Happy Birthday Josiah

This morning, when we arrived at Cracker Barrel for breakfast (you insisted on going there because they have toys), you proudly announced to the waitress that it was your birthday.

"I'm three!" you exclaimed. "See how big and strong I am?"

And you are. Big and strong and absolutely fabulous.

You amaze me every day.

I got all teary eyed when you noticed a man standing on the side of the road after a fender bender and you asked me if we could stop and pray for him. Or when you told me after you noticed your cousin misbehaving that it's not nice to talk about other people when they're in trouble but only to talk about ourselves. Your compassion and empathy goes beyond your years.

You also amaze me with your incredible energy and zeal. Sometimes that's a good thing (like when you excitedly play soccer at the gym or race around the playground) and sometimes that's a bad thing (don't even get me started on that time in the bookstore when you climbed to the top of the bookshelf and dove off while screaming that you were superman). I admit, sometimes it's hard for me to keep up with you, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I love the fact that you're always moving, exploring, questioning, wondering and playing.

You're in a "why" phase now. Everything is a why. Why is the sky blue? Why is broccoli healthy? Why did Jesus get born in a stable? Why did the boy want a girl to go sleighing with him in Jingle Bells? You have a question-- and an answer-- for everything. Why? I'm not sure. But sometimes I have to remind myself that I need to enjoy the moment and not get irritated with the constant why why whying.

Anyway, I'm getting misty-eyed now. I can't believe how fast you've grown up-- and I can't beleive that God has entrusted me with such a tender yet energetic, feisty yet sweet soul. I pray every day that I am up for the job-- and that you channel that feisty energy in a way that glorifies Him.

I love you, Joey. Don't grow up too fast.

Happy Birthday Kate!

Happy Birthday Kate!






My baby turns one today. My baby. My teeny, tiny little "Kitter Kat" (or "Titter Tat" as Joey says) is one year old.

I'm feeling all sorts of things. I'm thrilled that she's turning one. Thrilled to be done with sleepless nights (she started sleeping through the night three whole days ago after a huge and nearly successful effort to be the oldest baby EVER not to sleep through the night). I'm thrilled to be done with baby food purees and pacifiers that fall on the floor and spit-up soaked clothes (mine, not hers). I'm also sad. Sad that we're done with rocking a sleeping baby on my chest (she's too busy to put up with that holding still stuff) and sad that before long, she'll be a walking, talking "big girl" with the attitude to show for it.

One thing I'm NOT feeling is the baby bug (I'm hearing a collective sigh of relief from everyone who has spent any time with me while I'm pregnant). When Joey turned one, I got the baby bug bad. My baby wasn't a baby and I needed another one....and four days later I was pregnant. This time, no way. I'd love another baby, but I know better. I know what it's like to be pregnant with a one-year-old underfoot. I have not forgotten this time.

So, I'm ready. I'm ready to make the transition to a baby-less house. A house where there aren't any sing-songy baby toys or breast pump parts drying on the dish rack. I'm ready to say that I have two kids... not two babies. I'm ready. Even if I wasn't, I don't really have a choice, do I?

Happy Birthday, Katers. I thank God for my precious baby girl every single day... and I fall more in love with you every moment I spend with you. I can't wait to see what this year will bring.

101 Things You Can Do With A Knee Sock

1. Wear it with a plaid mini skirt.
2. Use it as a makeshift exercise band.
3. Cut the toes off for leg-warmer emergencies
4. Fill it with.... OK, who am I kidding. There's not much you can do with a knee sock other than hike it up to your knee and wear it.

My boss (Abby) at Parents Connect just wrote a book called Crafty Mama: Makes 49 Fast, Fabulous, Foolproof (Baby & Toddler) Projects. I ordered it in an attempt to expand my crafty horizons (because my last attempt at crafty-ness ended in $40 wasted dollars and a closet full of half-used craft supplies).


But not this time.... Ta Da! Check out the cool headbands Kate is wearing in the pics. I made them (all by myself!) using knee socks and a silk flower. That's right...a knee sock! Who knew that something so seemingly useless could be so useful. Abby's book is full of fun projects like this one-- easy crafts that you'll actually use (not that a cross-stiched kleenex box cover isn't useful). Cool, huh?

What's next on my crafting agenda? Who knows. Check back... I might just make a sweater out of rubber bands or a pair of shoes out of old matchsticks and bees wax (or maybe not).

Unpotty Training

Do you think it's possible to unpotty train a kid?

I know, I know. Potty training is a milestone... a rite of passage. I should be proud that my son is now a big-boy and has tiny blue boxer briefs to show for it.

But being a mom of a potty trained kid isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Take yesterday for example. I was kindof on a roll. I had both kids out the door and in the car at a reasonable hour. Both kids had clothes on (so what if Joey's shorts were a bit dirty) and both kids had eaten breakfast. I think I even combed Kate's hair.

Before you start patting me on the back, let me just tell you how the cookie crumbled (or the Lighning McQueen underpants unraveled if you will...)

About five miles down the road, Joey said those six dreaded words: "Mommy! I have to go potty!". Gulp. I squeeled into the nearest gas station and ran into the mini-mart with a kid under both arm. I grabbed the key and raced to the bathroom.

My pride in making it that far without an accident was short-lived because when I stepped inside the tiny bathroom and saw the dingy, brown toilet and the filthy, wet paper towels on the floor, I wanted to turn and run. Of course, by now, Joey was doing the dreaded "potty dance" and I had no choice.

As I piled fourteen layers of one-ply onto the seat, Joey grabbed the roll of toilet paper and spun it around, pulling a long string out before I grabbed him and held him haphazardly over the toilet, begging him to pee quickly without so much as touching a single thing. Not a single thing.

We stood there for nearly an eternity, with me balancing a pantless two-year-old on one knee with a baby in my arms and a grimy bathroom key between my chin and my shoulder. I oh-so-calmly cheered my son on as he squeezed out the teeniest, tiniest dribble of pee. I swear. Had he peed his pants, I doubt I would've noticed.

When he finished, he asked for a sticker.

I scrubbed him down with anti-bacterial gel and left before we all caught some deadly infection or worse, he decided he had to pee again.

I'm seriously considering weaning him off the big-boy draws and putting him back into pull-ups. Maybe the under-draw fairy can come get them and trade them for a fancy, new box of diapers. I figure that after a few weeks, he'll forget all about the potty and I can switch out the pull-ups for regular old diapers and go back to my safe (and easy) diaper-changing world. I'll even give him a sticker every time he goes in his diaper without telling me about it.

Picture Perfect

When Joey was little, we took hundreds (OK, thousands) of pictures of him. He cooed. He smiled. He waved. He adored the camera. The camera adored him. You get the picture.

Lately, well, he still adores the camera but it doesn't like him so much.

Late last fall, I tried to find some good shots for our Christmas card photo and realized that Joey hadn't taken a single good shot in months. We had tons of shots of his back, his sprawled legs, his eyelids-- but nothing with him looking at the camera or smiling. Nope, my little boy couldn't hold still for the 2 seconds it took for the aperture to close and the flash to go off.

Never fear... like all good parents, Cam and I had a solution. We ordered a NikonD40X, a fancy-schmancy camera that took 10 shots per second. We figured that even Joey could hold still for 1/10 of a second. We were wrong.

Last weekend, like good Texans, we headed out to the blue bonnets to take pictures. Kate (being young and immobile) smiled and cooed and took about 600 fabulous shots (I swear). Joey, well, that whole 1/10 of a second thing didn't work so well. Not a one. We got a few that were decent, but not a single eyes-at-the-camera, white-toothy-grin shot.

We're still trying. The day my quest for the perfect shot ends, you'll be the first to find out cause I'll blow it up and post it all over my blog and flickr page for all to see. One of these days.

Potty Time

I have a friend (I won't name names) who bought a potty for her two-year-old son, he sat down, tried it, liked it and never wore a diaper again. No offense to those of you who have potty-trained geniuses, but I hate people like that. Those are the type of people whose morning sickness is cured by eating a cracker-- or whose kids stay in time-out just because Mommy said so.

I, on the other hand, have been "potty training" Joey since November. We started out by buying a potty. He didn't like it. Then we bought a firetruck that he got to use only after he went potty. He liked the firetruck but not enough to sacrifice his diapers for it. We bought stickers. He didn't care. We bought jelly beans. I ate them before he had the chance (hey, I was stressed-- this potty training this is hard!).

So, now it's March. Potty time is part of our morning routine. We get up, have a glass (or two) of juice, have breakfast, then head upstairs for potty time. Joey sits (and sits and sits) on the potty while watching a DVD and I nurse Kate. Most days, he sits there for thirty (or even forty) minutes. He never pees. Without fail, he pees the instant I put his diaper on after he gets up.

This morning, the routine was going forward without a hitch (Joey sitting and not peeing, Kate and I watching while she nursed). About thirty minutes in, I saw a look of sheer panic cross his face: He couldn't hold it anymore. Before I could get up (ready to applaud), he whipped his little thing out of the potty, stood up and peed all over the floor. I didn't know whether to cheer (he went ouside of his diaper) or cry (he went on the floor). Either way, I'm looking at this as progress.

When you've been potty traning for five months, anything is progress. Baby steps, right? Baby steps.

Fix it and Forget It

Recently, we've had a lot going on in the evening time. Cam's had games, Joey's had playgroups and we've been trying to go to the gym and go swimming as a family at least once a week. That means that I'm having to find dinners that I can throw in the oven on time-bake that will be all ready when I get home. Sometimes I make things on the weekend and freeze it until I'm ready to use it. Other times I make dinner while the kids are napping and then all I have to do during dinner hour is throw it in the oven. I have lots of favorites, but here's my latest:

Chipotle Stacked Enchiladas:

Sauce:

1 onion (coarsely chopped)
3 anaheim peppers (coarsely chopped)
3 cloves of garlic (whole is ok)
2 cans tomato paste
2 tsp. salt
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (2 is pretty spicy so start with one.. or if you're cooking for kids, omit the chipotles)
1-2 tbsp. adobo sauce (once again, it can get pretty spicy to be careful).

Put onion, peppers and garlic in large skillet. Brown over medium heat about 10 minutes. Put warm peppers and onions and remaining ingredients in food processor or blender and process until smooth. You may have to add water to get sauce to the right consistency.

Enchiladas

1 recipe chipotle sauce (above)
2 cups cooked shredded chicken, beef or pork (I use leftovers!)
20 corn tortillas
1 can black beans
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 fresh tomato (diced)
1 bunch fresh cilantro (chopped)
1 bunch green onions (chopped)

1. Pour a thin layer of sauce on bottom of 9 X 13 pan.
2. Cover sauce with tortillas.
3. Cover tortillas with 1/3 of the chicken, 1/3 of the black beans and more sauce.
4. Repeat three times.
5. Cover entire dish with cheese.
6. Cover cheese with tomatos, cilantro and green onions.
7. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes until warm and cheese is brown.