what's cookin part I

sometimes i get in a rut in the kitchen. i have no idea what to make. it helps me to record things to remind myself of what i do.

above is a tomato basil salad. okay this is a version of my friend christina's recipe. it's not nearly as nice as hers but it's what i had on hand.

grape tomatoes
mozzarella cheese
olive oil
salt, pepper, basil

sweet potato bread.
one of my favorites.
so good right out of the oven with some butter.

1 cup baked sweet potato
1 cup self rising flour
shortening size of an egg

cut shortening into flour. mush up sweet potato with fork. add sweet potato to flour mixture and stir. bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes

when lee is gone in the evening for whatever reason this is what will and i often will eat.

fried rice!

sometimes if i have leftover ham or chicken i'll add that to it. this time i didn't so it was leftover rice, egg, bell pepper, and onion.

saute green pepper and onion in oil
fry egg
add cooked rice and egg to veggies and cook a few more minutes

this was sooo good the other night.

pan fried squash
twice baked potatoes

we had some leftover roast

cut up squash and put in ziploc with about a T or more of olive oil. sprinkle seasoned bread crumbs and shake bake. put it frying pan with a little more olive oil.

will helped me make this apple cake. i had some granny smith apples that i needed to use. i used my new (to me!) kitchenaid mixer from my sister in law ashley! love this gift!

the dough for this cake is delicious by the way. this cake was a hit.

1 cup cooking oil
2 cup sugar
3 cup flour
2 eggs
1 c. chopped nuts ( did pecans)
1 t. baking soda
2 t. vanilla
1/2. t. salt
3 - 4 c. chopped fresh apples, peeled

combine cooking oil and sugar. add beaten eggs and vanilla. measure and sift together flour. salt and soda. add dry ingredients to first mixture. stir in chopped fresh apples and nuts and combine thoroughly with above ingredients. pour into greased tube pan and bake 70 minutes or until done at 325.

will (who is 3 1/2) enjoys chopping the nuts and sifting and pouring whatever i get brave enough to allow.

keepin it real

3:30

baby not happy in crib but mostly quiet

boy in his room listening to veggie tales christmas cd

dirty dishes

mommy not motivated

must buy coffee - soon

laundry folded but not put away

manger scene still on the mantel

guest room exploding in christmas

humidifier going

considering mcdonalds with playground for supper

cold cold cold outside

floors mostly clean

iron pants

repair pants

clean up christmas so i can get to the pants and my sewing machine

wondering if i should put will in preschool next year.

be nicer to will

practice guitar

find mouse to this computer

does will have his sense of smell? how do you know if a kid can smell? he never talks about smelling anything.

i have the cutest kids

i hope phoebe doesn't have an ear infection

plan a date night

i will always remember you

today i remember sebastian

i will always remember you

your sweet life

6 months in your mommy's womb

beautiful baby boy

consider it joy

but it's so hard

i will always remember you

all about phoebe

okay - have to write some stuff down about my phoebe. she is 11 months old tomorrow.

biggest smile i've ever seen
loves to be part of the party
reaches out for a hug - esp. to hug brother
climbs up and down the stairs
has taken three steps but not walking yet!
constantly finding crumbs and other things on the floor to put in her mouth
claps
waves
sounds like a baby chewbacca
only 2 bottom teeth
loves any fleece blanket
loves to take off her socks and play with them
loves wooden blocks
does not watch baby einstein (like brother did at this age)
cute tummy
longest eyelashes
eyes still blue
loves her bath!
not fond of the sippy cup
plays peek a boo with bunny
dances to music
loves daddy but she's a mommy's girl
love bug

trick or treating

halloween!

will loved trick or treating. he wanted to go everyday that week.

subway and airport

a few weeks ago lee took will on his first subway ride. they rode it to the airport to watch the planes. just because.
will likes airplanes and he loves trains! he came home and told me he rode the elevated train. i love that he is at the age where fun is so simple. just a ride on a subway train and walking around an airport and watching planes was so wonderful in his eyes. i hope he will always be excited about life the way he is now.

coffee mug paintings

jake, they're about done. might need to de-Christmas some of the colors. wanted you to see.

baby talk

clapping

monday pics

a little longer - jenn johnson - a must listen

A Little Longer
Jenn Johnson

What can I do for You?
What can I bring to You?
What kind of song would you like me to sing?

'Cause I'll dance a dance for You
Pour out my love to You
What can I do for You beautiful king?

'Cause I... can't thank You enough.
I can't thank You enough

All of the words that I find... and I can't thank You enough.
No matter how I try... I can't thank You enough.
Then I hear You sing to me

"You... don't have to do a thing
Just simply be with me and let those things go
'Cause they can wait another minute

Wait... this moment is too sweet
Would you please stay here with Me
And love on Me a little longer
I'd love to be with you a little longer
'Cause I'm in love with you"

one version says:

you don't have to do a thing. just simply be with me and let the housework go, the kids can wait another minute, wait - this moment is too sweet...

speaks volumes to me about how much Jesus just wants to be in relationship with us. be still and know. don't be a martha doing work work work for him, be a mary at his feet, with him, soaking in and receiving Him.

hold me, jamie grace - will's version

here is will singing his version of "hold me" by jamie grace. this is his favorite song and has been ever since the first time he heard it a couple months ago.

if you don't know the song very well, it may sound like a lot of nothing.

if you do know the song, i think you'll get a kick out of it.

the seventh month

september - the seventh month - it was a busy one with lots of changes for miss phoebe.

in her seventh month of life,

phoebe started crawling,

got her first tooth,

got her first ear infection,

started pulling up and standing.

and her hair is getting much longer!

i'm trying to get her to take just two long naps a day, but most days she insists that she still needs two naps and a small third nap.

she is 8 months old today. she is nearing 17 lbs.

she likes to get in her 24 oz of formula a day - sometimes a little less. and she will eat solids three meals a day - 2-3 Tablespoons or ounces at a time. i was trying to bump up her solids and decrease her milk but the doc said to keep her near 24 oz milk a day.

now on to month 8...

will's sayings at three years old

"mommy, hold me with standing up!" (mommy, hold me while standing up!) - this basically means, "i'm jealous of baby sister. give me the attention you give to her."

"let's go to chaganooga!" (let's go to chattanooga!) - we stopped in chattanooga a few weeks ago on our way to see my brother's baby. coolidge park is a lot of fun. they have a great carousel, park, walking bridge over the tennessee river, and a riverboat that is a hotel that you can walk on. he still talks about the gang plank.

those people are loving each other - this is what will says whenever he sees two people on a motorcycle.

let's go to puglix - publix

"that's God's carwash" - he says this when it rains

"that's a cemement truck"

"it's upside side down"

"i'm a train! i'm a long long train. look at all my passenger cars." - yeah, this one disturbs me a little bit. he follows this with making very accurate train sound effects, walking and running pretending to be a train.

and other things about will:

the frustrating things -

the boy is strong willed! he always has a better idea. he's either going 0 miles per hour or 100. he is famous for parking lot tantrums because he often times will not hold my hand or he runs away from me. therefore he gets dragged to the car.

his main job right now is to get whatever phoebe has or is headed towards or is looking at - and put it on a table or chair out of her reach. he had good intentions at first, but now it has turned ugly.

the cool things -

he is very accepting of people
he is not scared of the dark
he is not scared of mascots - big fuzzy creatures (like i was at three years old)
he can go 12 hours without peeing

also, he really struggles getting dressed himself. we are working on it.
he cannot blow his nose!
he is a little scared of the carwash.
he will not take a nap anymore unless he is sick - he gets 11 hours at night.

baby photoshoot

we borrowed grandma's nice camera and took a few hundred pictures this afternoon. we got three really awesome ones! she's crawling now so that made things a little difficult. this is phoebe a few days shy of 8 months old.

funny faces

i have to blink, mommy.

my kids rarely wear pants in the warm months when we are at the house. yes, i guess i am lazy in this way. i am trying to teach will how to put on his pants by himself. it takes a lot of patience on my part.

phoebe has always loved sticking her tongue out. now she has started sticking it out sideways. will is doing something funny with his tongue in this pic as well - he likes to act like phoebe sometimes.

underbite cuteness

and took away my sim

name that tune...

becoming mobile

this is a glimpse into my everyday world. complete with little boy only in underwear squealing at the end of the video so be sure to turn your volume down. this video was taken a few weeks ago. she scoots around much quicker now and can go from her belly to sitting on her bottom.

baby girl smile

phoebe

phoebe is a joy. she is such a girly thing. with dainty little fingers and toes. narrow feet and a big bottom. a tiny thing, but chunky.

her smile is the best.

Preschooler Painting

a couple of months ago, i let will paint the background of this canvas with yellow and blue paint to make green! (he is using cheapo tempera paint). a few days ago, i let him have some red paint (his favorite color). i did not tell him what to paint. this is what he did - a self portrait! of two wills, he says.

he painted legs first. then he painted hair. then the body. then the arms. he painted the figure on the left first.

preschooler painting tip - let them paint in their underwear - to prevent staining clothes! (it also keeps them a little cooler when it is 95 degrees outside!!)

painting makes me so happy. watching will paint fills me up!

beautiful!