Finish it out

Okay this whole blog every. single. day. for a month thing was a little rough. The first couple weeks were easy as I just pre-posted a lot and posted a lot of pictures. Then posted cheesy things, then ran out of ideas and real life just kept getting in the way. ha.

But, I consider it a minor success that I only missed one day, out of 30. Part of me likes to give up once I fail a bit and I had to say just do the stupid thing you said you were going to do. It's not like anyone really cares how often I blog or what about.

The busy-ness of the holiday last week and the upcoming holidays and the sleeping patterns of these children of late is enough to keep me away from the computer for months. I give up. If I have time tomorrow I think I'll blog about the sleeping issues and see if I can get some ideas! I feel like I've tried a lot of things and still, it's not going well. I suppose there is always more to try.

The stupid work thing is creeping up on me...that I have one month left and then I have to return there at least 3 days per week. I registered Kian and Karter back at Pearce where we had Kian up through September. So glad they had a spot for him right away! Karter is on a waiting list but I'm okay with him not going right into a center since he's so little...we'll work that one out soon. I don't want to do it, it's causing me much anxiety, but we'll see how it goes I guess. What's the worst that can happen? It stresses me and the kids out so much that I quit? boo hoo.

So, I guess I have some things to blog about (or vent about) soon...when I find the time to get to my computer. You know while deciding which shelving unit to move to make more room to crap I don't want in my house and where the tree will go and when to get it and how to get children to sleep... Ahhh life.

Tuckered Turkey Out

Plain ol' tired out from turkey the four days, and twice on Thursday!

Turkey leftovers with squash and potatoes.

Turkey leftovers with stuffing and green beans.

Turkey salad with onions and celery on wheat.

Turkey salad with cranberries on Italian bread.

Turkey cold. Turkey hot.

Turkey for lunch.

Turkey for dinner.

Turkey for fly-by snack.

And finally: Turkey pot pie tonight.

Whew! That is enough turkey for quite awhile!

The pie on the other hand? I'm sad it's all gone... Maybe I should go make more of that!

FAIL! FAIL! FAIL!

Ugh! I sat down at this computer no less then five times yesterday, opened up a new blog post three times, uploaded and edited pictures to post, was interrupted 17 times and went to bed earlier than previous nights and completely forgot I didn't publish a post!

Nablopomo FAIL! I knew it was bound to happen. I was fairly successful the rest of the month thanks to pre-scheduling all of my posts =) Oh well, I was having a good day with all my boys-groceries, leftovers, napping and playing. It was nice to relax with nothing to do or nowhere to go and fairly stress free!

Here's some random pictures from the last few days:

Preparing the feast:
(please ignore my mullet-balding baby...sigh! It's coming in on top blonder!)

Kourt so excited about making green bean casserole


Glor post-dinner relaxation:



Finally a picture of us four-taken by Kevin's mom, and scanned from a print so it's kind of not so great, but oh well

Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Hope everyone enjoys their day and their full bellies!

Happy Birthday to my sister Kourtney...I have to think about how old she is, because I still think she's 11. Um, 25!!! wow.

Turkey Talk III

Today I will be spending the entire day with my grandmother, sisters, cousin and we will be biiiizzzaaay! I'm talking busy. There will be lots of chopping, dicing, slicing, stirring, mixing, mashing, stuffing, dressing, and whatever else-ing you can think of, we'll be doing it. My hands will smell like garlic for 4 weeks and it will pour from my pores for days and I will love it. I will create 6 amazing pumpkin pies, 2 apple, 6 chocolate and 1 mince meat. I will chop enough celery and onions for 6 pans of stuffing. I will be in love.

I have to share the most delish recipe today and it's so easy. It's the Italian part of our American Thanksgiving: Bracciole. (Say brah-zjole) It's my job to make it and it's easy and it's the best thing ever. Start with some thin steaks, we're talking thin! Salt and pepper them. Spread chopped garlic all over (we like lots!) then layer a lot of parsley on top. Roll from the short end to the other side and tie on both sides. Simmer in sauce for about 6 hours. Untie and slice. Heavenly.

And with that folks... I'm off to probably have a salad or a sub before the best eating day ever tomorrow!

Turkey Talk II

So, in continuing on with our feast, let's talk turkey. And stuffing. And gravy. Now, to feed the 30+ people who will be swarming the house on Thursday my grandma gets 3 turkeys, about 22 lbs each. Yes, people you read that right, 66 stinking pounds of turkey. Oh my, oh my!

Honestly, we don't do much to the turkey at all. My grandma gets them fresh on Wed and Thursday morning puts a little olive oil or butter on them and perhaps some salt and pepper and lets them go all day in the ovens. (Yes, ovens. She, a few years ago, purchased another oven for her basement, solely for the Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts. Crazy!) We don't stuff it. Just baste it every so often, cooking it at a lower temp for a little longer to keep it moist and tender.

Gravy, is fairly simple and I have yet to figure out why more people don't make their own. I have two ways of doing it. Most often I take juices from the meat, put them in a saucepan to boil. I will add some seasoning, usually just a bit of salt and pepper, sometimes herbs. With gravy, I like it to stay true to the flavor of the meat and complement it, rather than add a new flavor in, but to each his own. I then mix some cornstarch and water together, about a tablespoon and slowly whisk that in. Testing the taste and adjusting as needed. Usually you can just boil that until preferred thickness and you're good to go.

Another way is to start a roux by melting a little butter, adding flour then slowly adding the meat juices, whisking the entire time. If it's too thick, add more meat juices, or broth/stock. If it's too thin you adjust with cornstarch or flour very slowly, checking the taste each time. Always whisking!

Stuffing...that's an interesting one. It's tricky to get the texture right. We used to use seasoned stuffing bread, torn up; but that became very doughy and sticky more often than not. So, now we use the stuffing bread croutons. (Don't judge--us Italians add in cooked ground sausage, and chopped chicken gizzards. It's a secret, only a few in the family really know what's in it. We just call it "grandma martino's recipe". It adds an oomph and is delish, just chew and don't ask questions!!) Chopped celery and onion cook until soft in a pan with gobs of butter. They are added to the stuffing with parsley--lots! Garlic, salt, pepper, sage and I am trying to remember what else. The tricky part is adding the hot broth/stock to the croutons, constantly stirring, so that it's just wet, not drowned. If it's too wet, it becomes like glue and no one wants to eat it. If it's too dry, you're just eating salad croutons then! But if it is too wet, throw it on a baking sheet and bake or broil it for a few minutes to dry it out.

I realize I didn't type this stuff out with exact measurements, and now I realize why. My grandma doesn't use them either! I never measure what I cook, i use my eyes and my tongue and that's exactly how she cooks. So does my mother, but she also turns off her sense of smell and lets it burn ha! So, I can be more specific if someone wants me too. The other thing is that we cook so much food for a large number of people that it takes too long to quadruple a recipe three times!

Turkey Talk

So, you want some Thanksgiving ideas? Or not... Well, too bad! I love my darn food and this is the best eating Holiday ever. No summer picnic can hold a candle to Thanksgiving in this family. No other meal is as delicious and heartwarming and belly-filling as this. Just a few more days!!

We eat at my grandma's house (mom's mom) and there's usually over 30 people there to feed. We have as much fun making the food as we do eating it. And making the food takes all day on Wednesday with myself, my grandma, my cousin, my sisters Kourtney and Kiara. Many hands make light the work eh?! Yet still takes about 6 hours!

A lot of times we make the customary green bean casserole. Just as Campbell's says here.

We've made sweet potato casserole like this. But we're opting out of that as it is a pain to make and no one really wants it that sweet.

We always have squash, typically hubbard, but I love butternut. Add in a little nutmeg, bet you won't even want the butter!

Sometimes a red jello fruit salad, but more often than not is this green jello mess. It may look and sound gross, but it is so good!

Pumpkin pies-made as directed on the can of pumpkin and then a whole lot more spices added in! We don't do bland around here!

Your typical relish tray and rolls are always on the sidelines. Cranberries, both jellied and whole. Mashed potatoes, lots of milk and butter. Do you see why I won't be able to eat a thing this year? My child will projectile vomit with a spinning head if I do! Oy vey. Dairy free in a dairy dependent world ain't easy!

Tomorrow I'll touch on the real standouts in this holiday--turkey, stuffing and gravy!

Quick! Post it!

Man, I had all these good blog ideas all day long but never had a chance to sit down and type them up! But, I have to get something published so I can keep up with NaBloPoMo and get one every day right?

Here's some randomness before I go to bed early:

Things that annoy me:

Socks and underwear shrinking in the dryer (no, I didn't get fat, they're the boys' socks!)

The elastic unraveling on underwear

Long lines pre-black friday

Items not ringing up the sale prices, having to show the associate the sale sign

Kian refusing naps and making bedtime so difficult that I am either going to cry or restrain myself from whipping his butt =D

Kian having to pee so bad at Wegmans that he couldn't wait to get in position and soaked his pants and underwear and I had to stand there and hold his pants under the hand dryer until they were decent enough to wear through the rest of the trip

Sundays full of football so that Kevin sleeps/watches TV through the entire day

Accidentally spilling more spices in the pot than I intended to

Thinking of enough blog stuff for this month (pre-posting randomness helps!) Or actually, just having the time to sit down and type out all the good things in my head, or silly things, or you know...

Kian screaming "ow! don't hurt me! stop yelling at me mommy" while in the cart at K-mart for the entire store to hear...I was looking at boots and not touching him! He was just mad because I wouldn't get him candy.

Not having enough daylight hours in the day...not having enough hours at all in the day...and with that, I'm off to bed nice and early!

a lil baby post

Because it seems to have been a lot about Kian lately...

Here's my baby spitting raspberries at me:



The "enough of the camera mom" look:



The cooing and smiling and happy baby look:


This boy holds his head up and his chest off the floor like Kian didn't until over 3 months! He sits up fairly well with a little support behind him, because he wants to be sitting up. Last night before this picture, while on my lap, he began lunging and swinging his arms wildly at something (don't remember, a toy, my water bottle?) and was determined to get at it. I'm afraid, very, very afraid. Afraid he's going to be moving much sooner than Kian was moving. He's rolled several times, another thing Kian didn't really do until he hit the three month mark. I know, I know, comparisons! Chalk and cheese, I was told by one of my clients. I know they're all different, but this could get very interesting if he chooses to be mobile early on. We'll just roll with it...literally =)

Haircut

Before:


I love my boy's curls and so does he. He gets mad at the wind if they "mess up my crills". But it was starting to get a bit scraggly. Then after Kevin got a haircut he started saying he wanted "short hair like daddy". Yeah, not going to happen. When his hair is wet, he looks like a baby, a bald-headed baby. We can't go that short. But I did take about an inch off his hair all around. It actually helped some of the curl spring back on the top. But, we lost some of the ringlets that were forming in the back. And it meant that the summer highlights were lost, making his hair look dark. As I was trimming I realized...I hadn't trimmed his hair since July! And that was just a tiny trim, really. I suppose we'll keep it about this length, everyone's happy...I think...

before we wet it and put cream in it:

Random Fall pictures

He thought it was great to stand over me so I took pictures of him and what was probably one of the last blue skies of the year before snow comes.

I like this. Well, except that his hair wasn't done (his "crill cream" aka curl cream wasn't put in this morning). He didn't know I was taking it, I got the "bokeh" affect I was hoping for, but have no idea how I did it (child setting because I'm too busy to learn my camera manually yet).

Bliss

Pure bliss. This is joy. The sun was shining, the air was crisp, and this little boy was in heaven. It was just him and his mama outside, running and flying his kite, laughing so hard he fell over. Again and again. And I couldn't be any happier either. His face says it all.

Wasn't me!

In pre-scheduling most of my blogs for this month for "NaBloPoMo" and in anticipation of the crazy holiday schedules, I have gotten away from the "Not Me Mondays" that MckMama hosts.

But, here's my own quick version for a laugh today...

It wasn't me who conned my two year old into working out with me so I could burn a few calories.


It wasn't me who got him to do bicep curls (6 reps each) with a 3lb weight while I did my own.


It wasn't me who put my child on the treadmill (very, very slow) while I ran on the elliptical, as to burn off some of his energy for nap and give me 10 minutes of cardio workout.


Couldn't be me!

Yes, more Kianisms

After sticking his hands in the crib, slapping at Karter's face, yelling "wake up! wake up!" (he wanted to hold and play with him apparently) I finally put him in his room for a break/time out. He yells "No, Mommy! This is ridiculous!" and tried to walk out. Oh...Lord...help me now.

Another time I put him on the step and said "you're in time out." He got up and said "Actually, I'm not."

"The trees are naked mommy!" After a particularly windy day that blew the rest of the leaves on the ground.

After a talking to about how we were going to take a nap and not cry and try to get out of it like the day before: "Yes, mommy, no screamin' no yellin' just sleep". Now, if he follows through on it, remains to be seen!

"Kevin! you're home from work!" Ahhh, you mean daddy?!

"Actually, let's figure out something." I don't even remember what this was about, but it cracks me up.

Upon me walking into the living room, Kian is standing on the couch and proclaims "I don't have gum mommy! I'm not chewing gum!". Looking closer, I see two tiny pieces of chewed gum on the couch next to him. I told him he was his own worst enemy, as I had no clue he had gum at all, and wasn't even going to reprimand him when I walked in, he gave that one to me.

The boy is extremely interested in bones, the body, body processes, and of course we talk a lot of about some of them due to potty training. I told him he needs to become a doctor. After pooping on the toilet once, then going in his diaper later that day, while changing him he says to me: "I eat the food, it goes in my stomach. My stomach chews it up and it goes to my bum. It comes out my bum and into the toilet. I flush the toilet and then poop goes out to the fishies. They eat it and play with it." He is his father's child. I ain't claiming that one. But, yes, so glad he knows the digestion process before 2 and a half years old. He'll be the one explaining things to kids on the bus!

"Bye bye poopy! See you later, have fun with the fishies!"

Me: what do you want for dinner Kian?
Kian: broccoli, celery, cauliflower, sweet n sour, peachy keen. (with a perfectly straight face)
Veggie tales much? It is a catchy intro though.

Kian: Where's daddy?
Me: At work, like every morning.
Kian: (disgusted) He's got no reason!
Me: (not containing my laughter) well, you are the reason!

Someday, when he's a ripe old teenager, I shall print these all out and he'll just about die of embarrassment. It will be great fun!

My favorite: grabbing me around the neck tightly "I love you so much mommy!"

Push it!

Thanks and giving

Yes it's that holiday, the one where we are to be thankful for all we've been blessed to have and received. And I am, truly, very thankful for many things. I'm thankful for my healthy family and jobs that provide enough, even if we don't always like them. I'm just thankful for life in general.

Sometimes we don't talk much about the giving part. Giving thanks yes, but there's more to giving. Sometimes we're thanked for our giving, sometimes not. Perhaps it's because I just heard a sermon about giving (specifically financially related) but also because I"m thinking about all the giving I've done lately. I've given a lot of myself, my family, my money, my service, my heart, my ears, my arms, so much recently. It's something I want to do and something I have to do. I know it's being asked of me and is required of me. Being a former people-pleaser I've learned to weigh what's being asked and adjust according as to not take from one to give to another, and to keep myself balanced and not overwhelmed. It's easy to get caught up in one thing and neglect the things or people you really shouldn't. There is a difference between giving without return or thanks and being a doormat.

Giving is as much for the giver as it is for the receiver. It can be hard, frustrating, annoying, draining, etc. at times to give, especially when you don't see immediate response or reward; or when there isn't a lot of appreciation shown. But, to know you are making one's life easier, their load lighter by your giving, gives you such an awesome feeling. And you just remember that your rewards are greater and for eternity.

Proverbs 11:24 One man gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

²⁵ A generous man will prosper;
he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

I'm feeling refreshed in my giving, happiness in refreshing others.

Does it make me a bad mom if...

...I smile and get just the tiniest bit happy when I hear screeching, crying children in the store, and they're not mine?

...I'm just a little bit glad someone else has that problem sometimes too?

...won't give my child a pacifier because he sucks his thumb? (yes we're still having that debate, but I'm standing firm on no pacifier this time, I think thumb-sucking babies are cute and I'll deal with it in a few years. It's great to not have to find the stupid thing and stick it back in his mouth all the time!)

...I let my child run around naked a lot to help out the potty training process-in the winter?

...I totally pretend that I don't know we have a "playroom" downstairs and it's messy, what? That's one good thing about a split-level, you can hide it!

...I totally stand between the open pantry doors and shovel some candy down my throat before Kian can figure out what I'm doing?

...let my child eat produce in the store without washing? (I know, organic me, eww!) I can't tell you how many times the cashier has scanned a cucumber or celery with several bite marks or chunks out of it. Oh well.

...let my child open packages of food in the store to eat, to keep him happy?

...might have locked Kian's door on him for 15 minutes so I could feed Karter and stop having to return Kian to his bed for nap because he wouldn't stay in there?

...I let Karter cry if he's sick of tummy time and stretch it out to a full five minutes?

Oh don't tell me that most of you haven't done the same... don't worry I'll keep coming up with more crazy ones.

Karter's 2 month update

Technically Karter was 2 months on Nov 3rd, but we just had his check up on the 11th, so therefore the update is now. He is a tad over 23 inches, 12 lbs 2 oz. (Kian was 14-2 at this same age, holy cow!) We got complemented on his head control, cooing and pretty much everything. He was chatting with the nurse and the doc for a bit. =) The doctor is not concerned about any jaundice at all, his color looks great and they do not feel the need for any more testing. Doctor noticed what I've been noticing also, that Karter looks to his right a lot, but I know that's because he sucks his right thumb all the time. Dr said seems to be alright because he's not getting flat spots because of it and will look the other way. But, you know me, I"m paranoid and have been changing his positions and head for the last 2 weeks. Karter's hardly in a seat or swing tho, either sleeping or playing with me and Kian or being carried.

He is smiling and cooing and making all kinds of noises, especially when he is being changed. I guess that makes him very happy. He definitely does not like to sit in dirty diapers. Kian could have cared less, but Karter lets us know "change me now!". He also like to coo and smile after he's finishing eating, it's like he's saying thanks, or at least I pretend so I can make myself feel better.


He's got great head control and pushes up when on his belly. Beginning to try to bat at some toys that are dangling but not good at it yet. He doesn't like to be held tight against you anymore, prefers to push back and look around or be facing outward. But, when he wants to snuggle, he buries his head in my neck and chest and rubs it back and forth, tucks his head under my chin and falls asleep. Love my snuggly baby! I don't swaddle him for naps or bedtime anymore, he's actually been kicking off the blanket. And this week he's slept 5-6 hour stretches at night, which is nice; taking three naps during the day and going to bed around 8pm with Kian.


He tolerates tummy time a little more now, but after he's slept and not close to a feeding. If he's eaten recently (last hour) the acid reflux starts coming up and bothers him. We still deal with that at night mostly, or when he's laid down. Still having reactions to dairy, so I continue to keep a dairy/milk free diet. We're wondering if he might be sensitive to wheat and tomato too, if I have a lot in one day I notice more spitting up and fussiness. (Of course anything spicy sets him off.)

When he's not bothered by that stuff, he's very happy. He loves to watch Kian and laugh at him, as long as Kian's not "over-loving him" which happens a lot. Somehow this whole "gentle" thing hasn't gotten through to Kian yet, but it's in a love form instead of a jealous/aggressive form, which is good. He has rolled over from belly to back 3 or 4 times so far, angry that I put him on his belly and screaming and making sure I knew that while he rolled.



Karter's also lost some of that dark, thick newborn hair on the top of his head, right in the middle and a tad on the sides, but so far has kept most of it. And some new stuff is coming in on the top, mostly dark, but some blonde underneath. It will be interesting to see what it turns out like. His eyes are still blue, but we'll see if they change too. His eyelashes have grown longer and thicker recently and I love them!

We just love him and it's nice to see the two of them together (when Kian's not rolling him over or picking him up!) and are really enjoying being a family of four now. It will be quite something with two boys around, all rough and tumble.

Hidden calories...in your drink?

Following on the tails of yesterday's post, I thought I'd delve a little more into hidden calories. I briefly mentioned drinks in our house and that we don't have many of them. We mostly drink water. Kevin drinks lots of water and eats all the vegetables and "crap" I make and his family still cannot believe it. I got him out of his hamburger helper upbringing hehe.

But, they also think I'm weird when I tell them that Kian cannot have more juice, cannot have xxx whatever to drink. He and I have a little orange juice (or which ever juice we bought that week) in the morning with breakfast, and that is it. He loves water and asks for it often. If he asks for milk he can have it, but I don't offer it. I always just give him water unless he specifies. (Side note is that I stopped buying cow's milk for him this month so Kevin is the only one who has it in the house, and Kian drinks rice milk with me. He gets plenty of calcium and protein in other ways.) This is odd to many people who repeatedly fill their child's cups (and *gasp* bottles) with iced tea, koolaid, and juice.

[Please note, that at holidays, birthdays, special things, I do let him have other drinks and other foods that I normally say no to, he's not deprived.]

Anyways, the point of this is to talk about the hidden calories in drinks. People really do not pay attention to what their are drinking a lot of the time. They will down a snapple or soda with dinner and not think twice. Many people try to lose weight and don't understand why they can't lose that last 5 pounds. Nix the sports drink, the glass of wine at night, the Pepsi with dinner and voila! You will have lost it.

Reading the label and understanding that one bottle of Snapple, Arizona tea, Sobe, whatever it is, is not just one serving-it's two! That means you might think you're only drinking 150 calories, but that's a serving size and your bottle is 2 servings. If you down that thing in one sitting, or with a meal, you're taking in an extra 300 calories you don't even think about. One day spent with my mother I watched her drink 2 huge fancy coffee/latte things and yet not eat all day. She kept saying she wasn't hungry. Then I realized and said "that's because you just drank your days' worth of calories. You took in your calories in liquid form instead of food form, (and also missing vital nutrients in the process)".

Most drinks do not provide the vitamins and minerals and nutrients needed, especially those ones that contain little or no real juice. Not to mention the ridiculous amount of sugar in these drinks. Going to the dentist often for cavities? Check your drinks! A can of coke or Pepsi has 12 teaspoons of sugar-twelve!! I watched Supernanny measure it out for a dad one day, he finally got it and got rid of it for the kids. Soda tends to be acidic, weakening the enamel on the tooth, and also full of sugar, which then attaches to that weakened tooth enamel, causing lots of dental problems. Not cool!

So, this is why my child drinks mostly water. This is why I limit his juice intake and decline other drinks. This is why pediatricians are telling parents to follow the 4 oz of 100% juice per day. That is not much, it's one small juicey juice box. Most kids are getting 4 times that each day. This is why we're seeing obesity rising in children...well that and the crazy amount of video games and tv time they get. I know that I am a 'health nut' or 'food fanatic' or whatever else you want to call me, but the more I learn and know about our bodies, and how food can help, heal, restore or break it down, the more careful we are with what we put in it. I know there's going to be a day when my children eats tons of garbage at school or with their friends or when they're on their own, but at least right now I can start them off right and hope it sticks with them!

And I realize I jumped from hidden calories in drinks to healthy eating back to drink and all over the place. I had to really stop myself, I could have gone on all day with this healthy eating post. I should pick a day and implement healthy eating/living ideas...

Stuck in the middle with you

Stuck in the middle alright. The middle of my pants. My old "fat" pants are too big and fall off my butt when I walk. But, my "skinnier" pants don't fit yet either. My old fat pants are ones I had just before I was pregnant with Kian and then for awhile after. My newer "skinnier" pants are ones I was wearing right before I got pregnant with Karter. I worked out more and lost more weight right before getting pregnant, of course. 'Cause that's just how life works.

I need to find some time to lose those extra pounds so I can fit into my nicer clothes again. I must have been darn lazy after I had Kian and must have sat around doing nothing, because it took me forever to lose the baby weight. It wasn't until I really regimented myself into an intense workout for a month straight that it started to budge, then started coming off easier. I would lose a pound here or there but didn't try until he was 6 months old. That's not happening this time. Mostly because I have nothing to wear right now, well shirts fit no matter what, but pants... ugh! I know it's because I'm running after a toddler and not just sitting around watching tv and nursing like last time, that I am losing this weight faster without trying too hard. The nursing definitely helps with the weight loss though.

But, also over the last couple years we continue to eat healthier. There is so much less junk, carbs, processed food and so much more fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. I also make things more from scratch now instead of eating out or buying pre-made. And drinks, that was the easiest, and often overlooked change--drinks. We buy milk/rice milk, one carton of OJ, and sometimes a cider or grape juice. That's it. No pop, soda, no iced tea or lemonades or mixed drinks, no snapples or sunnyD, etc. We drink lots of water. And I know that the outside work and extra walks we take counts towards calorie burning.

So, I know I"ll lose the 'baby weight' soon, and hopefully more! And penny pinching me really doesn't want to buy new pants for "just awhile" so, for now, I'm just stuck in the middle....

Do a little dance

Elissa and I went to the Strong Museum together for the toddler Halloween festivities. Kian wasn't all that interested in the "trick or treating" they had going on. He just wanted to explore more of the museum that we hadn't last time. He did attempt the scarecrow craft they had, and "trick or treated" for a pack of Pooh cards, a sticker, a bag of goldfish and a pumpkin pencil. He also got a frog tattoo on his arm. But obviously, chauffeuring Cookie Monster around was much more fun:


I didn't take a lot of pictures that day as we were doing lots of running around and child chasing. After lunch we decided to take it upstairs to the "Dancing Through the Decades" screen. You can choose music from various time periods in the last century from the Charleston to Jay-z. The kids loved the pop/hip-hop ones with the best beats. The coolest part is the screen. It kept them entertained (and in one spot!) for quite awhile!

No, I do not know how to use my camera in this setting. I turned in on the night setting. I also was carrying a fussy baby and chasing a toddler. Someday I'll have a minute to really learn my camera better and what I"m doing...someday...


That's me taking pictures of myself on the screen and Kian break-dancing on the floor.




And Grant busting a move:

God huh?

Yep. One of those posts. I don't do it often enough. I have done a lot of thinking and more thinking and listening lately. I know that not everyone knows all the details, but this year has been an extremely stressful year for me, and my family. There is so much going on, so much has gone on, some has been resolved, some is still being resolved, some things turned out great, and some are unknown (isn't everything, really?). Some things had to do with Karter before he was born and concerns and worries arose, but he's perfectly fine! My family has issues they are working through (Kevin and I are fine, not that).

Because of all the stresses this year I really have been praying a lot. And meaning it. I prayed hard for Karter to not have the issues and problems they were saying he might have. Then I prayed thankfully that he is a very healthy boy. I prayed and still am praying for my family and for things to continue to change for the better. Does prayer work? Yes! Well, maybe not in the way we want it to, but it does. My baby boy is perfectly healthy and doesn't have syndromes and abnormalities they warned us he could have. I believe that's because of all the prayers that went up for him. Is my family perfect and going to be oh so happy tomorrow? Nope. But, I'm seeing changes and things I've prayed for come to fruition. Of course, it's not always that easy and happy, somethings God doesn't want to answer the way we want too. I'm not very good at explaining these things well, so take a look here at MckMama's post on prayer. It's about her son, but she does a great job explaining prayer.

And, maybe, after all this, like some believe, it's nothing. There's no God and what is the worst that happens? I've lived my life believing in something higher than me. Something that I can turn too when people have failed me. There's a saying something about "would rather live like there's a heaven and find out there's not, than live like there isn't and find out there is," and hell too. Read this article for more. Maybe as some say, I'm doing it all for naught. But, even if that is the case (which I do not believe it is, and very much believe in God) than I've lost nothing, and gained much in my life by being able to let things go, to release my stress onto him and feel that my prayers are heard and answered and feel protected by the highest power.

I am raising my children to believe in God, in the power of prayer and heaven and hell. I won't misuse it to get them to do what I want or obey. Yes, there has been misuse and abuse of religion and God. (And I truly believe there is a difference in God and religion-that's a post for another day!) Some use it to make others fearful, and to dominate, and that's not what God is, who God is. I don't really know where I wanted to go, or am going with this post. But, it's Sunday. I'm going to church. I'm just thinking about my answered prayers, and my ability to cast all my cares on him. And I guess I just wanted to say some of that... this seems very unorganized and unfinished, but it will either end up being 12 pages long or I stop now until I sort out the words in my head...so we'll save more for later...

Brotherly love

Kian is very much in love with Karter---most of the time. As long as Karter's not crying, he wants him, kissing him, holding his hands. And if he's sleeping--opening his eyes! Yes, we have to be very, very observant. I'm glad he's turned the corner on the aggressiveness with Karter, but his love can be painful too!

How I got them both smiling at the same time, I have no idea! Fast camera!


They wore their baseball outfits to the museum Halloween party. I thought they portrayed the World Series nicely...until I realized Kian's shirt said Rangers. Oops. What do I know about baseball, anyway?



My favorite:



Another fave- whispering "love you Karter buddy" in his ear



So happy to be the big brother, so unsure about being the little brother!

We're doing much better as Kian will cover his ears now if Karter is bothering him. He tries to be so helpful, but his help isn't always the best. But, I don't want to damper his enthusiasm so I give him small, easy tasks to do (get the blanket, find him a toy, etc.) and make him feel important. It's working for now...until Karter knocks over his towers or chews on his McQueen car...