Safety first, people
July 30, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 6 Comments
The children and Tarrah were safely far away, safely in the house while we were safely in the woods, safely shooting a Sig .40. We were oh, so safely having an awesome time.
Dang, this was serious fun.
Baby Belly Picture at Four and One Half Months
July 28, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 7 Comments
Winner!
July 27, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 3 Comments
I just have to say, you people are Starbucks fiends! I like Starbucks and all but seriously…. Wow! I had NO idea. Without further ado the winner is:
Congratulations CMommy!! I’ll send it out as soon as I get your address.
Now, we’ll go back to regular blogging. Our little blog was starting to get the shakes from the inordinate amount of traffic.
Can You Feel the Love?
July 27, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 4 Comments
Daniel and I loved this whole display of affection tonight. Neither child was being mean, it was all in the name of play. And although these incidents happened quite separately, that takes nothing away from the humor of it all. I can’t even tell you how happy I am that I caught these random acts of kindness with my camera. This is priceless stuff, people.
Dog Days of Summer
July 27, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 460 Comments
We will pick the winner tonight at 8:30 EST!
Today marks the beginning of the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. This fun idea is hosted by Shannon from Rocks In My Dryer. If you pop over you can see a full list of the participants as well as check out what they are giving away. Seriously, who doesn’t love free stuff! There are 221 people signed up already! Go have a hayday with your comments! You just never know.
A $25 dollar gift card to Starbucks!
The rule for winning is to simply leave a comment on this post(only one please), we will draw and announce the winner on Friday, July 27th. We must have a way to contact you for your address. Happy free coffee thoughts are sent your way!
An Eve-ism
July 25, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 2 Comments
Random. My sweet Eve is very random. She looked at me afterwards to see if it was alright that she licked a book. I just laughed. I suggested that perhaps she could just stick to licking her books from now on. I just never know what’s next with this one.Bring on the bacon
July 24, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 6 Comments
A Sunday Afternoon at the Lincoln River
July 22, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 5 Comments
We found this beautiful river when I was pregnant with Judah. Our then midwife lived way out in the sticks and we had to drive by the river to get to her house. It is so peaceful, beautiful, and clean. It beckons you to come and play. The water is crystal clear, and has a wonderful sound to it. It’s almost like I can escape life for a few hours when I am there. The kids had more fun than I’ve seen them have in a long time. An absolutely perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon. A bit farther down the river is a gorgeous waterfall that you can actually jump into. It’s about a 35 or 40 foot drop. Daniel, my brothers, and even my Dad have jumped. Now, we just need to get Tarrah’s husband Sam to come down and jump with Daniel one of these days.
**Just to update: Yes, there is a random picture of horses in the slide show. There is a farm on the way that has a gazillion mini horses, whose purpose is yet unknown. That picture shows only a fraction. I find it all very strange, yet intriguing.
Splish Splash
July 21, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 4 Comments
We took the kids to the pool this evening for some more water fun. This was real fun though, not pseudo fun! Judah learned how to kick his legs while laying on his back. He had a blast!
The real feat was just convincing him to actually lay on his back. But, he did it. I think he just didn’t like water in his ears.
Eve used the noodle and kicked away. No Momma telling her to not splash quite so much, like when she’s in the bathtub.
Usually we go to the pool during the winter and that involves layers, and snow, and freezing cold and boots… you get the picture. This was a breeze!
My favorite part is how tired the kids are afterwards. I fed them and off to dreamland they went, with no complaining. I’m a happy Momma tonight.
Caught in a torrential downpour
July 20, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 5 Comments
I’m not sure why I am smiling. I was not smiling on the inside, for sure. There wasn’t a piece of my clothing dry. No, nothing.
Let me just preface this by saying – it was a gorgeous day when we left for a fun-filled afternoon at Shelburne Farms. Blue skies, big puffy white clouds, absolutely perfect.
The walk out the barnyard at Shelburne Farms is about 1 mile. We felt a few drops along the way, but I can handle a little rain. At about the half way point the skies opened up and it was a torrential downpour. I started to run while trying to push my Maclaren stroller through deep gravel (holla if you know how hard that is! holy freakin’ cow!), thinking of my wonderful camera in the netting underneath the stroller. Oh, to add insult to injury it’s hilly that last half mile. I was the crazy mother yelling to her four year old “RUN!” A four year old I couldn’t really see because it was raining so hard. It was in essence – NUTS. To be put oh, you know…mildly.
We finally made it to the barn and some kind soul opened one of the gates for us; I wish I could say I checked on Judah or Eve first to make sure no one had drowned, but instead I grabbed the camera. It was soaking wet, but after a good rub down with a towel it seems to be fine. The rest of us didn’t fare so well. Judah shivered the whole three hours we were there, Eve was freezing, and I now have permanent goosebumps. But, we had fun. Reeeally.
Well, we did enjoy the cheese.
Judah with a sprinkle of Eve
July 18, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 5 Comments
He’s a strange child indeed. Tonight the steamed broccoli disappeared like a flash from his pudgy little hands into his mouth, yet the delicious and nearly perfect meatloaf was left to go cold on his plate. And it’s like this every night. Vegetables go first, and he always wants more to boot, leaving the main dish as dismissed. He certainly makes me go: “Hmmmm”.
As for Eve, things are going downhill very quickly. Last night she said: “We might be moving to ‘Cali-floor-nea’ ,” tonight it was ‘Castle-floor-nea’. Hey, we are military! You just never know where we might end up.
Tree Climbers 2006 and 2007
July 17, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 5 Comments
April 2006
July 2007
I love this picture. Judah is my sweet little man.
My sweet big man.He is the reason my children are in trees. As for me, I say why test fate. I would pick the wrong branch to put my foot on.
Barbecued Chicken and Grape Salad
July 16, 2007 | Filed Under Recipe | 5 Comments
This is the start of a delicious and easy summer salad. Although, I have been known to make it in the dead of winter. Believe me when I say it is delicious. I made it for first time when I had company (it’s a sickness I have, to try new recipes on company) and they loved it. It’s Daniel’s favorite summer meal.
Here is the recipe straight from my Cooking Light magazine. Underneath the recipe is my version. This is a great use for left-over grilled chicken.
2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2-3 bone in chicken breast (barbecued on the grill- cooled)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2c green grapes, halved
1 1/2 red grapes, halved
4 stalks celery sliced thin
1/4-1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup walnuts
Pull chicken off bone, slightly shred into medium to small pieces. Place in frying pan and add oil. Stir to coat. In a separate small bowl mix together first 4 ingredients and pour over chicken. Mix well over medium heat just until flavor is set. ( approx. 2 minutes) Place on plate in a thin layer. Cool in refrigerator. (or if you’re in a hurry – the freezer) In a large bowl mix together the grapes, celery, walnuts, and vinegar. When chicken is cooled add to bowl along with the mayonnaise. Toss until well coated. Enjoy!
**Could be served with crusty sourdough bread from a bakery. I served it with sliced cucumbers, and fresh green beans steamed, on the side.
He has brains too!!
July 13, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 7 Comments
Daniel passed the DLAB yesterday! In fact, he did amazing on it. Whoo – hoo!! That test sounded nearly impossible to pass when he described it to me. I actually asked if there were “right” answers or if they just were messing with your head. Of course, there are right answers – it just didn’t seem possible. This takes us one step closer to Daniel cross training into the cryptology career field and linguist school (DLI) out in Monterey, California. Eden and Steve from Once Upon a Dream are out there right now and seem to be really happy. I’m pretty sure I could handle living on the coast for approximately a year and a half. Spending time with the kids at the beach sounds awesome! I’m a New Yorker so the beach has never been a part of my lifestyle but I think I could adapt.
We’ve had so many opportunities present themselves to us over the last year that it makes our head spin, but all those doors have shut. Some of those doors have shut gently, others have slammed. What matters to us is that we are where God wants us. We have started the process of submitting Daniel’s re-training package and now comes the waiting. I wish I was better at it.
Until we find out if Daniel is accepted or not, you know what I’ll be dreaming of…. ocean waves and NO SNOW!
A new snack
July 12, 2007 | Filed Under Uncategorized | 3 Comments
I saw this post over at In the Midst of it yesterday, and thought it might be a fun snack for Eve and I to make together. We gathered the ingredients from the health food store that we didn’t have at home, namely the bread, and after rest time we whipped it up. Eve was a great help and very good at stirring the ingredients. Especially after I gave her a whisk. She had been using her hands! She enjoyed her bread dipping and also her peppermint tea. Judah made his own fun by stealing her napkins.
