The Fall Update

So I guess now I will start doing seasonal updates to my blog. LOL!!! Though if you check out my business blog, you will see I've been busy with that side of my life - personal blogging has taken a back seat.

We are getting ready to head to New York for a week, to visit a friend and make a day trip to New York City. We've never been to the northeast in the fall, so we are looking forward to this trip! I hope the colors are still nice when we get there. We leave Wednesday and will return the following Wednesday or Thursday.

OK - the Aiden update. He's turning into a little person! Yesterday he made a great little friend at a park playground. He played with this little girl for about an hour. They were so cute together. He is talking more and more everyday, and some of the thoughts that make their way to his mouth are quite impressive. I am pleased to announce also that Aiden is fully potty trained now, at least in the day time. He's had #1 down for a long time, and #2 came together over the past month! Thank goodness!! I was tired of 3 year old poopy!! He doesn't wake up in the night to take himself potty, so we end up with wet pj's about every other night. But that will come in due time just as everything else has.

Only 2 months until Christmas! I need to work on a 'wish list' for Aiden. He's already been telling me that Santa is bringing him a Snow Plow to put on his Thomas engine. :)

Until next time...

Bad Blogger

I've been a bad blogger - life gets busy and my computer time is spent working instead of typing out some random thoughts from life. Maybe in the winter when things slow down a bit I can get back to blogging more.

We've had a nice summer - aside from being sick a decent chunk of July, but we are all healthy and alive - we can't really complain. :) Matt and I took a trip to Baltimore - Matt worked, I hung around. Most of the entertainment on that trip was paid for by the company hosting the event, which was nice. We went to an Orioles game, we were fed well - Matt and I only paid for about 3 meals while we were there. We took advantage of our Aiden-free time (he was with Gramma and Poppa) and went to see Transformers - that took me back to my childhood (Autobots! Roll out!!). LOL!!!

Other than that - I've been busy with photosessions the last part of July and most of this month. And I'm getting more and more inquiries. I guess the fall/holiday rush is beginning. I can't wait for it to cool off and do some comfortable outdoor sessions. It's just too hot to do anything outside right now.

I hear Aiden calling me from his room, so I better see what is up. Hopefully I won't go so long before posting an update here.

Until next time!

And June 2007 is almost history

I've been the worst blogger lately - mainly because I've been busy with other web related activities. I've updated my photography website and built a 'studio' blog. Other non-internet related activities that have kept me busy have been a weekend trip back home to the mountains (for some family time and photography fun), Aiden's birthday, MY birthday, several photography sessions, and other things that I won't bore you with the details.

Aiden's birthday was very small and subdued this year. Matt had been busy with work so we just didn't plan anything for the weekend before his birthday. So, for Aiden's birthday, we took him to Monkey Joe's for some bouncing fun, and then to CiCi's for pizza. He had a fun time bouncing once he got used to all the noise in the place. If you have a Monkey Joe's near you, I suggest you look into taking your kids there. It's a fun place to let your kids bounce themselves to exhaustion. They even had special toddler areas for bouncing, away from the crazy big kids!

I turned 29 the other week. I feel too young to be closing in on 30. When I think of someone being 30, I think of someone who is grown up and has it all together... Deep down, I still feel like a little girl - it's hard to explain with words (I'm so not good with words!). Anyway... it's too early for me to wax poetic about my feelings on being 'almost 30.'

Let's see, is there any other big news? Not really. Matt and I will be going on a getaway to Baltimore the middle of July (and leaving Aiden with the grandparents). Matt has a work thing up there that he was told to go to. It will be nice to have a few days away, even if Matt will be 'working.' The best part is, it's a mini-vacation for not a lot of money.

Until next time...

The Big THREE

Happy 3rd Birthday,
Aiden!!!

Doing the "RIGHT" thing

Since when did doing the right thing turn into meaning we should do what we need to do to make people like us? Those are games for high school drama queens, not for making political policies. Since when has doing the right thing EVER been the popular thing to do? Since when has doing the RIGHT thing ever been the easy road to take? I get sick and tired of hearing the excuse that we need to change our policies because the world hates us. WHO CARES??? We, our administration in government, is/are doing what we feel is the right thing. Could we as a country do things better? OF COURSE. We, the United States of America, are the scapegoat for the world's dirty work and we are the ones who get labeled as the bad guy. It is beyond ridiculous now. And I'm so sorry to inform all of the Bush Bashers about this, but there was corruption in government long before Bush1 or Bush2 ever got there. And yes, it didn't come with Bill Clinton either. It has been there for many many years. George W. Bush is the bad guy now because he is where the buck stops.

I stand by my statement that too many people have opened their minds so much their brains have fallen out. It is popular to bash the president. Everyone is doing it, that means it must be right.

Mmm, yeah OK!

Spicy Sour Cream and Chicken Enchiladas

OK - Someone posted this recipe on a PHOTOGRAPHY board (of all places, right?) a while back, and I just now got around to making it. I haven't tasted it yet, but it just finished cooking in the oven, and it smells über yummy!

1 8oz container sour cream
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I used monterey jack)
4 boneless chicken breasts
1 large pack of corn tortillas (I used flour - it was what was on hand)
2 serrano peppers (mmmm NO! I used ONE jalapeno)
1 bunch of cilantro (I just eyeballed how much to use. I had a HUGE bunch!)
4 cloves garlic
1 small onion

Boil chicken breasts in water until cooked thoroughly. Set aside and allow to cool. (I boiled the chicken the day before)

In a blender, chop all dry ingredients. Add soup, chicken broth, and sour cream to blender and mix well.
Shred your cooled chicken with a fork or pick apart by hand.
To roll enchiladas: put a little vegetable oil on a small plate. Soak both sides of each tortilla in the oil to soften for rolling.
Pour a small amount of blended sauce on bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.
For each enchilada add chicken and mozzarella cheese, roll, and place in pan. After all the enchiladas are rolled, pour sauce over the top of all enchiladas. Top with remaning mozzarella cheese and bake in preheated 350° oven for 20-30 minutes or until sauce is bubbling.

**I made the full recipe, but I have enough sauce, chicken, and cheese left over to do this again. I just need more tortillas.

*****UPDATE UPDATE!!! I made this again the next night and instead used corn tortillas and it turned to MUSH!!! I suggest cutting the recipe in half, or plan on eating it a couple nights in a row, and to use the flour tortillas instead of corn. Bleh!!!

Song of the moment

I've listened to it all evening, and it's just after midnight and I'm still listening to it.

I love Rob Thomas. I didn't like his first solo release - I have purged that song from my memory, but his song "Little Wonders," I adore. The addictive melody, the words...

let it go,
let it roll right off your shoulder
don’t you know
the hardest part is over
let it in,
let your clarity define you
in the end
we will only just remember how it feels

our lives are made
in these small hours
these little wonders,
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away,
but these small hours,
these small hours still remain

let it slide,
let your troubles fall behind you
let it shine
until you feel it all around you
and i don’t mind
if it’s me you need to turn to
we’ll get by,
it’s the heart that really matters in the end

our lives are made
in these small hours
these little wonders,
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away,
but these small hours,
these small hours still remain

all of my regret
will wash away some how
but i can not forget
the way i feel right now

in these small hours
these little wonders
these twists & turns of fate
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away but these small hours
these small hours, still remain,
still remain
these little wonders
these twists & turns of fate
time falls away
but these small hours
these little wonders still remain

Happy Mother's Day

I got the best Mother's Day present today. And before I get started, let me warn you - poopoo and a 2 year old are involved!

Problems are going on at my husband's work, so that has required him to work this weekend, and of course to work on Mother's Day. So, Aiden and I are spending this Sunday like we would most days of the week, just the two of us. Anyway, during one of his typical two year old temper tantrums I told him to go into his room if he wanted to scream like that. He willingly ran to his room and slammed the door. Where on earth did he get that?

He pitched his little fit which was probably over in about 60 seconds, and then he started to play with his toys in his room. After a few minutes of quiet playing, he emerges from the room and he TELLS ME that he NEEDS TO POOP! This is coming from the boy who has avoided pooping on the toilet for the most part over our potty training experiences. And get this... he sat on the toilet and he DID IT!!! I am so proud of him. I really can't say I've done anything to 'potty train' him as he has done it all himself. I'm hoping that this little incident that falls in the "WIN" column on the potty training score card is noting the end of the pooping debacle.

So, for the rest of my Mother's Day, I am planning on going out to my mother in law's house to spend the afternoon, let Aiden play and do fun things that he doesn't get to do here, and I am going to enjoy my afternoon documenting his experiences with my trusty Canon 30D!

Happy Mother's Day to all my momma friends! :o)

Idol!

I watched my Tivo'd episode of AI this morning. Overall, I thought it was a pretty good show. I was on the edge of my seat waiting for Sally Struthers to come out on stage and bring tears to my eyes with that incredibly thin, shaky voice she has. The songs were pretty good. Jordin amazed me with her song choice. I was surprised that a 17-year-old girl would even know who Rodgers and Hammerstein were, and even more surprised that she would sing a song of theirs! She's my favorite Idol of the moment.

April is almost gone!

And I've realized I've been such a slacker this month with my blog. Such is my blogging life; it seems to ebb and flow. ;-)

We had a nice trip to Chattanooga. Aiden had a blast going on the little train ride and climbing all over the engines and cars they had out. We went to the aquarium too and saw way too many fish. It was fun, but we tried to do the aquarium in only a couple hours, and that was just too many fish in too small of a time period. Aiden enjoyed it for the most part. We visited Lookout Mountain, which Aiden seemed to love for some reason, because we really didn't do anything there. I think he just liked saying "Lookout Mountain." And we spent a few days wandering around the battlefield at Chickamauga. I always knew there was a Civil War battle that occurred there, but I never really knew much about it at all. I enjoy history, and especially learning about it. I hope Aiden grows up with a love of history as well.

I had my first photo session of 2007 last Friday. It was with an adorable TINY little newborn. I had a lot of fun. It was fun to be taking pictures of someone other than Aiden for a change. I have another session this afternoon with a family of eight! It's actually two families that are doing this for one of the mothers for Mother's Day.

We've done really well with potty training. Aiden did fairly well on the trip, and ever since he has rarely had an accident. He sometimes is a little wet in the mornings, but that is just because I can't convince him to come out of his room on his own in the mornings to come get me to take him to the potty. We'll work on that. Oh, and pooping isn't going so hot. We're about 50% on successes with that. But, I'm really not complaining. I'm so proud of him doing so well with everything.

I must close and finish my internet rounds while I still have some coffee to drink. I'll also update the photoblog. If you check out my flickr site, you can see our pictures from the Chattanooga trip.

Happy Monday!

Potty Successes!

So, it seems like all of a sudden Aiden is getting the hang of this potty thing. He is basically figuring it all out on his own, much like I anticipated he would, once he got the little kick in the hiney that he needed to get him started. He has peed on the potty every day for over a week, and usually a couple times a day. Yesterday he peed on the toilet 5 times. Today, aside from nap time, he has been in underwear all day long! Aside from some poopoo accidents, which I really can't blame at all on him since he has been having some nasty poo belly for the past several days, he had absolutely no accidents at all today! He is growing up so fast. He is in his big boy bed now, and he stays put in the mornings until I come in to get him. He is sleeping without his pacifier now. "Sunrise, sunset." My baby is turning into a kid. It's a bittersweet thing. I'm sad to see the baby days go, but I'm excited to get to know my child even more as he grows up.

:)

A big boy...

We finally took the side rail off Aiden's crib this past weekend. He has been sleeping in his 'big boy bed' like a champ ever since. We had bought one of those safety rails, but with the way his bed is made, there isn't a good way to attach one, so he's been sleeping with pillows beside his bed in case he rolls into the floor. So far, at least as far as we know, there have been no issues. The cutest thing is, he still won't get out of his bed on his own in the morning when he wakes up. He waits for me to come in and tell him it's time to get up. How nice is that?

Last night when Matt and I put him to bed, we got him all settled, and he actually forgot to ask for his pacifier. I try to not offer it at all, and had only been giving it to him if he asked for it. Well, he's closing in on 3 years old. There is no need for him to be sucking on anything anymore... So, last night, I made it out the door before he could ask to have it. Within a minute or so of me closing his door, I hear crying. :o( I didn't give in, and he ended up going to sleep with out it. I heard him wake up once this morning fussing, and I tried my best to tune it out and he ended up going to back to sleep. I hope this is the end of the pacifier. Next big tackle... no more diapers! I've taken Aiden's lead and backed off a bit on potty training. He peed on the potty the last two nights before bed time. We'll see where this small successes lead us.

Now, I'm going to get a cup of coffee and sit down and watch AI from last night. I heard that Sanjaya gave quite an interesting performance...

Ah-ah-aahhhh CHOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sneezing is all I'm doing this morning! GAAH! Spring is in full force and my body is in full force reacting to it. I'll be glad when I'm over this part of spring!

Life has been ok. I haven't had much to say as not much has been going on recently. Matt is working at night, so my days are sort of weird right now. I think most of the cold weather is behind us, at least for the foreseeable future, so hopefully we'll be spending more time outside. I really need to work on weeding some of the flower beds and also planting some stuff.

Aiden has LOVED having all of this train stuff. I swear, it is pretty much all he plays with. He loves building the track and he has it running all through the living room. It's so fun watching him build things. It amazes me too how good of a job he does with it too!

Must close for now and get back to my laundry. Just wanted to give a little update to my millions of blog readers out there! :)

(If any of my friends in RALEIGH are reading this... We'll be there this Friday (we think!!) just for the day as Matt needs to be at work around 11 that night... I know coming in the week is stupid if I want to visit people, but it's easiest for us, especially right now with Matt working all the time... bleh!)

Four minutes to midnight

And I'm finally feeling tired! The time change throws me off SOOO much.

Anyway, I listed my blog at 5 Minutes for Mom and my interview is up for folks to read. Click on the graphic below to go to my interview. Maybe you will learn something about me. :)

I don't like Time Changes...

It throws off my sleep, my daily schedule... It's 8:40 and I'm finally rolling out of bed. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I didn't go to bed until 2am. BUT, how can I go to bed at a 'normal' time when my body thinks it's an hour behind?! GAAH!! I wonder how the grand experiment of starting DST early is going to end up. I think, just for kicks and giggles, next year, we shouldn't even change the clocks. See what THAT does to our energy consumption. I don't like these people playing with my sleep schedule. Aren't there places in Indiana and Arizona that ignore the time change? I'm going there!!! Seriously though, I guess the one bright point of this daylight savings time thing is that it is after 8:30am and Aiden is still asleep, and he even went to bed between 8 and 8:30 last night. He had been waking up earlier and earlier until today. He's sawing logs in his crib right now. :o)

Spring is springing in NC this week. Our high yesterday was in the 70's and this week we are forecast to hit 80! How crazy is that?! Trees are budding, daffodils are past their peak, and my plants are starting to poke their heads out of the soil. I weeded my front flower bed this weekend because they got incredibly out of hand with this warm weather we've had.

I never got to comment on American Idol this week. Oh wow, what a shocker!! I cannot believe that Sanjaya is staying. He has a nice voice, but he is BORING. And I love happy people, but goodness, this guy smiles ALL THE TIME, well except when he's waiting for the results to be read. Then he himself is incredibly surprised that he made it through to the next round. He's overcome with such amazement that even he can't even smile. I'm glad Antonella is gone. She just didn't do very well at all. Her voice in the lower register... nuh uh. She couldn't hit them. I'm quite shocked that she made it as far as she did. And Sabrina going home... while I think she was the better singer over Haley, I'm not surprised in the least. And to be perfectly honest... I VOTED FOR HALEY. I don't know what it was about Sabrina. I just didn't see STAR when she was up on stage. I saw a singing machine, a robot with a good, well trained voice, but she lacked charisma. Now did Haley have that much more personality? No, but for some reason I just liked her more. And her voice isn't bad. I'm eager to see what she does in the coming weeks.

OK, there is my update. And it sounds like I've finished just in time as I hear Aiden singing from his room. :o)

Happy Monday!

Wordless Wednesday #2

This is the story of our lives the past few days... Aiden pushing TRAINS...

View more wordless blog entries at www.wordlesswednesday.com

The Name Game

I saw this on someone else's blog and thought this would be fun, especially since not much thought is involved. I've been on the couch basically since Wednesday afternoon, and I'm finally feeling better today.

Anyway, here's MY name game:

The Name Game

1. YOUR REAL NAME: Catherine Elisabeth

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first three letters of your name, plus izzle): Cat-izzle

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three of your last): C-Kee (ok?)

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and fav animal): Yellow Cat (sounds like an illness you'd catch in the swamp or something, lol)

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, Street you live on): Elisabeth Foxberry (now that sounds like a real soap opera name doesn't it??)

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first name, first 3 letters of mom’s maiden name): Keecast

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (favorite color, favorite drink): Yellow Sweet Tea (I guess I'm superhero that sends her enemies into a diabetic coma with my super sugary sweet iced tea!)

8. YOUR IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of your dad’s middle name, 1st letter of a sibling’s first name, last letter of your moms middle name): Aestfpn - ok that isn't even pronouncable... much like the Iranian president's name... ahmadinejad... I mean Presiden Tom.

9. YOUR STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/body spray): Pink

10. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother & father’s middle name): Ann Fern

If you've read this, you're tagged! Post it on your blog and then leave a note in comments! Thanks for playing! :o)

Update

Just writing something to say I've posted something today...

I felt under the weather today with a headache, fever, chills... I had the same thing a week ago and it was gone by the next day. I hope that's the same story this week. I'm going to bed in a few minutes, to watch American Idol and fall asleep. I had thought of some great tidbits to post about the AI show last night, but my brain just isn't functioning tonight. I'm lucky to be here at the computer. As soon as my tea is finished, I'm hitting the sack!

The train table came today, along with another set of track. The box the track set came in wasn't covered or anything, so Aiden saw exactly what it was. He got all excited, squealing and waving his arms, when he saw it. He was good about us not opening it until later. Matt and I are going to try to get it put together tomorrow night. I'll need to break out the video camera to capture Aiden's reaction to having a full fledged train table with all sorts of friends of Thomas. :o)

Closing to go sip tea and sit on the couch and finish watching Shepard Smith...

Chicken/Shrimp/Pork/Beef Fried Rice

Wonderland Fried Rice © Copyright 2007 Kikkoman International Inc. All Rights Reserved

2 bags Success® White or Brown rice (boil-in-bag)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 C chopped onion
2 eggs, beaten
1 C chooked shrimp or chopped cooked chicken, pork or beef
1 C frozen peas, thawed
1 C diced red bell pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
3 Tbsp Kikkoman Soy Sauce
2 tsp toasted sesame oil, optional

Prepare rice according to package directions; drain. Heat vegetable oil in large skillet or wok. Add onion; sauté 1 minute. Add eggs; scramble. Stir in shrimp, chicken, pork, or beef, peas , bell pepper, garlic powder, rice, soy sauce and sesame oil; heat through.

**I wish I had had some toasted sesame oil. I think it would've been a nice finishing touch, and it would've added more moisture to my rice that was drying out fast in the pan. I also had to guess-timate on the amount of rice as I was using some cooked leftover rice I had (I cooked WAAAAY too much the other day!). Otherwise, YUMMY! Aiden even ate it! I also suggest buying or making some shrimp sauce to go with it. After visiting too many Japanese restaurants, I need the shrimp sauce!!!**

The Week of the Train Table...

We're assuming most of the train table stuff will be coming this week, at least we hope so. Today, we received the second of a number of sets we've won off of Ebay.

The newest friends of Thomas to come to our house are Edward, Lady, Percy, Frank, Wilbert, Bertie, Clarabel, Terance, Toad, Gordon, Henry, Donald, Annie and Clarabel, Daisy, and Harold, along with a number of cars for all of these engines to pull.


We had one potty success this morning! Woohoo!!! Aiden told me he needed to poop, so we went to the bathroom. He peed instead of pooping, but I don't care... after a literal DRY SPELL on the toilet, I was happy to see any type of progress. Of course later in the morning, I caught him in the pooping act and asked him if he wanted to sit on the potty. Bribery, often called a no-no in parenting, I feel, is perfectly acceptable in the realm of potty training, especially if it means I'm not going to be changing yucky diapers anymore. Too bad bribery doesn't usually work with Aiden, as was the case this morning. Promises of treats and stickers didn't influence his pooping location, and he proceeded to poop in his diaper. Of course, after the deed is done, he comes to me BEGGING to sit on the potty. When I tell him he's too late for the potty, he is very sad and protests getting his diaper changed. I see a REALLY long TTT (the toilet training tunnel) ahead of us.

A Jewelry Contest

Hop on over to 5 Minutes for Mom and enter the contest to win this adorable little girl's Easter bracelet from Our 2 Peas in a Pod. They have some super cute designs!!

Just follow the directions for registering for the contest **here**

Thursday Thirteen #12

This is the final official TT! I'm a little bummed to see it go, but many thanks to Leanne for keeping this going for so many weeks... 81 to be exact. Wow that's a long time!!!!

Thirteen Ways to say Goodbye 1. See ya 2. Auf wiedersehen 3. Ciao 4. Despedida 5. Adieu 6. Sayonara 7. Salaam 8. Cheerio 9. Shalom 10. Tot ziens 11. Do svidaniya 12. Ha det 13. Tata



The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!



Wordless Wednesday

Oh, the places finger paint ends up!





















View more Wordless Wednesday participants at www.wordlesswednesday.com

What a fun weekend!

I'm getting an early start to my Monday! I'm sipping some Orange Cappucino (YUM!!). It's been a while since I've had any. I've got my dishwasher running and I'm doing my blog entry for the day. My goal is to be super productive today and get a number of things done.

Our weekends normally always start on Friday, which is SUPER nice. The weekends are still always too short, but I guess they are never as short as the typical two day weekend would seem. Anyway, back to Friday... We all got out of bed a little late, probably around 8:30 or so, we ate breakfast and went to the YMCA that morning. Our only other plans for that day were coming back home, and maybe going out to the grocery store later, and Matt wanted to burn his big pile of sticks from the three trees he cut down last weekend.

We got home from the Y, piddled around for a bit, and then went back out. We made one grocery store stop, then walked through Walmart, then we went to the post office to mail a couple big envelopes, and THEN we headed down to Charlotte to look at some amps/receivers for our surround sound. Poor Matt... he is so torn on replacing our amp/receiver. The center channel doesn't work, and of course the warranty has run out, and of course you can't find anyone who will really work on the brand it is (NAD). We are the best at finding brands most people have never heard of... ever heard of a Venta Airwasher or a Bamix handmixer?? Well, if you haven't, WE HAVE BOTH OF THOSE. Usually, we enjoy using our uncommon brand stuff, but the amp is probably the only thing with which we've had issues.

Our first stop was lunch at Jason's Deli. I love eating there. Matt and I shared a taco salad, and Aiden had a pb&j with a fruit cup and some apple juice. The big kid food is a little expensive, but you get so much. And a meal for the little kids is only like $2, so I really can't complain. They did skimp on Aiden's fruit cup this time though. Aiden had fun with the free ice cream cone too. He put his mini muffin in the top of the cone and ate his muffin cone. He's such a nut!

So we get down to the Tweeter store and Matt takes some time looking at the different models he has in mind. In the meantime, Aiden and I are enjoying watching the HDTV's they have on display. Aiden especially liked the horse race! He also enjoyed watching the BASE jumpers diving off of cliffs. Everytime they jumped off, Aiden would say, "UH OH!!!!" I told him to NEVER do anything like that, at least while I was alive! Matt finished up and we walked out of the store empty handed.

We then ventured through the parking lot to Barnes&Noble (all of these stores are around the mall). I wanted to find a specific book on potty training that I've heard good things about. It's written by Mo Willems (he's written for Sesame Street and also has a ton of other children's books on etiquette, et al). Time to Pee comes with a chart and stickers, and while I could do all this by myself, I thought a NEW BOOK might be just one more tool in my toilet-training arsenal.

Alas, B&N did not have the book I wanted, but Aiden did get some playtime in with the Thomas trainset they had in the kids' section. Which gave us the NEXT idea of heading over to TRU (that's Toys 'R Us for all you non-parental types) to check out train sets and train tables. Though they didn't have what we thought we might be able to get there, that put a wild hair in our hineys for finally working on what we said we were doing for Aiden's Christmas present... a train table! Matt had planned on building the table himself, but after doing some online research, there are some nice tables out there that are reasonably priced, and buying a table takes much less time than building it himself... and Matt is stretched thin with his free time right now. So, we're buying some track sets off of ebay and we're going to find a table, and hopefully in a few weeks, we will surprise Aiden with his super late Christmas present. :o)

We finished up at TRU, headed over to Best Buy to look at their amps. Aiden and I sat on the floor and watched Jewel sing on the HDTV's while Matt shopped. Again, we walked out of the store empty handed. We then came home and made some yummy hamburgers and called it a night.

We got up Saturday, and quite honestly, right now I can't remember how the day started. Matt's intentions for Saturday was to do some more work outside. It was a cool cloudy day and Matt got a decent bit of work done. We decided to have lunch and then take a drive in the new-to-us Volvo, something we haven't done yet, up to the mountains since it was snowing up there. It was a fun drive and the snow in the mountains was beautiful! It really makes us miss our 'home.' We stopped at the original Mast General Store, shopped for a little while, and walked out with a bottle of Burt's Bees Baby Bee Buttermilk Lotion (if you haven't tried Burt's Bees products you should!), a 4-foot stick of beef jerky, a bottle of rootbeer for Matt, a bottle of Cheerwine for me (made with REAL SUGAR and not corn syrup... it makes all the difference!!), and some candy from the candy bins for Aiden. It was beginning to get dark, and it was getting close to suppertime, so we headed back down the mountain, stopped at Ruby Tuesday's for dinner and then came home.

Yesterday was a typical Sunday except we didn't head to Grandma's as she is in Florida for a reunion. It was incredibly windy here yesterday and it's cold this morning (19!). However, we might see 70's later in the week... unbelievable! My daffodils are now blooming too...

Happy Monday!

Thursday Thirteen #11

OK... I've been off count with my TT for quite a number of weeks now. I'm actually at TT #11... I'm such a dork!

**DISCLAIMER: We are only in the beginning stages of potty training. I'm thinking of all the advantages so I can see the light at the end of the toilet training tunnel... the TTT!!**

Thirteen Things that are GREAT about POTTY TRAINING 1. First and foremost, no more diapers. 2. Because you are not buying diapers, you can buy something more useful with that $20 you spend on a box of 96! 3. You have a reason to buy all sorts of stickers! And if you think my childhood sticker obsession is a thing of the past, well, then THINK AGAIN!!! 4. It's one of the few times that bribery is somewhat accepted in parenting. 5. CANDY! A good bribery tool! I can eat it too after I've peed in the potty to demonstrate what my child gets to do after HE pees in the potty. 6. A two-year-old looks cute in Thomas undies! 7. I've gotten over my fear of accidents. I have resigned to the idea that accidents will happen. I refuse to use Pull-ups, Easy-ups, or any of those over commercialized "training pants." It's OK if he pees all over himself... it is "just pee!" How freeing it is to say that! 8. No more hunting for a decent place to change a diaper if you're oot and aboot. 9. No more worrying about your 30-something pound, 3-something foot toddler weighing too much for those diaper changing stations. I would feel really bad if I were the one that broke it! 10. I almost forgot. No more buying wipes either! 11. When potty training is complete, poop will go in the potty and not all over my kid. Poops just get grosser and grosser with age. Gone are those days of the newborn 'cute poop.' 12. I can put another notch on my "I made it through this part of parenting" belt! 13. It means my baby, though he'll always be my baby, is not a baby anymore. He'll be a big kid, and I'm actually looking forward to him growing up.



The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!



Happy Valentine's Day!

Now I have time to finish this post...

This is the front a card that Aiden and I made for Daddy this morning. Aiden helped me glue on the hearts. :o)

I watched my Tivo'd episode of AI this morning. I'm so excited to see who the final 24 will be. I can't remember having someone to root for this early in the season last year, but this year, I'm all over Chris Sligh. He's funny, he's unique, and he has a really good voice that sounds REAL. He's not a machine singing. He sings with his soul and you can hear it when he does. When he first showed up on the show and he said he wanted to make David Hasselhoff cry, I knew EXACTLY what he was talking about (The Hoff was in tears over Taylor's celebratory finale song on last season's AI). He has a quirky sense of humor and he seems like a really down to earth guy. Another plus for him, he's somewhat local. He lists his hometown now as Greenville, SC, though after doing some research on him I've discovered he lived in Europe for a while with his parents. I wonder if he ever thought people would be googling his name like they are right now. Anyway, Chris... as of right now, you're my AI fave!!

Check me out!

It's the Simple Pleasures...

that make me want to wash our bedding every Monday. Yes I'm talking about Downy Simple Pleasures. The lavender and vanilla scent is WONDERFUL. I really think I sleep better on Monday nights due to the clean fresh sheets and the yummy smell.

I keep reading about all these yucky stomach bugs going around and I'm SO thankful we haven't come down with that in our house. I had a yucky dream last night that everyone around me had it, and they ended up giving it to me. I actually dreamed that I THREW UP! How weird is that? Anyway, all the more reason to stay at home this time of year. :o)

There isn't much else going on... I have to figure out dinner tonight. With our lazy day yesterday, Aiden and I invited the Red Baron over for pizza. It's so hard to cook for yourself and a two year old.

Happy Tuesday!


OK, I see it's still putting a border around the picture... I wonder how to make it not show up. Blogger has made it SOOO hard to figure out simple customizations now. New Blogger has some pretty cool features, but I miss my friend OLD BLOGGER. ;o)

I digress...

OK, I found it... OBVIOUSLY! I might learn some CSS after all this!

A New Look!

I think I'm somewhat satisfied with the layout of this template. With a bit of tweaking and learning how to 'hack' the 'easier to use' new Blogger, I'm fairly pleased with how things look around here now.

I just couldn't get things going today. I got sucked into overhauling my blog and doing some other things, my to-do list should've just been thrown out the window. Aiden and I were just lazy bums most of the day. We did go outside this afternoon to get some fresh air as it was in the 60's this afternoon! NICE! We didn't do any school stuff, so I might just go ahead and take this next week off. Lucky for the house, I'm up-to-date on my cleaning, so nothing is really NEEDING to be done with that. It's so nice to stay on top of that and have all the cleaning under control.

The strawberry pie was a hit with Matt, so he has requested another one. It was on the to-do list for today, but it didn't get made. I might work on that this evening. At the very least, it will get done tomorrow.

Today is my parents' 42nd wedding anniversary. What an accomplishment!! :o)

Check out what I made today:






It's my REAL signature! Now I can sign off on my blog entries!

Love, forgiveness, and opening your heart to others

This is something I have been thinking about the past several days.

What good does it bring you to limit to whom you grant forgiveness? What fulfillment does it bring you to only love those who are like you?

Get out of your comfort zone, and offer love and forgiveness to anyone God brings before you.

Matt 5:43-48
43"You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Yay! It's Friday!

The week seems a lot longer when your husband is getting home between 10:30-11:00pm every night Monday through Thursday. It's almost 9:30, and he is still in bed, presumably snoozing, or at least trying to zone out while Aiden is playing noisily. I know he must be exhausted.

Our cats went absolutely crazy this morning. It's been a LONG time since they fought like they did a few years ago. I was scared. I hollared for Matt to come help (he obviously was still in bed), and he broke up the altercation. Poor Aiden was in his bed crying telling me he was scared. The cats were LOUD. Sometimes, the cats drive us absolutely crazy, but I would feel absolutely horrible about giving them away. The thought does still cross my mind though. They are part of our family and they are our responsibility, so we can't just toss them out with the dishwater.

Today we need to go to Sam's and pick up some of our Sam's staples. I should make a list so we don't forget anything. I feel like I'm already forgetting something we need to do today. I love mommy brain, don't you??

Happy Friday

Thursday Thirteen #8

Since Valentine's Day is coming up, this TT will be about my favorite Valentine. :o)

Thirteen Things I Love About My Husband 1. I love how you know the answer to almost everything! 2. I love that you have such a giving spirit. You always do whatever you can to help someone. 3. I love that you know how to cook! I always said growing up that I wanted to marry a man who knew how to cook... and didn't mind doing it! :o) 4. I love that you push me to be the best person I can be. 5. I love that you want me to be REALLY happy. 6. I love that you are my best friend. 7. I love watching you with Aiden. You are a really great father, much better than you give yourself credit for being. 8. I love that you pet my head every night while I'm going to sleep. :o) 9. I love that you work hard to take care of us. I know that being the sole bread winner can be stressful so I really appreciate what a great job you do. 10. I love that nothing intimidates you. 11. I love that you never raise your voice to me. I always said growing up I never wanted to marry a man who would speak disrespectfully towards me. 12. I love your taste in music. I'm glad we can enjoy music together. 13. I love you because you are YOU and noone else.

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Busy Bee

First of all, I want to apologize for the neverending template changes that are going on with my blog right now. Since I switched over to the 'new' Blogger, my old templates didn't use all of the new features, so I'm stuck with generic blogger templates right now. Blah.

I was a busy bee yesterday! I wrote a to-do list Monday evening before going to bed. I got EVERYTHING accomplished that was on my list, and it wasn't short, except for finishing the goodwill donation... that is just an ongoing project. I made the strawberry pie from the recipe I posted yesterday. It's one of my all-time favorite desserts. Aiden had fun sharing squirts out of the whipped cream can!

So, I got brave this morning and put Aiden in underwear. I set the kitchen timer to go off in an hour from the time he got up as he's usually already gone by the time I know he's awake. He stayed completely dry until just about 5 minutes ago, just as the next set of time was up. I hope he noticed that he peed.. I took him to the potty and cleaned him up and said we'll try again later. He was walking rather strangely as we walked to the bathroom, so maybe he will at least feel uncomfortable with the pee soaked underwear. I think it will also help me to see what are his usual 'pee times' for the day, so we can work on getting some successful potty trips under our belt.

It is supposed to be warm today... it is already 51F. We're supposed to make it up to around 60F. We will be spending some time outside later as I need to move/stack wood again.

Now I need to go clean out the fireplace and then vacuum.. then it's lunchtime. I'm already hungry!

Strawberry Pie

1 cup sugar (3 Tbsp. for less thick)
1 cup water
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1 quart strawberries
6 Tbsp. strawberry jello
1 pie shell

Bring to boil first 3 ingredients, then add jello.
Put berries in pie shell. Pour cooked mixture over berries. Chill and serve with whipped cream.

Just when you think you've seen everything...

What on earth is this world coming to? Our kids are going to be like that mean fat kid in the Harry Potter movies with a TV in every room at every viewing angle... This is RIDICULOUS. If you can't control your kids while you go to the grocery store either 1) don't bring them or 2) grow a backbone and discipline your kids.

From NPR.org

Grocery-Cart TV for Kids of Shoppers

Kathy Lohr, NPR

The TV Kart, a grocery cart with television for the toddler crowd, is being test-marketed at an Atlanta grocery store.

All Things Considered, August 30, 2006 · A New Zealand firm is betting on a U.S. market for a shopping cart that lets young children watch videos while their parents shop. Shaped like a car, the Cabco cart rents for $1, part of which goes to retailers like Wal-Mart and Publix, who are testing their popularity. Child-development experts are wary, but Cabco says offering customers the carts can add as much as $100,000 to a store's receipts.

A Nice Weekend

Saturday morning, we took our pizza stone (we only use it for cooking pizzas) and the Red Baron out to Nana Ardie's for lunch. Matt worked on the lights in the barn for a little bit and then did some chainsawing on some trees/branches and stuff. It was cold and too windy for Aiden to be outside, so I stayed in and played the Wii. My arm is sore from too much tennis and power bowling. I did knock down 78 pins at once! The Wii is so much fun!!

We left Aiden to spend the night so Matt and I could go to the fire department dinner. We stuffed ourselves silly on prime rib, steak, baked potatoes, salad, and all sorts of yummy desserts! They had door prizes and Matt and I both were fortunate to win some useful prizes. My ticket won a gift certificate to Walmart, which promptly was used the next day to buy some diapers. And Matt won a gift certificate to one of our local hardware stores. He says he'll use it to buy a sledgehammer to use for splitting the BIG logs that are out in the backyard. The go-devil is just not heavy enough to get through the wood. He needs more mass, so with his accelearation, his swing will provide greater force... Force=mass*acceleration. OK, physics lesson is over for today.

We watched the Superbowl last night. Aiden stayed up for almost the entire game, but he didn't sleep any later this morning! He didn't get to bed until almost 10, and he was up by 7. I hope he takes a nice nap today. We also need to get ourselves to the Y this week. Aiden's nose isn't nearly as runny now, so I think we are safe to go. Also, my toe isn't hurtins nearly as much now, so I'm safe to walk on it now.

I hear my washing machine beeping at me. Time to put in the next load of sheets. I bought some Vanilla and Lavender Downy Simple Pleasures to use on our bedding. It will make our sheets smell super yummy!

Show me your teeth!

Matt and I had dentist appointments this morning. No cavities to report, though we are planning on having Matt's wisdom teeth removed sometime this year, and I need a root canal on a tooth I have had problems with in the past (some sort of degenerative problem... not because of decay from a cavity).

Aiden stayed in the room with us the entire time and enjoyed watching Mommy and Daddy get their teeth cleaned. When it was my turn (Matt went first), Aiden sat in my lap and got to experience Mr. Thirsty (the suctioner) and the air/water gun. We showed him how the gun squirted water in a cup, and then we used Mr. Thirsty to suck the water out of the cup. Aiden then let us do it in his mouth. At first he was uncomfortable with the sound the suctioner made, but he got used to it. Rhonda, our hygienist, also looked in his mouth with her mirror and he was very comfortable with everything. I do hope that by taking these steps, I don't have a kid who is uncomfortable with going to the dentist.

After the dentist, we stopped by our Edward Jones office, but our guy wasn't there to talk with so we left. We then hit our favorite resale and picked up a few things for Aiden. We can usually find really nice gently worn clothes for a very reasonable price. We've been visiting that store since before Aiden was born. They have a great maternity section too. I always look forward to going in the store to see what good deals I can find.

Matt was able to come home early yesterday because of a cancelled meeting at work due to the weather. It is nice that he is able to come and go as he needs, (for the most part) and it's super nicer that he's able to be off on Fridays. It makes it much easier to get things done on the weekend, and it's super nice for doctor's appointments and such.

Tomorrow night we have a steak dinner for the fire department for whom Matt volunteers. Ardie will be watching Aiden and he will spend the night. It'll be nice to have a little break from being Mommy and Daddy and we can be Cat and Matt again. ;o)

Happy Friday. Have a nice weekend!

Thursday Thirteen #7.. I think??

Thirteen Things I Love about being a Mom

1. I love that I am the love of my child's life.
2. I love watching him grow. It's so hard to imagine this walking, talking being came out of me as just a peeing and pooping blob... ;o)
3. I love feeling NEEDED.
4. I love that being a mom has brought another meaning to my life. I can do great and beautiful things here in the comfort of my own home. I don't have to go out in the world to prove myself.
   
5. I love to play with all his toys!
6. I love being the one he rests his head on when he is tired or sad.
7. I love reading books with him, and I love watching him 'read' his books.
8. I love that I'm 'in love' with my child. It didn't start out that way for me... I had rough end to my pregnancy which led to PPD.
9. I love how he kisses me, with his sweet little pucker.
10. I love that my child brought out a passion in life I never thought I would have.
11. I love being able to tickle someone and he actually really enjoys it! :o) He always asks for more tickles!
12. I love seeing my child's face light up over something so simple. Who would've thought about the delight a squirrel running up a tree can bring to a child? Aiden goes nuts over squirrels.
13. And best of all - I love to see him with his daddy.
    

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Snow!

I see flakes coming down right now, and our back porch has probably a 1/4 inch of snow on it. This is the most snow we've seen in two years.. I can't wait to get Aiden up to take him out in it. We have to do it this morning though, because it's supposed to turn ICY later today... YUCK!

I'm sipping on some hot chocolate with some yummy whipped cream on top (I don't have any marshmallows!). Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Tomorrow we have dentist appointments. I'm excited to see what Aiden thinks this time. He doesn't have a real appointment, but we will see if he'll sit in the chair and let the dentist look inside his mouth.

I hope I can be somewhat productive today. Mom's never get a day off do they?

Happy Snowy Thursday!

Working Wednesday

My to-do list for today:

1. Clean up the kitchen from last night's quesadillas - (poor Matt had dinner at 10:30
2. Fold towels from last night's laundry session.
3. Vacuum floors.
4. Clean bathrooms.
5. Bring wood up to the house - (so we have enough to last us through Friday or so. Ice is forecast for tomorrow).
6. Start clothes laundry.
7. Work on my Goodwill donation.

And, Aiden peed on the potty AGAIN last night! Go Aiden! I went to change him before bed and noticed his diaper was dry, so I asked him if he wanted to go potty. He said "Okay," in his little 'okay' voice (if you've heard him say 'okay' you know what I'm talking about). Within 30seconds to a minute I hear a little tinkle! I'm so glad he seems to finally be understanding what he's supposed to do on the toilet.

Off to fold some towels and wait for Aiden to wake up.

Have a great Wednesday!

Ultimate Chicken Quesadillas

These are always a hit with the Keene's. If we have leftover tortillas, we take the rest of the cheese and make plain cheese quesadillas, which are great for snacking on with some good chunky spicy salsa!

Recipe is © 2003 ConAgra Foods.

Ingredients

	PAM® Original No-Stick Cooking Spray
12	ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2" chunks
1	can (10 ounces) Ro*Tel® Mexican Festival Diced Tomatoes with Lime Juice and Cilantro
1	cup shredded Monterey jack cheese, (4 ounces)
1	cup shredded Cheddar cheese, (4 ounces)
4	(10-inch) flour tortillas

Directions Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Cook chicken and tomatoes over medium heat about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, or until chicken is no longer pink and liquid is evaporated. Set aside. Meanwhile, blend cheeses together and set aside. Place tortillas on flat surface. Spread equal portions of chicken mixture over half of each tortilla within 1-inch of edge. Top each with 1/2 cup cheese blend. Fold other half tortilla over filling to close. Clean skillet; coat again with cooking spray. Cook quesadillas over medium high heat about 3 minutes on each side, or until crisp and browned. Cut into wedges and serve.

© 2003 ConAgra Foods, Inc. Ro*tel is a registered trademark of ConAgra Brands, Inc. All rights reserved.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

OK, the good news for yesterday. One more potty success under our belts. Aiden peed on the potty before naptime yesterday. Go Aiden! Now to get him more encouraged to use the potty...

Now, the bad news. I was moving the couch in the living room yesterday afternoon to make room for setting up the 'studio' to do some pics of Aiden. I slid the couch over my big toe on my right foot and bent it backwards to about 1/3 of the way down. Oh it was so painful and it bled and bled... YUCK!! It feels better today, the nail isn't off, it actually flipped back to it's normal position I guess when I pushed the couch off of my toe. But, I can tell that it is loose on top when I walk. It's so weird feeling. I'll be glad when I don't have to think about it anymore.. UGH!

Aiden is doing a bit better today. Still a bit whiny and cranky, but does seem to be in a little bit better sprits. He's in bed right now talking up a storm; I was hoping he would've taken a nap. Oh well!

Rest time is almost over. We are having quesadillas tonight for dinner so I need to do some prep work, and I also need to do my Tuesday cleaning.

Happy Tuesday.

Keeping up with keeping warm!

It got pretty chilly here in NC last night. The lowest I saw our thermometer go was 16. We had a fire going last night in the fireplace and when I woke up this morning around 6:30, the fire was out and our heatpump was working hard. I've been busy this morning keeping logs on the fire keeping the fire going. The poplar wood we're burning right now just burns too fast for these cold days! It's just at 11am and we are finally up to 25! Our wood burning adventure is certainly having an impact on our heating bill. Our bill was much lower for last month than it was at the same time last year when we were heating soley with the heat pump.

I came down with a little headcold last week and now Aiden seems to have come down with it. We tried to do a little 'schooling' this morning, but Aiden wanted nothing to do with it. So, right now he's lounging on the couch watching The Jungle Book (the theme for this week is the jungle). I've been bee-bopping around the house straightening things, putting things away, doing the Monday laundry and tidying up the kitchen.

I'm in the process of doing an inventory of all the clothes I removed from my closet on Saturday. I decided to pull out things I had not worn in a year and stuff that I didn't anticipate to be wearing within the next year. I pulled out so many clothes, but it didn't seem to make that much of a difference in my closet! It still seems as full as ever. As soon as I'm finished, I will take everything down to Goodwill. I just hope I can get the huge 42 gallon bag of clothes in the car! :o)

Back to tidying up the house, then lunch time. I'm not sure what is for dinner tonight as Matt will probably not be home for dinner (class for his fire stuff).

Bisquick Alternative

I saw this in the Feb 07 issue of Southern Living. So long Bisquick pancakes!

Pancake Mix
makes 6 cups
prep: 10min

6 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. salt

Stir together all ingredients in a large bowl; store in a zip-top plastic bag up to 6 weeks.

Back home

Aiden and I returned home today from a trip 'home.' It's funny... no matter how long I have not lived there, I still call my parents' house home. Though it doesn't feel as much like home as it used to be. It is good to be back in my current home. I look forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight, and I'm sure Aiden will be glad to be out of the Pack 'n Play!

We went home on Saturday to miss some wintry weather that MIGHT have happened on Sunday afternoon (our original plan was to drive Sunday afternoon). Of course it ended up being just a cold rain on Sunday, but I was glad to be able to spend the extra time at home. We had a nice visit. I was able to bring Grandma/Lois along for the ride and she stayed with one of her friend's from 'home' too. I know she enjoyed visiting with her friends.

Mom and I drove over to the dealership Monday morning to leave the Volvo. We had to get the sunroof repaired as it was not functioning properly when we bought it. No, we did NOT pay for this service. We had a "We Owe" list from the dealership and I made sure those things were fixed before we drove off the lot again on Tuesday.

Aiden had an absolute blast with Gramma and Poppa. He adores his Poppa, especially because he gives him TREATS! Aiden knows where the cookie and candy jars in my parents' house and is always buttering up Poppa to get his hands on some goodies!

I've already unpacked everything and even gotten a load of laundry started. I'm now just waiting on Matt to get home so we can have breakfast for dinner. Blueberry pancakes are on the menu for tonight! Yum!!

Sleeping In

So after 4 days of getting up in the pre-dawn hours, Matt, Aiden and I slept in this morning until after 8. It was nice, though it was needed. Matt and I were up late last night. Matt was out on a fire call late, and I stayed up to wait for him.

I am planning a trip home Sunday, but I'm anxious about the weather. As of right now, no one is certain whether this will be a big ice storm, or if it is just going to be cold rain. We have an appointment to get the sunroof fixed on the new Volvo on Monday (that is the main reason for the trip home). I guess everything hinges on what the weather is like Sunday morning. I do want to leave here in time to be at my parent's before dark. I despise driving at night now for some reason.

On the agenda today, I need to get a few loads of laundry done, and we are going to go run a few errands. The house is in good shape for me to be gone a few days next week. I might leave a 'honey-do' list of things for Matt to do if he is able, just to help me keep on track!

Time to get ready to run our errands, and we're going to have lunch at the new KFC in town. It has a buffet! Yum!

Whilst the floor dries...

... I shall construct my blog entry for the day...

I am taking a break from my mopping. I despise mopping. I actually enjoy cleaning toilets more than mopping... OK, cleaning OUR own toilets... I would never want to have to clean someone else's toilet, or a public toilet.. ewwww. I apologize for my digression... Meanwhile back at the barn...

Our winter weather event was a complete and utter BUST! There's a little bit of ice out on our front steps, and a tiny layer of ice on the trees, but that is it! I miss the snow! Aiden has YET to go out and play in the snow. The last time we saw any significant snowfall was March of 2004. I was pregnant, and I know we got almost a foot. I would love to see some snow like that now. Not just for me, but for Aiden, because I KNOW he would just love it. He's always loved outdoors.

Oh well, I will sit around and hope for snow at a later date. It will probably snow in April, after all the spring flowers have bloomed.

I just want some snow! It's not like I live in Florida.

Flock of seagulls

Aiden went to bed last night with partially wet hair, and this morning it looks as if a flock of seagulls has landed on his head. I don't even know if it's possible to fix without dunking his whole head again.

So far today I have washed the dishes, done several loads of laundry and vacuumed the house. All that is left to do today is clean the bathrooms. And there are enough leftovers in the fridge that I do not have to cook dinner tonight, or tomorrow night either.

The forecast for tomorrow is ICY. I hope we don't get a lot. Luckily it's supposed to get above freezing tomorrow afternoon so that is good. I'd much rather have a bunch of snow than ice. It's pretty to look at, but it can be so dangerous. I am sooooo glad that Matt cut down the trees that are closest to the house. I have no more fears of huge branches crashing down on the roof.

Time to figure out lunch...

Winter returns today

We hit our high for today this morning I think. At 8am it was 60 degrees. At 10:30 now, it's 56, and the temperature is just expected to plummet this afternoon. Matt had to go out in the dark last night and move wood from the wood pile to right outside the garage for us to use in the fireplace. The firewood has definitely helped our heating bill so far this winter. We use our fireplace for the coldspells we get and it heats our whole house. Rarely does our heat turn on if we are keeping up with the fire in the woodburner. Best of all, it's nice warm heat, unlike the 'cold heat' of the heat pump! BAH!

Today, I need to make some ham and vegetable soup. I soaked my beans overnight, and I figure a little later, I'll get the soup going in the crockpot. I'm almost all caught up on laundry now too. I got my 15 gazillion loads put away yesterday. Today I'm only washing towels and maybe another extra load to keep ahead of the game.

I started a little morning 'preschool' routine with Aiden yesterday. Of course I do hope he gets something out of it, but I'm also doing this to work with him on actually sitting still and learning. I try to get about 20-30 minutes of his undivided attention, focusing on specific tasks, such as coloring or doing worksheets, a craft, etc. The blog junkie I am, I started another blog to help me journal what we work on each day. You can watch our progress at teachingmykid.blogspot.com

Aiden is watching Sesame Street right now, but my tummy (and his!) is telling me it's time for a snack. Then it's time for my Tuesday dusting.

Have a great day!

Is it January, or is it spring?

Daffodils are blooming here. I looked out at our neighbor's yard yesterday, and my eye was caught by the bright yellow daffodils that have already made their appearance this year. Some trees are budding too. The mercury is supposed to be falling this week, however, and we'll be having highs in the 40's and 50's again instead of highs in the 70's. It's 8am right now and it is 61 outside. This winter has been crazy!

Twinings tea was on sale at the grocery store yesterday (a box of 20 bags for $2.00) so I picked up some Earl Grey (my FAVE) and some Darjeeling. I have quite the tea collection in my cupboard now. Everytime I pull the 'hot beverage' drawer out of the cupboard, my eyes get wide with excitement over the plethora of teas and coffees I have to choose from.

I'm waiting on Aiden to wake up.. he's been sleeping in until 8:30 - 9:00 in the mornings! The afternoon nap is fewer and farther between than ever before, so I guess he's needing all of this extra sleep at night. He did ask to take a nap yesterday, and he actually went to sleep. I was very surprised. I had to wake him up at 5 so he would be ready to eat dinner at 6:00.

I have a mountain of clean laundry to put away today, as well as my Monday tasks. Luckily, Matt helped me get caught up on a lot of stuff inside this weekend when we had the chance, so I'm not dealing with a train wreck in the house today. I love my husband. He's so good to me!

Off to get out of my pj's and put on some clothes. Happy Monday!

Yearly Resolves

I normally am not one to make New Year's resolutions. However, 14 days into 2007, I have decided that I should at least attempt a few little overhauls into a few aspects of my life.

Firstly, I need to read my Bible more. Too often life gets busy, complicated, what have you, and things get pushed aside. I'm afraid to admit that too many times, this is one thing that gets pushed aside that shouldn't ever be.

Secondly, I desperately need to get back into my weekly household chores routine. With all of the photo sessions I allowed myself to take on last fall, the cleaning routine went down the drain. So, Accountability Partner, if you are reading this, help me get back on track! Accountability Partner, you know who you are!

The last resolve is a fun one! I really want to work on my photography skills this year. I want to be unique. I want to have a definite style. I want people to see my photos and say "WOW!" I want to take my time at taking on clients this year and really focus on my skills. I'm ready to crank the photography thing up another notch!

Potatoes are in the oven, ribeyes marinating and will soon go on the Egg. Now I need to pick out a vegetable for dinner.

Tomorrow morning is back to the old grindstone! I'm looking forward to accomplishing my Monday goals.

To Do List... Ugh!

This is what I NEED to accomplish today.

1. Clean up the kitchen... I should be so ashamed.. ;)
2. Get unpacked from this weekend.
3. Start working on the laundry.
4. Vacuum up pine needles.
5. Put the furniture back to pre-Christmas tree positions.
6. Quick mop the tile floors.

That doesn't seem that bad or overwhelming. We have a birthday party at 3pm to attend, so I need to get this stuff done!

Have a great Tuesday!

Our New Ride

We are the proud new owners of a 2001 Volvo XC70. Oh, it is so nice to have a car with all the bells and whistles again. We spoiled ourselves with the 03 Jetta, and you get used to all of the fancy gadgets and gizmos. And while I did not mind driving the BIG truck around, it is nice to have a normal sized car so I don't have to worry about getting myself into a pickel with the truck (I've been known to do 25pt turns to get the truck out of parking lots because I was worried about backing up with the truck!).

We had a nice weekend with the parents. We were at my parents' house on Friday. Matt and my dad got two small trees cut. It was a rainy day, so they didn't get as much accomplished as they would've liked. Then we went car shopping that afternoon, when the sun came out. Then we headed to Matt's dad's to spend the night and help them with their move on Saturday. We ended up at the car dealer late afternoon on Saturday, and we were there until 6:30! I thought we'd never get finished. We drove back home yesterday and I got to drive the new-to-us Volvo part of the way home. SOOOOOOO NICE. :) I'm looking forward to driving it to the grocery store this morning!!

Oh, after months of chewing on his hands, we've finally discovered the fruit of Aiden's labors. One of his molars has finally poked through. He'll be eating more steak than he already does ;).

The Return of Thursday Thirteen

I figured I should resurrect the old faithful Thursday Thirteen.

I'll reminisce and think back on the past year. Here are accomplishments and thoughts from 2006.

Thirteen Things about 2006 1. My last grandparent passed away. :( 2. Matt and I celebrated our 3rd year of marriage! 3. Aiden turned 2! 4. We travelled to many places I had never been before in the Northeast US. 5. I got my camera which I LOVE! (Canon 30D) 6. I dabbled in portrait photography, taking on quite a few clients in the fall. 7. I've made quite a few new friends this year. 8. I've caught up with a few OLD friends this year too! :) 9. We didn't have to wait in line to get to the top of the Empire State Building. 10. I spent Christmas in Florida for the first time. It didn't feel like Christmas. 11. I can almost carry on a conversation with Aiden now. 12. We took Aiden on his first train rides. 13. I think I've gotten a lot better at cooking! :)

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My Christmas Tree

It is still up. I always get sad about taking down all of the Christmas decorations. Christmas is such a special time of year, and then all of a sudden it's over!

Of course, in older times, and in other churches, Christmas actually ends on January 6th, the Day of Epiphany. Also the Twelve Days of Christmas arguably should occur between December 26 and January 6. Here is an interesting article, with links to other articles about the Twelve Days of Christmas.

Of course, in reality, it doesn't matter WHEN Christmas is celebrated. Christmas should be something we think of 365 days a year. Without Christ's birth, there would be no eternal life and no hope for the future. We should celebrate Christ's birth everyday.

We head to the mountains this weekend. Matt is helping my dad cut down some more trees, and then we are helping Matt's dad with their move. I will miss my bed! Hopefully the weather will be nice so we can get outside and enjoy the mountain air!

Have a great weekend!

It's so nice to be home!

We had a great time in Florida. Aiden did lots of playing on the beach, and we enjoyed our relaxation while there. I did have some sort of virus on Christmas day and the day after, so those days I spent in bed, but luckily that bug didn't stay around too long.

While in Florida, we managed to make our usual lunch trip to The Columbia at St. Armand's. We ordered our usual 1905 Salad with the Original Cuban Sandwich. This time, we bought a cookbook from the restaurant, so now I can attempt to recreate the salad at home.

We also made a trip down to the Everglades. We stopped by Clyde Butcher's Gallery and picked up one of his books. His photographs are amazing. The next time we are in Florida, I want to stop by his Venice gallery and do the dark room tour. He does his own enlarging in his dark room. His enlargements are up to 5x9 FEET! HUGE photographs. I'd love to see how these prints are actually made.

Though it is nice to get away and have a change of scenery, it is so nice to be home. I miss my bed when we are away the most. There is nothing like being at home in your own bed. :)

Today, life gets back to normal. I go back to taking care of a few clients orders, and taking care of the house... we're still not settled back in from the trip and the holidays. Matt is back at work today. I have a pork roast I need to cook for dinner tonight. I need to get on the ball and decide how I'm going to prepare it.

Coffee is gone.. must close and get some more!