Losing Track

Our Christmas vacation has begun!  And so has our holiday road trip!  For the past four days we've been trekking across the country with Idaho as our final destination.

We started our journey by not starting at all.  We meant to leave early on the 17th, but ended up hanging around just long enough to pick up the new bike that Orry earned from his school as a result of good behavior and meeting all the academic objectives for the year.  He had a fun time riding it to the car.  Then we took the bike home and hit the road.  Sorry, kid.  Maybe next year.

We were headed for New Mexico to visit my brother and his family.  We made it by the 18th and I'm happy to say that we weren't worse for the wear.  Road tripping can be a fun experience.  Road tripping with three kids is like walking a very fine tightrope.  Too long in the car and everything will start to deteriorate.  Rapidly.  But we spaced our 14 hour leg of the trip quite nicely and everyone did a great job doing the best they could with what they had.

Our visit with the cousins was short but enjoyable nonetheless.  It's great to see how much the kids have changed as individuals and in relation to one another.  When you go a long time without seeing young kiddos, you are almost always impressed and surprised to see their growth.  It's as though, during your time away, nothing has changed.  But there you are, together again, and you can't believe that baby Jo Jo is walking and talking!

The kids had a great time.  Everyone got along!  We exchanged gifts and stories and got some much needed hugs to last us until next time.

From L to R: Elie, Jeana, Johann, Annie, Orry, Caamiell, and Isaac

But alas, we had to roll on.  So after carefully monitoring the weather and road closures, we set out for Idaho.  We've been lucky and have avoided icy road, so far.  Yesterday was the longest of our journey by far.  We traveled 11 hours!  But here we are, 3 hours from our destination!

We do love road trips.  And by we, I mean Troy and myself.  I'm not sure the kids have much of an opinion.  Maybe by the end of it all they will.  Maybe it will be a good one.  Maybe.  But Troy and I sure do love having hours of conversation.  We love hours of joking, too.  But one of our most favorite things is watching the landscape changed right before your very eyes.

We started out in the flat, lowlands of Houston and slowly watched the hills roll by.  The hills turned into mesas.  The grass turned into sage brush, the bushes into pine trees.  Mountains began to appear in northern NM and really became impressive in Colorado.  Patches of snow turned into fields of snow.  Frozen ponds.  Icy trees.

Another thing that's true of all vacations is forgetting what day it is.  I know what date when we left, so I can effectively count backwards and put all the events into place.   What I'm having a hard time keeping track of is what day of the week it is.  But isn't that what a great vacation can do for you?

But I have remembered today.  Today is our wedding anniversary.  And when I think back, I do believe that the majority of our anniversaries are spent travelling.  But that doesn't bother me.  I love that we love travelling, as a family, as adventurers.  So I raise my glass to six wonderful years past and 106 more wonderful years to come!

Now let's get on the road and finish this thing!

Full Circle

Recently I've been pushing shopping carts down aisle after aisle looking for dinosaurs.  Nothing like hectic Christmas shopping to remind you of that Christmas feeling...

While browsing, I came across a keyboard that's shaped like a cat's face.  Annie took to it immediately.  For heaven's sake, it meows the notes!  I immediately realized that I've come full circle.

One Christmas, I received a Casio keyboard.  Man, I loved that thing.  Strange because we had a real piano.  That small, white, noise machine was so awesome!  Well, to me it was.  To my mom, it was just a small, white, noise machine.  There was a demo song programmed on the keyboard.  You can listen to it here (at the 0:35 mark).  I loved jammin' to that song.  Twenty something years later, my mom can still hum that song.  Perfectly.  Poor Mom.

While mulling over the idea of buying such a wretchedly awesome thing, a fellow shopper commented on how annoying toys with batteries were for the parents.  I agreed.  Then she proceeded to say something to the effect of "Well, I had to put up with it.  Now it's their turn."  Yep.  Full circle.

Another full circle moment: Orry brought home the note announcing the arrival of Santa's Gift Shop at his school.  Yep.  I remember picking out one mallard shaped wooden box for my dad.  Part of the reason I remember it so well is because he still has it.  (This should be the part where I apologize to my parents and simultaneously thank them for all they put with.)  So I shelled out some bucks for Orry to go and have that experience that I so dearly remember.  I told him to only get a gift for Isaac and Annie.  He came back with a 2" walking baseball, a baby rattle, and a gift for himself.  Oh, pay back is a...

But it's the Christmas season, after all.  A time of giving.  A time to celebrate and revel in the happiness of children.  And a time to really appreciate all that our parents did for us.  Nothing like paying your dues to get you into that Christmas spirit...

Fresh Air

So far, this weekend has been one of sickness.  The kids are sniffling, coughing, and sneezing.  The grownups are behaving in a similar fashion.  So what do you think we did with ourselves?

That's right.  We're a bunch of crazies that decided to go out and get some fresh air at the Mercer Botanical Gardens.  Originally, we set out to go on a Bird Walk which started around 8:30am.  Yeah right.  That didn't happen.  But we did manage to make it there for 9:30 and we brought our binoculars just in case.

It was so nice to be outside.  The sun was warm.  The shade was on the warmer side of cold.  The sky was clear.  Hardly any birds in sight.  The kids loved running around the paved walkways.  We enjoyed watching them in their silly ways.  

All in all it was better than sitting at home and wiping noses.  Instead we got there and enjoyed nature, while wiping noses.  I hope that you and yours are happy and healthy!  

Holiday Sweetness

As far as family traditions go, we have few.  Actually, I think we really only have two.  And they both have to do with building.  Funny.

This weekend we built our annual gingerbread house.  We meant to build it during the Thanksgiving holiday, but didn't managed to squeeze it in.  I finally got around to making the dough and the templates for the house.  We had a nice assortment of candies to choose from.  The kids were so eager to decorate it.

We started with snow caps on the roof.  Annie ate a few instead of putting them on the roof.  She also licked a few and stuck them on there...

Gumdrops adorn the lawn with gummy bears acting as garden gnomes.  The door and windows are lining with M&M's.  (Funny side note: Orry made sure that all the "M"s faced up and were oriented correctly.)  Isaac insisted that there be a wicked witch looking out the window.  I don't know who told him the tale of Hansel and Gretel, but he seems to be in the know.  Here's our end product:

The kids had a fun time making it and today they had a great time eating it.  I'm not placing any bets on how long the house will last, but my guess is that with Troy around, it won't be for long.  

(If anyone is interested in making their own gingerbread house, I strongly encourage you to do so!  No need for a store bought kit.  I found an easy gingerbread recipe in a holiday cookie book that I have.  The recipe makes 4 dozen cookies or so and there was plenty for our small house.  Making the templates can be easy too.  You can get them online or draw them up yourself.   Be sure to bake the pieces and little longer to make sure they are hard and will make a sturdier house. This year we took a short cut and bought ready made icing.  And if you want to get fancy, you can make actual windows in your house by using broken up hard candies that melt to make the window panes.)

All About Isaac

Peek-a-boo

This morning was another morning spent in the doctor's office.  We went over the results of the latest biopsies, talked about how good Isaac was for his procedure (no tears), and discussed future treatments.  And I'm sure that some of you would like hear all about it.  Well, truth be told, I'm tired of talking about.

There's a lot more to Isaac than his UC.  I admit that sometimes I get wrapped up in what he ate, how many times he went to the bathroom, and whether or not he got all his doses for the day.  But today we set out to change that.  We packed our picnic lunch and decided to go to the zoo after his appointment.  I made it a point not to rush the kids and to let them decide what we would see and when we would see it.  Of all the animals at the zoo, Isaac requested to see the rhinos, ostriches, flamingos, and reptiles.  And so we spent 3 hours at the zoo, leaving only because we had to be home in time to get brother from the bus stop.  

And so, to continue celebrating Isaac, I'll share a few more tidbits about him and what he's been doing lately.

He's been going to preschool now for 3 months now.  He loves to go and carry his "jet pack" all by himself.  I'm quite pleased with the things he's learning.  His speech has improved and he's identifying and writing the letters of the alphabet.  One of the most impressive things he has pick up on is understanding what it means to be frustrated and to verbalize that he's feeling that way.  And recently he's started to draw things other than scribbles and dots.  Here's a look:

Yep, that's a stegosaurus.  

Isaac is super excited about Christmas.  He's got that holiday spirit.  The other night I took him shopping for things to make a Christmas wreath and some yard decorations.  Whenever he sees Christmas lights or a Santa Claus he exclaims, "Look, Mommy!  It's Christmas!".  I don't mind so much because I know that he's learning about Advent in school and he knows that we're waiting for the birth of baby Jesus.  

At home he's been solving online jigsaw puzzles of dinosaurs, making tons of funny faces, and helping out with laundry and various other chores.  He's learning to play the Wii (which is a little bit hilarious).  He's learning to tattle (not so hilarious).  He's learning that he likes to beat me when we race to do simple tasks, like buckling our seat belts.  And he's learning to tell better jokes.  They're not great, but they're better.  And they're hilarious nonetheless.  

Thanks for all the prayers for our little man.  They certainly have helped.  We have been blessed with a wonderful kid.  Wonderful just the way he is!

Pictures and Prayers

Our camera broke before our trip to Houma to visit family this Thanksgiving.  Fortunately for us, we are blessed to have a generous Poppa who helped us to get a new one.  Here is our Thanksgiving in pictures:

And say a prayer for our littlest man as he will be having a colonoscopy this Tuesday.  You can also say a prayer for the clear liquid diet that we have to do tomorrow.  Lord knows that's no fun even with a bag of jolly ranchers and some gatorade...

Bon Appétit!

For weeks I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and finally, we have arrived.  We are officially enjoying our Thanksgiving vacation!

Last week the boys both enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast at their schools.  Isaac's class had a very age appropriate feast with turkey cubes and pumpkin cupcakes.  He had a great time and brought home a feathered headband and three sweet corn sprouts that he planted at the beginning of the month.  Orry's school invited all the parents and siblings to join the students for a Thanksgiving feast provided by the cafeteria.   I wasn't too thrilled about taking the two little ones to a crowded cafeteria to eat cafeteria food, but it meant a lot to Orry that we go, so we signed up for 3 meals.

We ended up not making it to Orry's lunch.  Isaac's doctors appointment ran long and we ended up stuck in traffic due to an accident.  We did get to see Orry finishing his lunch and decided to take him home early so that we could start enjoying our vacation that much sooner.

Our baked stuffed pumpkin!

This week we are going to travel to Louisiana.  We will dine on a wonderful Thanksgiving feast cooked by my wonderful mother.  And so we have come to the topic of this blog.  Holiday foods.  Yummm...I'm salivating already.

Now, I've never cooked a Thanksgiving dinner.  So I won't be giving you any pointers on getting that done.  But I will give you a few ideas of things you can make that sure bring about that holiday feast feeling.  These are things that we've made over the past couple of weeks.  Things to bring about that holiday cheer.  The aromas that fill the air.  The familiar tastes that come once a year.  Let's get to it already.  I'm drooling.

Mulled Cider

You will need:

• 1 gallon of apple cider (filtered or unfiltered)
• 1 Tbsp of honey
• 4 Tbsp of mulling spices (Best bargain is to find this in the bulk spices, if you can.)
• 6 cinnamon sticks
• cheese cloth and string (for the mulling spices)

After you tie the mulling spices in a square of cheese cloth (or use a tea ball), add everything to a large pot and boil for 20 minutes.  If you would rather do it in a crock pot you will need to make sure you use filtered apple cider and cook it on high for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  

Either way, it's delicious when consumed warm on a cold evening!

Baked Stuffed Pumpkin

Here's the recipe that I sort of followed.  I did take some good ideas from the recipe.  They are 1) that you should bake it at 350 for 2 hours, 2) that the pumpkin should be filled to the top (don't leave any room), and 3) that the amount of liquid you use should make the mixture look moist, but not like it's swimming.  That being said, here's what I put in mine:

• 1 lb bulk pork sausage, cooked
• 3 cups rice, cooked
• dried currants
• 2 diced apples
• cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, oregano, salt, pepper
• 2 cups Italian cheese blend
• spinach and arugula
• enough milk to make it look moist
• note: I used a medium sized pumpkin.

The basic idea is this.  Cut the top of the pumpkin off and clean it out really well.  Generously salt and pepper the inside flesh, all around.  Place the pumpkin on a baking sheet or in a large enough casserole dish (parchment should be used to prevent sticking).  In a large bowl, mix all your stuffing ingredients together.  Stuff that sucker.  Put the lid on and bake for 2 hours.  If at the end of two hours you notice that it looks a little too liquidy, take off the top and let it bake for another 20 minutes to bake off that excess moisture.  When you serve it, be sure to get some of that delicious pumpkin flesh in with the stuffing. 

What a treat!  Just make sure you invite guests over if you are making a medium to large pumpkin because this can sure make a lot!

Peppermint Ice Cream

*This recipe is for a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker.  I'm sorry if you don't have one and still want to make this ice cream.  I can't help you.  I can however say that I've loved every minute of having my ice cream maker and consider it to be one of the best investments I've ever made.  And by investment, I mean that we spent 15 dollars on a used one that we found on craigslist.  Cha-ching!

You will need:

• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 tsp pure peppermint extract
• 1 scant cup of crushed peppermint candies

In a medium bowl, whisk the milk and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the cream and extract.  If you would like, you can add a few drops of green food coloring to make it look minty or a few drops of red to make it look pepperminty.  Get your machine together, turn it on, and pour it in.  After 20 minutes, add in the candies.  Let it all swirl around for another 5 minutes.  At this point you could eat it, but it would be like eating really soft serve.  We put ours into a container (32 oz yogurt container holds almost all of it) and freeze it for 2 hours.  That way it scoops nicer.  

Ours lasted almost 24 hours.  I'm sure we could have disappeared it faster than that if we tried.  

I certainly hope that you all have a great Thankgiving.  Break out the sweat pants and feast away!  And if you have time between bites, tell me all about some good holiday recipes that your family is trying this year!

Hallelujah!

My baby girl is growing up.

She's growing up despite how much I try to get her to grow down.

She can put on her shoes (and yours if you're not looking) all by herself.

She can run really fast (into the street if you're not looking).

And now she can use the potty!

I have no potty training horror stories to tell this time around.  No poop trail starting upstairs and ending downstairs.  But we are fairly new at this.  Maybe I'll spare you the details of our adventures, if there are any "adventures" in the future.  

Troy finally convinced me to start in on the training.  We had 2 or 3 days of cleaning up puddles, but here we are, 2 days with no accidents and counting.  I'm really amazed at how easy it's been with her.  But then again, she's got two brothers to look up to.  And she really digs their under-roos.  I just don't know if Hello Kitty can compete with Lightning McQueen.  

So here's to you, my big little girl!  (Just don't flush a whole roll of toilet paper down toilet when I'm not looking)

Pass the Manners, Please

Brothers will be brothers, but this is getting ridiculous.

Orry can't seem to keep his hands and his feet to himself.  Lately we've been seeing an increase in hitting and punching, and kicking and screaming.  Pass the Tylenol, please.

So in an effort to curb the negative behavior, we've grounded Orry from the computer for one week.  The punishment started yesterday and already we've learned two things.  1) Orry really likes the computer.  I think we've really hit him where it hurts, so to speak.  And 2) Seven days is like a lifetime to a young kid.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to hear the phrase "Can I get on the computer now?" about 10 times a day for the next 6 days.  Pass the wine, please.

Now the challenge is keeping his mind off the computer and getting him interested in doing other things.  Good thing the weather is beautiful these days.  We have the option of spending time outside in the warm sunshine and cool breeze.  Oh, the joy of the short fall season here in the South.  Other things to do include sorting all of our LEGOs (can you hear me rolling my eyes?) and homework.  Homework.  Homework, homework, homework...

I was never really keen on homework.  I remember completing assignments minutes before they were due.  And for some reason, I didn't really think that kindergartners would have homework.  I was wrong.  Wasn't the first time.  Won't be the last.  

This last Monday, Orry's class had a "big" project due.  It was about community helpers.  He had to pick a community helper that he would like to be when he grows up and he had to report on what the helper does, the tools he uses, and how he contributes to the community.  I read off the list of community helpers that was given as an example.  Computer technicians, no.  Landscapers, no.  Flight attendants, no.  So I asked, "Well what do you want to be when you grow up?"  A paleontologist.  Excellent.

So here is a clip of him practicing. 

It's too bad that we can't have worked on the project this week.  Would have been a nice way to pass the time.  But there is always more work to be done.  Addition, reading comprehension, penmanship.  Or maybe the best thing we can do for the next 6 days is work on our manners and listening skills.  Pass the straight jacket, please.

The Land of Plenty

Houston is a big city.  The Land of Plenty.  On any given day, there are handfuls of things to do. Yesterday was a prime example.

HMNS had a dino day going on.  There was a farmer's market, an International Festival, a British Festival, a couple of movies playing at different outdoor venues, and the AHA Houston Heart Walk.

There was no way that we could have done all those things.  Let's not forget that weekends are a chance for finishing that long list of things that should have been done during the week.  Like recycling, grocery shopping, and buying new shoes.  So we could really only choose one special thing to do.

Lucky for us, the choice was easy.  We had a few filters that the event had to pass through in order to be chosen.  Firstly, we wanted to do something on the southwest side of town.  We wanted to meet up with some lovely friends in that neck of the woods, so that narrowed it down to two things: the farmers' market and the International Festival.  Secondly, it had to be cost effective (i.e. free).  The International Festival was free.  The farmers' market was technically free, but you know that we would have spent money on ugly tomatoes and local honey.  And finally, it had to be kid friendly.  The International Festival won since it was put on by the Fort Bend ISD and meant to educate children and showcase the diversity of the school system and community.

The kids had a great time.  They had "passports" and collected stamps.  They collected little knick knacks (which are knick-knacking up my house as we speak...) from various countries.  We even squeezed in some arts and crafts before we had to move along on to the next tasks.

Recycling was next.  And then the kiddos finally got to meet little Miles.  And lastly, I managed to get our grocery shopping for the week done.

But we never could have packed our day clear full.  Nope, not this last Saturday.  There was no way that we were going to miss the LSU/Alabama football game.  And boy, are we happy that we didn't!  Troy and I just love a good football game.  We especially love a good LSU football game.  And hopefully our kids will love LSU football as much as we do.  And according to this article, they are likely to.

So we donned our purple and gold, and we got our shoutin' voices ready.  We were ready for the fight.  I'm sure that if you watched the game and weren't invested in the team like we were, you probably would have found it to be a little boring.  There were no touchdowns and the score stayed tied for most of the game.  But me, I'm invested.  At various times throughout the game I was holding my breath and wincing.  At other times I was jumping and screaming.  During overtime, I was doing all of the above.  My kids were trying to sleep and pleading with me to stop yelling.  Oops.  But in the end, we won by 3 points.  Not much, but it was plenty enough for me.

Geaux Tigers! #1!!!



I can't wait for next week.  I don't know what's in store, but I'm pretty sure that we'll find something to do!

The Line Up

We had a Luigi (minus the mustache because a certain little boy complained to the point of tears about how itchy the glue was on his face).

Look at that shiner.

Our resident Pterodactyl was present.

And bringing up the rear were the Bees.

There was Baby Bee.

And Momma Bee and the Beekeeper.

Can you see our grumbly bee?

We had a great Halloween.  Troy took all the kiddos door to door while I made dinner and handed out candy.  We finally had to turn out the lights since we ran out of candy and had to put the kids to bed.  October was a lot of fun, but alas, on to November!

Black and Blue, and Bitten, Too...

Two of my three kids look a little monstrous on this Halloween day.  They are so timely...  It's just too bad that their costumes are already done. 

Otherwise, Orry could go as a boxer.

On Friday, Orry was running during recess and fell, face first, on the blacktop.  I got the dreaded call from the school nurse, who explained what had happened and told me that she gave him an ice pack.  I didn't have to go and get him, but I was warned that his face was already bruised and swollen.  

And Annie could go as a mild version of Sloth from The Goonies.

Our last significant rainfall here in Houston was on Oct. 9th.  And with that rainfall came the hatching of flood water mosquitoes.  Annie must be very sweet because she surely got bitten about 4 or 5 times all across her forehead.  One of the bites happens to be on her eyebrow.  She has a bad reaction to mosquito bites and swells a lot.  I think I'll have to douse her in bug repellent before we go out tonight.

Luckily, Isaac is still looking like Isaac.

This is about as close as he will get to looking like a monster this Halloween.  

I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!  Be safe and be sure to brush and floss before going to bed.  And beware of large mosquitoes and menacing blacktop while you're out there!

Star of the Week

Orry Becker: Star of the Week

Canoeing with Dad

Woot, woot!!  That's my boy!

Now, I know I'm making it seem like he's won some award.  And while I believe that he is capable of winning all the awards in the entire universe, that is not the case (this time).

Orry's kindergarten class has been picking a student every week to be Star of the Week.  The child that is chosen must bring a collage to school that describes who they are.  During class time, said child will be able to talk about things on their collage so that their peers may get to know them a little better.  Other perks that come with being Star of the Week, being the "line leader" for the whole week and having your favorite book read during class time.

This week it is Orry's turn to be the star.  How was he chosen?  Turns out that last week was Bethany's turn to be the star.  At the end of that week she had to pick someone to go next.  She chose Orry because they are friends and because girls have to pick boys (and visa versa).   So here is the collage that we worked on this weekend:

We couldn't fit all the things that he likes on this half-sized poster board.  We couldn't even fit half of the things that he likes.  But we managed to squeeze in some of the really important things.

So here's to you, my little star!  I hope your classmates get a glimpse at what a wonderful boy you are!  

Deck the Halls With Ghosts So Spooky

It's been four years since we've decorated our house for Christmas.  And this year will make five.

I seems that we are always traveling during that holiday season.  And what's the point of buying and decorating a tree if you won't even be home to look at it.

I don't know what it is that kids love about decorating their houses for holidays.  Something to do with the twinkling lights, I'm sure.  I remember pressuring my own dad to put lights all over our house.  And I remember the sheer joy I felt when he finally got out the ladder and climbed on the roof, risking his neck to hang lights that would only have to be taken down less than a month later.  Ah, one of my happy memories.  Thanks, Dad.

So it comes as no surprise that Orry asked for "bat" lights when he began seeing other houses getting decked out for Halloween.

I love Halloween.  I love costumes.  I love candy.  I love Halloween.

So this year we have traded our "Christmas Decorating Fund" for a "Halloween Decorating Fund".  We carved our pumpkins with spooky ghosts and kitty-bats (Thanks, Grandma Tammy!).  We hung spider webs on our fence posts.  We even replaced our porch light with a black light.  We've got an orange string of lights for the porch and a spider string of lights for the window.  Our costumes are ready, though I won't tell you what they are just yet.  Okay, okay, here's a small preview because I'm sure you could have guessed it.

Orry had a really great time making our house "spooky".  He really loved putting the spiders in the cobwebs.  His pumpkin turned out pretty great too.  I'm not a 100% sure that the littler kids know exactly what's in store for them.  I am, however, 100% sure that this Halloween will be one heck of a treat!

His "pumpkin face"