A photo-op created by Coach Hooge for all the photo-hungry parents.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
We Almost Won
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Another Hilarious Palin Spoof!
I also saw a split screen with the actual interview on one side and this spoof on the other, and sadly, it's not very different. Most things that are said by Fey, were ACTUALLY said by Palin in the original interview...SCARY!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Christmas Advent Calendar
Little Girl Hairstyles...
http://hair4myprincess.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Randy Pausch Memorial @ Carnegie Mellon
Why Men Shouldn't Babysit...
Monday, September 22, 2008
Eyes, Attitude, and Crispy Bacon
Alright, so now I’m rambling. Let’s go on to more funny subjects.
Joci, my sweet baby girl, is convinced that when she does not want to hear whatever it is that I have to say that she can just tell me, “You no talk to me!”. It is the funniest thing to hear her tell me this so sternly, and of course, it is accompanied with a nasty look thrown my way. A great one that I heard last night at my parent’s house was when she was telling Dad something and followed it up with “So Mommy not get mad at me”. Then Jon confirmed that he’s heard that a lot. I hope she’s not saying it because I’m so hard on her, which I definitely am not. Jon is much more strict with her than I am, but I never hear such things about him, oh no. If there’s a boo-boo, or Jon is out of the house, she wants her Daddy. Little stinker! I guess what they say about Daddy’s Girls are so true!
I was so proud of myself this weekend. I made Jon buy some more ink for the printer, and thus was able to finally finish up at 3 more scrapbook pages. I only have a couple more pictures to add to the pages that I did about Joe in flag football last season, and then that will be another one done. The next layout is going to be about Easter, and it should be a behemoth. I have a ton of pictures that I have no idea how I will be able to pare it down, so it will probably several pages, and…that’s ok! I’m really happy that I’m getting back into crafting. I had really missed it while I was ‘away’. I will try to remember to take some pictures of the pages to post here sometime soon.
On Sunday we went over to my parent's house. Mom had been down at her friend's house near Tucson over the weekend and I think that Dad had started to feel lonely, well, that and he hadn't seen the kids in two whole weeks! He made the best prime-rib for dinner that I just devoured, it was so awesome. The kids got to play in the spa, they helped Grandpa water the plants, and they 'hunted' for bunnies with their flashlights. We ended up staying the night, which I always love doing there. I feel like that is my time for someone to kind of take care of me and I don't feel as much pressure to be 'on' all the time and entertain the kids. Plus, it's always nice to wake up to a hot breakfast with crispy bacon...yum!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Flag Football Practice and Bleu Cheese Burgers
Joci and I had fun too. At first we went over to the playground, where she effectively stood up for herself against a little bully that was trying to keep her from going on the equipment, all while his Mother watched him and said nothing…grrrrr. Then she just wanted to go and sit on the little basketball court and she let me take some great pictures of her. When we were walking back over to the practice, though, she saw her little friend Lexi (Lexi’s brother was on Joe’s team last year, he moved up to the next age bracket and his coach practices on the same field as we do), and so she was gone with Lexi for the rest of the practice. Back and forth, back and forth between Lexi’s Mom and I. I just love that she has her own separate little friend away from daycare and away from Joe, all to herself.
After that we went over to our friend’s (the coach of the other team) who is right across the street from practice and Jon grilled the bleu cheese burgers that we brought (if you get a chance, go to Sprouts, they are awesome!). They were absolutely huge and so delicious! By the time we left I was exhausted. I was ready for bed no long after the kids had been put down.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Focus and a 10lb Diaper
I went to a little nail place by the scrapbook store last night and was shocked as I watched one of the ladies that work there bathe her little toddler girl in one of the foot spas. No, I’m not kidding. That was while I got a 10 minute pedicure and a half hour leg rub…??? It was a very odd experience to say the least. It was one of those reminders that there are often very large divides between different cultures.
Anyway, back to football. Jon has really been going over some new strategies and working hard on ways to get the kids focused. He got a coaches board and some new red cones, and has completely reworked what and how he is going to do practice today. Keep your fingers crossed that it works out for the better.
On a different note…
Why can’t ‘they’ make diapers that will actually hold the amount of pee that my toddler can? Two nights in the last week Joci has completely filled and broken the levee of her nighttime diaper by morning time, and yes, I made sure to change her before bed. These things must weigh a good 10 pounds each; I’m just flabbergasted that she could have so much liquid in her. This morning while checking on her before getting in the shower I see she has a huge wet spot on her bed…thank goodness for pee pads. I have to wake her up to take a shower with me so I can get her cleaned up. Now, waking this girl up is a big no-no. You only want to break that glass in emergencies because world war III will begin directly after. I finally get her calmed down and now Joe wants to get in, too. I can just see the minutes on the clock spinning away, faster and faster. Why does it have to take so long to get the kids ready in the mornings? All my best laid plans seem to fail. The only one that I haven’t tried yet is, gulp, getting up earlier myself…ugh. I am so not a morning person. Maybe I’ll try it tomorrow morning, wait, haven’t I said that before?
Mmmmm.....I'm going to have to try these sometime soon...
Start to finish: 45 minutes (20 minutes active)Servings: 12
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2teaspoon baking soda
1/2teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 large eggs1
1/3 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup thinly sliced scallions (about 1 bunch)
1 cup diced ham (6 ounces)
1 cup grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1/2cup finely diced red bell pepper (1 small)
Heat the oven to 400 F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray or line it with muffin cups.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pepper, salt and cayenne pepper.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and butter. Stir in the scallions, ham, cheese and bell pepper.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and use a rubber spatula to mix until just moistened. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan (the cups will be very full).
Bake the muffins until the tops are browned, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then loosen the edges with a knife and transfer the muffins to a cooling rack. Serve warm.
To store, individually wrap the muffins in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to a month. To reheat, remove the plastic wrap, cover the muffin in a paper towel and microwave on high for 30 to 60 seconds.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Gobble Gobble Craft
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Getting Back into the Routine of Football
This last week we started our second flag football session for Joe, age 3-4. We are the Steelers again, which is good since we still have all the gear from last season. We had our first two practices, and let's just say, they went ok. We have a lot of very young players on our team, with Joe being our oldest (and fastest). We have had a couple of defiant attitudes, a couple of physical outbursts, and a complete lack of focus. To say we had a frustrating first week, would be to put it mildly. I am trying to keep Jon on track and not get too down-hearted about it, reminding him that it was just the first week. Hopefully, we can encourage more of the parents to get involved, and also inspire the boys to focus a bit more. If you have ANY suggestions, I would love to hear them.
We also had our first sleepover at our house. Sooooo cute! Our little friend Bennett, a teammate from Joe's last session of flag football, came to stay the night. They did pretty well, except for poking holes in the little card table at breakfast and breaking the ceiling fan in Joe's room. The cutest thing, though, was they all slept in the big Spiderman tent in the Playroom, including Joci. Last night the kids got to make and grill their own pizzas, then this morning Jon made them french toast and bacon...yummy! I admit that I was happy when Bennett went home, it's a good reminder of why we are stopping at 2 kids.
SNL: Fey and Poehler as Palin and Hilary
Absolutely Hilarious! If you haven't seen this yet, enjoy! Fey does a point-on Palin, and Poehler is great as a 'slightly' bitter Hilary. I actually laughed out loud.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
So, Bear down Chicago Bears, da da da, da da da, da da da da…
Crafts To Do:
The other is a little bathroom caddy made out of a large handtowell. I thought I would make one for each kid and hang it behind the door in the upstairs bathroom for their stuff.
Monday, September 8, 2008
The F-Bomb!
I can’t believe that it’s been 6 years since this…
Jon and I played this anniversary nice and low key, no gifts, not even cards. My parents were awesome enough to take the kids overnight on Saturday so that we could go and do whatever we pleased. While I was in the shower Joe got dressed himself, and then picked out what he thought Joci should wear…
After dropping of the kids, we decided to stop at Buca de Peppo for appetizers and drinks. Their calamari was awesome and I really liked the frozen peach belini, although I have to admit that I do prefer Macaroni Grill’s Bellini. Then, um, I tried a Lemoncello…ugh! Where or where was the lemon? It definitely was not in the turpentine that I drank. Ok, so I know that I’m not much of a drinker, but, really, who could drink that? Yikes, it was nasty! Anyway, after that cough, sputter, it was on to our favorite sushi place, Temari. We only had a couple of rolls, since we had eaten a bite at Buca, but my oh my they were so good! The spicy scallop sushi is now my favorite! After that we headed home to park the car and head to a little local bar to have a few more drinks. The walk there was lovely, and surprisingly, NOT hot! Jon and I had a great time chatting until a Beer Bus came in, and then it was time to go. I just couldn’t take all the yelling and partying after such a fulfilling night. We decided to walk over to Walgreens and rent a few movies from the Red Box and then walk on home holding hands.
The best part, I have to admit, was being able to sleep in the next morning without being woken up by little toddlers wanting to climb in bed with us or demanding a breakfast bar.
A New Blog!
Oh, are you wondering why Biscuits and Gravy? Because that is my absolute favorite meal, and it helps that I make the best that I’ve had. Plus, you can work it into a little metaphor for life, right? Like life gives you biscuits, but it’s up to you to provide the gravy…I don’t know. I’m sure there’s about a million different catch phrases that you could put to that, right? So if you have a better one, let me know!
Competition Always Gets The Best of Me
A couple of years ago I received the best advice I have ever gotten, and it has really stuck with me. My friend, Micheal, was listening to my troubles and heartache and all that I was going through and then gave me this gem that I often have to remind myself of…Nobody is perfect, and I shouldn’t be so hard on myself for not being perfect either. I have a huge issue with comparing myself to others and being envious of how well Everyone Else seems to have their lives together. Maybe somewhere there is someone that looks at me and my life and thinks the same, doubtful, but maybe. Anyway, as I have been looking more and more at all the blogs that are out there and all the fantastically creative people with so much amazing stuff to say, those feelings have been stirred up. I want to have a fantastic blog too. I want to have a blog that someone else thinks is amazing, full of pictures and creative writing and graphics and colors that wow my visitors. Why? Why do I feel the need to compete in this, too? I’m not sure. Maybe it’s fodder for a future counseling appointment, who knows. Either way, I am now making this solemn vow, I promise to make this blog about me and my experiences, whatever those may be. I will no longer compete for the best blog, but simply utilize it as a means of sharing with my friends and family, and maybe some strangers, too. I hope you enjoy this as much as I have created it.