Strength Courage and Knowledge

I realized something recently.  We inadvertently named our kids based on part of my daily prayers.  Somewhere during my long-winded stream of consciousness prayers I usually think or say "give me the strength, courage and knowledge to face BLANK" (insert random issue of the day/week/month).  Big sis's name means strength and little man's name means valiant or courageous.  If you consider all the darn degrees I've finished then the three of us together make up that strength, courage, and knowledge request.  Although I am not sure how much knowledge I actually retain these days with all the chaos around here . . .

I think it is amazing how God puts what you need in your life when you need it.  And boy do I need their strength and courage lately!

Holiday Weekend

This weekend was a FUN and RELAXING one.  We got up Saturday and watched big sis play basketball.  Then loaded everyone up for a quick trip to Dallas to visit with friends.  The theme of the visit was "veg-out."  Both kiddos and adults took it easy all weekend and just enjoyed each other's company (for the kids that really meant watching TV and videos but hey, it was their vacation too and that is what they wanted to do).  Our kiddos got SOOOOOO excited about the visit to IKEA.  Favorite activity was riding up and down the elevator with two doors.  Big sis just thought it was so cool to go in one side of the elevator but leave the other side.  I stocked up on bday gifts for all the parties we will attend this spring and big sis got a new craft and little man picked up a carrier for his puppy dog.  Disco's only purchase was a cheese grater we could use for making laundry detergent.  And I didn't get anything for myself . . . huh, I just realized that.  Guess we will have to make another visit soon! :)

On the MLK holiday we decided to show our love and give to others by picking up trash around the neighborhood.  We got home too late from Dallas to do any of the planned community service events around town.  I kinda liked making up our own this time.  The kiddos really got into being the first to find a piece of trash and then there was a lot of discussion about who's bag got each piece of trash.  Who knew they would be competitive about trash???  We walked along the road and also through the woods near the creek.  A pleasant outing for sure - and we snagged 3 bags of trash.  Not too bad.

Favorite part?  The fact that the kiddos "dressed up" to be volunteer trash collectors.  I'm sure we looked like trick or treaters combing the neighborhood . . .

Paula Deen's Fluffy Sweet Potato Biscuits

I don't cook often.  Early in our marriage, Disco and I struck a deal that he would cook and I would clean.  We had completely different styles and were always running over each other or making "suggestions" the other ignored.  I'm also not a very exact cook, "close counts" as far as I am concerned.  Disco is a perfectionist with his recipes.  So the divide and conquer philosophy has worked out well for many years. 

But ever since we have had kiddos running our household a few changes have occurred.  I now take care of "making lunches" which really means I throw leftovers and single serving meals in a lunch box for big sis.  I do make the effort to create special lunches from time to time - her favorites are the ones she gets to help me prepare.  I also spend some time baking with the kiddos.  Mostly we bake cookies.

Last Saturday Disco made gumbo and I decided that I should try out my new cookbook - Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible.  I have to admit the recipe we found was FULL of butter.  But who could expect anything less from Paula . . .

We tried the Fluffy Sweet Potato Biscuits.  I highly recommend this recipe!!!!!  The ingredients were simple and all items we would have on hand regularly.  Really, the sweet potato was the only odd ball ingredient and we have been keeping those stocked up around our house anyway. 

Disco microwaved a large sweet potato for me and the rest was just measuring and mixing.  I have to admit I have been skimping and using cake and brownie mixes with the kids (after years of making homemade cookie dough pre-kiddos).   I have now realized I was wrong to think mixes were the way to go.  Making biscuit dough is FUN!  No one was interested in helping with the measuring/dumping part.   However, I initially used knives and then my hands to cut in the butter.  So when I got my hands into the dough to finish mixing in the butter all hands were on deck to jump in to help.  I think part of my issues with cooking is that I don't want to go from touching utensils to getting my hands dirty with handling ingredients back to touching utensils.  The biscuit dough didn't really stick to my fingers and once you started working with your hands there wasn't much else to touch until it was time to put the biscuits in the oven.  And OMG those hot sweet potato biscuits were GOOD!!!

After it was all said and done I ended up making two batches of biscuits over the weekend.  The kiddos have no idea that they were eating sweet potatoes.  Not that it matters because the exorbitant amount of butter in the biscuits negates any possible health advantage.  Disco offered to get me a pastry blender for cutting in the butter, but I really liked digging in with my hands and letting the kiddos run amok in a dough they could actually taste if they wanted (no eggs).

Final note - I didn't need to add extra milk to the recipe as suggested was a possibility.  I guess our sweet potatoes were moist. Also, our oven either runs hot or the cook time is not quite right.  Either way I had to pull the biscuits out 1-2 mins earlier than the lowest suggested cooking time for both batches. 

I hope to try more recipes this year from Paula's cookbook.  Be prepared to hear me make a 2013 New Year's Resolution to lower my cholesterol after all the butter, heavy cream, and real mayonnaise we will consume! :)

Basketball

With my school schedule this past fall we weren't able to let big sis try any new activities.  This was a point of contention since she was very aware that some of her friends were trying out some cool things like cheerleading, cooking club, and art classes.  So we had the opportunity to let big sis try out cheerleading or basketball this Jan/Feb.  I asked her what she wanted to do and to our surprise she stated that she would rather try basketball instead cheerleading.  We suspect it had to do with being on a team with one of her best buddies from school . . .

Anyway, we were unprepared for the first game.  As we were getting ready for breakfast that morning we realized big sis had outgrown her tennis shoes.  So after a quick trip to Target we finally arrived in the gym. Big sis had the best time being part of the basketball team!  She listened intently to the coaches and tried everything she was asked to do with a smile on her face.  Her team practiced for 30 minutes. Before the game started they gathered for an "intro" that involved peppy music, announcing the names of all team members, and then the kids running through fake fog onto the court.  What kindergartner wouldn't love that intro??  I was afraid that since several of the kids showed some basketball skills already that she might be intimidated to jump into everything.  But she dove right into the game - she was a good defender and light on her feet (ballerina on the court, y'all).  We were really impressed with the program, coaches, and teammates.  Little man even got to sit on the "bench" with all the big kids. (FYI - he gets to try out soccer this spring :)

After it was all over big sis was mesmerized by the cheerleaders.  She turned to me and said "I want to be a cheerleader next time."  No surprise there :)

New Year's Hike

Our dog Maggie was incredibly sick New Year's Eve.  Because the holiday fell on a weekend and some of her symptoms were familiar to us, we decided to wait until we could take her to our vet on Monday Jan 2nd.  She is doing better - but continues to suffer from a common inner ear issue that occurs in "senior" dogs.  Basically she experiences a horrible case of vertigo.  Our wonderful vet loaded her up with medicine and gave us the run down of what to expect.  Recovery will be slow but she is making progress.

We planned to start off New Year's Day with a hiking trip but we didn't feel comfortable leaving the house while Maggie was so sick.  After being loaded up with meds from the vet she seemed to be resting more comfortably.  So we ventured out to a hiking trail not too far from home the day after New Year's.

One of the family activities I hope to "leap" into this year is exploring the outdoors more often.  Disco has a new book for family friendly trails and we are ready to do some hiking! :)

Close Ups

Every once in a while Disco takes some cool shots of the kiddos.  The following close-ups came from the park and my parents house during the holiday break.  I had to include one goofy one that just cracks me up - they can be so funny!

My favorite pic

Another sweet one

Little man has been known to completely ignore the warnings
on this sign.  But doesn't he look so innocent in this shot??

He LOVES to swing!

They are SO goofy!

Resolutions

Here is how I did on my 2011 New Year's Resolutions:

1) Drink more water  (BETTER but not quite enough)
2) Sign up for yoga (Check! :)
3) Explore a career direction (Started this process)
4) Sleep (Still need more of this :)
5) Finish school (YES!!!!)
6) Spend more time doing one on one activities with the kiddos (Check! :)
7) Save money for vacations (Didn't save very well BUT we did make it to VEGAS!)
8) Go on dates with my husband (Check!)
9) Sit and read books (Check!)
10) Create a household budget (Never even started it!)
11) Smile and Laugh (Check!)

This year I have only one.  Since 2012 is a leap year I am going to LEAP into new directions.  This includes starting new volunteer opportunities, new activities with the family, new work schedule and focus, and new ways to find peace and simplicity within all the chaos.  I spent most of 2011 finishing up things and beginning the process of taking care of myself again.  This year it is time to LEAP out of the known and into the unknown. 

Happy new year!  :)

Caught up!

That is right - I'm starting 2012 caught up on blogging and most projects around the house.  That doesn't mean everything is perfect around here . . . there is always still more to do.  But I had a few simple goals over the Christmas break and pretty much achieved all of them.  The ones I can't finish before heading back to work will get done eventually. 

Happy New Year everyone!   A resolutions post to follow sometime this week. :)

Christmas 2011

Christmas was a whirlwind of activities this year.  I spent a lot of my time finishing school and then catching up on a semester's worth of activities/cleaning.  It was a lot of FUN but exhausting all the same.  I am happy to start out 2012 feeling caught up, though.  And that includes catching up on sleep and relaxation.

The kiddos enjoyed big sis' Christmas pageant, driving around to see Christmas lights, making a gingerbread house, holiday parties at school, visiting Santa, picking out a Christmas tree and decorating it, candy, candy, and more candy, holiday music, presents, and lots of extra time with mom and dad and other family members.  I'm definitely NOT ready to go back to work after 2 weeks of fun with the family!

Building, I mean eating, a gingerbread house

One of the few times we actually saw them decorating
instead of eating :)

Cow train at the tree farm

Cow train at the tree farm

Picking the perfect tree = easy.  Taking a
picture where everyone is smiling = not so much

Pig races at the tree farm

Checking out the Christmas lights with Aunt K

This is the yard where Christmas threw up

Just SO MUCH to see

Uncle Scott and Aunt K were amazed by this house

No other house is decorated on the block like this one.
I wonder if you can see it from space . . .

Santa came!

Presents from gaga and bondo

Presents from gaga and bondo

Opening presents at grandmother and granddad's house

Opening presents at grandmother and granddad's house

Christmas Photo Sessions

Photos with Santa, photos at home, camera, lights . . . run away and pout!!!  I'm just posting the few good shots we captured this time around.  And a couple of the goofs.  There were so many bad/funny shots to sort through that I didn't even have the energy to pick out many.  Maybe if I get bored one month I'll take another look and do a whole post of "ugh, just smile!" pictures ;)

Tailgating

The Hogs played in town the weekend before Thanksgiving this year. It was great to get to see out of town friends and let the kiddos run outside enjoying the fall weather.  I love tailgating now that they are old enough to have fun while we are out there. :)

Thanksgiving Parties

The kiddos really enjoy having family join in school activities.  Thanksgiving parties and programs were a big hit this year.    Big sis had a cute, cute, cute Thanksgiving program followed by a feast which aunt K, grandmother, grandad, and myself were able to enjoy.  The lighting was awful so the video wasn't much good.  But we did capture a few pictures.  Little man had a feast which both Stew and I were able to attend.  His whole class was so cute and excited about all the moms and dads who showed up.  They are so sweet!