Yesterday Kent made a surprise lunch visit home.  All of the boys wrestled around for awhile and then Kent had to get ready to head back.  Zeb yelled, "Kent! wait!" (he still will only call him kent) and ran back to his room to get something.

 He came back like this.

He told Kent that he had his "listenscope (that's what he calls a stethoscope) and box" and was ready to go to "school-work" (that's where we say Kent goes every day) and "give people shots".  It was really really cute.  When Kent told him couldn't go because the hospital is a place for sick people, Zeb responded, "I'm sick people".
Kent let him listen to his heart beat and then we walked Kent out to the car and said goodbye. Zeb wanted to go so badly.

Kent can get our kiddos laughing so hard they can barely stand.

This is downtown by the "slushy ribber" as Zeb calls it. Kent was doing something ridiculous and Zeb was beside himself.

this kid is BEGGING for spring.

I really need to find my (buy some new) sunglasses. I canNOT believe how bright it was today. Zeb kept reminding me that the sun was up and that we didn't have to go to bed anytime soon. He also asked to go to the park a gazillion times.  We didn't go to the park, but I did take him out to play while Ike took his nap.  It really wasn't warm enough to be in just a short sleeve shirt- but he insisted.  He also insisted on his rain galoshes. With all the melting snow- it  was a perfect day for them.

 

He ran around and splashed and played like it really was spring and not 37 degrees with lots of snow still on the ground.

I wouldn't mind just one more good storm- but last month was the second snowiest february on record for toledo so I can't complain. Occasionally I get snow for my birthday but we'll have to see what happens this year.

and here's ike.

This kid drives me bonkers!!!! he never sits still.  I'd say that at least 85% of the pictures I take of him end up blurry.  I took a gazillion on Sunday- and ended up with two. And they aren't even great.

He is very impatient, too. He refuses to sign.  Actually refuses and then throws little fits when I try to get him to do it.  He is starting to talk more, though.  He can say "what's that", "up", and "choo" - along with the basics "mom", "dad", and "ball".  I may be the only person who understands the words when he says them, but he speaks nonetheless.  And he's really really funny. He's going to be the teaser and jokester in the family.  And he's going to continue to make Zeb crazy for the rest of their lives.

Sunday after church we decided to venture out for a drive.  We ended up downtown and decided to check out the old building we'd been to a few weeks ago.  I got a bunch of pictures of Zeb- but almost NONE of Ike.  That kid is nigh impossible right now. Luckily Zeb is a little more cooperative and saves my sanity.

I'd really like to take a photography class so I can get a better handle on lighting and motion and whatnot. I forgot to switch over my images to RAW - so these aren't the best quality- but I still think this kid is mighty cute. 

Plus, this old building was really really cool.  I think Toledo used to be a really great city.  Don't get me wrong- I really do LOVE this city- but downtown is so desolate and dilapidated. It looks like there used to be a lot of great stuff to do and see and it makes me sad that we missed it (by a few decades).

 

 It really is fun to take pictures when you've got a good camera.  Plus- I am learning more and more about photoshop. I even removed zeb's scab in some of the pictures.  Did you know that there is a feature called 'weight loss' on photoshop?! 

Sesame street LIVE!

Woohoo. what a saturday we had yesterday. so so busy. Almost too busy, really. We had all sorts of errands all morning and then we went to SESAME STREET LIVE!!  I won a family four pack of tickets last week so we decided to put them to use!! Kent almost didn't make it- but luckily was working with the nicest residents ever and they let him off to come. He's in his work clothes because we picked him up from the hospital and drove straight to the show.

Both kids loved the show.  We were worried about Ike, but I think that he actually enjoyed it more than Zeb. He danced and giggled and pointed and just sat happily on Kent's lap.  Zeb thought it was over at intermission- and was ready to go at that point.  We ended up staying and he kept asking if we could go- but still enjoyed the last half.  Grover came right up to us to meet the kiddos but Zeb would have NOTHING to do with him. He was pretty creepy looking up close. Very hairy and extremely large.

Overall  it was a really fun show.  I don't think I would have paid the sixty bucks it would have cost for all four of us- but going for free was fabulous.

The above picture is a little strange looking because I'm trying to figure out photoshop.  I tried layering two pictures - one with a flash and one without.  I wanted to show the background- but also get good faces. This photoshop thing is pretty intense.  I need lessons.

After the show we went to a ward baptism with the kiddos. Sometimes I wonder why we take them to church functions like baptisms.  They were so irreverant and we spent much of the time in the hall anyway.
Afterwards we took them home, left them with a sitter, and then went back to the church for a "no kids allowed" game night.  It was really fun and we laughed a lot. Plus, our sitter (one of my seminary students) got both kids to bed. It was fabulous. I think I'd pay to have someone come and put my kids to bed every night.

Yesterday was AMAZING. My kidlets were with babysitters from 9-11 (at the gym) and then 1:30 until 8:30. And I was with Kent.  I'm sorry to those that helped watch my kids, though. They were tired and CRANKY. Thank-you!! I owe you cookies or a treat of some sort.

First off yesterday there was an awards ceremony on campus.  Kent was nominated along with other members of his class to receive the school's "Humanism in Medicine" Award- for student doctors "consistently demonstrating compassion and empathy in the delivery of care to patients" amongst many other things.

They presented the award to twenty-four med students, five residents, and one physician.  Ike and Zeb's pediatrician also received the award and I absolutely LOVE her- so I made Kent get a picture with her! She's a resident that works at our office and we've been seeing her since our regular pediatrician is on maternity leave.  She is one of the best doctors I've seen.  She leaves the program the same time we do- so we'll be able to stay with her until we leave.



Here's a picture of Kent shaking the dean's hand. I told him I'm not sure I'll be able to sit through his graduation ceremony so this may be the best picture we get.  I just hate long and boring  meetings of any sort.  Luckily this ceremony was pretty interesting and relatively short- plus had great refreshments.

After the program- we went and got the squidlets, fed them, and took them to another friend's house so we could drive down to Findlay, OH to go to a seminary teacher's banquet. The weather turned atrocious and only 12 of the expected 38 people were in attendance. Neither of the speakers showed up - and they cancelled the  broadcast afterwards- so we just ate dinner and went home. It was really nice - and there was a TON of food.  The drive home took a LONG time because the roads were so bad but it was just nice to be kidless so I didn't mind a bit.  I wasn't the one driving, though.

our day.

I asked him to give me the nastiest face he could. This is what he came up with. Pretty scary if you ask me.

 

  Yesterday we pulled up next to a fire truck at a red light.  Zeb looked at me and stated, "the fire truck isn't working, mom. It must be out of batteries".

Oh- and apparently Zeb has an Oswald bladder.  This kid can keep more liquid inside than I ever thought possible on a 2 and a half year old.  This is a side view of his stomach/bladder full to the brim. He seriously held it for four hours.  He's been asking to get on the "potty train" lately, so we've embarked. Too bad I think he thinks it has something to do with a real train.  Luckily for us he's been poo potty trained for a few weeks now. He totally did that on his own.  The pee thing may pose some problems.

Oh yeah.  And yesterday I judged a local science fair. It was a blast. I loved every second of talking to those awkward nerdy middle schoolers.  One kid's project was hypothesizing the effects of red bull on crickets!?!?  Maybe somebody should call PETA.   I miss science and teenagers.  Too bad I can't do early morning biology, too.

food.

I need your help.  While I don't mind cooking, baking, making food, etc., I detest FINDING great new recipes to use.  I'm one of those "top ten" dinner gals. I have my top ten and we eat them A LOT!  So, I've been scouring the web looking for the best recipe blogs out there.  I'm looking for those tried and true recipes that are guaranteed to be a hit.  Dinners, desserts, breakfasts, cookies, whatEVER.  What is your favorite recipe/cooking blog? I feel like I've exhausted my resources and I just need some fresh ideas.

Some of my favorites are:

the sisters' cafe

 a year of slow cooking

our best bites 

and, of course,

allrecipes.

free pancakes!!!! the word 'free' just gets me all excited.

Kent made it home tonight nice and early so we celebrated at ihop. Free pancake day has become a wonderful Toledo tradition.  Ike ate more ice chips than pancakes- but still enjoyed his stack.

and zeb didn't take a single bite of his "sandcastle".  This is why kent and I refuse to buy our children meals at restaurants. Once they prove that they can eat a full plate of food at home- then we'll think about actually spending money on them at a resturant.  Or we'll just start leaving them with babysitters.

 p.s. please excuse the cell phone pics.

dinner. strong man. bobblehead boy.

Ahhh. blasted dinner. It sneaks up on me everyday! I'm a lover of breakfast for dinner and almost made my sour cream blueberry pancakes again- but opted for a more well rounded meal.  This lovely dinner came straight out of my head. My recipe. My ingredients. My ideas. Although I'm rather certain there's nothing original about it.

I would have gone all vegetarian but a meal isn't a meal without meat for Kent.  We ate it with whole wheat english muffins.

3 medium potatoes baked and then squared.  

lay out potatoes in pan

cover them with this mixture:

5 eggs.

1/4 c milk

1/4 c sour cream

bunch of spinach chopped

onion and garlic powder, s and p to taste

cheese ( I used very little- but I think 1-2 cups would be fine)

saute:

1/2 pack (1/2 lb) ground sausage with an onion.

sprinkle on top of  potato mixture.

top with quartered cherry tomatoes.

cook for 1 hourish on 350.

It was tasty.  I would definitely recommend ketchup, though.

Ike is older by the day. He tried desperately all day to pick up and move this table around our front room. It was really funny. He kept getting so frustrated and shrieking.  That's his typical day. Frustration (due to an inability to communicate, or a push from his brother, or just plain crankiness) leading to shrieking.

And today there were lions at the gym says Zeb. He told me they say "raaaaawr" and they're "creepy". I asked him about the jellyfish and apparently they've moved on.  I think this picture is really funny.  His head looks ginormous. The only natural light I can use lately is in the corner of our front room by our sliding door. I'm trying to learn about my camera in that small space.  It's the one reason I wish winter would come to end- I just want to get outside so I can figure out my camera more.

happy haircut. and other pictures.

All four of us cut off a lot of hair this week- so I decided to just get it over with and post a picture (although the pic makes my hair look a little longer than it actually is).
Today at church Zeb had these crazy rooster tails popping up all over his head and I just couldn't take it anymore!  Usually cutting hair is like pulling teeth for the Z man- but today (with the promise of a cupcake) the process was much smoother. Ike is pretty chill about it.  Kent loves to cut his hair. And me- let's just say it's always a semi-emotional process. I really like my cut- it's just that I don't cut my hair often and I'm always so self conscious about it when I do.  I have no idea why. I'm not attached to my hair- and I don't even really ever do it- so the fact that it's always so scary for me is a mystery.  But, I'm super happy. I can still barely put it into a pony (with some bobbies) for working out- and the cut gave it a lot more body. Hooray for the haircut.  And I'm always a fan of clean cut and short on the three other millers in the house so I think the whole fam looks great.

So to sisters, moms, etc. (those who actually really care about my cut)- here's a side shot :)

And here are just some really funny boy faces.  Zeb is so real now. He's a real person and says real things and it's really fun. Today in church- during the sacrament- we were looking at a church book and talking about baptism when he yelled "NO, MOM! I'm not getting baptized in six years! I'm busy".  Lately he's too busy for everything he doesn't want to do.

 

and Ike is the hardest age in the world right now.  Church was so frustrating today chasing him around! He makes the funniest faces while he's eating.  Here's one of them.  And interestingly enough he has the quasimodo eye just like zeb- only with the opposite eye.

and this one's just cute.  I do love little baby features. Teeny arms and teeny noses and chubby cheeks.