Pictures of the Day

I wonder if there is a way to create different pages on blogspot???  It would be nice to have links at the top, so I could have a 365 page, a recipe page, kids page, etc...  I guess I would have to buy my own space to make that happen.

Nothing exciting today, but here are my pics:

I finally let Cohen play in this drawer after months of him trying to break in.  I took all the skewers and metal bristle brushes our first....lol

My silly little dude and I

Lima beans: just about the only vegetable I can get Pierce to eat.

Jan 2nd 365 Project

I realize I'm posting these a day late, but I took them on their original day.  My husband took me to an outdoor shooting range to practice firing our guns and I decided to take some photos while we were there.  Shooting the 9mm was not the most fun for me.  This is probably due more to the fact that I'm still a little scared of the prospect of having to ever shoot one (for self-defense), so I was a little nervous.  It was a little jerky for me, again, due to my nervousness I'm sure.  But the assault rifle, now that was more my style.  Style? That might not be the right word, but it was a lot more fun to shoot then the 9mm.  Anywho, pictures below from the adventure.

I'm not really sure what this is, but it was just sitting on the table

These bullets were also already on the table.  This is my 365 picture.

The hubby getting the assault rifle ready.

Here I am with the assault rifle.  I actually enjoyed shooting this gun.

Until next time........would it be wrong to tell my husband that I actually enjoyed shooting this gun?  Hmmmm......it would probably thrill him.  But, we'll let him think that I didn't until I get much better at it.

Ciao~

365 Project Day One

I started the 365 project last year, but it only lasted about 2 weeks.  With a 3-month-old baby and a 2-year-old, I just couldn't seem to keep up with the daily task of making sure I took a photo every day, upload, and blog about it every day.  So, now it's a whole year later, and I've committed to making it work this year.  One of my other goals is to use these pictures to create a family yearbook that can be bound at the end of this year.....a whole 364 days from now....wow!  And, I would also like to create a video of the year.  In having two small children, this is the perfect opportunity to document something from our/their lives every day.  I'm using the website www.365project.org  (handle is: mommietwoboys)  to keep track of all my photos.  Right now I have 3 albums:  The 365 project, Family, and Miscellaneous.  This is going to be a lot of work--meaning that I will really have to take 3 photos a day--but, this will be my challenge this year.  I think at the end of the year, all my hard work will be rewarded when I see the end results.  Thus here are my 3 pictures:

Family Album: Pierce at the Old Town Fountain

365 Project: Dump truck

Life in the Fast Lane: Baked Parmesan Tomatoes

(this is before I added the cheese and baked them)

Mickey Mouse Birthday Party

My boys' birthdays are only 5 days apart, so we decided to have a joint birthday party to celebrate Cohen turning one and Pierce turning three.  Pierce was obsessed with Mickey Mouse, so a Mickey Mouse Party was in order.  Enjoy the pictures, done by Wendy Childress Photography!

Coming back to the Blog

I decided to try out a couple of different blog sites, and, for someone who isn't very technological, the other sites were too complicated for me. So, I'm back on here.  I find this site to be very simple and user-friendly. Now, if I could tear myself away from all the lesson planning and grading that I have induced upon myself, I would be able to blog a little more.  I moved up to the high school this year, so it's all new curriculum, a new site, and a new grade level.  But, I love it!

Red & Gold!

I am so uber excited for this weekend!  My Niners haven't been in the playoffs since 2002!  I know this will be a great game.  The Saints have the #1 offense in the league and the Niners have the #4 defense in the league--so it should be a good game.  I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.  But, if we are going to lose to a team, I'd rather lose to a good team, then to some crappy @ss team.  So to gear up for this weekend, I'm getting a head start......

RED & GOLD! RED & GOLD! RED & GOLD! RED & GOLD!

Rock Wall

Ever since Pierce watched his buddy, Erik, climb up the rock wall on his swingset, he does it all the time.  I was nervous the first time he started climbing because I was worried about what would happen if he fell.  But, he hasn't fallen yet! =)

Birthday Party

Pierce was invited to his first birthday party today.  Well, actually, he was invited to another little boys party back in October, who happens to have the exact same birthday as Pierce.  Well, he isn't exactly the type of boy I want my son hanging out with, so I didn't take him to that one.  Not to mention that I just had a baby 10 days before that party, so it wouldn't have worked anyways.  Anyhow, this little girl is in Pierce's class and is super sweet, not to mention a cutie patootie!  They had it at an indoor facility where children can play, in fact, it's called Child's Play.  Pierce loves it there, so he had a blast.  We didn't stay the entire time because it ran well into his naptime, but we stayed until the 30 minutes before it ended.  =)

Here is a picture of M&M's.  We use them when Pierce sits on the potty seat and only when he sits on the potty.  He now allos me to take his diaper off and it's amazing what he will do for a few pieces of M&M's.  It's almost like we are at Sea World and he is Shamu and I'm his personal trainer.  He doesn't always sit back on the potty seat so that his wee wee is in the bowl.  But, if I tell him to scoot back on the seat, he does, all while looking at the chocolates in my hand.  Who knew that these colorful little chocolates would do such wonders.  Now, if only he would actually pee in his chair.............  Oh, he will tell us pee-pee sometimes, but he's usually gone by the time we get to the seat........Oh well, it's a work in progress.

Playtime to Sleepy Time

Yes, it's the next morning once again.....I'm a mom of a two-year-old and a 3 month old, what do you expect? =)  Will add comments later tonight!


Pierce goes to a preschool class 3x a week.  I learned rather early on to send him to school in clothes that you don't mind get dirty and may possibly always carry a dirty stain on it.  No better shirt then a football shirt.  As you can see, he had some fun with markers.  Why am I not surprised.

So, after a long day at preschool, he passed out on the couch.  I didn't want to move him because he is so sweet and angelic-looking when he sleeps.  But, I do love carrying him off to bed because I know one day very soon I won't be able to pick him up and carry him to bed. =(

Two of my favorite things!

Cohen has been learning to sit up on his own for quite some time now.  In fact, he has been holding his own head up since he was about two weeks old.  After a while, his head does start to bob like a bobber just sitting in the middle of a lake waiting for a fish to bait.  But, for as chunky as he may be, I am pretty impressed that he is doing so well. 

Surprisingly, the doctor said that the "little" guy (and I am giggling like a little school girl right about now because even he can't be serious about him being "little") has a small head for his big body.  Still not quite sure how he came to this conclusion, but if he says so, then I guess he is right.  After all, I didn't pay $250k to go to college and work 20 hour days, 6 days a week, to pay said college tuition before I can start making money.  So, he must be right.  So, all in all, I am pretty excited for my baby to start sitting up on his own.  Let's face it, it would make my life so much easier.  He likes to be held, but I don't know how many people would like to hold a 13 lb. sack of potatoes all day long.  That is literally what it feels like for me........

So, after holding my chunky butt for a good portion of my day,and  feeling like I've just played the linebacker position for the Green Bay Packers, I get to enjoy this at the end of my day.....

There is nothing that a little Starbucks cannot cure.  Awwwwwwww.............

Good Night Ya'll



Out with the Old....

One of my goals this year is to get my house completely organized.  It's not messy, nor do we have a lot of stuff lying around, it just needs some organization since the storage space in this house is sufficient enough for Jerry the mouse.  One of the first steps is to get all the Christmas stuff packed up (which we did the day after Christmas) and placed into the attic.  Next step, getting rid of all the plants that I received from students and friends.

My sister-in-law gave us a beautiful bouquet of flowers inside of an ornament vase.  It looks like we can use the vase as a candy jar of some sort.  Anywho, the top of the vase is so pretty that this picture does absolutely no justice to it.

Cohen turned 3 months old on Christmas day.  He is officially 25% of the way to his first birthday.  Of course this means that he is now going to start doing more and more things.  Today's picture is of him grabbing onto some of his dangley toys in his new mat that his grandma bought him.  He truly is amazing!

A day late....

No, I didn't forget to take pictures for the 365 project yesterday.  But, after the tornado (AKA Pierce) went to bed, I was so
exhausted that uploading pictures just wasn't in the cards for me.  So, here they are:

Pierce received these shoes as a Christmas present and wore them for the first time to his class yesterday.  When I went to pick him up, this is the shape they were in.  What you can't really see in this picture is that the white sole has a ton of dirt all over them.  The joys of having a boy!  I wouldn't have it any other way.  I guess if God intended for the shoes to be clean after the first day, he would've given me a girl. =)

Yes, I'm a thumb sucker.  What do you have to say about that?  Nothing?? I didn't think so....  I bet my callous is better looking than the one on your foot....heehee

The 365 Project

In my previous post I talked about not having a specific new years resolution, but somehow forgot to mention that I was feeling ambitious enough to take on a new project: The 365 photo a day project.  Hence, the reason I posted two photos to begin with.  I've seen other people start this, to only stop after a month.  I will be honest, I thought about it all darn day and yet didn't take any pictures until it was almost time to put my little one to bed. And, it's only day 2.  BUT, I did get it done and here I am.  My goal is to do two photos a day--one of something random (non specific) and one of my children (either both or one of them at least).  So here are today's photos:

Ok, tomatoes and ketchup.  Your probably thinking, "This is pretty random....what the hell is she thinking?  She must've been really desperate to take a photo of tomatoes and ketchup."  Well, no, not necessarily.  You see, as explained in my previous entry, I am in the process of trying to get my son, Pierce, to eat vegetables.  And, it's been a pretty slow process.  He will suck up his mash-ups until they are bone dry and he is blue in the face, but the solid stuff, he avoids like the plague.  However, he will eat tomatoes with my mom and eat lettuce or spinach out of my husband's salad.  But, even those can be a hit or miss.  So, the other day while he was napping, I made some lima beans.  I was like, I think I'm going to give some to him when he wakes up.  I mean he won't try them, or at least poke at them like it's a dead frog in a biology class, if I don't at least put them in front of him.  Then, I thought, I will give him a bowl of ketchup and see what he does.  So, when he woke up from his nap, I put the lima beans and ketchup in front of him.  To my surprise he ate them--the whole bowl!  He even asked for more.  Apparently, the secret is in the sauce.  So, tonight's menu: tomatoes and ketchup.  He didn't eat them all, he ate about the equivalent to two grape tomatoes, but hey it's something and it all goes to the same place--the stomach.

Now, for picture #2:

Come on!  How can you NOT look at this photo and NOT smile! =)  Babies are amazing!  They have the innate ability to make even the most hardened criminal or ice queen just turn into a pile of messy chocolate goo....

Till tomorrow!

2012....A New Year!

So, it is the start of a brand new year--2012.  Everyone always has great intentions for a new "you", a better and more successful year, to do things that they didn't do last year, etc...  What is the point of a new year resolutions if you have no intention of keeping them?  Shouldn't we always strive to be better in everything we do, at all times?  Does one really have to wait until Jan. 1st to do so?  I think not.

I never make a resolution as I make one every time I wake up.......to not kill my child when he wakes up at the butt crack of dawn and screams like a banchi.  Uh, Pierce, do you think we don't hear you, considering that your door is about 2 feet from ours?  Whomever came up with the term "Terrible Two's" was not joking.  It takes all of my strength and patience to not pull all of my hair out.  Boys are a lot of work!  But, I do love him, that's for sure.

So, in my husbands attempt to bring some peace to our household he created a list of rules for our #1 son:

Yeah, I got a kick out of rule #5--so true!  I'll let you all know how these work out for us.  Something tells me that these will last about as long as it took to write them--5 minutes.  But, hey, us parents can dream, right?

On a lighter note, Pierce really is a sweet boy.  Evidence #1:

Pierce is trying to feed Simba some of his dinner.  And, yes, afterwards, he did brush Simba's teeth.  God forbid Simba was to get tooth decay or need a root canal.  Pierce does have Simba sit on the potty to use the restroom too.  Another thing on our list of things to do with the kids: Potty Train.  I'm not looking forward to this and have no idea where to start.  He will sit on his potty seat, but he won't let us take the diaper off.  Baby steps I guess.  I can see why people say boys are harder to train.  Somehow I think I'll be glad when this is over, just in time to potty train the little one......Sigh.

Happy New Year Ya'll!

Holiday Letters

I'm not a big fan of holiday letters.  People never use them for their original purpose, to update us on their lives--at least the major events.  Most of the time, it just seems that people use them to "brag" or "rub in your face all their good fortunes".  Not that I am opposed to people having good fortune, heck, don't we all deserve and want that? Sure, we do.  But, I don't feel that using a holiday letter to all your friends is the appropriate forum to brag undercover.  So, imagine my surprise when I received a holiday letter yesterday that actually was quite funny and sweet.  It had all the makings of the true purpose of what a holiday letter is supposed to made up of.  It was refreshing to read, made me chuckle, and got me thinking about how great a letter can truly be.

So, if I was to write a holiday letter this year, what would it say?  I can only imagine that it would go a little something like this:

Dear Family and Friends,

This year brought about many changes, many wonderments, new adventures, and a new baby!  Yes, we've only been married for 3 years, and we have two babies.  But, hey, it's not like we are in our early 20's and can afford to wait, have some fun, and make the honeymoon last longer.  Last time I checked neither one of us are getting any younger (darn you time, but thankful to my skin cream).  So, we had to get this machine pumped, cooked, and served.  So, now we are a family of four. 

I basically spent 75% of the year hunched over a toilet, creating fat pockets in places I never knew existed on my body, and chasing a one year old around the house.  Joy to the World! So, there's my changes, my adventures, and my wonderments.  It's amazing how a baby can do all that to ones body, all in a 9 month period.  So, the other 25% of our year has been spent changing diapers, being spit up on (I have somehow become the toilet that I was so accustomed to for the first 75% of the year), getting up several times during the night, being a milk cow on demand, and watching toys fly across the room.  Yeah, a joyous year it has been.

But, you know what people?  I wouldn't trade any of this for the world, okay, maybe the throwing up 10 times a day part, but everything else is worth it when I look at, hold, and kiss my babies.  So, what has the hubby been up to?  Who knows? He disappears from the room when someone is crying or someone has pooped. It's amazing what a little poop can do to a grown man.  I guess I now know the secret of how to get alone time.

Till next year folks!

Yeah, I'm sure my letter would be a lot longer than this, but I can imagine that this would be part of it.  Heck, that took my energy to complete then I can save up in a week.  Yeah, I'm pretty sure this holiday letter stuff is not for me.  I'll just stick to my day job.

Thanksgiving Recipes & Thankfulness

The one thing we should never lose sight of is what we are truly thankful for.  Thanksgiving shouldn't be the only time of year that we gather with our family & friends, the only time we reflect on what we are thankful for, or tell others why we are thankful.  I know that I am forever grateful for God giving me life, a great family, and blessing me with the care of my two absolutely wonderful boys.  Even when I feel stressed with work, my kids, my husband, and whatever else we stress about in life, I know that I am truly more blessed than 98% of the people in this world.  I have a roof over my head, food on the table, an education, a job, and a family who loves me unconditionally.  What more could a gal ask for?  Not much.

Now, let's get onto some recipes, yo!

My favorite food on Thanksgiving is mashed potatoes, I think I could just eat these all day long and be satisfied.  The recipe I am posting will not have amounts next to them as the amounts vary depending on how many people I am cooking for and my own personal taste at the moment.  However, I will steal a picture of potatoes from the Taste of Home website for now--just a generic photo, not one of my potatoes.  Recipe below the photo:

www.tasteofhome.com

Ingredients:

Red Potatoes

Milk

Butter

Sour Cream

Cream Cheese

Garlic Salt

Paprika

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions:

Cube the red potatoes (do not peel) and bring to a boil for approx. 20 minutes.  Drain and put into kitchen mixer.  Add butter, milk, cream cheese, and sour cream.  Beat on medium-low for 2 minutes.  Add in garlic salt, paprika, and cheddar cheese.  Mix for another minute or so.  I usually taste the potatoes as I am mixing to see if I need to add more garlic salt or paprika.  Serve immediately.

I sometimes will put them into a baking dish, top with a layer of cheddar cheese, and bake in the oven at 350 for 20 minutes to give it a nice crisp texture.

Macaroni and Cheese

I absolutely love this recipe I found on a blog!  It has a nice kick to it and is simply delicious.  I will post the picture and link to the recipe.  Now, I am not fond of onions, so I omit them from the recipe.  Enjoy!

Crack-n-Cheese    http://www.azestybite.com/2011/08/crack-n-cheese.html

Baked Parmesan Tomatoes

This recipe has been modified from  www.eatingwell.com website.

Ingredients:

Tomatoes- halved horizontally

Grated Parmesan Cheese

Fresh Oregano or Basil

Salt and Pepper

Dijon Mustard

Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place tomatoes cut-side up on a baking sheet. Place a small drop of dijon mustard in the center of each tomato. Drizzle with olive oil and top with parmesan cheese, oregano or basil, salt and pepper. Bake for approximately 15 minutes.  You can also put these on the grill for a barbecue. =)



The Spongebob Balloon

My mom decided to take Pierce out the other day so that I could have a break.  I definitely needed a nap, and since my little one was sleeping, I was able to do so when she took Pierce out.  Well, they got home around his nap time and I walk into his room while my mom is putting him down for his nap.  I noticed that he has a Spongebob balloon next to his bed--ok, he was hanging onto the string.  My mom was like, "Yeah, I got him a balloon." 

Well, when he woke up from said nap, the balloon was still in his hand.  He came down the stairs and the adventure with the balloon began.

Let's take a look at his day with the balloon:

This is him eating his yogurt for lunch (this is after he came downstairs)

Going back up the stairs after lunch to get a bath

Carrying his balloon and his towel to the bathroom to get a bath.

Yep, you guessed it, the balloon is in the bathtub with him.

In honor of the Spongebob balloon, we put in a blue and a yellow bath fizz tab.

Walking back to his room after his bath

All dressed in his jammies and ready to head back down the stairs after his bath

Outside, on the slide of his play set.

Riding his tricycle outside with the balloon still firmly attached!

I didn't get a pic of him jumping on the trampoline with it.

So, later that evening, his foot got caught up in the cord and the weight snapped off and he let go of it.  It floated towards the ceiling and he started screaming as if someone had cut off his thumb.  My mom couldn't move fast enough to grab the string and get the balloon back into his hands.

Please note, that in all the pictures, he is hanging onto the balloon, and not the string.  So, you can understand why he was so upset about the balloon being in the air, even when he could still grab the screen.

Sigh..................