Monday, August 31, 2009


So, here's just one of a gazillion million wedding pictures. I'll post tons when we get home and settled. I can't wait to see toledo again- and sleep in my own bed- and run at my own park :) -and see my husband again (he was only here for 54 hours!!).

Thursday, August 27, 2009

utah

I am not getting any pictures taken!!!! I have only used my camera twice since I've been here- but I promise to do better! We've been busy and having buckets of fun!

The flights had the potential for disaster but ended up being AMAZING. Our flight from detroit was changed to seven am instead of six- which bumped our dallas flight until one and gave us a FOUR hour layover in dallas. blech. It turns out we had a super speedy pilot and landed in dallas fifty minutes ahead of schedule. I got out of the plane as fast as I could and ran to check for other flights. I found a flight boarding for slc in twenty minutes so we RAN to the airport's train/tram and then RAN to the gate with the slc flight and I begged to get on (it was our same airline) and complained that I did not want to sit in the airport for four hours with two little rugrats.. They put us on immediately and we were in slc just two short hours later. We even all took a nap on that flight!

Zeb loved flying and Ike was wonderful. Ike was a super good lap baby and it helped that we had our own side of the plane (a two seat row) so we weren't bothering anybody else.

The night we landed I had a mission bbq/party (perfect timing!) and it was wonderful to see everybody! I only took one picture- with elder kidd (laney was in his district in the mtc and he was in my mission) and with madison and sidney young (mission president's daughters)! these girls were so young when I was in russia and are now all grown up! I am missing kent tremendously. Being a single mom at home is not bad at all- but on vacation it's not nearly as easy :) Napping and sleeping and eating and doing EVERY other activity just seems to take more energy when we aren't at home! Hooray that he arrives tomorrow!

Monday, August 24, 2009

we leave for the wedding in eight hours!!!!

ready or not metta, here we come!

everybody wish me luck on my husbandless flight. Maybe if the rugrats are bad I'll just leave them in Texas on the layover.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Quick! first 250,000 get a free chicken sandwich when they join the chicken wave!! plus get a free sandwich on labor day for wearing a sports t-shirt!!

Saturday, August 22, 2009

mom and boys day

These monkeys need haircuts. bad. Don't worry mett, they will happen BEFORE the wedding :)
Here's what happens when we run at three in the afternoon instead of eight in the morning.

Poor zeb had a long day of missing kent. When kent called this evening I handed the phone to zeb so he could say hello and the first thing he said to kent-unprompted- was "come home, papa. come home now". He's recently started using the word 'now' with all of his requests. I don't think that he's trying to sound so demanding- he just really likes the word.

Friday, August 21, 2009

uh-oh

Here come a bunch of teeth.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

the "me" post. celebrating 800.

Zeb and Ike always get their own posts- so I've decided that it's my turn. In honor of post 800- I'm doing one all about me.
I'm rarely in any of the pictures I post because I'm always the picture taker- so for this post I'm using a stolen picture from our cooking group last week. The theme was pastas. There was some fabulous food and even better company.



1. Project Runway starts tonight. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I love it. I am so happy. It changed networks so I thought we were going to miss this season- but then we magically got cable. I like to call it a project runway miracle.




2. I went to the doctor today because a number of things have been bothering me. When I fell the second time back in may, I hurt my elbow and it hasn't been healing properly. Luckily it's not a joint issue- or anything really internal- it's just the scar/scab. It almost looks like a blister. When the doctor saw it she immediately asked "does skin cancer run in your family?". She knew it was the result of a fall so when she asked that it shocked me- mostly because, YES skin cancer runs rampant in my family! Apparently I have a hypertrophic scar and they very very rarely turn into cancer. ahh. She poked in it with a needle- scraped at it with a scalpel- and I've got to watch it for four more weeks to see if it starts to go away or else I have to get it removed.

3. and finally - I did a little google doctoring and self diagnosed my next issue. My doctor agreed. I've got TMJ (Temporomandibular joint disorder). She stuck her hands to my jaw and her jaw dropped. She even commented that it was no wonder I was having headaches and head pain. Luckily tmj can go away (sort of) and has some treatments (kind of). I've always had a popping jaw- but since Ike was born it's gotten pretty bad. Apparently it is most common in child bearing women?! I guess it's time to stop bearing children, huh? I've got a mouth guard now (which I HATE and almost always unknowingly yank out while asleep) and she gave me a prescription (that I'm still debating on whether or not to use) and some advice. Let's hope things start improving. Any advice from anyone else?

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

the neglected one.

Sometimes I feel like I neglect Ike. Occasionally I forget I even have him. He's just that easy and that good. But this post is dedicated ALL to him. Happy six months, kid. Granted, this half birthday post is sixteen days late- but in my defense his six month check-up was on Monday of this week. He's a lovely 26 inches (does anybody really care about how many inches long he is?). I can't even say 26 inches tall because that's a lie. Really he's like six inches tall- maybe 18 inches when he's sitting up.

He's 17 pounds and eleven ounces. That's the important statistic at his age. I'm impressed that he's made up all that weight from his first month of starvation. This kid definitely fits into his skin now.









Ike is such a fun great baby. He's rolling around like a little steam roller- and grabbing things like a gypsy in training! He takes EVERYthing out of Zeb's hands or from his lap. It makes zeb bonkers and is really very funny. He's scooting and crawling all over as well. He still doesn't love eating- but we're making progress. At least he'll open his mouth to the spoon.

Ike is super mellow and semi social. Zeb was constantly laughing and trying to get people's attention at this age. Ike is happy to just sit back and watch. He rarely cries and never freaks out. It's pretty crazy to me that certain personality traits and mannerisms are already exhibited at such a young age.

Just last night I commented to Kent that I didn't think we'd be getting this much sleep until all our kids were grown and out of the house. Ike sleeps a full twelve uninterrupted hours of sleep every night. Zeb just started sleeping through the night when Ike was born! and actually he still gets up occasionally needing drinks or just to say hello.

Ike is the baby champ. If I could get an "Ike baby" guarantee for the rest of my babies- I'd have ten more.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

pb dream brownie bars

Book club was at my place tonight and I wanted to make something new so I tried these peanut butter brownie bars. I made some pretty big changes (to cut out some of the fat!!) - and mine didn't look so fancy- but they were still delicious.

  • 1 box (18.2 ounces) brownie mix (I did a super easy and tasty brownies from scratch recipe!)
  • 1/2 cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts(I didn't do the nuts)
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, softened (reduced fat)
  • 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 1-1/2 cups heavy cream(used lite cool whip instead)
  • 1 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • Whipped cream, chopped peanuts, chocolate-peanut butter candies and caramel sauce, to garnish
I actually skipped the chocolate top layer all together and just used caramel topping and hot fudge sauce if they wanted to add it. It made it much faster!

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Prepare brownie mix according to package directions for cakelike brownies (adding 1/4 cup water, 1/3 cup oil and 3 eggs). Fold in chopped nuts. Pour batter into pan. Return to 350°F oven; bake until brownie is just set and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

3. With electric mixer in medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add peanut butter and confectioners' sugar; beat until just blended (it will look lumpy). Add milk; beat lightly to loosen mixture. In separate bowl, whip 1 cup of the cream and gently fold into peanut butter mixture. Spread mousse evenly over cooled brownie. Refrigerate 1 hour.

4. Heat remaining 1/2 cup cream in a small saucepan over medium heat until just boiling. Remove from heat; add corn syrup and chocolate chips. Cover and let stand 5 minutes. Stir until smooth. Pour glaze over chilled mousse and spread to cover completely. Return to refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

homemade brownies-

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

  1. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in 1/3 cup cocoa, 1/2 cup flour, salt, and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
  2. Bake in 350 oven for 25 to 30 minutes

Monday, August 17, 2009

I took five kids to the park today all by myself. I even drove there in a mini van. I'm proud to say that the only bad part of the whole experience was the rotten humidity.
A group of us all went and got (free!- thanks to a new friend who needed hair models) haircuts today and kid swapped during the appointments. I am very happy with my haircut and Zeb loved his day. The park we went to had a bunch of dump trucks and tractors in the sandboxes for the kids to play with. I'm shocked that they just keep them there- and that they haven't been stolen. We'd never ventured into the parks of Sylvania (the part of toledo where katie holmes is from- or her parents live there now or something)- but I think we'll be returning. they are really nice- and really fun. Apparently there's a place called "fossil park" where you can go and dig for fossils in a shale quarry- FOR FREE. Zeb would be in heaven digging around in the dirt and I would love the fossil finding part! We'll be going soon.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Our three day weekend was a blast! Friday was already documented- but today and saturday were my favorite days. Saturday morning we took a family run to Maumee for the Maumee summer fest parade! The run there was pleasant- but it was pretty bad on the return trip home. We were all very sweaty and very hot when we got back.

Zeb loved the candy at the parade (and so did I). He loved the construction hats they threw out too. These parades are fabulous.
and the parade wouldn't have been complete without the creepily freakish dilapidated doll and misfit toy vehicles. It appears that the parade "regular" invited a friend to bring his car along too. This time I got close-ups. Why on Earth do people do things like this? and why do they parade them around in front of little children? I shouldn't be questioning these people, though. I love that they do it.
This little girl is actually doing the beauty pageant wave out the car window. She's also wearing a tiara. Maybe this her royalty float.


And here's the back of the royalty car. It scares me waaaay bad. Click on the picture to get the full effect. check out that doll head. eww.
after the hot hellish run home- we cooled off in the pool. Zeb spent most of his time blowing at dandelions.
after our swim, Kent and I went and saw a movie- AT THE THEATER! we hadn't been to the theater since Christmas 2007- and we only went then because my parents paid for us all to go :) Usually we don't like to spend that much money to see a movie- but we've been waiting to see Harry Potter for what seems like FOREVER. It did not disappoint. 1- we had no kids (thank you cyndi!!!) 2- We got tickets for five bucks a piece because Kent is in the air force!!! it cost us HALF of what we thought it would! and 3- we loved the movie. I realize it did not follow the book perfectly, but we went with the realization that it wouldn't. What it did capture- it captured perfectly. Plus, I don't remember all the details of the book anyway. Kent did fill me in on everything that was missing however.
I don't think that they could have cast Harry, Ron, or Hermione any better for all of these movies. I just LOVE them. I want to watch it again.

Today was a wonderful calm sunday. Have I mentioned that I LOVE nine o'clock church? It's so much more relaxing. Too bad this next weekend won't be so nice. Kent works Friday, Saturday, AND sunday.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Kent's 24 hour shifts aren't too shabby when they fall on thursdays. It means he doesn't have to go in on friday, saturday, or sunday! and zeb is the most excited about it.

yeah- this picture is fuzzy, but just look at his little bum!


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

two crazies and two recipes



It was the absolute prime beach day. The humidity was low, the temperature was wonderful, it was partly cloudy and the place was nearly empty. Plus Zeb loved playing around with his friends and the water seemed to be cleaner than last time. To top it all off, zeb did not drink half of Lake erie and should be diarrhea free.



After we got home from the bay- I let the kids roll around in their diapers for awhile.Ike loves to rip apart zeb's carefully laid train tracks. He's definitely going to love trains. Really he has no choice in the matter because we aren't buying new toys for him.

Both rugrats were very cooperative in picture taking today. It's a rare day when I can get such good smiles simultaneously.
And here are two new recipes I've tried this week. I forgot to take pictures so neither are mine- but they look pretty darn similar. The blttb was delicious!! and I liked the brown sugar chicken quite a bit- but not nearly as much as I thought that I would (considering the heinous amount of brown sugar!).

BLTTB- bacon lettuce tomato turkey burgers
  • 1 lb ground turkey (I actually halved this and just eyed everything else)
  • 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/3 cup mayo (lowfat or ff)
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
  • 1 tablespoon each fresh lemon juice and finely shredded lemon zest
Mix all the ingredients together and cook up burgers!
  • 4 toasted buns (we did whole wheat)
  • 8 strips (turkey) bacon (about 8 oz.), cooked until crisp
  • 1 large tomato, thinly sliced
  • 4 leaves romaine lettuce


Crockpot Brown Sugar Chicken!
frozen chicken breasts
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup lemon-lime soda (I think you could add a little lemon juice instead)
2/3 cup vinegar (I used apple cider)
3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper

Place frozen chicken and all ingredients in crockpot 4-6 hours (depending on amount of chicken and crockpot setting).

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

crazy weather!

This morning our run was crazy miserable hot and humid. We got home and there was an insane thunder and lightening rain storm. This afternoon after naps it was the perfect weather for a dip in the pool.

I think these two look so much alike in this picture! I get asked almost every day if they are twins. I understand that they look a alike- but they are totally different sizes! One is a baby for heavens sake.Ike had his first real enjoyable swim today. We've had bad luck at the pool with cold water- or a sleeping baby- or just a grumpy baby, but today was perfect. Ike just hung out in his little floaty and loved it. Zeb also loved his fabulous pink car floaty (with a working horn and turning steering wheel!) thanks to Roxanne- our friend here at Heather Hills.


I slicked Ike's hair back in this picture above- and he looks like such a little man.

Monday, August 10, 2009

yee haw.

Oh, how I love Sandy the one cent pony. Zeb even knows her name! Every time (and I swear we go to meijer AT LEAST three times a week! today it was just to escape the heat and our house) we leave the store- zeb says to me "I want to ride Sandy, mama! please?". She's a penny- and he always asks so nicely- how can I say no?

Here's my kid yelling "yeehaw" and throwing his arm up in the air like he's got a lasso. Where on Earth did he learn that? There must be a Little Einsteins episode or something with that phrase.
Lately Zeb and Ike have become SUCH better friends. Zeb finally interacts with Ike- and Ike always giggles when Zeb talks to him. The only altercations we have stem from Ike's new tendency to grab EVERYTHING within reach. It has been driving Zeb BONKERS during our runs. Every morning I have to remind him to keep his "whales crackers" to the side opposite Ike or else he's going to lose them. It's AMAZING how strong this little guy's grip is. Zeb is pretty good to share almost everything (including his blankets and even an occasional whale cracker into Ike's mouth) but today he reached his limit. On the run zeb started whining "no, ike, no". I asked what was going on and I looked down at them. Ike had his hand on Zeb's leg and Zeb said to me "no sharing zeb's knee mom. no sharing, please!".

Ike LOVES to eat now that I have stopped trying to force that rice cereal down his throat. I think I'd be dry heaving and refusing it too. He loved today's squash.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

oh, what do you do....?

Today was the most miserable day thus far in 2009. Hot and humid as hell. I'm not swearing either. Hell is this hot and humid. The heat index was something like 105. Worse than a dishwasher.

So, what did we do? NOTHING- and it was really really nice. Church was nice and air conditioned- and just switched to nine AM. I LOVE nine o'clock church. I never understood it's amazingness until I became a mother of a toddler.

The kids went down for three hour naps at 12:30 and Kent and I enjoyed an afternoon of us. We talked. We made dinner. We read. We played games. We just relaxed.

For dinner we used this fabulous new product a friend recently introduced to me. Classico's pesto sauces. You can print off a coupon here. WOW. They are beyond divine. Tonight we used the sun dried tomato pesto. Just spread on chicken and bake. Also add to your favorite white or red sauce (we did a homemade flour/milk white sauce with canned tomatoes) and serve over multigrain pasta.

Really, I can't even begin to describe how tasty they are. I could eat it straight out of the jar. They are so full of flavor and so easy. None of this homemade pesto for me. I'll definitely be taking this to our "pasta" themed cooking group on Thursday.


After dinner I got to just sit and read- uninterrupted. This month's book club book is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. It is an absolutely wonderful book. 4.5 stars. I LOVED it. If you haven't read it- request it now from your library. It's one of those books you just wish was true- and keep thinking that it is the entire time you are reading it.




And even though the day was so great because the rugrats were NOT present- here's the token kid pic. Ike has been SUPER constipated the past two days. He finally let it all out today- but the boy was trying so hard this morning that milk came out his nose. Poor kid. And completely aside from the pooing issue- Ike has been looking so much like Laney to me lately. I guess that means he's got me in him- although that I still don't see.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Since this freebie is such a great one- I wanted to remind everybody about it! Today starts Kraft's FREE GROCERIES promo. Today through the 23rd kraft will buy your groceries (25$)! There are a few rules (only at participating stores and certain kraft products) but they aren't too strict and WELL WORTH twenty five dollars! Happy shopping. Just click on the kraft picture for all of the details.


Yesterday we didn't post- because it was a crazy long fun and busy day! plus, by the time I saw Kent I wanted to spend time with him rather than blog!

On wednesday he started surgery. Check one off our list of future medical specialties. Perhaps if he loved doing it-the hours would somehow seem less torturous. For now it's HELL. I'm not complaining- just documenting- Kent's current atrocious schedule :) He was spoiled during pediatric surgery! I am glad that Kent is getting this rotation over with first, though. Everything should seem easier after these hours. He's still enjoying himself- and getting to take part in some really cool stuff.

This morning he had to head off at five so I got up with him to make him some food (the dang kid is dropping pounds like he's at fat camp or something) and say goodbye since I won't see him for awhile. I told him I wanted to take a picture of him in his "doctor" clothes. He wasn't too happy about the request- but he did entertain me. Check out his shoes- we've been searching for a great deal on some brown dress shoes and I picked these ones up for nine bucks yesterday.

Here's his past three days schedule. It really hasn't been too bad on me (besides missing him) but poor old Zeb has no idea what's going on. He'll adapt quickly (kids always do) but for now the incessant whining for "paaaaapaaaa" has become even more so (if it's even possible to become more incessant).

Wednesday. 7a-7p. Not too bad.
Thursday. 6a-9p. Long day. The rugrats didn't ever see him.
Today. He went in at five this morning and won't be home until tomorrow at NOON.

seeya after your surgery rotation, kent! At least you get to be doing pretty cool stuff.

I've been feeling pretty guilty the past two years when Kent comes home and asks us what we did that day. It's always cool stuff like zoo trips, swimming parties, and playing with friends. Now he's the one coming home with the adventures.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

six months.

Ike has been slower at rolling over, getting teeth, and sitting up than Zeb- but it looks like he's going to beat him at crawling! The kid made some real progress tonight on his crawl. Here's the best shot I could get of the action. It is so funny watching the kid move.
Kent had the kids tonight while I was gone to yw- and when I got home they were both awake but happier then they have been all week. I finally got zeb to agree to head to bed when I told him he could take his trains. It only took him about seven tries to get them all in his hands. He is such a fun two year old. We had the terrible terrible 20 month old but he's been a great two year old so far. I hear that three is actually the roughest. I can't wait.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Are all boys just instinctively dirty? I swear my girls would be like this too, but maybe I'm wrong and it's just an innate boy thing to love the dirt.

Zeb came home soooooo dirty today. This picture doesn't do his filthiness justice. I still think he's got dirt underneath his toenails that I couldn't get out.


What if I never have a girl? Growing up I always kinda felt like I'd be a mother of all boys. I could definitely be happy with all boys- but I'll be really really upset if I don't get to use any of the insanely amazing girl clothes that I have all boxed up. One of these days I'm going to get it all out and take a picture. I have got A LOT (I've been buying it since before I was married! and still at yard sales now I can't pass up a great deal)- and it's really CUTE. If I do end up girless- metta, daysa, and laney- I've got boxes for you guys.

Monday, August 3, 2009

the reading fair

This evening we went to the reading fair at the Maumee library for fhe! Zeb participated in the summer reading program and this was the concluding event. He had so much fun running around with Kent. He LOVED the hammer catapult frog game. He laughed and laughed and laughed every time the frog went flying.
He didn't love the snowcone all that much. He tasted it-played with it- and then dumped it out. He must take after his dad with the non sweet tooth thing.

The Ikester spent the evening cheering on Zeb and Kent. He had a really rough day today- but luckily LOVED being outside and was all smiles the entire evening. I'm not sure if he's teething- or constipated or what- but the kid was seriously uncomfortable today. It was so sad. I videoed his sad little cries and whimpers earlier in the day so I could show kent how terrible it was. I'll have to post it tomorrow. I think I'm just not used to this little kid's cries. It was the most he's cried EVER in his life. I'm hoping whatever it was is over and that he (and I) will be able to get a good night's sleep tonight.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Here's our little monkey. He's obsessed with the fact that his bed doubles as a jungle gym. In this picture he's mid fall. Unlike his monkey bar falling adventures at the playground- these falls don't end in tears.

And here's our 2nd monkey. We got him laughing so hard today I think he nearly passed out. It must have started to hurt! I should have recorded the laughs earlier when they weren't so forced- but you get the picture. He's adorable.