

You Will Need:

About 8 Cups of FRUIT!  You choose the fruit (Lilly Kat chose Strawberries and Nectarines), Lemon, Applesauce, and Sugar (If needed)

Wash and cut the fruit to a manageable size.  No need to dice.  It’s really nice if you have 2 extra little hands to help you.

My food processor isn’t huge, so I had to puree my fruit in 2 batches.  I pureed 4 cups of fruit at a time, and added applesauce and lemon to each batch.

4 Cups of Strawberries…

4 Cups of Nectarines…

3 wild maniacs…and a lot of lovely artwork on my fridge…that could use a little organizing.

I added about a tablespoon of sugar total (for 8 cups of fruit).  The only reason I added that Tbsp was because I was in the middle of dumping the sugar when I decided the fruit really did not need the additional sugar.  If your fruit is sweet, don’t add much.

Then add both batches to a large saucepan.

Stir to combine.  It doesn’t look to appetizing now, but it is!

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Skim foam from the top with the back of a metal spoon.

As my My Sicilian Great-Grandmother would say about her spaghetti sauce, 

“Itsa gonna blub, blub, blubba.”

Reduce heat to medium-low and let your fruit mixture, gently “blub, blub, blubba” for about 35-45 minutes, stirring often.  Beware that even boiling it gently, the “blubs” will splash.  I used my splash guard, which helped a TON with the mess.

You’ll know it’s ready when you can run a spatula across the bottom of the pan and the mixture stays separated until your spatula reaches the other side of the pan. (My fruit might not have been exactly to that point because I might have been running late to a doctor’s appointment, and I might have had to put it in the oven about 5 minutes prematurely.)

**This is where I got the Fruit Leather recipe.  I LOVE this blog…I don’t know her, but I’m sure we would be BFFs if I did. :)  She has a few different pics of the process, and her pics are beautiful.

Next, pour your fruit mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

I wanted our Fruit to be similar to the thickness of Fruit Roll-ups instead of Fruit Leather.  Roll-Ups are a little thinner, and I thought they might last a little longer around here. :)

So, this is where I deviate from most recipes.  Most tell you to pour the whole mixture on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.  I divided the mixture in half and filled 2 cookie sheets.  If you have a jelly roll pan, that pan alone would work great.  I don’t have one…so I used 2 cookie sheets and it worked beautifully.

Actually these pictures are quite unappetizing, but you get the idea.

Turn your oven on the lowest setting.  145° if possible.  Many ovens start at 170°, but the lowest setting on my fancy, circa 1988 oven is WARM (there’s no temperature).  I placed both cookie sheets in one oven and just rotated them every hour or so.  Cook about 8 hours or longer if needed.  Cook until they are leathery and not soft and squishy in the middle.

Let them cool and cut into strips completely.  Roll individually and place them in an air tight container or Zip-Lock.  I apologize that these pictures are so u-g-l-y this time.  My Fruit Roll-Ups were not the prettiest color and I was in a huge hurry, so this is what you get this time.

*They are much better and easier to eat the second day.  They are a little tough straight out of the oven…or at least mine were. :)  But they soften in the bag and they were SO good the next day…and the next…and the next.

Homemade Fruit Roll-Ups (Leather) Recipe

Ingredients:

• 8 Cups of fruit of your choice  (We chose 4 Cups Strawberries, 4 Cups Nectarines)
• 2 Cups Unsweetened Applesauce
• Juice from 1/2 a Lemon
• 1/4 Cup Sugar (if needed)

Wash and cut the fruit into manageable pieces.  No need to dice.  If you have a 10-Cup food process or, you can puree all ingredients together.  If not, you will have to do 2 batches and then combine them.  Put the fruit, applesauce, lemon, and sugar (if needed) in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.  Pour into a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to medium-low and skim foam from the top of fruit with the back of a metal spoon.  Stirring often, let the fruit gently boil (blub) for 35-45 minutes or until you can run a spatula across the bottom of the pan and the mixture stays separated until your spatula reaches the other side of the pan.  Pour mixture on 2 parchment lined cookie sheets and spread evenly.  Place them in the oven and turn on the lowest temp setting (145°, 170°, or WARM…whatever you’ve got on your oven.)  If you place them both in the same oven, rotate them every hour or so, for about 8 hours.  Cook until the outside is leathery and the middle is not soft and squishy to the touch.  Let it cool and cut into strips.  Roll individually and place in air tight container.

I did not refrigerate my Fruit Roll-Ups, but they only lasted 4 days, so there was no need to. We ALL loved this recipe!

Thank you, Darby at Fly Through Our Window!  She has made a great printable PDF here.  Enjoy her blog and her sweet, funny inspiration.  Enjoy your Fruit Roll-Ups, too!

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How in the WORLD do I have a second grader?

I just dropped my sweet little man off at school, and I actually had to tell myself not to cry as the lump formed in the back of my throat.  I still can’t handle sending him to school.  I really do love to have the little maniac home…with me…even on the days he makes me crazy!  Oh well, he’s there, and our lives once again revolve around the school schedule.

Every year I make Preston a pencil cake for the first day of school.  It’s no work of art, just something fun to get him excited.  We’ll dig into it as soon as he gets home.  I plan on doing this every year until my last baby goes to college.

Last night as I was getting ready to make the cake I looked back at Preston’s Kindergarten pics and his First Grade pics…and of course I started crying.  How has he grown up so fast?  As my mom reminded me the morning…The days pass slowly but the years pass so quickly!  So true!

First day of First Grade

First Day of Kindergarten

Alright, posting those last two pics next to each other has brought the tears.  He has grown up so much!  I know I’ll blink and he will be in college.

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Oh, my precious gift…I love you!  I am proud of you!  I am thankful that you are such a sweet, smart, wild little man.

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Lord, thank you for Preston!  Thank you for how different we are.  Thank you for his smart little brain and his amazing athletic ability.  Thank you for giving me a strong boy first – to keep me in line.  Thank you for his smile and his intense little personality.  Thank you for his competitiveness, and I pray that you will help me channel it in a positive direction.  Thank you for his desire to learn and to do well.  Thank you for his desire to make good decisions and I pray that he will love you and walk with you all the days of his life.  Please, Lord, help Preston to use your Godly wisdom and discernment in all decisions and choices he makes.  Please bless him with sweet friends that will be good examples and I pray that he will bless others with his example.  Please give his teacher patience, strength, and wisdom this year as she guides and teaches Preston and his classmates.  Thank you, Lord, for this precious blessing and gift!  Thank you for PRESTON!

Yesterday we saw something that we haven’t seen in a VERY long time, and I just had to let the maniacs play in it!

RAIN, GLORIOUS RAIN!!!

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Thank you, Lord!   Thank you for the RAIN!

“He is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from earth.”

– 2 Samuel 23:4

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Remember this sticker chart from the previous post…

Here’s our update as of about 30 minutes ago! :)

I’m very proud to say that after a VERY rough few days last week, my little Pinky has remembered how to use the bathroom in the TOILET!  I think she was just punishing me just a little for leaving her for a week.

But she did it!  She DID it!

And this mama is so proud!

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With all this potty training business, I remembered a potty story that most definitely needs to be included in the previous post on why I HATE potty training and how I was a total failure at it!

When Preston (the child that wet his pants for TWO AND A HALF YEARS) was about 3 1/2, he waltzed into the living room, stood in front of me with his little feet planted on my oriental rug, looked me in the face, and in a very arrogant tone (arrogant for a 3 1/2 year old) he said, “Mama, I’m tee-teeing on myself.  I’m tee-teeing all over myself, and you’re gonna have to clean me up!” And that was the day Preston almost lost his life.  (Not really, but I am positive you could visibly see my blood boiling and smoke coming from my ears!)

Happy potty training, friends! :)

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On another note… a very different note…I have several recipes to post, and I’m hoping to get to at least one tonight!  Wish me luck!

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(Dad, since you don’t like posts about bodily functions, just don’t read this post.)

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I swore I would never do it again.  NEVER!  I was serious, too.

I LOATHE potty training.  H-A-T-E…HATE it!  It makes me absolutely crazy, and I admit I am a total FAILURE at potty training!

Child #1:  We did the intense, don’t leave the house for 3 days, pump your kid full of juice and treats, Nazi potty training.  He is so smart, and he got it immediately.  I just couldn’t get the kid to go in the toilet!  He would dance and cross his legs, and jump up and down, as he was claiming that he didn’t need to “tee-tee” – which of course led to wet pants.  This smart child wet his pants almost EVERY.SINGLE.DAY for 2 1/2 years.  That’s TWO AND A HALF YEARS!  Do you know what that did to me?

I loved all the advice I received regarding this issue, too.

• “He just can’t tell when he really needs to go.” Really?!? I would think the jumping up and down and grabbing his pants would be a pretty good indication that he KNOWS he needs to go, but he would rather not stop playing basketball to relieve himself.
• “You tried to train him too early.  He just wasn’t ready.” MmHmm.  That’s right.  This child who can do multiplication at age 5 can’t find his way to the toilet.  He wet his pants DAILY until he was a few weeks from FIVE years old!
• “Just let him wear wet pants.  He’ll see how nasty that is, and he’ll stop.” Well, I tried to do that, but my child was allergic to his own urine, of course, so he broke out in a rash that made him itch until he bled.  Backfire!
• “When he’s in school, he’ll be embarrassed and he’ll stop.” If you could see his CLASS picture from his 4-year old mother’s day out program, you could see the large wet circle on his pants.   I did not purchase the picture, but I wish I had.  I had to send a change of clothes every day!
• “Well, my child just picked it up real quickly.  I just told them to go on the potty and they never really had accidents.” First of all, if you’re over the age of 50, you have probably forgotten, so please keep your opinions to yourself.  If you only have one perfectly compliant, easy child, please keep your advice to yourself.  If you have 4 children and they all did it amazingly well, go away!  I don’t understand you.

See that pretty red swimsuit in the picture below?  Right after this picture was taken he poo-pooed all inside that brand new mesh-lined swimsuit.  And as if I wasn’t frustrated enough, a mom that I don’t know came to tell me, “Ma’am, your son left his remnants all over that toy over there.”  Good times!

Preston is now 7, and he doesn’t wet his pants anymore, however I have pulled him off the baseball field in the middle of MANY games to take him to the restroom.  The boy still doesn’t want to stop playing.

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Then there was Child #2:  Where do I start?  I could start here if you have the need to VOMIT today.  This HORRIBLE story pretty much sums up my hate-hate relationship with public restrooms!

Or it makes me I think of being at Target with a buggy full of stuff, and an infant strapped to my chest in a sling, a crazy 5-year old, and a 2-year old who doesn’t need to use the restroom until we’re CLEAR across the store from the bathrooms.  Do you know how fun it is to juggle a child on the toilet and try not to dump the “slinged” baby into the toilet?  A challenge, my friends.  And in case you don’t know, girls are much harder in public restrooms than boys.

Just when I thought LK was getting the potty training thing, she started poo-pooing everywhere!  Every time we went swimming, she pooped in the pool…other people’s pools…It was BAD!

She also went on a playground at the park, on the floor of our house, and in a store.  Then we went to a party where Brad’s clients had invited their family and friends to come see their new house.  They had turned their dining room into a playroom, and they had a large tube toy the kids could crawl through.  I suddenly smelled something NASTY, and started looking for Lilly Katherine.  My child had poo-pooed inside that tube, and it was EVERYWHERE!  It was all over her, all over the toy, and it was HORRIBLE smelling.  Brad and I were working together (frantically) to clean it up when a guy that doesn’t have kids yelled, “Party foul!”  We did the walk of shame to our car, with red faces, holding our naked, stinky child straight out in the air.

Then comes Child #3: I wasn’t going to potty train.  I swore I wasn’t.  I knew she wouldn’t go to college wearing diapers, and being the third child, I just wasn’t concerned about it.  Diapers are easier.  AnnaLeigh has been begging for MONTHS to go on the potty, and my response was always, “Nope.  Mama’s not ready yet.”  I’m sure some of you see that as mean, but I needed to be ready and I wasn’t.  Not to mention the fact that she can’t pull her pants up or down by herself and she’s so stinkin’ small she can’t get on the toilet by herself.

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I caved.

I finally decided that she was ready when LK had almost potty trained her without me.

I bought her some big girl panties.

I pumped her up.

She went on the potty.

SHE DID GREAT!

NO ACCIDENTS!  We went almost 3 weeks with not a single accident.  She was my HERO!  I didn’t understand how she could be so easy, but she has always been more compliant.  I was so proud of her, and I finally understood why some people were so critical of me with P and LK.  They just had an easy one and didn’t understand that ALL CHILDREN ARE DIFFERENT!

(She’s telling her daddy and the whole gym that she tee-teed on the potty…so proud!)

She did so well.

Then we went to Cabo.

She REGRESSED.  RE-GRESSED!

She had FOUR accidents yesterday.  I don’t understand why, but I’m SURE it’s going to be the death of me!  It just reminds me again that I am not the kind of mom that’s cut out to potty train!  I’m just not.  In fact, I’ve said this for years, and I’m more convinced than ever that HELL is a horrible place where there is an endless line of 2-year old devils waiting to be potty trained…Forever!

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Now, with all that drama, I completely know that this is so stinkin’ minuscule in the grand scheme of things.  I know there are just a few people on earth with worse problems than a little poo!  I’m just venting and being dramatic, because I’m a mom and this is what I’m dealing with, and this is my blog, and I wanted to vent, and if you’re still reading at this point, bless your heart! :)

I should just thank the Lord that all my babies are physically and mentally able to be potty trained.  Puts in into perspective.  For now, today is a new day.  Sticker charts always seem to motivate…right?!?

(I know the prize doesn’t seem like anything fancy to you, but that “Brand New Cup” is a HUGE treat to my little Pinky!)

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Last week Brad and I had the amazing opportunity to go to Cabo with 4 of our dearest friends!  We had a blast reminiscing about college, talking about our crazy children and our lives now, racing golf carts, eating, playing, swimming and hanging out!  I am posting 4 million pictures, but it was too much fun to leave anything out.

Thank you Kim and Aaron for the trip of a lifetime!  This will probably be Cletus the Fetus’ only trip to the One and Only! :)

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This is Club 96 overlooking the ocean – where we hung out most of the time.

Our first night in Cabo, Mia’s crew came to our condo and cooked a FEAST for us.  It was my most favorite meal!

The One and Only Palmilla, an amazing resort!

The Crew…Aaron, Kimberly, Kristin, Keith, Me, and Brad heading to dinner at the One and Only Palmilla.

Kristin and Keith

We were talking about the huge waves.  They don’t look that large in the pictures, but trust me they were huge and the undertow was FIERCE!

This picture cracks me up.  It is one of the few that shows the huge waves…and Keith’s surprise.

Our method of transportation for the week.

The pool at Club 96 that looks like it spills into the ocean.  Amazing view!

Thursday we took a little tiny boat over HUGE waves to board onto a catamaran. (I was nervous, to say the least.  Ok, I was praying for dear life!)

The boys and Kristin in the little boat, with the catamaran in the background.

This picture says it best.  Kim and I were nervous because we had heard one of the locals talking about the “grande olas” (the BIG WAVES) and there was a news station filming the waves.  These guys were trying to make us feel better, but I could see our little boat heading out over some very GRANDE OLAS!

Our catamaran.

The first half of the trip was SO rough, and the 10 foot waves had me hugging a trashcan, literally.  That’s right. Glad we have a photo of that!

The trip home was much smoother and much more enjoyable.  It is an adventure we’ll never forget.

Keith…

The view of The One and Only Palmilla and our condo from the catamaran.

We survived…and even had fun! :)

My sweet hubby relaxing (Keith, I included this picture for you!)

“Our” table at Club 96.  Soaking wet from the pool, we inhaled our choice meal of the week, delicious fresh caught fish-o-the-day fish tacos.

The boys Kayaking

For the record, I did get in the water.  This is proof!  I swam for a few minutes, and the water was crystal clear and wonderful.

We rode our little golf cart to the tip top of the “mountain” where we were staying, which happened to be where Michael Dell’s house is located.  We took a few pics from the landing above his house.  Breathtaking views!

Kim and Aaron

We went into town to buy goodies for all our maniacs.

Then we ate at The Office, a crazy little restaurant ON the beach.  It was very different and fun!

Rambo!

Our casa

The crew and PREM! :)What a wonderful vacation.  Thank you Aaron and Kim.  We had a blast with all of you, and we miss you already!  We miss Cabo already, too! :)

(Emoticons inserted just for you, Aaron)  :)

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This summer has been so hot and so dry in East Texas and I have been CRAVING Ice Cream Sandwiches!  I decided it was a good time to break out an old favorite that I haven’t made in a few years…Ice Cream Sandwich Pie!  If you need a delicious dessert that takes about 3 minutes to prepare, then this is the dessert for you!  It’s so easy to put together, and everyone loves it.  Who doesn’t love Ice Cream Sandwiches?!?

I don’t have a picture of my big fork digging into this dessert, because I never got to enjoy the fruits of my labor…my hard, hard labor.  :)  Just kidding.  Well, I actually didn’t get to eat any of this, because I took it to my in-laws’ house, and they deserve EVERY.SINGLE.BITE of it for keeping our 3 maniacs!!!

You will need:

Ice Cream Sandwiches, Cool Whip, Caramel Sauce

(I made a half recipe, but I’ll give measurements based on full recipe)

Unwrap enough Ice Cream Sandwiches to line the bottom of a casserole dish.  I used a small square, but you can make this as large as you like.  It is not imperative that you use the exact measurements…obviously.

Blop (like that word?  spell check doesn’t) half of the tub of Cool Whip on your sandwiches.

Spread it around.

Top with Caramel (which by the way, I pronounce it CARE-a-mul, not car-mul.  I’m not sure if it’s a Mississippi thing or not, but it’s certainly not how these East Texas folks say it.)

If you want to ruin this lovely dessert, feel free to sprinkle crushed pecans or the nut of your choice on here at this point.  I think they are delicious plain, but they don’t belong in desserts.  My opinion only, of course.

Top with Caramel Sauce.

Top with another layer of Ice Cream Sandwiches.

Spread the remaining Cool Whip on top.

Watch your back, because as soon as your little rug-rats sense Ice Cream and Cool Whip, they’ll be at your feet begging, and you’ll have to give them this…YUM!!!

Top with more Caramel and why not sprinkle some Chocolate Chips or Oreo Crumbs…just for the heck of it.

Oh, that looks DE-LIC-IOUS, if I do say so myself.

Now all you do is cover it lightly and put it in the freezer for at least 2 hours.  Remove if from the freezer 5 minutes before serving.  Cut into squares and top with Hot Fudge if you dare!

Enjoy!!!

Ice Cream Sandwich Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 Large Box of Ice Cream Sandwiches (quantity 20-24)
• 1 Tub of Cool Whip (Large or Small, depending on how much you want)
• 1 Jar of Caramel Sauce (12 oz)
• Pecans or other nuts if desired (or chocolate chips)

Layer bottom of a casserole dish with Ice Cream Sandwiches.  Top with half of the Cool Whip and spread to smooth.  Top with a generous amount of Caramel.  Add nuts or chocolate chips if desired.  Place another layer of Ice Cream Sandwiches on top.  Spread with remaining Cool Whip.  Top with remaining Caramel (or as much as desired) and any additional toppings you would like (nuts, chocolate chips, Oreo crumbs…)

Lightly cover and freeze for at least 2 hours.  Remove from freezer 5 minutes before serving.  Cut into squares.  Top with Hot Fudge if you just need a little extra kick! :)

Enjoy!

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Last week all 3 maniacs had Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. (As did half of our church)

It wasn’t fun for the maniacs!

It wasn’t fun the mama!

We were stuck in our house for DAYS and days and days!  Ok, 5 days, but it seemed like 5 weeks.  They were so uncomfortable, and their little mouths hurt so badly.  They had sores all in their mouths, so they couldn’t eat or drink anything.  They would be so hungry and so thirsty, but the instant food or even water touched the inside of their little mouths they would start screaming.  We finally gave in and just had ice pops, milkshakes, and smoothies for every meal.

One night after being INSIDE for 4 days, I decided we needed to at least get out of the house.  That day we made popsicles for lunch and popsicles for dessert.  I used this wonderful recipe for homemade fudgesicles from my friend’s blog, and it was a HUGE hit for all 5 of us!

We grabbed our fudgesicles and headed around the block…in our pajamas, of course.  They must have been unable to walk and eat at the same time, because by the time we got home all 3 maniacs were a yummy, sticky, chocolaty mess!  It was delicious and fun!  Thanks, Jana for the recipe and the sanity break!

“Um, Mama, I think I got a little on my nightgown.”

Seeing them happy made me very happy!

Bye-bye Hand, Foot, Mouth!  Please don’t ever come back.

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Last week I celebrated…a birthday.  It hurts to admit it, but I guess with 3.5 kids I’m hardly 23 anymore.  I’m now 30-3!  I still feel like I could jump back into college (except for the 3.5 kids thing) and I have to say I do love my crazy, wonderful life…even if it does mean I’m “IN my THIRTIES!”

Deep Breaths! :)
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The day of the party, I picked blueberries with the kids, and Brad had scheduled a massage for me for that afternoon.  I ran home nasty, hot, and sweaty from picking berries, jumped in the shower, dried my hair as fast as I could, kissed my babies and my wonderful hubby goodbye, hopped back in the car, drove like a mad-man to the spa, and busted through the doors of the spa (late, of course).

THE SPA!

Oh, it was like another land…a land I rarely enter.  A happy place.  Everything was beautiful and peaceful and quiet, with the sounds of dainty, calm harps playing next to a bank of trickling water.  Their was a delightful aroma of lavender, eucalyptus, and mint.  There were no smells of old milk or macaroni and cheese or Totino’s pizza.  No one was fighting or screaming or whining or calling some obviously crazy lady named “Mama!”

When my time in this happy land was complete, I hoped they wouldn’t notice if I hung out in the women’s lounge a few extra minutes on their soft white couches in the sunlit room, drinking some lovely orange juice concoction.  However, I felt like there was a different kind of happy land that needed their crazy mama back.  I slowly made it to the car and back home…relaxed and rejuvenated.

It was a nice, generous, much appreciated break from reality!  Thank you sweet, wonderful husband!

I was greeted with the warm welcome of 3 wild maniacs running at me with their arms wide open calling, “Mama!” as if I had been gone for days.  Then I realized I was in my happy place.  I belong with these crazy people.  I belong in this messy house, with these 3 loud kids and this maniac dog and this wonderful man.  A SPA break is an extra special treat, but I am truly so thankful for this crazy, wonderful life in which I’ve been so richly blessed!

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So after my relaxing massage I wrestled kids for a little while, then it was time for dinner.  I hate washing my hair, and I was determined I was not going to do it twice in 4 hours, so i didn’t.  I’m sad my hair is in my “mom” ponytail for my birthday dinner, but the massage was worth the pony. :)

We had dinner and cake, played putt-putt, then had more dessert.  It was a fun evening with friends!  (We were missing one fun couple.  Brad had a crazy week and realized an hour before the party that he forgot to call some of our dear friends, Michael and Amy!  I’m so sorry, guys!  We love and missed y’all!)

I don’t have many pics, because I was apparently taking pics in Manual Focus instead of Auto and didn’t realize it.  Here are a few…

The birthday girls

The girls (minus Elicia, who had run home to put our cake in the fridge)

But here’s Elicia, in true form.  She found a jet ski machine at Putt-Putt.

Meredith had a hard time.  She ALL-Most got a whole in one.

Then her ball got stuck under an obstacle. :)

Love you, Mere!

Beautiful Dominique and her sweet hubby, Jeff.

I’m sure I’m giving Brad some amazing pointers in this pic!

Thanks to Jeff and Brad for a wonderful night out for our birthdays! Thank you, Dominique for being a precious friend!  Happy 29th (wink, wink) Birthday!

Thank you babe, for the massage and the great game of Putt-Putt!  I love you!

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“He who walks with the wise, grows wise” -Proverbs 13:20

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Pooh and Blueberries sounds like a gross title, but I’m referring to WINNIE the POOH! :)

Although, I have to say that blueberry diapers are the worst!…anyway…All you moms know exactly what I’m talking about!

Moving on…

Last week I had a birthday.  I’m not exactly thrilled about having birthdays at this point in my life, although I know I should thank the Lord for every breath he allows me to take.  I just wish I could hold my breath at 29. :)

We had a little get-together with friends, and I’ll post pics from that (hopefully) tomorrow.

One of the things I wanted most for my birthday was for our whole family to go see Winnie the Pooh.  We went with our wonderful new friends, Pike, Andria, Nash, and Drew.  Sweet Andria had us stocked with all the sugar we could dream of, and we got a tub of popcorn and a coke on top of that.  You would have thought Pinky was in HEAVEN!  She just jumped from one goodie to the next.  This was her first movie, so I was just happy she was happy!

The movie was precious, and the kids all loved it.

Preston and Nash loved it so much they were planning their next movie, Smurfs.  We’ll see!

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Picking Blueberries…

We have picked blueberries every summer since Preston was 18 months old.  Here are a few pics from last year.  Blueberry picking is one of our most favorite traditions.  Prime picking season in East Texas is late May-June.

We went last week…mid-July!

The berries were small but still so sweet.  Unfortunately it was at a million degrees outside, so we couldn’t stay too long.  We went with Andria, Nash, and Drew.

This is our before pic…(taken with an iphone)

Andria and I worked hard picking food for our families. :)  The kids worked hard eating every berry they could get their hands on.  That’s the beauty of berry picking!

The girls found the irrigation system and decided they would much rather drench themselves with water than pick berries.  They spent the rest of the time “washing” their berries and eating them.  Again, I was just happy they were happy.

Sweet and sweaty Drew and AnnaLeigh had to have a little sucker break in the shade of a blueberry bush (tree?)

DONE!  They were so hot.  I was so hot, but it really was fun!  There’s nothing better than fresh summer berries.

Next year we’ll go earlier.

What am I thinking?!?!

Next year I’ll have a newborn!!! :)

Andria reminded us we needed to read Blueberries for Sal, one of my maniacs most favorite books (Thank you, Mary Lynne!)

Of course I forgot to read it that day, but Preston remembered the next day and asked if I would read it to them.  While the kids were waiting on me to get to their room, Preston took it upon himself to read to the girls.  I thought this was a precious moment!  I’m sure they were fighting before and after Preston read the book, but this second in time was a sweet, still, priceless moment!

I’m so thankful my babies have each other…fights, hugs, giggles, punches, apologies, and all!

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We had Vacation Bible School 2 weeks ago.  The first day of VBS, my friend Christi showed up with this yummy, gooey, white dip.  It was a HIT, and I managed to score the last little drop…thank goodness!  It was some of the best queso ever!

When I got home that afternoon, I was exhausted, so I decided to take a nap.  All 3 children were asleep, and it was a golden opportunity that I was NOT going to miss!  I nestled myself down in my soft light blue sheets and within moments I was in dreamland!  About 10 minutes into my nap my DOORBELL rang!  (People, do you know that it is a SIN to ring a doorbell during naptime?!?!)  Bryce, the friendly book salesman was trying to get me to purchase 6 lovely children’s books for only $100, and as I stood outside sweating to death trying to politely tell him “This sale ain’t gonna happen for you, buddy” all I could think of was my comfy pillow on my comfy bed in my cool house, and finally I just had to get a little stern.  No way, no how am I buying those expensive books.  So sorry.  Good luck!  Goodbye.

I finally retreated back into my house, in my cool, comfy bed, and melted back into my sheets.  Minutes passed, and i couldn’t go to sleep!  All I could think about was that stinkin’ queso dip!  I was having the strongest pregnancy craving ever!  I knew I was literally going to be sick if I didn’t get up and do my best to make some queso.

Strange.

Pregnant women are strange!

I peeled myself from my bed and the next thing I knew I was pulling ingredients from the fridge.  I didn’t have the exact ingredients Christi used, but I made it work.  I have made it 4 times in 2 weeks.  How sad is that?!?!  Don’t worry, I’ve shared it every time. :)

Here’s my version of Christi’s White Queso.  For this batch, I actually only made half.  The pictures will show you a half recipe, but the recipe below gives ingredients for a FULL recipe.  I just didn’t have enough sour cream for a full batch this time.

Recipe for Creamy White Queso Dip

You will need:

Cream Cheese, Pepper-Jack Velveeta, Sour Cream, Worcestershire Sauce, Green Chilies (or Jalapenos…or Rotel), Sausage, Green Onions

I forgot to take a picture of my sausage cooking, but go ahead and cook your sausage until no longer pink.  Drain.  As it is cooking, prepare the remaining ingredients.

In a microwave safe bowl, add the sour cream, diced cream cheese, diced Velveeta, and Worcestershire Sauce

Microwave on High in one minute increments, stirring between minutes, until all ingredients are melted and smooth.

Choose your heat and add your peppers.  I chose diced green chilies this time.  I have also used a small can of diced jalapenos or a can of Rotel (drained).  I went for a milder flavor and used Green Chilies.  Use one small can of whatever pepper you like.

When the sausage is cooked.  Drain the excess fat, and add your diced onions for just a second.  I just like to take the edge off of onions a little before I add them to food.

If you like the edge (the crunch), then just throw ’em right on in the queso raw. :)

Add the sausage/onion mixture to the cheese.

Stir and microwave 30 seconds or so and stir again to combine all ingredients and flavors.

Serve with chips!  (The best chips ever are Julio’s, in case you needed a chip recommendation)

(Confession:  my fingernails are so pitiful that I tried to crop my whole hand out of this picture by making it portrait instead of landscape.  You still get a little bit of my thumb…which looks like a big toe, but it’s not.  It’s a finger that some out of control 32-year old still picks!  I’ll work on that soon, Mom…I promise.)

Recipe For Creamy White Queso Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 (8 oz) Block Cream Cheese, Diced
• 1 lb Pepper-Jack Velveeta Cheese, Diced
• 1 (16 oz) Large Sour Cream (or 2 small cartons)
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 (4 oz) Can Diced Green Chilies (or Jalapenos or Rotel)  If using Rotel, drain well
• 1 lb Sausage
• 1/4 Cup chopped Green Onions

Cook sausage until no longer pink.  Drain.  As sausage is cooking, prepare remaining ingredients.

Combine Cream Cheese, Velveeta, Sour Cream, and Worcestershire Sauce in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave on High in 1 minute increments until melted and smooth, stirring between minutes.  Add Green Chilies (or Jalapenos or Rotel).

Add Green Onions to the Sausage and heat to soften slightly.  Add Sausage/Onion mixture to the Cheese mixture.  Stir to combine and microwave 30 seconds or until hot.  Stir.  Serve with chips.

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Now I’m starving again.  It’s 12:44 pm, and I’m about to rummage through my kitchen.  Too bad I don’t have any queso…yet!

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Hi!  I am aware that I have this little thing called a blog!  I want to spend time posting pics and updates about our lives on here, but I’ve been trying to survive lately.  I’ve taken very few pics, not because we haven’t been constantly doing things, but because I’m doing good to make it through the day…much less photograph the effort.

As of yesterday, I’m feeling better.  I thank the LORD that this first trimester mess seems to be passing, and I just pray for the safety and health of this little baby growing in my belly!  As horrible as the nausea is, it is strangely comforting.  As long as I’m sick, I feel like everything must be going well in there.  As soon as I wake up feeling more “normal,” I start worrying that something must be wrong.  That’s called a great big lack-o-faith!  I’ve tried to focus on praying for “Cletus the fetus” instead of fretting.  I know I should just be thankful that I was able to cook for my family last night…and I was even able to eat what I cooked!  PTL!!!

On a totally different note…

I went to Target today with THREE MANIACS!  It was NOT A GOOD DECISION!  They were apparently starving at 10:30 this morning, and I just needed to pick up 4 things…toilet paper, toothpaste, toothbrush, pledge dusters.  4 things.  That’s all!  It was painful.  I got many looks from women who have obviously forgotten what it’s like to take 3 maniacs into a store (Lord, help me to not be one of those mean old ladies!)  We made it.  That’s all I will say about that.

However, on my wonderful, long-overdue trip to Target a few weeks ago, I found myself on the hair clip aisle.  The pink sponge rollers caught my eye as I was wondering if my girls would like something like that.  Then I noticed these Mega Self Grip Hair Rollers, and I decided I might need them.  I usually don’t buy random things when I shop, but I have got to figure out something to do with this mop on my head!  I wear it in a pony tail every day because I’m too lazy to straighten it, and I feel a little “80’s-ish” wearing it curly all the time.  So, it just ends up in a pony or a bun….every.day!

Well, I spotted these little Conair beauties and had no idea what to do with them, but wanted to give them a try.

I haven’t rolled my hair in 100 years, so I really had no idea what I was doing.  I just put my hair in rollers while it was wet, to see if I could avoid drying/straightening/curling.  I used little alligator clips just to secure it, because I did use a hair dryer a little.

Purty ain’t it!

This was the result.  Again, not a clue what I was doing!  Here’s what it looked like straight out of rollers.  I think i shook it out.  Can’t remember.  Sorry.

And this is 5 hours later.  Didn’t do anything else to it.  I’m lazy like that! :)  Sorry for the weird color.

Yes, I know I look like a total TOOL taking pics of myself, but I wanted to show you my new “sponge” rollers!  Go early 90’s!!!

So that’s it.  I’m back.  Hope to have many more posts and recipes now that I’ve entered the real world again!  There will probably not be any more self-photographs of my head.  I’m sure you’re devastated.

Happy Friday!!!  I’ll be enjoying a fresh hot Shipley’s apple fritter and a McDonald’s coffee in a few short hours.  Nighty night!

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I love to cook!

I don’t love to cook during my first trimester!

I don’t enjoy holding my nose during the preparation process, so the scents don’t make me gag!

I don’t enjoy smelling the meal as it’s cooking.

I certainly won’t eat the meal if I’ve had to endure preparing and cooking it while holding my nose and breathing through my mouth.

Therefore, I’ve probably cooked 3 meals in 4 weeks.  My poor husband.

I did, however, make some of my most favorite muffins this week.  We have Vacation Bible School all week and I knew I needed a fast, hearty breakfast that I could grab on my way out the door.  I’ve been making these muffins for years and for some reason they sounded good to me this week…plus they are SO good for you!

Apple Cranberry Bran Muffins

What you need:

Fiber One Cereal, Milk, Applesauce, Vanilla, Whole Wheat Flour, All-Purpose Flour, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, Sugar, Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Eggs, Craisins, Apples

In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 Sleeve of Fiber One Cereal, Milk, Applesauce, and Vanilla.  Set aside for at least 5 minutes or until cereal starts to soften.

In another bowl, combine Whole Wheat Flour, All-Purpose Flour, Sugar, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, Cinnamon, Nutmeg.

Stir to combine…or let your cute little maniac do it.  I had a lot of help from Lilly Katherine with this recipe! :)

Add eggs to the Cereal mixture.

Mix well to combine.

Add the dry ingredients and the Craisins.

Peel and dice 2 apples into small little pieces.  I used Gala.  Just use whatever apples you like.  I prefer sweet and don’t understand how anyone can eat a Granny Smith, but whatever floats your boat!

Add apples.  If you want to go crazy and add other fruit, go for it!  I’ve been known to throw in a banana, but I never add nuts.  I guess if you want to ruin the muffins you can add nuts…if you’re that kind of cook! :)

STIR and STIR until all ingredients are combined.

This looks like it will make a million muffins, however it makes about 18.  The muffins don’t rise or spread as they cook.  Just fill your muffin tins to the height of a cooked muffin.  I use paper liners because I’m lazy.  Feel free to grease and flour each little muffin hole if God gave you a lot more time and patience than this Real Housewife!

Cook at 375° for about 20-25 minutes.

Pure Health!  No oil.  Lots of fiber!  And they really do taste good!

I might have put a little bit of butter on the muffin…just for the picture, of course.

Don’t judge!  I usually don’t add butter, but it just sounded sooo good! :)  (and it was sooo good!)  I guess that takes the “healthy factor” down a notch or two.  Oh well, indulge sometimes.  You deserve it!

Apple Cranberry Bran Muffin Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 Cups (or one sleeve) Fiber One Bran Cereal
• 1/2 Cup Low-Fat Milk
• 3 Cups Unsweetened Applesauce
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• 2 Whole Eggs
• 2 Egg Whites
• 1 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 Tbsp Baking Powder
• 3/4 tsp Salt
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 Cup Craisins
• 2 Apples

In large mixing bowl, combine Fiber One Cereal, Milk, Applesauce, and Vanilla.  Set aside for at least 5 minutes or until cereal softens.  In a separate bowl, combine Whole Wheat Flour, All Purpose Flour, Sugar, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg.  Stir to combine.

Add 2 Whole Eggs and 2 Egg Whites to cereal mixture.  Mix well to combine and break up cereal.

Peel and dice 2 Apples.  Add flour mixture, Craisins, and Apples to cereal mixture.  Stir with spoon until completely combined.

Scoop large portions into greased and floured (or paper lined) muffin cups.  They will not rise or spread, so fill to the desired size of end product.  Should fill about 18 muffin cups.  Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Today was a wonderful day…for so many reasons!

• I got to go to Target ALL BY MYSELF for an hour!  A whole hour.  Now, due to this lovely first trimester stuff, I haven’t left the house much and we were out of everything from detergent to bread, so it was an hour spent buying necessities, but it was an hour at target by myself, nonetheless!  (I am thankful to my sweet friend, Erin, and my mother-in-law for making that possible!)
• I had a date with my Pinky today at one of my most favorite places, TCBY!  (White Chocolate Mouse with Caramel = pure heaven!)

• I got lots of hugs from a precious baby girl!  (Now I know this is the most unattractive picture of me EVER, but I love those little hands squeezing my face so much that I’m willing to post it so that I can remember those little hugs and squeezes forever!)  (Samantha, go ahead and say it!  “I can’t see my eyes!”)

• Brad and I finally got to go to our much anticipated doctor’s appointment, and PRAISE THE LORD there was ONE happy little peanut in there!
• “Cletus the Fetus!” is looking good and right on track for January 24!   (Head is the round spot to the right, the there’s a little abdomen in the middle, and two little flipper looking things that are leg buds pointing to the left.)

It’s so refreshing, reassuring, miraculous, comforting, exciting…to see that little bitty peanut wiggling around in there.  How can anyone see that and not KNOW that there is an amazing God creating that little being….knitting it together in my womb.  Simply amazing!!

“From the fullness of HIS grace we have all received one blessing after another” -John 1:16

Hello friends! I’m so sorry it’s been a week since my last post! We’ve been out of town, and I’ve been tired, and I’ve been a little nauseous, and I’ve been wrestling maniacs. There’s my list of excuses. :) I’m so thankful you haven’t given up on me.
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A few weeks ago I asked my wonderful facebook friends where Brad and I could take our 7, 4, and 2 year old maniacs for family vacation. I received several wonderful suggestions of places I had never heard of, and we choose one of them for our destination. We went to La Torretta in Conroe, Texas. It was WONDERFUL and PERFECT for our family!  I highly recommend it for families of young children.

The resort was clean.  The room was clean.  The hotel employees were friendly and helpful.  The basic room is a 2-room suite with a hide-a-bed, so it was great for our family of 5.  There was PLENTY to do at the resort, so we never left except to eat dinner, which made this vacation very affordable.  Our children loved the water park, and there was something for everyone.  La Torretta is probably better for younger kids, such as ours, but it kept them busy and happy.

Water Park Attractions:

• Baby area (about 4 inches deep)
• Children’s area (less than a foot deep) with a huge splash area with water sprayers and slides.  That’s where we spent most of our time.
• Big kids area (5 feet deep) with 2 great water slides that Preston, Brad, and I enjoyed.
• Lazy River (3 feet deep) and we spent a lot of time there, too.
• Pools
• Hot Tubs

Other Outdoor Activities:

• Putt-Putt
• Fishing
• Tennis
• Golf
• Chess/Checkers
• “Beach” Volleyball on the lake

(La Torretta has no idea who I am, and they did not ask me to write this report.  It’s just that when I, as a mom…as The Real Housewife, find a great family place I feel it is my duty to share it with all of you! :) You’re welcome.)

Now for the pics…lots and lots of pics…

We drove to Conroe Thursday afternoon, and we were fortunate enough to meet some dear friends for lunch on the way.  We always love hanging out with the James family!  (We missed you, David)

Sweet Jemma loves Pinky.  They are just 2 (or is it 3?) months apart.

I wish I had a pic of my beautiful friend Liana, but I’m sure there will be another! :)  (Thank y’all so much for meeting us!)

Preston, Price, Jemma, AnnaLeigh, Lilly Katherine

We woke up Friday morning in Conroe and got our vacation started out right.  We headed to Shipley’s in our pjs in order to maintain our weekly tradition/routine!

Water Park:

Here’s the children’s area…

They loved the big bucket that dumped tons of water on everything!

This was Preston’s favorite part…The big slides!  (Sorry, Mister.  I didn’t realize you were in my photo. )

Look at these TWINS heading up to slide.  They’re both so stinkin’ cute!  (Yes, I put sun screen on that child!  He was wearing SPF 55!  He just tans well.)

Brad enjoyed the slides just a little. :)  He was teaching all the kids that if you lay down you go much faster.  Preston did not enjoy going “much faster.”  Shocking!

And while the boys were sliding…

The Lazy River…

P trying to teach Brad how to play Chess.

We found a local place called Sam’s Boat and enjoyed great seafood outside on the lake, listening to live music.  It was so much fun!

This little DIVA wore her “suh-gasses” the whole vacation.

My cute boys!

What you can’t see in this picture is the HUGE plate of fried oysters in front of me.  Man, I could use some of those right now!

There’s a huge dock/peer outside of Sam’s Boat and the kids loved running around on it.  The girls had a blast playing together.

Doesn’t it look like AnnaLeigh’s having fun?!?!

We saw some locals catching some good sized fish…which pumped Preston up for fishing!

This is the one and only family picture we have from the vacation and it is pitiful!  AnnaLeigh was so tired (it was almost 10) and the pic is blurry and dark.  Oh well, I’ll remember to take family pics next time.

The next day we swam in the morning, napped in the afternoon, and then fished in the evening.  I think we caught 10 fish, using our leftover pizza crust as bait.  Pretty fancy!

My girl caught a fish, picked it up by herself, and threw it back in the water!  Love her!

My job was to make sure this maniac didn’t fall in the lake.

We found some baby ducks to feed.  They like pizza crust, too.

There’s nothing sweeter than a daddy and his girls!

Then I got to fish!  I grew up fishing and I love it!  P was helping LK catch “the big one!”

Pinky and I caught one!

After fishing, we were putting the kids in bed and I heard something strange outside.  I realized they were shooting fireworks at the hotel.  I have no idea what it was for, but we enjoyed the show from our balcony.

Our last day we played Putt-Putt and swam.  My big bug is good at Putt-Putt.

My girls…well, they have a few years to figure it out.  AnnaLeigh decided that throwing it in the hole was much more efficient.

LK (with her rockin’ stance) tried to hit the ball with the club…

She had a hard time making contact…

She decided KICKING it was a more effective way to move the ball. Whatever it takes, baby girl!

We didn’t have score cards, but P and I both agree that I won.  Brad thinks he might have won.  He didn’t.  It was quite difficult to hit the ball with these two maniacs “helping” and “teaching” me.  We were a quite a site!

After Putt-Putt we cooled off in the conference center, and re-energized with a little help from PEZ candy.

Then the girls found a “dance floor” and without any music, they danced and giggled…which turned to cackling and screaming, and we made a quick exit to the pool!

We’re so thankful to have had a few days to get away together as a family.  It was much needed for all!

The sign of a good vacation…

Thank you, wonderful hubby for working so hard!  Thank you for taking time off to have fun with us!  We love you!  Oh, and Happy Father’s Day!  Sorry I didn’t write you a Father’s Day post!  ILYMED!

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I’m a little late posting this, but it’s important to me to document things such as this.  Preston completed first grade about a week and a half ago.  Here are a few pics from the last week of school.

Splash Day Parade

Preston, Christian, and Jalen

Connor, Preston A., Preston enjoying the Splash Day Parade

Preston, Preston A., and Connor linked arms and running

The cutest little spectators with their Aunt Kara

Somehow I didn’t get a single picture of Preston having fun at Splash Day.  I was there, but I guess I forgot to take pics.

Last Day of School

Preston asked me to eat lunch with him on the last day of school.  I was excited to, and went from working out to his classroom, thinking I was having lunch with my baby…no big deal.  I didn’t realize that they were doing a little end of the year party with pizza, cookie cake, ice cream floats, and awards.  There were several parents there, and I was a little embarrassed but glad I was there to celebrate the last day of school with my big bug!

Preston and Ms. Kerley

The awards…

Please allow this mother to brag for just a moment.  I was so proud of my baby that I was a little teary.  There were 5 kids in the class that received a “Citizenship Award” meaning that they never had their star moved all year long.  They had “perfect” behavior (I use the word perfect very loosely).  My baby was one of the five that received the Citizenship Award.  I was so proud of him!

The other 4 kids that received the award were 4 of his best friends.  It makes me so happy that he’s choosing friends that also make good decisions.  I have prayed this for each of my kids since the moment I found out I was pregnant.  I want them to choose friends that will make them better kids.  I want them to choose friends that make good decisions.  Of course I want them to be friends everyone, but I want their closest friends to be good examples…iron sharpens iron.  I am so proud of my big bug!

The funny thing is that this child comes home and acts like a total maniac.  I know he uses up all his “quietness and stillness” at school and he has to get all his wiggles out the second he steps foot in the car.  I would rather him be good at school and wild at home, though.

I did however find out one way he was able to stay so quiet when I opened his pencil box.

That little maniac!  I guess there’s no real harm in sharpening a few pencils, right?

Time is passing so quickly.  Here’s a pic of the first day of school…

And here’s one of the last day of school.  I can’t believe my baby boy is this big!!!

School’s out for summer!  And what a better way to start the summer than with a ton of sugar and food coloring!

Happy Summer!  I think I’m going to keep him in first grade forever.  I’m not allowing second grade in this house!  My babies are NOT allowed to grow up this fast!

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(June 10, 2000)

Today my sweet hubby and I celebrate our 11 year anniversary!  Words can simply not express how blessed I am to be married to this wonderful man.  He is the perfect man for me, and I am so thankful that God allowed him to be my husband.

(Side note:  My scanner is not working, so most of these pics are pictures of pictures I photographed using my phone, hence the POOR quality.)

(First Date, Homecoming…October 8, 1994.  I’m sitting on Brad’s knee, and that large thing on my chest is a MUM.  If you’re not from Texas you may not be familiar.  I’ll have to explain it at another time.)

We have a great marriage.  It requires work, and it’s not always easy, but it’s a great marriage.  I am married to a man that I love with all my heart!

(Belles Dance, Senior Year of High School…December 1995)

Brad is the most Christ-like person I have ever known and he embodies the fruits of the Spirit.  He is full of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, goodness, and self-control.

(Kappa Sigma Rush Dance…September 1998)

He loved me then.  He loves me now.  He’ll love me in the future.  He is the most loyal person I’ve ever known.  Loyal almost to a fault, and I love him for it.

(Colorado with Brad’s parent’s…August 1999)

He is joyful, although he would tell you it doesn’t come naturally.  I would never know that, and I know him pretty well.

(Honeymoon in Kauai, Hiking the Napali Coast…June 2000)

He is a peace-maker.  He doesn’t thrive on confrontation as his wife sometimes does, but he’s able to let things roll off his back.

(FIRST Anniversary…June 2001)

He is one of the most patient people I’ve ever known (other than his father).  He is steady, easy-going, and not easily rattled.  He is patient with the world’s most frustrating and slowest person…me! :)  He learned on our first date, when I was 30 minutes late, that patience would need to be a virtue of his. :)

(Grand Cayman, Swimming with Sting Rays…September 2002)

He is kind.  Kind like no other man.  Kind in situations when no one else would be.  I think this goes hand in hand with the patience thing.  I think this helps him to be a wonderful Real Estate Agent…patience and kindness…two things that are hard to come by in that industry.

(Maui, Mama’s Fish House…March 2003)

He is so gentle.  He would rather not spank his little girls to discipline them.  It’s usually his mean wife that’s yelling, “Babe, you have to discipline them for that!”  He would rather give hugs than punishments.  I’m thankful he creates balance in our family.

(Cozumel…April 2006)

He is faithful to the Lord.  He is faithful to me.  He is faithful to his babies.  He is faithful to his parents and to mine.  He is faithful to our church.  He is faithful to his clients.  He is a faithful man!  He does his part, and he does it with his heart.  Again, he is loyal!

(Tubing with the Rosemans…September 2007)

He is good.  He is wise, and he knows right from wrong.  He makes good decisions and he’s a righteous man.  Not a self-righteous man, but a righteous one.  He just makes good choices (as in choosing his wife!) :)

(10-Year Anniversary…June 2010)

He has more self-control in his pinky than I have in my whole body.  He is disciplined, driven, and able to say no when he knows he needs to.

(Cancun…June 2010)

Let’s just say, we make a good team.  He’s the good one and he balances all my bad.  I am truly the most blessed woman in the world.  I am thankful to have been married to this jewel of a man for 11 wonderful years (plus about 6 dating years) and he makes me a better wife, mom, woman!

(Our first Half Marathon…October 2010)

ILYMED, babe!

(Most recent pic of just the 2 of us…February 2011)

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

-1 Corinthians 13:4-7

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My sweet friend Dominique is a baker, an artist, and can pretty much do anything!  She birthed these 4 children in less than 5 years and makes the most amazing cakes you’ve ever seen.  (Those 2 statements are totally unrelated.)  Here’s a cake she recently made for a friend’s party.

Anyway, tonight I made Dominique’s Cookie Cake Recipe.  It takes about 5 minutes to make…or less.  It’s SUPER easy and AMAZINGLY delicious!

Ingredients:

• Butter
• Brown Sugar
• Egg
• Vanilla
• Flour
• Salt
• Baking Powder
• Chocolate Chips

Cream Butter and Brown Sugar.

Add Vanilla and Egg and MIX…I forgot to take a picture of this step.

Next, add Flour, Baking Powder, Salt (or let your little helper do it).

STIR ingredients.

Fold in Chocolate Chips.

After you’ve tasted just a few bites of dough, pour into greased and floured (or greased and sugared, which is my preference) 9 inch round pan.

Don’t spread it to the edges, because it tends to get too high on the sides when it bakes.  Spread almost to the edge.

Bake at 350° for 20-23 minutes.

YUMMY!!!

This next picture is just pathetic!  It tastes so much better than this picture makes it look.  I forgot to take a pic in the daylight, so this is a bad pic i took before I ate the last one at 10:30. :)

Gooey goodness!

WARNING:  You will need milk with this Cookie Cake!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 Stick Butter (Softened)
• 1 Cup Brown Sugar (Packed)
• 1 Egg
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 1 Cup Flour
• 1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 Cup Chocolate Chips (Semi-sweet)

Cream Butter and Brown Sugar.  Add Egg and Vanilla and Mix.  Add Flour, Baking Powder, and Salt.  STIR.  Add Chocolate Chips and stir.  Pour into greased and floured (or greased and sugared) 9-inch round pan.  Bake at 350° for 20-23 minutes.

Enjoy with a big fat glass of cold milk!

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I need to apologize in advance.  I can tell right now that my blogging may slow down over the next few months.  I’m so tired I can barely function.  I’m not taking care of my children as I should, much less posting about our musings on the ol’ blog!  I am so thankful I’m not sick, but I just feel a little puny and SOOOO tired!  For all you women who get extremely sick during pregnancy, kudos to you!  I seriously don’t know how you do it!  I am so thankful that I don’t throw up, and can’t imagine what it’s like to be SICK every single day!

For any of you husbands that are reading, praise your wife, cater to her when she’s feeling nasty, and do everything you can to help out.  I must brag on sweet Brad!  He has gone above and beyond and I am thankful to have such a wonderful supportive man!  Tonight I asked if we could pick up dinner (for the second night in a row) becuase I was too tired to drag the 3 maniacs through the grocery store this afternoon.  I asked him to pick up a pizza, then I joked that a big fat steak sounded pretty good.  That wonderful man came home with pizza for himself and the kids and OUTBACK for me!  WOW!  It was delicious, and now my stomach is growling just thinking about it.  On top of that, Brad told me to eat my steak while it was hot, while he bathed the maniacs, too.  Oh yes he did! :)

Thank you, babe!

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Yesterday some of our sweet Baylor friends came in town for “business” and we got to hang out for a little while.  Trey and Liz and their precious kids Robert and Kate came to my messy house, then we went to Chuy’s for dinner.  It was great to see how our kids played so well together.  Maybe one day they’ll be college roommates…if our kids get serious scholarships. :)

Chuy’s had a long wait so we decided to endure the 95° heat and eat on the patio.  I’m glad we did, because we would have been kicked out of the restaurant for the way my maniacs were behaving.  You would have thought we were at the zoo!  They were jumping off of furniture, climbing trees, throwing rocks, running, cackling, and screaming.  They WE typically have more control than that.  Not always, but typically.

The little girls…future Chi Omega sisters (just kidding…kind of).  Sweet little Kate is just beautiful!

The big girls…

The wild little boys…future Kappa Sigmas?  I’m not sure what my son is doing.  He thinks it’s funny to do “hook ’em horns.”

The big boys…

All the little maniacs…

AnnaLeigh Rose stopped to smell the roses.

“I got fwowah foh you!”

Sweet Kate hugging AnnaLeigh.  Please notice the maniac in the background trying to figure out how to scale the palm tree.  She’s out of control!

And now about a blast from the past…

Chi-O Pledge dance 2000?  I think we were both dressed up as bugs.

Wow!  We were stylin’ in this one…with my “mom-hair” and Brad’s fancy glasses!  Chi-O Christmas in Salado 1999?

Good times with good friends!

I had about 50 “blast from the past” pics I could have posted, but I’m tired.  These will do for now.  Nighty-night blog world!

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Scenario #1:

If you plan on getting a snow-cone for your 2-year old, expect this…

My Advice:

Think about bringing a bib.  Or at least choose a color other than blue…such as pink, white, or yellow.  Be aware that the food coloring that enters the body also exits the body.  I actually have a picture of her diaper, but my father would kill me if I posted it.  In 7 1/2 years of changing diapers, I’ve never seen anything like it.  Let’s just say, it looked like AnnaLeigh ate a smurf!

Also, if you have children, invest in OxiClean!  It works!

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Scenario #2:

If your son will NOT get ready for church and you have begged, pleaded, and insisted, and then from the other room you hear him giggling and cackling hysterically, you may find this…

My advice:

Laugh, because it truly is funny.  Take a quick picture and allow the family to enjoy the moment, because we all know how horrible chaotic Sunday mornings before church can be.  Then instruct your son to get himself dressed before dressing the dog next time.

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Scenario #3:

If you plan on sleeping late, expect to wake up to something like this…

My advice:

Don’t kill her!

Calmly tell her that this was a BAD decision, and she is not allowed to exit the room for anything except a potty break until all these items are put away in their proper places.  Leave the room.  Shut the door.  Check on her periodically.  Calmly state again that she can cry and whine, but she is not allowed to leave until it’s cleaned up…even if that means she misses lunch or PROM.

Expect to hear screams, tears, “I can’t!” and “It’s too much!” but HOLD STRONG!  She made the mess, and she can clean it up!  This here mess took about 5 minutes to create, and only took 2 hours (of screaming and tears) to clean.  But she did it…by herself…and i didn’t kill her…or even spank her…although I wanted to.

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Whew.  Breathe!  It’s hard being the MOM!

Take comfort in knowing that there are other mamas (and dads) out there going through the same MESS you’re going through!  Try to smile at the crazy things your maniacs are doing today.  It’s so hard for me to remember that simple little piece of advice!  I need to remember to laugh!  It’s not usually my first reaction (or second or third.)  I’ll give it a try this week.

Happy Sunday!

²⁵ She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can LAUGH at the days to come.
²⁶ She speaks with wisdom,
and FAITHFUL INSTRUCTION is on her tongue.

-Proverbs 31:25-26

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We are thrilled to announce that we are expecting a baby!  We are all so excited, and can’t wait to meet this new little life that God is creating and forming.  Preston is just excited that he’s still the oldest.  Lilly Katherine is a ball of giggles, and AnnaLeigh is convinced I’m having “2 boys and a girl!”  (She better be wrong about that one!)

The question everyone has asked, “Is it another January baby?”  I can’t believe it, but YES!

• Preston – Jan 2
• AnnaLeigh – Jan 5
• New Baby – Jan 25 (due date, but all 3 kids have been early)
• Let me also remind you that Brad’s birthday is Dec 21
• Christmas is Dec 25
• SO that’s 4 birthdays and Christmas in ONE month!  CRAZY!!
• Then there’s sweet Lilly Katherine in August…thank goodness.

The birth date isn’t important.  The important thing is that we are blessed beyond measure to have another little maniac in our home.  We do not find out what we’re having and we do not discuss names, because we like everything to be a wonderful fun surprise when the baby is born.  Yeah, we’re weird. :)

If you think about it, pray for our new little one.  Pray for health, happiness, and that this little life will love the Lord with all his/her heart, soul, mind, and strength.  (And maybe throw in a prayer for a perfectly compliant and obedient child…haha)  We really would covet your prayers for this little life.

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Lord, thank you for blessing us beyond what we could have ever hoped or dreamed.  Thank you for trusting me enough to think that I can handle another maniac running through this house.  Thank you for giving me a husband who is excited with me, and families that are supportive.  Thank you for giving us 2 sweet girls that will be little mamas and a protective big brother.  Thank you for blessing us with this opportunity to love one of your little children.

Please help me to know how love this baby the way it needs to be loved, care for this baby the way it needs to be cared for, and discipline this baby in the way most effective for this child.  Please, Lord, give this child your Godly wisdom and discernment to walk in your ways.  I pray that this baby will be healthy spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically.  Lord, please form a precious little package inside of me.  Thank you!  Thank you for making me a MOTHER!  Thank you for the father that you have given my children and what an amazing example he is to all of them.

Thank you, Lord!  Thank you for this child.  I love it already!

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Yesterday morning Brad washed his car before heading off to work.  The girls joined right in because their car was dirty, too.  It’s amazing how much fun one little water hose can create for 2 little maniacs!

My pretty little maniac!  She’s wild, she’s giggly, she’s so much fun!

Do you know that I could just eat that little face?  Those sweet little eyes make me melt!

“Can I wash you cah, Mama?”

And what was Preston doing while the girls were giggling and squealing in the water?  He was drying Daddy’s car off.  Not exactly willingly, but he did a great job.

Later we went to Brad’s parents’ house for some fun in the sun.  It was the first day we had been in the pool since last year, and George (Brad’s dad) has worked all week getting the water ready for us.  It was a PERFECT day with family!

“Look, Mama!  I put my goggles on all by myself!”

My sweet niece, Claire, spent her time teaching my girls to swim.  They LOVE her!

Preston LOVES his cousin Garrett!  They have a blast together…being goofy, hanging out, playing sports and chess (Garrett taught Preston how to play chess.  I have no idea how to play chess…or sports for that matter.)

There was always someone lounging in the hammock.  I took a LONG nap in it, and it was wonderful!  This is my beautiful niece, Tayler.

My tired little man after a long day in the sun.

What a wonderful was to start the weekend…and the summer.

We’re so blessed to be able to spend time regularly with our family.  We’re so blessed to be able to enjoy freedom, to live in this great nation, to be able to worship the Lord freely, to be able to attend church and school, to have choices and rights.

I am thankful for all the men and women who have BRAVELY given us this freedom.  I’m especially grateful for my little brother!  I’m proud of you for serving our country for 8 years!  Thank you, Taylor, and to all who have given their time, their freedom, their family, their lives to allow us to have moments like these.  Thank you for your service and dedication!  Happy Memorial Day!

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This is a regular item at our house.  I make banana bread as often as I can, but as quickly as we eat bananas, I can’t make it often enough.  I stole this recipe from my sister-in-law (Kara) YEARS ago, and I use it to make Banana or Zucchini Bread.  They are interchangeable.  This recipe is the not-low-fat version. :)  I am going to make Zucchini Bread in the next week or so with my healthy version of this recipe…so you will have them both.

Ingredients…very basic.  The most important ingredient is the rotten very ripe bananas.  If they are not ripe enough, they will form hard clumps in your banana bread that don’t taste good.  The ripe bananas give it a rich banana flavor and make banana bread so moist and delicious!

Other than bananas you need…Flour, Sugar, Oil, Eggs, Vanilla, Cinnamon, Salt, Baking Powder, and Baking Soda (you will not need the two little legs in the background).

Add the eggs to your mixer alone.

Beat well.

Add all other ingredients except bananas.  Mix.  (I forgot to take a picture) :)

Place rotten ripe bananas on a plate.  Trim any nasty edges off, like the one on the far left banana.

Mash the bananas with a potato masher.

Add the bananas to the flour mixture.  Sorry, mashed bananas are not very appetizing to look at.

Mix well.  It should be a little soupy.

This recipe makes 2 large loaf pans, 3 small loaf pans, 6-8 mini loaf pans, or lots o’ muffins.  make whatever you want.  I like to make either 2 large loaves or one large loaf and 4 mini loaves.

Instead of greasing and FLOURING the pans, I grease and SUGAR the pans.  I find that it serves the same purpose, but instead of there being a flour crust, there’s a little crunchy sugar crust.  Much better! (Tip I learned from my sister)

Ideally, you should have 2 pans that are the same shape, size, and color.  I do not.  It works for me.  If your world needs 2 pans that are the same, I’m sure “the Wal-marts” has 2 you can buy.  As for me, I’m okay with 2 different sized loaves.  They both taste good.

Bake at 325° for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

See, not the same size.  Oh well.

Because I LOVE sugar.  I sprinkle about a tablespoon of regular granulated sugar on top of the banana bread while it is still hot.  This just adds a special little sweet crunch to your banana bread.  Plus it’s prettier, I think.

If you put a paper towel under your cooling rack it helps to catch some of the granules that fall.

YUM-MY!

Banana Bread Recipe (or Zucchini Bread Recipe)

Ingredients:

• 3 Eggs
• 3 Cups Flour (I use about 2 3/4 cups)
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 1 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Salt (slightly heaping, but not too much)
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• 2 tsp Vanilla
• 4 Very Ripe Bananas OR 2 cups grated, raw zucchini (DO NOT USE BOTH)
• If you want to ruin your banana bread with some chopped nuts, go ahead and throw 1/2 cup in with the bananas.  I prefer to not mess with the smooth wonderful taste and texture of plain ol’ banana bread.

Beat Eggs.  Combine all ingredients except bananas (or zucchini).  Mix.  Mash bananas and add to mixture.  Mix well.  Pour into 2 large greased and floured (or sugared) loaf pans.  Bake at 325° for 50 minutes*.  Sprinkle with sugar after baking.

*I bake mine around 50 minutes, but it seems that it’s different every time.  The recipe says 1 hour, but I find that’s too long for my oven.  Start checking it at around 40 minutes.  If it’s still jiggly in the center, it’s not ready.  It should be a golden brown (not burned) color.  For muffins or mini loaves, reduce time significantly.  (Don’t you love how exact and calculated my recipes and instructions are?  Sorry! :)

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Well HELLLOOOOOO friends!  It’s been wild around here lately, but things are slowing down a little!  This post is just pictures of what we’ve been doing lately.  Yesterday Mere and I hosted a Chi Omega fundraiser that has taken a little of my time the past few weeks.  I wish I had a picture from the wonderful Garden Party, but I failed to even turn my camera on.  Trust me, it was fun, the food was good, and the flowers were beautiful! :)

Other than that, this is what we’ve been up to…

Backyard Wet ‘n Wild…

This is what Lilly Katherine’s feet ALWAYS look like!

LK and Caleb Singing in Church…

Riding/walking to the park…Clark Griswold style…

Brad fixing LK’s chain…it fell off.

Good as new!

Friday fun with friends…

Spin around…spin around…fall on the ground!

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I do love these crazy little maniacs! :)

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Lilly Katherine had Rodeo Round-Up a few weeks ago, but I’m late posting the pics.  She was precious as she sang.  She’s my little performer (surprise, surprise.)

My sweet nephew Caleb performed, too.  His daddy was so proud.  Good job, buddy!

After the performances, I looked over and saw this…my mom and my sis wiping tears away.  We cry at everything.  This is proof that it doesn’t take much to make our eyes all misty.  Notice Alan’s smirk.  He’s thinking, “Really, is this tear-worthy?”

After the big kids sang, the little kids wanted to take a picture.

They really do love each other.

We told them to stand next to the goose.  They thought we wanted them to KISS the goose.  They were going down the wall kissing the goose and all the little ducks on the mural.

Next we got to pet all kinds of little animals.  The girls LOVED it.  I’ll be honest, it grossed me out a little, but I’m trying to get over my disgust of petting zoos.

Pinky LOVED this little goat.  I think this little goat loved her, too.

Then LK got to ride a horse. Preston was never a fan of the horses at Rodeo Round-Up, but my big girl loved them.

Lilly Katherine had several sweet friends in her class this year.  Here are a few little cowgirls.

Next she had story time.  She was listening so intently.  It’s neat to see how my maniacs act outside of our home.  Most of the time, it’s very different…thank the LORD!

When Rodeo Round-Up was over, we went to the parking lot to take a pic of LK and Caleb.  The kids had just as much fun in the parking lot as they did at Rodeo Round-Up.

My sister and I are so blessed that our babies love each other.  They just giggled and sang.

They found this pole and went around and around and around and around!

What a blast!  Then these maniacs tried it.  They were not quite as successful, but pretty cute trying to figure it out.

Look at this sweet face. I love him so much, I forget he’s not really mine.

What a fun day!  I sure do love my little cowgirl!

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Happy Mother’s Day to my sweet, beautiful mama!

I love you!

Thank you for being a wonderful example.  Thank you for your tender heart and your strength.  Thank you for doing an amazing job of raising 3 perfect children.  Haha!  Thank you for loving us, working hard, disciplining us, showing us right from wrong, and teaching us that “Pretty is as pretty does.”

Thank you for being a woman of wisdom and integrity, a woman committed to the Lord and committed to making our family work.  Thank you teaching us to stand up for what we believe in, to serve others, to share, to care.  Thank you for talking to us.  Thank you for PRAYING for us and with us!  Thank you for crying at everything (because now I do it, too!).

Thank you for putting up with ME!  (surely that sweet face didn’t make you crazy…surely.)

I DO NOT know how you did it, as you worked full time and had a husband that traveled all week, every week.  This “mother” gig isn’t so easy.  I thought I was easy to raise.  Now that I am raising myself (Lilly Katherine), I might have been a little more of a challenge than I thought, and I am sorry.  I know you and God get a big kick out of that!.  I realize more every day that you are an amazing mother and you actually did know what you were talking about (most of the time). :)

I am thankful for you!  I love you, Mama!  Happy Mother’s Day!

Allow me to point out a few things about this picture.

1. Every piece of furniture that you see is still currently being used.
2. I have a rockin’ mullet
3. Though it looks like I’m saying “Heeeeey, Sic ’em Bears,” I am likely about to hit that poor bear as I can tell my mother is saying, “Kate, don’t be ugly.”
4. I don’t know why my daughters are feisty.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you precious moms!

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The date May 7th will always hold a special place in my heart.  May 7th, 2008 was an extremely sad day for my family, but it ended with rejoicing.

3 years ago today, my precious cousin, Joel Lee, passed away from heart complications.  He was a “normal” kid physically.  You would have never known he had received a heart transplant at age 7.  He fished, ran, played basketball, swam, rode bikes.  Normal.

He was not “normal” spiritually.  Joel was so mature for his age, and he truly loved the Lord with all his heart, all his soul, and all his mind.  His life was an amazing testimony.

Joel was the youngest of 5.  I love this pic of their family.  Joel, Franci, Cooper, Amy Lauren, and Brett.  These are my cousins, and they are pretty special to me!

Joel  was kind, happy, caring.  He always had a little smirky smile on his face, and always had a soft little chuckle to accompany any conversation (just like his brothers and dad).  He loved children, and kids loved him.  There’s no hiding it, Joel was the family favorite (and when there are 35 grandchildren and great-grandchildren in one family, that is saying a lot about Joel!)

In mid April 2008, at age 17, Joel started having a few heart problems and went in for a routine procedure.  He was supposed to leave the hospital within a few days.  Instead, Joel was in the hospital for two weeks and finally left to be with the Lord on May 7.

I received a phone call at 10:00 pm, and fell into a puddle of tears in my closet floor. It was a sad day for our family.  I’m crying just typing about it.

How could it be possible?

Death is so final.

It’s the absolute end…and at the same time as a Christian, I know that it is only the beginning.

I know that Joel is running, biking, jumping, singing, and chuckling in HEAVEN with the LORD!  I know that he was told “Well done good and faithful servant!” and if there is any kind of commerce in heaven (which I highly doubt that there is) but if there is, my sweet entrepreneurial cousin is running the store in heaven!

As I was crying in my closet, trying to pack for the funeral, I realized the need for a pregnancy test.  Brad thought I had lost my mind.  He realized this was not the time to question me as I could barely talk.  He ran to Walgreen’s and he said he was walking through the aisle thinking to himself, “This is the biggest waste of $13 ever.  There is NO WAY this test is going to be positive.”

Guess what…

That’s right.

Somehow, and I mean SOME HOW I was pregnant.  My sweet husband’s first response was, “That’s not my baby!”  (Of course he was joking!!!)  We truly don’t know where she came from (no, we don’t need an explanation), but we know that this was the baby that the Lord had planned for us.  Oh, and I’m so very thankful for HIS perfect plans!

Joel passed away at 10:00 pm, and we found out about this new little life at 11:00 pm.  WOW!  What an emotional roller coaster.  I cried tears of joy when I found out about this little life.  It was amazing to see the circle of life in a matter of 60 minutes.

I was mourning the loss of Joel, and I know our family always will (especially his sweet mom, dad, brothers and sisters).  However, I was rejoicing for this new precious life at the same time.

We knew immediately that this child would be named after Joel.  (Side Note: We never find out what we’re having, nor do we decide on names until we are in the hospital.  I have mentioned that I’m a procrastinator.  Again, I know this stresses people out.)  Anyway, we knew we would use part of Joel’s name in our child’s name.  His name was Joel Dexter Lee.  We wanted to use LEE if we had a girl.  Since we already had Lilly, we couldn’t use just Lee.  We combined it with Anna, changed the spelling to make it more feminine, and we named our new little life, ANNALEIGH!  I often call her Leigh for short (or Pinky…which has nothing to do with anything).

At this point, I am rambling.  I’m sorry.  There is still a flood of emotions when I think about this day.  Death and Life.  Things that we as humans have a hard time comprehending.  Isn’t it wonderful to know that we have a God who controls it all.  His plans are good and perfect.  They are plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future.  (Jer 29:11)

As I was watching this video of Joel just now, Lilly Katherine walked in and asked if I was watching a movie of Preston.  He and Preston do look similar, and I realized that Joel was Preston’s age (7) when he had his heart transplant.  It makes me realize how little time we have on this earth.

It also makes me realize that I need to tell YOU that there is a God that loves you and cares for you and wants you to know him, REALLY KNOW HIM, and love him and have a relationship with him.

What does that mean?

Well, what does it mean for me to have a relationship with Brad?  I have to spend time with him, I have to communicate with him, I have to get to know him (continually), I have to trust him, I have to love him.  God desires the same things…He wants us to read his Word (you know, that book called The Bible), spend time praying and listening (something I honestly need to get better at), memorize scriptures, trust that his plans are perfect, and love him.  It’s simple, yet not always easy.

I honestly don’t know how anyone can go through life and not KNOW that the Almighty God is real and faithful and true.  I don’t know what people do if they don’t lean on the Lord.  I have just been restless lately knowing that some of you need to know that there is a wonderful God that loves you and desires a relationship with YOU.

I know that sounds cheesy and baptisty.  I know it does.  I am reading it as I type it, but those are the words I feel led to type…as cheesy and baptisty as they are…they are the Truth!  That’s my heart right now, and this is my blog, and you’re still reading it, so you must be needing to hear it. :)  (…you know that I love you!)  If you want to talk about it, please message me.  I’m certainly no Bible scholar or theologian, but I love the Lord and would be happy to talk to you about it.

So, that’s not exactly where I thought that post was going…but that’s where it went.

May 7th.  A day to remember for our family.  Reminds me I need to go hug some babies, because I know my time with them is fleeting.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

-Matthew 11:28-30

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Saturday night at about 10:30, in typical Kate fashion, I was trying to figure out what my kids were going to wear for Easter. I decided they hadn’t grown too much since last year, and their outfits from Easter 2010 would work just fine. :)  The dress AnnaLeigh wore was a dress I made for Lilly Katherine’s second Easter.  The dress LK wore was a sweet Strasburg dress that matched the dress I made perfectly (and I bought it for $10 at the CCC Sale).  Not too bad for Easter dresses.

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I had gotten everything laid out for church, and I was making my rounds before I went to bed.  I stopped into AnnaLeigh’s room and she was awake…and burning up.  My little Pinky went to bed feeling fine, but started feeling pitiful in the night.  It seems like every year someone has fever on Easter.  Crazy.  Brad didn’t feel well either, so they stayed home while I took P and LK to church.  After a WONDERFUL service, we went to Brad’s parents for lunch and an egg hunt.  (Yes, my sweet husband dressed up just because he thought I would want to take a family pic.  He’s pretty great like that!)  I thought this would be my opportunity to get a family pic, since the one on this post didn’t work out so well.  I was wrong…again!  Pinky felt like dirt, and the kids were hungry, tired, and ready for their Easter egg hunt.  Also, I just realized that all our family pics are posed the same way.  We’re so creative aren’t we?  Oh well… :)

Kids with Nana and Granddear (Brad’s parents).

The Hunt…

This maniac was OFF as soon as possible.

This pretty much sums up how AnnaLeigh felt…not too happy.

This happy little lady had so much fun.

Nana filled most of their eggs with MONEY! :) LK got the most money, of course.  She’s my lucky little maniac.

My poor Pinky couldn’t even eat lunch.  She was pretty miserable at this point, and the sweet thing fell asleep in my arms.  I hate when my kids are sick, but I do enjoy a little extra cuddle time.  I also enjoy how they want the comfort of their mama! :)

Nana and Granddear gave all the kids a few goodies, and Lilly Katherine’s most favorite Easter gift was her fancy shoes Kay (Nana) gave her.  They’re purple jelly flip-flops that LIGHT UP!  Did you know it’s very hard to take a picture of flashing lights on moving feet?  (Mom, Dad…please look at those toes!!!  She is me!) :)

Speaking of my mom and dad…

We went to their house Sunday night.  We go there every Sunday night, but this time we had dinner and an egg hunt.  Pinky still felt yucky, but like an irresponsible parent, I took her because I hated for her to miss Easter with the fam.

Egg hunt time.  LK cracked up at this egg’s hiding spot.

My little “bean counting” nephew, stopped to count his eggs in the middle of the hunt.  I think Caleb’s going to be an accountant, just like his daddy.  Preston was so excited, because he found the “special” egg.

Truett.  Sweet, wild Truett.  I love this kid!

The big kids searched and searched for the last egg, and they found it.  At Nana and Granddear’s house, the last egg remained hidden until my nephew found it that evening.

While everyone else hunted.  AnnaLeigh wanted Mimi to hold her.  My mother and I look just alike don’t we?  What?  You don’t think so?  Everyone says AnnaLeigh looks like my mom and Ashley.  I’m starting to see that she does look more like them than her own mother that carried her in her womb for 9 months, who birthed her, fed her, and loves on her constantly…but, whatever.  I guess my mom could have that same argument about me.  Oh well, Pinky is MY baby girl!

I call AnnaLeigh my blond.

I should call Lilly Katherine my blond…for different reasons. :)

Where am I going with this?  Here is a pic of my sick baby girl and my sweet mother!

Her is a pic of my sick baby girl and myself.  Hm…thinkin’ she looks more like her Mimi!This is my mom’s mom, Memama.  She also lives here, and she comes to dinner every Sunday night.  She’s a mess!  She’s a hard worker, and has devoted so much of her life to serving others through the Salvation Army.  She’s loud and crazy, and I love her!

Memama brought a little experiment for the kids.  They loved it!

Then Mimi gave all the kids a few goodies.  Look at that little hand reaching for her bubbles.  This was the first time AnnaLeigh smiled all day!We had a wonderful day.  We enjoyed talking about the REAL reason we celebrate Easter, and spending time with our family.  What a blessed day!

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“He is not here; He is RISEN, just as he said.”  -Matthew 28:6

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Last weekend (the weekend before Easter) we had a huge pot luck and Easter Egg hunt at our church.  I love to eat, so what’s not to love about an endless table of food?

Good times had by all…except AnnaLeigh.  There was a clown there, “Stringbini” (string beany), and he scared my little Pinky to death (and she still talks about him every single day).  She clung to my mom, me, or her most favorite person in the world, “Je-be-je-ber” (her wonderful, amazing Sunday School teacher!)  I don’t think Pinky smiled the whole time we were there that day.

The Egg Hunt

The boys, showing off their loot.

P was so excited when he opened his egg.  There were 4 packages of Starburst candies in one big egg.  Starbursts are this maniac’s most favorite candy.  They announced there was a golden egg with $20 in it and he said, “Who needs $20 when you can have all these Starbursts!?!”

I tried to take a pic of my maniacs.  I failed!  AnnaLeigh was being so rotten!  She had this look on her face all day…just scowling at everyone.  It’s actually been her expression of choice lately.  Sassy little stinker!

I tried to get a pic of my maniacs with my sister’s maniacs.  Again, I failed!  So, we opted for the “crazy picture.”

We went to the lake to look at the fishies.

My dad (jokingly) said to the kids, “Watch those toes…you don’t want an alligator to get them.”  Please notice that LK has her foot dangling over the edge, while AnnaLeigh has scooted her little feet as far from the water as she can without falling on her face. :)

Because my previous pics didn’t work, I thought I would attempt a family pic.  Haha!

Here’s my attempt at getting my son to “straighten up!”

Here’s my attempt at getting AnnaLeigh to smile.  (Which she actually did for 2.3 seconds.)

Here’s the best pic we got.  Oh well, there’s always Easter family pics…right?  Ha!

Before we were really even finished with family pics, this happened…

I can just hear my mother saying, “If all your friends jump off a cliff, are you going to jump too?”

Lilly Katherine’s answer is going to be, “No ma’am.  I plan on leading them off the cliff.”  (as she giggles) :)  Goodness, I love this little maniac!

Ready…Set…Jump!

Giggle!  Giggle!  Cackle!

My girl knows how to have fun anywhere.  If she’s not having a good time, she’ll make a good time.  I love her joy and her love for life.  She brings excitement and lots of giggles to our family!

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One last stop before we left the church…we had to get a balloon from Stringbini.

A basketball, a butterfly, and a tulip.

What a fun day!  The kids were exhasted by the time we left.  That’s typically our goal for whatever we’re doing, so it worked out well. :)

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Off to bed before my eyes shut while I’m typing.  Still more pics from Easter coming tomorrow…and I have 3 more recipes to share.  They can’t all be in one post, but I’ll try to get it all up this week.  Nighty-night friends on the WWW!

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We had a wonderful weekend celebrating the Resurrection of our Lord!  We celebrated by spending lots of time with our family!  What a blessing they are!

Friday night we had our annual Easter egg dying party at my brother-in-law’s parents’ house.  We’ve done this for years, and the kids love it!  Nancy boils DOZENS of eggs and lets the kids decorate them.  We let the kids explain the Resurrection Eggs, and it was so special to see how much the kids learned and remembered.  I was blown away by how much sweet AnnaLeigh had learned.  She is two years old, and that just proves to me that little ears are always listening even when you think they aren’t.  The Bible promises us in Isaiah 55 that the Word of the Lord does not return void, so your babies are NEVER too young to hear about our Lord and Savior!

I wish I had pictures from Friday night, but I didn’t have my camera.  I have one blurry pic from my phone, but that’s it. :(  Oh well, there’s always next year…I hope…right Bob and Nancy?!?  (Thank you so much for your continued generosity to us and our maniacs!)

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Saturday was kind of a rough day.  Brad was working and for some reason our house was meltdown central.  I tried to hold it together, but by the time Brad walked in the door I was ready to quit.  He ran to change clothes, and I tried to shuffle fussy kids into the car.  We were very late meeting my parents for a “fun” evening, and just then the STINKIN’ (I’ll use that word instead of the word I would like to use) DOG got out.  He’s such a pain…a cute pain, but a pain!

My attitude was BAD.  Preston’s attitude was bad.  Lilly Katherine had hit some kind of horrible sleep-deprived wall, and she was freaking out because Sam was running away.  Brad was exhausted from working all day.  AnnaLeigh was antagonizing LK, because that’s her most favorite thing to do these days.

I told the kids that we were all going to have an attitude change, starting with me.  As Brad drove out of the driveway, I said we’re going to pray for a renewed spirit and positive outlook, and we were going to pray for a fresh start.  About the time I bowed to pray, the maniac dog started chasing the car.  We had to drive around the block as he ran beside us barking, but we finally got him in the house.  At that point we were almost an hour late. (No surprise to anyone who knows us)

I got back in the car.  I prayed.  I know that I personally felt better.  I decided I was going to have a good time.  Sometimes I literally have to tell myself that, but whatever works for me to have a positive attitude…right, dear hubby?

We pulled up to our beautiful church for family fishing and a picnic.  My mom, dad, sister, Alan, Caleb, and Truett were already down at the dock, with picnic tables out, fishing poles lowered, and fish being caught right and left.  All the sudden the day turned around.  We had a wonderful time!  The weather was absolutely amazing.  The breeze was refreshing.  The fish were biting.  The crew was happy!  I was happy! :)  Thank you, Lord, for my family!  Thank you for sweet, fun family times!

This is my sweet, intense, first born son.  He’s so extremely tense that even fishing isn’t relaxing to the poor kid.

But my big bug caught a fish, and that made him very happy!  Plus, it was the biggest fish caught since we had been there, and that made him even happier.  He is just a little competitive.

Then there’s this one.  They could not be more opposite?  She was just “sittin’ on the dock of the bay, watchin’ the tide roll away.”  She’s not bothered by much, thank the LORD!

She and Uncle Alan caught a big one.

AnnaLeigh had fun fishing, too.  She was fishing with Mimi.

She was so proud of her little fishy.

“Hey lil fishy.  How uh you?”

Caleb and Alan on their professional rod and reel.

Truett and Papa.

And…my father.  His lips are a little too close to those fish lips if you ask me!

Here’s a good idea of how things work around here.  AnnaLeigh is 5 weeks older than Truett.  They LOVE each other.  They embrace every time they see each other as if they’ve been apart for weeks. It’s precious and sweet, but lasts only a few seconds.  See below to find out why.

Truett is fishing.  He’s doing just fine by himself.  Along comes AnnaLeigh.

“What you doin, too-it?”  (As she totally invades his personal space)

“Hey, yet me hewp you, too-it.”  (As she smiles knowing exactly what she’s doing.  He’s still thinking she’s just there to be sweet.)

Then he realizes her little scheme.  She cackles as she tries to steal the pole.  Truett is most upset…as anyone would be.

As I’ve said before, she’s small and mighty!  This girl is a little fireball, and she is funny while she’s feisty.  Oh, heaven help me!

My mother, she kind of likes this little fireball.  AnnaLeigh kind of likes her, too.

My mother must love her if she’s going to let AnnaLeigh put dirty little fishy fingers on her mouth.

“Dat you nose?  You need to blow you nose, Mimi?”

Before we left our little fishing hole, Preston made one last catch.  He kept saying, “I think I’m getting something!  Just wait one more minute.”  Well, he got something.  He caught a little turtle.  It was the perfect way to end our perfect fishing trip.

My baby boy was so excited!  He hasn’t stopped talking about his big catch!  He was “the only one who caught a turtle, you know.  It was the bigger than the fish, too.”  (As I said, just a little competitive…but I’m thankful he is!)

Thank you, Mama and Diddy!  We had a wonderful time!

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Thank you, Lord, for all the creatures that swam below us, all the birds that flew above us, for the breeze that blew by us, and your Love that surrounds us.  Thank you for thinking of so many amazing details!  Thank you for a blessed family time!

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Many more Easter pics to come.

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My dad.  I call him Diddy.  I don’t know why, but I do.  He’s kind of out of control.  I love him, and he makes me crazy.  He would say the same about me.  We are so much alike…both always right! :)  At the same time, I am definitely daddy’s (diddy’s) girl, and he is a wonderful daddy! He would do anything for us or his grandbabies.  I am extremely blessed to have him in my life, and I truly am thankful for the example he’s been to Brad, my kids, and me…but don’t tell him I said that. ;)

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My dad sings, plays the guitar, and has loved music all his life.  When I was growing up he worked out of town most of the time and was typically only home on the weekends.  However, when he was home he spent many evenings singing in our rooms.  He sang Cats in the Cradle, I’m Leaving on a Jet Plane, Fire and Rain, Sweet Baby James, and many other James Taylor songs.

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When Brad and I got married my dad wrote a song for our wedding.  We made him record it just in case he choked in the middle of singing. We knew we needed a backup.  He made it through better than any of us thought he would, and it was so special and so sweet.

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When Preston was born he wrote a song for him.  As each grandchild has come into the family, they have been welcomed with a song.  A few years ago, with MUCH prodding from the family, my dad actually went to a studio and recorded many of his songs.  This was prior to the births of AnnaLeigh and Truett (my nephew), but the CD is full of very special songs.

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This morning I got an email from him asking me to look at a youtube video he had just completed.  I just have to share it.  My dad wrote the song Run Girl Run for Lilly Katherine, and this week he made a video to go with it.  I’ve watched it at least 4 times today…make that 5.  Yes, I’ve cried every time.  I just can’t believe how big my baby girl has gotten.

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When you watch, listen for the sweet little baby cry at the beginning. That was taken from our hospital video, and that’s a brand new LK crying.

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If you’re interested in hearing more of my dad’s songs, click here.

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Thanks, Diddy!  I really do love you! :)

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On St. Patrick’s Day the girls and I met one of my lifelong BESTEST friends in the world at the zoo.  We met Samantha and her maniacs, her wonderful sister, Amanda, and her punkin’ little baby, and their sweet mother on a beautiful day at a very crowded zoo.  We don’t get to see “Aunt Sammy” often enough, because they live in Dallas…so when she called, we jumped at the chance to hang out!

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We ate a picnic lunch before entering.  I tried to get a pic, but couldn’t get a great one…they were ready to see the animals.  The crew…Jackson holding Elijah, Lilly Katherine, Campbell, Chandler, AnnaLeigh

Sweet Jackson!  Isn’t he precious?!?!

It melted my heart to see how LK and Campbell were instant best friends.  They held hands, skipped, girl-talked.  They had so much fun together, which shouldn’t surprise me.  LK is me, and Campbell is Sam.  Sweet girls!

AnnaLeigh and Chandler shared a similar bond…over Cheetos! :)

Sammy and I share that same love for Cheetos.  Growing up, I spent a LOT of time at Samantha’s house.  They had THE BEST candy cabinet ever, and they ALWAYS had Cheetos…my favorite!  I vividly remember walking in their door and heading straight for their food cabinet every.single.time I went over there.  I obviously have no manners, and love to eat.

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These are the beautiful women of the family, Amanda, my “Other Mother” and Samantha!  I love them all, and have been so blessed to have them in my life for so long! Samantha has been by my side for many ups and downs, she cracks me up, lifts me up, and is always there for me no matter what. She is an incredible mother, a wonderful daughter and sister, a beautiful woman of God, and a very special friend!  (And we opted for sunglasses to hide our new 30’s wrinkly eyes!) :) We have another BFF that completes the trio, Kimberly.  The Lord has blessed my life for over 20 years with my relationships with Samantha and Kimberly.  I don’t know what my life would be like without them, but I pray all the time that my babies (especially my girls) will have friends as precious as these women have been in my life.

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I’m thankful these 2 little maniacs have each other, too.

Please tell me how you can look at this creature and not know there is a God.  This is amazing.  Little contortionist giraffe.  God truly has a sense of humor.

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the LORD!”

-Psalm 150:6

First of all, the recipes I promised to post won’t be on this post.  Sorry.

Second, please know that I pick Preston’s clothes out every day, so while he was on spring break, he got to pick them out.  We don’t exactly share the same style.  :)

Third, I’m so sorry if I’ve bored you with 4,052 pictures of my children.  I want my maniacs to have these memories, but I don’t scrapbook…so I blog about them.  Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Fun in our backyard:

These two, they have a sweet little bond.

CRASH!

My baby girl, Lilly Katherine, is so much like me!

And this child…we probably should have just named him Brad.  He’s 7, and just look at those cute arms.  They remind me of some other arms I love. :)

Lastly, my sweet baby girl “cooked me some toffee”

Then she drank it all.  Little stinker!

And this is what all that excitement and fun led to…

Some tired little maniacs!

Whew!  That’s if for now.  I won’t post any more pics of my maniacs for at least 24 hours! :)  Hope you all had a wonderful spring break, too!

These posts are getting ridiculous!  I wanted to post more on the previous post, but I was cut short by two crazy women (ages 2 and 4).  I should know better than to do this when they’re awake, but I really wanted to get these pics up.  Oh well, lesson learned…until tomorrow. ;)

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So, what else did we do?

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We went to the park with some of LK’s classmates, Carli and Jenna (twins).  LK loves these girls, and after seeing them in action, I know why she loves them.  They are fun and spunky, and they just giggle, pretend play, and go right along with each other.  Sweet girls!

P took a basketball and found some “ballers” to play with.  The boy loves basketball!

Then Preston found a mud puddle…or a creek…or something with mud and water.  We can’t be at the park and not get soaking wet from something.  You can’t tell from the pic, but he’s wet from head to toe.

We went to little miss Molly’s house.  LK had fun with some new friends and one of her favorite friends, Sadie.

Then we went to Sonic.  Good times!

She’s a wild woman, I tell ya!

You can’t tell in this picture, but this is another wild woman.  This is Ella, and she CRACKS ME UP!

AnnaLeigh and her posse!  The boys LOVE her.  She always has at least one of these big boys picking her up, playing with her, or fighting for her attention.  She is their little doll.

Brody was getting very upset last week because he kept giving AnnaLeigh tater tots and he would say, “Now do you like me?”  She would eat the tot and say, “Nope!”  Poor little guy!

Girls, I know you’re going to love that I’m posting this pic.  Sorry!  These are my wonderful friends.  We get together every Friday afternoon and let our kids release some energy…while we refuel.  I truly cherish this time with fun friends and their crazy kids!  (Elicia, Kellie, & Meredith…and sometimes Dominique)Still more pics.  If you’re still reading, and you’re not related to me, BLESS YOUR HEART! :)  Thanks for hanging in there, but we have many more pics to go.

We went to the ballpark one night.  P had practice, so I took the girls to the playground with Elicia, Tiffany, and thier girls.

AnnaLeigh was sitting in one position with this worried little look on her face.  She was saying something, but I was taking pics of her and couldn’t really understand her.  Finally Elicia realized what she was saying, “Ma pinga tuck” (My finger’s stuck).  E rescued her as I watched with my camera.  Good mothering, I tell ya!

Ella, Lilly Katherine, Sara, AnnaLeigh, Katelynn

Ella and AnnaLeigh are the same age, 2.  LK, Sara, and Katelynn are 4.  My girls are just short petite. :)

Then we had a picnic.  AnnaLeigh is waving and yelling, “Hey, Daddy!”  So sweet!

We played in our backyard…

These two love each other!

I’ll have a few more pics and the recipes I mentioned earlier in the week in my next post.  Too much for today.

Adios friends!  Thanks for hanging in there…if there’s anyone still reading at this point. :)

Here are more Spring Break pics…and still more to come.

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We went to visit Miss Meredith, Samuel, and Benjamin…some of our bestest friends!  Mere and I have been friends since middle school.  Our families have always been so much alike, and I love her whole family!  Mere is a wise woman of God, she’s creative, fun, and I don’t know what I would do without her.  Our husbands were just discussing yesterday that we might talk/text just a little too much every day.  I say, whatever keeps me sane, and Meredith keeps me sane! :)

AnnaLeigh has always adored Benjamin (“Ben-ja-jin”) and she thinks he is her baby…even thought he’s twice her size.

Samuel and LK are double trouble and they love hanging out.  However, I think Samuel prefers to hang out with Preston at this point.  He looks up to P and P loves to wrestle Samuel.

I’m so thankful for sweet, lifelong friends!

The kids got on the trampoline.  I wanted AnnaLeigh to jump, but she was scared, so I held her.  She loved it as long as I was holding her, but she didn’t enjoy jumping with the “big kids.”

Benjamin wanted to be on the trampoline, but he just kept falling forward and his little body would stretch straight out.  He has the most scrumptious little rolls you’ve ever seen!  He’s delightfully squishy! :)

Mere encouraged me to jump with Preston.  OH.MY.GOODNESS!  I forgot how much fun it is to jump on the trampoline.  It was a blast, and QUITE a workout!  P and I had so much fun!

Yes, I’m still wearing my jeggings.  I just can’t part with them…even after this realization!

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Mere has 2 huge labs, Maddie and Major, and my sweet Pinky just loves them.

One of the reasons Meredith and I get along so well is that we both LOVE to eat!  We like real food!  She came to my house earlier in the week and we made 2 of our favs!  Baked Sweet Potato Chips/Fries and Hummus.  I’ll try to post the recipes later.

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I must break up a wrestling match between A and LK at the moment, so more pics to come.

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Last week was so much fun, and so crazy!  I’ve decided that I just don’t like routine!  I love being free with my maniacs to do whatever we want to do.  I’m mourning the end of spring break and looking forward to summer!  My sweet little accountant is counting down the days until summer, and you better believe he has it down to the hour.

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Spring Break is going to have to be SEVERAL posts!  We went absolutely nowhere, but we had a WONDERFUL week!  We played and played and played, and I sure wish the week hadn’t ended with stinkin’ Daylight Savings Time!  My maniacs are EXHAUSTED, and changing times never helps that problem.  However, I am excited for sunshine in the evenings!

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Spring Break…we were the Backyardigans!  We traveled from backyard to backyard, enjoying great fellowship with precoius friends!

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First Stop:  Jeffrey, Wells, Henry, & Caroline’s House!

My sweet friend, Dominique, has 4 kids (ages 2-7).  She is SUPERMOM, always throwing amazing bday parties, an incredible cook, a supportive minister’s wife, and she homeschools her boys on top of it all!  She has been an amazing blessing in my life.  We are planning on running a half marathon this weekend…if I can get my act together.  My kids ADORE her kids, and since we don’t see them at school, this was an absolute treat for all of us!

Caroline and AnnaLeigh had fun “picnicking” together.

We ate DELICIOUS pizza that Dominique made.  Homemade pizza with real, homemade crust…not canned biscuit dough. :)

Caroline is about 12 weeks older than AnnaLeigh, and they LOVE each other.  Can you tell that AnnaLeigh is going to be about as tall as me when she “grows up?”

Jeffrey is so creative and imaginative.  He challenges Preston to think outside of the box.

Wells is also very creative, but he loves sports, too.  Wells and P have fun wrestling and playing ball.

Henry is just a sweet little man.  He goes with the flow and LOVES Lilly Katherine.  Isn’t he precious?!?

Sweet Caroline.  Such a little lady.  AnnaLeigh loves her little playmate (so does LK).  She is precious and girly and ALWAYS, ALWAYS has a smile on her face.  What a joyful gift!

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SO SO SO many more pics to come! :)

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Germ post #4.  If you need to throw up catch up, read #1 here, #2 here, and #3 here.  Sorry!

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I mentioned a few days ago that Lilly Katherine licks everything.  This child of mine has always put things in her mouth, and at 4 1/2, she still does.  It’s not so much little toys or “choking hazards” that she likes to put in her mouth.  It’s more like whatever she’s holding or playing with will eventually end up in her mouth.  Hairbrushes, clips, her thumb, pillows, clothes, necklaces, sandal straps, baby doll arms and legs,…whatever.

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Her mouth also seems to be the same height as a standard counter top…such as the counter at Chick-fil-A and our pediatrician’s office.   LK simply can’t just stand there and wait for me to pay, she must run her mouth from one end of the counter to the other…making sure to ingest as many kooties as possible.

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Well, a few months ago we got a dog.

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He had to go to the vet.

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All three kids, the dog, and I went to the vet.

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Smart!

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Our Veterinarian has this large metal table that he puts all the animals on to examine them.  I’m assuming this is pretty standard.  This large metal table has a lip around the edge.  You know what that lip is for?  That lip is to catch urine when they put dogs to sleep.  That lip catches dog poop when a nervous dog does his business after they have to take it’s temperature.  That lip catches hair, dirt, WORMS, blood, and whatever else comes from dogs, cats, and other animals to prevent the bodily fluids from landing on the floor.

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You know what else that lip is for?

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It is the height of Lilly Katherine’s mouth.  It’s cold.  Lilly Katherine thought that lip was for her little mouth.

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I turned around to see her whole little body swaying from side to side…then I realized her mouth was open and she was licking every surface she could reach as she swayed.

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SICK!

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As if people germs aren’t gross enough, now we’re licking a table that catches feces and urine from animals.  Yes, I might have freaked out a little when I saw her doing it.  Yes, she stopped immediately.  Yes, she licked the next counter top she encountered.  Yes, she’s somehow my healthiest child.

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Still…that’s SICK!

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On on completely different note…This has nothing to do with germs…Just has to do with my crazy Lilly Katherine…

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Yesterday morning I was bathing the girls.  I was in a hurry, of course!  I was choosing their outfits while they bathed together.  I walked back in the bathroom to find LK splashing around with all this white stuff in the tub.  She was singing, “shake it up. Mix it up.”

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THAT CHILD had taken half a roll of toilet paper and shredded it all in the tub.  It looked like egg drop soup in our bathtub.  When I asked her what in the WORLD she was thinking when she did that, her response was, “Well, the toilet paper was sitting right by the tub, so I just put it in here.  Look!”

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Yes, dear!  I see it!

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Well, I couldn’t drain it.  It would have stopped the tub up, so I used my wire mesh strainer in an attempt to fish little jiblets (is that a real word?) of soggy toilet paper from a tub full of toys and 2 children.  They thought it was funny.  I did not!

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I got as much as I could out.  However, I couldn’t get it all.  I realized when I got them out of the tub that it left little “spit balls” all in their hair. This pic isn’t great, but it’s all I could get in my time crunch.

Good times!

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Oh well, we survived and it really is funny when I think about it.  Though, not so much at the time.

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This is GERM-week post #3.  Read #1 here and #2 here.  Then go take a shower!  The following stories are not about Lilly Katherine.  They are about Preston, but I couldn’t leave them out.

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Indoor Fast Food Playgrounds. I am confident that there is no nastier, germier place on earth!  You open the door to the playground and you are instantly knocked in the face with a puff of very distinct smells…feet, sweat, and urine.

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Who decided that fast food playgrounds needed to be indoors?  Outside playgrounds are so much better.  Kids can get their vitamin D from the sun, germs aren’t trapped and harvested in a petri-dish atmosphere, rain washes all the kooties away, the kids can scream and not disturb the entire restaurant, there’s no going IN and OUT of the playground door, there’s no running through the restaurant with bare feet.

I guess I’m not a very cool mom, but i absolutely loathe these stinkin’ indoor playgrounds, and I know I’m not alone…though I may be in the minority.

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Here are two personal reasons why…

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STORY #1:

When Preston was almost 2 we met a group of friends at McDonald’s.  My sweet friend (who is the antithesis of me when it comes to germs) was there with her 2 kids, and potty training her youngest.  At one point, an older boy came down the slide and said, “Some kid peed in the slide.”  My friend went into the slide, (it wasn’t too far inside) and she cleaned it with a wipe.  That’s when I realized that this was probably not an isolated incident.  I couldn’t imagine what went on inside that opaque plastic oversized hamster tubing.

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We were having a lovely time until Preston decided he wanted to follow his friends up to the tallest tube…which led to the highest slide.  Preston got to the top and WOULD NOT come down.  He froze.  I could hear him crying, calling for me.  All the moms looked at me as if to say, “So, now what are you going to do?”

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I sat.

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I waited.

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I thought, SURELY this kid is going to come down!  It’s just a slide.

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No kid.  Just crying…screaming.

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I was left with no choice.  I had to go where no man had gone before.  Okay, I had to go where no germ-a-phobe freak had gone before.  I had to climb to the tip top of that HORRIBLE oversized hamster tube.

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Let me tell you something.  If you think it looks nasty from the window…If you think it looks nasty when you’re taking your kid from the bottom of the slide…If you think it smells like feet when you walk in the door…

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YOU NEED TO GO TO THE TIP TOP OF THAT HORRID PLACE!

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It was breathtaking, and I don’t mean in a good way.  I mean in a Seinfeld kind of way.

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There were stains from who knows what up there.  There were pieces missing that shouldn’t have been.  There was sticky, smelly stuff slathered on every surface.  It was at least 30 degrees warmer in there and SO HUMID.  The air was thick and felt like sweat…little kid, puppy dog smelling sweat.

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I climbed up as quickly as I could, grabbed my fearful little one, told him he couldn’t go in another hamster tube til he was 12, and slid down the twisty, twirly slide trying not to touch ANYTHING else!

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My friends were all laughing.  They said, “I bet you take a shower when you get home!”  My response was, “Ladies, I’m heading there RIGHT NOW!”

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STORY #2:

Preston was not an easy potty trainer (to say the absolute least!)  One day we were at Chick-fil-A with friends and P was in the playground (I guess I didn’t learn my lesson the first time).  I went to get him and when I opened the door, my child was standing BAREFOOT in a HUGE puddle of yellow liquid.

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I was NOT happy!

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I looked at him and started fussing, “Preston, why did you tee-tee on yourself!  I can’t believe you did this!  I had just asked you if you needed to go!”

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Just then a precious friend that knows what a germ-a-phobe I am said, “I was trying to move him before you saw him.  It’s not his.”

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What?!?!

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“Preston didn’t have an accident.  Someone else did, and Preston is just standing in it.”

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LOVELY!

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After I gagged, I yanked my child from the puddle of someone else’s pee and we went straight to the bathroom.  I bathed that child as well as I could in the little restaurant sink, then we went home to sanitize from head to TOE!

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When I was a kid, my most favorite “album” was Down by the Creekbank, and my MOST FAVORITE song was,  “Germs, Germs, My Invisible Dog.”  I sang it often.  I sang it loud and proud!  I still remember every word, and think of it all the time.

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We have a few great cassette tapes from when I was a kid, on which I recorded many songs and deep thoughts.  The tapes are very incriminating, and my brother and sister now have proof of a few manipulative, not-very-kind, older sister moments.  We get a good laugh about all of them now, but I truly see LK in everything I say on the tapes…from singing at the top of my lungs to screaming at my brother for touching the button on the tape recorder which messed up my beautiful singing.

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I’ll try to post the song tomorrow.  I know you’re waiting in suspense! :)

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This story isn’t horrible, but it just gives you a good example of how care-free my middle child is.  She is always looking for an opportunity to have fun.  Lilly Katherine is a joyful little woman, with not a care in the world.  (Side note: I TRULY thank the Lord so often that she is so full of life and full of joy!  It is so much fun to raise a child that finds joy in everything!)

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A few weeks ago we were eating at a local restaurant.  LK and I had to run to the restroom.  We were in a large stall together and she asked me what a somersault was.  A smart mom would have said, “I’ll show you later.”  I, however, began explaining, “You know, a somersault is where you put your hands on the ground and then your head, then you flip over.”

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Before I knew it, that child had her hands down, head on the ground, and was doing a somersault on the floor of the public bathroom stall.  Due to my excessive screaming, she stopped mid-roll.

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Then she was confused when I told her she had to wash her hands.  She hadn’t touched anything.  My sweet thing is OUT OF CONTROL! :)

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Germs, Germs, My Invisible Dog!

I am a total germ-a-phobe!  I don’t like germs!  Indoor playgrounds give me the heeby-jeebies!  Water fountains stress me out!  Toys at Doctors offices are totally off-limits.  I am NOT afraid of dirt?  No!  I’m fine with dirt.  I think kids need to play in the dirt.  I just don’t like germs…kooties…from other peoples’ bodies!

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I am “that mom” that puts a shopping cart cover over every shopping cart and high chair.  I sanitize tables with anti-bac wipes or use table toppers.  I carry “magic soap” and make my kids use rub it all over their hands…if, and only if, a sink isn’t available, because I believe soap and water are the best option.

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Well, God has this really funny sense of humor.  If there’s something you’re grossed out by, He’ll give you a child that enjoys it.  As much as I like to be free from germs, Lilly Katherine looks for ways to get as many kooties on herself as possible.  She loves to be dirty, she loves to touch things, and she especially loves to LICK things!

She always has to have something in her mouth…a thumb, a pen, a piece of paper, her hair, her shoe…something!

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This weekend I’ve been thinking of several germ-y stories, so I decided I would document some nasty germ stories so I would remember them as my little maniac grows up and continues to love all things dirty.  I also think you might get a kick out of them.  I’ll post one or two a day…I think that’s all I can handle.  It’s probably all YOU can handle.

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This is my plan:  When Lilly Katherine is a teenager and the boys start knocking on our door, I’ll let them read these stories.  This should eliminate any desire they have to kiss my daughter!  (insert evil laugh)

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The germ-pondering began after a simple conversation with my father last week.  LK went with my parents on a quick 24 hour trip.  My mom had a meeting out-of-town, so they took LK with them.  I called Wednesday morning to see how she was doing and the conversation went like this:

Me: “Hey, how’s Lilly Katherine?”

Dad: “She’s great!  We’ve had a great morning so far.  We’ve already been to the hotel pool and the hot tub.  The pool was too cold, so we just hung out in the hot tub.”

(First of all, I’m not a fan of public hot tubs.  I think this goes back to something I saw in our apartment hot tub in college-gross!)

Me: “So what’s she doing now?”

Dad: “Oh, she’s splashing around in the tub.”

Me: “She’s SITTING in the HOTEL BATHTUB?”

(When we go out of town, I make my kids stand and take showers with me.  I can’t handle their little bottoms on that bathtub floor.)

Dad: “Yes, she’s taking a bath.  She’s fine, Kate.”  (then…my dad to Lilly Katherine) “Oh, Lilly Katherine, don’t do that.  Get that away from your mouth!”

Me: “What?  What is she putting in her mouth?”

Dad: “Well, she just drank a little bath water out of a cup that she found in the depths of the swimming pool.”

Me: “WHAT?!?!  Are you kidding me?  Please get it away from her and get her out of that tub!”

(G-R-O-S-S!  A cup found in the pool…you allowed her to pick up…and take back to the room…and now she DRINKING HOTEL BATH WATER OUT OF IT?)

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I guess I can’t be too critical of my father.  Last summer at the splash park Lilly Katherine picked up an empty chocolate milk carton, and I (of course) told her to put it down.  She asked if she could play with it and fill it up with water since I forgot to bring a bucket.  I tried to relax and not be such a germ-a-phobe and I reluctantly said, “Yes, but DO NOT DRINK OUT OF IT!”  About 5 minutes later she was chugging down a big gulp of splash ground water from her chocolate milk container.  GROSS!!!

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I know, I’m a little high strung about germs.  Funny thing is that people always say, “You know Lilly Katherine will probably be the healthiest of the three.”  So far, she is!  Preston and AnnaLeigh get sick much more often than my little germ-lover! :)  I don’t care, I still chose anti-bac over kooties!

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Preston was home from school Monday, so we spent the morning at the ZOO!  We haven’t been in so long, and he has always loved our wonderful zoo.  This was the first time AnnaLeigh was really old enough to enjoy it.  We weren’t there long, but we ran into LOTS of friends!  Brad took a few hours off work and joined us, which was an extra special treat to the maniacs!

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As I was looking through my pictures, I realized that I have very few pics of the zoo animals…mostly pics of my animals.  Also, almost every picture is of the maniacs’ backs…very few faces.  I guess that’s because I was trying to keep up with them.  We had a great time, and it was a beautiful day to be outside enjoying God’s amazing, unique creation!

One day Lilly Katherine is going to fall into the Giraffe area.   That girl likes to get right to the edge of the ledge.  Gotta love that little maniac!

AnnaLeigh is saying in a very sassy voice, “Ha-eye!” (HEY!)  The girl has a LOT of spunk!

Preston sat in an elephant’s foot print.  The sun was really bright, and he was struggling to look up.

Lilly Katherine started waving to the Giraffe…

AnnaLeigh saw it and got SO excited!  She started waving and screaming, “Hey, Raffe!”

Then she started a full blown conversation with Mr. Giraffe, “How a you?”

“Good!”

“Well, Hey Raffe!”

“He say Hi me”

“Bye-bye, Raffe!”

(Running to catch up to Lilly Katherine.)

Sweet maniacs!

The kids love the Otter Exhibit.  It was my favorite exhibit growing up, too.  The otters were quite playful, but the water was so murky that you can barely see them.

The maniacs got really lucky on this trip, and they got to feed the fish…for real!  I usually forget to bring quarters, and my children have to crawl around on the wooden dock and stick their little fingers in between the slats to get the fish food other “good moms” have dropped.  This time I actually had TWO quarters, so the maniacs thought they hit the jackpot!

It is TRULY a miracle that no heads got stuck between those bars…and no shoes came off in the water…this time!

(Pic below is from last March)

Monday was a great day.  We loved being together as a FAMILY!  I wish I had half a brain to take a FAMILY picture, but I was too busy sneezing (thanks to my newly developed allergy problem) to think. :)

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²⁰ And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” ²¹ So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. ²² God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” ²³ And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.  ²⁴ And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. ²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:20-25

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A little syrup to jump-start Valentine’s Day!

Preston ate pancakes this morning, too, but he ate them so quickly I didn’t get a picture.  Getting to school on time was his main concern and focus.  With me attempting to cook before school, I stressed him out a little.  I Love my little prompt, type-A baby boy!  I need him in my life!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

“Love it patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails.”

– 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8

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