What would you do?

Do you ever watch that show What would you do? Well, Theo and I watch it sometimes and it always makes for interesting conversations afterwards. Today, I felt like I was the bystander and then later the "victim" in that show. So here's how it went down....it was just one of those weird days....

This morning, I went to one of the public libraries and as I was getting the stroller out, I hear a man yelling from across the parking lot. I look over and it was an old man (I'm talking white hair, handicapped parking place, etc) yelling at this woman, cursing at her, calling her stupid, the whole nine yards. At first I thought it was his wife and they were having a big fight. But the woman is getting in her car with him right literally an inch away from her and he's not getting in. So then, the man's wife comes out of the library and asks what was wrong. He replies "She hit the d*+#n car!" And muttered some other choice words. Well, as the woman in the car drives off, the wife starts beating on the hood of the woman's car. I think the woman just dinged the car door because she wasn't even driving yet and it was about to get her assaulted. I was appalled! I kept thinking how horrified if that was my husband acting that way! I told a librarian what happened just in case the woman files a police report or something. I kept waiting for John Quinones to pop out of the bushes with a t.v. crew and ask me why I didn't get involved!

So this afternoon, I took the kids to the park literally across the street from our house. After a while at the park, I saw a loose dog, about the size of a German shephard near our house. I watched it for several minutes and the whole time I could see what was about to happen. It kept looking at us and finally after about 5 minutes, it crossed the street and ran toward us. I told Carter to get on the playground equipment and stay up there while I grabbed Olivia and held her. The dog took off running over to us and I turned my back to him to protect Olivia and it started jumping on top of us, almost knocking us down. Isaiah, praise the Lord, was safe in the stroller. The dog never bit us and was probably a friendly dog but jumped on Olivia and me repeatedly. I couldn't even walk because the dog was on top of my back. Olivia was screaming. I was screaming "Help us". The people in the house 10 feet from where we were are sitting at their dining room table (I can see them because the blinds were open) and I'm waving and screaming to them to help us and they never even came out of the house. This went on for probably one or two minutes. Two cars pull up finally and one woman gets out and asks us if we need help. At the same time, a man pulls up and gets the dog for us and puts it in his truck (it wasn't his dog). Then a lady jogging on the trail behind the park came over to us and asked us if we needed anything. Once the dog was gone, I realized everything was fine. But I am so angry at the people just sitting in their house not doing a single thing while a large dog is jumping on top of me and my small daughter. I am so tempted to go knock on their door and give them a piec of my mind. But what good would that do? Probably not much.  Again, I kept waiting for t.v. crews but none came...fortunately for me this time because I was a hysterical wreck. Poor Olivia is still terrified and doesn't want me to put her down. I have a feeling it will be a while before we can go back to the park. But we are safe (angry but safe) so that's all that really matters. God protected us and I'm so thankful all of my babies are unharmed!

Brothers

My two favorite (little) fellas in the whole world!

Fabulous Food Friday: From my girl Paula!

Y'all know I LOVE Paula Deen. Well, unfortunately, my sweet husband isn't as a big as a fan since he's a Yankee and all. He always laugh when I watch her on tv because he's amazed by how much butter she uses. I finally found a butter free recipe. Of course, it's pot roast which doesn't typically contain butter but he was still surprised!

This was by far the best roast I have ever made. I had been making roast in a crockpot but they always turned out so dry. So I switched to baking them and it works much better. I'm pretty sure I've posted a different roast recipe before but this one was amazing! It was still moist after a couple of days and the gravy was delicious.

So, here you go....

Ingredients

• 1 (3 to 4-pound) boneless chuck roast
• 1 teaspoon House Seasoning, recipe follows
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup thinly sliced onion wedges
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/4 cup red wine (I used cooking wine but I imagine it would have been much better with real red wine!)
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules
• 3/4 cup water

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the House Seasoning, salt and pepper to a small bowl. Rub seasoning into the roast on both sides. Heat oil in a large skillet and brown the roast, searing it on both sides. Place the meat in a roaster pan. Add onions and garlic to skillet for 1 to 2 minutes to absorb leftover roast juice. Place into roaster pan with meat and bay leaves.

Combine the mushroom soup, wine, Worcestershire sauce and bouillon into a bowl. Pour over the roast. Add water.

Cover pan with foil and bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until tender.

Remove and discard the bay leaves.

*Cook's Note: If the gravy is not thick enough, remove the meat from the pan and pour the gravy into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and thicken it by adding 2 tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup cold water, stirring constantly.

Manitou revisited

Saturday, we all went down to Manitou Springs. The weather was beautiful. And despite my taking two coats for everyone, we didn't even need a coat! The kids did very well and Isaiah literally slept the entire time. We perused some shops, ate at Marilyn's House of Pizza (where everything was adorned with Marilyn Monroe paraphenilia....almost to the extreme of a stalker fan but I digress), and then took the kids to the park down there.

The kids LOVED this giant swing

 Daddy letting Olivia go down the big kid slide

Carter loved climbing on the rocks the most

 Me trying to keep up with Livie and daddy taking pictures of us unbeknownst to me

We'll definitely have to go back this summer!

I breathe in the sweet scent of new babe
I feel your chest rise and fall
Your tiny body fits so perfectly against me
As if you were created to fill that space precisely
I stroke your soft, baby fine hair with my cheek
I hear your quiet little grunts and feel your breath on my skin
My heart offers up a love song to God
Grateful for your life
Grateful for my love for you
Nothing is more perfect at this moment
You sleeping on my chest

Fabulous Food Friday

I have been cooking quite a bit lately. Although it has been challenging with three little ones and the "witching hour". I have been trying to find quick yet tasty meals to make, and this tangerine orange spicy beef recipe I adapted (when do I not?) definitely fit the bill.  The great thing about this was that I had all of the ingredients on hand except for the meat. Well, that and of course the tangerine!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 pound flank steak or tri-tip, cut in thin strips on the bias
• 2 tablespoons dry sherry
• 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed tangerine juice
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 1/4 tangerine, zested
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Directions

In a resealable plastic bag combine the soy sauce and cornstarch and mix well. Add beef, cover, and let marinate for 20 minutes in the refrigerator.
Whisk together the sherry, hoisin, honey, soy sauce, chili sauce and tangerine juice until completely combined.
In large pan or wok, heat oil on high. Add the ginger and beef and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add sauce mixture and cook for another 2 minutes on medium heat until sauce thickens. Serve on warm platter, with scallions, tangerine zest and sesame seeds.

I found the recipe here. The only things I really changed were I used an orange instead of a tangerine, and I left out the sherry and sesame seeds. Theo really liked it! He doesn't get too excited very often about my cooking (in his defense, he doesn't get excited about much!) but he really liked this recipe. It was super easy. The longest part was chopping up the meat. I served it with rice, corn casserole, and another great broccoli recipe from Barefoot Contessa that you can find here.

A must try and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

from our little leprechaun's....

At any given moment....

you may find a load of laundry piled on the coffee table

or bottles that need to be washed

or the table covered with the "playdoh" mat yet being used not for playdoh but other things.

You will almost always find an abandoned box of crayons somewhere and scattered throughout the house

a desk covered with random things

and artwork that covers our windows and walls

because this is what makes our house our home.  I am surrendering. I am letting go of the idea of perfectionism. I will not have a model home. There will be crumbs on the floor, crayon marks on the walls, fingerprints on the windows. I will say "yes" more, get upset over cleaning up messes less, and let our kids be kids. I will teach them responsibility without making them feel guilty for having fun. I will let the dishes pile up in order to go outside and blow bubbles with my kids. I will save the laundry for later when my newborn just wants to be held. I will be on the computer less so that I may read more stories to Carter and Olivia. We will watch less tv and play more boardgames together.

What legacy will I leave for my children? Will they remember their mom as always yelling at them for getting playdoh on the floor, for getting ketchup all over the table, for a trail of cracker rooms that extends the length of our entire first floor? Or will they remember a mom who made tents in the hall, sat down and colored Dora coloring sheets for an hour, let them help cook in the kitchen, danced around to Veggie Tales songs, and read stories and tucked them in every night?

I am letting go of the small stuff so that I may make more room for the bigger things. These moments are but a breath. Inhale slowly.

A house divided

a house full of diapers anyway......

Our weekend

Friday Theo only worked a half day which was so nice! We had a playdate that morning with Kelly and Guy and right as they were leaving, Theo got home. It's so nice having him home :) He spent some time outside trying to fix my CD player in the truck, which has been broken for months. The CD that's stuck in there is a WOW Christmas CD (not something I necessarily want to listen to in March!)

Saturday we did our usual errand running to Target. We went to see this new gym in town that they are building and should be complete in May. But despite all of it's fancy newness and huge facility, I just don't think I want to leave the Y. You have to make childcare reservations there 48 hours in advance they only take 8 infants at a time. They are expecting 4000 people to join so I'm sure there will be more than 8 infants there at a time. There is no indoor track for Theo and no raquetball courts. Besides, the pool at our new Y is really nice and probably not that much different than anything else. So we'll see. When it opens, I may change my mind but based on the virtual tour, I don't think I want to spend the extra money at this point.

Saturday night we went out to eat with some friends (some of whom I haven't seen in a few years) and then went bowling afterwards. Isaiah did surprisingly well and slept almost the whole time. I kept waiting for a drunk bowler to spill alcohol on him since he was on the floor in his carseat but all went well and we had a good time. Shane and Kelly were there which was so nice because they helped us with Olivia. She (Olivia, not Kelly!) kept trying to run down the lane and I was afraid she was going to be a human bowling pin! :) We didn't get home until after 9:00 which is really late for us these days but all the kids did well. Carter was his normal crazy hyper self around our friends but other than that, I really can't complain.

 I wish I had brought my camera but we don't travel light these days so anything I can leave behind, I do!

On Saturday, this little one also turned 18 months old! Can't believe she's a year and a half old! Six more months until her second birthday. That is just crazy :)

Sunday was my day to volunteer at church. I was dreading it a little since we stayed out so late and it was the time change. But Isaiah and I made it there right on time and the ladies I volunteer with were so happy to see me since they were short of adults yesterday! They kids even said prayers over baby Isaiah and it was just so sweet. I love the children's ministry at church because they are really teaching the kids how to have a heart for God.

 Carter woke up with a cold so we let him skip church yesterday and school today because I'm pretty sure he had a fever this morning.

 I can't say for sure because I can't find our non-rectal thermomenter!

At this moment, all of my kids are napping. I am listening to a Hillsong CD, and for a few minutes, there is peace. There is a quietness not frequently known by this home. There are children with sweet dreams floating through their minds. There is a lull of the baby swing as Isaiah rocks quitely back and forth. Today, I am grateful for this moment.

Preview of Summer

I haven't had too much to blog about lately.....Theo's been really busy at work this week. I've been going to the Y alot and Olivia is finally happy there again. Tuesday the kids and I met Amy and her boys for dinner at Champs. It was fun to get out of the house but with five kids four and under, it was a bit chaotic :) They are coming over this afternoon because the weather here is absolutely gorgeous!!

After we got home from the Y today we played outside in the backyard for almost an hour. That was after the hour the kids spent playing outside while at the Y. We are soaking up some sun. Olivia is mastering how to walk on the rocks that are in the backyard. She also pushed her lion around outside but found it was much harder on the grass than inside on our floors!

Carter and I played frisbee for a while.

Doesn't he look so grown up? I think this is his "macho man" pose. He wanted me to take a picture of him like this :)

 It has been a great day.

This little one turned five weeks old yesterday and is doing well. Soon he'll be out soaking up some sun too!

My dad sent Isaiah a package and has some of THE cutest things in it! We're already preparing for SEC football this year and now Isaiah has some LSU things to wear. I'll take some pictures of everything soon and put them on here. My dad has great taste!

Isaiah

Just some photos I've taken of my littlest man during his first month of life....

One Month Old!

I can not believe I gave birth to my sweet little man a month ago today! I pushed him out of my womb and into this world in what seems like only moments ago.  Even though the first few nights seemed neverending, the time has gone by so fast since then.

Little Isaiah, your brother and sister just love you! They both love kissing you and trying to give you hugs. Olivia has even started licking your face. Carter tells you everyday how cute you are and how much he loves you. When you're cranky, Carter will try and soothe you by saying "Baby, baby, shhhhh". It's soooo sweet. They are both adjusting to you quite well. Your big sister will occassionally get jealous when I'm nursing you but other than that, she can't get enough of you.

At one month old, you:

- weigh about 7 pounds and 13 ounces according to our home scale

-are nursing about every 3 hours but need more frequent feedings during the "witching hour"

-are peeing and pooping constantly and I frequently have to change your outfits because you've peed through your diaper! :)

-are a pretty happy baby but prefer to be held

-refuse to sleep in the pack and play. I think you love the plushness of mommy and daddy's pillowtop mattress and sleep so soundly in our bed. You still don't have a crib yet but will hopefully get one soon

-sleep pretty well at night most nights and nurse every 3 hours at night

-have had your first "cold" and also got started on reflux medicine which seems to help you feel better

-have been all over the place and run lots of errands with momma and are always so happy asleep in your carset

-enjoyed your first visit with Omaw and loved her holding you all the time

-are so alert when you're not sleeping and love to look around. You like to look at the fan, can follow faces, and respond well to sounds

-can hold your head up briefly when I have you up against my chest

-can turn your head side to side when on your tummy

-are still the spitting image of your brother and we can't wait to see how you will resemble him when you get older

Isaiah, you can not imagine how much joy you bring to your family. We feel incredibly blessed to be your parents. I am trying to slow down, take the time to hold and rock you for I know this stage is only but a breath and before long, you will be a big boy. We pray we teach you how to have a heart for Jesus, even from a young age. We love you more than the world. Happy one month birthday little man!

18 months old!

March 12th marked Olivia's 18 month old "birthday". All day Carter kept saying "Mommy, Olivia is 18 months old today. You can't believe it?" No Carter, I most certainly can not believe it.  I can still remember holding her for the first time and her snuggling up against my chest. I can still remember how tiny she was and much she favored my grandma when Olivia was first born. I can still remember the drive home from the hospital and those first few nights. And now 18 months later, so many things have changed yet so many have stayed the same.

Olivia enjoying her St. Patrick's Day cookie :)

My sweet Olivia, at 18 months old you:

-have finally mastered walking and do seem much happier to have free roam of the house on feet instead of knees!

-are still a really good eater and not afraid to try new things

-weigh about 21 pounds but feel and look heavier. You have chunky little legs and a kissable chunky little neck (I don't know where you get that from!)

-love both of your brothers very much and love to lavish your kisses on them

-wear a size 4 diaper when in disposables, a size 5 shoe, and really need to be in 24 month clothes now

-talk all the time although we don't always understand you. Your favorite words are still dada, bubbles, bubba, "dis" and "dat" (this and that) "doos and docks" (shoes and socks) more, "da doo" (thank you), "duce" (juice) and a whole lexicon of toddler words

-love the new show Bubble Guppies and scream "bubbles" over and over when it comes on

-love to play outside

-love to look at books

-love to go to the park but you mostly sit and put wood chips in your mouth

-are finally doing better at night. You will often still wake up and cry for a few minutes but we aren't having to go in a check on you anymore

-wake up almost every morning in such a good mood

-are getting six teeth all at the same time. When they are all in, you will have almost all of you baby teeth. It makes you miserable but Motrin makes you feel much better!

-love bath time and love to put your face in the water which makes mommy and daddy very nervous!

-are into EVERYthing right now! You have pulled several things off the table, including a full glass of water the other day and it splashed right in your face. You weren't too happy about that. We are learning to move all things to the center of the table :)

You are the light of our lives. We love having a precious princess in the house and all of the joys that go along with having a daughter. We couldn't ask for a more beautiful little girl who fills our hearts with overflowing love. We are so proud to be your parents Livie Bell!

Highlights of our week with Omaw

Hi again! I have returned from zombie land and am back to blogging once more. The last two and a half days of my visit with mom were spent with both of us very sick with fever, chills, and a stomach virus! Poor Olivia was sick too but she did better than the two of us did.  Anyway, so here is what the rest of our week was like:

As I mentioned in my last post, mom and Meredith helped us celebrate Isaiah with a little Mardi Gras party. It was so sweet and thoughtful and I just cried when it was over.

Monday was Presidents Day. Carter was out of school. Theo was off from work and mom agree to watch all three kids while Theo and I went out on a lunch date.

 I was of course a little worried leaving Isaiah but we were gone for a whole THREE hours and he did great. Theo and I went downtown and ate at King Chef's Diner. He'd eaten there before with some folks from work but I had never been there. The food was great but definitely not diet friendly. Then we walked around and visited some shops we've been wanting to go to. It was great!

Tuesday, I ended up taking Isaiah into the doctor. Sunday night he developed a pretty wet cough and I was concerned even though he didn't have fever. I also thought he was refluxing and wanted to see about getting him on some meds. Carter and Olivia had both had snotty noses so I figured Isaiah had the same cold as them and I was right. His chest was clear so I felt much better and I got him some meds....well sort of. Long story short, we had not added him onto our insurance yet because we had to have his birth certificate. So I spent Tuesday going to the doctor and then getting Isaiah's birth certificate. Theo had to be the one to take the necessary paperwork to his work which ended up not being until Thursday. But now Isaiah is insured and on meds.

Wednesday Carter was back at school. Mom, the younger two kids, and I went to Penney's and I got my first pair of "skinny" jeans. I call them skinny jeans for the not-so-skinny :). I tried on a few pair and one brand I couldn't even get over my thighs. It's not even because I just gave birth because I'm basically back to my pre-pregnancy size (with a wee little muffin top!) but these jeans were so tight there was no way I could have gotten into them....evah!  So after we picked up Carter, we headed to Manitou Springs. When mom was here in September, we went to this little shop and she saw these cute measuring spoons she wanted. Well, I hadn't made it back down there since then so I wanted to get them for her. I couldn't remember the name of the store and as luck would have it, when we finally found it, it was closed. Not for good, but apparently that day. I was so frustrated! Sorry mom :)

Wednesday mom made me another nursing cover in less than an hour. She is fantastic. I couldn't nurse Isaiah under the pink and brown one I used with Olivia. It's bad enough he sleeps in a pink miracle blanket. Ha!

Thursday was cold and by that evening, mom and I were both very sick. Friday and Saturday were pretty much a blur and Theo even had to take mom to the airport because I could barely get off the couch. Sunday I woke up feeling better and actually ate something. Thanks to the stomach virus of 2011, I lost almost all of my baby weight! What can I say, I'm trying to be a glass half full kinda person :)

Lots more pictures of Isaiah to come soon......