Pizza! Pizza!

In the past month we have made a couple of different pizzas, and two of them were just too yummy not to mention.  Up first: veggie pizza!  After we mastered the focaccia bread, the kids started asking if we could make pizza with it.  Genna had also been asking if we could try making our own pesto, so we decided to tackle both at the same time.  For the focaccia pizza crust, we just rolled it out on a larger pan so it would be thinner, and baked it for about 7 minutes prior to topping it.  For the pesto, we just mixed fresh basil, olive oil, and parmesan cheese.  (no pine nuts, I just didn't know with Isaac)  No measurements to share, we just tossed and blended until it looked and tasted right.  We then covered our pizza with slightly steamed broccoli and shredded carrots.  To top it off we sprinkled the whole thing with feta and baked it for another 7 minutes.  It was fantastic!  The kids devoured it!  There was only one slice left for Jeremy when he came home, and he too had only positive remarks about it.  (I thought it was rather funny that he said he didn't expect it would be nearly as good as it was considering it was loaded with veggies)  It is one that is certainly on our list of approved dinners now.


The second pizza we made was a fruit pizza.  I know lots of people make these, but I had never done it with my kids.  Thanks to Maui Mandy though and her wonderful sugar cookie bar recipe, which I will post at the end, we ended up with a fantastic dessert.  We made the sugar cookies, and when it was all cool, topped it with some cream cheese that had been mixed with a little vanilla and sugar, and then loaded up the fresh fruit. (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, and kiwi)    I had doubled the cookie recipe, so we ended up with extra that we happily saved for breakfast the next day. Yum!


Maui Mandy's sugar cookies:  I just have to say how much I love this recipe.  I almost always have the ingredients on hand, and from the time you start to the time you are eating is only about 20  minutes!  When you have a house full of kids anxiously waiting for a sweet treat, the less time it takes, the better!  Here you go, enjoy!

3/4 C sugar
1/3 C margarine, butter (softened) or shortening. I used butter.
1/3 C oil
1 Tbls milk
1-2 tsp almond extract (the secret yummy ingredient!)
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C flour
1 Tbls sugar (for top)


Heat oven to 375 degrees.
In large bowl, beat sugar, butter, oil, milk, almond extract and egg ... until light and fluffy.
Stir in baking powder, salt and flour ... blend well.
Spread evenly in ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan (I used a larger stoneware bar pan).
Sprinkle with 1 Tbls sugar (and sprinkles if desired ... which we do!).
Bake for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.
Cool 5 minutes.
Cut into and serve.

without fail, every time

Isaac has picked up a new phrase, and I can't help but crack a smile every time he says it.  The phrase? It's on like Donkey Kong!  He says it when he sits down to a meal he loves ("Ooohh, it's on like donkey kong!"), when he gets to add a sticker to his reward chart ("it's on like donkey kong! yeah!"), when he is angry (Oh it is ON like donkey kong...).  Each time is a little different and I just never seem to tire of it.

The downside of cooking

Did you know there is a downside? Well, there is.  It's small, and a little funny, but it's there.  Lately I have been doing tons of cooking with the kiddos. We've made fresh cinnamon rolls, fancy pastas, fresh bread, gourmet soups, delicious pizzas, super sandwiches, baked sweet treats, ethnic feasts (Mexican, Asian, Italian....), American classics, delux salads, etc... etc... etc.....  Tonight however, I was exhausted.  I kept putting off making dinner in hopes that I would get a wind of energy and be able to whip up something, but it never came.  Finally I just told the kids we would all be eating cereal for dinner.  They looked at me like I had three heads. No joke.  Bella even asked, "is it homemade cereal?"  Nope Bella, it's not even healthy cereal. (Honey Comb for all you wonderers)  I don't know if they were trying to passively aggressively protest or were just starved from waiting for dinner for so long, but after the cereal they proceeded to eat pretty much all the "easy" foods in the house. (bagels, crackers, the rest of the cereal, applesauce, oatmeal.......)  Whatever the reason, I will restore sanity to their lives tomorrow; we'll either be trying out carrot soup (via the Pioneer Woman) or making up our own recipe for Israeli Couscous.  Once again all shall be right in their world.

how does this happen?

Nahshon honestly thinks that Bella's name is Elijah, and Elijah's name is Bella.  I could see getting your grandma's names mixed up, or cousins you only see a few times a year; but your brother and sister you spend virtually every waking moment with???  I try to correct him every time, but he always tells me I'm the one who's wrong. Weirdo.

I guess I've reached "mom status" in his eyes

Isaac was playing Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii, and needed to take a potty break.  He set down his remotes and asked me to watch his game for him, but as he was leaving the room he looked over his shoulder at me and said "but you can't play, it's too hard for you".  OK, so it's true that I pretty much eat dust when I attempt to play this game, but yikes!  Is it awful that I want to challenge him to a game of Super Mario Bros 3 just so I can show him exactly how "bad" I am???

A sad day

We decided to head off to the zoo today (Elijah watched LIFE on the Discovery channel yesterday and couldn't wait to see the Komoto Dragons!), and Genna and I ran into a sad sight: the night exhibit is now closed.  (although if you were to ask Genna, she'd probably say the sad sight was that of the cute furry bunny in the snake habitat waiting to become dinner......yuck!)  I do recall hearing a while back that the day and night exhibits were going to close due to budget constraints, but thought it was a later date and had hoped that perhaps some private donations would come through and save it. I can remember going through the night exhibit when I was in elementary school, and I'm very blue it's no longer going to be there for my kids to enjoy.  We will certainly miss that long dark hall and little night critters.  :(

hmmm....

Just realized Noah and Nahshon are going to have the exact same initials!

Nahshon Jeremiah C.
Noah Johnson C.

Oh well  :)

Bon Appetit!

Last weekend, out of the blue, Genna suddenly got very sick.  I'll spare you details, but trust me, it wasn't pretty.  After we got her cleaned up and settled on the couch with her bucket, I asked her if she would like me to put on a show on the computer to watch.  Genna has recently become a huge Julia Child fan, and asked me to put on old French Chef episodes from PBS.org.  When given her options from the available episodes, she chose one called Ellegance with Eggs.  Now, I'm not going to argue with a sick person about what television program to watch, but just the thought of watching something called Ellegance with Eggs after having a tummy episode like that, is enough to make me feel a little queasy!  She thoroughly enjoyed it though, and followed it up with an episode on how to make a spinach and mushroom tart.  (again, not something I would want to watch when sick!) What can I say, she's quirky.

I should have taken a picture

I decided I needed to do something new and fresh for lunch today, and so the idea was born for a caprise sandwich.  This was so delish, that nothing is left but crumbs and a few traces of vinegar.  I knew I should have taken a picture because it looked so lovely, but I didn't, and now that I know it was good enough to share I'm bummed I didn't grab my camera.  You'll just have to take my word for it.  For any of you interested in making this, here is what I did:

First, I baked up a loaf of focaccia bread.  I used the recipe I posted a couple days ago, but I added more herbs, a little more salt, powdered milk, and then salted the top of the bread with coarse sea salt.  I also baked it on a smaller pan so the bread would be thicker.  While the dough was still rising, I sliced up the tomatoes and laid them on a paper towel in the fridge to draw out the extra moisture so they wouldn't make the bread soggy once assembled.  After the bread was popped into the oven, I sliced up mozzarella cheese and choped up some fresh basil. (Jeremy brought home a bouquet of fresh basil last night......... that stuff is like catnip! Just from walking past it I feel like I should be cooking up an Italian feast. Genna loves it too, which just makes it all the more fun) You could just use whole basil leaves, but as much as I love basil, I prefer to chop it up rather than bite into a whole leaf.  Once the bread was done (I baked it for 13 1/2 minutes), I gently slid the whole loaf off the pan onto a cutting board and sliced the entire thing in half.  I left the two sides open on the counter for about 5 minutes to let it steam off, then layered on the tomatoes, topped with a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. (some of my kids love vinegar and some do not, so I kept it light.  Jeremy, Bella, Nahshon and I all added extra balsamic to our plates!)  Next came the cheese, fresh basil, and a bit more olive oil drizzled on the inside of the top slice of bread.  You could also add a bit of black pepper, but my kids are not pepper fans so I left it off.  I served the sandwich whole on a cutting board, so they could all marvel at it's awesomeness before we sliced it up.  They devoured it!  The one sandwich with nothing on the side was plenty to feed my entire family and leave them satisfied.

If you love caprise and Italian flavors (which many of you know I do!), try this sandwich on a lovely sunny day. You'll be glad you did!

Genna and Google- what stories are made of

A couple months back, Genna got her own laptop computer.  Since then, she has become rather proficient at using computer programs as well as the internet.  One of her favorite things to do is use a word document and write short stories.  Overall, she's a great speller for her age, but once in a while has to call me in for help. (usually when trying to spell Nahshon or Micaiah, but I can't fault her for that considering their own grandmothers don't know how to spell those names)  I hopped on her computer the other night after she had been writing for a while, and loved what I saw so much I had to take a screen shot:

Sadly, I don't think she found what she was looking for. (maybe I should suggest she try Bing?)  I love her ingenuity though!

the joy of boys

My boys, especially Isaac and Nahshon, are always doing things I find to be strange.  For the most part though I just shrug it off as part of growing up as an only child and not spending a lot of time with little boys.  Once in a while though, I think, my boys are just weird.  The latest example?  I overheard Isaac teaching Nahshon the most efficient way to pick boogers from his nose. And yes, there really was more than 1 step in his process.  These are the moments when I call in the professional; AKA: Dad. (while I have a good laugh sharing it on here for all of you) I really do love them with all my heart and appreciate the joy they bring this house, but just think, I'm only at the beginning.............

A Nice Day

Bella wrote this poem today, and was so proud of herself, I felt I should share it.  I was a little surprised because I have not done a poetry study with the kids yet, but we do read poems once in a while as part of our language arts. (Sandy Queen's language lessons)  Anyhow, here it is:

A Nice Day

By Bella

The trees were nice

Green and nice

And make a good leaf pile

The storms were nice

Just a little rainy

And a nice day

Until Tomorrow

A nice day

Jump in puddles

A nice soaking day

And when the sun shines

Nice and dry

Play in pools

Garden

Nice

Oh sweet mama........

......... was the sentiment my girls echoed nearly in unison when they tasted the fruits of their kitchen labors on Thursday night.

Confession:  I don't enjoy baking.

Worse confession:  Baking with my children drives me nuts.

I know, that sounds crazy.  How can any mom not enjoy baking with her kids?  After all, those moms on the Nestle commercials NEVER care when their kids spill a carton of eggs on the floor or accidently smear chocolate on the curtains.  I however, get frazzled.  The minute a bowl is out and a spoon is in my hand, there are 5 little people lined up and eager to help. (that's 10 extra "helping" hands.  Have you ever had to work with 10 extra hands, all in the same bowl? It's.......um.......busy)  I think I could probably be making anchovie and mustard bagels, and they would be excited to help.  I don't mind cooking with the kids, but I also find cooking to be a bit more forgiving than baking. (unless of course Nahshon is my sous chef.... we once made spaghetti sauce together, and I turned my back on him for 30 seconds to drain to pasta.  When I returned, the sauce was frothy and bubbling.  I still have no idea what he did that night, but I keep my eyes on him at ALL TIMES when he is in the kitchen now)  Anyhow, I strongly believe all children should leave home knowing how to care for themselves, so I bite the bullet, take my prozac (kidding! Although sometimes I wish...), grab my spoon and teach. Our last two baking projects though turned out delightful and delicious.  So much so, that we can't wait to make them again.

As most teachers, parents, and students can tell you, there is a mid year funk that happens sometime after Christmas.  The excitement of the holidays is past, the weather is gross, and everyone is just sort of burnt out- regardless if you home, public, or private school.  I think we've finally sprung out of our funk around here, and I wanted to do something new and special to keep the momentum going: cooking school!  I decided to spend a day in the kitchen with the kids, cooking, baking, learning knife safety, kitchen hygiene, properties of yeast, nutrition, how to follow a recipe, and anything else that came up.  We had a meal plan, but had to be scrapped at the last minute due to circumstances beyond my control. (*cough**Jeremy**cough*)  So, I searched the kitchen and decided on an Italian feast instead.  The menu: Italian herb and feta focaccia bread, fresh made marinara over pene pasta, and orange shortbread cookies.

The feast was delicious, but the focaccia bread was, oh my goodness, so very very good.  For me baking bread usually means throwing something together in the bread machine and coming back four hours later to savor the goodness.  This time however, we made it by hand, which is something I haven't done since I was a child. (I don't count banana or apple bread in this either, since that is about the same effort as baking cookies. Less actually)  It was so delightful, and surprisingly easy despite having to start over once because of something Nahshon did. (I WAS watching him, he's just so darn tiny and fast sometimes!)  I used two different recipes to guide me through the bread.  One was from this cookbook I have:

The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook

By Thunder Bay Press

The other was from here:

easy focaccia bread

For the top on ours, I sprinkled feta on one half, and coarse sea salt on the other.  Both sides were equally scrumptious, and we're planning to make it again tomorrow.  For the orange shortbread cookies, Genna grated fresh orange peel, and hand squeezed some satsumas we had in the fridge.  We put a bit of the squeezed juice into the dough, and used the rest the make a glaze with powdered sugar.  The cookies were very tasty, but are not the other baking project I was talking about when I said we made two that were wonderful.  The other project was a cake.  (the one I mentioned before Easter)  I decided I was going to bake a carrot cake for Easter, and wanting to improve upon my baking skills, I decided I was going to do it from scratch.  What you must know is that the last time I baked a cake from scratch was high school cooking class, and I've never made a two layer cake before, not even from a box.  I used a recipe found in this cookbook:

Goodness Gracious: Recipes for Good Food and Gracious Living

By Roxie Kelley and friends

As silly as it may seem, I was rather nervous about making this cake.  I even had Jeremy pick up a box mix at the store in case mine ended in disaster.  I kept imagining it would be burnt around the outside but undercooked in the middle, that it would break apart when trying to stack the layers, the frosting would end up with clumps of butter and sugar that didn't get mixed in completely, and the entire thing would be riddled with flecks of crumbs all over that screamed of my inexperience.  I can happily report though, none of that happened!  The cake turned out great, and although a bit boring as far as decorating goes, there wasn't a wayward crumb in sight!

All of this combined with a new found love of  The Pioneer Woman and Genna's obsession with all things Julia Child, we may have the start of a revolution!  A savory, decadant revolution at that!

She may be small, but she's fiesty!

Tonight I overheard Bella say to Isaac:

If you say anything else mean about girls, I'm just gonna show you what girls are all about......

I don't know what was said to steam her up and provoke those words, but I know nothing else came out of his mouth for a long time after that.

Wow, that's a new one

Over the last few years, I have noticed more and more people using shorthand that is nearly inappropriate for notes being passed in detention, let alone in their on-line communications.  Tonight though, I came across one that left me feeling rather baffled.  I was randomly browing Craigslist when I stumbled upon this little gem:

plaese txt mii at 206-xxx-xxxx to send mii info

Mii? Really?  As in, a Wii Mii? REALLY?  For those of you that may be lost right now, a Mii is a character you can create on your Wii system, and are used in some Wii games.  Like so:

Not only is this not shorthand (the word me is shorter than mii), it's not even something that could be blamed as a typo. Wow. Let us hope this is not the future of America.........

Good motivation, or..........?

So, I'm getting ready to go bake a cake here in a few minutes (more on that later), and I'm getting myself motivated by browsing through one of my new favorite time killing blogs:

cake wrecks

Seriously, some of the stuff on there is downright hysterical. (some of them you  need to read the story that goes along with it)  There is also a handy topic list on the side bar if you want to skip straight to a certain area of awful.  Now, before you think I'm a cruel person that laughs at another's expense, let me tell you that all the cakes on this blog were made by "professionals".  They actually had the gall to charge for these! I would never laugh at a person's honest attempt to make a cake for a private gathering because, well, I'm not exactly a crackerjack with frosting either.  Take a peek though, it's good stuff. (sort of)

Easter basket filling, my way

A couple years back, I decided Easter grass was by far the worst product ever made that continues to be sold yearly.  It is truly atrocious.  I warned the Easter Bunny that if he did not find a better alternative, the children would recieve their very own "lucky rabbit's foot" in the following year's Easter basket.  And just like that, Easter grass suddenly became a garnish that was used very sparingly.  For any of you out there that share my disdain for the horrid stuff (both paper and plastic varieties), I thought I'd share what our Easter bunny came up with:  First, for a few weeks leading up to Easter, he saves any plastic bags he gets from shopping. Second, he gathers tissue paper. (could be plain white, could be anything leftover from past birthdays that match the basket, or could even be pretty pastels picked up at the dollar store).  Lastly, he gets 1, count it, 1, bag of paper Easter grass to spread between all the baskets.  He stuffs the bottom of the basket with some plastic bags, covers the bags with the tissue paper, fills in the larger goodies, then sprinkles a few bits of grass on the empty spots where the small goodies or candies will go.  You still get that fun Easter look but the kids don't have to dig through a thousand tiny strings for their jelly beans, and you don't have to worry about killing your vacuum or your dog.  Plus, you can reuse the plastic bags and the tissue paper!  It's a win-win for all, especially the bunny that gets to keep his feet.

Well, that's nice

Got a voice mail message tonight.  It seems Jeremy's weekend job, the one he just works on Friday and Saturday nights to bring in a little extra cash, has decided to close.  Effective immediately. Blah.

Where does Johnson fit in?

I realized I had explained our choice of the name Noah, but did not explain his middle name, Johnson.  Jeremy and I had decided way back when we had Elijah, we wanted our sons to have a first name from the Bible, and a middle name that honored family.

Elijah David- David was my grandfather that passed when I was only 16.  None of my kids had the pleasure of meeting him, but he was a great, GREAT man.

Isaac Whitley- Whitley is my dad's last name.  My dad does not have a son that carries on his last name, and we felt it was only right for our son to honor him.

Nahshon Jeremiah-  Jeremiah after his daddy, Jeremy, and he's a great daddy too!

Micaiah Gregory- after Jeremy's brother, the Marine.  I met Greg when he was only 11, and he's grown into an admirable young man.

Noah Johnson- after my great grandmother, Ruth Johnson.  She passed about 5 years ago, and was a wonderful, funny lady.


Never did we think we'd be blessed with 5 sons to name, but we're lucky we have so many family members we love and want to honor.

His name is Noah

Saturday evening I was standing in my yard with my friend Stephanie, telling her I was very happy that as long as nothing happened between then and Monday, Jeremy was finally going to be able to get our bathroom finished.  Well, I guess I should've knocked on wood.  Sunday evening I got so sick so fast that I ended up in the ER.  The doctor ran a mountain of tests, only to come back with no answers.  Among the tests were an EKG, an MRI, tons of bloodwork, and an ultrasound of all my insides.  All that is, except the ONE thing we really wanted to see.  When the doc said they were going to be doing an ultrasound, but not of the baby, I immediately began thinking about how we might convince the tech to move her magical wand down two inches and let us take a peek at our little one.  After she ran her tests, she said she was going to very quickly take a heart rate of the baby, and Jeremy casually mentioned that if a body part happened to show itself, please feel free to tell us.  Luckily we had a very friendly tech who happily took a few minutes to look around, and surprise! Boy #5!!!  Can you even believe it?!?  Before any of the results came back from the tests, the doctor was already talking about the possibility of surgery. (appendix, gall bladder)  I told Jeremy this baby boy needed a name before the doctor came back with the results, because there was just no way I could allow myself to go into surgery without him having a name, if it came down to that.  (it's a very scary thought, to have surgery while pregnant and the baby still so young)  Jeremy rattled off every name from the Bible he could think of, and we decided his name is Noah.  God loved Noah, and took care of him in the midst of disaster; and we had faith God would do the same for our Noah if things turned out unfavorably with the tests.  Luckily, surgery was not necessary.  Unfortuately the doctor wasn't able to figure out what made me so very sick, and sent me home with vicodin and zofran.  Funny thing is, when we left the hospital, the rain was POURING and the parking lot was flooded!  I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that we've had a beautiful dry winter, and then suddenly we have a torrential downpour the night we decide to name our baby Noah.  Today I'm feeling pretty crummy, as if I've been steamrolled by a tractor, but I'm over the moon knowing we are going to add another adorable baby boy to our family. 

Noah Johnson Cranson

due August 16, 2010

Things only Genna would say......

Most girls Genna's age might think about wanting to meet the Jonas Brothers or Miley Cyrus. But, like usual, Genna's in a group of her own.  Who does Genna want to meet you wonder?  None other than Tony Shalhoub! (AKA: Mr. Monk)  She's a strange young lady, but I like that.

I'm gonna miss this

Everyday Isaac says to me

"I wuv you very a wot!"

and follows it up with the biggest hug ever and a sweet kiss.

These are the moments I know I'm going to miss so much some day.  Makes me think of that Trace Adkins song




Ahhh..........

recommendations and non-recommendations.

Today I picked up Where the Wild Things Are from RedBox because Genna and I had both been wanting to see it.  What a sore disappointment!  It is such a fantastic book, and my kids are always filled with excitement and laughter when we read it together.  The movie however, was the complete opposite.  It was so sad and depressing.  The story line between Carol and KW was way too grown up and serious. The only thing I enjoyed was the music.  This is one that we certainly will not be adding to our collection, and I do not recommend as a family movie.

Seeing this movie reminds me of another one we rented a while back from RedBox; Cloudy With A Chance of Meetballs.  This movie remake was far better than Where The Wild Things Are, but I still can only rate it as mediocre.  Again, they took an idea from another fantastic book, but fussed with it too much and it didn't come out right.  Had the movie been an original, I may have liked it more.  Knowing the initial story line though, I knew exactly what was missing.  It's a great book that sparks the imagination of a child, but so much was lost in this translation.

On a more positive note however, last weekend we rented Princess and the Frog, which my kids thought was downright fantastic!  The moment it was over, Genna could not stop talking about what a great movie it was.  I didn't watch the whole thing, but did hear it playing in the girls room over and over and over and....... we ended up keeping it for 5 days! (love that about RedBox)  The music was pretty good, and I'm so glad Disney has another princess movie out.  This will probably be one that my girls (and boys!) do want to add to our home collection.

life is better with waffles

Isaac loves waffles.  He really, really loves waffles.  But not quite in the way you would normally expect a kid to love a certain food.  To Isaac, waffles show love.  If you are sick, he'll make you a waffle.  If you've done something nice for him, he'll thank you by making you a waffle.  If you've had a bad day, you're sad, you're exicited, or he just wants to show you he loves you, he'll make you a waffle.  You know you've really made it in his world when he makes you the "big huge". (two waffles, on a plate, with butter, syrup, a fork, and a napkin)  Conversely, if you make him a waffle, you will be met with smiling eyes and a bear hug, because he knows what you mean with that waffle.  To Isaac, waffles just make life better.

They do exist

This picture is off Google, not from the store I was at today, but it's just as heartbreaking.

Today one of Elijah's fish got caught in the filter.  Elijah freed him, but he promptly went belly up.  Elijah was very bummed, but since we have community fish, I told him we would be replacing the lost fish this afternoon.  We went to PetSmart and got a new orange tetra, and decided to stop off at a store called Pet Pourri on our way home. Jeremy told me he stopped there when we first set up Elijah's fish tank, and said they had a great fish selection.  Elijah has two african dwarf frogs, two glow fish, and two orange tetras, but it's such a big tank we've been wanting to add a few more residents.  We decided to see what this store had to offer.  Despite the fact that this store is right around the corner from where we live, I've never been there.  I walked in, and almost walked right out.  I could not believe what I saw: puppies in window cages!  I honestly have not seen puppies for sale in pet stores since I was a child.  I know shelters and rescues often hold weekend adoption events at pet stores, but I did not think stores existed that still sold puppies.  They had purebred huskies, chihuahuas, westies, and hounds, as well as "designer dogs" (which were formerly known as mutts) for $600-$900!!!  One of them was even on "sale".  A couple of them looked very thin and sickly.  We looked at them briefly, but I couldn't stomach standing there looking at these little babies and thinking our own little princess at home.  I just cannot believe these kinds of places are still around. So very sad.

Evil genius or just bad brother?

Because of Isaac's allergies, we always keep Benedryl in the house. We used to have to fight and bribe him to take the medicince when we saw an outbreak coming on because he absolutely hated it.  About nine months ago Isaac realized he could swallow the tiny allergy tablets, so we don't even keep the liquid stuff in the house anymore and we haven't had a fight since.  The other night Isaac was having a strange reaction to something he'd come in contact with, so I handed him his medicine and told him to take it.  Instead, he grabbed Genna's soda, poured it into a cup, and dropped the allergy pill in.  Completely puzzled, I asked him what he was doing.  His reply, with an evil grin: "I'm melting the medicine in pop for Nahshon.  It's going to make him nice and sleepy"  Ok now, Nahshon is in his terrible two's, and his mood can go from happy to sad to excited to angry in the blink of an eye, but this is a little over the top!  I honestly don't even know where he got the idea because we have NEVER dissolved medicine in anything before.  (I wouldn't be surprised to find out they learned it on PBS kids though, they spout out all kinds of random knowledge after watching those shows)  Not to worry though folks, I dumped it out before he could carry out his nefarious plan.

How about a little Friday night freak out?

So, Jeremy just got an email stating that his work will be closing on Sunday, March 14th.  For those needing to reference their calendar, today is Friday, March 12th. That is two days. TWO DAYS PEOPLE!  Our family was FINALLY in a good spot and moving forward.  I know I need to trust that all will work out, but inside all I'm doing is screaming ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!  I know it's nothing compared to what other people are going through, but sometimes it feels like it would just be so nice to catch a break for longer than a couple months.  If anyone knows anyone that is hiring for daytime positions, please feel free to let us know.  :(

A world unknown

Not long ago Bella and I were out shopping, and she spotted our favorite candy- Cadbury Mini Eggs.  She didn't even ask, just knowingly tossed them into the cart and we went on our way.  The moment the rest of the crew spotted the purple bag amongst the groceries at home, they started begging for me to tear it open and shower them with chocolatey goodness.  Isaac doesn't get candy very much as it is, so the idea of egg shaped candy was completely perplexing and overwhelming to him.  I dropped a couple into Isaac's hands and assured him they were in no way real eggs.  Just moments later I heard a strange tapping and when I turned around I saw Isaac at the sink preparing his egg candies for eating: by taking off the shell!  Poor kid, he was just too out of his element.  Thank goodness he has Bella around to show him the ropes.

Well, at least the vet won't get Parvo

Today Estella went in for her booster shots; two total. After the vet gave the first shot, I saw her pick up the cap from the syringe and in my head I immediately started thinking there's no way she's going to recap that needle, is she?  Sure enough, that is exactly what she did, and sure enough, she stuck herself.  She was a very nice lady, but hopefully tonight she is brushing up on her universal health precautions

A little too much Fat Wedding?

Tonight Genna was cleaning in the kitchen, and Bella came in and passed gas. (no surprise there)  Genna, being frustrasted that her sister was stinking up the freshly clean kitchen, decided to spray down Bella's rear with Windex.  I told her next time to go for the Febreze instead; at least that way when she uses the Downy scented one, Bella will just smell like freshly washed clothes.  Although, I'm sure either is a vast improvement.

Could there be a more opposite "compromise"?

The girls have it stuck in their heads that they are tired of the grey and rain and are going to move.  Bella wants to move to Hawaii and Genna wants to move to Tennessee.  When Bella asked why Genna didn't want to move to Hawaii, Genna told her it's because there is no snow anywhere in Hawaii.  Bella's response: But they have volcanoes!  Only in Bella's mind would that make sense as a good alternative.

Luscious gifts

Last night Jeremy surprised me with some wonderful bath goodies from Lush.  He brought me a sakura bath bomb, vanilla fountain bath bomb, blue skies bubble bar, and trichomania shampoo bar.  Lush is by far my favorite luxury bath and body shop, ever since my mom and I first found one in Canada before they were even in the US.  They are a little pricey, but so worth it to get high quality, all natural products.  I used the shampoo this morning, which smells like creamy coconut- what a great way to start a day!  The only problem I have is that Genna's pup won't stop licking me!  I don't really get a chance to shop at the Lush stores we now have in Washington, so it really is a huge treat to get these things.  Thank you Jeremy ♥

I don't think he's a Washington kid

Today Isaac sadly asked me, "why does it have to rain forever?"  We've had a beautiful stretch of sunny days, which is very unusual for our area in February.  I told him it wasn't going to rain forever, probably just for a few days.  He then asked "why does it have to rain at all?"  Poor guy.  I don't think it'll be long until he joins Genna and Bella's bid to move to Hawaii.

pup pics

It's not unusual to find these two napping together; I think they exhaust each other!

perfect pals

Hanging out in the club house

childhood innocence

Recently the girls and I were chatting about what it might be like to live somewhere completely different, and what life might be like for the people that currently live there.  I was also explaining to the girls that there are certain places in the world that we, as a white/American/Christian family, would never move to unless called there by God.  When I had finished explaining racism and xenophobia, Genna said "well, we don't have to worry about any of that because we're peachy colored!"  If only my dear......

big boy

Where does the time go?  How did my baby boy get so big and old???

Happy Birthday to......... Nahshon's tongue?

I guess you could say he has a favorite picture face. Happy Birthday Nahsh-man!

feeling springy

I love pretty flowers. 

They just make a room feel happy.

a joy

We've had little Estella home for 6 days now, and she is just a joy.  A few people warned us/suggested we skip the puppy phase, but it truly has been no trouble.  We were not at all opposed to getting a slightly older dog, but because we had a specific breed requirement, we knew that the right dog may come to us as a young pup or as a toddler. Her small size has not been as issue at all as the kids treat her very gently and respectfully, and we keep a close eye on Micaiah when he is near her.  Genna is great about taking her out to go potty often, and we still have not had accidents in the house.  She almost never barks (I've only heard her once when she was scared of a toy, and Genna heard her once when Isaac got her hyped up), and her all time favorite activity is cuddling.  I just could not picture a more perfect furry friend for our home.

little miss

Little miss Estella is settling in quite nicely.  Today Genna gave her a bath, helped give her the deworming medication, and made a large pillow bed for her out of some left over fleece we had.  She's been taking the puppy out to go potty every couple of hours, and as a result, we've had no accidents in the house! Estella showed us tonight that she is still very much a baby, and wants to drink formula from bottles just like baby Micaiah.  She has quickly stolen all of our hearts.

Meet Estella

Meet our newest addition, Estella.  Jeremy surprised us all and showed up with her tonight.  Her mom is a poodle-yorkie and her dad is a poodle-chihuahua.  She is just sweet as can be.  This picture is the one taken by the family we got her from, but soon I will have some loaded up with her and her happy mama, Genna. Welcome home little Estella!

kids say the darndest things

 This kid cracks me up, I just love the last thing he says.




I'm sure many of you have already seen this one, but I still think it's so cute.  I've said this before and I'll say it again; if my kids had Brittish accents, I don't think they would ever get in trouble.  They would just be too darn cute to listen to, I wouldn't be able to get mad!

Would you like some maple syrup?

Today while I was folding laundry, Genna approached me very seriously and said,

"mom, my feet smell like waffles."

I'm not even sure how to respond to something like that.

Just in time for Valentines day

Isaac has learned a new phrase, and he's been saying it over and over and over:


Hey baby, how you doin'?


In my defense, I think he heard it from the Nancy Drew movie.  It is rather funny coming from a 3 year old though. ♥

A wish for a dog, a fish, and a frog

My kids have been bitten by the "we want pets" bug..... hard!  Genna has her heart set on a small poodle, in the hopes it will be a dog Isaac is not allergic to.  Elijah is convinced a frog is what he needs most in life, and Bella wants a tank full of fish that she can mindlessly babble to for hours on end while they just blow their little fishy bubbles.  I've been a little reluctant to add more fish to our family after I accidentally cooked the last one, but she's been asking for a while and I think she's finally got me worn down.  Elijah doesn't want for much in his life, so when he does ask for something of a reasonable nature, it's hard for us to say no. (especially because it's all he'll think about and talk about for weeks)  After much research, I think I could be persuaded into a couple of African Dwarf Frogs.  The poodle though, will be a little harder.  First, we have to test Isaac as I refuse to bring anything into this house that will cause anyone to be sick.  We would also have to convince daddy, who strongly dislikes little animals. Of all the kids though, Genna is the one that I wouldn't think twice about getting a dog for.  Isaac just informed me today that he wants to have a pet elephant.  I'm pretty sure we're going to say no.

what to do, what to do......

Well, the pipes are fixed.  Now I just have to figure out what to do with that giant dirt patch in the yard.  Perhaps this will be the year we make a vegetable garden?

Not exactly what we had planned

So, the bathroom remodel has started.  The plumbers came out today, and we learned tree roots have grown into the main pipe and broke it.  Now they will be digging up the yard this week to replace the pipes. (thank goodness this whole mess wasn't cause by a toy being flushed!!!)  Already things are behind schedule. When Jeremy pulled up the floor, it was worse than expected.  My dad is a contractor, so I know well before a single screw is even touched that a project will take longer than expected.  There is always something.  Still, that knowledge doesn't make it any easier to have the bathroom torn to bits with 6 kids in the house.  I'm looking forward to the finished product (large soaking tub, tiled shower walls, new tile on the floor), but it's going to be a long week.

uncle, mercy, white flags all around!!!

On Thursday our car overheated and when Jeremy pulled over, it flat out died. On Friday Jeremy went to the bank to find that someone has been using our account to the tune of $500. Today (Saturday) our toilet started bubbling and then flooded the bathroom (3 times) and the bathtub filled up with water from the drain. Luckily it looks to just be dirty water, not sewage. So, that is 3 disasters in 3 days. Enough. I'm done now. No more please. The car is fixed, the fraud department at the bank is taking care of the charges and we closed the account, and tomorrow we will be replacing the bathroom floor. Here's to hoping next week goes a little better.

aahhh.....

I love new, clean sheets. It's just so nice to crawl into bed and not suddenly jump back out because someone decided to secretly eat crackers under the blanket. Funny what makes me happy as a mom.

the aliens are coming

A few days ago I asked Elijah if I could borrow his tools. He sadly confessed that he didn't know where his tools were because Bella and Isaac lost them. When I asked him how they lost the tools, it was reported to me that they were building a rocket. Upon further questioning I learned that they believe aliens are coming to take Genna away, to turn her into a robot alien. They were building the rocket to save her. Worried, I asked them if the aliens were planning to take anyone else, but I was reassured that Genna is the only one they are after. Good to know they have a plan.

Watch out for rogue agents!

Last night before bed, Jeremy and I watched a couple episodes of Burn Notice. BIG mistake. Suddenly in the middle of the night I got a wild elbow to the face. Hard. I slowly sat up and calmly asked Jeremy why he did that............ Yeah right! I sat up and screamed at him for an explanation. It took him a few seconds to shake himself out of his dream enough to tell me he thought he was a CIA agent. Yeah, I don't care who you think you are, do that again and I'll roll you onto the floor.

Food for thought

Last night the kids and I watched the documentary, Food Inc. Very interesting indeed. A lot of what was said were things that I had already learned recently (such as how corn is in EVERYTHING from poptarts to diapers), but there were a few things mentioned that really surprised me. One thing I found incredibly heartbreaking is that today, minority children have a 1 out of 2 chance of developing type 2 diabetes. 1 OUT OF 2!!!! That is sickening to me. The documentary interviewed a minority family, who showed why fast food seems like the better short term option, but once in that rut, it becomes very hard to break out. My kids were pretty shocked by what they learned, but shocked in a good way. I recommend others watch this film. Our country is getting fatter and sicker every year, and it's important to understand why and how this is happening. Do you really know that's in your food?

The wait is over!!!

Jeremy and I have never put much time into our bedroom. Wherever we have lived, it's usually the last place to get put together, and rarely decorated. With all the other things that have to get done, it just doesn't make our list of most important things to do. Two years ago, shortly after Nahshon was born, Jeremy and I decided a room switch around was in order. At that time Jeremy and I moved into one of the smaller bedrooms, which was once the girl's room. The room was princess pink with it's fair share of "wall art" from a young Bella just discovering the joy of hiding markers in her room for bedtime entertainment. We certainly didn't enjoy the pink, but didn't really have time to care. It was just a place to sleep. Well, after 4 homes and 8 1/2 years, we have finally created a nice bedroom for ourselves! Yesterday Jeremy brought home a beautiful new bed for us. (the only bed frame we've ever had has been those metal ones they give you with the purchase of a new mattress) He also brought home a can of paint, bye bye pink mess! After dinner he cleared out the room, patched up the walls, primed, painted, rearranged the furniture, built our bed, cleaned up the mess, and had us snoozing by our regular bedtime! We went shopping for new bedding too, but the search is still going. He also got me wall lights for above the bed so I can read at night without disturbing him, and now it will actually be comfortable to sit up and read in bed thanks to the nice curved back bed frame! :) Slowly we will replace the rest of the furniture in our room too, but this is an awesome start. I love my new room, thanks hun!

Fine, I'll go shopping

After cleaning out our entire room last night, I have decided our camera cord is just gone. I'll send Jeremy to get a new one within the next few days. Prepare yourselves for picture overload!

Will I make it to the end?

Yesterday, as Bella was rounding hour 13 of her chore (Yes, 13 hours, spanned over two days, to sort and put away 3 standard size loads of clothes; one of which was just bath towels!) Elijah ran through the living room and stepped through a couple of her piles as he did it. In her very best southern drawl, she called out "Don't step on my clothes, they're prize winners!" Curious, I asked her exactly what prize they had won. Again in her new southern character, she replied that "they won the prize for laziest clothes in all the land." So, you mean it's not YOU that's lazy and won't put away the clothes, it's the CLOTHES that are lazy? "yup mama, that's right" All I can say to that is Bless Her Heart, and I mean that in it's truest southern form, if ya know what I mean ;)

Reality TV, here they come!

Fat bellies beware! After watching the Biggest Loser, Bella has decided to add personal trainer to her resume. (this may come in handy when she opens up that sweet shop) She had the other kids pumping iron (5lb weights), doing sit-ups, obstacle courses, yoga, and what I can only assume were supposed to be push ups. Honestly it looked more like they were practicing their belly flops. When she wanted Elijah to hold the weight with both hands and lift it over his head followed by a sit up, he complained it was too hard. He walked off and she shouted "well, see you later big whiner!" Move over Jillian, here comes Bella!

If you are a fan of American Idol, then you know Simon will not return next year. Many papers are speculating about who might replace him and what might happen with the show, but I think I have just the right man; Micaiah. I know, he just a baby, but hear me out on this. He was watching the show with me and the girls last night, and every single time a bad singer came on he burst into tears. Not just tears, but screams! When they stopped, he stopped. When the good singers came on, he'd close his eyes and nearly drift off to sleep. No mean commentary necessary. If you make the baby cry, you are out. If you put him to sleep, you are in. He's perfect for the job. We'll be waiting for your call, Fox.

where did the year go?

On Thursday Nahshon will turn 2. It seems like it was not that long ago that he was turning 1! Why is it that the older I get, the faster time seems to go?

We are very blessed

When Jeremy and I decided to jump into the world of homeschooling, we went in completely blind. We did not know anyone that homeschooled, we just knew it was the best choice for our family. I knew we wanted to join a homeschool group, and so I just googled for homeschool groups in our area. Google returned a list of options, and I chose one at random, Homeschooling His Way. This turned out to be one of the best homeschool decisions I could have made for our family. The people we have met through this group are not just casual friends we go to parks with, they are true friends we go through life with. They are the type of people that make me feel like we are better for knowing them and being able to share in their struggles and triumphs, just as they do with us. I'm so thankful God has brought these people into our lives. Thank you HHW families, you bless us in so many ways.

a beautiful reminder

Psalm 127:3-5 (New International Version)

Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

status update

Since many of you have been kind enough to ask, I thought I'd just post 'em

Micaiah Gregory

*8 months old

*25 lbs (same weight as his almost 2 year old brother)

*wears size 18 months

*crawling army man style, and pretty darn good at it

*two bottom teeth

*sleeps through most nights

*smiles all the time, he's a very jolly little guy

*shakes his head and says no, usually for what appears to be no reason

*2 in. scar on his tummy has faded significantly and really isn't that noticeable, but does cause the skin above and below it to roll over the scar when he sits. At this point it's not really noticeable because has has a few other non-scar related rolls on his tummy too :)

*loves food and gets very mad when you don't share with him

*thinks splashing in the tub is the coolest thing he can do

*loves to cuddle with Elijah, and usually ends up falling asleep on his chest

*loves electronics (camera, cell phone, Flip video camera, etc....), always wants to hold them, thinks it's hysterical to watch himself on the flip (which he insists on holding while he watches), and then gets mad when you take it away

*plays cars/trucks/trains with the big boys

He is such a joyful part of our family and I'm so glad he's ours

♥

5 faves

Recently I was just chatting with Isaac, and started asking him about his favorites.....

What's your favorite color?

Pink!

What's your favorite food to eat?

Spaghetti!

What's your favorite animal?

Teddy Bears!

What's your favorite movie?

Thomas the Train!

What's your most favorite thing?

Lightning McQueen Race Car!

And then, I decided to ask......

What's mommy's most favorite thing?

Money Dollars!

Say what now?!?!?! Gee, what a nice (and VERY untrue) thing to say about your mother. I think we're done here.

Christmas gift review

Since I'm STILL looking for my camera cord to download Christmas pics, I thought in the meantime I would post a review of one of gifts Elijah got. Jeremy and I have a sort of a system when buying Christmas gifts for the kids. They get something they want, need, wear, and read. (and 1 gift from the big man of course) This cuts down on spending, unneeded junk, and makes them think long and hard about what they really want. As well as makes us be very selective in what we buy because we don't want to buy them something with a big wow factor that's going to sizzle out after 2 days. Somehow I came across something out there in internet world that was talking about this product, Snap Circuits. It sounded very interesting, and when I found it had great reviews on Amazon and free shipping, I knew that's what I was going to get for Elijah this year. I ordered him the SC 300 kit, and it is hands down awesome! It's educational and entertaining. Elijah absolutely loves it, and it's fun for Jeremy to do with him, which makes it even better. The product says it's for ages 8 and up, but even Isaac likes to help, so I think with supervision, little engineers will have fun with it too. Elijah has had no problems following the instruction manual (it comes with a manual that has 300 projects) and building creations all on his own, and the other kids are always very excited to see what he built. So far he has built a light switch, an AM radio, a speaker system, an alarm, a fan, and a number of combinations of these. We will definitely be adding on to this kit, and I think our next one will be the RC Rover. If you have a young one that like to build things and put things together, I highly recommend the Snap Circuit systems.