Soccer Girl

Avery just finished up her first season of soccer. She really seemed to enjoy it (everything except her cleats, shin guards, and giant socks...) It was super fun as a mom watching her play a team sport.  She got to spend some more time with Emma and make some new friends too. Will also started the season taking a step or two and finished it chasing the soccer balls. Proud Mama here!

Here are a few pictures from the season...

First Practice

Awards!

Proud of her medal

Soccer Ball Hoarding

Avery and Emma at the soccer party!

Potty Mouth

This picture has nothing to do with this post, but it's cute. This is from Easter morning. I love that Avery is dressing herself these days and she refuses to wear pants. For the last two weeks, she refuses to wear anything but dresses. But I digress...

This post falls under the "Adventure in Bad Parenting" and "funny things that come out of my daughter's mouth" headings.

Last Sunday afternoon I had a VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL meeting- I'm the preschool recreation leader.
Remember this, there's some irony in it.

Blake was on call the night before, so he was exhausted and napping. Both kids were napping (RARE) when I left.

I went to my meeting and came home. Everyone was up having an afternoon snack. Avery was coloring. All was well. I was pleased.

I sat down and asked how long everyone had been up? Everyone happy? What are we going to do this afternoon?
We chatted for a minute and then Blake says (rather dryly) "You'll never believe what your daughter said."

Oh no.

He told me that ever so sweetly she had woken up from her nap, come into our room and snuggled up next to him. Then Will started babbling across the monitor. She sat up and looked at it and said "Dammit, Daddy, Will's awake."
He asked her what she said, and very matter-of-factly she repeated herself- dammit included.

Oh Fudge...

I asked if he scolded her? Put her in time out? No, he didn't he said. He was too surprised. But I'm pretty sure the thought occurred to him to put me in time out.

This word she could only hear one place. I admit it's my profanity of choice. I don't say it often, but when sleeping babies wake prematurely this is a time I mumble it under my breath.

How quickly we forget what little sponges they are. Even when we think we are mumbling.

So, I've resolved to not saying or mumbling it...or anything else I don't want my sweet Avery repeating. You can certainly feel safe your child will not come home from VBS saying "Dammit, that recreation leader is fun!"

Happy FIRST Birthday Will!

I can't believe a year (well, more now..) has gone by since this sweet boy joined our family.

We celebrated Will's birthday at our house with family. We tried to do everything Will loves... started the day with church. In the nursery...which he seriously doesn't like. Skipping morning nap...which he seriously doesn't like. Lunch and running last minute errands. And then we strapped him in his highchair and all sang to him while he cried.

First birthday parties are for us, aren't they? But I can't help myself. Here are some pics of the hoe down...

A better way to start the big day than eating dog food?

My boys. Even got a little Tanner Dog action in there

Fitting in a little Tea Time

A little less than interested in opening presents. Luckily Avery is always willing to help.

A whole year little guy. A whole year... it has flown by. You have been a joy daily. You are my 'Chill Will'. You are my great sleeper and ever better eater. You give the sweetest little hugs. You adore your Daddy and would follow Avery anywhere. And, I think you'll be a great big brother...although I think you're quite content being our Sweet Baby Will.

I'm so blessed to be your Mamma. Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy.
I look forward to many, many more.

Perfect Plates of Pumpkin

I think pumpkin is one of the most underrated ingredient. Most people think of pumpkin and think thanksgiving- Pumpkin Pie or Halloweeen- carved and toasted seeds. I'll be honest- I'm not a pumpkin pie fan. I usually skip over that pie to rationalize my bigger piece of pecan pie. But I love pumpkin otherwise! I cook with it all the time. If you remember, before my current role as CEO/CFO/Domestic Goddess of the Phillips home, I was a dietitan. Pumpkin is a superfood in my eyes. It's has fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, beta-carotene, potassium- all really great stuff for you! And it's especially super because you can easily get your family to eat it! I have two go to dishes that my kids love! Star ingredient? You guessed it- pumpkin! And Ill have you know that my sweet Blake claims my Pumpkin Pasta recipe to be my best dish and one of the many reasons he loves me so much. Right, dear? So, I'll share my secret super recipes with you. You can substitute canned for fresh, roasted, puréed pumpkin when it's in season. Pumpkin Pasta with Italian Sausage (I adapted this recipe from Rachel Ray 30 minute meals) 3 links turkey sausage, casings removed 1/2 c chopped onion 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 c dry white wine (I leave this out a lot just because I don't have any on hand and I increase chicken stock) 1 bay leaf 2 T fresh sage 1/4 t each ground nutmeg, cinnamon 1 c chicken stock 1 c pumpkin purée (careful not to get pumpkin pie filling) 1/2 c fat free half in half (use regular for a special occasion!) S & P to taste 1 pound cooked whole wheat penne pasta Cook and crumble turkey sausage over high heat. Once cooked, removed from pan, lower temp to medium. Add a small amount of olive oil and sauté onion and garlic until tender. Add wine, bay leaf, sage, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Increase to med-high heat and allow wine to reduce to about 1/4 cup. Add stock and pumpkin, allow to heat through and return sausage to pan. Turn to low heat, and add half and half. Let simmer 10-15 minutes. Toss with penne and serve. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins 3/4 c sugar 1/4 c canola oil 2 eggs 1 can puréed pumpkin 1/2 t vanilla 1/4 c water 1 1/2 c AP flour 3/4 t baking powder 1/4 t baking soda 1/2 t cinnamon 1/4 t nutmeg 1/4 t salt 1/2-1 c chocolate chips (I like mini or dark chocolate) Preheat oven to 400 Mix sugar,oil, eggs. Add vanilla, pumpkin, and water. Mix all Flour through salt in a separate bowl. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with chips for a little extr a yumminess. Bake in muffin liners or greased muffin tin for 20-25 minutes. I am still without computer- it's getting a new hard drive this week. More memory! Yea! But I've got a super cute pic of Will- stuffing his face with the muffins. He ate two. Hoss. I hope you try these recipes! We're having a pumpkin muffins for snack today!

Friends, where does the time go??

So, it has been brought to my attention that I haven't blogged in a while. Like since November. Seriously, no excuse. We had a great Thanksgiving.

And a very Merry Christmas

New Year's was pretty wild. We celebrated at the Berkow's. We counted down the New Year at 8 pm with Avery and Emma. They popped poppers, cheered, and hugged. We went home and our whole house was asleep by 8:45. (one hour and forty five minutes past Will's bedtime, he reminded us). Pretty wild. Both the kids had well visits in January. All is well. Avery weighed 27 pounds, Will weighed 20. Makes me giggle considering their 2.5 year difference. Last week we road tripped down to Santa Rosa Beach Florida to the Phillips' new beach house. The kids were amazing on the drive down! We found out A gets a little car sick. Oops.... We had a great time, Blake got some good studying in (Boards are coming up soon!) I would insert some cute pictures of us but I'm currently mediating an argument between my camera and the computer, so I'll just tell you about them. Here would be a picture of Will and Avery on the slide together at the MickeyD's playplace in somewhere, MS. Next Avery running carefree along the beach, sun setting behind her. Stunning oranges, ruby reds, and shadows. Blake an Will playing in the sand. Beautiful dune backdrop. So, that's the catch-up for now. And I'm going try to be a better blog updater, again. Sigh.

The lying game....cat family vacations

In our house, we don't lie. We talk about telling the truth versus a 'story' (a little kinder that a lie, right?) As a matter of fact, my sweet husband can't tell a story...he's got a serious 'tell' (Don't worry B, your secrets safe with me ;) ), when I was younger and I tried to lie, I would turn bright red and my story would crumble. So, of course as a parent we preach telling the truth, but today it all came crashing down today. I lied to Avery. And it broke my heart. Let me back this up a bit...Avery turned three in October, and we (I) wanted to get her something special- A CAT!! I begged and pleaded with Blake, I even got Blake's parents to rally my cause. And, because he loves us, he said ok. YEA!! A CAT A CAT! I love cats...I mean AVERY WILL LOVE A CAT. I went to the shelter and picked a good one Parker, a cute little tabby cat who had been adopted, but returned to the shelter because her owner lost her job. Cute cat, sad story? I'm sold. Parker initially was a great fit for the family, loved being here, loved the dog, loved curling up in AK's bed, even tolerated Baby Will- but I think it's only because he smelled like milk. But something wasn't quite right with PK (Blake and AK's nickname for her). PK won't use a litter box. Instead my house was her litter box, preferably my bed and drapes. Gross. I'll spare you further detail. So, I tried and tried, we went to the vet, new litter box, MULTIPLE litter boxes, antibiotics, probiotics, etc. One night, after sticking my toes into a wet spot on the bed, I lost my marbles and put her outside and grumbled something about not needing anymore bottoms to wipe. And outside she stayed. Blake claims this is the angriest he's ever seen me. We both started feeling guilty about it. It's cold, it's lonely, and we live on the corner of a busy street- she could get hit by a car. So, we decided to let her back in the house and put her in the garage when we left. But she still managed to make a few more house messes and we (I) decided we (I) couldn't do it anymore. So this morning I took her back to the Animal Village. I thought I would have no emotion, but I still burst into tears when they took her. And while I was crying, waiting to get her kennel back, I ran into a guy I went to elementary through HS with, who I haven't seen since HS. Although, I've know him since I was five, I figure this wasn't the first time he'd seen my sobbing (Most notably, in kindergarten when Russel Brixie pulled my pants down while I was reaching for my lunch box.). I called the 'cat lady' that works with the animal village and told her my whole, long story. Cried to her a little. She assured me she'd find PK a home. That she would get her out and play with her. But, she agreed it was the right thing to do for us. Then to pick up AK. What should I tell her? The truth? A story? Something in the middle? After polling the audience, I thought somewhere in the middle sounded good. I picked her up and we chatted about her day at school, what we were having for lunch, etc. All very lighthearted conversation. And when we pulled in the garage she started asking me where I though PK was. "Where's PK?" My heart started racing, my hands started sweating. What do I do? I can't lie to her! I said "PK isn't here, Avery." "Where is she?" Tears began to well up in her eyes. My heart sank. "She's not here, baby." Avery's quivery little voice, "We have to go get her! Where is she?" Come up with something fast, think, think, think! so I told her that we had only been keeping PK and until her cat family got back from vacation. And they were home now, and PK went home. I picked up my sobbing child and held her close. I hadn't imagined that such a little 'story' would hurt me so badly too. She cried in my arms for a while But, I know the truth was a far harder story to tell. It's hard to lie when I spend so much time trying to make sure the truth is told in our home. And I know she's only three, but it's important she knows I'm telling her the truth about things so she will trust me in the future. For now, my little story will have to do. I'm thankful Blake hasn't made me feel too bad about it, he could really rub it in that it wasn't his idea, he didn't want a cat, etc. And he let me make the decision to take her back. I'm thankful that little girl is so forgiving. I'm thankful she's young enough to not remember PK in a year. I'm thankful for the sweet lady at the animal shelter. I'm hopeful PK finds a good home. Thanks for letting me purge this terrible feeling. I'm hoping when AK wakes up from nap she'll have forgotten the whole bad story. And on the off chance you are looking for a cat. PK is available, 7 months old, spayed, not exactly little box trained, super sweet and friendly, and deserving of a good home where there is a little more patience.

Jumping off of two feet....

I love peanut butter, I love peanuts, I love anything made with peanut butter. In a galaxy far far away, we kept three different jars of peanut butter in our pantry. One for me, one for Blake, and one for the dogs. I could seriously eat peanut butter in some form every day...two years ago. My sweet little sugar plum, Avery, is allergic to peanuts. (As just a funny little aside, I told someone she was allergic to peanut butter, please don't give her any, and she said "Wow, that's weird, it she allergic to peanuts?" Blink. Blink. What? ) When she was a little over a year old, I gave her a lick of peanut butter from a spoon of PB I was enjoying to see if she too would fall in the ranks and also be a PB fanatic. Instead she got a swollen lip that looked somewhat cartoonish. We studied it, wondered if maybe she ran into something, fell down, but in the end gave her a dose of Benadryl to be on the safe side and it went away. She had a well-child visit shortly after this incident and I brought it up to our pediatrician, she suggested we do some blood work and see if she had any allergies. The blood work showed high allergy to peanuts, and she wrote us a prescription for an epipen and counseled me have benadryl on me at all times, she asked if I'd like to speak with a dietitian and I told her I'd talk to myself (Before I 'retired' I was a dietitian ;) ). I cried after I got off the phone with her because for some reason it seemed so scary. I didn't really understand. B and I don't have any food allergies. I nursed her exclusively forever! I waited until she was well over a year old to introduce PB into her diet. Just a week or two prior to this I'd had a conversation with a neighbor mom who told me how annoying it was that they had such strict rules at her kids school regarding peanut butter. How they excluded HER kid when he brought a PB&J, not the kids that were allergic. I had agreed with her, "That IS silly! Why your kid? He's not the one with the allergy!" Some flawed logic here... So, then we begin to learn the long list of things A can't eat. The obvious: peanuts, peanut butter, candy with peanuts/peanut butter. The not so obvious: Chick-Fil-A, Kashi products, lots of "fancy" restaurants fry in peanut oil...the list goes on. It's been almost two years since her diagnosis and I still get nervous. I remind everyone- at least twice before they take her anywhere. Her preschool teacher is my sister who is a hyper-vigilant as me and I still worry..."What if she takes a bite of _____'s PB sandwich while Rachael isn't looking?" She has had two run-in's with the scoundrel, the most recently at Easter which B & I joking refer to as the Peanut Butter Trinity incident (A terrible pun I realize)- she wiped her face on a peanut butter laden towel, may or may not have taken a bite of a PB sandwich, and most definitely smeared her hands through some PB left on the counter. We caught it quickly and were able to get it under control with a man-sized dose of Benadryl. Why was she around all this peanut butter you ask? Because it's hard to tell people who eat it/love it to get rid of it for her... You get puzzled looks when you start rearranging your friends/parents pantry to move the PB up out of her reach. So, this has been my struggle for the last two years. I wonder, Will this be harder when she's older? When she gets invited to a party at Chick-Fil-A, but can't eat there? Will she try something at school someone's mom made not thinking? She can recite to me now the rules when she is away from me: 1. Be sweet 2. Listen to ______. 3. NO peanut butter. And I know, I know it could be worse, but still in it's own right it's scary. And I'm slowly learning to take small leaps of faith, jumping off two feet, and trusting. Trusting my child will remember the rules, and everyone remembers her neurotic mama is at home worrying if I remembered to tell them no Cheeburger Cheeburger. I know you are all wondering? Jumping off two feet? What's that about? Well, at above mentioned well-child visit our pediatrician was going over some milestones: physical, verbal, etc. One of those was "Child will be able to jump off two feet", I got a little hung up on that one. All day long thinking, "Geez, that's really high in the air!" I walked around our house gauging the height of different surfaces to see. When Blake came home for dinner I told him about the milestone, he AGREED with me that was really high, and an odd milestone. So we both scratched our heads and went on. Several days later, Blake finds the handout about the milestones. I see what he has in his hands and I'm waiting for him to finish reading it so we can both shake our heads that AK will surely not be reaching this milestone anytime soon, but instead he burst into that famous Blake cackle. "Jess, jumping off two feet" and he jump in the air- off two feet....Sigh. Fail, Me. Fail. And periodically B or my father-in-law reminds me that two feet is awful high in the air...