Need some holiday dough?

Here is a giveaway for a $500.00 gift card to Wal-mart! Be sure to go over and check it out!

For the Record - Food Network has become my new BFF

These are the recipes that I used for my Thanksgiving meal - and all of them turned out oh so yummy...

Turkey
Whipped Sweet Potatoes with bananas and honey
Turkey Gravy
Pumpkin Pie

And today I made this to use up the leftovers - and I think it's one of the best soups I've ever made.

A whole bunch of new!

Here's an update big things have gone on in all of our lives in the past week:

Little One:
He's learned how to pedal! We left him at the YMCA for a few hours last week for parent's night out, and he came home, hopped on his tricycle and said "watch this!" and he just started peddling his little heart out. He rode around and around the main floor for a good 45 minutes. And, it's a been a daily activity since.
The other big thing is that Frosty the snowman has been introduced into our family. We rented it and had to return it today - and I'm pretty sure one of us will be headed out to find the DVD in due time. I can only imagine what his response is going to be when he learns that frosty is gone. It was bad enough when Frosty melted.
And, on that note - have you watched it lately? I found myself laughing and chuckling to myself a lot this past week - all of the children are wearing shorts and mini skirts on the coldest day of the year. Karen is sure her mother won't mind if she goes to the North Pole - as long as she's back by supper. And the police man is told that he has to excuse Frosty because he just became alive. Of course! If only I had a great excuse like that. :)
So, here's a photo of the tricycle Frosty marathon that's been going on around here.



Baby Brother:
He's learned to giggle! And boy, does he have to work hard at it. So many times he has a HUGE smile and he squints his little eyes and no sound comes out. But, just this week he's figured it out, and it's just about the cutest thing I've ever heard. He also LOVES to stare at his fist. Check him out.


Daddy:
Daddy is an official Longhorn! Yes, my sweet Husband has been accepted into Texas University to finish up his undergrad. I am so proud of him. He was at senior status when we left CO - and has been working on his degree for so long! After much perseverance - he's in! Hook em Horns!

Mama:
Made and hosted her first Thanksgiving. I had so much fun. I learned a ton - and can't wait until next year. One of the biggest things I learned was that when you brine a turkey and have an option between an expensive brine bag and a cheap one - opt for the more expensive one. Because there is a chance that the cheaper one may spring a leak in the night and leak brine, and raw turkey juices all over your refrigerator and into the deli and cheese drawer, and the first and second produce drawer - soaking everything that's in the drawers. Uh huh. Ask me how I know.

But, now I have a super clean refrigerator (the bottom half anyway) and all fresh produce. No more limp celery stalks can be found in my fridge!

Despite the craziness of the leaking brine, everything came out beautifully. We had our friends the Blacks over - and so enjoyed their company. It was a lovely day.

I know I promised in my last post to post about our trip. I need to stop promising coming topics in my posts. Because, I never know when I am going to have the opportunity to blog - or if I'm going to be in the mood to blog. So, for the record, I'd like to post about our CO trip, I hope to post about it, but make no promises from here on out... :)

So, I sign off this post with a lovely fall picture my sweet friend Heather (who, by the way, is hosting a very fun giveaway. Stop by and check it out!) took while we were home. I love how she captured my little man. Thank you Friend! For all of you who live in CO Springs and need a photographer - I highly recommend her....

Just imagine a "Happy Thanksgiving!" coming from that little mouth...

Four Months

I can hardly believe that four months has gone by since baby brother's birth. He is the sweetest baby. He is beyond content, yet lets me know if something isn't just right. In the past month he's taken his first airplane ride, met his Nana and Papa and Uncle Rob and Aunt Ally, along with Aunt Emily and cousin Michaela - and a host of other dear people. He is absolutely amazed by his hand. He holds his right hand up and just stares at it. Who needs a mobile? Yet, he does love the bear mobile in his bassinet, and gets so excited when he gets to visit them. He tries to roll over - and has only done so once (I think Big Brother gave a helping hand). And just this week, he figured out how to let that sweet giggle out. My sweet baby boy. I love you.

The Friendly Skies

Remember this post? Well, your advise came in very handy as I traveled last week, alone, with a three month old and a toddler. Gummy bears, the plane comes down, DVD player, sitting in the back of the plane....all very helpful. In my post I had to say that we were traveling over the holidays - (which we are) but in all reality I was traveling the next week to Colorado to surprise my sister for her 30th.

All in all, the trip went really well. I put Little One in a stroller, and Baby Brother in this baby carrier. (BTW - I HIGHLY recommend this baby carrier. It's a little pricey, but so worth it.) And made my way through security. It went something like this: Take our shoes off, take the formula out of the backpack, take the computer out of the backpack, send all of our five buckets through the security scanner, take Little One out of the stroller, help a security officer fold up the stroller, walk through the security deal, put Little One back in the stroller, praise God for the stroller!, put our shoes on, put everything back in the backpack, and let them test the formula for explosives. Thank goodness that I never had to take the baby carrier off in this process!!!

Phew!

I found that all along the way there were people who were more than willing to help. I found another mom in the restroom who watched my toddler and then I watched hers. The thought did cross my mind while I was in the stall that I just left my toddler with a complete stranger in the Denver International Airport - something I thought I would NEVER do. Then there was the mom of two boys who was traveling alone and became my traveling shadow. She carried my backpack, held the baby, and communicated to other travelers my needs. I am so thankful for her and will never forget her! And there were lots of grandma and grandpa types - that immediately identified me, my situation, and our needs. When I couldn't figure out how to get the stroller unlatched I had a flight attendant drag it to the concourse and announce: "Does anyone know how to work this kind of stroller?" and within thirty seconds I had five men standing around the stroller trying to figure it out - while I chased a very excited toddler around. I don't know how or who fixed my stroller, but it was done and I was so thankful!

As for the actual time in the plane, I brought my computer to serve as a DVD player - and it worked great. After the newness of the plane wore off, this new DVD was a big hit. Little One loved it when we hit any kind of turbulence - and would giggle deep belly laughs. I have never been a fan of flying - but I will admit that sitting by a toddler who is having a ball and thinks the whole experience is "SO MUCH FUN MAMA!!" made my stress and fear of flying disappear.

I feel that the story would not be complete without a true tale of how it all ended - the last 30 minutes of the last flight - we had a complete meltdown. Yes, I was the mom with the screaming child on the plane. Each of the flight attendants came by to offer help, to no avail. Little One was very upset that he couldn't draw with the marker that he had dropped and had rolled underneath the next seat. There was no way I could get it. Holding a baby. Tight quarters. Plane landing. Tables needed to be up. Clenched uncapped markers in his hands. Marks from the markers on his face, tears making them smear. "I WANT TO DRAW!! THAT MARKER!" You get the picture.

Let me also add that from now on, I will always have an extra measure of grace and compassion when I am in a plane with an upset child.

Thankfully our meltdown happened at the time when the pressure in your ears start to change, and all of the flight attendants (and probably everyone else in the plane) thought that was our problem. Ha. Our problem was that we were high in the sky when the clock said it was nap time. Our problem was that we hadn't had lunch. Our problem was that my little man had done above and beyond what his Mama asked him to - and he was done.

But, all was well when we found Dada at the airport holding a cardboard sign that read "Family Needed" and a bouquet of flowers. Little One fell asleep the minute his bottom hit his car seat.

I so wish I had pictures to accompany this post. I do have a picture of Little One in the cockpit - which was pretty cool. But, that was the only time I had a moment to think about finding my camera and using it. I wanted to document Little One's first flight with some pictures, but these words will have to do. Maybe when we're flying with Dada next month some pictures can be snapped.

Now we are back home and getting into the routine of things. Little One is very happy to be back. Tomorrow I'll post more about the trip and all the people we got to see.

I'm back....

This pretty much sums up where we've been.

More to come soon! :)

The Pumpkin Patch

As planned, we headed out and were pleasantly surprised! The farm we discovered went way beyond my expectations! And, we were the only family there! Painting pumpkins, hayrides, corn mazes, goats in trees....
We'll definitely be back in the spring to pick strawberries and blackberries!

Yes, those are goats in that tree...