A Princess and her pet giraffe

Tonight Katie got her first experience with trick or treating. She really enjoyed it. By the end she was jumping up and down with excitement as she waited for kids to come to our door! We did go to a few of our neighbors with her and after she understood that they give HER candy, just wanted to always go to 'one more house'. HA! She was nervous, but really enjoyed knocking on the doors. Owen on the other hand, LOVED being outside. He was constantly yelling hi and reaching for the candy bowls. :)

One cute thing is that before she realized that others gave her candy, we came out to the living room and found Katie stuffing our candy into her bag-she was pretty upset when we asked her to put it back in the bowl. We tried to get her to understand that she got candy when she went to our neighbors, but that didn't sink in until we were finally outside and she had some in her polka dot bag. :)

We tried to get a cute photo of the two of them, but alas it didn't work at all! Either Katie was giving Owen instructions like above, or Owen was lunging for the candy bowl, or somebodies eyes were closed etc. Oh well, they were cute and had a good time.

And finally what other holiday is every front porch light on brightly down the street? What other holiday is every neighbor waiting for you to come knock on the door? What other holiday are the kids walking around with their parents? So even though we are not a fan of Halloween, it is fascinating that this holiday drawls so many folks outside. And it is neat that we got to meet neighbors that we hadn't yet in 2.5 months.

A family first

Dear Katie, you are a super big girl! Your daddy and I decided that this weekend would be a fun time to honor your growing up. And since we know you love "Tink" as your wonderful imaginary friend, we choose to have a movie night with just you! Owen went down to bed and you, daddy and I (Magnolia too) watched Tinkerbell. You LOVED it. Your eyes never came off the screen and it was a treat! We were glad to share that special moment with you. You're doing a great job at growing up. Keep working on kindness, gentleness and being creative. We love you like crazy and to the moon and back. You're our special little 'big' girl. Love, your mommy and daddy

We also ate some homemade apple pie. I was bummed that the crust wasn't that good, but the apples inside were delicious and Yummmy!

Love you big girl!

We worked outside today

planting roses and boxwoods...Owen was helping Daddy dig.

Katie helped a lot too, but then got side tracked by the flowers...

Owen found some more dirt to play in...more sticks to carry and few more rocks to put in his mouth.

And Katie loves the dirty too. If you look closely you will see her pants are filthy and the bottom of her shoes were caked with dirt.

What a happy day! Oh and you can see little skinny blades of grass growing from Justin's overhaul of the yard! :)

A step in the right direction.

We are selling our jute rug that doesn't fit in this new living room space (it used to go in our dining room) and we purchased the rug that we wanted! It is a great deal to pick a carpet remnant and have it bound. If you are in the area and wanting something like this then check out Brentwood Carpet on Capital. We found this 7x9 piece for $70 and it was bound for $2 a foot with a felt pad underneath costing a total of $190! Seriously, for those that have priced this out, $2 a foot for binding is incredible. Home Depot wanted to do it for $4 at the baseline. I was going to buy and have this bound through Home Depot, but when the lady insisted I check with some place else, I thought I'd at least give it a try. I am so glad I did! As I was checking on prices the average price that came back was about $450 for what I wanted. So when we went to Brentwood and found this remnant we were thrilled! If you click on the photo below you can see it is a textured carpet with small loops and shag into diamond shapes. It is super soft and we LOVE it. So thankful for God's provision in buying this piece.
So now all that is left is to buy our couch and chair. And for those that care, I did have two appointments with Brandy at Crabtree Pottery Barn. I don't know if they think I will buy something or not, but I was impressed that I didn't feel pressured to buy their stuff. I went in the store and then they came to the house. Both times I had a list of questions to ask their opinion on. They answered everything with their expertise. I will say that everything they said I could put up, IE like a wall painting or floating shelves could all be found in their store, but I expected that. Now I can go and look around for what they suggested. One other example, I asked about length and style of curtains for our room, the living room and dining room. "Should they match in color and style since our home is small? Should they puddle on the floor? Should we put the curtain rods at the ceiling or just at the window?" All these questions I had been wrestling with... And I didn't feel pressure to just buy their curtains, though they said which ones they thought would be good. They really left it up to me! So I am in search of something like cream velvet at 108" for our bedroom to start. I checked with JCPenny's and found some at a good price on sale. Or I might go with a textured linen. And I just might buy those next month! We will see. Even though we have a envelope of all our Craigslist money it won't last forever-especially after we buy a couch and chair. :)
For sure tell me if you call Pottery Barn and ask them some questions. You could have the same great experience or a completely different one. But either way I'd love to know!

Random thoughts

Why is it that by the time we leave for Church we realize our coffee hasn't been drank. I guess it shows how crazy Sunday mornings can be. I keep asking myself, shouldn't these mornings be calm, quiet and a time to enjoy being a family-going on a quick walk or baking something delicious for a special treat? Instead they are spent rushing around and around and around just trying to leave on time! Ahhh....at least I am thankful for to go cups for coffee and that the body of Christ shows love for even the craziest of us all.

Just washed Owen's crocks in the dish washer. They did come super clean just like the flip flops do when we wash them in there. But do you notice something strange? Yep the top shoe shrunk down to a ity bity size. Weird.

I have taken a lot of photos since we started Picasa and this blog. 21,054 to be exact.

I am super stubborn when it comes to air conditioning. Don't get me wrong it is a wonderful invention! But if we can have the windows open then we will. But it is strange that it is Oct. 28th and the windows are open-ahhh, BUT we are sweating. It was almost 90 degrees yesterday and in the mid 80's today! Still I am thankful to have the breeze blowing through.

I still haven't sold the rocking chair. I am now thinking about who or what ministry might use a wonderful comfortable rocking chair. Maybe I will check with a girls home or something of the sort. I would love it to get used and enjoyed.

We are getting our 1/4 side of beef today! Wahoooooooo. :)

Should we travel somewhere as a family for Thanksgiving? Thinking of doing something just the four of us. But where or what?

Off to do my quiet time. Thankful for the written Word. There is hope, peace and joy.

Will you be my prince?

Journaling-a update of fashion and scheduling.

I have been on a mission, and anyone that reads this blogs knows, to put together a few new outfits and to get my family on a loose schedule. Thanks to Joy, Kristin, Cary (Martha) and Allison the fashion is coming along! And thanks to Robin, Katie, Kristin, Beth, Joy and a few book for their thoughts and help on scheduling. Slowly I am working on this season of life. I have heard it said, the only thing constant is change! So true.

Fashion-I'll post a photo soon of the outfits that I have put together or the few new accessories that I have gathered to complete something. I have also enjoyed purging my closet of those things that I just don't wear. I am amazed that I am still getting rid of stuff from high school. Though those things are almost back in style. ha! Yes, high school was 13 years ago-wow.

Scheduling. Here is what we are currently doing. Things will change I am sure and I want to have the grace to go with the flow. But as of now our days look loosely like this.

*Wake up-between 6:30 and 7 for the kids. (Justin is up by about 6 and I am trying to as well.)

*Breakfast and play time-7-9. I might try to do one chore, plus cleaning up from breakfast.

*Nap/read/get ready-9-10:30. Owen naps, Katie and I read then she plays which is her room time-35minutes. I also do her hair since it is "crazy" in the morning (those are her words) and I get ready. Getting ready also includes some reading for me as well. We also have a small snack to tide us until lunch time around 10ish

*Errands or park/walking/be outside-10:30-noon

*lunch and playtime-noon-1

*Naps(Katie quiet time if she is not tired-one hour)/my to do list- 1-3ish.

*Snack/Outside time/Errands if not earlier-3-4:30

*Dinner prep/chores/(bath time if our day has been challenging)-4:30

*Dinner/clean up-5:30

*Baths/playtime with daddy(this could include our evening walk)-6:30

*Bedtime-7:15 for O and for K- 7:30 if no nap, 8:15 for K if she had had a nap. (tonight was a good example of a nap that affected her bedtime...she finally went to sleep about 9:20! We are still trying to figure out naps/bedtimes)

*Do everything thing I didn't get to earlier in the day-8-10! Sometimes I just sit and stare, if it has been "one of those crazy" days

*Parent bedtime by 10! I wish we didn't need 8 hours of sleep, but that is just reality. I tried to stay up until 11, but I was a zoombie the following days. So I will stick with what our bodies need, and for us it is at least 8 hours! :)

A few thoughts....
-Why do we do room time? Three reasons. One-it is a short amount of time that allows Katie to learn to play creatively by herself. It teaches her how to play through her boredom. Second-it helps her learn to do something quietly. She has learned to be okay by herself and not need people to entertain. Third-she is learning how to be around adults that are having conversations and not need to be the center of attention. For example, when we have folks over for dinner. We can give her the option of, "Listening to adult conversation", or she can sit quietly and read books on the carpet by our table. And forth...actually it is a nice time for me to regroup. There are times throughout the day when I think I will loose my temper, or loose control of my emotions. I need the quiet time for me. It is short and most of the time it is a breath of calm air. I think the scriptures tell us to be still. This time is something for that. Many times I simply pray for a few minutes before reading or getting ready.

*This schedule we are going to try for the next few months. I am sure things will change when Owen drops his morning nap.

Owen you're one year old and

you're amazing. There isn't a day that goes by that we are thankful for our little boy. You've grown so quickly. You've moved on from sitting to crawling and if you had it your way right now you would be running. You're so active! Below are a few things that I want to remember about you right now.

You are always hungry, though picky too. Interestingly, you will eat almost anything when we are at Harris Teeter and I am feeding you turkey or cheese or a piece of fruit to sample. But then if you are in your high chair you demand to have bread, and bread alone. You LOVE bread. A few other things that you like-baked oatmeal, hot dogs, some cheese, crackers, yogurt, pineapple, apples, taco meat, rice, peas and stuffed green peppers.
But you love to drink water. I think you empty your sippy cup about three times a day with just water. That doesn't count any milk.

You are very into riding anything. Your rocking horse, the musical train, the rug rolled up...

You have learned from Katie how to dance and spin in circles. Your ability to hear sounds is amazing. You can hear the ding on the toaster oven and come running. You hear the phone ringing and say hello. You hear the toilet flush and you magically appear beside it. Your ears work well!

You use anything as a phone, walking around saying, hello?

When daddy gets home it is WONDERFUL. We love seeing you run to the door and press your nose against it while yelling loudly.

As the photo shows, you rub your ear and suck your fingers when tired. You still don't sleep well. We are helping you work on this. You need a short nap around 9 am and then a longer one about 1:30. You go to bed about 7:30 and wake up a few times throughout.

You've learned how to give super hugs and open mouth kisses.

If you could you would live outside. It is your favorite place. You love sticks and rocks. You try to put everything in your mouth just to test it out. You love the park, especially the slides.

Discipline. It doesn't seem to faze you. If we tell you no-like the fireplace-and move you away to somewhere else, you are back at the fireplace within 2 minutes. You've had your fingers flicked numerous times for playing in the toilet. You seem to be a bit stubborn.

You love handing us books to read, but then only sit and listen to one page before getting up to hand us another book.

We never saw Katie climb like you do. You try and climb the dishwasher or frig or onto chairs. You still have amazing strength.

You have a great smile-with just about all your teeth.

We love you more and more each day. You are a blessing

Pumpkin Chowder

This is one of my new favorite fall recipes. I LOVE pumpkin, especially Indian River Pumpkins. If you ever get an inkling to cook pumpkin, which is incredibly easy, only buy Indian River ones. Around here Vollmer Farms sells them as does the State Farmers Market-They are about $5 a pumpkin and it yields approx. 8 cups of fresh pumpkin. These cook the best, have terrific flavor and aren't too watery. I buy these in the fall, bake them then freeze in 2 cup amounts to use later-pumpkin pie, muffins, chowder, ice cream... It hands down is better then the can. Really, it makes everything have incredible flavor! (If you don't want to bake your own, a can of pumpkin will work. You can even use frozen squash from your local grocery to make things even faster.)

Pumpkin Chowder
(sometimes called Pumpkin-Acorn Squash soup)

Prep Time: 45 minutes
Other: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Yield: Makes about 8 cups

Ingredients

• 1 medium-size pie pumpkin (about 3 1/2 lb.)
• 1 medium-size acorn squash (about 2 lb.)
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2 tablespoons honey, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 medium-size sweet onion, chopped
• 4 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 4 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1/4 cup half-and-half
• 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°. Cut pumpkin and squash in half lengthwise, cutting through stem and bottom ends. Reserve seeds for another use. Place pumpkin and squash halves, cut sides up, in an aluminum foil-lined shallow pan. (I just pull 2 cups Indian River Pumpkin from my freezer already cooked. I only cook the Acorn squash this way.)

2. Melt butter; stir in 1 Tbsp. honey and 1/4 tsp. salt. Brush cut sides of pumpkin and squash with butter mixture.

3. Bake pumpkin and squash at 400° for 45 minutes or until tender. Let cool completely (about 15 minutes). Scoop out pulp, discarding shells.

4. Melt remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add thyme; sauté 1 minute or until fragrant.

5. Stir in broth and pumpkin and squash pulp. Increase heat to medium-high; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool 10 minutes.

6. Process soup, in batches, in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return soup to Dutch oven. Stir in half-and-half, next 4 ingredients, and remaining 1 Tbsp. honey and 1/4 tsp. salt. Cook, over low heat, stirring often, 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve immediately.

TRY THIS TWIST

Kitchen Express Roasted Pumpkin-Acorn Squash Soup: Substitute 1 (15-oz.) can pumpkin for fresh pie pumpkin and 2 (12-oz.) packages frozen cooked pureed squash, thawed, for fresh acorn squash. Decrease butter to 2 Tbsp. Omit Steps 1, 2, and 3. Proceed with Steps 4 through 6, simmering 6 minutes in Step 5 and stirring in 2 Tbsp. honey and 1/2 tsp. salt with half-and-half in Step 6. Hands-on time: 30 min.; Total time: 55 min.

Note: We tested with Publix Cooked Squash. Be sure to use unsweetened squash puree for best results.

Southern Living, OCTOBER 2009

Hello?? Hello??

It is amazing what little kids pick up on. Owen LOVES to walk around the house, using anything that resembles a phone to say hello and talk to Daddy! Katie does this too, so between the three of us it is not surprising that Owen has decided to mimic us. It is pretty darn cute!

Love this one year old. :)

Creative

I guess Katie couldn't wait for me to help her get some cold water! She did tell me she knew how to do it herself. I guess she does. Notice that she is CLIMBING up the bottom of the freezer to do this...

(And does anybody else think it is weird that we have to open the frig door to dispense our water-the dispenser is INSIDE the frig? How much cool air escapes that way? Doesn't it cost more money this way? Strange)

Thankful

Thankful. Thankful for a date night with my husband. Thankful that the kids had a great time with Rachael and Hannah our sitters. Thankful that our sitters decided to give up their Friday night for us. Thankful to live in town and try out restaurants around our house. Thankful for Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Thankful for cool fall evenings. Thankful for this season in our life. Thankful to do life with you, my love!

And below...we tried Chubbys Tacos. A good alternative to Chipolte, though not much really compares to Chipolte-its our favorite hands down. But Chubbys is good. Much different the the lime rice and spicy chicken at Chipolte. They have different salsas on their salsa bar. The queso was good. And my tacos were yummy. It tasted a bit more like a 'normal' Mexican restaurant with the simple beans and rice.

And I stole this photo from Lindsey. Just wanted to remember my Pumpkin Spice Latte-Delicious!

Amazing...

It is amazing what comes out of the mouth of our three year old! Here are a few things we have heard this week.

Mom, I want to go see Catie Beth.
Okay.
She lives in Africa.
Really?
Yes, and that is where Walmart is too. Catie Beth and I live in Africa and we are going to Walmart today.
Okay have fun. I didn't know Walmart was so far away!

Katie, Owen can't have any chips.
Why?
Well, he doesn't have enough teeth.
But I do?
Yes, you can have chips, just make sure you chew them up carefully.
I will chew carefully. I have 55 teeth and that is why I can have chips. And you and Daddy have 55 teeth too!

Katie, do you want to pray tonight at bedtime?
Yes!
Okay you can start and I will finish.
Dear Jesus, I don't have ANYTHING to pray about.
Katie, is there anything you can be thankful for?
Dear Lord, thank you for...........(and she pretty much listed the entire world).

Kansas with Nana, Papa, Uncle Drew and Aunt Brandi

I love my Nana! And do you see that great big smile on Katie's face? Yep, Nana took Katie down to the American Girl Doll store. She had a blast. She also came back with a new outfit for Magnolia and a crib. Yes, I traveled home with a baby doll crib!

We played a lot of dress up! I tried taking a photo of Katie, but she wouldn't wear her dress high enough to post the photo. I think we will have a modesty talk soon. :)

Owen played with all the decorations! Sorry Nana!

They both helped Nana do her hair before she left for work.

We watched Uncle Drew #38, play his freshman football game. Katie kept yelling, "Go Drew, Go Drew!" no matter if he was on the sidelines or in the game. Pretty cute. She did wonder why there wasn't any popcorn or a band playing or the cheerleaders cheering. It is hard to explain to a three year old why they don't come to a Wednesday afternoon game. Anyway she stepped in and did the cheering. Can't wait to see what your team does this year, Drew!

And we also got some time with Papa as we watched the game!

And then finally we were glad to see Aunt Brandi and Mr. Silas. We spent time with them at my brothers reception, at my parents house, at Nana's house and at the game. Seriously-that's dedication. We loved that you all worked your schedules to see us-THANK YOU. What a treat!

All in all, time with Nana and Papa was short, but we were GLAD to be with them. Maybe sometime soon we can spend a week at your house. :) Thanks for loving on us so well.

Journaling-I've had it..

So I went shopping, or tried to go shopping. I couldn't decide on anything. I couldn't find the right accessory. I don't know how this clothing thing works. I promise I am trying! I have now decided to shop for ME in Katie's section-ha! I love their little clothes. Okay so I am kidding about wearing her stuff. But anyway...I am going to try again. But anyone want to go with me or be my personal shopper? Just buy some stuff and send it to my house! I know what I want, I just can't seem to find it. Linen skirt, boots, tights/leggings, necklace, earrings, belt, cardigans and a few shirts to layer. I also need some tan pant like slacks, but simple enough to wear with the kids. Shopping is just one of those things that gets me in a tizy!
And on a great side note-Joy, my friend that is now in Scotland sent me TONS of emails with photos of clothes and why they were good ones to look at buying. She is a dream come true-what great help. So I am not needing ideas, I just need to implement them! SO THANKS JOY for the help. I WILL get to H & M to see what they have, and J Crew and a few other stores. And if you ever want to check out a super blog...check hers out! It is filled with great insight and she has a great heart to learn.

Off to do dishes, oh joy.

Katie says...

Grandpa Hime when picking us up from the airport, while we were in Kansas, responded to Katie's comment with, "Oh Boy!"

Katie aptly responded, "Grandpa, I am NOT a boy! I am a girl!"

He did this twice and both times Katie corrected him!

Justin said this last night and again Katie told him that she was a girl!

Hehe this girl is literal!

A Family Date

We decided to go to the North Carolina Zoo in Ashboro last Saturday. It was a beautiful day. It was fun to be outside. The about two hour drive was pleasant. And finally the kids enjoyed it and so did we! We got to see just about every animal the zoo has! Plus it wasn't that crowded, a super bonus. We saw both Africa and North America, rode the tram and walked a ton. Thank goodness for a double stroller! Katie and Owen did great on the trip, Owen sleeping both ways-yay! And last we stopped at an apple orchard and I picked up some apples to make apple sauce-yummmmmy. :)

Owen LOVED sitting on the Rhino. Katie, as you will see, would only sit on the tail.

Katie favorite part was the carousel
and watching movies on the way there and back. When asked she never mentioned the animals!
But her favorite animal was the river otter.
Owen loved the Elephants.
Justin loved the large lion.
I loved the puffins.

Side note-I want a new camera. I am tired of messing with this one and not getting anything close to what I desire. I also want more time to play around with photography. But alas, that will come with time! At least I have a camera. :) Counting my blessings!