Lacey's Abstract Distraction

Still here...for now.

2011-04-18T16:42:00.002-05:00

Just a quick note to let you know we are still alive and kickin'. It has been decided by the powers that be: we are moving. California here we come! We listed the house a little over a week ago, and we hope it sells before our very quickly approaching departure date. So far the plan is to start our journey west over Memorial Day weekend (thats the last weekend in May). The kids are super excited (and so are the grown ups) to start our new adventure. Wish us luck, we're gonna need it!

Dance Party!

2011-03-05T18:36:00.002-06:00

Since figuring out how to stream Pandora through our TV, we have been doing so frequently. The kids refer to this as Dance Party. They love to boogie. They also really like being recorded. Bennett was a little cranky, and we were trying to get him to dance too which he does for a few seconds. Generally he gets just as into it as the girls. Zoe was really bouncing around which is pretty typical of her. Sydney, on the other hand, was much more comical than usual. I have a few videos of their dancing, but every time I watch this clip I laugh out loud. In that spirit, I thought that others may benefit from a good giggle. So here it is.

How Does Your Garden Groove?

2011-03-03T19:05:00.004-06:00

Zoe's first grade program. I ordered a DVD so I didn't have to rely on my own recording abilities, but took about 10 minutes of video (the intro through Zoe's class) so that I could share it here. The program is called How Does Your Garden Groove? and Zoe's class were "hot potatoes." Zoe did a great job even though she said she was really nervous. She even remembered her line and said it loud and clear. I was so proud! I totally cried. Hope you enjoy the first bit of the show. By the way, you stop being able to see Zoe after about 6 minutes. Sorry, sat on the wrong side of the room.

The few pics I do have from Christmas

2011-02-05T12:43:00.004-06:00

The family at the restaurant after our annual fancy dinning out.
(L to R: Lacey and Bennett, Auntie Shar, Sydney, Nanny Sue, Zoe, Rob)

The kiddos in their Christmas jammies

Blizzard

2011-02-05T12:16:00.002-06:00

This is the view from our front window (2 days ago). The result of the Blizzard that hit a few days ago and snowed us in. We went from zero snow and about 75 degrees just a few days before to sub-zero temperatures an about a foot of snow (drifts from 3-5 ft.). Needless to say school has been cancelled all week. When I opened the garage to try to begin shoveling the drive way (by myself as husband is TDY again) the snow reached well above my knees. It took several goes to get it done because I don't own any snow boots (my feet grow every time I have a baby and my old ones were a full size too small) so I wore rain boots that protect against the wet - but not so much the cold. The job got done though. I can't take all the credit, my neighbor (Bless him!) came over and helped with the last 1/4 of the drive and the walkway to the front door. Today we ventured out to the grocery store, the main roads were mostly ok, but the neighborhood streets were treacherous. No issues though, and we are now more or less set for the next wave of snow that is suppose to hit.

In other news :

A very late Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! We had a lovely holiday and hope you all did too.
Bennett has been toying with the idea of walking for months, and has been pushing things around for nearly as long. About a week and a half ago he struck out and started walking about without any support. Not just a few steps either - he took off and is going everywhere. Watch out sisters, brother is on the go!

The girls both brought home excellent report cards :O)

I am nearly finished with my last term and will soon have my degree (Yay! It only took about 10 years).

I am sure there are dozens of things that I have forgotten to post, but I guess that is what I get for being such an inconsistent blogger. I would make a New Years resolution about it, but that is the quickest way to ensure that I never blog again. (Okay maybe not, but I am not famous for keeping resolutions).

Yes, I know I posted a picture of snow and none of the kids. I haven't been very good about taking pictures lately and took none of Christmas (hint hint, if you were at Christmas and have pictures I would dearly love copies :O)

A late Thanksgiving post:

2010-12-16T12:10:00.002-06:00

Thanksgiving this year was a tiny bit strange. Rob had to be out of town (again), so the children and I thought we would have to go it alone this year. Fortunately, Shar was able to make it! Yay! On Thanksgiving we ate "dinner" at about 1:00. Pretty early, but the food was ready and the kids were starving, so we just went with it. Normally we would all sit around and watch football and chit-chat. But this year, with no men in the house (except Bennett, who is too young to put up much of an argument about it) we opted out of the football and instead took the troops to see Tangled in the theatre. It was Bennett's first trip to the movies, and I gotta say he did great. Not a peep! We all enjoyed the movie and when we came home it was time to get the kiddos into bed. Then Shar and I got to enjoy some grown up time, good conversation and a bottle of wine. The next day we braved the mall and shopped around a bit (our first ever foray into Black Friday shopping). It wasn't as bad as expected, mostly because we waited until late afternoon when all of the mega-super-shoppers had come and gone. The girls were super excited to visit the Disney Store and were treated to some cute Rapunzel jammies for their great behavior through the "boring grown up stores." All in all it was a rather unusual holiday for us, but a really great time was had by all. Wish Rob could have been here, but we are looking forward to having him back for Christmas!

Catch Up

2010-11-15T18:59:00.004-06:00

Wow, long time, no post. So here is a very brief run down of what has been happening in my neck of the woods:

September: Rob came back from Afghanistan and we all attempt to readjust. I seriously have very little recollection of any actual events during the entire month. There was a visit from Shar for her birthday and a couple of other birthdays during the month (Mom, Grandma B, Lindsey).

October: Trip to Texas to visit Auntie Shar and pick up Nanny (who flew in to Texas to be able to visit both Shar and us). Six Flags over Texas, Zoe's first real roller coaster (which she loved) and then a couple more roller coasters (the loop-to-loop was her favorite), outlet mall before driving home. Pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving, trick or treating (Zoe = Super Girl, Sydney = Belle, Bennett = Lion, Mommy = covered in barf thanks to Bennett).

November (so far): Rob to training. Parent teacher conferences (my kids rock). My first group art show (guess I rock too). Refridgerator breaks : ( and gets fixed : ). Bennett's first steps (about an hour ago) and yes I know that 16 months is a little late to start walking, but what can I say he has his own agenda.

And that is the news in brief.

I must say...

2010-09-11T07:27:00.002-05:00

The last month has been a blur. Kids going back to school, trying to get ourselves into a new routine, and the return of my husband from an 8 month deployment has been enough to make my head spin. So this post is primarily to say, "Welcome Home" to my love and to issue a great big "Thank You" to all of those who fight for the freedoms that we enjoy as well as to those who support them at home. I would also like to say "Thank You" to those who supported me personnally, my family and friends, and possibly the worlds best neighbors who took great pains to ensure that the kids and I were well looked after during this long journey.

First Day of School

2010-08-19T19:30:00.002-05:00

Zoe's first day of first grade and Sydney's first day of Pre-K. They were so excited, had a great day, and were so tired when they both finally got home that they were super cranky. Yep. And, I, being an idiot, thought Zoe got out of school earlier than she actually does so I subjected the little kids to an hour of sitting in the car. So...day one is done. Now to see what the rest of the school year has in store.

Shoe/Chocolate Addicts Anonymous

2010-08-18T15:28:00.003-05:00

They say that the first step to change is to admit that you have a problem. So here goes:

Hello, my name is Lacey. I am a stress eater/shopper.
Now, this is a problem that I have known about for quite some time and it may be evident to those around me, but saying it out loud (in print for that matter) is a big step. You see when Iam feeling stressed out, insecure, upset, or recieve bad news (even just a little bit bad), I am overcome with the urge to consume LARGE amounts of sugar and caffiene and spend a lot of money on "things that make me feel good" in laymans terms that means SHOES and occasionally other clothing and accessories. Ok, more than occasionally. Get off my back about it. ;)
I noticed the problem recently as the cashier at the grocery store put 8 candy bars and a bag of skittles in their own little bag and handed them right to me winking and saying, "The most important thing..." Not missing a beat, I replied, "Ah, my little bag of sanity." Sure, it seems funny, but only cause you know it's true!
The plot thickened when I got a bit of disappointing news earlier today (don't worry everything is fine), and instantly went to my Amazon Universal Wishlist and perused my favorite items trying to decide which boots would be best for fall. I don't probably need new boots, even though my feet did grow half a size with Bennett. But I want new boots. I have it narrowed down to 3 pair. I know I shouldn't spend the money. And the only thing that is keeping me from getting onto DSW.com and ordering a pair is this blog and the overwhelming sense of guilt that I know I will feel if I do make the order. Plus I don't know which ones I really want yet. Maybe I should go into the store and try them on. Oh crap- you hear that....that was my addiction talking, right out there for everyone to hear (read).
So far I haven't broken down and bought anything. Nothing is on sale so it makes it a bit easier to resist. (Sales and bad news, well, thats just too much) I did just eat two mini Butterfingers though, and have the urge to raid the cupboards for more delicious chocolatey goodness. Well, I guess admitting the problem is not really helping since now I just feel like eating and buying MORE! What a dreadful cycle. Guess it is time to distract myself by changing a dirty diaper. Hoo-ray.

Last days of summer vacation...

2010-08-15T18:10:00.003-05:00

Wow, big gap in the blogging! To be honest, I kinda forgot about it. After that whirlwind birthday situation, it was good to have a break. And a break we had - kinda. We went to Texas for a weekend visit to see Auntie Shar and her new appartment. As well as to "assist" with getting her settled. Hahahaa. Not sure how much assistance we were considering the three kids basically bounced off her walls (and likely angered a few neighbors). After that we came home and have been getting school supplies and school clothes/ shoes (Thank you, Nanny). I started a new term at school. Now the countdown begins to the kids school year actually starting. We have "Information Day" on Tuesday and the official start is Thursday. I can hardly imagine what I will do! Sydney will be in Pre-K from 9-11:30 daily and Zoe will be entering FIRST GRADE!!!! Oh my, my baby is growing so fast. Of course this realization has sent me into somewhat of a tail-spin. I have been ultra nostaligic the last few days. Looking at old photos and remembering all kinds of silly old things from days gone by. This on top of the back to school mania and the Dog Days of Summer with 107 Degree temperatures (keeping us indoors) has been nearly too much for my poor mind to handle. I have been walking around in a bit of a daze. The kids think I am losing my mind, because of my utter inability to focus from one minute to the next (i.e. I walk to one room from another then say "what did I come in here for?") I'm a pretty sad sight. Auntie came up for a get together this weekend and we saw her for a couple of hours including a customary trip to Target. That was nice and hopefully we can get together again soon. And now I have completely run out of things to say - or maybe not, I just lost track of my thoughts. So we will leave it at that for now.

Birthday Week (The longest blog post ever...)

2010-07-22T13:53:00.026-05:00

Birthday Week 2010: Play by Play, Day by Day.

Wednesday, July 14: Crazy, Awesome Birthday Madness Week 2010 begins with Nanny's midday arrival. This annual event sends the kids into hyper-drive, making each and every detail of each and every happening about 300 percent more interesting/exciting/emotional. The day was a blur. Honestly. I can't remember anything we did that day prior to or post pickup. Auntie Shar came into town later that night after the kids were asleep.

Thursday, July 15: Outings. Lots of outings. Super Target was first on the list, as it is our favorite destination. At the Starbucks therein we partook in iced mochas (for the grown-ups), vanilla bean frapachinos (for the girls) and whipped cream (Bennett). Yum! I am pretty sure we went down every single aisle, some of them twice, a couple may have even warranted a third visit. The toy aisles were singing and dancing as we pried the children away. A cart full of whatnot later, we headed home for lunch. Next Sharlene and I needed a break, so we went out on our own. Back to Super Target (I told you we love that place!). Then we hit Gordmans and finally Hobby Lobby ( I am making Sharlene a Giant Kusudama Ball). Back to the house for a quick taco dinner then we whisked the girls away to the mivie theater to see Toy Story 3. We were the first ones there and very nearly the only ones (cause who sees a movie on a Thursday
at 5?) It was great and we will likely be adding it to our collection.

Friday, July 16: Decoration day! Over the last few months (okay, technically since February when they told me they wanted and Ariel Party) the kids and I have been crafting under sea decorations for the party. This was the day that we put them all up around the house. Since this was the big, joint, invite your friends party we kinda went nuts with it. Then we baked cupcakes, and I prepped the homemade pizza dough for the next nights dinner. Once the "work" was done, we played a bit and then Sharlene and I headed out for a well deserved drink.

Saturday, July 17: Playing, prepping, and last minute cleaning. PARTY TIME!!!!! Friends showed up and we colored Ariel pictures until everyone had arrived. We made oceans in empty soda bottles (lots of Dr. Pepper for me!), experienced near glitter overload, played pin the flower on Ariel (Zoe won, no one else was even close - Sydney missed the picture completely), sang a quick "Happy Birthday" scarfed down some cupcakes and tore open some presents. Everything was on super speedy mode because these children could not wait to get outside and play. They raced out the door screaming like a flock of banshees to splash in the pool and run through the sprinklers. Even fun Auntie Shar joined in. She began with chasing kiddos into the sprinklers, but was soon dragged into the pool fully clothed and dunked by a gaggle of gigglers. Eventually, one by one, they came straggling in to dry off. Play commenced indoors until bit by bit they left. Then we got to visit with Daddy online and open presents from him! Hurray! Pizza and Princess and the Frog bring this exciting day to a close.

Sunday, July 18: Sydney's 4th Birthday! Nanny prepared a wonderful suprise "Beach Party" and made our back patio into a beach, complete with sand. We built sand castles and played in to pool. Bennett Rode on his car and got sand in his little toes. We had hot dogs, fruit, and chips until the flies (that decided to take over my house and yard in the last week) sent us running for cover. Zoe lost a tooth during lunch. Daddy called to wish Syd a "Happy Birthday" we did presents and dinner then made some super fun snow cones for dessert.

Monday, July 19: I had a boatload of homework so that was my task for the day. Bummer. But Nanny, Auntie and the kids ran all over and played, cleaned up a bit, then they (minus Bennett who needed a nap) went to the local waterpark! They had a great time, and I got my work done, took down the decorations, and did some light cleaning. Shar treated us to some seven layer dip for dinner. We ate, watched a movie, and played

Tuesday, July 20: My 29th Birthday. Last year of my twenties. Yowza. The kids wished me "Happy Birthday" over and over all day long. It was super sweet. I began my day with a morning meeting at Starbucks with a Rep from the college I attend online. Next I met up with the fam at Sears for a photo shoot and to pick up some pictures I had ordered from before. Lunch at Red Robin commenced (Thank you for not making them sing to me!). Zoe made sure that I would arrive back at the house last so that they could hide and jump out to scream "Happy Birthday" when I walked in the door. Once we got home I gave the kiddos a few group gifts that I didn't want any one kid laying claim too because it was given mon their birthday. They in turn gave me some very thoughtful gifts. We played for a while then they came tromping into the living room from the kitchen with a cupcake and candle singing "Happy Birthday." It was so cool of them to try to make my day so special right in the middle of all of their birthday excitement. I have the best kids!

Wednesday, July 21: Zoe's 6th Birthday!!! Nanny orchestrated a beautiful tea party with a real tea set and tons of fabulous and very pretty food. the girls got all dressed up and inspired the grown ups to do the same. We rummaged through the dress up suitcase (the same one that just a week ago held a cat captive) and came up with some extra fancy accessories. We did an impromptu photo shoot and had tea. Then we quickly cleaned up and headed back to the warter park. This time we all got to go! It was so FUN!!!! Even Bennett had a blast (he is suddenly over his fear of the water). After we got back, showered, and started assessing the extent of our sunburns, Daddy got online again and Zoe tore open her presents then had a nice chat with her Papa. We ate "little chickens" (mini chicken wings) and potato salad, one of Zoe's favorite meals. We played until we were ready to drop. Then - we dropped!

Thursday, July 22: Today we said a sad goodbye to Nanny as we dropped her off at the airport. Auntie Sharlene gets to stay on a few more days before heading back the Texas way. As I write this the girls and Auntie are playing Disney Princess Yahtzee and Bennett is napping. I need a snack and some serious caffiene if I am going to stay awake the rest of the day. Exhaustion is setting in. This has been a whirlwind of a week, but it has been so very much fun. Tons of memories were made. I am officially calling Birthday Madness Week to a close, applying more aloe vera to my sun scorched skin, and taking my first zombielike steps into the world of raising a 6 year old, a 4 year old, and a 1 year old.

Birthday Pictures

2010-07-08T08:13:00.001-05:00

Happy (Belated) 1st Birthday, Bennett!

2010-07-08T07:10:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was Bennett's 1st birthday. The girls, of course, woke up at the crack of dawn and were ready to get the party started. Fortunately, we (Auntie Shar and I) were able to hold them off 'til just after lunch.
Since we were short a couple of important cast members for the event, we set up the web cams on our laptops and interfaced with some VIPs. The girls had a few issues staying out from in front of the computers so I am not entirely sure just how much our long distance counterparts actually saw, but they at least got to "be there" for the big day.
The presents were a hit. Who knew that 1 year old toys were so darn entertaining? As a matter of fact the toys were so popular that Bennett had a very hard timed deciding what to play with. No problem there though, Zoe and Sydney were more than happy to take a few off his hands. Actually, they got so excited that Bennett had some difficulty holding on to a toy for more than a few seconds. Ahhh, big sisters!
The cupcakes were a bit more manageable for Mr. Ben. In fact, he gobbled down every last bite of his. Surely, he would have licked up all the crumbs too had Mommy not swooped in with the washcloth and initiated clean up procedures. (A very special thank you to Auntie for all of her clean up efforts - You are a life saver, or some other very sweet treat :):).
After the hubbub, we were all worn out so nap time commenced. Then a completely unnecessary but fun trip to Target. Bennett's dinner time coincided, so he had a jar of babyfood out of my purse while we sat at the in store Starbucks waiting for our mochas! Ol' Blue Eyes (Bennett) charmed the pieces out of every woman who walked by ("Oh he has such beautiful eyes. How old is he? What's his name? Hi, sweetie!" was a common response to one of his smiles). The group tromped through the store leaving behind a wake of cuteness and noise.
Then we came home and had a quick dinner and sent the kids to bed. It was really a very successful birthday. I can hardly believe my baby is a whole year old. It makes me emotional. Imagine that, me, emotional. Hahaha.
Today we have his 1 year well check. And so commences the month of birthdays and festivities. On the docket: The girls joint Ariel The Little Mermaid birthday party, two individual parties for just family, my birthday somewhere in the middle, a visit from Nanny, well checks for the girls, and finishing up my current school term. Yowza, it's gonna be a busy month. So there will be lot lots more to come.
Photos are forthcoming. Thank you to all of you who helped to make my Little Man's 1st birthday a special one.

Are you talking to me?

2010-07-03T16:38:00.002-05:00

Setting: Living room. Family watching Tinkerbell and The Lost Treasure.

Zoe: Those tadpoles are just like the ones in the bathroom and the kitchen!

Me: ???? I'm pretty sure you were dreaming, sissy. There are no tadpoles in our house.

Zoe: YES, THERE WERE. THEY WERE RIGHT BY THE DOOR!!!!!!!!!!

Me: Tadpoles that turn into frogs? How would tadpoles get into our house?

Zoe: I'm pretty sure a spider puked them up.

Are you talking to me?

2010-06-17T11:56:00.002-05:00

*I will be using this heading for "Conversations" (Thank you, K!) that take place in my daily life that I find entertaining enough to share. To start, this one will be a double:

Setting: A few days ago in my kitchen/dining area, Sharlene is doing homework on her laptop at the kitchen table as I am scrubbing the cooktop and running the dishwasher.

Sharlene: The smell in here reminds me of the holidays.

Lacey: Really? I smell bleach and melting plastic.

(Hmmmm. WTF??????)

-------------------------------------------------------------

Setting: In the car on the way to swimming lessons. Discussing birthdays which inevitably led to questions about the birth of each of the kids.

Zoe: Did Daddy hold your hand when you were pushing us out? (yep, we have had that conversation)

Mommy: No, I was afraid that I would break Daddy's arm if he touched me so he just kinda stood there and cheered me on.

Zoe: Nanny took care of us while you were in the hospital.

Mommy: Yep, she sure did. That was awefully nice of her wasn't it?

Zoe: When you were in the hospital, was Dr. Suess there?

This is the point when I got the giggles so hard I could no longer speak. I hearby issue an apology to any drivers on the road at the time - not sure how that was going, cause my attention was fully in the car. In all fairness, she meant to inquire about my OB who she has met many times but just got the names confused.

Backyard Water Park

2010-06-06T19:38:00.003-05:00

So, Auntie Shar is out for a visit and Nanny sent us a package. We love packages here, and get very excited about their arrival. The girls were very pleased to find new swimming suits and beach towels! Hurray, Thank you, Nanny!!!! What's that? There is MORE? Yep, we got to go pick out new sandals for summer too. What more could a couple of kids want? Auntie got a secret note that instructed her to take us on a magical voyage to Target. While we were there, exploring the outdoor fun section we managed to loose our minds just a tiny bit. We couldn't find exactly what was on our shopping list so instead we got the "Cannonball Slide,"(more on that in a minute), an inflatable pool (more on that too), a tiny wading pool for the babe (oh yes more here too), and Auntie couldn't pass up a giant pack of water balloons (nothing further on this at present). Later Auntie returned tot he store and came back with Princess camping chairs, popcicles, and verious other goodies. Can you say "shopping spree"? Sure, you can.... Of course once we got back to the house we could hardly contain ourselves. So we plopped the kids in front of a movie with some snacks and went outside to play....I mean set everything up. What an adventure that was. We opened everything up and decided to erect the shade canopy over where we were going to put the inflatable pool to keep the kids from getting to sunburned. Yeah, I just have to say that during the course of setting up said canopy I managed to nearly knock myself out. I have a HUGE bruise and scrape on my chin. Anyway, we eventually figured that out. Then I brought the air compressor to the back yard to blow up all of the inflatables (heck there was no way I was gonna blow 'em up on lung power). Of course, being an amateur compressor user this was it's own adventure. Especially since I forgot to plug the quick release valve on the pool and lost air as fast as I pumped it in. Yeah. Go ahead, laugh. I thought it was funny too. Once that problem was sorted we got everything inflated and began filling things with water. Cold water from the hose was great since it was 100 degrees this weekend. However we decided to take the canopy off in hopes that the sun would warm up the water. Of course we started having so much fun we forgot to put it back on and ended up all being rather burnt. Oh well. They kids were finally released from captivity and allowed to partake in the joys of backyard swimming and sliding. Now the Cannonball Splash Slide is a small wading pool aty the end of a blow up slide. Nothing major, the kids are 5, 3, and 11 months. But man did they have a blast. And so did Auntie and I. Yep we certainly did test the wieght limit of that slide (which I believe was about 100lbs). So far it hasn't popped, and we aren't gonna stop sliding til it does. Hahaha. Of course, being the creative sort that we are, the kids decided to put the slide in the larger (about 10x6) pool. Auntie got in with them and helped them slide down. I watched from the porch with Bennett. Wheels started turning. Yes, most mothers would probably worry for the safety of their children, but not I. I decided to place the splash pool at the bottom of our regular slide and run the hose up to the top making a steeper slide! It rocked. Yep we tried that out too. Don't worry...nothing is broken...yet. Now The girls just jumped right into everything and played their little hearts out. Bennett, my boy, well, he is another story. I got him all dolled up in his swim gear and slathered him down with sunscreen and took him outside. There was about an inch of water in his teensy splash pool so I though hey he should be able to just sit right down and splash, as long as I am right here he won't freak out. Not so. A toe touched the water and he screamed like the was the spawn of the Wicked Witch of the West. I tell you, the neighbors probably thought some one cut that kids leg off. So we went tot he bigger splash pool at the end of the slide. Yeah, I'm no quitter! I sat down and put him on my lap and poured the water over his toes with my hand. Still, my little man screams like a banshee! Yikes. So Instead of torcher the poor kid I brought out the pack 'n' play to the back porch and filled it up with toys, cheerios, and a cup of prune juice. Hog heaven let me tell you. Now I would very much like to post some video of all the "action," and I may try....but bear with me, I am having some technical difficulties. So for now a collage of pictures will have to suffice.

**In case you are wondering what the front yard pictures are for: We planted som thyme in the front garden and picked out some "accessories" for the garden. And I put some fake flowers in the pot by the front door that I always forget to water so that it doesn't look dead all the time.

Summer Project - Week 1

2010-06-06T19:22:00.004-05:00

Summer is up and running around here. And so is our summer project. This is the first year we have done a summer project so really it is in the experimental stages. I think I have a plan, but you know how that goes.... We started out by taking a trip to the Zoo. The three little pigs and I...I mean the three bears and I... or should I say the three kids and I managed to see most of the zoo within about 3 hours. Not too shabby if you ask me. We spent a little extra time at the alligators since they are the animal we are learning about this week. We just so happened to get there while they were being fed. Ew. The kids thought it was fascinating. Well the girls did anyway, Bennett was too busy Peek-a-booing me through the peek hole in the top of the stroller to even notice. Between that and scarfing down cheerios, he didn't notice much. The next day we ventured out to the library. We found a book featuring alligators as characters and one about baby alligators. The kids each got to pick a couple that they just thought looked fun too. We got pretty excited about our books so we came right home and read them. During this time I offered Zoe a dime a book as a summer reading project (besides our animal project) and challenged her to read 100 books before school starts back up. So far she is loving that. Lucky for me, we are just writing down the books she reads and I don't have to fork over any cash until the end of the summer. But I digress.... Next we decided to talk about what we learned about alligators - did you know that they only live in the Southeastern US and China?? Well, now you do. Zoe practiced writing the word and a sentence or two about them and Sydney practiced writing AAAAAAA. She's getting pretty good. We also colored pictures of alligators and whatnot. Today we did an "alligator craft" basically making paper alligators. It was fun. So Our summer Animal-of-the-week project is off and running. Somehow we gotta get back to the zoo and library among some other scheduled activities (like swimming lessons) in the next few weeks. But everyone seems to like it enough to keep it going. Wish us luck.....

Dinner with Dr. Suess

2010-05-24T09:41:00.002-05:00

Yesterday Zoe read Dr. Suess' Green Eggs and Ham to us at story time, out loud, without help. She did great. What a good little reader she is starting to be! We were so inspired that we decided to have green eggs and ham for dinner, it was kids cook night after all. One drop of blue food coloring with scrambled eggs and minced ham made for an easy and interesting meal. It was a hit. I asked the girls if they liked it. Zoe said that she loved it. Sydney said, "Mommy, if we ever go on a train I want to eat these on it." Good enough for me, but we may run into problems when they bust out One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T09:23:00.002-05:00

Technically my Mother's Day celebration started on Thursday at Sydney's "Fantasy Festival". It is the end of the imagination unit at her preschool and the kids build a castle out of cardboard and make magic wands and crowns and are introduced as Fairy Princess or King Knight and come out and curtsey or bow and present their mother's with flowers. It is a sweet little "program." Then they get to eat cookies and drink punch. Sydney loved it and I got some cute yellow daisies, plus a neat art project that she made. A flower with her picture at the center and her hand prints as leaves. Then on Friday Zoe gave me a notebook that she decorated at school that has a note in it saying "Thanks for being my Mommy and I love you." She is getting so good at writing! I am a very proud Mama. Saturday, we got to webcam with a couple of our favorite people and afterwards I went to a new boutique opening in Moore, Oklahoma called Handmade with heART and consigned some of my artwork there. It was quite a thrilling day. Now it is Sunday, actually Mother's Day, and my plans include taking a day off from chores and spending it with my babies, calling my Mom, and maybe working on some new artwork. My house already looks like it has been both shaken and stirred so I will be earning my keep tomorrow, but right now its nice to just enjoy my family. I hope all the mothers out there are able to do the same.

Update

2010-05-03T14:11:00.003-05:00

Wow, where did April go? It has been nearly a month since my lsat post and I have absolutely no idea what I have been doing these last few weeks. I guess you could say we have been in-the-zone with our routine. School, homework, a little family time, bed. I put stepping stones and river rock on the side yards that are always muddy - so much better! We had a lovely week long visit from Auntie Shar! Now we are heading into the last month of school. The weather has warmed up a bit and we are loving finally being able to go outside and play. The flowers are blooming and its about time to head to the nursery to fill our flower pots. So on we go.....

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T14:30:00.001-05:00

A collage of our Easter adventure~

No such thing as free time.....

2010-03-28T15:34:00.003-05:00

So I finished my second 8 week term a week and a half early. (Grades are still pending, but I am pretty sure I aced both classes- go me). So finding that I had a bit of free time on my hands I dove madly into my To Do list. Okay, the list doesn't exactly exist, but there are a few projects that I keep in the back of my head just in case I find myself on this situation. In the last five days (yep, I don't start my next term until April 4th- still have time left), I sanded. primed, and painted the doors to the cabinets in my bathroom (white if you were wondering), and hung them up with new hinges and knobs, and did the same for the drawer. For those of you who are keeping score, my dear husband started this project five years ago when we moved here. Love you, Honey! Then I put new contact paper on the cabinet shelves (and used some of the extra to top the kids' play table and chairs). I felt so good about this that I hung up the full length mirror that I bought months ago and never put up (I guess I am just as bad as you, Rob). Then I Old Englished the wood trim and doors, so it looks like new. Then I did a bit of redecorating in there. I kinda went nuts because all of a sudden I had the intense desire to know how to make oragami flowers. So I looked it up online and after several attempts I found one I liked and made a cool flower ball thing that I hung in the bathroom. I also have a cool idea for some wall art - but that hasn't come to fruition yet.
The bathroom looked so great, that I reorganized the walk in closet.
I got so excited about walking in there and having things look clean and neat that I organized my bedroom too. While I was doing that I found the mosquito netting canopy that use to hang on the four poster bed. We had taken it down in because we couldn't feel the fan - a necessity in the summers. So I took it apart and added ribbon tabs to the tops of four panels and velcro fasteners, then decorated the places where the ribbin attached with mismatched buttons. I am really liking the look. Gotta get something cool to use for tiebacks. I am thinking complimentary ribbon and some flowers...hmm.
Meanwhile, we had a good school week for the kiddos. Sydneys parent teacher conference went great - she is doing wonderfully and her teachers love her. Swimming is going swimmingly - although I got a bit caught up over spring break that I forgot to enroll them in next months lessons so I guess we are taking a break. The kids got to watch the movie Enchanted for pizza and movie night on Friday. Of course they want to watch it over and over and over again knowing that I send these movies back on Mondays. Today we grocery shopped and caught up on the laundry and a bit of light cleaning. Right now I fear I am getting a cold. I am hoping to magically feel all better tomorrow so I can continue to tackle my ever growing list of "I should do that if I find time" stuff. If not...well, then I guess not.

2010-03-24T07:30:00.002-05:00

Wishing a very Happy Birthday to my one and only. I love you, Rob!

This week...

2010-03-20T20:03:00.002-05:00

Bennett with a new toy from Nanny.

The girls at the zoo.

My new specs.

Yep, Thats right, I got glasses. Had a great visit from Nanny/Spring Break. Nice weather, fun outings, a trip to the zoo. We had a blast. Did a lot of projects and crafts, celebrated Daddy's birthday a bit early so Nanny could be a part of the festivities. Went to a birthday party for one of Zoe's friends today. Now we are having a snowy first day of spring and trying to get ourselves back in the groove to be ready to head back to the grind come Monday morning.

Pictures/Update

2010-03-08T18:39:00.002-06:00

A few pictures from the last couple of weeks:

Bennett and Mommy

Sydney is ready for bed

Zoe strikes a pose or two before swimming lessons showing off the pigtails she decided to let me put in her hair.

What's up:

Things are moving right along around here. Sydney has graduated to the Eel class at swimming lessons finally, but has decided now that she doesn't want to go with the new teacher. We are working on it. Zoe of course is doing great in swimming and is reading like a champ. Rob started her out on some sight word flash cards last fall and we have just about finished memorizing the second set. She also has had an interest in sitting down and reading books to me, which I love. Bennett is almost finished breastfeeding, usually just once a day now. He seems to like solids as long as his thumb is in there with whatever he is eating which makes for messy eating, but we get the job done. He laughs a bit, but only once in a while - not nearly like his giggly sisters. All of the kids seem to be enjoying the chapter books we read in the evenings (yep, even Bennett will sit and listen some nights). Making good progress on Stuart Little. I told the kids once we finish it we can rent the movie and watch it. Might be a fun spring break activity if this rain keeps up. Although, I am really hoping for some nice weather, as I would like to take them to the Zoo and outside to play. Oh well, if not we will have lots of time for other stuff.

In other news I am still working away at school. I am half way through my second term. The cats and fish are all still alive under my care- amazing. I find myself overcoming obstacles that seem to just hop right out in front of me. Today I fixed the garbage disposal - which had gotten hung up on what I believe was a piece of grape vine...right after i cleaned the fish tank (yuck - not my favorite job) and my bathroom (again not my favorite job) and did a couple of loads of laundry (today must have been crummy job day). Now I am headed to tuck in the kiddos and hit the books.

Giggles

2010-03-08T18:14:00.002-06:00

Pictures

2010-02-19T15:26:00.002-06:00

Zoe lost another tooth

Bennett and Mama

Prince Charming (Bennett) and Princess Zoe on Valentine's Day

Sydney loves her new headband

Group shot on V-day!

Bennett in action...

2010-02-19T14:19:00.008-06:00

Playing in his jumper. He usually screams while he plays, but recently has started to actually like playing in it for very short periods of time, as long as I am within arms reach...

Eating grapes...

A Valentines Day Song....

2010-02-13T21:23:00.004-06:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Kids Cook Night

2010-02-07T17:37:00.002-06:00

For Christmas the kids and I got new aprons from Nanny (the very crafty lady made them for us!) The kids also got a kids cook book by Paula Dean! So we decided to make good use of them. Every Sunday we plan our menu for the week and go grocery shopping. The kids imput is very helpful for the whole week, but on Sunday nights they get to cook (with adult supervision....okay okay, my supervision - as adult as that may not always be). So tonight we documented our adventure. The menu consisted of Ambrosia Salad (Zoe's pick) and Pigs in a Blanket (Sydney's very enthusiastic choice). Mommy picked a slice of green pepper to get a veggie in the mix. Bennett (who is 7 months old today - and whom I did not take a picture of :( ) was napping. The kiddos did great and I managed to be very supposrtive despite my doubts about the tastiness of the meal. I for one am hoping that we can eventually move to more grown-up friendly fare in the future... but for now we feast!

This Week...

2010-02-03T17:53:00.004-06:00

Snow day playtime.

Hahaha, Mom, I'm drooling on the couch.

Working in our activity books (more snow-day fun)

Photographic evidence of Bennetts teeth! Finally!
Yes, he was crying, but thats the only time I could get a picture of his teeth...

Much happier here...

After having been out of school for an entire week now, due to the adverse weather conditions, the kids finally returned to school today! I bet you can imagine the relief on the faces of all of the parents as they dropped off their little ones today!Afterward, Zoe did her homework without complaint - a miracle in and of itself. And today we also made a return to swimming lessons, new session, different teachers for each. No problems though, they both did wonderfully. Then spaghetti for dinner (the kids now think I am a rockstar - they looooooove spaghetti). Then bath. Now popcorn and a movie. Zoe's top left front tooth is so wiggly it is bound to fall out at any moment. Honestly, I have no idea how it is still attached- it is sitting all crooked. As for me, I did some painting and helped the kids with activities and crafts and took care of some chores....nothing too exciting. Waiting for my next classes to start the first of next week.

Wintery mix

2010-01-30T08:00:00.001-06:00

First some freezing rain, then some hail, then lots of snow.

I was able to walk to my frozen mailbox on TOP of the grass without sinking in!

Weekly update

2010-01-28T17:47:00.003-06:00

I have been notified by someone of great importance that it has been a week since my last blog update. Though there has been little going on I will humor you with an update:

It has been a long week here at the Christiansen household. All three kiddos and their Mama are sick. The kids started with low grade fevers and developed snotty noses and coughs. While the fevers are gone, the mucus remains. As for me, I have a head cold. My ears are stuffed up and that is driving me crazy.

Bennett has been having trouble sleeping because of his cold and has therefore been rooming with me for the past few nights. During the day all he wants is to be held (which on one hand is great because I love cuddling with him, but on the other prevents me from doing just about anything else). So the girls have been watching a lot of movies and entertaining themselves pretty well, but are cranky because of their colds and lack of attention from me.

To add to the lack of distractions, we have skipped swimming the last two lessons because I didn't think being out in the cold with wet heads and minor fevers was a great idea. Plus Zoe's fever kept her home from school on Monday. Today both schools were closed because of a mega-ice storm we are having. Tomorrow they will be closed too. So we are looking at a few more days cooped up sick and cold and iced in. Hoping beyond hope that we don't lose power or any such thing and that the ice has subsided by Sunday so that we can get to the grocery store and gas station without incident.

Bennett finally got his second tooth in. I have tried everything i can think of to get a picture of them. He has no intention of sharing. He is also sitting up by himself for very brief periods of time.

In other news, I have finished my Microeconomics class and I have one essay question to finish on my last test for Intro to Tourism, then that will be that for my first set of classes. The next eight weeks begins on February 8th, I think. For those who are interested my next two classes are Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism and Hospitality Law. In the mean time I might actually work on a few craft projects (Thanks Sue for the magazine- all kinds of ideas are now buzzing around my head) and if I can make it to Hobby Lobby I plan to bust out a few small paintings (those would be the silhouettes you asked for, Sue).

And that is the news for now.

A long overdue visit

2010-01-21T19:14:00.002-06:00

This past week my mom visited us. This was the first time she had met my kids or seen where I live, so needless to say it was a very eventful week. We played every game and toy we could think of, had a day of beauty, went out to dinner, showed Grammy the girls schools, bonded, shopped, threw tantrums, ate, slept (only a little), and gabbed gabbed gabbed. Man can we talk up a storm. Bennett worked really hard on getting his second tooth (contributing to the lack of sleep). And the rest of us tried to cram every last bit of life into the few days we had together. Tonight we took her to the airport and said a tearful goodbye, but are very hopeful that it will not be another 5+ years before we can get together again. I just can't possibly say how wonderful it was to have her here and for my kiddos to finally know who I am talking about when I say "Grammy" or "my mommy." I know that she had a great time too. So I would like to say "Thank You SOOOOOOO Much!!" to Carl (Mom's BF) who made it possible! That was the best Christmas present we could have ever imagined!

Snow, Santa, and Saying goodbyes....

2009-12-30T19:18:00.000-06:00

On Christmas Eve we got 14 inches of snow. Driving was no fun, but once we got our stuff done, we had a blast playing in the snow. This was the first time the girls had ever seen this much snow. Bennett took a nap while we made snow people (first a mini snowman then "Lizzie the snowman girl"), and snow angels, and even threw a few snowballs.

On Christmas Eve evening we had a lovely ham dinner and set out some cookies for santa. The kids had fun in their santa hats. On Christmas day, we opened presents and played with all the kids new toys and games. Sooooo much fun!

For Robs "last supper" before deployment we went to Red Robin, the kids favorite restaurant. After he left the girls and I made a paper chain to count down the days until his return. Now we are trying to find our groove again....

Pictures

2009-12-18T09:44:00.001-06:00

I just got the picture CD of the pictures that Sue took when she and Shar visited for Thanksgiving/PreChristmas. I loved them ALL! So I made a few collages so that I could share them more easily. I hope you enjoy them too!

Family :

The Kids:

Zoe and Sydney:

The Many Faces of Bennett:

Update

2009-12-11T19:30:00.000-06:00

So....solids are a hit! Bennett is loving eating in his highchair and being at the table with the big people. The Thanksgiving/PreChristmas visit of the inlaws was lovely. We covered most of our usual Christmas traditions such as a fancy dinner out and Secret Santa exchange. All went splendidly, if a bit compact. I was of course terrible about taking pictures, so I am waiting for Sue to send me copies of her photos, then I will be able to post a few.

Next week is the last week of school for the girls. Rob is planning to go visit each of their classes during the week. Hoping that this will be a great memory for the girls.

As for Rob, he is on deployment countdown. Getting everything ready to go. As for me, well, this is the most bittersweet Christmas I have ever known. I love the holidays, but thinking about Christmas makes me cry. Everyday. I hate to think of the months ahead when I wll be virtually a single parent and my husband will be away in a dangerous place missing all of the day to day action back home. If you can't tell, I am having some trouble with all of it. Trying to put on a brave face for the kids and convince myself that I am emotionally prepared for all of it, but really I'm not sure that I am. So if you are the faithful sort, please keep us in your prayers.

Bennett

2009-11-25T13:35:00.000-06:00

At his last doctors visit Bennett was 26.5 inches long and about 14 lbs.

His doc was still hearing a hear murmur so we had an echo done. He has pulmonary stenosis just like Sydney, although his is a bit worse than hers, there is no need to worry for the time being. We will recheck it in 6 months. He is such a happy baby. Still not sleeping through the night though. Hoping that solid foods will help with that a bit. Per our July baby tradition, he will have his first rice cereal on Thanksgiving (yep, tomorrow....so exciting).

Alboquerque Turkey

2009-11-25T13:24:00.000-06:00

Sydney sings "Alboquerque Turkey" a song she learned at school for Thanksgiving.

Update

2009-11-25T13:20:00.000-06:00

Well. We are finally getting rid of the cold that has plagued our household for nearly a month now. Nanny and Auntie are out for a visit. We will be having Thanksgiving together tomorrow and then squeezing in some of our Christmas traditions before Auntie has to leave. Nanny will be here for another week after that. Not too much excitement these last couple of weeks since we have all been ill, but everyone is in good spirits and excited for the holidays.

Pumpkins

2009-10-31T21:17:00.000-05:00

Sydneys is far left with the nose, Zoe's next with the big smile!

Rob carved the haunted castle. Lacey's has holes and Bennett's says "Boo"

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T21:10:00.000-05:00

O-klahoma!

2009-10-26T14:40:00.000-05:00

What Zoe learned in school...

Swimming

2009-10-25T08:46:00.000-05:00

As you may know, the girls are in swimming lessons at the YMCA on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Well, the Y cancelled a lesson a couple of weeks ago due to lightning. The make-up lesson was yesterday (Saturday) at 10:30 in the morning. I seriously considered skipping it, but decided to go anyway. I am so glad we did. We were the only ones there! The girls basically got private lessons. One teacher for each kid and they swam for about 35 minutes solid. They were yawning in the shower afterward they were so tired. Zoe is jumping off the diving platform by herself without a float belt (she jumps in and grabs a pool noodle and swims to the side). Sydney wanted to do it too, so her teacher held her hand and she jumped in too (with a float belt). They both love swimming so much. I am glad that they have an activity that they enjoy.

Pictures

2009-10-16T10:54:00.000-05:00

Bennett playing

The new hats I knit for the girls (they got scarves too, but only felt like modeling the hats).

Smiles!!!

My kiddos!

Here I go again...

2009-10-16T08:53:00.000-05:00

It's official: I am going back to school. After four different colleges, countless major changes, and a short stint in cosmetology school (yep, I'm a beauty school dropout) I quit to raise a family. One husband and three kids (plus 2 cats and a bunch of fish) later, I am ready to try again. This time I actually intend to finish what I started all those years ago. After fortuitously stumbling upon a government program that helps military wives pay for education towards a "portable career," I applied to Columbia Southern University. ( I also qualified for a Pell Grant so pretty much everything will be paid for - Hooray!!) It is the same school that Rob graduated from, and is 100% online. The "portable career" stipulation gave me limited choices as to what degree I could pursue, so I have chosen a B.S. in Hospitality and Tourism. Considering that working for my parents jet boat tour business was the best job I have ever had and that the industry is widespread and varied I think I will be able to find a career to my liking within this field (more so than IT, healthcare, or the other choices available at least). At first glance I am thinking about event planning or possibly hotel managment. Though, I am excited to learn what other careers are available. Heck, I am excited to learn period. My first classes (Orientation, Principles of Microeconomics, and Intro to Tourism) will start on November 30th. Luckily, the school took a ton of my transfer credits. I only have one general education class (Microeconomics) to take and the rest are all within my area of study. Hopefully, I will be able to successfully go to school while raising three kids (virtually on my own for a very large chunk of next year) and keeping up with the house and whatnot. Wish me luck or better yet wish me patience! Cause here I go... again.

Hahaha. Now I have that song stuck in my head: "Here I go again on my own. Going down the only road I've ever known. Like a drifter I was born to walk alone....."
I will stop now before it gets stuck in your head too.

I don't know if any of my readers (there are readers out there right???) are military wives or know any. But if you are or know one the program is called myCAA (my career advancement account). They will pay up to $6000 towards education for a portable career. Check it out if you think you might be eligable.

Little hearts...

2009-10-08T16:03:00.000-05:00

Sydney had an appointment with her pediatric cardiologist today. She was so brave! What a champ! She didn't even make a fuss, even though a lot of the tests are very different than standard doctors office stuff. I am just so proud of her. In case you are wondering, Sydney has a heart murmur. At age one the doc diagnosed her with pulmonary stenosis. Today, he said she still has narrowing of her pulmonary valve and she has a very small hole between the two upper chambers of her heart, as well as some extra tissue on her heart. To me this all sounded very scary. The doc said that none of it is major. She doesn't need to restrict her activity and no medication or treatment is required. She just needs to come back and get checked in three to four years. I guess "heart defect" or "heart abnormality" would scare the pants off of any parent. Even with the doctors reassurance, I'm still not feeling great about it. The kids regular pediatrician said she heard a bit of a murmur on Bennett too. We are watching that for the time being, but I have a feeling we will be back to the cardiologist with him at some point. Zoe's little ticker works just fine though. In any case, today has been a bit stressfull. Ready for it to be the weekend already!

Update

2009-10-07T19:28:00.000-05:00

Bennett is three months old today. I can hardly believe that it has been that long since he entered the world. He seems at once so big and so small, so new and yet so much a part of my life that I can scarcely remember what I did before he was here. He smiles pretty regularly now and is trying to get his first teeth. I fear that teething is going to be a long and painful process. He is having all kinds of symptoms (excessive drool, spitting up, swollen gums...) but no real progress so far.
The girls have started a new session of swimming lessons. Man, these kids love to swim. Zoe has the same teacher as last session and syd is very excited to have a "new,boy teacher with spikey hair" as she calls him. They are having a great time of it. School is also going well. Zoe is making great progress in her reading (we do homework every day) and Sydney brings home lots of fun art projects and sings a lot.

First smiles...

2009-09-26T21:09:00.000-05:00

Rob laughed and Bennett smiled. This was the first time he had smiled at Daddy. So Daddy kept laughing, and Bennett kept smiling. Forgive the histerical giggling. Parents will do anything to make their very serious 2.5 month old grin.

A picture is worth a thousand words...

2009-09-26T20:57:00.000-05:00

Etsy

2009-09-09T11:11:00.001-05:00

I just opened an Etsy store. Check it out at www.abstractinfusion.etsy.com

Update

2009-09-05T13:25:00.000-05:00

Wow, have we been busy! I almost forgot about the blog. Well, here is what has been going on with us:
I had a couple of parent orientations to go to for the girls.
Zoe is doing great in kindergarten, she really loves it. She doesn't even mind the homework (more on that later), hope that attitude lasts her entire educational career.
Sydney started pre-preK at First United Methodist Preschool. The class is called "Rainbows" so if I start talking about rainbows you know I'm not totally crazy. She didn't really act like she wanted to go at first but she was very brave and went without so much as a fuss. I hope this also continues, since Sydney is known for being stubborn, if she doesn't want to do something it can be quite a struggle to change her mind.
Since they are both in school at the same time I have had to start a carpool with another mom who has kids in the same classes as mine (so furtunate that that happened or I would have had real trouble). I pick up Zoe on Mondays and Fridays because only she has school on those days, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays she rides with her friends mom and I pick up Sydney and her friend Maya. It should work out well.
As for kindergarten homework - if you were wondering what that could possibly be- they have reading to do. The teacher send home poems and basically a lesson plan for it and we do that together. She is suppose to do 100 minutes of reading a week. I have to sign off on a sheet of paper how many minutes she does a day and if she does all her minutes she gets a prize the following Monday. Practicing sight words, writing her name, and reading other books can also count towawrd her minutes. I don't forsee us having much trouble with this because Zoe loves to read and practice writing. Rob started her on sight words earlier in the year so she already knows about 50-60 (way ahead of the 4 her teacher wants them to know).
Bennett had his 2 month well check and is growing well. He weighs 12lbs now and is 23.5 inches long (almost 2 feet already!!!). He had a bunch of vaccines and was not a very happy camper that day or the next. The doctor said he has a slight heart murmur, much like what Sydney has, and she wants to keep an eye (ear) on it. He is also still a bit colicky, but with the help of "Gripe Water" has been sleeping pretty well. Of course I say that and then he decides to have a growth spurt the last couplke of days and wants to eat constantly. Oh well, as long as he is thriving.
The girls also started swimming lessons. This is Zoe's third session (she is now an eel) and Sydney's first session (she is a pike). They both really enjoy it. Zoe is actually a pretty good little swimmer - confident in the water and seems to be pretty strong. The first day of eels she didn't wear a float belt like the other kids and managed to keep up swimming the width of the pool several times. She feels more comfortable with the belt though and opted for wearing it again the second day of class. Sydney of course is just getting use to the whole idea but is very proud to get to do this big girl activity.
On top of all of this stuff, Zoe brought home a cold from school so she has been coughing a bunch and gave it to Sydney who has just a little cough and to Daddy who is sicker than anyone. So far Bennett and I are hanging in there without being ill - knock on a bunch of wood, I can't afford to get sick! Hopefully this long weekend will afford everyone the rest they need to get feeling better.

Priceless Moment

2009-08-23T19:17:00.000-05:00

Tonight the girls and I finished reading Junie B. Jones and her Big Fat Mouth. Which led to a discussion about what we want to be when we grow up. Zoe wants to to a cowgirl, a painter, and work at Build-a-bear. Sydney wants to be a big purple butterfly.

Father and son

2009-08-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

I dressed Bennett and a few minutes later Rob

came out of the bedroom wearing the same outfit. Too Cute!

Kindergarten

2009-08-18T12:16:00.001-05:00

"Back to school, back to school, to prove to my dad that I am not a fool..." - Billy Madison

Today I woke to a thunderstorm at 6:30am. Great. Rain. It's Zoe's first day of kindergarten and then Rob and Shar are going to pack her things into the moving truck. Great. Rain. At least it will hide my tears should I not be able to hold them back. Zoe gets up and comes out to find me in the living room bringing out Bennett. She is already excited about school. We go and dress her in her new dress from Nanny. Next is breakfast for her (Waffle, eggs, banana, vitamin, milk) and Bennett (breastmilk). Hands washed, teeth brushed, hair combed, and everyone else is still asleep. I wake Sydney up. She gets dressed and eats, etc. then Daddy and Auntie emerge. We are all ready to go before we think we need to be, but we leave at 8:30 just the same. The line of cars was tremendous. It's still raining. Rob drops Zoe and Shar and I at the entrance and stays in the car with the kids. We walk back to the cafeteria and there are people everywhere. Signs with teachers names and lines of kids all in various states of anxiety, excitement, and anticipation. We find Zoes line and she sits down and waits patiently. I ask if she is nervous or scared. She shakes her head "no." Do you want me to stay? Nod. So we stay. The girl in front of her in line has both parents there. She isn't crying but is clearly nervous. I ask her name and introduce Zoe to her. Her parents take a picture and Zoe smiles at the camera. Cheese! Then its time to follow Ms. Bigelow to the classroom and Mommy and Auntie have to go. She just walked right off - no problems- she doesn't even look back. Shar gives me a squeeze. I know she is emotional about it too. We head out. Stopping to talk to a mom-friend briefly, we make our way to the door. Where is Rob? Did he park? Hmm. I don't see him. Is that him up there with the lights on and one blinker blinking? If not it's some daddy with a kid on his lap. We walk there. It was some other daddy with a kid on his lap. Ha! Tromping through rain and puddles we find the car and head home. Such was the start of the first day of kindergarten. Mommy has more trouble than the kiddo - big surprise there. When I picked her up she hopped right in. Said her day was good - no details. When I ask questions she "can't remember." Oh well, I am sure I will find out eventually. Tomorrow is another day and a new routine is taking shape. Sydney starts school September 3rd. Another big day for mommy I guess.

Arts and Crafts

2009-08-17T07:35:00.000-05:00

After a long morning of laundry, dishes, grocery shopping and the like, we engaged in a thrilling afternoon of arts and crafts. Here is a short video of the girls in action (Daddy helped out too)! They are painting with water colors. When the paintings were dry they drew on them with markers. I have them framed in my living room (we do the same project probably twice a year so I can keep the art updated). Zoe couldn't paint without her "Fancy Nancy" clip in her hair.

Here is Sydney's finished painting:

Here is Zoe's finished painting:

Bennett also wanted to do a craft. Here is what he and I came up with:

The kid has some monster feet. Newborn socks never stay on him (since birth). I guess that is why Auntie Shar calls him "Big Foot".

Bennett in action...

2009-08-11T09:43:00.000-05:00

The girls....

2009-08-11T09:12:00.000-05:00

Bennett Michael is one month old!

2009-08-11T09:04:00.000-05:00

Seven years good luck

2009-08-03T10:28:00.001-05:00

No broken mirrors here. Today Rob and I celebrate 7 years of wedded bliss (well, if not bliss then at least happiness despite challenges). So in honor of our annual benchmark of marital success I look through our wedding album (this morning I shared it with the girls, who wondered: why they weren't in any of the pictures? and who stayed home with them?) We have undoubtedly come a long way. And through it all I can still say that I am truely in love with my husband and I am so glad that I married him. And that as handsome as I found him in his tux on our wedding day, he is just as attractive today holding a baby and a basket of laundry or playing legos with the girls. My how things have changed. I am obviously feeling nostalgic, so I took some pictures of pictures to illustrate where my head is at today.

On our wedding day.

Christmas 2008 (I can't believe I don't have another more recent picture of just us together!!!! Better get one.)

Art Exhibition

2009-07-31T08:13:00.000-05:00

Today is the opening of an "Art House" exhibit at the Atlanta International Airport that I am participating in. At least one (up to five that I submitted) small painting of mine is included. Another cool thing about it is they are also publishing a book with the included art. So if you are fliyng through Atlanta between now and Sept. 4th check it out. Or look for the book, but I'm not sure what it will be called. It's put together by Art House and the project was called The Canvas
Project 2 - Encyclopedia. Participants signed up and were sent 5 3x3" canvases and 5 random words to illustrate as they see fit and then they sent them back to Art House. At least one of the paintings from each submission are included in the show and book. They are also for sale. Pretty cool deal if you ask me. If you are interested in doing some artwork of your own and participating in an Art House project check them out at: www.arthousecoop.com . I am pretty excited about having my art in the public eye and really stoked about it being published (I even preordered the book - waiting patiently for it to arrive!)

Pictures

2009-07-28T19:54:00.001-05:00

Sue sent me these great pictures and I thought I would share them.

Pictures

2009-07-27T13:17:00.001-05:00

Well Check and other stuff

2009-07-22T10:33:00.000-05:00

We just got home from the kids well checks (annual for the girls and 2 week for Bennett). Everyone is growing and developing well. Bennett has almost regained his birthweight. He may have a small heart murmur. the Doc wants to keep an eye on it but she suspects that it may have been because he was so worked up at the visit (he cried through most of the girls and his own). Sydney will be going to the Cardiologist soon to check up an her murmur. But everyone seems to be in great shape. So greatful to have happy (for the most part) healthy kids.

The girls birthday party went really well. They seemed to really enjoy themselves. The games were a hit thanks to Auntie Shar. Yesterday we went to lunch for Zoes birthday, she had swimming lessons, then we had a "tea party" with her cake and opened a few extra presents. I had a pretty good b-day too. The kids picked the gifts they gave this year. Sydney got me a crossword puzzle book ( thanks to Daddy for pointing her away from the kids books). Zoe got me (drumroll please) ...... a toothbrush! I was so caught off guard, I got the giggles. Rob said that that was what she said she wanted to get me but he got her to pick a cool pink electric toothbrush rather than a two pack oral B that she started out with. Hahaa. Who knows what goes on in their little heads. Regardless, I was thrilled and it was a birthday present I will never forget.

Week One

2009-07-16T15:15:00.000-05:00

Week one with Bennett has been, well, let's call it surreal. Rob and I keep looking at each other and asking "are we really doing this again?" Most of having a newborn is familiar, but Ben has his own set of quirks and things. Still trying to figure him out (it's only been a week - we aren't rocket scientists here you know). He is a great little sleeper when his diaper is clean and his tummy is full (barring any gas complications) he will sleep for a good four hours at a stretch. Of course being a baby he doesn't always pick the ideal four hour stretches and we still have sleepless nights, just like any other new parents. No health problems or troubles nursing thank God.
The girls think he is really cool, kind of like a new toy. Zoe loves to hold him and will at any oppertunity. Of course, then Sydney also wants to hold him - but only for about 10 seconds then she is done. Being the big helpers that they are they hover near every diaper change and race to pick out a new outfit or grab a burp cloth.
As smooth as it is all going so far, I can't help but be mindboggled trying to think of us as a family of five and the fact that I have a son makes my eyes all misty (blaming it on the hormones).
In other news, we are preparing for a big weekend of birthdays. We are starting off celebrating mine on friday (its really monday, but since Sue is leaving on sunday and shar has such a long drive from her house to ours we are moving it for convenience). Nothing too major here (just trying not to think about how my twenties are flashing before my eyes). Then Saturday is the big Tinkerbell party for both of the girls. It is actually Syd's 3rd birthday. Zoe turns 5 on tuesday. Mindblowing to have a 3 and 5 year old and a newborn. Scarry!!!

Welcome Bennett!

2009-07-10T11:53:00.000-05:00

He is finally here

2009-07-07T22:56:00.000-05:00

Induced at 11:45, delivered at 6:03. Bennett Michael 21.5 in, 9lb8oz "yep, he is huge". No epidural, "crazy".

Anticipation

2009-07-06T07:21:00.000-05:00

Tommorrow is my induction date. The day I will give birth to my third and final child. So today I wait. Waiting is nothing new, I feel as if I have been waiting for a very long time. However something about waiting changes when you know that the end is near, very near. My body and mind, which up until this point supported me in the "let's get a move on" camp are suddenly a jumble of feelings so inexplicable and deeply tangled that there is really no explaination for the way I feel. The other thing is I really can't think of anything that I want to do to pass the time. I'm sure there are plenty of things to occupy me, yet my ability to concentrate on any singular task has all but disappeared. So here I go marching into a day that I am sure will end in a night of restless sleep . Hopefully those sharing my space make it through unscathed by my hormonal moodiness and whacko anticipatory behavior.

Growing up.....more

2009-06-28T08:06:00.000-05:00

Zoe lost another tooth last night! Now she is missing the front bottom two teeth and looks like a whole different kid. She also got to move her booster seat to the back row of the van to make way for the babies carseat. She is feeling super cool, which of course she is.

Growing up

2009-06-26T11:21:00.001-05:00

Zoe lost her first tooth last night. Stubborn little thing wouldn't accept help and pulled it all by herself. She cried for a couple of minutes after, but some strawberry ice cream put an end to that! Today she keeps showing me the space where her tooth was and dancing around singing about how she lost a tooth. So cute! I can't believe my firstborn is already big enough to lose teeth! Time flies I guess. Will post pictures soon.

Update

2009-06-22T12:31:00.000-05:00

Hanging in here. 2 weeks til baby. At my last doctors appointment I still hadn't made any progress - not that I had expected any. So we scheduled an induction for July 7th, 2009. In the event that the baby decides to stay put until then (pretty likely if you ask me - my kids are stubborn and not a one has come out before they were made to) then that will be his birthday! Hooray!

Father's day went nicely. The girls got Rob a lego airplane kit and a couple of movies. Sue (Rob's mom) sent him some of his baby things and the memories that went with them which was kind of emotional. I plan to put them up in the babies room, not exactly antiques but old (just kidding Rob) and well loved. Shar (Rob's sister) came over and we all went to Red Robin for dinner- Yum.

The other day we (Rob and I and the girls) made a cast of my pregnant belly. Actually, I sat, Rob cast, and the girls took pictures and asked a million questions. That was pretty fun.

Other than that we have just been trying to keep busy while we wait for the big day.

Where I've been...

2009-06-17T09:23:00.001-05:00

So about three weeks ago my computer monitor decided not to work anymore. This after everything else in the house also broke (wine fridge, blender, clothes dryer, toilet.....we aren't going to mention the scratched up car.....) So I haven't been able to do any computer related stuff including download pictures or update the blog since then. Now that Rob has returned from his month long TDY I can use his laptop to do somethings but still no pictures until we come up with a more permanent solution to our monitor problem. Everyone is very excited that Daddy is back. We have been keeping busy here and are on countdown until the baby arrives, 20 days until the due date is you haven't been keeping track, (if you ask me that can't happen soon enough - its hot and I'm uncomfortable!) The girls are doing good. Zoe is out of school and summer camp and is now just doing swimming lessons. She also has two loose teeth that she is pretty excited to lose. Sydney is still working on potty training and has been doing pretty good. Both girls are excited about the arrival of their baby brother and their upcoming birthdays as well as an impending visit from Nanny. July is going to be a very busy month around here. I will try to keep posting even without pictures and then there will be lots of catch up once our monitor issues are solved.

For Fun

2009-05-26T18:07:00.000-05:00

Pretty Princesses

2009-05-26T17:50:00.000-05:00

Pedicure kit supplied by Nanny.

Sydney (the purple lover) chose orange.

Zoe (my pink girlie girl) chose purple.

Service provided by a very pregnant Mommy (who also ended up with orange toes).

Tah-DAh!

2009-05-26T17:42:00.001-05:00

Nanny sent this fun memorial day craft for us to do (bracelet beading). The girls model their creations:
They both say "I heart Daddy."

My camera has video !?! Cool....

2009-05-19T16:17:00.000-05:00

Zoe learned this song at preschool and has been singing it all day long. Apparently there are also motions, but she has decided not to share those quite yet.

Sydney has been working on her ABCs. She knows most of her letters by sight but is just getting the song. She doesn't know the part after Z without help.

I actually just figured out how to get to video mode on my camera today (Yes, I know, I'm a genius). There will likely be a lot more where this came from.

Celebrate

2009-05-10T07:18:00.000-05:00

Happy Mother's Day! I hope all of you mothers out there are feeling all of the love and appreciation that you deserve today. I know that I didn't really realize all that my own Mom has done for me until I had a child of my own. Now there is not a day that passes when I don't feel greatful for some little thing or another. So, Thank you, Mom! Know that you are loved and appreciated even when you are far away.

Zoe's new haircut

2009-05-08T13:15:00.000-05:00

I cut Zoe's hair the other day - see proof above. She said she wanted it "short like Daddy's."
I thought this cute little wedge was a pretty good compromise. Now, I always cut the kids hair at home. I am much too cheap to pay somone else to do what I can easily do myself - and it doesn't terrify the kids - bonus! So, Zoe goes back to school after the new do had been done and got lots of compliments. Of course she decided to tell everyone who asked her that her Dad had cut her hair. Kids - go figure. There were a lot of odd looks and questions from teachers and other moms. So I told them I had done it - questioning looks still abound - and then they start asking how much I charge and if I would cut their children's hair. This of course gave me the giggles, repeatedly. Then I thought to myself, Maybe this Frenchie should not have dropped out of beauty school. Haha-haha.

Tah-DAh!

2009-05-08T13:04:00.000-05:00

Since I am due the first week of July and my daughters birthdays are mid-late july (18th &21st), I thought it would be wise to get as much birthday stuff done in advance as possible. So I have their joint birthday party all planned out and as much put together as I can and I have bought nearly all of their birthday presents. Don't tell her, but this year Sydney is finally getting some dress up stuff of her own (instead of having to borrow Zoe's stuff all the time). I thought it would be fun to make dress up trunk of sorts to put all of the dress up stuff in - it takes up so much space in their room. So being a crafty one I ventured to the Goodwill and picked up an old hard case Samsonite suitcase, cleaned it up, and mod podged it with some scrapbook paper, stickers, and other whatnot that I had lying around. Here are the results (both sides) :

I am really pretty happy with the results. I hope she likes it and all the fun stuff I put inside! Just thought I would share this small triumph with any who wish to see it and pass the idea on to any other crafty folk who might have need of a dress up trunk / suitcase.

My living room zoo....

2009-05-08T11:03:00.000-05:00

where the zookeepers wear high heels:

Toe nail polish = 10 minutes of holding still.

2009-05-08T10:59:00.000-05:00

Lego Mania

2009-05-08T10:50:00.000-05:00

As you can see, Rob is always eager to play legos with the girls. In fact, since he rediscovered the joys of lego-building the "girl's" collection has easily tripled with no signs of stopping (this picture is pre-expansion) He has even mentioned building "them" a lego table. Way to embrace your inner child, Honey!

A very late Easter post

2009-05-08T10:45:00.000-05:00

Tah-Dah!

2009-05-08T10:27:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures of my very first knit baby blanket. I got the pattern and materials for Christmas, started some time in January and finished mid-April. I know that this is actually very fast for knitting a blanket, even if it is a small one. However, my hormone driven nesting instincts kept nagging me that I was dreadfully behind in all things baby and must hurry up and get eveything done. This has become a pretty routine feeling for me, but nevertheless I give in to its powers and work my fingers to the bone to get everything done as well and as quickly as possible. Consequently, this may be my very last knitted baby blanket because of all the anxiety I caused myself while making it. Man, I'm really uptight. In the end it worked out nicely though, the blanket turned out well and I am pleased with the effort.

Some new pictures...

2009-04-16T17:12:00.000-05:00

Conversation:

2009-04-16T17:06:00.000-05:00

Here's how it went...

Me: Zoe did you know that the baby's ears are developed enough now that he can hear us? He might even recognize our voices when he is born.

Zoe: You mean the baby has big ears?

Me: (laughing my tail off) Not exactly. His ears are just big enough to hear us now. They aren't huge or anything, I hope.

Zoe: Oh (long pause, then she leans in close to my belly) Hey there baby. How's it going in there?

Now that she understands what I meant, she talks to my belly all the time.

No Foolin'....

2009-04-01T12:28:00.000-05:00

It has been a busy week. Rob and I undertook a sewing project together. We recovered the infant carseat for the baby. We did this last time for Sydney and we didn't want a pink and yellow floral car seat for our little man. Sew....sew.....sew some more. Finally it is finished. Yay! Also Rob got promoted (officially) and Zoe got registered for kindergarten. My big girls is growing up so fast (insert a sniff and a tear from Mommy). Nanny is coming to town this weekend and staying through Easter. The kids are on countdown for that. With easter just around the corner and me being in heavy nesting mode (read: there is way to much to do and absolutely no time in the day........) I feel even more distracted than usual. The belly is still growing - as if I could stop it if I tried. Rob has been working really hard at his new healthy eating and excersize regime and is losing weight pretty rapidly (finally under 200lbs) so we figure we will meet in the middle at about 175 near my devidery date. Haha.

The big 2-9!

2009-03-25T09:51:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Robs 29th birthday. We took him out to Red Robin for dinner on Sunday, and gave him presents that night too so Shar could be there. We also had Rob's mom, Sue, on the webcam so that she could be a part of the fun. Amid all the excitment I actually managed to get a few decent pictures and thought that it would be fun to share them.

24 Weeks

2009-03-18T15:49:00.001-05:00

Well, we have hit 24 weeks, the baby and I. It seems to me (and others may have noticed) That I am quite a bit bigger with baby # 3 than I was with #1 and #2. In either case here is a "belly" picture (please don't look at the rest of me - I'm still recooping from the zoo trip).

To Zoo or not to Zoo

2009-03-18T15:10:00.000-05:00

Today, I took the girls to the zoo. It was 75 degrees, spring break (no school), and just beautiful. I really have no idea what I was thinking, more than probably, I was not. The Oklahoma City Zoo is a really good zoo. We go there a lot, but I usually try to go during the week when kids are in school and early in the day so that it isn't very busy. Today the parking lot was overflowing into the Omniplex (science museum next door) parking lot - yes, this was about 9:30 am. By the time we left there at around 11:30 there was just no place left to park. So the traffic was bad, foot traffic even worse, especially when you consider all the strollers and wagons and the 3-5 trolleys they have running on busy days. Wow. We were surfing a raging tide of people, me, my 24 week pregnant belly, a 2.5 year old and a 4.5 year old. I try to get them to hold my hand (they usually don't have to at the zoo because we go when no one is there). They were actually pretty good about it. The problem with that is Zoe walks really fast and wants to move on quickly and Sydney lags behind and want to stay a while at each thing and take it all in. So I was torn in two most of the morning. Every time one of them let go of my hand they tried to get run over by some bigger person (or flood of them) or stopped paying attention and just walked right off with a different family! Yikes - Mommy has a heart attack. Oh well. Despite the craziness and utter exhaustion it wasn't a bad trip. Sadly our elephants are in Tulsa on a mating program for two years (it still bums the kids out when they aren't there). However, there is now a cool Dinosaur exhibit set up in a back corner area. We were lucky to see a whole lot of cats (which for some reason we rarely do) but there were very few "monkeys" only one orangutan playing in a refrigerator box. The Dino exhibit was really cool. I wish we had gotten to it before I was so worn out (kids too) they had life size animatronic dinos whose heads and arms and tails moved. T-rex made Syd a little nervous. Zoe is really into dinosaurs and could hardly decide which thing to look at first. There were some other cool things set up for kids, but because we were tired and felt like sardines in the little tent, we hurried on. On the last leg of out trip (walking as quick as possible by every hooved creature on the way to the car and bypassing completely a few of our favorite animals- bears, alligators, wolves, and the aquatic area...) Sydney fell and scraped up her elbow. It was bloody, though not too bad, but it has been the story of the day since. She has discovered bandaids (which never fit well on elbows) and there is always some big to do about any small injury. In any case I think it might be possible that they are now napping (or just being very quiet for a couple of minutes - you never can say for sure and I don't plan on disturbing them by checking). So here are a couple of pictures. Enjoy.

2009-03-10T10:19:00.001-05:00

I guess it has been a while since I posted anything. I have had a sudden second trimester burst of energy and my nesting instincts are out in full. Attic cleaning, baby bed building, project starting, backyard cleaning, and yardsale coordinating have been among the things that have been on the agenda the past couple of weeks (along with everything else that I find along the way that just has to be attended to "right now").
Everybody is doing good. Robs diet is paying off, he has lost something like 14 pounds to date. I, however, am gaining all the weight he is losing. Baby boy has started kicking up a storm. Zoe is leader at school today and has been so excited all weekend that she could hardly contain herself. Sydney has had a set back in the potty training (she would rather be like a baby and wear diapers than a big girl in panties - it's gonna be a long road...). Both kids were very excited about a warm spell we had over the last few days (88,81,77,76), getting to go out and play in the yard without freezing is always nice.
Well thats about all I have time for right this minute but I will try to get some pictured uploaded and posted soon.

Pizza

2009-03-02T09:18:00.000-06:00

A few days ago a friend of Rob's asked for a recipe for the Chicken Caesar Pizza that we make (he must have been bragging about how good it is). He called and asked me to email it to him. Well that was a lot of typing for my less than coordinated fingers. I thought that I had better not let it go to waste. So here it is for any who are interested.

Here is the recipe and all the accompanying recipes that you might needfor this pizza. In ( ) I have commented on some shortcuts andsubstitutes that we use to make it faster. I hope you enjoy it. -Lacey

Chicken Caesar Pizza

Marinade:
1/2 Cup extra-virgin olive oil (we have also used vegetable oil and itworks fine)
3 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice ( bottled works for us)
2 large jalepeno peppers, trimmed and minced ( you can also use bottled or canned)
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced (garlic powder can be substituted)
Pinch of chopped fresh cilantro leaves (we never add this, but itsprobably good)
Kosher salt (or table salt)
1 1/4 lbs skinned boned uncooked chicken cut into cubes (about 4 cups)

Make marinade and marinate the chicken for 1 hour, refrigerated.
Cook Chicken:
In a skillet heat a tablespoon of oil (I just spray it with cookingspray). Remove chicken from marinade with a slotted spoon. Saute untilbrowned on all sides. Do not overcook. Remove and set aside.

For Pizza:
1 Recipe Pizza Dough (or premade crust)
2 Tablespoons Chili and Garlic Oil ( recipe follows)
1/4 cup Oven dried tomatoes ( recipe follows - Rob likes to just putfresh cubed tomatoes on at the end instead)
2 cups shredded or grated Mozzerella Cheese (8 ounces)
2 cups grated fontina cheese (8 ounces)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano ( or 1 teaspoon dried)
Sauteed spicy Chicken (from above)
2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesean Cheese (we use pre-grated)
10 ounces romaine lettuce cut into chiffonade (little ribbons)
1/2 cup Ceasar Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Salt and pepper
1/2 ounce parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Roll out dough (if needed) and place on pizza pan (if you put cornmeal under it it won't stick). Brush dough with chili garlic oil and layer as follows: tomatoes (if youchose to use oven dried, if not put them on with the lettuce),mozzerella, fontina, herbs, chicken and parmesan (we generally puteverything on under the cheese to keep it on the crust, but this is howthe book says to do it). Bake pizza 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven.Toss the lettuce with the vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper.Arrange lettuce (and tomatoes if you prefer) on pizza and top withremaining parmesan. Cut into slices and serve immediately.

Chili and Garlic Oil:
Makes 2 Cups (more than you need for the pizza)

1 whole head of garlic cloves seperated and peeled
2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

In a small sauce pan combine garlic cloves and olive oil and bring to aboil. Reduce heat and simmer until garlic turns golden brown 10-15minutes. Do not let the garlic get too dark because it will have a bitter taste. Let cool and then add the red pepper flakes. Infuse for at least 2 hoursto allow the flavors to blend. Refrigerate in a covered container.

**** I use store bought "chili oil" and add garlic powder stir it up and use it - much faster and easier. In a pinch I have even just usedolive oil garlic powder and red pepper flakes.

Oven Dried Tomatoes:
Makes 1 1/4 cups (more than you need for the pizza)
2 lbs roma tomatoes (about 12)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
6 garlic cloves crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Preheat to 250 degrees. In a pot of boiling water blanch tomatoes. Drain and refresh in icewater. Drain. Peel. Core. Cut into quarters. Remove seeds. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and arrange the tomato quarters on the tray cut side down. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with thyme and garlic. In a small bowl combine salt pepper and sugar and sprinkle over tomatoes. Bake until the tomatoes begin to shrivel, about 1 hour. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle transfer to a container. Pour olive oil over and cover. Refrigerate and use as needed.

****See why we use fresh on the top - way too much work unless you planto spend all day cooking or using them a lot.

Caesar Vinaigrette:
Makes about 2 cups (more than you need for the pizza)

1 egg
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (bottled is fine)
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 anchovy fillets mashed (we never do this)
Scant cup peanut oil (vegetable or olive oil is fine)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, lemon juice, garlic,worchestershire sauce, red pepper flakes, mustard, and anchovies. Slowly whisk in the oils to emulsify. Stir in the cheese and season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate in a covered container. When ready to use, whisk again.Will keep up to one week in a refrigerated covered container.

**** This is really good. If you don't want to spend the time storebought tastes good too.

Pizza Dough:
Makes 4 personal pizzas, 2 medium/small pizzas, or 1 large pizza

1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil or chili and garlic oil

In a small bowl dissolve the yeast and honey in 1/4 cup water (it will"proof" aka get bubbly in a couple of minutes, but if the water is toohot your pizza won't rise).In a mixer fitted with a dough hook , combine flour and salt. Add the oil, your mixture, and remaining 3/4 cup water and mix on low speed until the dough comes cleanly away from the sides of the bowl and clusters around the dough hook, about 5 minutes. (can also be made in a food precessor. Disolve yeast as above. combine flour and salt inprocessor with steel blade. pulse once or twice, add remaining ingredients and process until the dought forms a ball.)Turn dough out onto clean work surface and knead by hand for 2-3 minutes longer. The dough should be firn and smooth. Cover the dough with a clean, damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot for about 30 minutes.(when ready the dough will stretch when it is lightly pulled.) If you are making more than one pizza divide the dough now. Work the ball(s) by pulling down the sides and tucking it under the bottom of the ball. Repeat 3-4 times. Then on a smooth surface roll the ball under the palm of your hand until the top is smooth and firm, about 1 minute. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let it rest 15-20 minutes more. (At thispoint the dough can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days)Stretch or roll the dough into a cirlce or square (to fit your pizza pan). Spread pan with Cornmeal to prevent sticking. Place dough on pan. Top as desired. Bake at 500 Degrees 10-12 minutes.

****We use this recipe all the time. If you do the dough first you can make all the other toppings (if you use the shortcuts) while it rises. Start to finish it usually takes us an hour.

25 Random Things

2009-02-25T10:10:00.000-06:00

I am finding out so much about the people I thought I knew that I kinda dig this random things business. So if anyone is interested here are 25 random things about me and mine:

1. I collect hobbies. Here are a few that I have tried: sewing, knitting, scrapbooking, painting, drawing, glass etching, candle making, calligraphy, card making, floral arranging, decoupage, cross stitch, beading, and many other random crafts. Not suprisingly there are many more things I would like to try.

2. We (Rob and I) own 40 cookbooks (no joke). I'm not sure if this makes us "foodies" but we like to try new foods and experiment in the kitchen. Rob is by far a better cook, but I am a better baker. I make awesome French bread if I do say so myself, and I guess I just did. We also like to try new wines, beers, and other alcoholic concoctions (when I'm not pregnant or nursing of course).

3. I consider myself an artist, regardless of the fact that I have only sold a few things (mostly to family members) and was recently rejected by every plausable gallery in the Oklahoma City metro area (too progressive was the only actual response I got as to why).

4. I have only been out of the country one time. It was on our honeymoon, we went to St. Lucia (and a few days in Puerto Rico). It was fabulous. Thats right I have never even been to Canada or Mexico. I would love to someday be able to travel all over the world, most especially Europe (all that art, history, and new foods....).

5. Since being married into the military we have only lived 2 places : Oklahoma City area and Tacoma Washington. Hopfully that will be changing soon, part of the excitement of the military is being able to go places. Rob, however, has been deployed all over the US and abroad, though not recently.

6. Even though or maybe because I have attended 4 colleges (Lewis Clark State College, University of Idaho, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and University of Central Oklahoma) I do not have a college degree. Someday.... I have also had several majors (fashion design, 3-d studio art, 2-d studio art, graphic design, and a couple semesters where I just didn't know). If I were to go back now I still have no idea what i would want to do.

7. I am a "Beauty School Drop-out." Feel free to start singing.

8. For about a year, I was a stripper. I would say exotic dancer, but to be honest that sounds way classier than it actually was. Now I just hope my kids never ask about what mommy did before marrying daddy.

9. I am really bad at sports, not for lack of interest ( I played basketball in 8th grade and was a cheerleader in 7th - more enthusiasm that skill in both). I just tend to be rather uncoordinated.

10. I like to Google random topics of interest and learn all about things that have little to no application to my actual life. I Googled my name one day and Lacey Leigh is the name of a middle aged transvestite with his own website. Lacey Christiansen actually came up with a couple of things that were actually me though.

11. I occasionally read novels, but tend to have problems putting them down once I start so I try to limit my intake (or my kids think I have forgotten about them). When I check books out of the library they are almost always from either the arts and crafts section or the self help/ psychology section ( I really like reading about personality typing [more on that later] and creativity). The rest of the time its childrens books for me. I heart Sandra Boynton.

12. I have one tattoo. It is of a cross (very poorly done). I would like to have it fixed and get about 5 more. Again, maybe someday.....

13. When I lived in Hawaii, I did NOT learn how to surf. I parasailed, tubed, and body surfed once, but when you say you lived in Hawaii for a while people only want to know if you learned to surf.

14. I never imagined myself where I am today. Married (to the military, no less) with 2.5 kids and a couple of cats (which almost add up to a dog) and a house (2 actually) and 2 cars in the driveway. (Throwback American Dream) But I have to say I am happy and most of the time I like being a wife and a mom - go figure.

15. I love to shop. Mostly at arts and crafts stores (Yay for Hobby Lobby!) and clothes and home decor shopping are fun too. But I could stroll around a craft store for hours and never get bored. Bouquets of freshly sharpened pencils, rows of paints lined up just so, stacks of paper, and aisles of yarn make me smile. I always look in the office supply/ crafts aisles in Target/Walmart etc even though I don't have an office. Buying school supplies was and is always one of my favorite back to school activities. New art supplies make me giddy for days. What can I say, I am a freak.

16. I am a beginner/ intermediate knitter. I have made loads of scarves (warm necks forever!), some fingerless gloves, hats (adult and kid), a couple of sweaters and tops, and a few purses/ bags. Right now I am about half way finished with my first baby blanket (for #3).

17. I have a "black thumb." While the rest of my family is proficient if not brilliant at gardening I cannot grow plants (flowers, veggies, I've even killed a cactus). Sad, especially because I would like to collect it as another hobby. I still try from time to time though, hoping someday that my luck will change.

18. I want to be green. I try to be green. I recycle and but green cleaning supplies, use cold water for my laundry(even tried to make my own laundry detergent - darn it all, Tide just works better), only run full loads in the dishwasher. I really with that more companies made green products and that regular grocery stores carried the ones that are available. But as Kermit the Frog put it "It isn't easy being green."

19. I am a blogaholic. I read my friends blogs fanatically - comments too. I also love to get comments on my own blog - so keep them coming. It helps me to feel in touch with people that I never get to see. I think its extra important to me because I have no social life here outside of my family and one or two friends who I rarely see. Which leads me to #20...

20. I think I might be a hermit someday. I have no problem entertaining myself or being alone. And I rarely desire to be around lots of people. Don't worry I am not agoraphobic.

21. My personality type is INFJ. That translates to Introverted, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging. I would be very interested to know what personality types my friends are. If you want to know there is a free quiz at : http://www.humanmetrics.com If you do take the quiz post your results or comment to me :)

22. I am addicted to ice cream. I will eat it any time of the day and season of the year. I like pretty much every flavor I have ever tried. I even have an ice ream maker and a recipe book for it and a marble slab for mix-ins. And while I am a junk food junkie and will happily gorge on any sugary delight, ice cream is by far my favorite treat. That being said, right now, I could really go for some cheesecake. (Did I mention I am pregnant?)

23. I believe that there is nothing quite like a good story. Books, movies, music, art, hanging out with Mrs. Meyer.....

24. I built my own website, but have never updated it. I should, I know, but who has the time. Obviously not me.

25. I love to laugh. I think the best and most enduring friendships I have had in my life are with people who can make me laugh and who I can make laugh.

A break....

2009-02-12T07:59:00.001-06:00

My grandfather (Mom's side) has passed away and I will be flying to Oregon to attend his memorial service, so I won't be posting anything for at least a week. In advance, Happy Valentines Day to everyone - I hope you are able to celebrate with those you love.

Near Miss

2009-02-11T10:00:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, we had a string of thunderstorms come through the area. Several of which produced tornados. Of course Rob was at work and the kids and I were at home. The tornado sirens went off and I flipped on the TV expecting the warning to be for the Oklahoma City metro area. To my suprise I find that most of the metro is being skirted but the storms are headed right towards Edmond (where we live). This is fairly unusual - we rarely have tornados hit in this part of town and February is also tad early for major storms like this (especially long strings of "tornadic super cells" as the weatherpeople call them). So I'm watching the weather and they say to expect up to tennis ball size hail. I panic. Our garage is a disaster area - no room for the car. So I haul my pregnant but out there and shove everything to the wall s as fast as I can so I can get the car inside, which thankfully I do before the weather gets really bad. Then the kids and I huddle in our safe spot covered in pillows and beanbag chairs when the power goes out. The kids are freaking out about no lights and all the thunder and lightning and then the hail starts (as I thank God I got the car inside). About a half hour later the power came back on and Rob called to check on me and the kids. We of course were fine. Turns out the tornado touched down about a half mile to our west then picked back up and touched down again to our north east. Lucky! So in case anyone saw it on the news - We are OK in OK.

Ultrasound pictures...

2009-02-06T10:39:00.001-06:00

Pictures of pictures...sorry they aren't very good.

Drum roll please.....

2009-02-05T13:05:00.000-06:00

And baby #3 is.........a BOY!!!!! We finally are going to get to use the boy name we have had picked out since we were pregnant with Zoe. Bennett, for those that don't know. Still working on the middle name (Rob wants to keep with the city name theme we have going - Zoe London, Sydney Raine, Bennett ????).

Proud Moment

2009-01-27T08:34:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, Sydney went all day in big girl panties without having an accidentand pottied in the toilet every time she needed to go!!!!!! She wore diapers at nap and bedtime, but we are making definite progress. Thats my big girl!

Art For Sale CHEAP!

2009-01-26T10:11:00.000-06:00

Hi Friends,

I want to clear some space in my studio so I am letting everyone know that I am selling off my past artwork at below cost. If there are any paintings you have had your eye on or are the least bit interested in owning, please, let me know. Original art is always cooler than a print! If you haven't already checked it out my website is www.abstractinfusion.com (be patient it takes a while to load).

Hope to hear from you soon!

Lacey