Spicy Magnolia

Silliness

“Silly Mommy!”

“Silly Daddy!”

These are expressions repeatedly heard around our household, mouthed by an exuberant three-weeks-shy-of-being-three-years-old boy, with a big, sheepish grin on his face. The countenance of this child also shows the slightest hint of pride in his parents who make him laugh, because to a three year old man-child, goofiness is the character trait worth gold.

For better or worse, this silliness comes rather naturally to Matt <grin>, but sometimes it takes a bit of effort for this lady who tends to take life a little too seriously. Rest assured though, Matt is a good mentor, and taking one look at Brennan’s gleaming smiles when I let loose encourages my display of silliness.

Two weekends ago we ventured on a two-hour train ride each way to the small town of Burnet, TX to visit Main Street Bethlehem, an outstanding reenactment of the ancient holy city of Jesus’ birth. It was incredible for a number of reasons, including the fascination and anticipation that Brennan had feasting his eyes on Mary, Joseph, and “baby Jesus”. He wanted to get as close to them as he could and sat in front of their manger scene in wonder. The camel was also a highlight to him. And it goes without saying that the train ride was as well.

The adventure back to Austin commenced at 8 p.m., and with a two-hour train ride ahead of us after a long day, Matt and I favored catching some shut-eye and hoped Brennan would follow our example. Kensington was a given. She was snoozing by the time we were twenty minutes from the platform.

Holding Kensie, Matt stretched his lengthy frame out as much as possible and secured himself a comfortable enough position to rest. With Brennan on my lap scrolling through pictures from the day on my iPhone, I managed to power nap, something I consider a super power of mine.

Upon my eyes awakening and adjusting to the bright, overhead lights, a second wind overtook me and it was laden with silliness. And who but Brennan would be the perfect accompaniment to my scheme? Without disturbing Matt and Kensie too much, Brennan and I belly-laughed capturing the following photo-booth shots (that took me a few attempts to explain to Brennan what we were doing):

It took much coercion to get him to start making a “happy face” after he was enthralled with the “mean face”.

I was one of Brennan’s most favorite people on the planet after that escapade. Never mind I was only one of three with him that fine, brisk night. At the very least, it made the train ride speed on by. But you know as well as I do, that I could have been on that train for forever and a day without it ever pulling into a station. Freeze-framing time is a super power I desperately wish existed. Alas, I’ll have to settle for my power-napping capabilities and a newly discovered, ever-growing knack for silliness, assuredly a super power in the eyes of a child.

Simply trusting,

How the Mice Played

The cat is back. But the mice played. The mice played hard.

The weekend highlight was the pumpkin patch at the Elgin Christmas Tree Farm that I took the kiddos to on Saturday morning. The high was supposed to be 90 degrees, which put a damper on the whole Fall ambiance, but the clouds and few sprinkles worked in our favor.

It was a bit of a balancing act doing it by myself, but Kensington was a trooper coming along for the ride as I trucked her in the Bjorn. Brennan was patient as we took time to feed her. And we only had one minimal meltdown when in line to pay for one last horse ride, I discovered I lost my last $20 somewhere and Brennan wasn’t going to be able to stroll around on top of that magnificent beast he’s fallen love with. Thankfully, either I left it at the pay window where I got the change or some blessed saint kindly turned in the money they saw blowing across the driest Texas straw grass you ever set foot on.

The main event for Brennan at the Pumpkin Patch was the pony ride. Or rather, the horse ride. It was the first and only animal he pet, making regular visits throughout our morning:

When he found out he could ride one, he asked about it incessantly while I fed Kensie. A bit unsure if he’d actually get on, I braced myself for tears. Instead, just the opposite occurred. Slightly in shock, I watched my son take his ticket to the horse leader and ask specifically for a “big horse”. Without a second thought or even a slight glance back at his Momma, that boy of mine climbed on Barbie, the biggest horse out there. No fear. No intimidation.

And off he went.

It must have been his watching of the race scenes in Secretariat (that he comically reenacts) or how we’ve told him that Uncle Mac had a horse and was an avid rider that spurred him on. I don’t know, but my Daddy texted this when I told him about our budding equestrian: “It’s all over. In two or three years, you’ll be buying a horse.” I’m watching my childhood with my brother replay before my very eyes. Full circle moment. All I needed was a ribbon to hand to my son, just like I handed to Mac during his horse shows.

We had a blast the rest of the time playing on the playground; making a buddy on the tractor hayride that Brennan followed through the corn maze…

…watching a Border Collie successfully herd sheep; eating hotdogs listening to live Blue Grass music, and having no qualms kissing each other with ketchup face…

…picking out a pumpkin; and riding a big horse one last time.

This is the only picture I have of the three of us. The kids’ faces crack me up.

And a pumpkin patch wouldn’t be a complete visit without a couple of patch pictures.

Jumping to Sunday morning, Brennan saw the outfit I picked out for Kensington and asked, “Kensie going to be a lady bug today?”

Well, I guess she is:

The other highlight for me was attending a Mother’s Blessing Sunday afternoon. A number of ladies from our church lovingly prepared a time to pray over and encourage moms of the newest born babies in our congregation. It was a special and very sweet time.

Another praise about one of my scatterbrained moments these days: a momma had an extra bottle on hand because I ran out the door without one. I was probably too preoccupied trying to get some mother-daughter pictures of us before our special event.

I have to put this one in here for kicks because the expression is comical.

But Kensington would want me to end on this one.

We mice are oddities. We had a lot of fun together, but we’re overjoyed the cat is back. The momma mouse especially!

Simply trusting,

 

The Man of the Hour

First, congratulations to Sara on being the randomly selected winner of Marla Taviano’s new book!

I think we spoiled Matt for Father’s Day; at least that was our aim. We started the weekend off with a splash by texting Matt to meet us at the neighborhood pool, where we made him perform his famous dolphin exhibition. We’ve gotta get our boy to Sea World some day real soon! We packed a dinner picnic and ate by the pool, which we hope to do more often this summer. After Brennan went to sleep, Matt and I watched The King’s Speech. While it was the third time I saw it, it was Matt’s first. It never gets old.

I think Matt was most excited about sleeping in on Saturday. The rest of our clan went on a walk, where Molly nearly was hit by an oncoming car when she pulled so hard trying to see another dog her leash slipped out of my hand. I burst into tears out of gratefulness she was ok and an overwhelming sense of nerves.

Brennan and I picked up a chai latte and Rudy’s breakfast tacos for the man of the hour and adorned him with his “Daddy” crown Brennan made with specially picked “Thomas”, “Lightning McQueen”, and “Nemo” stickers.

 

We spent some time at the outlet mall trying to find some new sandals for Matt and new flip-flops for me as both of our pairs went caput. It was hot. I was uncomfortable. And grumpy. And well, it wasn’t the most pleasant of outings for us, but we sat in the cool car for awhile, exhibiting to Brennan how adults need to work out their attitude issues, too.

I spent most of the afternoon plopped on the couch, except for when I inspected Matt’s work cleaning a couple of ceiling vents we recently discovered were appallingly infested with layers and layers of dust. He got them spick-n-span, and my nesting instinct that is in full gear was put at ease. Then the boys headed off to Brennan’s first baseball game to see the Round Rock Express! I benefitted from a quiet night, chatting away with my friend, Corrie, and working through our to-do list.

 

 

The boys had a blast, and it’s quite obvious by their glowing faces.

 

 

The boy really enjoys himself a classic corndog. And he had his first nibbles of “Cracker Jacks”.

These are the “chickens” Brennan excitedly scurried in to tell me about after the game and has been talking about ever since.

I was surprised to see how comfortable he was standing next to this big mascot sign, but maybe he was more drawn to it because it’s a dog. Or maybe he’s telling us he’s ready to hit Disney World <grin>.

On Sunday morning, Brennan started delving into Matt’s Father’s Day present and couldn’t wait for him to open it. One of his gifts included a frame that held the following three pictures spelling out “Dad” that we took during play group.

The boys and Molly went on a walk and to the park while I got started on Matt’s Father’s Day dinner: his favorite, Chicken Parmesan. We enjoyed another relaxing day and treated ourselves to a first-time visit to Torchy’s Tacos. Y’all, I’m still fantasizing about those tacos! I can’t wait to go back and get another round of chips and salsa and a “trashy” version (with chile con queso) of “The Trailer Park” tacos!

Nap time! One of my favorite parts of the day <grin>. Matt was most looking forward to this because he planned in advance to nap with Brennan in his big boy bed. So for two hours, they snuggled and slept together. I went upstairs to wake them and they had their arms in the same position above their heads. More playtime, wrestling (a new favorite thing to do of Brennan’s), and then eating. Savoring bites of garlic bread, a large salad, and the Chicken Parmesan.

We three are a blessed bunch with the fathers in our lives. Between my Daddy, Matt’s dad, and Matt, they make up a small group of godly men, husbands, and fathers, who have marked the world and the people they meet with their character that is above reproach. They are full of integrity and serve their families honorably. Oh, and they are loads of fun and laughs! We have very good reason to celebrate their lives!

Simply trusting,

Don’t Even

Don’t even get me started on how it’s June 9th already and the baby countdown widget on the right-hand sidebar is flashing in what seems like neon lights that we only have 54 more days left until blast off <hyperventilating>!

While being MIA the past few weeks, it’s not because I’ve been short on blog post ideas or in labor. Here’s a run down of the last few weeks:

• Three weeks ago, right before our family vacation, Matt had a crazy amount of work to accomplish, and we had a special visit from our friends, Eric and Kim from Colorado. These are some good, life-long, salt-of-the-earth, kinda friends. Luke is a few months younger than Brennan, and Ellie is now 6 months old. We stayed up late like the youngin’s and then crashed hard over the following days like the oldies.

• Look what my little guy left me with after plummeting his thick head into my eye as he was laying down in his bed and I was next to him. I really think I saw tweety birds. Sorry, it’s a dreadful close-up shot.

• We drove 14 hours each way (not including meal breaks) to Panama City, FL for a week at the beach with Matt’s family to celebrate his parents’ 60th birthdays. The white, soft sandy beaches with the vibrant turquoise waters have forever nixed the idea of wanting to visit the Texas Gulf Coast again. Whomever claims that Texas has a beach is seriously diminishing the value of what a beach can really live up to. Let me just say I didn’t end up with a tar-stained bathing suit after this trip.

Suffice it to say, we wouldn’t hesitate in the least to take this guy on another long road trip. We’ll see what it’s like once Skittles comes along, adding the sibling rivalry to the mix.

At first he was cautious about the ocean waters, but he braved the waves and ended up loving to jump them with his Daddy. His favorite part in both the ocean and the awesome resort-sized pool we had access to was watching Daddy imitate a dolphin. (Hopefully a separate beach post will follow shortly).

• We made it home safe and sound, welcoming the solid night’s sleep that only one’s own comfy bed can provide. And guess who came into town also from Florida? POPS! He and Mees delivered Miss Molly to us after taking care of her for the week, and what is the first kinda food any true Texan must partake of getting home? Mexican food! Chuy’s hit the spot and so did some frozen custard from Shake’s. Brennan feasted on his first hot fudge sundae.

• Before we left for Florida, we were faced with the unexpected purchase of needing to get a new car. Not only did we go looking for a “new” car the weekend we got back, our home A/C went out. We are now keenly aware that one should have two A/C units if you have a 2-story house, but ours only has one. So our home heated up to a pleasant <ahem> 90 degrees for three nights and three days. No one is counting though. It took that long to get fixed because the A/C company was so backed up over Memorial Day weekend. I didn’t know I could play the, “I have a little child and I’m pregnant” cards to get them to come out sooner.

It certainly makes you all the more thankful for A/C as the majority of the world is hotter than we are and doesn’t have it! It is a luxury. And we are beyond thankful that at the same time of purchasing a car, the A/C was only a relatively minor repair compared to the $7k we might have had to fork over for a new unit! While it was a wild few days with late nights at the dealership, we have a working A/C and a “new” mommy car! It could not have gone more smoothly, and we are so grateful.

• My birthday and Mother’s Day gift came to fruition: Matt and I had an awesome date night for dinner and the Michael Buble concert. It was one of the most entertaining concerts I’ve been to, and I think Matt would say the same thing. In fact, upon leaving, he admitted there were a number of things about Michael that helped him gain more respect in Matt’s eyes such that he would stop calling him Michael “Bubble”.

• While a lot of our summer will be spent with this cool dude at the pool,

I am trying to plan extra-fun and memorable things for the two of us to do together before Skittles’ arrival. I am a floodgate of tears and emotion when I think about the change that is about ready to pummel us. “Pummel” is a strong word, but that’s what it feels like these days. I’m. Not. Ready.

One such special event we attended last week was Thomas on Stage. He sat mesmerized through the whole thing, and I had the endearing pleasure of holding him.

• My dear friends, Leah and Cassie, threw me a surprise baby shower at Z-Tejas last week! I never expected to have a closet full of pink before Skittles’ arrival, but some precious friends who were there made sure that our little girl would be decked out with pink, purple, bows, and matchy-matchy shoes!

• This past Saturday, Brennan and I drove up to Celina to visit our good buddies, Chris, Jill, Harrison, Haddie and meet baby Hays! He’s already six weeks old, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to meet him while we had the chance. It was a low-key, perfectly relaxing weekend, and I was gifted with a TON of fresh green beans, squash, zucchini, onions, and broccoli from the garden. Look at this gift:

• Before leaving Dallas, Brennan and I stopped into visit one of my dearest childhood friends, Lauren, and meet her three-week old baby girl, Charlotte. Lauren’s sister, Debbie, a professional wedding photographer in the Austin area, whom I’d highly recommend, was there and shot some pictures of us that I hope to see soon.

In the meantime, let me tell any of you out there who think Brennan is a “perfect” child that he is like any other normal two-year old out there! For the first 30-45 minutes of our visit, he was in a rotten mood, wouldn’t listen to me, and I’m sure made my cheeks flush red a number of times. I finally succumbed to handing him a movie on my iPhone in a desperate attempt to visit with my gracious hosts who fixed a lovely brunch for us (Lauren’s hubby can cook!). I’m so thankful I got to see Lauren and her little girl before they move to Connecticut this summer.

Tuesday afternoon, Brennan and I rolled back into town. After one week of vacation where I intentionally tried to be off-line, and an additional week and a half of having something every night, I am finally caught up on all of our household business items and can get back to such things as blogging.

Well, don’t even get me started on the lengthy to-do list that needs to be tackled over the next fifty-four days or the emotional wreck that I am. Just let me relish the moment that I actually wrote something.

Simply trusting,

 

Link Love…and a Question

Amazingly, I’ve been able to keep up my reading spurt this year. I figure I only have two more months until I take a probable hiatus. The only downfall, if it can really be considered one, is that the novels I’ve delved into are so good they keep me up too late at night. The latest one I read is likely familiar to most of you with its raving reviews and the upcoming movie release this summer. It’s called The Help. I particularly love the history woven throughout, and who wouldn’t agree that the Civil Rights Movement is one of the top most significant historical events/changes during the 20th century? It’s a humorous, thoughtful, and insightful piece of literature.

There is a new Compassion Bloggers team headed to the Philippines next week. If you read anything on the Internet next week, read some of their posts. You can follow along with them here. You might be familiar with some of the team members:  Tsh Oxenreider at The Simple Mom or Emily Freeman at Chatting at the Sky.

I still think it would be amazing to meet our two Compassion girls who live in Bangladesh. My friend, Tracy, has family in the Philippines and visited there with her hubby and two kiddos a couple of months ago. While there, she got to meet her Compassion child! What an opportunity in which to take advantage, a real treasure!

We have no idea what lies ahead with Brennan’s or Skittles’ education in the future, and I am certainly not one that sees herself made for homeschooling, but I appreciated reading Ann Voskamp’s post this morning. No matter what is in store for our kiddos, the heart and purpose behind what we ultimately desire their education to look like and result in was articulated very well: “It means that we pursue not a cultural definition of success but of true greatness for our kids: ‘having an unquenchable passion for God that manifests itself in an unwavering love and concern for others’ (Ted Kimmel, Raising Kids for True Greatness).”

In the winter, I participated in the Bloom Book Club through {in}courage when they read One Thousand Gifts. Last Sunday, they announced the new book selection starting up on June 5th: Kelly Minter’s The Fitting Room. I’ve been looking forward to starting up again with this online community, and you might want to also. Here are all the details you need.

And now a question for y’all. One of Brennan’s favorite books in the past couple of months has been The Berenstain Bears’ New Baby. He’s intrigued not just by the baby but also the new big boy bed that Brother Bear switches to from his little bed, something Brennan himself has done in the last couple of months. It’s a book we’re using as a resource to talk about his baby sister coming soon to help with the transition. What are other things you did in your families that were helpful and fun to aid in the adjustment period?

If any of you Central Texans are looking for a place to escape for a weekend, Matt and I HIGHLY recommend Rose-Hill Manor outside of Fredericksburg! We went there last weekend for a brief ‘babymoon’ while Brennan was love-spoiled by his Mees in San Antonio. Y’all, the scenery was breathtakingly peaceful and the food was GOURMET! Our friend, Courtney, recommended the place, and we would go back there in a heartbeat.

Oh, and how could I forget!? There are a few things recently that have triggered deep Texas pride in me. First, the rodeo. Second, strawberry picking underneath the expansive clear-blue sky. I still want to blog about both of those. Third, this music video/commercial that came out for the Superbowl sponsored by the best grocery store around, H.E.B. It won’t be new to many of you Texans, but if you want to know why I love Texas--why all Texans love Texas--this will give you a glimpse. And you’ll understand why I wanted to breed a family of Texans <grin>. That was just to get under Matt’s skin, but oh, there’s so much to love about Texas, that’s why Texas is home to me!

Simply trusting,

Pictures Galore Continued: Father’s Day

I’ll just keep the pictures comin’ until you scream, “No more!” Until then, pop yourself some popcorn and enjoy.

To kick off feeling better and Father’s Day weekend, Brennan and I met our friend, Stacie, and her three girls at Jungle Java, a perfect indoor play area for us mommas to chat and the kiddos to wear themselves out. Upon leaving, I thought it would be fun to try a new yogurt place called YoYo’s that opened down the street from us. Brennan couldn’t have any because he’s still off of dairy products, but he enjoyed a few chocolate chips. And I found myself a new summer treat!

For Father’s Day, I put together eight different clues/rhymes for Matt to read throughout the weekend of things we were going to do. Friday night was a night to crash and after putting Brennan down, we climbed into bed and watched Iron Man. I saw the sequel a few weeks ago without having seen the first one and loved it, so I thought I’d give the first one a go. And it’s an action packed film, so of course hubby wouldn’t mind seeing it again <grin>. I loved it so much I watched it twice during the weekend!

Saturday, Matt got to sleep in and be awakened by a precious boy with a cup of hot chai from Starbucks. Then we filled the day with fun! First stop was an awesome splash park we tried for the first time.

 

Watch out, the water is gonna get ya!

 

Told ya’ll.

 

Lovin’ that wet boy of mine. Usually I’m the one getting wet playing. It was nice for a change to sit on the sidelines and watch. And stay dry. And day dream.

 

Here’s your next clue, Daddy.

 

There’s nothing like a Mighty Fine burger. I’m still cool even though I’m wearing a silly makeshift bib.

 

What happens to the makeshift bib after hit hard by drool, ketchup fingers, and water.

 

 

Because Matt’s iPhone sadly looks like this, and because I love him to bits and geeky tech gifts speak love to him, I surprised him by pre-ordering a new iPhone. I kept him on his toes about his gift even after he read one of his clues, and you should have seen the grin on his face as he stood in front of the Apple store realizing I wasn’t just dangling the carrot in front of him. He was gonna get to eat that carrot!

Sunday, we went to church and ate lunch at Chedd’s. After naps and swim time for the boys, we enjoyed grilling out kabobs with a fruit salad and corn pudding. An ice cream pie topped off the meal. Here is what the table looked like. I had it set for Pops and Meems to join us for the day, but they weren’t feeling well, so they stayed put. I decorated it using Brennan’s toys that represented some of Matt’s and my Daddy’s favorite things.

 

Father’s Day was nearly two weeks ago, but Matt, my Daddy, and my father-in-law, Ed, can’t ever get enough thanks and appreciation for the daddies that they are! Brennan and I go giddy at the thought of them and want them to know how much they are loved!

(To be Continued…)

Happy Times

Summer-time blues. That’s what I experienced last year. It was probably mixed in with the baby blues, too. So at the onset of this summer, I simply dreaded it. There’s no way I wanted to experience the same isolation and sadness I did last year. The heat in Texas can be the equivalent of hard-core winters in the north that keep you cooped up inside out of necessity. But, I’ve decided to approach the summer with a better attitude, knowing how quickly these days will pass by, and I didn’t want to let a whole season be eaten’ up in fear and my own wallowing. So I’m choosing to make the most of it and savor these more relaxed summer days with my best little buddy! It takes more effort and a lot more planning since most of the structured, scheduled activities are on hiatus for the summer. But so far, there are lots of happy memories I’ve tried to not just capture on film, but memorize in my heart. That said, my heart already flutters when I think of the cooler fall days and FOOTBALL!

 

Two weeks ago, we had a breakfast date with Pops at Chick-fil-A. Brennan ate a whole chicken biscuit and a medium fruit cup all on his own. It was the perfect way to start out our full day which also included making a run to Hallmark, where Brennan was able to spot a Cars card among the slew of kids cards. I mistakenly gave it to him to look at while I finished my browsing and he ended up tearing it. And I ended up buying it. However, it has been a wonderful source of entertainment for him in the car. He’s mesmerized by his “GO” friends.

Then we met Daddy at The Domain for a picnic lunch and some play time in the fountain.

Even my Momma is still amazed! For the sole purpose of showing Brennan a frog up close and personal, I picked up this baby frog that was playing in some rain water in Brennan’s pool. Brennan giggled when it would hop from my hands. I would consider this a formal initiation into the “Momma of Boys Club”, thank you very much.

 

There is a gem of a park called Champion Park. It has a covered sand pit for digging, building sand castles and playing with monster trucks…

Then there is a splash pad that is a perfect way to cool down and see expressions of delight on a little boy’s face.

 

At the park, we received the thrilling news that Matt’s sister and her husband gave birth to our second nephew, Baxter Paul! We’ll get to meet the little fella at Christmas. Just look at this precious one!!

 

Hangin’ with Pops always includes eating what Pops is eating, which in this case was a “pig in the blanket”.

Coolin’ off with Daddy and Uncle Mac, learning how fun it is to throw a tennis ball at each other in the pool.

Summer reading.

Meeting Daddy for lunch at his office where we got to feed the fish.

A new word that the boy says is “squirrel”, and he points to pictures and the real things as they saunter in front of him. The funny thing is that Molly gets overly excited at any sight of a squirrel but also hearing the word. So at the same time he says “squirrel”, he’ll point outside and then point to Molly, who in turn has quickly arisen from her slumber and made her way to the back door ready to pounce.

About a week ago Brennan and I were playing out front painting with water and the hose when it started to rain. So we went inside and I stripped him of his wet clothes. The next thing I knew, he rediscovered the doggy door and starting going in and out, enjoying the light drizzle and getting all muddy. He’d collect rocks, bringing them inside to show me, and then went back outside where he paraded around in his diaper. I really have some cute clothes for the boy; he wears more than just his diaper usually <grin>.

This is so, so bad, I know. Nothing about the last three weeks have been all together “normal” in our life or in our routines. As such, it was par for the course to wake up in El Paso after driving 11 hours and having little sleep to a breakfast of Goldfish. Don’t worry, the boy received something more nutritious than just Goldfish. I, on the other hand, didn’t end up eating anything else for the next ten hours until I stuffed my face with gorditas. It was nerves and emotion.

A happy moment on the road.

Summer wouldn’t be complete without watermelon! Earlier this week we played outside with the hose (a regular occurrence for us) and I let Brennan go to town on watermelon. He LOVES the stuff and couldn’t get enough of it as he shoved it in his face and let the sweet juices trickle down his cheeks and shirt.

A little dirt always make it taste better.

Some more summer readin’ time. In his diaper, again.

Momma/Son date at Chick-fil-A where I became a huge, addicted fan of the Spicy Chicken Sandwich! But more notable is Brennan drinking out of a big boy cup.

A random picture in the car and proof that the Cars card aforementioned was well worth the $2.99 I forked over!

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And now, why don’t we pause and consider how we can be a part of letting an 8 year old boy named Achile experience happy times, too. He lives in Burkina Faso and has a congenital heart defect known as tetralogy of Fallot. Because of Achile's heart condition, he has been in pain for five years and hasn't been able to attend school regularly and receive the full benefit of sponsorships through Compassion International. Compassion International has provided medical care for Achile for the last two years at the National Teaching Hospital Yalgado Ouedraogo in Burkina Faso in western Africa. However, doctors there now believe his condition requires urgent heart surgery, which is not available in Burkina Faso. Achile will be transported to a specialized hospital in India for a lifesaving operation that will cost an estimated $20,449. Please prayerfully consider making a donation to aid with the cost of Achile’s surgery. You can either click on this link or the banner in the side bar. Any funds raised in excess of the cost of Achile's surgery and transport will be rolled into Compassion's Medical Assistance Fund to aid children in need of medical help in the future. I’m speaking to myself here: remember, there is power in prayer, so please pray for this precious boy! Thank you, dear ones, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Project Life: April 6th-12th, 2010

Greetings, Internet peeps! How are ya’ll doing and what have you been up to? I’m not gonna lie, most days last week I wanted to curl up in a little ball and cry. Brennan was crabby with allergies and teething. I was feelin’ blah and wasn’t functioning very well as a momma which automatically affects that day’s rating. I’m not complaining, just sayin’ it was one of those weeks with days you simply want to fade away as you fall asleep with the hope of a new, better day. The weekend was definitely the highlight and the bright spot of the week. Here’s a glimpse (and you can check out other Project Life posts here):

 

Tuesday, April 6th

Brennan helped me prepare an asparagus, tomato and feta salad for dinner. I’d chop the tomatoes and he’d throw them in the bowl. Then he put the asparagus in the pan for me and we had a lesson on “hot” and “no touch”.

By the way, this salad was a side dish I served for our Easter brunch and it was a really good, simple salad to make if you want to enjoy asparagus, a spring green gem this time of year. I posted the recipe below if you’re interested.

 

 

 

Friday, April 9th

After a week of not feeling like doing anything but curling up in a ball, I finally got into gear and did my weekly cleaning on Friday morning, just in the nick of time before my parents’ visit. Brennan’s naps weren’t that great and after lots of clinginess, I finally caved and put in Ratatouille. It bought me 30 minutes, just enough time for me to wrap up my chores and make it to our neighborhood park for a picnic.

Part of Brennan’ crabbiness is that we stopped giving him a bottle in the mornings when he wakes up, and that has started the day off on the wrong foot for a couple of weeks now. Did you all experience that? How did you move past it?

 

Saturday, April 10th

Welcome Pops and Meems! My heart is a wellspring of joy watching Brennan with Pops and Meems. You could tell this weekend that he knows who they are and puts on special antics and shows just for them. Yesterday was my 31st birthday and so Pops and Meems came to celebrate this weekend. We started off with a delicious picnic that Matt put together. I have to mention, too, that on Friday night, I got spoiled with dinner from Chuy’s, a movie of my choice and a foot massage. <grin>

Is this picture a foreshadowing that Brennan will be like a duck to water this summer?

We had to stop by Shakes after the picnic, just had to! They give puppy cups for free and Miss Molly always gets one, so she has become quite familiar with the custard and will hound you until you give her some.

Snack time with Pops

For dinner, my momma made an amazing chicken curry and I got my chocolate meringue pie! I asked for two last year, but this year I regrettably only asked for one. It went bye-bye too quickly. After Brina, our little neighbor friend, came over on Friday to make pretend chocolate pies, I told her I’d share a piece of my real chocolate pie with her on Monday. Don’t be too quick to think that was sweet of me. I gave her the smallest piece I could before it looked too pathetic to give to her with the caveat, “I didn’t want to ruin your dinner.” Is it truly a gift when the size of the slice was determined by greed???

 

Sunday, April 11th

After church, we tried out a new gourmet grilled cheese place in town called Chedd’s. It was really good! For my birthday present, my parents gave me a magnolia tree! I’ve always dreamed about having one for our home because of their sentimental value to me. And best of all: Daddy and I planted it together!

 

Monday, April 12th

Tiny bubbles… make me happy, make me feel fine.

 

Hope you all are having a great Tuesday and I hope to catch you later this week! Blessings, dear ones, and thanks for stopping by. <grin>

 

Asparagus, Tomato and Feta Salad

(source unknown)

 

16 stalks asparagus, blanched 5 minutes (I probably doubled the amount of asparagus)

1 pound Roma tomatoes, diced

1.5 TBSP fresh basil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 pound crumbled feta

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Project Life: March 29-April 5, 2010

Hi, dear Internet peeps! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend. There were sure some special moments I wanted to record the past week. Here’s a tiny glimpse into this week’s Project Life:

 

Monday, March 29th

This is the finished Easter card project we sent to family. The verse on it was Ephesians 2:1-2,4-5 which says, “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air…BUT because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by GRACE you have been saved.”

They were fun to do with Brennan and I felt good having started the project weeks before Easter to finish them in time, but that was only up until the day before Easter when I realized I’d forgotten to get Easter cards for the two most important people in my life: Matt and Brennan. Ay carumba! There’s nothing like scrounging something up at the last minute for those dearest to you and admitting you forgot about them. Humbling.

Tuesday, March 30th

Tuesday mornings Brennan and I venture to church for my women’s Bible study and he gets to play with his buddies in the nursery. Since it means skipping his morning nap, he usually wants to crash on the way home, whereupon I try my darndest to keep him awake. Sometimes don’t you get in the mood to do something fun and spontaneous? Well, this was one of those days. So on our way home I decided to take my little guy on a date to Firehouse Subs. I caught him in action doing his “smokin’ guns” shot. We thoroughly enjoyed each other’s company and he was fascinated by the Dalmatian-spotted table top. We split a meatball sub and well, while it’s incredibly tasty and my favorite kind to get, I came home to look at the nutritional value and that just sucked the incredibly tasty right out of it. Good thing it was more about the company than the food choice.

Wednesday, March 31st

Matt made the effort to be home right at 5:30 p.m. for us to dye Easter eggs together as a family. Instead of dying eggs, we were treating a little boy who had his first injury that drew blood, a fair amount of it, too. He was playing near the stroller which ended up rolling him over and he cut his lip, inside and out, and scratched up his face pretty badly. We were thankful it didn’t affect his teeth! We finally got him calmed down but he still wouldn’t keep ice on his lip, so we tried a strawberry popsicle, his first. It did the trick.

 

Thursday, April 1st

Oh, I love my little buddy! We took an adventure to the Austin Nature and Science Center and had the best time together. Brennan dug in the Dino pit, looking for fossils, but he was more interested in climbing up and down the rock steps. More scuffed up knees! He was also fascinated with the coyote. His absolute favorites though were the bunnies, which we’ve been talking a lot about with the stuffed bunny Meems gave him and the other bunnies we have around the house for spring. My brother, Mac, got a kick out of the middle picture where Brennan is holding the shovel like a sword. Is fencing in your future, Brennan?

 

Thursday night was a successful Easter egg dying night…no bloody injuries to tend to! I have no idea what I was thinking as I envisioned the dying. I thought he’d just watch or simply hold onto the flimsy metal egg dipper the dying kits provide. Nope! I was not prepared at all for what Easter egg dying is like with a 14 month old, but that made it all the more fun as I just went with it. I had no plastic or newspaper down to catch the water, which explains the rainbow colored water all over our counter that thankfully, did not stain it. Brennan experimented with how many eggs he could fit into a glass and would move the eggs back and forth into all of the colors. We had gorgeous multi-colored eggs this year! Oh, and make that hands as well.

Saturday, April 3rd

We experienced a full on Austin kinda day! One of my new favorite blogs is 365 Things to Do in Austin, TX. I have a whole list of fun things we need to try and unique places to take visitors! To start off the day, after Brennan’s nap, we ventured down to S. Congress (or SoCo as it’s known around these parts) to watch the Easter pet parade. Participants dressed up their dogs in Easter costumes and marched around to the tunes of a band. Miss Molly came with us and I think she was glad to simply be a spectator. And I can guarantee she was thankful she wasn’t walking around in bunny ears. Although Brennan would have gotten a kick out of that. Then we ate lunch at The Mighty Cone, a less expensive take off of Hudson’s on the Bend. The restaurant is a trailer (you sit outside), but don’t be too quick to judge by outward appearances because the food is delicious…and all served in cones. We spent the afternoon at home where Brennan and his daddy played some baseball.

 

Sunday, April 4th

Easter Sunday! The Lord has risen! The Lord has risen indeed, alleluia!

The result of another skipped nap in order to go to the early service. Once we got home and our guests arrived, you’d never have known he was tired!

We had some very special guests for Easter lunch: Chris, Jill, Harrison and Haddie! Take a look at these three. The picture on the left is Easter a year ago when Brennan was nearly 3 months old. A year later and now look at ‘em. Wow! I love these kids so much!

Jillie and I hid Easter eggs for these precious ones, and it was a blast to watch them hunt. This was Brennan’s first Easter egg hunt and he was able to scope out a few eggs on his own and put them in his basket.  Harrison and Haddie were so sweet to help Brennan look for eggs and share some with him as well.

Thanks, Pops and Meems, for my drum! I am crazy about it and love to be in my own parade!

Ahem, Pops and Meems: before you ever consider getting our son a real drum set, you must ask us for permission first! <grin>

 

 

Monday, April 5th

Because of Brennan’s accident last Thursday, Jillie and her brood thought it was appropriate for Brennan to have something that marked his initiation into true boyhood that is typically known for the cuts, scrapes and bruises because of all the adventure they get themselves into. So they shared with us a t-shirt Harrison used to wear. Please know that normally, Brennan would not be allowed to stand on the container, but I thought it was a fitting context for the shirt he wore today. <grin> And he was quite proud of himself! Yes, buddy, you do all your own stunts quite well!

Project Life: February 9-15, 2010

What a fun-filled week it was! It was a whirlwind and all the days seem to blend together, but these pictures will hopefully trigger at least some semblance of memory.

 

Tuesday, February 9

Brennan’s love for Molly keeps growing and growing! She’s his little playmate. He’s learning how to play tug of war with Molly’s pull-ball.

 

Wednesday, February 10

We went to a special four year old’s, Harrison’s, birthday party at Chuck E Cheese! It was Brennan’s first time there and he was on stimulation overload! He was also afraid of the big mouse, as you can tell from how tightly he’s grabbing hold of my shirt. Harrison is such a big boy now! He stopped using his paci and as a special moment to commemorate this right of passage, he gift-wrapped his paci and gave it to Brennan, wanting to pass it along to Brennan until he gets big. Harrison knows how much Brennan loves his paci. <grin> It was so precious! And way to go H!!

 

Thursday, February 11

It was cold and rainy all last week, so we did a lot of things indoors. Over the past week, Brennan has become infatuated with reading and books! He comes to us regularly with a book in hand, ready to crawl in our laps to read, and it’s so fun! So I decided it was time we hit the library. Plus, I wanted to check out some of the books my friend, Emily, recommended after she read my last Project Life post. While I tried to focus on finding certain books to check out for him, I had a little boy who was more interested in exploring. I was out of breath by the time we left that place; I couldn’t keep up with him fast enough! He was most fascinated with the children’s computers and played a coloring game on one for awhile.

Austin was nearly one of the only cities, so it seemed, that didn’t get any snow in last week’s Snowmegeddon. We were pretty sad about that. Matt’s folks sure got enough for all of us though. Nana got creative with her snowmen, making two snow grandsons (Brennan is the one with the blue eyes) that she sent a picture of. You can tell she’s grandson deprived! <grin>

 

 

Friday, January February 12

This was a special, special day. On Thursday, Brennan initiated feeding himself his oatmeal with a spoon. It was messy and thrilling and exciting and sticky. So we captured a photo of it on Friday. Notice how close my hands are to alleviate any unnecessary messes. <grin>

Brennan and I met up with Pops and Meems and our life-long, dear family friends, Ron and Tycha, at Panera’s. My folks came up for the night to be with Ron and Tycha who were in town visiting family. And Brennan and I were blessed to join them for the morning. Brennan was quickly declared their adopted grandson, and I couldn’t be more delighted! Tycha has battled breast cancer over the last few years, and Ron is currently battling an inoperable lung cancer. Their zest for life has always been an inspiration, and all the more so now. Their attitude and outlook is amazing, and a true example to me. I cherished the moment when Ron walked me and Brennan to the car, and as he shielded Brennan from the brisk, cold wind, he loved and kissed on him so tenderly. Ron stayed with me the entire time I loaded Brennan, and I will treasure that moment all my life. Brennan and I then had lunch with Pops and Meems at Chick-fil-A. It was Pops and Meems’ first time seeing Brennan walk, and I think Pops was worn out!

On Friday night, we joined Chris and Jill, Jillie’s folks, and Harrison and Haddie for an Olympic celebration dinner complete with Canadian bacon/pineapple pizza, salad, and amazing fondue (cheese and chocolate). We took Brennan’s pack n’ play to put him down so we can party as late as we want. I fell asleep around 9:30, however. What can I say? Every party needs a pooper.

 

Saturday, January February 13

All week long I’d been trying to make head-way cleaning this house from top to bottom, a thorough spring cleaning of sorts that was badly needed. Trust me, I had at least 12 filthy rags to prove it was needed! Brennan’s naps weren’t that great and I could only get so much done when he was awake. So Matt was kind enough to take care of him all day on Saturday so I could finish cleaning. I kid you not, I worked from 9:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. cleaning this place. I crashed! And felt completely satisfied afterward. <grin> The last time I’d cleaned like that, Brennan was not mobile. Mobility makes a big difference, ya’ll! Anyway, Matt took Brennan to a little play area in the mall that I go to sometimes. It was Matt’s first time there and he got to see Brennan in action. The boys loved their day together!

 

 

Sunday, January February 14

He loves his books! This is a regular sight in our home these days.

Monday, January February 15

Matt and I like to go to dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day on any other day besides the holiday itself; restaurants are too crowded. Matt surprised me and made reservations at the Eastside Cafe and lined up our babysitter for a wonderful evening out. The food was awesome! If you’re in Austin, I highly recommend a visit. Their garden, where they grow most of their own produce, was incredible! And Matt was such good company, you’d never have known he didn’t feel well. I delved into this Ghirardelli brownie for dessert, my last one for a good long while. It’s a must. An absolute must to both eat this brownie sometime and for me not to eat such an indulgence for awhile. The irony! The painful irony that I need to settle on the latter.

I have two sick boys on my hands, so I must tend to them. Hope ya’ll have a great week!