Random pictures

No real news from my corner of the world, so I thought I'd just go back through my pictures and see if there were any I should have posted but didn't because I forgot or something more entertaining came along. (Wow was that the longest run-on sentence ever?)







The first picture was during the potty training days ... I think Christa and Lexi just hung out in the bathroom the entire day but whatever, it worked! Glad that's behind us! Then there's my "little" brother Mike with Lexi - the boy can sleep anywhere, anytime. It's a gift. The huge cat is my friend Darlynn's - I can't remember what it's called but it's some special breed ... anyway it was ginormous!! The last picture is Eric on his birthday - judging by the painted toenails it is his sweet mother Brenda rearranging his face. :)

Buns and cheese

We're home - actually came home sooner than we expected because of rumors and threats of bad weather in Nebraska. So, we headed for home late Wednesday night, which made yesterday pretty much of a bust but hey, the kids (all THREE of them) slept all the way in the car! :) We did get the dresser stripped - now it's ready for sanding.


Here's a couple of cute pictures from the drive up.



Today Christa and I did our normal Friday grocery/errands run - I had the cart carrying Mason and he did a little damage when I wasn't watching...


If you look close enough at the cheese you can see the teeth marks. At least he was gnawing on things I had already paid for, could have been worse, although I'm not sure why he's not processing the whole "covered in plastic" thing ... :)

TTFN!

Off to Nebraska for a few days for some stripping ... hee hee, just wanted to say that. For a long time we've had a dresser that matches a bedroom set that belonged to Greg's grandpa. We now have the rest of the set - it's still in great shape - but many moons ago we painted the dresser "KU" colors - red and blue. It was in B.J.'s room forever; in fact, the dresser has his initials carved in the top of it in several places! Anyway, two of my friends in Kearney claim to be near-professional strippers (there I did it again :) so I'm taking the dresser and going for a visit. I'm also taking my daughter and the babies, so there you have the makings for a fun trip with lots of pictures and stories to share when we get home, probably Friday or Saturday. See you then!

Pink

Lexi's favorite thing to do right now is paint, and she always wants pink paper to paint on ... I'm going to run out soon. Can you buy a ream of pink construction paper??



... And, Mason in pink slippers. No further comment, except that I didn't put them on him.

Call you spell stubborn?

OK I PROMISE you Mason knows all the body parts I'm asking him about in this video, but he insists on looking the happy fool and pointing repeatedly to his ear ... except for the end - he is apparently quite taken with his socks right now. The beginning cracks me up - he just started shaking his head violently every time you ask him if he's done with his food.

Time for a new look

Actually, I had this template awhile ago and changed it for some reason I can't remember at all right now. Anyway, I like it better than the pink ... Lexi can only have her way for so long.

Off to get groceries with Christa and the kiddos - our regular Friday morning jaunt. Lexi is working on not whining or complaining while we are shopping. At least I'M working on Lexi not whining or complaining ... actually she's done better the last couple of weeks. It's always an adventure though!! Thankfully neither of them has eaten anything off the produce rack in awhile. :)

Free entertainment

Christa and I took the kids to the Great Mall yesterday to play - we discovered that early afternoon on a weekday is the perfect time! There were only a few other kids there, and Lexi and Mason had a blast. Lexi even made a little friend.



Mason, on the other hand, was on a mission the whole time we were there! What kind of mission, specifically, we never really figured out, but he never stopped moving! That is, once we got him to quit playing the game of running out of the play area altogether every time he got a chance. :)

He really "encouraged" this little girl to move along so he could get up on the froggy ...



This mirror made him look skinny!! That's a first!



And he LOVED spinning the blocks on this board - if you could call something that violent spinning. :)


And last but not least, a little video of him getting in and out of a boat. Very gracefully.

Helmet, anyone?

Lexi was foraging in the toy box the other day and came up with this ducky helmet - they spent a good long while playing with it and wearing it! Actually it might be good for them to get used to wearing protective devices, seeing as how they have my genes ...







I thought about putting comments with each picture, but after looking at them again I think they pretty much speak for themselves!! :)

Italian Bread Bowls

Here you go Shannon!

ITALIAN BREAD BOWLS

2 (.25 oz) packages active dry yeast
2 ½ cups warm water (110 degrees)
2 tsp salt
2 T vegetable oil
6 ½ to 7 cups flour

1 T cornmeal
1 egg white
1 T water

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Add salt, oil and 4 cups flour to the yeast mixture, beat well. Stir in the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, until the dough has pulled together (and cleans the sides of your bowl if using a kitchen aid to do the kneading – let it knead for 2 more minutes). If kneading by hand, turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6 minutes. Spray a large bowl with non-stick spray, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 40 minutes.

Punch down, and divide into 4-6 equal portions (depending on how big you want them). Shape each portion into a round loaf. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 35 minutes.

In a small bowl, beat together the egg white and 1 T water. Lightly brush the loaves with half of the egg wash.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining egg mixture, and bake 10-15 minutes more or until golden. Cool on wire racks.

When cooled (enough to handle anyway!) slice the top off each bowl, and pull out the inside dough, forming a cute little bowl. Fill with soup and serve – I always put the bread chunks from inside around the plate for dipping!

Baked Potato Soup

I don't know about where you are, but the weather here has been chilly and drizzly and just perfect for soup! Christa and I made this one yesterday during the Chiefs game (if you could call it a game), and served it in homemade bread bowls - yum-O!!

BAKED POTATO SOUP

4 large baking potatoes (or the equivalent of what you have on hand!)
2/3 c. butter
2/3 c. flour
6 c. milk
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
½ med onion, chopped
12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 ½ c. shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
8 oz sour cream

Wash potatoes and pierce several times with a fork. Bake at 425 degrees for one hour or until done. Let cool (I put them in the refrigerator). Cut potatoes in half lengthwise, then scoop out pulp.

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat; sauté onions in butter until translucent. Add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and bubbly.

Add potato pulp, salt, pepper, bacon, and 1 ¼ c cheese. Cook until thoroughly, then stir in sour cream. Add extra milk if necessary for desired thickness. Serve with remaining cheese.

4-6 servings

Here kitty kitty kitty

The spider morphed into a kitty ... at least I think that's what this is! :) See Brenda's web site (link on the right) for the creative process!
This is the back of the kitty ... love the droppings and the fact that the kitty is gender specific (see the gold balls?) ...
This is it's (scary) face ... and be sure to notice the right front paw is purple, just like my poor toe, even though we're not making fun of that ...
And THIS is the kitty after sitting in the rain overnight ... poor baby.

Which leaves us in an interesting dilemma ... we are out of materials (thought we had sufficiently dismantled the chandelier with the spider) and it's our turn!! Must think. Suggestions welcome.

The Basement

Thought I would post of few pictures of the basement Greg just finished, even though they don't do it justice! This is the family room area, which flows through to the walk up kitchen and the big tiled area below.
This area will hold a pool table soon. I got to help with this tile!
I love this backsplash! Wish I would have gotten a close up. Anyway, this is their walkup area, complete with two refrigerators, a big sink and garbage disposal.
And these last two are of the 3/4 bath.
It was really pretty funny - the homeowner was decorating around him as he was trying to finish up - bet the whole thing just looks amazing now!!

And you thought the spider was cool!

When I am old, I shall wear purple ...

I think I broke my toe.

How, you ask? Being a putz, like usual. I rammed my foot into the couch on the way through the family room. Like I do several times a day. Only it really hurt, REALLY hurt, this time!! I tell Greg he can't make fun of me when I do stuff like this (including random running into walls and tripping over things) because I can't help it ... I am so incredibly spatially challenged that I've decided it's a birth defect. And it's not nice to make fun of birth defects, is it?!

Chilly lazy day

Today it feels like Fall!! The leaves are turning, the temp was in the 50's for a high, nippy and cloudy. I'm not looking forward to cold weather, but I AM looking forward to cold weather cooking!

This afternoon, Christa and the kids came over and we fixed chicken and noodles and made some French bread, enough for both households. I had her make the chicken and noodles while I "instructed" because this is one of those things that's just in my head, not written down anywhere, and if I tried to tell her how to make it, it would never come out the same. She did a great job - it was yummy!!

B.J. called earlier for my Scalloped Potatoes and Ham recipe - he is cooking for the people he lives with, the Jamisons (and probably Darah?), tonight. This is the 2nd or 3rd time he's done that on a Wednesday night - I love it!! Last week he made chicken fried rice.

I took Lexi potty this afternoon, and was trying to get her put back together in the right order ... panties, onesie, THEN jeans ... and when I started to snap her onesie she objected loudly - "NO NOT MY ONESIE!!! THEN I CAN'T SEE MY BELLY BUTTON!" Uh, too bad?? Because the onesie is the only thing that keeps the rest of us from seeing her BUTT CRACK all the time!!

Greg is done with the big basement finish project he's been working on for 10+ weeks - it turned out beautifully!! And he finished a bit ahead of schedule, which means he's had an easy couple of days - he really needed some down time! He starts a bathroom remodel next week, then on to another basement finish that will keep him busy until after the new year. We are so thankful for the way God continues to provide for us - He is definitely due all the credit. It's crazy the way Greg's phone doesn't ring when he's too busy to take on more work, then starts ringing the minute his head is above water again - it's happened WAY too many times to think it can be anything but the Lord ordering our days.

Well no pictures this time ... just felt like having a ramble. Off to chill with my husband for the rest of the night. :)

Drum roll, please ...

B.J. has started a blog! :) Here's his address, link also on the right:

Brandon in San Diego

Good nap = bad hair

Nothing like a good long nap to leave a kid with sweaty, messy hair!

I just love that first sweet snuggle after she wakes up, sleepy eyes, warm little soft body.

Itsy Bitsy Spider?

Greg and I are just getting around to paying back the Carlsons for the lovely gift of the turkey last month. We thought they were out of order with their holidays ... we backed it up to Halloween.

So, what do you get when you take an ugly chandelier, a welder (notice the safety helmet placement - yeesh) ...



some paint ...



and a bit of imagination?



Oh and add in one horrible school picture of poor Kevin, just for fun ...



The creative genius, at the scene of the crime.

Old Business

I realized today that I haven't updated this thing on several issues, so thought I'd do some "clean up" work while I have a few minutes.

First, Greg: He did indeed see a cardiologist the week after we got home from our trip, and those of you who have had to do a stress test will appreciate this - they had him on the level four incline and he had to run to get his heart rate above 120!! Gee whiz. I guess he's in pretty good shape. Anyway, the test came out well, he did have a few missed heartbeats but the doc said unless he starts having problems with dizziness/fainting it's nothing to worry about. Good news.

Second, the kitty: Thanks for all the great suggestions, it was hard to pass on Precious Little Angel Muffin Kitty, but we decided to go with Kiki for now. We brought her home the same day (Tuesday) that Terran and Kiki's adoptions were finalized, in their "forever homes." It was a little bit of a sad day for me, but a very joyful one at the same time as we know both kids are where they belong, and it turned out that we were just a pit stop on the way for them.

Finally, my fat feet: My feet kept swelling, so my regular doc sent me to the cardiologist, who did a doppler on my legs and a stress test. Believe me, I did not have to go running to level 4 to get my heart rate up, in fact I think she only raised it once and I walked the whole time. :) Anyway, the stress test was good, the cardiologist figured out that my symptoms were all side effects of the two blood pressure medications I was taking, so she took me off both and replaced them with something else. I've lost seven pounds since then!! I have bones in my feet again!! WHOOPEE!!!!!!! I go back in a month for a follow up but it seems as if the mystery has been solved.

OK that's it ... unless you can think of anything else I've left hanging!

When the attention span and the intellect collide ...

See's Christa's blog (link on the right) - she and Lexi have started what I call "baby homeschooling" this week. It takes about 20 minutes a day, tops. They were over here one day this week when they did "school" and I got some video - notice what Lexi's two-year-old body is doing while her freaky scary smart mind is "reading" these words! Amusing.



And, I don't think art is going to be her gift:



And the way she works mommy at the end of this one to get out of counting any more ... or maybe the way mommy works her to get her to pick up the chips? I'm not sure who has the upper hand most of the time with these two!! She's a little fixated on the number sixteen ....



And there you have it. They do a devotion together also, which I didn't record, but otherwise that's her whole school day! :)

The other day I told her it was time to get in the van (we were going from her house to mine) and she said, "Let's walk!" I told her we couldn't because we had the van, and she said, "FINE! Then I will just walk in my imagination!!" Made me laugh.

Crack Kills

What do you get when you potty train a tall, relatively skinny two year old? Jeans that don't fit and a regular viewing of her butt crack. :)

Mason ... the happy weenie

Not a very nice thing to say about your grandchild, I know, but seriously, he is terrified of the kitty! I have video to prove it, but first a collage of happy Mason pictures:





Naturally, these were all taken while he was eating and at his happiest. Love the trio of bruises on his forehead - the boy is like a bull in a china cabinet. He and Lexi have this pattern of fighting: She's playing peacefully with [anything], he decided he wants it and makes a beeline for her, she sees him coming and lowers her head in his direction to prevent his entry into her guarded territory, he stops, turns around, and backs up until he can sit on her head!! We think the kid should be equipped with backup lights and sirens, like the trash truck.

OK so here's the video from yesterday, after we brought the kitty home. Before I grabbed the camera, he literally screeched like a girl when the kitty came near him. Unfortunately I didn't capture that, but this is still pretty funny.

Learning the hard way ...

Lexi discovered that going down the steps head first is a bad idea ... check out the fat lip!