Time Flies

In less than a week my baby boy will have his first birthday. Where has the time gone?!?! I remember with my first feeling such a sense of relieve when she turned one. My feeling was we made it. The feelings aren't the same with my son. I am sad to see my little one growing so quickly. I know my feelings are different because he maybe my last and I wasn't nearly as stressed.

Here is a photo of my big boy sitting at the table. His first adventure out of his high chair at my house and he couldn't have been happier. He ate a whole cheeseburger, the whole bun and some sweet potatoe fries. His appetite is much bigger than his sisters who ate about 2 bites. I can't imagine my future grocery bills!

Sad to see them go

Today I said goodbye to good friends of mine, the Lundys. They are leaving Ohio tomorrow to head to Kentucky. The moving truck is in front of their home, packing all their belongings and they will spend their last night in the first home they purchased.
For me, it's bittersweet. I am excited for the opportunity they have in Kentucky, but I will miss them. Meredith and I have gone through a lot in the past five years of knowing one another. We got married, bought homes and started our families. Those are huge things that happen in your life and we were there together.
Meredith and I met at work. She and her then boyfriend moved to Ohio. I was engaged and shortly after got married. She and Kevin then became engaged themselves and they started the wedding planning process. It was great to be a witness to all the chaos I had just endured myself. When her time came, I was there to witness them exchange vows. Meredith even wore my veil!
Glenn and I had been in our first home by then and I was pregnant with Ryleigh. They bought their own just one town away and became pregnant themselves. They came to watch Ryleigh when she was a few months old, but being a first time mom, we stuck around and had dinner with them. Kevin hadn't yet been exposed to a baby and there were tons of questions. We helped them as best we could and grew excited for Brendan's arrival. Once they came home, Meredith had her first time mom jitters and called me on Brendan's first night. I went over, calmed her nerves and reminded her she could do it. And she has very well.
Meredith has been here to celebrate birthdays and the homecoming of my second. The past couple of years we've had playdates, sharing stories of mommy woes and the common bond of traveling husbands. I feel blessed that I got to hold her new son today (cute as button and just 4 weeks old). It was my first time and I am sure not the last.
I went through their home today to see all the packed boxes, Brendan's first big boy room and the nursery one last time it became real. I went to say goodbye to Kevin, who gave me an enormous hug and my tears started to surface. I then turned to Meredith to give her my finally Ohio Hug and we were blubbering messes. I walked down the stairs to say goodbye to her mom. And before I left, Brendan came running up to me. I picked him up and he gave me the best hug. I gave him a kiss on the check and reminded him to be good to his mama. At this point, I had to leave because the tears were streaming.
My thoughts are with them today as they pack up to start their new adventure. I know tomorrow I will be excited for them but today I am just sad. Sad to see such a good friend go. I will miss you Meredith and your family. I promise I will see you soon and call you often. You call me when you need me for anything! I promise I will be there in a flash.

My first famous friend

My friend, Alisa, is in a commercial and as a mom I couldn't be more proud of her. Please check it out here. And while you're there considering dropping a dime or two towards the March of Dimes walk. It's a great cause!

Good Girl

My mini-me has been getting her haircut on a regular basis since she was 6 months old. She does this mama proud every time she gets her hair trimmed. I sometimes feel I don't give her enough credit on my blog on what a truly wonderful girl she is and what a real pleasure I am having raising her.

That's bad

Me: Thanks for going to see the movie with me. I know it was a chic flick.

Him: It wasn't that bad there were some 'guy' moments in it.

Me: I really do appreciate it, though.

Him: It isn't the worst chic flick date I've been on...

Me: (Hmmm do I even ask...) What was the worst date?

Him: I went and saw Beaches.

Me: (Uncontrollable laughter) Are you SERIOUS?

Him: Yup

Me: That's BAD!

Buzz Buzz

Evan had his very first haircut today. The whole family went for this momentous occasion. Ryleigh was scheduled for her haircut too and due to the time (Evan's morning nap) I dragged the husband with me too, to control the chaos. It actually was a pretty easy deal and no tears were shed by the little one. I was apprehensive about getting his hairs trimmed in fear he would start to look more like a little boy and lose his baby charm.

All Done!

Sidebar Note: I just noticed on this pic if you look really close at my nose you can see one of my scars (from pesky basil cell skin cancer... got it removed 4 months before my wedding). It is where the natural line of your nose meets the bridge. Can you see it?

Everything's coming out cream

Alright I am so tired of being sick. I have been sick almost the entire time since my return from Texas! I had 4 days off of feeling back to myself and I get hit again with this awful cold, flu bug deal. My ears hurt, my sinuses are full and I've got a nice cough to boot! WHY?!?
I know the why, I live with Germ 1 & 2. They are cute and all but I am considering shipping them out of here until the thaw of spring. Isn't there a place where the little germs can run around, play in the sunshine, wipe their noses on something other than my shoulder and sleep through the night? If you're willing to adopt my germs for a short period...say till May let me know. They don't eat much. As you know Germ 2 is fine with Cheerios. Germ 1 loves the all dairy diet: cottage cheese, yogurt, milk, cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs and sticks of butter. She does like the occasional gold fish cracker, her brother's puffs, PBJ, pasta (no sauce as we need to be like our older cousin) and anything else from the grain family. And if she's having a good day she will eat fruit (bananas, grapes, apples, raspberries, blueberries but no peaches). But don't buy one of those fruit items because it will surely go bad because that isn't the fruit she wants that week. And if you ask her what fruit she wants she will lie and it will go bad. They don't clean after themselves unless you make a big to do game over the whole thing. Germ 1 doesn't mind using a tissue but finds her finger easier. Germ 2 hates tissues and will knock you out with his head swinging. They both love to sleep but Germ 2 will only nap if a princess movie is on or if she is being driven around in circles. Make it a big circle because she usually can figure out where she is and it sometimes takes a bit of time. She will ask where you're going so tell her no place special and you just need to look at something (but don't tell her it's her eyelids closing you're looking for). So any takers on the Germs?

Miss you my sweet valentine!

Here are your 2 youngest valentines missing you too!

Yummy!

I haven't forgot about my NYR. I just needed to make a slight adjustment. I suspect I will only be able to handle one to two new recipes a month. We were gone and then we were hit with nasty colds (ear infection for Evan) but last week in the midst of feeling horrible I was able to make this tasty recipe my friend Courtney supplied me. It is easy as pie and so good.

Chicken Cacciatore with Cremini Mushrooms (Crock Pot Recipe)

1 whole chicken, cut into 10 pieces, skin removed (except wings)
8 ounces of cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled plum tomatoes in juice, drained, broken up
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup of dry white wine as Sauvignon Blanc
1 celery stalk thinly sliced
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 sprig of rosemary or 1/2 tsp of dried rosemary, crumbled
Coarse salt and pepper

1. In a 5-quart slow cooker stir together chicken, mushrooms, tomatoes, flour, wine, celery, onion, rosemary, 2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper
2. Cover; cook on high setting until meat is tender, 4 hours. Do not lift lid of slow cooker while cooking. To serve, discard rosemary sprig.

I didn't take a picture because I was starving when it was finished and was feeling pretty bad. It was very good and my husband gave it a 4.5 out of 5! They suggest serving it with brown rice (which I did and it was good).

Make this one! It is super easy and very tasty! Thanks Courtney!


Hope to make a new recipe next week when Glenn is home.

If all else fails she has a future as a bag lady

If it is empty (box, bag, suitcase, bowl, etc) it must be filled in Ryleigh's book. We received a delivery today and Ryleigh took it upon herself to take this vast empty space and dump her toy bins into it. The only thing she doesn't fill are her toy bins!

Thank you General Mills

Evan has found a new love and it is found in this wonderful yellow box. He would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner if I would allow it. Okay, I do allow it. He enjoys picking those little suckers up and trying to get them in his mouth. He has gotten quite good. He loves them best dry although in the morning I do give him some with milk so it doesn't take over an hour to consume breakfast. The best part is to watch him get the ones that are just a bit out of reach. He struggles and pulls himself up till he can get it. Then he brings that pudgy hand to his mouth in the hope of dropping the little sucker in; he does it with such glee. It just warms this mama's heart! How I love this little guy!

How romantic

Doesn't this look like a nice romantic thing to do? Then you're held hostage for an hour and half ride through some not-so-nice parts of town lit up like a Christmas tree!