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...

If you're looking for some good recipes...look further

If you know me you know I love to cook. I enjoy chopping, dicing, sauteing, dredging...it's soothing to me, it's me showing my love to the fam. Before my house was a preschool, I loved to try 'fancy' recipes. I'd have 'theme' nights- those were my favorite. Mexican, Italian...so much fun. I don't really have that kind of time anymore, so I stick to pretty tried and true recipes, but this gets old after a while. I felt like I was in a rut...and along came Pinterest. Every recipe boasts "best ever" "never fail". I pinned tons of recipes and began to try them all... I haven't taken any pictures with my new birthday camera, but I'd like to share some my mistakes with you.. Fail 1. "Never Fail" Pizza Dough: Take One: Fail, not really sure what went wrong here (except that while the dough was kneading away in the mixer Avery needed help changing into her Tinkerbell costume and Will decided to nurse) , but my dough looked like a million little marbles. My sweet, glass-half-full sister said "Just make a bunch of really little pizzas" Take Two: No fail, super, best ever homemade Pizza Dough Highly recommend. You knead to follow instructions. Fail 2: Something called "Crack" Toffee: Take One: I under cooked the toffee and it turned our grainy Take Two: I over baked the "crack" (again, Will and his nursing...) gross. Again sweet glass-half-full sister "It's like brown butter toffee" You're a peach, Rachie, but I saw you spit it out. It's better in the long run anyway, I just got back into my pre-pre-pregnancy jeans. Fail 3: "Buffalo Chicken Casserole" This one was an epic fail, just eat Wing Stop. Anything that boasts a healthy alternative to buffalo wings doesn't deserve your time. It smelled and tasted like a trashcan. My mom happened to be so lucky as to be at my house for this one and she kept making suggestions on how it might be better. We agreed that the only way it might be better was if had gone directly to the trash can- the outside trash can. Fail 4: As Blake calls it "The S'more Incident of '11" Please refer back to previous blog entry "Never trust a broiler..." The picture says it all. It really had potential, I might give that one a second chance... I asked Blake if he could think of any and he immediately says "Every time you make brownies and Chinese food" He's right. When we moved to this house I swore off Chinese food altogether- we live walking distance from three oriental food establishments. Weight Watchers has no business telling me how to make a crab rangoon anyway... Funny Avery of the week: We were at my parents house, my mom had been telling me how she thinks there is a raccoon under her deck. Avery wasn't paying attention and walks off the edge of the deck and lands head first in the ferns around my mom's fountain. I retrieve her from ferngully, she brushes herself off, says "I was looking for your coon, Nana" and walks off.

Vegas, Baby!

Blake and I just got back from a trip to Vegas to celebrate my 30th birthday and our 5th wedding anniversary....and a little spine conference action for Blaker. We left the Wednesday after my birthday and came back on Sunday. First time away from Will EVER and first time away from AK for more than a night. I had been diligently working on stocking my freezer with milk for this trip and I'm happy to report that they didn't even make a dent in the stockpile (I know you truly care about my freezer and it's breastmilk contents). It was hard to leave them, but I'm glad to say no one (except me) cried about it.

We stayed at the Flamingo since Blake's conference was there. We spent the first evening we got there just walking the strip and looking around. We watched the Bellagio fountain- "Time To Say Goodbye" AMAZING! The next day we slept in (this is so funny to me, because not only do we both get up pretty early anyway, we were on PST and we got up like at 5 AM feeling all refreshed and ready for the day) Got up went for a 4.5 mile run on the strip (seriously, on vay-cay? In Nevada in August? It's 105 at 7 AM, but it's a dry heat. So is my oven.). We had a yummy lunch at The County Club at Wynn where I enjoyed not cutting up chicken nuggets and a glass of Pinot Gris.
We spent most of the day lazing by the pool. This Flamingo GO Pool is not exactly a family friendly location, glad we didn't bring the kiddos. The first day we saw a girl get carted off for puking (nonstop) all over her cabana and the last day a young man get arrested for who knows what, but he resisted arrest so it was pretty entertaining. Oh and a mechanical bull riding contest- not really a some of the best decisions some of the bikini clad young ladies made. It was some super fun people watching. You actually couldn't get in the pool without touching someone. I have plenty of people always touching me at home, so I stayed out of the pool for the most part.

The next two days Blake was at his conference and I spent some time looking around The Forum Shoppes, Fashion Show and Miracle Mile shops. Amazing shopping- AMAZING. I ate lunch BY MYSELF twice. At Wolfgang Puck's Spago I had a pork tenderloin sandwich served on homemade soft pretzel bread with sauerkraut and homemade grainy mustard. If my mom had been there I would have slapped her it was so good (I'm giggling because I can't imagine what would happen if I ever slapped my mom, especially over a pretzel sandwich) We had two great dinners at Bobby Flay's MESA and Mon Ami Gabi. And we walked around in the evenings and held hands- just each others...kinda nice.

By Sunday, we were both ready to come home to the babes. I was so happy to see them I burst into tears in the airport.

Overall a great little trip! Here are a few pic's...

I am the King of Wishful Thinking...

Not familiar with this awesome song? Really? No? It's probably mostly famously (and only) known for being in the opening of Pretty Woman when Edward is driving around Hollywood after his girlfriend Jessica dumps him. The song is epic. No one seems to agree with me on this. I don't know, I really like the beat, tempo (it's a 90's song, tempo was a good thing.). Anyway, enough about my terrible taste in music- please don't judge me based on my playlists.

But there is a line in the song that I love: "I refuse to give into my blues/ that's not how it's gonna to be."I am rapidly approaching my 30th Birthday. Like, in four days. So, naturally I've spent some time lately reflecting on my last thirty years. I have faced birthday this very indifferently- some days it's no big deal, bring it on...other days a little blue about it. Now, don't start preaching "Thirty isn't old. You wait until ___!" I know, I know. It isn't old, but to a twenty-something, becoming a thirty-something is a little frightening. There is something about your 20's that's very magical. Life is just beginning, maybe you get married, put all you have into your career, start a family, travel. You're beautiful, you can get away with low rise jeans and wearing frat t-shirts.
What's left for my thirty's? I'll be too old and weak to enjoy life?!?! But, I have faith in that thirtysomething I'm about to become. I'm am not the old lady the 18 year old I was thought the 30 year old me would be.
I feel (and look ;) ) 19.
That's all it's about right? How old you do let yourself feel? I'm going to embrace checking the 30-39 age boxes, no longer getting carded, and the aching back I occasionally wake up with. If 60 is the new 40, then 30 is the new 10 right? I'm hopeful, wishful if you will, that in my 30's I'll only get better, wiser, more comfortable in my own skin.

To finish with a line from a great song: "I'll get over you 20's, I know I will. I'll pretend my ship's not sinking. 'Cause I'm the King of Wishful Thinking"...

Happy 4 Months Sweet Baby Will!

I cannot fully participate in this "Wordless Wednesday" thing. As previously stated, I talk entirely too much. But I'm going to try and keep it to a minimum.

Will is four months old today!! He weighs 15 lbs, 5 oz (this is the baby who was smaller than Avery was at birth!) He slept ALL night long in his bed last night for the first time. He's still just nursing- no solids for this boy for a couple of more months. He coos and goos and smiles like crazy! He's rolling over front to back and back to front- you actually can't lay him down without him rolling his way across the room.
He's very calm and mild mannered- he fusses a little when he's hungry or sleepy, but that's about it. He's very interested in his wild sister. He loves to watch her talk and move about. He continues to be the love of all three of our lives.

And did I mention he's the cutest baby alive? No, I didn't. Well, I'll just show you...

Things that chap my hide...

I like to think that I'm not very easily angered/irritated, but there are a few things that totally drive me bananas.

Thing 1: People (I'm sorry, but ESPECIALLY men) who don't hold doors. RUDE! Hold the dang door. Even if I wasn't carrying an infant in a car seat and chasing/dragging a toddler along, I think you should still hold the door. Today at the post office the woman walking in in front of me looked back, saw that I was juggling a sleeping baby in a car seat and a large package to mail and she still let the door slam in my face.
Hey, thanks. You beat me to the mail counter, I hope your package gets there before mine.

Thing 2: People who park too close to your car and you can't get in. I drive a gigantic, beast of a car and I can seem to pay attention to how much space I'm taking up in a parking spot how about you and your Ford Fiesta do the same.
Disclaimer: Don't park beside me like this, I will go out of my way to 'accidentally' hit your car with my car door. It's hateful, I'm not proud, but I will do it.

Thing 3: People who don't yield to ped's in x-ings. Stop your car, wave me and my crazy crew across the street, feel good about yourself, and drive on. It's that simple.


Thank you for letting me vent. Maybe I should deal with my rage issues.


But I'll finish on a positive note. I went to Kroger yesterday to do my weekly grocery shopping. I took both kiddos along with me. They are usually angels. Yesterday they were not. But it had to be done, so I strapped Will in the baby bjorn, got my reusable bags, and went to get Avery Kate out. She wouldn't get out of the car. This was in regards to some altercation we had over Despicable Me earlier. Whatever, I smile and unbuckle her, pick her up, and carry her inside. She's screaming, kicking, pulling my dress up. A sweet little boy, about 9 ish who was carrying his younger brother stopped and asked me if I needed some help and another older gentleman also asked if I needed any help and he even got me a buggy. And as we got in line to check out Will started screaming and the sweet couple in front of me let us go ahead of them.
Thank you sweet people of Little Rock, to the rest of you, don't embarrass your Mama and remember to be courteous.

P.F. Chang Ain't Got Nothin' on me...

Well yeah they do. I am notorious for making TERRIBLE homemade Chinese food. TERRIBLE.
I think it's because I try to make them low-cal/low-fat and you just can't do that with Honey Seared Chicken. (This is also why Brownies and I have a bad relationship. Don't use the 'lower fat' recipe on the side of the box- they are BROWNIES for goodness sake, they're supposed to be bad for you!)

Ok, so here is a recipe for P.F. Chang's Lettuce Wraps that is lower fat/cal and it's delicious! I left out the Peanut Butter/Peanuts since Avery is allergic to the glorious stuff- soy nut butter would have been a good sub, but I was out. I'd also add some finely chopped mushrooms and maybe some Hosin sauce, but maybe I should just stick to the recipe considering my history with Chinese food recipe modifications...

I also made Nutella Cookies- only 4 ingredients, and you can tell. Not too super in my opinion, funny texture. Avery LOVES them, so I might make them again in a pinch. Personally, I'd rather have a 9 ingredient cookie (i.e. Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip)

P.F. Chang Lettuce Wraps on a Diet

1lb ground chicken breast (I ground my own, thanks ;) )
1/2 medium onion, minced
salt & pepper, a dash of each
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 inch knob fresh ginger, peeled & minced
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon natural peanut butter
1/2 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (or more if you like it hotter)
dash of fresh pepper
3 green onions, chopped
1/2-8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained & chopped
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
10-12 large butter lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry

Directions:
1. Heat a large, non-stick skillet on high. Add chicken, onion, salt & pepper, and cook until chicken is nearly done, stirring often to break up the meat. Add in minced garlic and ginger, and continue cooking until chicken is no longer pink.
2. Meanwhile, in a microwave safe bowl, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, water, peanut butter, honey, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce and pepper. Microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until smooth. Add into the skillet and stir to combine.
3. Add green onion and water chestnuts into the skillet then cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are soft and the water chestnuts are heated through.
4. Scoop into lettuce and EAT!

Nutella Cookies

1 cup Nutella
1 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Blend all ingredients together well. Form into 1″ balls. Place on a cookie sheet. Press down firmly with the bottom of a glass dusted with flour. Bake 7-8 minutes or until set. Cool.

Never Underestimate the Four Legged Family Member

Tanner....Tanner, Tanner, Tanner. This guy comes from humble beginnings (Can you tell?). He was marketed to me as an Australian Shepherd rescue, clearly he is not. As a sweet new husband, Blake drove me to Ward, Arkansas to see this so-called Aussie rescue. Blake and I already had one dog. One very nutty dog. An Aussie named Lou. Lou, lovingly dubbed Lucifer by one of our friends, was completely dog poo crazy. She had some social anxiety, she was a total racist, and had a particular affinity for biting Blake's family members. But, she needed a little buddy and after some begging and empty "I promise I'll pick the poop up out of the yard", Blake agreed to get me that sweet little rescue. He already came with a name Tanner, we added Ward as a little joke- one of my best friends, Jill Tanner married Alan Ward, making her Jill Tanner Ward. And when she recently had a bouncing baby boy I asked her if she was going to name him after my dog. I'm sure she gave it some strong consideration, but I'm sorry to tell you Jones, you didn't get named after my loyal beast.


Then Blake left for a month to do a medical school rotation. I called him the first night crying, "I hate this dog! Why did we get this dog?". I can't tell you how many times we called the rescue group, but they never answered or called us back. I can't tell you how happy I am that they didn't.

Tanner has got to be one of the most calm, loving, dopey dogs you'll ever meet. He grins this giant toothy grin every time he sees us, and every time he does something wrong. He's obedient. He's loyal to a fault. And I like to think he's got a pretty good sense of humor.

Tanner also has the unfortunate diagnosis of canine epilepsy. He's had it for a little over a year and he has to take 6 pills a day. His seizures are less frequent now that he's on meds- maybe 1 every month or so.

Tanner is my go to man when something spills on the floor. Like a Roomba, but more effective. He's my nightwatchman when Blake is on call. And some days he's my therapist. Tanner doesn't mind a few tears shed on his soft ears. His calm, loving demeanor reminds me to not sweat the small things and relax.
So, to show my unending love for this goofy hound dog, I'll ramble a few of my favorite Tanner stories....




Puppy Tanner LOVED to go over to our neighbors house. They kept treats for our dogs and were our go to guys when we went out of town or needed some help with the dogs. And I think it was a little like going to your grandparents house- unlimited eat anything you want, stay up as late as you want. They loved it. Tanner loved them so much that one day while we were all gone he slipped under the fence, went in the CAT door, and just spent the day there. And he may or may not (may) have pulled every single one of their pillows out through the CAT door into their backyard...

As above story mentioned, Tanner slipped under the fence quite a lot. On one occasion he seemed to tear a small hole in his side. Oops. Big oops, buddy. Blake is in a surgical residency. This constitutes practice. Nothing a few stitches on the back patio furniture can't fix. Oh, did I leave out lidocane? A real man doesn't need anesthetic.




And some of my fondest memories are of gentle Tanner and my crazy Avery. He loves her. He really has to. He has been her pony, sticker book, patient, and food taster.







I love Tanner so much that I completely forgot his birthday this year and the "If found, please Call" tag on his collar has too many numbers is in. And sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and realize I forgot to feed you dinner. I'm sorry, Tan, you deserve better. But every night, you're there beside my bed waiting patiently for me to remember you're there and hoping I'll give those soft ears a scratch. And every morning you quietly leap on to my feet for a few peaceful minutes before the chaos starts. I know you're just a dog buddy, but your my sweet dog.

We love our teachers...especially if we're related

I decided to do a little something for our MDO teacher- who also happens to be my favorite sister. I saw this craft on Pintrest. My newest obsession!

Here's the process...













Pretty simple and I think it turned out cute. I'm planning on putting it in a frame. Maybe sending some of her favorite candy...we want her to stay on for the fall :)

Never use a broiler that isn't your own and heed the weight warning on a silp-n-slide

So, we didn't take a real summer vacation this year- for obvious reasons: Blake works all the time and we have a 'new' baby. We did find a little weekend to scoot on up to Lake Norfork to spend a little time at the Phillips lake house. It was really pretty uneventful, but we had a great time. Will was only 6 weeks old, so we figured the boat was out of the question and the water level was so high there was no beach area for Avery. (She started this "I want to go to the beach" thing, we aren't sure why- she's only been when she was a tiny baby)

We really enjoyed ourselves.....

I tried out some new recipes.



Just hung out by the pool.



Enjoyed the outdoors.



Caught up on some sleep.




Some things I learned: Never trust a broiler that isn't your own- it will take your delicious S'mores Bar Cookie from 0 to engulfed in flames in less time than you think.
Always read and respect the weight warning on a slip-n-slide. Blake got a little too excited about our redneck water park that he ran, took a dive, hit the bump, and broke the slide. They just don't make them like the used too.

Well, it wasn't Seaside but it was fun. And very relaxing. Oh, and did I mention we all shared a king size bed (not that there aren't nine other beds in that house)

Maybe next year Avery.

Light and Yummy Lemonade Pie

I'd post a picture of this delicious pie...but it seems like we ate it all. I've been craving something SUPER lemony and this was perfect. After an unsuccessful batch of not so yummy lemon bars I was determined to make something so lemony it would make you pucker.

I kinda made it up, so I think I'll call it Lemonade Pie

1 3 oz pkg lemon jell-o (I used sugar free to save some calories, and you could use any flavor you like!)
2/3 c boiling water
1 pkg Fat Free or 1/3 less fat cream cheese (Again, save a few cals here too)
1 pkg sugar free or lite Cool Whip
1 9 in Graham Cracker crust (homemade or store-bought, I used reduced fat store bought)

Mix 2/3 c water and jello, whisk for 2 minutes or until dissolved
Blend in cream cheese and cool whip until creamy, pour in crust...I did top it with a little extra cool whip for good measure. Stick it in the fridge for a few hours...

Num yummy!!!! Not super fancy, but a nice, cool, light summery dessert!

Did I really just say that in front of a cute guy?

I think that probably phrase probably crosses my mind too many times, but I just can't help it. My thoughts are like freestyle rap coming out of my mouth, I talk too much.

One fine example...

Blake and I were doing the usual evening feed-bathe-put-the-kids-to-bed-dance that takes up most of the evening, then there's "Did the dog go out?", "Turn on the alarm", "Wait, turn it off, the sprinkler is on", "Did you brush your teeth" (I'm like a two year old and need to be reminded) And THEN we flop down in bed. And here come the dreaded words..

"Hurry up, let's watch Swamp People before I have to pump (milk, that is)" What? What did I just say that? Blake just looked at me and laughed "I never thought I'd hear those words from my blushing bride!" I don't think he really thought any more about it, but I did.

Blake and I are just about a month shy of our 5 year wedding anniversary and after these incredibility sexy words flew out of my mouth I started thinking about life five years ago. Evenings were spend doing whatever we wanted to be doing, dinner at anytime we wanted, weekends sleeping late, spending hours at the gym, etc. All these memories rushed through my mind and I look over at Blake, five years older, five years later, five years wiser. And already asleep at 9:00 PM. And I realize again how lucky I am.

Blake works 14-16 hour days. Every few nights on call, up all night. He doesn't elaborate on work much. When I can pry a story out of him they are mostly sad, difficult situations, with iffy outcomes. But when he walks in the front door he's all Daddy. He puts his keys down scoops up an excited Avery and jiggles one of Will's chubby little feet, and then listens to Avery and I babble on about the 'important' details of our day...how long we were at the pool, the rude lady at the grocery store, you know- 'important things'. He plays with Avery until dinner is ready or eats dinner in five minutes if he's missed eating with us and then he plays with Avery until bath, he takes Will and plays with him while I get Thing One cleaned up, then to Avery's room where we read books, say her prayer, and tuck her in. Then he usually spends some time reading about the surgeries for the next day.

I sit there and look at him- he has one hand on Will, who is dozing beside him. Even in slumber, he's all about his family. There is a tiny part of me that longs for those carefree days when we were closer to 20, not about to turn 30. Night owls because we wanted to be, not because we had a sick child, or our epileptic dog who has to get a midnight bath after a seizure. Those were the days right?

They were then, but I think they would feel empty now. I love Blake more today than I ever could have imagined five years ago. The things I fell in love with are all still there- his happy, smiling eyes, his happy-go-lucky attitude- but now I have so much more to love him for. I wonder how all the memories between now and twenty years- fifty years will make me feel. Better everyday...I wonder what things will fly out of my mouth then that he'll laugh about while I'm sitting wondering where my thought filter went...

A few picture through the years.

My 24th Birthday



Early married life


Honeymoon in Jamaica (this one always make me laugh)


Halloween..embarrassing.


Medical School Graduation



Our first baby is born..


Avery turns two!


And we welcome our second child, William Blake.



I love this guy, and the life we have together and I know it's just going to keep getting better.

My daddy does what???

Avery has been perplexed for some time now about what her daddy does all day when he isn't home with us. I've explained it to her MANY times. The first time I tried to tell her she said "My daddy's not a doctor", then burst into tears and ran from the room. Blake was a little hurt- most kids would be proud right?

So, last night at dinner she looks over at my mom and says "My Daddy makes people sick." I get a puzzled look and chuckle from my mom. "Avery, don't you mean you're daddy helps sick people get better?"
Furrowed brow, long pause for thought..."Nope, he makes people sick"
And that was the end of that.

Funny things Avery says...

Disclaimer: This is not a comprehensive list, this might not even scratch the surface of the giggles we get out of some of the things that fly out of that little mouth...

Blake, Avery, Will, and I are at the grocery store- this seems crazy...Blake? At a grocery store? Insert shocked gasp.
We walk by the dairy case where the string cheese lives and as I usually do I get one for Avery, open it and let her eat it while we shop.
She looks at Blake ans says, "Oh Daddy, we don't pay for this" and he turns a looks at me a smiles, "Oh, we don't?" "Nope, we don't".
And I'm sorry, Kroger. We probably owe you about $5.33 for our string cheese habit, we eat apples too. And no, we don't pay for those either. It's not that I don't mean to, it's just that by the time Tornado Avery and I make it through the grocery store I forget.

Now, I feel like a weight has been lifted. But, I still hold a grudge over the time you didn't give me my $5 off from some promotional special three years ago...so, I'm thinking we're getting close to even

Welcome Sweet William

This is my second attempt at a blog...we'll see how this goes with TWO kids!

We welcomed sweet William Blake on April 3rd...he decided to make his debut just a couple of weeks early. After a long 16 hours of labor, a few bumps in the road, and an unexpected c-section Will graced us with his presence. But he's been making up for all that...he's a great eater, great sleeper, and an overall cuddlebug! What a wonderful blessing this sweet, sweet boy is!