Sunday Cuteness- 4th of July edition

I hope that everyone had a fun and safe holiday. I have been mum lately, we had my husband's cousin and her family over for a visit during the long weekend. She is the the closest family to us so I think that we are going to get to know each other a whole lot better than we did before.

Here are some shots of the boys at the zoo. I am excited that we are close enough to a zoo that a membership is worth the money. The zoo is small when compared to some that I have been to, but it is nice and well landscaped. We had perfect timing, as we finished seeing all the animals it started sprinkling.

This is the rain forest exhibit. They had a lot of birds and a small deer like animal running loose. They had a healthy fear of the boys.

The drain! This is what fascinated Evan the most about the zoo (I know this is Harry looking at the drain, but Evan kept going back to it and all the sundry drains that were around the entire zoo. Harry was satisfied with this one look) . He was not as excited about the animals as Harry was. He did enjoy being pushed around in the stroller which is something that we hardly bring out any more.

Harry was tickled that he got to see the orangutan so closely.

Happy Father's day!!

I just want to wish all the dads out there a very happy Father's Day. I have been very blessed by having some very great fathers in my life.

Baby Evan and my Dad

My own father was very involved with rearing his children. He is a teacher, so he was there every afternoon after work making sure that we were behaving and cooking dinner for us. He was there to pick us up from after school activities. Naturally he was also very involved with our education and made me dread parent teacher night every year at school. He set the bar very high for my future husband.

My husband and Harry at an aquarium.

My husband is another wonderful father in my life. He is very involved with the boys. He cooks, he cleans, he does laundry and changes diapers when I can trick him into it. I think he is a great father and I am glad that he is around to show our sons what a real man is like.

Harry enjoying some quality movie watching time with my husband's father.

My father-in-law is another example of a wonderful father that I have in my life. He is kind of a quiet guy who has a quirky sense of humor. If you need something built or repaired he is the go to guy. He is an awesome grandfather to the boys.

Remember

Today is a day of remembrance. Most people think of today as a fun day off of work and it is, but it is also a day to remember those that have helped keep this country free.

Just this week I met my mother's half brother for the first time in probably about 20 years. He is in the same branch of the military as my husband. He came down to my husband's base for some training and we met up with him. It was a very interesting encounter. He had been a reservist for a great many years. After September 11th he was being called up so much that he eventually decided to become active duty military. He served in the Persian Gulf several times and he also helped out after Hurricane Katrina.

Meeting him again kind of drove home the fact that despite what we may think about the war that is happening right now, the people that are serving over there truly need our support. The military is filled with a lot of good people trying to keep the world safe for their family. They want to make an honest living doing something that will make a difference. They have to deal with crazy bosses and odd coworkers just like people in the civilian world. It just kills me when I read about people vilifying our military and the people serving in it.

Please take a moment today to remember why you have this day off of work. Please look beyond the hype in the media about what is happening over there.

I also want to wish my sister E (now officially dubbed Annie Pompom by Evan) a happy birthday. She and my sister L have come over for a visit which is why my blogging had been a bit spotty.

Happy Mother's Day

I want to send a happy mother's day out there to all the mothers (that includes everyone adoptive mothers, foster mothers and so on) out there.

I can remember the exact moment that I really started to understand and feel a special kinship with her. It had been an especially rough few days. The night before I had called home sobbing in frustration at Evan still being in the hospital. He had taken a few steps back with his eating and I had come back from some time home only to see him with an NG tube in his nose. I got a phone call in the morning from my mother. She told me not to be mad at her and before she could finish I knew in that instant that she was either int he city or would be shortly on her way. I was right and while I had been resisting the thought that I needed help, I really did need some help. I knew that she was feeling all the same worries and concern for me that I was feeling for Evan. The visit was something that I really needed. My husband while an excellent husband and father was not a very good hospital person. He paced like a caged tiger so it was relief when he had to go back to work. The nurses and doctors were nice but they had jobs to do, they could not sit with me the way I needed. My mom was calming influence who was able to keep me company in just the way I needed.

I also want to give a special shout out to my mother in law. She has been the best mother in law a girl could ask for. She does not resent me for taking her boy away from her (actually I think she would have payed me to take him (just kidding)). She does not meddle in our parenting decisions in any way. I have see the way she is non critical even though some of her grandkids are not nearly as well behaved as Evan and Harry. That same family has made several financial decisions that have been very questionable, yet not a word of criticism is uttered even when that family is not near to hear. She is also not one for unwanted advice. She will only offer it if asked. Go on and hate me for my great mother in law, I think I can take it.

I hope that everyone can have a great special day and reflect on the wonderful influence mothers and mother like people can have on lives.

Best meal ever

I think I have cooked my best meal ever. It was so good that my husband, the condiment king, did not add any thing to it. We had grilled rosemary lamb chops (it was my husband's first time eating lamb so he was a bit hesitant and took a bit of convincing), rosemary carrots and roasted garlic mashed potatoes. Everything turned out perfectly. The meat was nice and rare. The carrots were crisp with out being crunchy and the mashed potatoes were not lumpy thanks to my recent purchase of a ricer. I think we will be eating more lamb from now on.

I also want to give a big thanks to Anne/kq for introducing me to the recipe website that I used to find these recipes. I have found so many amazing recipes there since she told me about it. I hardly even pick up paper cook books any more, instead I print out the recipes we like and put them in a binder so that I have my own custom book.

Happy April Fool's Day!!

I am not really pregnant, it was all a fun joke that I was playing on my family. I have a sister that loves to harass me about when I am going to provide her with a niece so I thought I would have a bit of fun with her. Thanks for all the congratulations, but I will have to save them for when I really do get pregnant next, which is not any time in the immediate future.

On a related note I just discovered that I may be doomed to having all boys. I found an rather light article about it and I really have to wonder how this study was done because my mother is quite "assertive, competitive, and self-reliant" and she ended up with four girls and no sons.

If you would like to have some fun with your family next April Fool's Day here are some tricky recipes to make for dinner.

Bunny madness

We had a crazy busy day today filled with a lot of candy and other fun things. The breakfast with the easter bunny was pretty much what I had expected. This year the easter bunny managed to show up to the breakfast on base and it was really nice weather out so we were not freezing during the easter egg hunt. This year we also remembered (the night before) to bring a bucket to put the eggs in. My husband decided to crash the bigger kids section and let Evan get some real candy since there was no way we were going to let him eat the pretzels.

The second hunt we went to had more fun activities including rock painting. That was hosted by a group that it trying to get funding for a children's museum in this area which is something I can really get behind. The egg hunt was even more age divided than the first one we went to because there were eggs with prizes in them. If you got one with a number you got that corresponding prize. Since parents were only allowed to help in the 1-2 egg section we kept Evan there since he would have been at a disadvantage only being able to use one hand. Harry picked up a prize egg and won a very puzzling chicken pillow. I looked up the pillow online and discovered that this silly pillow that I could probably have made myself was retailing for 38.00!

The second hunt had the best candy. We got a bunch of really small Jelly Belly packets. Jelly Belly jelly beans are my all time favorite jelly bean. I am finding it hard to share with the boys. I was not sad that there was very little chocolate since the quality of chocolate handed out at events like this is often sub par.

We also went out to eat for dinner since neither of us felt like cooking. We ordered the boys some fish and chips and the waitress was amazed that such small children would love fish so much. She even stuck around to watch them chow down.

What a cute little boy!! Last year he spent the entire time in a sling.

It goes in the bucket!

Evan spotted an egg in the bushes and was determined to get it all by himself.

Evan and Daddy waiting for the Easter Bunny to come at hunt #2

Here comes the Easter bunny!!!

Easter

Easter is around the corner and along with it comes yet another dilemma. To Easter bunny or to not Easter bunny? Do we remove the magic and mystery from childhood? Do we shower the kids with gifts and candy leaving out the true reason for the holiday which is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ?

Right now I am choosing not to choose. This Saturday we will head out to the base and eat a free breakfast where the Easter bunny may or may not show up to amuse the kids (last year he was MIA). We will then collect lame eggs stuffed full of pretzels (some of the parents complained last year that too much candy was given out, never mind that the instant the pretzel hits the mouth saliva turns the simple carbs into sugars) which Evan can't eat due to his sodium restricted diet. After all the fun we are planning on crashing the better planed easter celebration of the local town (where we actually do not live so technically we are crashing the party but our town is not having any sort of celebration that I know of) so that the kids can get their faces painted (and you all know how much they love body art) and play kid themed games.


On Easter Sunday we will attend church. We will celebrate the true meaning of the holiday leaving out all the pagan symbolism. No easter baskets or toys will be given on this day. We will consume a traditional ham dinner (which as a Jew, Jesus, would have been forbidden to eat. Lamb is hard to find in this area so we go with what we can get). The kids will be wearing cute new duds. I think that by separating the differing elements of the holiday we will manage to have the best of both worlds.


Here is a picture from Evan's first Easter. Obviously he was still in the hospital but was soon to be released. I was holding him and talking with my dad (who had come out during his spring break to keep me company in the hospital and meet his first grand child) and my husband. I was not facing the door so I did not see the giant creepy rabbit sneaking up behind me. I see a flash of white out of the corner of my eye and am quite startled. Luckily I did not drop Evan or anything due to my fright. I quickly calmed down when I saw that it was just the friendly neighborhood Easter bunny dressed in a very gaudy vest and bow tie ensemble. How he got into the hospital with out wearing pants I will never know.

When I was a child he "forgot" to come to our house once so, he had to come back to it after we had arrived home from church. The real reason was that my parents had not wanted to get up early to hide the eggs. I remember my father telling me not to peek outside but I still did. I was quite disappointed that I did not see the Easter bunny. Lucky for my parents I did not see them hiding eggs either, they would have been busted big time. I do remember not being all that shocked when my dad told me the truth about Santa, the Easter bunny and the Tooth Fairy so I must have suspected something.

My new toy

My lovely wonderful parents bought me an iPod nano for Christmas. I have been having fun for the last few days digging up my music collection and putting them on my ultra tiny and super slim mp3 player. My music collection is not all that extensive but it seems a bit weird that I will be able to fit it all in the palm of my hand. My nano also has solitaire on it which is a strangely exciting thing. Evan had a doctor's appointment today and I was able to play a few games while he was playing in the waiting room. To him it did not look like I was doing anything all that interesting so he left me in peace which was quite nice.

What cool things did you get from Santa?

P.S. My sisters all chipped in and got me a medical book with pediatric diseases and treatments. I also have my own pediatric dosing handbook so I am now set to ditch all the doctors and treat my kids all on my own. Kidding!

Merry Christmas!

I hope those of my readers that celebrate Christmas are having a wonderful holiday. We have had a nice quiet holiday at home. My parents will be coming over tomorrow to have a bit of fun with the grandkids. Our holiday has been pretty nice aside from the fact that apparently I took no thought beyond what our main dish would be for our Christmas dinner. We bought a marinated turkey breast at Costco but I did not even get any side dishes planned or anything. I ended up scrambling at the last second and digging deep into our freezer for items that I had long ago forgotten. It was a fairly passable meal aside from my feeling that the turkey was not cooked quite enough but my husband insisting that it was. He hates dry turkey after years of eating it so I deferred to him.

My pushy sister E (the same one that pulled me out of a tree) called us just as I was getting dinner on the table wondering why I had not posted pictures of the boys opening presents. I am only giving in to her since she can still mess with my present as it is coming with my parents on the plane tomorrow. After tomorrow I am so going to ignore her demands.

Evan and Harry in their Christmas church clothing on Christmas Eve day.

Our Christmas Eve candle light dinner. In my husband's family they have the big meal Christmas Eve and it is basically a junk food dinner although my husband took offense when I used that term to describe it. Silly man!

Evan opening Annie and Claribel on Christmas Eve. Evan has so many engines in his train collection that I thought he could use some cars for the engines to pull.

Harry opening his present on Christmas Eve. I ended up wrapping a few cheap present for him since he would not be getting any presents until my parents came. My inlaws bought the boys a train track set that they have been playing with for awhile now.

Harry enjoying his video. Mommy and daddy let the kiddos stay up waay too late on Christmas Eve in the hopes that they would sleep in.... they didn't.

Christmas morning. Evan got some Thomas coloring books and some parts for his Mr. Potato Head.

Harry having fun playing with Evan's presents while he is not looking.

One more week

It is one short week until Christmas. I have yet to even send out any Christmas cards. It is the thought that counts right?

Since I have become a mother my mind always turns to Mary during the Christmas season. There are a lot of pressures on any parent, but it must have been pretty scary at times knowing that you were going to be the mother of Christ. I wonder how she managed to do it.

How rude!!! (updated with more pictures at the bottom)

I found out last night while chatting with my mom online that not only did she open my presents early but my evil sisters did too! I know they are reading this blog so I am going to put them on notice. I am not sending presents next year until after Christmas. That way you HAVE to wait like I am waiting to open presents. If you are going to cheat you should at least have the decency to send us our presents so we can open them early.

Part of the presents were the ultra cute Christmas pictures that I had done awhile back. I did not post them on here since I did not want to ruin the surprise. Now the point is very moot so enjoy blogsphere!

We are decorated

We put up our Christmas tree, the Christmas village is up (shudders) and both Nativity scenes are out (one is for the kiddos to play with so naturally it is scattered all over the floor) and I have harassed my husband sufficiently that hopefully the outdoor lights will be up by Saturday ("I guess I could try to put them up if I have the time")

Evan helping daddy decorate. Harry was absent due to an urgent nap.

Mmm ornaments are tasty.

It looks best riiight there! Perfecto!

This is the end result of letting a two year old decorate your tree.

We redistributed the ornaments for more coverage, however you will note a big empty spot thanks to Harry. Our ornaments are wandering around the room at odd times and I have to go around collecting them to put them back on the tree.

My hand painted nativity scene. My mom made a wooden one in Homemaking one year and we kids adored it so much that when I was engaged my dad copied it and made me one (he cut the wood, I painted it). It took me two years to get all the details painted to my satisfaction. I even made my own colors of paint, I am that picky. This is just part of it, there is a lot more including shepherds and the like. I may post more pictures of it later.

Part of the awful and horrid Christmas village. Most of it was given to us by my parents, my mom had grown quite weary of it and I was desperate for any decoration since I was newly married. I have grown to loathe it as much as my mother. My husband will not part with it and insists on adding to it. I just wanted a simple garland and some candles on my entertainment center instead I am stuck with that monstrosity. Maybe in out next move it will "break".

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope that everyone is having a great Thanksgiving. I am dragging this fine morning because Harry decided that we all needed to party at 2:30 this morning (I think that from now on we will be having birthday cake in the afternoon and not right before bed). I took care of all the usual suspects and he was still wide eyed awake. After several attempts to get him to sleep I had to take Evan into bed with me and just let Harry cry it out. There was no way I could even function any more at that point. The stinker cried for about five seconds and was fast asleep. I then had to deal with Evan's determined effort to kick all of our covers off in a freezing room. My husband jumped ship and spent the night on the couch.

My mother-in-law and I are in cahoots and trying to force our husbands to take care of the kids while we are cooking in the kitchen. I have decided to extend that and am now hiding out in the computer room even though all my dishes are done and ready for the oven. I am thinking about possibly hiding all day, or as much of it as I can because I have had enough of whiny kids. As I am typing this I am hearing a duet of crying in the back ground. I am trying hard not to laugh.

Halloween wrap up

Another year with no Trick or Treaters. I think that my neighborhood must be one of the ones that is "bad" so no one comes by. The first year we lived here I bought a large bag of candy thinking that we would be out by the end of the night. Not a kid knocked on the door. The next year I bought a smaller bag with the same results. Not needing to have a bunch of candy sitting around we decided to not buy any this year.

This whole not having trick or treaters is quite disappointing to me. When I reached a certain age handing out candy became the biggest part of Halloween. I was too old to go out on my own so my joy came from seeing all the younger kids dressed up. I feel kind of cheated that no one is coming.

We did not take Evan out trick or treating this year, so I guess we were part of the problem. I just did not think he was really ready just yet. I tried really hard to teach him to say "trick or treat" even bribing him with chocolate chips. It was no good he was not going for it one bit. He would happily say any number of things but trick or treat was not one of them. Maybe next year!

Happy Halloween

I am putting this up as a fun Halloween decoration for my blog. Scroll down for new posts.

Pics from the party

Here are some pictures from the ward party. My husband entered the chili cook off and sadly did not win an award. Personally I think he probably made the chili a bit too hot for most people's taste. Evan had fun playing the games and Harry had fun being cute.

Evan the kitty and Harry the frog.

My husband only plays a doctor on TV

Awesome Mom the lame last second costume holding a super cute frog

This was Evan's favorite game, throwing balls into the water and hopefully getting one into a cup

Evan fishing with a bit of help from daddy

Sigh

I am feeling so frustrated with my sister L right now. In June I bought a bunch of fabric and notions so that she could sew me a really neat Scottish dress for Halloween. It was supposed to be a late birthday present for me. She managed to fritter all that time away and send the dress at the very last moment. If we were going out on Halloween then it may have arrived here in time but instead I threw her slacker plan for a loop by wanting to dress up for the Ward party that is tonight. Imagine that dressing up BEFORE Halloween.

Everybody dresses up for this and everyone takes pains to be creative. I was going to wow everyone with my really neat costume. Now I am stuck here at the last second trying to decide if I want to be the same thing I was last year (a pregnant witch, only this year I am not pregnant so I guess technically I will be something different) or dig out my trusty lab coat that my mom stole from work for me one year when I was in college and be some sort of medical personage. My husband is already going to be wearing his scrubs and all that but I am just not sure if I can do it.

Gah!!! I should have listened to my sister E's warnings about L's inability to finish projects until the last second. Next time I get her to make something for me I guess I will have to lie about when I need it so that I will be able to have it on time.

I was going to be the one on the left, sigh.

The painting of the pumpkins

The process of painting the pumpkins that were so precisely picked proceeded yesterday but due to a persnickety toddler it was not completed until tonight.

Harry's pumpkin is on the left and Evan's is on the right.

Mommy helping Harry get the hang of the whole finger painting thing

Evan dove right in

Evan also decided to see if the paint was something good to eat, hence the blue on his lips

I am not sure that Evan is really cut out for the whole artistic thing. He seems to peter out pretty quickly when provided with any sort of art supply (note the scarcity of paint on his pumpkin). He is not a kid that will sit and color for hours.

Holiday madness

Note to self: do not leave getting a Halloween costume until right before you actually need the costume.

My sister L called me a few weeks ago with the bad news that I would not be able to pawn the work of making Harry's costume on her. I of course proceeded to put off costume purchasing until today. I only did it today because the ward party is on Saturday and I am really busy on Friday. So as soon as my husband got home from work we went out on our search.

It was wild and the stores were packed with late shoppers like us. The selection was slim but we managed to find a cute frog costume for a cute little boy. We also picked up a fun double headed ax that Evan had a blast with all evening.