We're all about family!

Yummy Cheesecake!

2010-11-28T13:12:00.000-08:00

As some of you know that I've been doing a weight loss challenge for the last 8 weeks through NW Nutrition, a friends company and it's been going great. Last week at class we got a couple recipes that I've tried and thought I would pass along. One is for the best cheesecake ever...seriously (I didn't even know I liked cheesecake). I think that they got it from Chuck's produce (I didn't know they had recipes)...anyhow I hope you enjoy.

The New Cheesecake

2 cups low fat (2%) small curd cottage cheese

8 ounces light cream cheese or fat free

3 eggs

1 cup sugar or sugar substitute (ie Stevia)

1 Tablespoon Vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons strained lemon juice

Equipment:

One 8" cheese cake pan or eight or nine 4 or 5 ounce souffle or custard cups.

Instructions:

1. Position rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 350'. Put a kettle of water on for Step 4.

2. Process cottage cheese in a food processor for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes, or until silky smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. Set aside.

3. In a small microwave safe bowl, soften the cream cheese on high for about 30 seconds in microwave. Stir until smooth, scrape into the processor. Add the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. Pulse until incorporated and perfectly smooth. Do not over process. Pour into cheesecake pan or divide evenly into cups.

4. Slide oven rack way out. Place the cheesecake pan or custard cups in a badking dish and set on oven rack. (I used a cookie sheet) Carefully pour boiling water around the pan to a depth of about 1 inch. Slide oven rack in gently to avoic sloshing water. (I spilled a little of my hot water into the cheesecake...so be careful during this step)

Bake cheesecake until it has puffed up and risen slightly and is just beginning to shinrg from the edges of the pan, about 40 to 45 minutes. (25 to 30 minutes for cups)

Remove cheesecake from water bath and cool on a rack. When completely cool, cove rand chill for at least 12 hours or up to 2 days before serving.

Nutrition info: (if you use the light cream cheese and the real sugar)

Calories per serving: 204

Fat: 7.4

Protein: 10.7

Carbs: 24

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-21T18:11:00.001-07:00

Friendship

2010-09-26T12:44:00.001-07:00

I just read the book, The Girls From Ames; a recommendation from my friend Christy Wagener. I thought it was a great book, and it reminded me of all my friends from high school who I truly view as my closest friends. So here's to all of you (because you're the only ones that read my blog anyway). I love you Megs, Christy Wagener, Ambs, Saah, Kymmy, Pie, Kath, and Joc. I love our friendships and am thankful to have you all in my life.

My boy

2010-07-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Andrew and I spent some time looking at pictures of when he was a baby. It brought back so many memories, things you forget about in your day to day. So here are a few pics of my baby boy. I am such a lucky mama.

Tae Kwon Do & Lolo

2010-07-24T16:34:00.000-07:00

Andrew started Tae Kwon Do this week, and let's just say it's super cute.
He probably understood about 10% of what he was supposed to do...but still so cute. I think I like the uniform best of all. He did get to break a board though (he was super excited). I got the pics in the wrong order...but you get it.
The pic is of his individual lesson; and now he's in his Tiny Tigers class. It's great.

On another note: Lauren is officially potty trained. She's done so well. I look back and read my post and think, "Why was I so worried?" She has grown up so much in the last two months. She gave her binky to the babies and is potty trained. I think my house is officially empty of babies and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

PS-I'm not happy about how the pics are in this order and not where I want them to be but I don't have time to deal.

Yes, I'm updating.

2010-07-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

I know.
I know.
I know.
Get over it, I'm finally posting again. (At this point no one may be reading because it's been so long they don't check to see if I've posted...but whatever I'm moving on)

As I sit and type I'm in Sunriver Oregon. It's beautiful outside, warm and lovely. And yet I'm inside with my daughter, who I am ATTEMPTING to potty train. Now don't get me wrong we've been outside on the deck and inside but I HAVEN'T LEFT THE HOUSE. My husband is out and about. I am not. And you may ask how is it going? Well let me tell you; not well. I'm 1 for 4. Right. The one success we had today was actually number 2. (I know a lot of details) The other 4 fails have all been pee. I'm pondering the should I give it up question. Not so sure at this point. What I do know is that come September she needs to be potty trained because I've paid for pre-school and she HAS to be potty trained. I'm trying not to freak out. My new mantra is who cares if she pees or poops her pants? I don't. Then the minute she does I seem to care.

On to other topics that I don't "care" about. My son Andrew. Oh my how he's getting so big. This morning he had his first tennis lesson, he'll be doing swimming lessons on his own this summer, VBS at church, and starting on a soccer team in the fall. What's happening? It's like he's reached the age where he can do things on his own. In some ways I'm so thankful and in some ways it makes me sad. To be honest at this point though I'm pretty thankful, because he seems to need my attention all the time. When he's at camps, playing, swimming, etc someone else can give him their attention for a minute and give me a break. We've started a new rest time system and it's worked for the last 7 days (yes I'm counting). He spends 1/2 hour in the play room quietly playing, the next 1/2 hour he can have a video of some kind. He gets one pass to get up and talk to me. He can use the pass whenever he wants, but once he uses it that's it. If he's able to do this he earns a sticker. After 5 stickers he gets some kind of special treat, the first success was ice cream with him and I. (Special treat for mommy too). We happened to be in Sunriver so we went to Goodies. Oh so yummy. This seems to be working well, and I get one hour of time to myself. One whole hour. Hold your applause.

As for Nick, he's busy busy at work. He's still working even though we're on vacation. That's why I have this computer right now. Thanks BCI. He's been working out pretty hard, thinking about a bike race in August and one in October. We're celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary this Friday the 9th. It's my year to plan it (I have even years he has odd). Not sure what we'll do yet, I have a few ideas but am open to suggestions. I think we're going to have the whole day/evening because he'll still be on vacation. We'll have the kids for the morning and then my mother-in-law will be taking them. (Thank you Kathy) Suggestions?

Lastly, I've been running quite a bit with a friend. I'm contemplating a 1/2 marathon at the end of July and one in October. Not too sure. Today I ran and thought I might die after 4 miles so that's not a good sign for a 1/2. We'll see. It's good for me to have a goal to look forward to. In other random news I'm thinking about going to my natural hair color; with a few highlights. For those that know me well (and I'm hoping that's anyone that reads my blog) I haven't had my natural hair color since I was 13. Yes, I did type that correctly. I'm not quite sure what I want to do. Right now my hair is looking fairly crappy because it's been forever since I colored it (trying to save money) and thought I could stretch it out. WRONG. So now the question is, what to do. I've seriously thought about emailing my hair dresser all my thoughts so that when I go in next week we don't have to spend too much time talking. Obsessed much Lindsey? And as I've been at church lately I've realized I have a very controlling personality and am trying to work on not always having a system. Not sure how it's going considering all the controlling things within this one post.

Well for those of you that wanted it, there it is. An update. Aren't you glad you spent time reading this. Oh and I think I have an addiction to Facebook. With that, goodnight all.

Our new house!

2010-04-18T13:02:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally getting around to posting a picture of our new house. We love it. We are finally beginning to feel like it's our home. We feel very blessed and thankful to have a house. One of these days we may get around to having a house warming party...but stop on by if you're in the neighborhood. By the way our neighborhood is Deer Creek in Camas.

This is for the moms out there.

2009-12-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays. This will be my Christmas Card this year...you can probably figure out why. I'll plan on sending out a we've moved card when we finally get our new house. For now, sit back and enjoy the story.

Here's a little background for you before the story I believe it will help you feel sorry for me so I want you to know before the story begins. Yesterday Lauren had a doctor appointment for her ears at 4pm in Vancouver near our old house. Now I've been to this doctor several times, so I knew that when the appointment was at 4, that really meant more like 4:30pm if we were lucky. It's two parts; hearing test and then see the doctor to discuss results. I had worked all day. (yes it's Christmas break...teachers still work because we have too much to do!) The kids had been at daycare, and it was a decent day. Did I mention I live in Gresham with my in-laws? That will be important for the story.

When I picked Andrew up I could tell he was tired, it was 3:40pm and he had no nap. Lauren had just had a big poopie diaper according to our daycare provider and was ready to go. I'm thinking okay we're set. As I was putting Lauren in the car he was playing in the side gravel drive (he's never done that before). When it was time for him to get in the car he came running and I thought no big deal. We headed off. Things were going well, we were on time and all was good.

About 7 minutes before getting to the doctor Andrew informs me he has poop on his hand and his shoe...hmmm how is this possible? I was driving on the highway so as he's FREAKING out I say, we'll take care of it when we get to the doctor, just hang on. We sing a few songs and he manages to calm down. When we get to the doctor I pull a wipe out and sure enough there's poop on Andrew's hand and ALL over the bottom of his shoe. Awesome. I calmly clean it up and tell him not to touch anything until I say it's okay. We get Lauren out and head into the doctor.

After we check in we promptly go into the bathroom where I make Andrew scrub his hands for 5 minutes. At this point I'm thinking okay, this isn't the end of the world. I'm just sweating a little...I'm handling it. I pick up Lauren and carry her back to the waiting room and as I do I feel her do a big pooh in her diaper. Okay. I can handle it.
She's been having a little trouble lately so I give her about 10 more minutes to make sure she's done. Sure enough she has a few more moments to fill her diaper. I think okay, I'll wait to change it when we get back to our private room.

I grab the diaper bag and go through it to find a diaper and the wipes. And then I realize...NO DIAPERS. That's right, none. Fantastic. I'm now sweating copious amounts. I have no diapers, it's 4:15pm and we haven't even been seen by the hearing test doctor, and we live in GRESHAM. Did I mention that? That means that it's going to take me about 40 minutes to get home. Okay what am I going to do? I'm beginning to smell Lauren in the waiting room as I'm sure everyone else is.

Quickly I think I'll call Krathbu because her mom's in town and I know she has diapers. So I give her a call, her mom is out running errands. Of course she is. However...Krathbu told me she had been gone awhile so she expected her soon. She told me she would call as soon as she got home. Okay, I tell the receptionist that a friend will be bringing me a diaper and could she please bring it to me ASAP if I'm back with the doctor. She smiles and says sure...I'm sure she was thinking good grief lady what is wrong with you?

We get called back for the hearing test. As we're getting ready for it, my phone rings. There's krathbu. We do the test, and I go back out to the waiting room call katie and she's on her way. Thank you Lord! Seriously. Luckily she came while I was still waiting to see the doctor. So then I was able to change Lolo as soon as we got back to our private room. She only had to sit in it for about 40 minutes. Nice.

During the visit with the doctor the kids were eating gold fish because it's 5pm and they haven't had a snack since lunch. I'm eating them as well. :) The bad news about 3 fell on the ground. One which Andrew ate off the ground after I told him not to in front of the doctor. The other two made it into the trash, where my daughter proceeded to take one out of the garbage and eat it as I'm trying to talk to the doctor. Seriously. Seriously. The man probably thought oh lady good luck to you.

That's about where the evening ended. To be totally honest I stayed very calm, did not get angry, did not yell, did not cry, did not freak out. Pretty good for me I would say. I owe a HUGE thanks to Katie for rescuing me and bringing me diapers in the mist of your own chaos. Oh my. Good times. Happy Holidays to you all. Love ya!

Changes are here

2009-10-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile. I check my blog everyday to see if people have posted. I realized that the toilet is probably getting old to look at. I thought it might be time for an update. I don't have pictures to post...need to get better at that. If you're interested in what's new with us, keep reading. If not well...pics to come soon...for now enjoy.
Well we're moving...in with my in-laws. Our house has sold and we have to be out by the end of the month. Today we began the momentous task of packing. I can't say we got to far, considering we got about 2 boxes done. We did some really good talking about it though. I think somewhere down the road we'll be close to putting this whole thing into action.
We've got an offer on a house but it's a short sale. If you're familiar with this you'll know that it can be quite a long process. We're not exactly sure what to expect, but we're hoping that we'll know some answers sooner rather than later. The house is down the street from where we live now. It would be really great to get the extra space. It needs new flooring throughout and paint. I would love to do the counter tops, landscape, and built in bookshelves all at the same time-but we're not made of money. And it doesn't grow on trees.
The kids are doing great. Andrew is in Montessori school here in Vancouver, and it's so wonderful. We went to a parent night last week and learned about his day, and the philosophy behind the education. We are so happy with his teacher and he seems to be adapting to his new surroundings. He still cries everyday that I drop him off, but his teacher has assured me he stops crying quickly. He's been invited to a birthday for a boy in his class next week and he's quite excited about going.
When asked what he wants to be for Halloween he's decided Sammy Stroughter. For those of you who don't know anything about this-my son thinks he is Sammy Stroughter. Sammy is currently in his first season as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer. He graduated from Oregon State last year. So we're in the market for a football helmet. He pretty much has the other gear necessary. His papa has supplied him with quite a few OSU football jerseys.
Lauren is getting quite big. She's grown up so much it makes me sad. She loves to sing Baa Baa Black Sheep and Itsy Bitsy Spider. She'll tell you which one she wants and if you sing the wrong one she yells at you until you stop. She's a complete reader. She'll read alone or with you, I don't really think she has a preference. The other day we noticed she shut herself in her bedroom. We finally opened the door about 15 minutes later and we found her in her tent, with her head on her pillow reading a book quietly to herself. She's quite independent like that. (And I love her for it.) As I'm typing now she's thumbing through a dinosaur book (and Andrew is playing football of course).
Lauren has her doctor appointment for her 18 month check next week. It's late due to some miscommunication between me and the Dr. office ( I blame them). She is very sure of what she wants. She will tell you with her words if she can. She's trying very hard to talk with us...but many things sound alike. She loves to sing her ABCs. Not too many of the letters sound right, but she has the rthym and tone correct for the whole song. Our daycare provider likes to call her Bossy Bessy (in the most loving way), Lolo likes to have control over things and people everywhere she goes. I blame Nick.
I'm excited fall is here, but a little sad because I can't decorate my house the way I usually do. I'm also feeling a little sad because I don't know if I'll have Thanksgiving and Christmas in my own house...but I feel very lucky that we have a place to live and that we'll hopefully be getting into a great home.
I hope to post some pictures soon. For now that is the latest and greatest. I hope you all enjoy the season with your family and loved ones.

Two posts in one

2009-09-06T13:47:00.001-07:00

AWESOME! This is what I found when I walked into my bathroom last night before bed.

After showing Nick this lovely present, we could only deduce that our precious little GIRL had been having some fun earlier in the day.

Apparently while on daddy duty Lauren was left unattended in the back of our house, near our bathroom. This is what we've learned from leaving her unattended. I think next time daddy duty rolls around he'll make sure and close the bathroom doors, because it wasn't a tone of fun for him to clean up.

Side note: Andrew did not ever do anything like this...hmmm...not sure what to think of our little girl.

Two posts in one

2009-09-06T13:43:00.000-07:00

They are the cutest. This was them this morning playing in the garage by themselves before church. When I walked in Andrew told me, "We're taking care of the baby right now. Can we have one more minute?" What's a mommy to say? Of course you can! They really are starting to become good friends. Except for when Andrew pushes her down and Lolo tries to bite him. :)

2009-08-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

Update with a few pics

2009-08-10T19:40:00.000-07:00

Typical Saturday morning. Lots of playing. Andrew dressed up as someone. Lolo being proud of herself that she can get up on the bed and back down. Good times.
Lots of things to post about but feeling quite tired. I'll do something worth reading in awhile. Summer is winding down and I'm not sure how I feel about it. More on that later.

Summer fun!

2009-07-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

Here is Andrew riding on his bike. He's gotten pretty darn good. I want you all to notice that in the pic below he's scratching his bottom. Yes, yes he is.

Here's Lolo and Andrew at the annual Fireman's picnic for 4th of July in Sunriver. Lots of fun, and no loud fireworks! It's my kind of fourth. Later on in the evening Lauren was complimented by a complete stranger that said, "Best 4th of July dress I've seen all day." That's right, she was super cute. Sorry Andrew, you didn't have any cute duds. I'll work on that for next year.

And of course I had to get the shot of daddy reading to the kiddos on our vacation in Sunriver. Super cute. They LOVE their daddy, and think he's just about the greatest. We had such a great time. I want to go again, right now in fact!

Hey mom look at this...

2009-07-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

That's what Andrew said to me on Tuesday morning as I was dropping him off to daycare. So of course I turn and look and what do I see? My 3 year old son flipping me off. Yes folks that's right. Here's how mommy handled this one...
A: Look I can do 1 like this.
L: You know that's not a very nice way of saying number one. Let's just do it the normal way.
A: Yeah, I'll just do it like this when we're at home.
L: Good, no problem.
Thinking in my head, please don't flip everyone off at daycare and teach your other 3 year old friends how to do it.
Well, not even 3 hours later I go to get him, and what do you know, he's shown everyone! SUPER!
The best part is, (Sarah you'll love this) my daycare provider asked him who showed him how to do it and he said, my mom's friend Sarah showed my mom and then she showed me. Yes, that's right. Sarah you get the blame. You can pay for my therapy now.

PS-I would love to post a picture of this (because he is so proud) however I'm really trying not to encourage it. Sorry folks you'll just have to use your imagination.

Beautiful!

2009-07-05T21:15:00.000-07:00

I had to post this picture of Lauren Elizabeth. So beautiful.

SUMMER IS HERE!!!

2009-06-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

Yeah summer is finally here. This is how I love to wake up in the morning. I know the pics a bit old, but it hasn't really changed too much. Lolo in her sleep sack and Bobo crawling in her crib every morning. Man I love these two.
In following with tradition I say that everyone who reads/follows my blogs makes a what are you doing this summer list. Here's mine so far:

Sunriver: Yeah!
Weddings: Seriously so many people are getting married this summer, it's CRaZy!
Relax: Not sure how this one will happen with two kiddos around :)
Read: My book club is in the middle of choosing a new book, any suggestions? And of course professional reading. I don't really want to do it, but I know I should.
Anniversary: It will be 5 years for Nicholas and I this summer. Let's hope he's planning something fabulous, it's his year to make it happen.
Swim lessons for the kiddos: Andrew is old enough now to go in alone, I have to be with Lolo. I can't say I'm really looking forward to getting in the pool in my suit and all. Good times.
Picnics/Hikes: I'm hoping for a few low key weekends where we can hang out as a family. Do some hiking, eating, chillin', you know the good stuff.
Sleeping in: Again, not sure when this one will happen with the kiddos around.
Baking/Cooking: I love to bake and cook and try new things. The bad part is I always like to eat all of it as well. I guess I should add one more idea to my list. :(
Working out: Need I say more?

I'm sure there's more to think of. However I should probably get back to playing with Andrew...I've been on the computer for awhile now. Looking forward to reading reading all of your lists for summer...maybe they will give me some ideas.

PS-I've just been talked into getting the Easter candy bag down from the top of the fridge to pick something out to eat after dinner...hmmm...why is this bag still in my house? How did I get talked into this? Oh my oh my.

Picture update

2009-05-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

This would be what Lauren does when anyone says "No" to her, or really anything else that she doesn't want to hear. What's missing is the loud cry/screams she gives off during this tantrum as well. Interestingly enough she wasn't having a meltdown during this photo...she just went into this position...not sure what to make of that.
This picture would be Lolo trying to carry her diaper bag like a purse. She tried for several minutes to make this happen, but eventually gave up. Maybe that's why she went into her position (as shown above). This girl is always keeping me guessing. So darn cute, and yet quite a diva.
This picture is from the infamous Dozer Days. Many out there know what I'm referring to. It's a day for kiddos to get their kicks driving and playing around huge equipment. Andrew has been the last 3 years of his life and he LOVES it. This was Lolo's first year...I'm not sure if she's going to be such a big fan. In case you can't tell she's screaming! I love it. How hilarious is that?

Does it get any cuter than this? Seriously. This is Andrew in his soccer "uniform". He is not aware that he's not actually on a team, but I don't want to burst his bubble just yet. He's asked to wear this outfit 3 days in a row. Super cute.
I must say I think he grew about 5 years over the long Memorial weekend. He looks bigger, talks like he's bigger, and acts bigger. Oh man, I'm not ready for that!

Update

2009-05-03T14:51:00.001-07:00

Carter and Andrew at the zoo. Such a fun day! Everyone loved the animals. They were also easy to spot in their matching red tops. :)
Lauren pushing her stroller around in her new dress from Papa. It's about the cutest thing I've ever seen. She will spend hours and hours playing with dolls and strollers.
Andrew riding his new bike for his birthday. He's getting better each time. What a big boy!
Andrew using the vacuum hose as his blower...kind of looks like he's shooting Lauren up...hmmm...Lauren loves to show how she is a big girl now and climb in and out of her chair. Seriously, I love these two.

Many things have happened since I last blogged. To be quite honest I'm not even sure I remember them all. I wanted to do a quick post though, because it has been quite a long time. The kids are growing up so quickly. It's been really fun to watch them together. Lolo wants to be where her brother is, ALL THE TIME. And Andrew REALLY likes to go into her crib in the morning when she first wakes up. He cries if she wakes up before him, because he likes it that much.

Nick and I have been busy at work and with bible studies. Nick only has 3 more weeks of Bible Study Fellowship and then he's done for the summer. Yeah for sleeping in Saturday mornings (but I know he won't sleep in). Our CARE group (bible study from church) is just finishing the book The Five Love Languages. I recommend this book to anyone married or in a relationship. It really helps you understand yourself and how you feel loved, as well as your spouse. It's been great for us. We've also been running a ton getting ready for Pacific Crest at the end of June...we're both not sure which race we'll sign up for, that is yet to be determined!

The kids and I have been enjoying the weather outside. Finally, Andrew can go out and play. He wants to constantly be outside. It's great. Our neighbor hooked us up with some pretty cool outside toys and Andrew is enjoying himself. Of course Lo wants to be out there with him...she's not quite ready for it all by herself. She's doing great at walking around, but she takes a seat/fall every now and again.

New things for Andrew: He's 3, so he's big now. As he likes to tell me, he's growing up. It makes me a little sad. He looked bigger the day after his birthday. He loves the following: lawn mowing, blowing, anything outside in general, dinosaurs (we've got almost every book published about them), and his sister of course.

New things for Lauren: She's walking everywhere...whether or not we like it or not. She doesn't like to be told no, or be careful, or anything where you're basically telling her what to do. She cries. She literally throws herself down on the floor and cries. She LOVES to eat...I'm not sure where she got that from??? She's a big girl and drinks milk from a cup now. No more bottles (yeah!) She can say; mama, dada, doll, dog, and num num. She also signs more for food.

Enjoy the pics! Hope all is well.

We did it!

2009-04-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

Nick, Mark, and I completed the Beaver Freezer Triathlon on Saturday April 4th. It was about 28 degrees when we started out...slightly chilly. Mark and I finally made it out of the pool, and headed out to bike. He of course flew by me on the bike, and I thought to myself that it may never end...but eventually I made it to the run. That was the best part for me.
I ended up feeling pretty good when it was done. Nick did great. Mark did great. It was pretty fun really. The best part was eating a nice breakfast afterward. :)
Hope you enjoy the picks. The one where you can't tell what it is, is actually me swimming in the pool.

Lolo's first birthday!

2009-03-30T20:03:00.000-07:00

Grammy and Grandpa with their birthday hats on.
Moggy and Papa showing the birthday spirit.
Nana, Papa and the two little ones sporting the princess birthday hats.
The freakin' cutest one year old out there. Love that girl.

Moggy and Lolo with her new stroller and dolly. She LOVES it!
The cake. It's a hopscotch polka dot cake. Andrew helping "make" the cake. Really he just did a good job of licking the frosting. :)

What a fabulous Saturday

2009-02-07T14:18:00.001-08:00

It's been a great day so far.
Lolo is better, much better.
Andrew is at the in-laws.
I had a good run-walk this morning.
The sun is shining.
I couldn't ask for more.

Just another day of being a mommy...

2009-02-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

So another crazy day.
I noticed Lauren's bottom looked a little red this weekend, and she was having trouble going poo. So we tried a few different approaches and nothing worked. Today I called the Dr. because her bottom was bleeding when I wiped it (externally). So anyhow, the Dr. wanted to see her today.
I made an appointment for her close to when I had to be at work because that's the only thing they had open. Of course they were running behind, and didn't see me until 25 minutes later...by this time you could basically say I was FREAKING OUT!
The doctor looked at her and told me that she had a "fishers" which is basically torn skin because her stool was too hard. So he prescribed some stool softener of some sort. Just as I was diapering her up...he noticed that she looked a little too red down there. He took a rectal swap and sure enough she has strep! Yes. That's right folks. Great news for the mom who's already late to work (with no sub) and can't take her daughter to daycare with strep.
So, I call my principal crying because at this point I have no idea what to do. She tells me don't worry (which of course I am). She said she would take care of it. With that in mind, I go home. Fill her prescription and attempt to unwind my very stressful body out of all of it's knots.
Seriously.
Just another day of being a mommy, right?

A tribute to Grandma Velma

2009-01-25T14:09:00.001-08:00

Well for those of you that don't know my grandmother Velma past away on January 6, 2009. She was 94 years young and I couldn't have asked for a better grandma. I thought I would write a little tribute in her honor on my blog. I miss her and want to remember her.

Growing up Grandma and I spent a lot of time together. She and Gideon would play games with me for hours. We would play canasta, 7's, and King's corner. I owe all my card skills to my grandma. She often said that I should move to Vegas because I am that good!

While she visited at our house she often would rearrange my mother's pantry. She drove me to school in her big (and I really mean the biggest damn car I've ever seen big) green car. She would tell me to pull my hair out of my face. She slept in my room because we didn't have an extra bedroom. She would babysit me while my mom went out with friends. That's when we would play cards.

Gideon was always with grandma, he was basically my grandfather growing up. She would always say, "Oh Gideon." I can hear her now. They used to go to the Senior Center in Salem and dance and play cards. They went out to dinner. They loved each other very much.

When we would visit grandma she would let me play with her things. I can remember playing a lot of restaurant in her family room. I also played with the fun things in her junk drawer. I swear she saved stuff just for me to play with. She would take me peach picking in the summer. Again, we would roll around in the green car. I remember the white bunny my grandma had for Easter. It's head came off (to put candy inside). My grandma would tell me that the Easter bunny came and filled it up...years later I found the bunny in my grandma's extra room closet.

She also had a basement with a ping pong table. My cousin Gina played with me every holiday. I was always trying to find someone to play with me...I think I coaxed everyone in my family into playing at least once with me. I also remember her candy jars. She had one in every room, and it was always full of some kind of goody when we came to visit. Last Christmas (2007) she gave each of us one to have. I think that's the most special gift she ever gave me.

I will miss my grandma very much. I remember the last time we saw her. It was 4 days before she passed away. Nick and I took the kids to see her. She was so excited. She told me my hair looked pretty. She was really excited about seeing Lauren, and how big she was. Andrew was just running around and I think she was overwhelmed by how busy he was. I'm so thankful for that visit. I know my grandma is in heaven and I will see her someday. I'm so thankful for her love and all the things she taught me. I love you grandma Velma. :)

Sickies

2009-01-17T18:47:00.000-08:00

Our house if officially filled with sick children. ARGH! I took Lolo to the doctor today and she has viral pneumonia, basically a bad cold with a cough. It's nothing to be freaking out over, but we have to watch her pretty closely and she looks and feels miserable. It's so sad.

Today we took our suburban in to get serviced. I was sitting waiting for Nick with a sick Lauren, and Andrew who had to go to the bathroom, and all I wanted to do was go crawl in a bed somewhere and sleep. It's hard to be a mom sometimes.

That's about it for us right now. We are just trying to get better, and not go crazy.

Top Ten of 2008

2009-01-08T21:04:00.000-08:00

SO...I said I would do my top ten like a week ago...and I'm going to give it an attempt. This is off the cuff so I'm probably going to forget something very important, but I'll give it a go. Otherwise, it would probably be 2010 before I get to it.

10. We put our house up on the market, then the stock market crashed, and no one bought our house...so we still live here.

9. I got to enjoy another year of being part time at work. Most days I'm so thankful that I'm able to stay at home and be with my kids. It's so wonderful to wake up, have breakfast, play, read, go on play dates. I am truly thankful.

8. Nick did his first triathlon. Go Nick!

7. Andrew was potty trained this summer. Not to toot my horn here, but it was pretty much a breeze. Apparently, I should have started sooner. What a champ.

6. Lolo began to crawl and say mama over Christmas break and I was home to witness both things. I will always remember that!

5. We took several family trips to Sunriver and had a wonderful time with family and friends.

4. I started a blog and now get to see and read about all my friends and their lives. I absolutely love reading all your posts and seeing all your pictures. It's my vice that I need when I'm ready to lose my mind. I love it!

3. Several of my close friends had babies. So great!

2. Nick and friends threw a surprise 30th birthday party for me and I was truly surprised! I kind of like that I'm 30...is that weird?

1.Lauren Elizabeth Kralj was born on March 14th and she is such an amazing gift to our family. Words cannot express how thankful we are for her.

Happy New Year

2009-01-04T10:53:00.001-08:00

Things have been busy for the last few weeks. I am thinking of my next blog post. I'm going to try and do a top ten. I think others should do it as well. Once I get the highlights from 2008 I'll do another post!

Uncle Joel's in town!

2008-12-26T13:28:00.000-08:00

Due to all the weather Uncle Joel got a chance to stay with us for the last few days. Unfortunately we have no extra bed or bedroom for that matter. It was couch city for him. We sure enjoyed his stay. Here are a few highlights:

1. Uncle Joel is now known by Andrew as just "Uncle".
2. Uncle cut Andrew's finger while making cobbler.
3. Uncle got to spend Christmas Eve with us at home making stuffed mushrooms, lasagna, and lava cake.
4. Uncle is now our "manny" and we don't think we'll be letting him leave.
5. Joel got to spend Christmas morning with us, watching Andrew and Lo open presents from Santa.
6. He then got to go to my mom's house and have Christmas brunch, and watch more present opening.
7. When we got home he put together Andrew's new easel. (thank you)
8. He took lots of great pictures of the kids while he was here.
9. He referred to Nick and I as the worst decision makers ever. (Rude Joel, rude)
10. Lots of play time with Andrew in the snow.

Christmas Day

2008-12-26T13:13:00.000-08:00

SANTA CAME! We weren't sure if Santa would come because Andrew hasn't been a good boy when going to bed at night! Any suggestions moms? However, Santa came through. Lolo received a book, and Bobo a blower. Too much fun.

Opening presents and Grammie and Grandpa's house. Lolo sure loved her dolly. Andrew was having fun with his playdough.

The family Christmas Night. We had two people taking pictures and standing on opposite sides of the room...next year we'll get a better shot. At least we got one though!
The Kraljs! From left; Nick, Kathy, Mark, Winnie (the dog) Emily, Lolo, Joel, and Andrew.

Christmas Night didn't turn out quite as expected, but it was still wonderful just the same. Nick's parents and sister Emily ended up coming over and I fixed Christmas dinner. Yes you read that correctly, I, Lindsey Kralj fixed the dinner. It consisted of Ham (that was pre-cooked and pre-sliced), mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, salmon (for Uncle) and cobbler made by Uncle and Andrew.
It turned out pretty well if I do say so myself, and nothing was caught on fire or burned! We sure enjoyed having everyone over at our house. Hope you enjoy the pics.

Shopping online is fun!

2008-12-21T11:50:00.000-08:00

So I'm here in my nice warm house, watching my family work on putting in a new receiver. I won't show any pictures here, trust me you don't want to see it. What I will do is paint you a picture with my words.
Nick-Currently he is half way into the entertainment center. Luckily no crack is showing. He does however hop out to tell me random things like, "This needs some pledge. Could you do that?" or "Lauren is on the move, could someone please watch her?"

Lolo-Well big hint there with Nick's words. She is currently moving around the floor getting into every tool, plastic wrap, or cord that she is NOT supposed to touch. When Andrew takes it away from her, she just simply finds another one. Every now and again she'll do her raptor yell at him.

Andrew-He is working! He's got every wrench and screwdriver out that his dad isn't using. He's also got his Diego flashlight (thanks to Moggy and Papa), and he's working with his dad. His favorite thing to repeat is, "Tell me when you need my help, okay dad?" It's pretty cute. BTW he is currently wearing the outfit he's been wearing for the last 3 days (and somehow managed to sleep in). We're not sure if he's going to take it off. If you're wondering it's a OSU Beaver football shirt (with lots of applesauce, grape juice, and cheese) and his sweat pants.

I am shopping online. Thanks to my friend Meghan I've found the cutest first birthday shirt for Lo. It's on etsy.com, what a fun place! I need some other blog posts to read, so get typing out there people!

PS-Now Andrew is reading a book to Lauren, Dr. Suess Are You My Mother? It's the cutest thing ever.

I deserve some sort of medal

2008-12-19T13:45:00.000-08:00

For those of you with children you will understand why I titled this post the way I did.

Today is a "snow" day (although it's not too snowy outside right now). I am home with the kids and we needed some things at the grocery. So after Lauren woke up and had her bottle I bundled the kids up and headed out to brave the arctic blast.

Of course, I was in the Acura because Nick needed to take the Suburban to work (just to be safe). I load up the kiddos, and off we head to Freddies. This part not bad at all, very normal.

When we get to Freddies Andrew wants to ride in the race car cart. Fine I say, there was a red one available; after I use paper towels to soak up all the water in the seat. So, with Andrew riding behind the wheel where oh where is Lolo going to fit? She's still in her car seat carrier (of which she is way to big!). So I throw her in the actual cart.

This leaves me with approximately 6 inches of space to put all my groceries, and I did have a list here people. I wasn't going for one thing. So, away we go. I realize right away that this cart definetly has a mind of it's own. I swear I felt like I was back in my Colt driving days with no power steering.

We manage to work our way through the store finding what we need. I found myself pulling them facing backwards quite a bit because the cart was THAT unreasonable. Now keep in mind that as I am manuevering my way through the aisles, I am almost knocking over displays and having a few close calls with the other customers. I know I had a few dirty looks thrown my way. To top it off the pants I was wearing were a little loose (they have a draw string) and they kept falling down...great.

So we finally make our way out to the car, I load everyone & everything up and the nicest thing happened. A very kind man offered to take the cart in for me. Seriously, Merry Christmas. I was so excited. I warned him it had a mind of it's own. Then I got in the car and told Andrew and Lolo about the nice man. The entire way home Andrew kept asking why he took our cart. Again, seriously. I do deserve some sort of medal.

So here's a lesson for everyone. When we see a mother of two with her pants falling down barreling down the aisle with a red race car, give her a break.
Happy Holidays!

Lolo 9 months!

2008-12-15T20:03:00.000-08:00

Lauren is officially 9 months old. We had our Dr. visit today and things are looking great for our little girl. She weighed in at 18 pounds 15 ounces, just about the 75%. Her height was 28", just about the 50%, and her head...well that's another story. Her head is above the 90%. Our Dr. mentioned something about a lot of brain power...why do I have big headed kids? Seriously. Is my head big?

She was so cute at our visit. She's fascinated by finding herself and others in the mirror. She can entertain herself for hours. When the nurse came in to weigh and measure her, Lolo gave her a glare. Then it turned to real tears as she was on the table. The screams started the minute I laid her down to be measured, and they stopped just as quickly as they started once I picked her up.

She is so funny. If she doesn't get what she wants, she will let you know. Today I had her in the high chair eating cheerios while I was on the computer. As soon as I walked away and brother did as well, she pulls the pouty lip down and starts wailing. And then when you walk back in the kitchen and talk to her, she stops crying. This child definitely knows what she likes and what she doesn't.

She is so much fun right now. She absolutely LOVES bouncing. If she's on your lap she's bouncing, if you're holding her on your hip, she's bouncing. Her most favorite thing is the jumper that she can bounce in. The smile is from ear to ear.

I love her more than I could have imagined. I know that they tell you that you will love the second just as much as you loved the first; but I have to say I didn't think that was possible. When Andrew was born and his first years of life (sans Lo) I seriously didn't think I could love anyone more. He was so amazing (and still is) but of course I was wrong. The Lord likes to remind me just how wrong I always am. When He gave us Lolo the love came out all over again. She is the most amazing little girl, and so beautiful, and such a personality. I could go on and on. I won't. I will spare you. But trust me on this one. She's one of a kind.

Snow-whatever!

2008-12-14T18:34:00.000-08:00

I just have to say that I'm annoyed. I'm all prepared for snow, and possibly a school closure or at least a 2 hour late start...do you think we're getting anything here in Vancouver? Nope. It's everywhere else; Portland, Gresham, Washougal, Hillsboro...the list goes on and on. Why oh why isn't Vancouver lucky enough? All I wanted was a day off, instead I'm going about business as usual. I'm hoping this ranting blog post will encourage the snow to fall and ice over and then I can have my way. That's all I have to say.

Christmas Trees & Apple Pie

2008-12-13T19:27:00.000-08:00

So I made an apple pie from one of Martha's recipes. I think it turned out pretty, not so crazy about the taste. It was an apple spice pie and I think I'm going to stick with the regular old apple pie recipe next time and keep the crust. I love the circles as the top. If you want the recipe for the crust or inside let me know, it was pretty good.

Christmas tree shopping tradition! We went out to get the tree with the family. Of course Nick and I choose our tree in about 10 seconds. It was basically the first one we came to. Cody cut it down for us, and that was that. Lisa was next in finding her tree, not too long after us. Anne and Sharon on the other hand took quite some time locating the "perfect" tree, with Sharon winning out as taking the longest. Afterward we went back to Dad's house and had pizza. It was a fun outing, I know Andrew enjoyed. Lolo had a good time too in the backpack, she was able to see all the action.

This last picture is classic Andrew. He's wearing my shoes, and quite proud of how he can walk in them and they make a really fun noise on our hardwood floor. He's always getting into something and surprising me.

November

2008-12-08T21:14:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving fun! We went to my grandma's in Salem for one last holiday at her home before it goes up for sale. The kids had fun playing together. Reagan is such a good helper with the little ones. And Lolo is for sure jealous of Devyn's hair! Funny story. As we were all getting ready to eat, everyone is seated at the table. Andrew says to the entire table, "Can I have a roll people?" Right. I thought it was hilarious. Apparently things weren't moving fast enough!

Bath time! They love taking a bath together. Andrew's favorite seems to be getting very close to dumping water on Lolo but not actually doing it. Lo just started taking a bath in the actual tub. She's such a big girl now. She loves to eat the toys in the water. She doesn't love getting her hair washed, neither does Andrew for that matter. They do seem to enjoy each other though that's for sure!
Lolo eating a little yummy cereal and applesauce. Yummy! She has started eating the "puffs" and cherrios, etc. She's so great at picking those up and eating them as fast as she can. She tends to get upset if she doesn't have something to eat or drink with her at all times while seated in the high chair. The only thing that will keep her satisfied (besiedes food) is her brother doing something silly to make her laugh.
Dressing up is Andrew's favorite thing. He loves to wear his "work" goggles because he has a lot of "work" to do. He also loves wearing a glove. You got it, not plural. Just one glove. We like to call him Michael Jackson. His glove is his sock, any sock will do. My favorite is when he is wearing his "clean up" sock. Yes, that's right. When he wears that he actually does put things away.
Andrew wearing an awesome headband that he put on himself. Love it. Anybody thinking about sweating to the oldies?

And the winner is...

2008-11-28T16:41:00.000-08:00

None of the options I posted...but one very similar. The stupid computer will only let me do a few at a time, so I'm going to do a few posts with the other photos we ordered. Too cute

Vote for your favorite!!!

2008-11-22T12:57:00.000-08:00

Choice 1
Choice 2

So Sarah took our family photos a month or so ago and we have the pictures. I want to post a few so you can tell me which one you think I should order for our family photo.
The only story I can think of is Andrew often has to tell me a "recipe." He wants me to get real close to him so he can whisper it to me. He is trying to say secret, but for whatever reason he thinks it's a recipe. It's pretty sweet. He's so sweet. He likes to pray to God and thank Him for his baby sister. How sweet is that? Seriously. We are having a great time with these two.
Love it. Love it. Love it. (most the time!)

Things I've done...

2008-11-16T13:05:00.000-08:00

I got this from Christy Wagener (Phillips). I think everyone should try it. It's fun. Copy and past. I'm waiting to read yours...

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (they won't let me because I have mad cow disease...I don't really have the disease but they think I might because I lived in England for 6 months)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club(I want to though...)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Seen Mount Rushmore in person
101. Learned to play an instrument(Does the recorder count???)

Andrew voted!

2008-11-04T20:11:00.001-08:00

The stickers on him say "I voted". He put them on himself with no direction from either mom or dad...too funny!

Trick or Treat

2008-11-04T20:07:00.001-08:00

This is the best shot I could get of the two of them. Happy Halloween!
Lolo the teddy bear and Kennedy the lady bug sharing a chair. It's really difficult to get a 7 month old and a 3 month old to look at you at the same time and do some sort of smile.

Cookie Monster and Cowboy Carter having some Halloween fun!

What a weekend! (Beware lots of pics)

2008-10-26T22:05:00.001-07:00

This weekend was great fun and yet relaxing as well. I spent Saturday hanging out with girlfriends, lots of fun. Saturday evening we went for a walk at Lacamas Lake and then played at the park. Funny story. We were walking along the trail and I saw a woman who works at my school. I said, I work with that woman. Later on down the trail Nick and I hear Andrew saying I work with her, she's my girl. Hilarious.
Sunday we decided to make some banana bread. I finally convinced Nick to put in some chocolate chips...as you can see from the photos the bread didn't turn out as planned. Apparently I was supposed to use Pam spray not the olive oil sprayer (who knew?) Anyhow, Andrew and I will be eating the "broken" bread as he likes to call it all week and loving it!
We also went to the pumpkin patch with Nana and Papa, what fun! It was great. Andrew really enjoyed himself. He was very into pulling the wagon by himself, and didn't want to leave it for anything (even to pick out his own pumpkin). When we finally convinced him to go and get a pumpkin he decided he wanted a small one that he could carry. Oh boy. We then took our third annual picture of him next to the pumpkin sign. When he was 6 months he took a picture next to the small pumpkins, last year he was at the medium sign, so this year of course, he's at the large sign. Lolo is at the extra small sign this year. So cute. Then for the finale Andrew rode around the patch on the hay ride. He even got to "drive" the horses. Great fun for him. It was then back to Nana and Papa's house for carving and stew. We had a great time!

Cute pics in our new chair!

2008-10-23T13:42:00.001-07:00

I'm home today with the kiddos. Our day-care provider is sick, so I got to take the afternoon off. As of right now, both children are in their bedrooms with the doors shut. Lauren is crying, last time I went to check on her she was on her belly. Andrew is kicking the wall next to his bed, yelling intermittently and not sleeping. At least their in their rooms right? I hope you enjoy some of the pictures.
By the way for any of you who know and have seen my dad...doesn't Lolo look exactly like Lar? Seriously.

I have friends!

2008-10-18T15:56:00.001-07:00

I'm so impressed with myself (although Sarah told me how to do it), I now have friends listed on my blog page. Yea! Happy day. I'm very much enjoying this blogging thing, and I was so against it. It's fun though. I think I like it so much because I enjoy reading everyone's blog.

In other news, house update: We had someone come look at our house today. We haven't heard anything though, so we'll see what they say. While the house was showing we took it upon ourselves to do a little shopping. Each of us got a little something, it was kind of fun. Nick ended up with shirts, Andrew a shirt and pair of sweatpants because the current sweatpants are TOTAL high waters, (seriously they are 18 months, he's 30 months) Lo got a pair of cute warm jeans, they have pink lining in them. And I got a sweater that I'm not sure I really like. I think I lost in this particular trip.

New background!

2008-10-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! I'm finally starting to figure out some of this blogging stuff. I have to thank Amber for having the link about the cutest blogs on the block. I went there found a cool background (well I think it's cool) and then figured out how to make it work for my blog. I am very impressed with myself.
In family news, not much is new. Things always seem to be to busy. I've realized that now that I have two babies one of them is bound to get screwed. If one needs to nap, the other needs an activity (outside of the house), and if the other needs to nap then one begins to cry really loud and wake them up. It's this terrible never ending cycle.
My friend Krathbu and I talked today, and we've decided that it was hard with one baby because we thought we would always do something wrong. Paranoia somewhat. Then with the second it's still hard, because even though you have the baby part down, now you have to figure out how to manage two. AHHH!
I don't mean to scare anyone who wants two babies and only has one right now. But I don't want to burst your bubble it's hard. But I wouldn't change it...at least not a permanent change. I would like to find an hour where I feel rested and normal...but I'm sure it'll get better. Right?

Good Fall Fun!

2008-10-12T13:54:00.000-07:00

Oh the pumpkin patch! On Friday Andrew got to go to the pumpkin patch with his day-care provider, Leasa. What a day! As you can see from the picture Andrew chose a green and somewhat orange pumpkin for us. (He told me we could share it)

Leasa told me she wasn't sure if she should have made him choose a different pumpkin because his was green. I said, no way I love the fact that he chose a green one. It's perfect. He was very proud of his pumpkin. It's also, "very heavy mommy, so don't touch it." What great fun. I've very thankful for Leasa, and I am glad he was able to go with friends on an outing.

We'll be going as a family soon. I wonder what type of pumpkin he'll choose this time...stay tuned.

Sorry about the milk

2008-10-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

So this morning I was "working" on the computer. You know, when you tell your kid that you're working but you're really reading gossip columns, or reading something else that is a total waste of time. So that's what I was doing...well apparently I wasn't parenting. Andrew comes up to me and says, "Mommy sorry about the milk Mommy." Huh? What are you talking about (this is in my head). Then I realize that I left the milk out on the butcher block from breakfast and he can reach it, and I get up to check, and it's not there any more.

As I'm running down the hall I'm yelling, "Where is it?" My son can only say, "Sorry about the milk Mommy." As I turn the corner to enter his room, I see the EMPTY milk carton sitting on his rocking chair. I approach the chair and hear the sound of milk spilling from the corner of his chair onto the floor. Right. My 2 1/2 year old son has taken the milk carton and dumped it all over the bear, his chair, and now it's spilling onto the carpet. So instead of getting super pissed I realize that it's partly my fault and I calmly clean it up while my son sits in a 2 minute time out for, "touching things that you know you're supposed to ask about first."

The best part, or maybe not so great is the fact that after I discovered the milk spilling onto the floor I go out into the garage to get some cleaning supplies and I see my husband sitting in the driveway talking on the phone. I motion to him, he opens the door, I say there's milk all over Andrew's room. He closes the car door and continues talking on the phone. Right. It was an interesting start to the day. Once things were clean I calmly locked myself in my bedroom and took the longest shower possible so that I didn't have to talk to anyone in my family. Feel the love.

Does it get any cuter?

2008-10-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

I had to post these pics of Lolo. Seriously, does it get any cuter?

2008-10-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

I am a total idiot. I've decided to get back into the blog and for crying out loud I can't remember my freaking log in. AHHH. It has taken me 20 minutes to figure out how to recover my password! (AGAIN) It's a good thing I didn't go into computers.

So onto more important things like what's new with us. We currently have our house on the market. Good timing, I know. We thought we had it sold, went through the negotiations, etc. however they had to back out at the last minute due to financing...great. So we're back to square one. Does anyone want to buy our house?

Otherwise, not much else is new. Andrew is getting big. He informed me today that he wanted to go outside (in the rain) in his shirt and big boy underwear. I told him that wasn't going to happen. He proceeded to tell me, I'm going to hit you. That's just great.

Lolo is getting big. She now eats butternut squash, carrots, and peas. I don't think she cares what it is as long as she's putting it into her mouth and it's at a rapid pace. The girl can eat. I wonder where she gets that from. I'll try to take some pics tonight and post them so you can all get a feel.
I wish I knew how to do video on this, because dinner around these parts is always interesting. I've got Bobo trying to "help" with all the preparations, Lolo crying in her high chair because apparently she's starving, and Nick saying, "What can I do?" Seriously.

So now that I think I have my sign in and password under control, I'm logging out. Now I need help with how to add my friends...this could be another torturous round at the computer for me.

Having quite a few technical errors

2008-08-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

So, for those of you reading this you might be wondering why I didn't send out my blog address when I made my initial post...well let me tell you. I couldn't figure out how to get back in. I kept forgetting my password and then when I would try and recover it, I couldn't figure out how to do that. I know that I may sound very slow, but I tell you it wasn't easy. I'm finally back on and I know our password and I know how to get in. Yeah!
Not much else is new. I'm headed back to work tomorrow (ugh!) The kids are starting new day-care (let's cross our fingers), and Nick is still working hard. SO...now that I know how to get back in, I'll write more later. :)

We're all about family!

2008-08-16T17:08:00.000-07:00

The title of our blog came to us from our son, Andrew. For my birthday this year LeAnne bought me several decorative blocks that spell FAMILY. One night at dinner, not too long after we displayed the blocks in the kitchen Andrew looked up and said family. (We had told him what it said, he's not that much of a genius)Nick said, "Yeah, we're all about family." Andrew proceeded to go around the table and list who was about family. It sounded something like, "I'm all about family, daddy's all about family, & mommy's all about family." We said who else is all about family, and he said, "Oh yeah, Lauren's all about family too!" (Sorry Lauren you were left out at first...)He said it with such enthusiasm and joy we couldn't stop smiling about it. So that's where our blog name came from. We hope you enjoy reading about our family.