Posts filed under 'Funny'
One of the best things about living in our college town is having access to college sports. If you know me well, you know I’m a born & raised Aggie, but now that I have kids of my own, I’ve been enjoying getting to expose my kiddos to the Aggie culture.
This football season Colby and I went to one game (Kansas), and Kevin went to 2 games (OSU & Texas). Kevin’s company also had a big tailgate for the Idaho State game back in September. So, the 5 of us rode the Aggie buses to the Quad and then walked to Kyle Field so we could eat barbeque at 4 pm. Because tailgates can last all day, but not really with kids. (We didn’t stay for the game.) It was a lot of fun because it turned out to be in the Aggie practice field, so while the kids weren’t technically allowed to play with the equipment, there was nothing our kids could really “destroy” out there.
I took the stroller with us, but that turned out to be a big mistake because the kids ended up fighting over it more than using it. Other than that, it was a great day in Aggieland.
December 7th, 2011
Since Colby & Kennedy have started school, Carlee and I get to be pals three mornings a week (most weeks). I have thoroughly enjoyed only taking ONE child to the grocery store, to run errands, and to otherwise spend some great quality time with only Carlee. Especially since the baby will be here in less than 8 weeks.
This is in the welcome area of Kennedy’s preschool. I have been so used to “hurry-up and let’s go to the next thing”, but one morning Carlee asked to stop and play here. Without hesitation, I said yes. And then she told me to take her picture. So I did.
It’s also really nice not having to drag more than 1 kiddo to the OB for check-ups. One day Carlee decided it was her mission to clean up the doctor’s office with the tub of baby wipes on the counter. And my doctor didn’t even blink an eye when he saw all the wipes in the trash. Carlee has always been a helper in wanting to clean up, and I’m so thankful for her willingness to help.
November 3rd, 2011
Carlee, taking care of her baby [doll]. She has already claimed that the baby in my belly is “hers”.
How far along: 30 weeks in pic, 31 weeks now. I really should stop taking pictures at the end of the day, when I look exhausted! I promise that I put on make-up every day and actual clothes, most days.
Size of baby: 3.3 pounds & 16.25 inches, or the size of 4 navel oranges (according to my app. shaking my head.) Although, yesterday I measured at 36 weeks – my ob says if the baby keeps growing at this rate, I’ll have a 9 pounder, a month early. Stay tuned.
Maternity clothes: I really thought I was going to get to break out my cute winter stuff – we had approximately 2.2 days of cooler weather, followed by consistent 90 degree temps. Again. I think maybe another cold front might be coming through tonight, although I won’t hold my breath. I’ll survive with whatever I’m wearing, it’s just hard to dress my kiddos appropriately.
Movement: Yes, still lots. My doctor told me to watch and make sure I have 10 kicks in an hour, and I told him it wasn’t uncommon for this baby to have 10 kicks in 10 minutes. But the movements are definitely slowing down a bit – not the jerky movements anymore. I’m also having quite a few Braxton-Hicks, which is exciting and very painful, all at the same time.
Sleep: Getting more and more uncomfortable. I am still snoring, I am still tossing and turning, and I am still in need of regular chiropractic adjustments and prenatal massages.
Cravings: Not too many now that I’ve been cutting down on sugar and grains. I do like HEB’s vegetable crackers (which actually have like 0 vegetables?) and HEB’s honey wheat pretzels. Both of those I could probably eat the entire box or bag, but I do limit myself. I also still like milk and will drink a small glass each night before bed.
Symptoms: HOT. Mostly due to the weather, but I have to have my fans on all the time. Kevin has started growing his hair out, instead of buzzing it, mostly because I think I’m freezing him out. [I'm reminded of that scene in Father of the Bride 2, when Steve Martin's wife AND daughter are pregnant in the middle of summer. They've cranked the a/c on full blast, and Steve Martin runs around wearing blankets and mittens...]
What I miss: Other than sleep? Really, nothing. I am in the phase of realizing how little time is left of this pregnancy, knowing it will be our last, and enjoying being a punching bag for this baby’s kicking. I am truly wondering how much more my belly is going to grow, but in the end, it will all be worth it.
Favorite Moments: I think we have decided on her name! It’s a very recent discovery (as in, the past day or so?) and like all our girls, we don’t have a middle name yet. We’ll take suggestions, other than Faith & Joy, which Kennedy & Carlee already have. So far, I have thought of “tax deduction”, “Christmas gift”, and “the grand finale”. Colby has suggested “Judges” or “Ruth” – because of course in the Bible those come after Joshua, which is his middle name.
October 27th, 2011
What’s that? My feet?
30 weeks along now.
October 19th, 2011
This recipe gets its name because we first had it on our trip to Colorado this summer.
For 4 pounds of meat, mix together in a plastic bag -
3 tsp ground coriander
3 tsp black pepper
3 tsp brown sugar
2 T minced garlic
8-9 T soy sauce
Grill for 20 mins. on one side, then flip and pour the sauce on the meat and grill the other side for 20 mins. longer. Let meat rest and then slice, like so.
I can’t think of an easier way to make grilled pork tenderloin and I was so excited that I already had all of the ingredients on hand. Plus, the meat was only $1.99 per pound this past week… I bought 3 more and froze them in plastic bags to eat when baby gets here.
Coincidentally, Colby has now decided that the baby’s name should be “Colorado”. Wonder if she likes her pork loin?
October 18th, 2011
Last weekend my cousin Jesse got married. They had one-time use cameras on each table at the reception, so Colby took this as his mission to take pics of everyone… many times over. So, I gave him my iPhone and told him to have at it. I deleted a lot, but I thought these were really cute. (Obviously he didnt take the ones he was in, but he did have everyone posing. I see a budding photographer in the works, just like his dad.)
October 11th, 2011
Wow, I look really tired…
How far along: 27 weeks in pic, 28 weeks now.
Size of baby: 2.2 pounds, or the size of a Chinese cabbage, according to my pregnancy app. A week ago the baby was the size of a hothouse cucumber. What in the world is a hothouse cucumber? How is it different from a coldhouse cucumber? Why the need to differentiate it from a plain old cucumber? Is it related to Larry the Cucumber? So many questions.
Maternity clothes: Shorts are mostly elastic/athletic shorts, as I can’t really fit into my maternity shorts *yet*… the bottoms (jeans & dress pants) from previous pregnancies fit but it’s still too hot outside to wear them. I have about 6-7 shirts that I really love and wear pretty often (for instance I wore that same blue shirt today).
Movement: Tons. I feel like a punching bag sometimes and I can really tell when she moves from one side to the other. Getting easier to recognize body parts (knees, back & bottom, elbows). I’ve heard that an active baby in utero will be really smart. This girl will be a genius.
Sleep: Not too many hours in a row. I have mastered going potty a few times before climbing into bed, but I still wake myself up… snoring. Either that, or Kevin is kicking me to roll over. One day I swear I’m going to wake up and find he has put one of those Breathe Right strips on my nose.
Cravings: I have been wanting milk a lot more lately, also have been wanting a snack before bed – either Oreos or chocolate chips top my list lately… she’s finding her sweet tooth, this baby. And it seems like ever since my doctor said, “You might want to consider cutting back on carbs & sugar before your glucose test” which is this Thursday, it seems that has been what I’ve been craving… like the elephant in the room….
Symptoms: heartburn, tired. See above.
What I miss: My brain cells. I used to be so good with remembering people’s names. In Kindergarten choir, I’ve been calling one kid by his dad’s name and another kid by her sister’s name…. What was I saying again?
Best moments of the month: Realizing I have less than 3 months until she’s here! I can really tell I’m in the 3rd trimester, so even though I’m tired, I’m also nesting.. cleaning out the closets getting Kevin to take care of some honey-do projects. I still need to finish up my Christmas shopping well before Thanksgiving… put in your requests early.
PS – I’m going to post-date my Four for Four pic this month… you’ll see why later this week.
October 3rd, 2011
The girls watched me paint my nails one day, so they asked they could have their nails painted. I had no idea they’d want their daddy to paint!
pic taken April 2011.
He did such a good job, I’m booking him when I can’t see my toes anymore. Which might be tomorrow…
September 28th, 2011
Told you I got bigger. And wow, my hair is getting long.
How far along: 23 weeks in that pic, at time of posting 24, almost 25 weeks.
Size of baby: 1.3 pounds, “about the size of a small melon” according to my Pregnancy app on my iPhone. I look like I’m carrying a small melon, don’t I?
Maternity clothes: My XS shirts are starting to show my belly! I have started wearing some of my M (bigger) maternity shirts because they’re really cute and I’m tired of the XS stuff anyway. It’s been so hot that I’ve been sweating buckets, which means I get to change clothes a lot.
Movement: Tonight Colby felt the baby kick his hand a couple of times. I thought the look on his face was so precious because he realized what was happening! I’ll have to get it on video… he is so sweet.
Sleep: Eh. Not so good. I’ve been using a couple of different pregnancy pillows and have finally just settled on my 2 king pillows – one in front, one in back. I have no idea if Kevin is still sleeping in the same bed as I am.
What I miss: being able to run, bike, & otherwise exercise like a non-pregnant person. I saw a billboard advertising the first-ever B/CS Marathon & 1/2 Marathon. It will be on Dec. 11th. There’s always next year.
Cravings: still don’t like sweets all that much, but (again) since it’s been so hot I can’t drink enough water. Iced tea is a possible craving. I got a new(to me) bread machine for my birthday and I made 2 loaves of homemade bread last week. Guess I should lay off since my glucose test is in 3 weeks?
Symptoms: Heartburn! Started taking medicine daily (just 10 mg.) and it’s definitely worse when I go to sleep at night. I’m trying to go to the bathroom twice before I get in the bed, so I can save myself a trip in the middle of the night. And tired. Very tired.
Best moments of the month: I hinted at this last week, but we are excited to share IT’S A GIRL! Colby was pretty crushed he wasn’t having a baby brother, but I am not worried at all about him loving this baby. Plus, Carlee has already laid claim to this baby (“MY baby”). Kennedy is having too much fun at dance and pre-K. :)
We don’t have a name picked out yet, although I’m trying to convince Kevin of a name I really like. He has turned down pretty much every name except for this one, so I’m holding out for it…
September 12th, 2011
And, give a kiss to Mommy!
September 6th, 2011
This pic was taken when I was 18 weeks along. I have a dear friend who does monthly pregnancy updates, which I think is cute and I hope she doesn’t mind that I’m copying her idea! I filled this out back in July, so when you read my 23 week update a few days from now, you can see how things have changed.
For this pic, I used an app on my iPhone called Snapbucket – I think this filter is called Lomo.
How far along: 18 weeks & change
Size of baby: 1 pound
Maternity clothes: I love that all the things I bought when I was pregnant with Carlee still fit for this pregnancy. I have tons of clothes – maternity and not maternity.
Movement: Yes. Mostly in the evenings, during prayertime/storytime and when I’m getting the kids to bed. (Hoping this is not a sign of things to come when the baby gets here.)
Sleep: pretty good! I have to get up 1-2 times to go to the bathroom but still only sleeping with 1 extra pillow under my head. (no pregnancy pillow) I am taking a 30-45 minute nap each day.
What I miss: soft cheeses. I squeak around the “no lunchmeat” rule by nuking it in the microwave. Don’t know if the same rule applies to things like feta, blue cheese, etc., but I’ll have to look into that.
Cravings: meat. bread & butter. potatoes. still an aversion to sweets.
Symptoms: finally feeling not quite so sick now. I’m able to get out with the kids more and enjoy our last days of summer. Haven’t had much heartburn, which is such a change from Carlee & Kennedy.
Best moments of the month: People don’t have to guess whether I’m pregnant or not – you can definitely tell! The kids are excited about finding out what the baby is later this week…
September 5th, 2011
This post is alternately titled, “A-G-L-E-T, Don’t forget it!”, which is a Phineas & Ferb reference. I didn’t really want to quote P&F, but they’re so darn catchy. I think the writers are seriously witty and they really love life. If you haven’t watched this show, get yourself to the nearest Disney channel or Netflix instant streaming and add it to your queue.
Speaking of not forgetting, I did forget to blog about some books I read last summer. Most of them were (or are now) book club picks. In no particular order -
- Julie & Julia by Julie Powell. I think this is the only book/movie duo I’ve ever read where I liked the movie better than the book. I mean, Meryl Streep in this movie was fantastic as Julia Child. Plus, the author of the book likes to use the F word a lot. Really? About a bomb, maybe.. but about cooking? Don’t think so. 3.5 stars for book, 5 stars for movie (and, if you’ve seen the movie, DON’T read the book, you’ll be disappointed).
- My Life in France by Julia Child. Julie Powell includes excerpts from this book in the J&J memoir, so it seemed like a natural choice to want to read this book. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Julia Child’s memoir and life during the 1950s especially. I was not a huge Julia Child fan after reading J&J, but this book made me want to watch her tv show and check out the cookbook which made her famous. 5 stars. (PS – the link for this book is the 2009 “movie tie-in version” – I read the version from 2005, but there is no review listed in that link. Apologies.)
- Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child, et. al. As I mentioned, I suddenly had the desire to learn about aspic and how to de-bone a duck. After checking out this book, I’ll say, “never mind”. It is worth a look, though, and now I understand a little bit more about my grandparents’ generation and why/how they cooked the things they did.. and why/how the American Housewife was born. 4 stars, if for nothing but posterity.
- The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. And now for something… completely different. This is quite possibly the best, most suspenseful and well-written book I’ve ever read. I can think about this book and still get chills as to how the plot was uncovered. Fantastic and a must-read. 5+ stars.
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. I thought this book would be a lot like a textbook – boring, drab, dull. But I was surprised at how well the author takes a seemingly mindless subject (DNA) and turns it into a plot for a tv series. Well, pretty much. Worth the read, or at least a skim. 4.5 stars.
- The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I don’t know how to classify this book – is it sci-fi? Whatever you call it, I’m not usually a fan of this type of literature. But this one is a winner. This author does a really great job of weaving the story in between time and characters. I did like the book better than the movie, and if you haven’t read or watched either one, I highly recommend both the book and the movie – but they have different endings… 5 stars.
This post was made possible to you by the letters “A-G-L-E-&T”. That was a Sesame Street reference. The “aglet’ is what you call the tip end of your shoelace.
September 2nd, 2011
Okay, okay, I know I haven’t updated the blog in almost 2 months… I keep reading all these blogs of mamas who blog every day and have ridiculously large traffic numbers. I think about 41 people read our blog, and roughly 2/3 of them are family members who don’t care about the number of times I update, as long as I put pictures up. Well to that I say, “phhhhhthththththththt”
Lately, people keep asking me, “what have you been up to lately?” and I get this faraway look in my eyes and try, for the life of me, to actually remember what I’ve been doing. Then I’ll start to point to my belly and my born(e)? children and tell them to figure it out themselves, and I’ll remember that not everyone understands my preggo brain. Heck, I don’t even understand my preggo brain. [Did I just say "heck"? How old am I again?]
Speaking of which, I had a milestone birthday about 10 days ago. Yes, August 20th is my birthday and I turned the big 3-0. Or, as I like to put it “my first anniversary of my 29th birthday”. :) No, 30 hasn’t been so bad – I figure it’s just another year, and 29 was probably the hardest and most stressful year of my life…. let’s see – 3 foot surgeries, 4 grandparents passing away, 1 parent’s open heart surgery, 1 heckuva flu virus (there’s that ‘heck’ again..), and 1 positive pregnancy test [whom we're naming "surprise!: the sequel".]
To celebrate my birthday, Kevin invited some of my [local] friends over for hamburgers and cookie cake . Cookie cake is my absolute favorite kind of cake, from the Great American Cookie Company. My mom & dad ordered one of the large rectangle ones for us (Thanks, Mom & Dad!) and even with 40+ party guests, we still ended up with half the cookie cake left over. But i wasn’t complaining – Kevin, the kids, and I polished it off the next day! Good thing birthdays (and subsequent cookie cake!) only come around once per year!
The other part of “what we’ve been doing lately” has revolved around trying to stay cool in the 100-degree heat we’ve had in Texas. It’s been ridiculous. I think every day in August (save 1 or 2) has been 100 degrees OR HIGHER. So, we’ve been swimming at least twice a week, as I’ve been teaching water aerobics at least twice a week, and we rented quite a number of [free] movies in the past month – when we need to stay indoors because it’s been too hot to play. Also, our recent trip to Colorado with Kevin’s extended family a few weeks ago (pictures hopefully soon!) was a welcome addition to our summer.
I will also mention that Colby started 1st grade last week (sniff) and Kennedy will start pre-K next week (sniff sniff). So we’ve been buying school supplies and snack supplies and lunch supplies and all the other things that go with preparing for school to start. Oh and stocking my pantry for when the Aggies come to town because it’s hard to drive anywhere with new Aggie parents who don’t know where they are going and are caravan-ing with a U-Haul full of stuff! :)
Kennedy spent this past week being sick. Actually, it was only the past 2 days, but to me it felt like a week. She only wanted me to hold her while she tried to get comfortable in my lap (so hard to do on a pregnant mama). The only symptom she had was a high fever, but that’s enough to make anyone miserable. Kevin and I are on opposite ends of “sick” remedies – I hate throwing up, where Kevin wants to throw up because he knows it will make him feel better. But Kennedy is on my side on this one – she and I know that the pain (and the anxiety) of throwing up is far worse than the relief that will come when it’s done. So, we wait it out! We’ll take the Tylenol to make us not hurt for a little bit, and try to keep food down – Kennedy has taken my affinity for salty things while sick – but throwing up is a “last resort” option. Colby and Carlee are even more different than Kennedy… who knows.
So, there’s the past 2 months in a very long nutshell. I think after this you’ll want me to blog more often so I don’t go off on tangents so much. Or, maybe I’ll go to bed. Which is another thing I’ve been doing lately. Good night, Mary Ellen. Good night, John Boy.
September 1st, 2011
Pics taken April 2011.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned that Colby has given up taking a nap, but I’ll bet you could guess, since he’s 6+ years old. I can’t remember exactly when he stopped, because he has always been able to sit and play by himself. Always. So, he still has “rest time”, when his sisters nap. Sometimes we’ll unload the dishwasher together or he’ll draw pictures for me or we’ll read books or he’ll play on the computer. His favorite phrase to get my attention – “Mom, get a picture of me doing _________.” I’ll hang on to that for as long as I can.
He’s done the tower of dishes before. But this time it’s with muscles.
July 8th, 2011
While backing out of my driveway, I saw this on my roof.
A little imposing, yes? I haven’t seen him [her?] since.
July 6th, 2011
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