Random Sampler...Again

Alton was posing as a dinosaur, I think. But, he looks more like a monkey (which is appropriate for him)! He loves to look in the mirror and make faces. So cute.



Snuggle time (you know, the kind that lasts for about 20 seconds, but you savor every moment)!

This was his "costume" or something.

My cute little angel (with a temper). =)

This one cracks me up!

Alton with his new Santa toy (out of his goodie bag from nursery). Can you tell he liked it a little bit?? He had just discovered that Santa sang when you squeezed his belly.

Great friends.

He was about to give me a kiss.

I LOVE this kid!

This is the real reason Barry goes to the gym every day.

Late Birthday Post

So, yeah, over a month ago Alton and Evelyn both had a birthday. We just had a simple birthday get-together with Barry's family and Alton's good friend, Carter and his parents (okay, well, his Mom is one of my good friends, too, so it was a double perk!). Barry's Mom also had a birthday around the same time so we celebrated her as well. I don't really have many good pictures from the "party". I was busy being the hostess and Barry was busy with the video camera and reigning in the little 3-year-old boys (or monkeys...I'm not sure what they are at this point...boy monkeys?).

I'm just glad this kid had a birthday so we could have a good excuse for some good ole chocolae cake. He licked all the frosting and M&M's off the top and left the rest. Silly kid!

Evy was slightly hesitant at first.


"What is this stuff? It looks so foreign."

Once she finally got a taste of the chocolatey goodness, there was no looking back.

I know I spend far too much time whining about all the hard work these two are. They are really great kids. I take so much for granted. I'm grateful that they had birthdays and that I was here to see them! I feel so blessed to be able to stay home with them everyday. To teach them about Jesus, not to throw rocks at their friends, how to use the potty (Evy will probably have this one down before Alton), Primary songs, the true meaning of Christmas (you mean it's not just about the presents?), and so on and so forth.

These kids are two of the most stubborn I've ever met. I think that most of my friends will attest to that at this point (especially with Alton). Everyone likes to give me advice about potty training, getting kids to eat more foods, etc. Yeah, well nothing works on Alton. Seriously. Come over to my house and spend a few days with us. You'll see what I mean.

But, you know what? That's okay because THESE KIDS ROCK!

And so does their Dad, by the way!

Miss Betty's Super Quick Dinner Rolls

I don't know who Miss Betty is but I sure am glad she posted her recipe on Allrecipes.com! I found these online last night. I was craving some rolls with dinner, but didn't have time to let anything rise. These were perfect! Light, fluffy, and delicious (a mix between a roll and a biscuit...especially yummy with a smidgen of jam)!

Here's the recipe:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk (I used skim)
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise (I used the kind made from olive oil)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Then stir in milk and mayonnaise. Spoon mixture into 5 muffin cups.
3. Bake for 15 minutes (or until nice and puffed and brown).

***I doubled this recipe because 5 just didn't seem like enough. I'm glad I did, there were only two left at the end of dinner (and no, I didn't eat them all myself!). =) Go try them and see what you think.

Good Eats

Here are a few recipes I've tried recently and really enjoyed.

Potato Pie

"Favorite Stir-Fry"
(Barry doesn't do bell pepper, so I used fresh spinach instead.)

Chocolate Chip Oreo Cookies

Cake Balls (or "Cake Pops", as we call them now)
(These were so delicious and really fun to make and decorate. Great for the kids!! We did Christmas cake pops with red and green melted chocolate.)

Not Sure What to Think

I've typed and retyped this post several times now. I don't want to say too much or get anything started. I will just say that I did not vote for Obama and was disappointed (although, not surprised) when he won. (I was secretly hoping that magically neither candidate would win and they'd have to choose someone better. Sometimes I really do have childlike wishes!) After reading a friends' blog this morning I have decided that there is nothing that can be changed now so I might as well accept it and hope for the best! Good idea, right?! Enough of that. I don't want to think about the new president anymore this morning. I'd rather think about....

Yeah, that's better....sorta. It also makes me sad. Barry, as I type this, is boarding his plane to Costa Rica for a WEEK! I miss him like crazy already!!

My Very Own Super-Hero

(I love this goofy picture of Barry! I found the shirt at Target for $5.)

My husband is awesome. I'm sure you all know that already. I want to share a little story with you. On Sunday, we went as a family to choir practice at church. For entertainment (for Alton) Barry grabbed a handful of little dinosaurs. He set them on the top of the car while he strapped Evy in her car seat. I'm sure you can guess what happened next. Yeah, so on our way down the highway, they started flying off the roof. (At first I was a little scared, I didn't know what the crazy sound was, then Barry informed me that it was Alton's dinos flying off the roof.) If I had been the one behind the wheel, I would have kept on driving so I wouldn't be late for choir. But Barry, being the awesome and considerate Dad that he is, pulled over on the side of the road. He first rescued what dinos were left on the roof. Then, he ran down the street and found each remaining toy that had flown off! How cool is that?!

Such a small thing, but it meant a lot to me. And if Alton had fully understood what happened, I know it would mean a lot to him too. So often, it's the little things that really add up to something big! I love my husband so much and feel so blessed that he chose me (forever, no less)! It's so reassuring to know that my children have an amazing Dad, too. He's the coolest!

New Diet

Hey, has anyone ever tried an all chocolate diet to lose weight? I'm thinking I might give it a whirl.

Think it'll work? I've got 20 pounds to lose...........still. I need some hope!

Pictures

If you want to see some pictures from out trip to the beach last week, check out Barry's blog.

Seriously

My son cries when he sees that I'm cooking dinner. He says "But I don't like dinner!" Basically, if we're not having mac n cheese, peanut butter sandwiches, or pizza, he doesn't eat dinner. He would rather go to bed hungry than try something new. It's ridiculous!

Just now he walked in saying, "I want something to eat." I told him we would eat when Daddy got home. He then walked in the kitchen and saw a pot on the stove (with no Kraft mac n cheese box on the counter), then threw his head back and cried. What to do...what to do....Wait, I guess. Wait until he decides to join the world of real people who actually like to eat real food.

**Update: Thank you for the suggestions, everyone! The movie Fireproof does look pretty good (and safe). Mom, I checked out Kids in Mind (movie ratings and content) and The Duchess is full of sexual garbage. In fact, that's pretty much what the whole movie is about so I certainly do not recommend it!


Anyone else disgusted and disappointed with our choices of movies these days?? I know it's been going on for a long time. But, it's so irritating that only a couple times a year (if that) is there a movie decent enough to go see.

Crock pot

Who isn't always looking for new ways to use their crock pot?

Oh, no one? Well, I guess I'm a weirdo then.

Well, in any case, if any of you know any other weirdos who like to use their crock pot then pass on this site to them. I haven't looked through it much yet, but a friend just sent it to me. There are tons of recipes, including one for Pumpkin Bread!

Here it is.

Rascals

Carter is over today playing with Alton. They haven't played together for a while since we were out of town. One of Carter's favorite things to do is to JUMP. On anything. The couch, the bed, whatever. So, a few minutes ago I heard Carter jumping on Alton's bed. Then, a few seconds later, I heard Alton say to Carter, "Honey, please don't jump on the bed!"

These are old pictures (but, still very cute). I can't find the usb cable to import the pictures from my camera. So, the new ones will have to wait. (Okay, I can't figure out why everything is underlined. I can't make it stop. Ack!)

Good Sport

Everyone needs to play...This is Fun!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember--it can be funny, weird, awkward, random, etc.!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Victory

If any of you know Alton, then you know that he rarely is willing to consume anything remotely healthy. Most nights he will actually opt out of eating dinner just so he doesn't have to try something other than PB&H or Mac 'n cheese. It's quite ridiculous.

This morning for breakfast I really wanted a smoothie so I started tossing stuff into the blender. Some milk, yogurt, ice, frozen strawberries, frozen mango, banana, and...here's the kicker....about 2 cups of fresh spinach. I remembered that I had just bought a big bag of the stuff and that I have put it in my smoothies in the past and they tasted great. My plan was to try and get some extra nutrients in there since I knew that Alton would ask for some. The kid won't touch a single vegetable. I thought he might have a cow when he saw me dumping the dark green spinach into the blender, but he didn't flinch. I thought the greenish color of the drink might deter him from trying it. However, to my surprise and satisfaction, he guzzled down an entire cupful. Victory, ladies and gentlemen! This morning I feel like I have a little something to celebrate. I managed to sneak a little extra nutrition into my 3-year-old's body. It's not an easy thing to do!

Speaking of breakfast, hop over to visit Pioneer Woman to check out her Migas recipe. It looks great!

Mini Trip Part 1 / Other Random Photos

Several months ago we decided to take a mini vacation to Chattanooga. We had so much fun! The first thing we visited was the Aquarium. We can hardly wait to go there again! Alton definitely loved seeing all the sea creatures. There was so much to see that we wished we had had another day or two to take it all in!

We also went to the iMax to watch a movie about whales/dolphins. Little did we know that it was 3D. Alton got scared right at the beginning and asked to leave during the remainder of the film. I had to keep pushing food at Evy to try and keep her quiet. We thought the movie would be a nice breather, we could all sit for a while, relax, we figured the kids would love watching the big movie. We decided that we definitely could have done without that experience. But, now we know! (That sure was a lot of "we"s in one paragraph).

We weren't 30 minutes into our trip before Alton was already getting into the treat bag. I don't blame him because I'm the same way. I strongly dislike being in the car and having a treat always makes it a little more tolerable.

We left something in the car (maybe the camera), so we waited here on this bench and had snacks while Barry went to retrieve it. Outside the aquarium, there were little pools all over the place. There were tons of kids and grown ups alike in their swimsuits or just clothes wading, cooling their feet in the pools. It was such a beautiful, family-friendly place.

My He-man (those kids are heavy)!

Don't ask me what we were standing in front of here. I just couldn't resist this sweet picture of me with my mini-sweetheart.

This was one of those touch tanks where you could "pet" the stingrays and little shark thingies. And, NO, I did not touch them. I touched a stingray at Sea World when I was in middle school. It was slimy. Once was enough.

This penguin was so funny. He kept swimming right up to the glass, almost like he was looking for a photo op. I think I could watch the penguins (and the otters) all day.

Here are some random cute pictures. Most of these are a couple/few months old. Evy was playing with a bunch of toys that our friend, Kim, gave to us. Alton was already down for his nap, or else she wouldn't have gotten to play so peacefully.

Here's Aunt Carli playing Play-doh with Alton. She was making all sorts of interesting things. This kid is extremely creative!

Chalk outlines. We all had to take a turn. Alton would crack up every time he'd stand up and look at his outline. Good idea, Carli!

Evelyn loves music. Anytime she sees the lid up on the piano, she rushes over to play. She also loves this xylophone (Odd that they make a xylophone with only 5 keys, instead of an octave. Does this bother anyone else??). The outfit she is wearing used to be Carli's (who is 8). I remember Carli toddling around in this ensemble!

There is never a lack of help when I need to get the groceries sorted and put away!

A couple of months ago we had a silly face contest while we patiently *ahem* waited for our freshly baked cookies to cool.

Alton is also a big fan of music (I guess most kids are, eh?!). He especially enjoys playing "the shark song" (think "JAWS") on the piano. He is always so proud.

Cheerio time.

I just love these gorgeous hair bows! I have five different color (removable) bows that I can clip onto the headband. They're so girly and cute! If you're interested in purchasing some, then visit my friend's website.