One Sunday in January after we came home from church I turned the oven on to make a batch of chocolate cupcakes. We had a get together to go to, and had been busy that Saturday so this was the only time I had to bake.
I turned to oven on to preheat and then turned back to my cupcake batter. B was in the kitchen with me doing something. The next thing I knew, he told me to get out of the way cause he needed to grab the fire extinguisher. I instinctively moved out of the way and then looked at what he needed it for. Apparently he saw some fire in the oven. Originally he assumed that the fire was from some food drippings, but I had just cleaned the oven recently. He turned off the oven and started to push me back towards the window--now, if we had been smart, we would have gotten out of the kitchen altogether.
We both seriously thought that the oven was going to explode! There was a bright white light and then eventually the oven went dark.
Before we left for our get together--cupcake batter ready to be baked elsewhere--I made him turn off the breaker since I didn't trust the oven.
Later that evening, B determined that the heating coil had gone out.
Long story short, we ordered a new coil. Said coil arrived and B got to work fixing the oven...or so we thought.
Monday evening he asked me to bake some muffins. I was excited about using my 'new' oven, so while I was prepping dinner I turned the oven on to preheat. After about 10 minutes I decided to check the oven to make sure it was heating up, so I opened the oven door and found it was cool as a cucumber on the inside :(
After the kids were in bed, B started looking at the oven and found that when the original coil went out, another thing had gone out as well...probably from the heat of the fire on the inside of the oven.
So, here I am, almost 2 weeks later with no oven to bake in :(
Looks like a new oven is in my future, and it can't get here soon enough!!!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
9 Years
Okay, we honestly didn't plan our kids birthdays to be almost exactly 2 years apart, but hey, they are. Though it does make it easy at party time, especially because they have always wanted to have a joint birthday.
Today is E's 9th birthday. My first born. My son. When I was in labor with him, I thought it was just a stomach ache. Early labor started in the morning. I was throwing up and couldn't keep food down. At 3:30 that Saturday afternoon I heard a POP and felt a trickle. Sure enough my water had broken. We were at the hospital by 4:15 and then there was a great gush! By 7:34 pm, my baby boy had arrived!!
So, in honor of his 9th birthday, here are 9 fun facts about him:
- He has always been a sweet boy. I used to sleep with him on my chest every afternoon for our afternoon nap. He still lets me cuddle with him.
- He is very independent. Always has been. I would put him down and he would be content playing--as opposed to K, who always had to have someone near.
- By 18 months he was addicted to Hot Wheels. When he was 2 yrs old he could even identify if a car was a Hot Wheel. There were many times we would give him a random car and he would look for the Hot Wheel logo, and if it was not there, he would let us know it was not a Hot Wheel and he would not play with it!
- He started walking on October 31, 2001. B and I were watching the World Series (Yankees and Diamondbacks). E was tempted by a red plastic cup I was drinking water from. B had E by him and he started taking steps to get the water.
- When E had been crawling a few months, B and I would put E in the middle of the room. We would go to separate sides of the room and call E to see who he would come to. He came to me most of the time!
- Since I was in the hospital with brand new baby K, E didn't get to have his 2nd birthday party on time. We celebrated his birthday with friends in February.
- After E's Hot Wheel addiction, he switched over to a love of Bionicles, and now to Legos. I am constantly stepping on or vacuuming up legos.
- E has only lost 4 teeth. Both my kids were late teethers. He is anxiously awaiting to lose more!
- He is very competitive---could he get that from me ;) He loves to play games so we play games at least 2 to 3 times per week.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
7 Years
At 9:01 a.m. seven years ago, B and I welcomed baby K into the world! I can hardly believe that she is 7!In honor of her 7th birthday, here are 7 fun tidbits about her:
- She has the best personality! She always has a quick comeback ready.
- She is perhaps the sweetest girl I have ever known. She makes cards constantly wishing us a good day or to tell us that she loves us. She loves to be around babies/toddlers and is a great help!
- She is a dancer. This is her 4th year in dance. She is doing ballet, tap, and jazz.
- She loves 'girl time.' And I love to have girl time with her! She always wants to go to the mall, and I promise, I didn't teach her that!
- She is extremely reserved in new situations but talks nonstop here at home. Sometimes I wish it were the other way around ;) She started talking before she was 1.
- She has a great laugh! She loves for me to tickle her (crazy girl!)
- She loves her Papa's lemon pasta. And her Papa! She has had him wrapped around her pinky since she was born!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
2009 Year in Review
I can not believe that today is the last day of 2009. When I think of how 2008 was closing I knew that God had some major changes in store for us in the coming year. Again I can not help but feel as if there are more changes that God is preparing us for in 2010.
So, with that, here is a run down of the highlights and lowlights of 2009.
January--E & K both celebrated birthdays. E turned 8 and K turned 6.
February--Tia, B's sister who had lived with us for a few years, got married. Both kids were in the wedding. She met an awesome guy and I know that God has His hand on their marriage.
March--On the 15th, the children publicly accepted Jesus as their Savior through Baptism! The following week, B got a phone call offering him a position with a new job. We had 24 hours to decide if he would take the job--kinda funny when you think about it, since he had initially pursued this job in Oct. 2006.
April--A whirlwind month. B left on April 21st to go to a 6 month long (really 28 weeks) out-of-state, training for the new job. Before this, B had been working from home since E was 3 months old. So, to not be around him at all when we were so used to him being around was hard. The first few weeks were extremely hard. We had a few things that kept us busy, such as the kids sport activities.
May--B was able to come home for the weekend of Memorial Day. This weekend also happened to be K's dance recital and I was beyond thrilled that we would be together as a family for this short amount of time and that B would be able to see K's year of hard work!
June--I had decided back in late April that I would try to work at two Mother's Day Out programs in the summer to keep us busy, so this month is when it started. It was hard. Most of the month is a blur.
July--B and I were able to spend the July 4th weekend together. The kids stayed with some friends and I flew out on the 2nd. We had a great weekend together and went to the beach to see the fireworks show on the 4th. A few weeks after that B was able to come home to spend some time with the kids.
August--The kids and I took a mini vacation with Aunt J to Abilene. We needed the time away and it was so much fun.
K began her 4th year of dance. I started schooling the kids again. E is in 3rd grade, K is in 1st.
September--I left the kids with some friends and went on a trip to New England with J, my mom and my aunt. This trip had been in the works since 2008 and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to go when B accepted the new job. Thankfully one of my friends allowed the kids to stay with them until B was able to pick them up. This trip was a much needed respite from single mom duty.
B's company had the labor day weekend pre-arranged as a trip home, so when I got home from the airport B and the kids were at home waiting. We took B back to the airport on the 8th.
On Sept. 9th we received word that my dad's mom, my Grandma Louise, had passed away. I spent the next 24 hours trying to figure out where to send the kids as it was to expensive to take them up to New York for the funeral. E had a trip to D.C. already scheduled with my sister, so he spent an additional day at her house while my friend L offered to watch K for me. So, on Sept. 11th my sister J, my brother and I headed to New York to meet up with my parents who had already traveled there.
I really didn't know my grandmother that well. I can only remember a handful of times that we saw her.
October--B had one more pre-arranged trip home, and it fell on the 2nd weekend of October. On the 20th, I celebrated my 30th bday. I worked that evening at church ( I do childcare) and my friend who I work with had decorated the room for me and brought me a gift and some balloons. It was such a sweet and heartfelt gesture. B's birthday was on the 26th and it killed me not being able to be with him and celebrate.
I left that weekend though to go to GA for the last time to spend the weekend with B while the kids stayed with my mom. We headed up to Savannah and even had dinner at Paula Deen's The Lady and Son's restaurant.
November--My trip to GA lasted until the beginning of Nov. B graduated from training on Nov. 3rd and we began the trip home. The trip lasted about 17 hours of driving time. We picked the kids up from my parent's on the 4th, and I was relieved to have my family all back together.
B started his new job on the 6th, and we celebrated my 30th and B's homecoming with friends that weekend.
We also were able to celebrate the adoption of my friend S's baby girl. What a humbling experience.
December--This past month has gone by in a flash. We have slowly started to settle into a routine.
While B was gone for those 28 weeks, I honestly felt that I needed to just survive. We would have arguments because he would say that I should be flourishing, but I felt like I was doing all I could to just survive.
I could not have possibly made it through the time that he was gone without my friends and family. There is a gentleman at church who constantly called asking if I needed help with anything and he helped me with the lawn work and other household things that would pop up and need replacing/fixing. My friends were there for me when I needed them most and listened to me when I needed to talk. And my family. The kids and I spent a lot of time with my family, especially my sister J and I cherish those moments.
Finally my God. I could not have survived without His love and grace. The first month or so that B was gone I had trouble sleeping. Any little noise would disturb me. I went to bed thinking of ways to protect my kids and myself and I woke up thinking of ways to protect my kids and myself.
Let me end this with my life verse:
2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give me the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind.
God would place that verse on my heart and in my mind and I can clearly say I have felt His peace through all I have been through.
So, with that, here is a run down of the highlights and lowlights of 2009.
January--E & K both celebrated birthdays. E turned 8 and K turned 6.
February--Tia, B's sister who had lived with us for a few years, got married. Both kids were in the wedding. She met an awesome guy and I know that God has His hand on their marriage.
March--On the 15th, the children publicly accepted Jesus as their Savior through Baptism! The following week, B got a phone call offering him a position with a new job. We had 24 hours to decide if he would take the job--kinda funny when you think about it, since he had initially pursued this job in Oct. 2006.
April--A whirlwind month. B left on April 21st to go to a 6 month long (really 28 weeks) out-of-state, training for the new job. Before this, B had been working from home since E was 3 months old. So, to not be around him at all when we were so used to him being around was hard. The first few weeks were extremely hard. We had a few things that kept us busy, such as the kids sport activities.
May--B was able to come home for the weekend of Memorial Day. This weekend also happened to be K's dance recital and I was beyond thrilled that we would be together as a family for this short amount of time and that B would be able to see K's year of hard work!
June--I had decided back in late April that I would try to work at two Mother's Day Out programs in the summer to keep us busy, so this month is when it started. It was hard. Most of the month is a blur.
July--B and I were able to spend the July 4th weekend together. The kids stayed with some friends and I flew out on the 2nd. We had a great weekend together and went to the beach to see the fireworks show on the 4th. A few weeks after that B was able to come home to spend some time with the kids.
August--The kids and I took a mini vacation with Aunt J to Abilene. We needed the time away and it was so much fun.
K began her 4th year of dance. I started schooling the kids again. E is in 3rd grade, K is in 1st.
September--I left the kids with some friends and went on a trip to New England with J, my mom and my aunt. This trip had been in the works since 2008 and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to go when B accepted the new job. Thankfully one of my friends allowed the kids to stay with them until B was able to pick them up. This trip was a much needed respite from single mom duty.
B's company had the labor day weekend pre-arranged as a trip home, so when I got home from the airport B and the kids were at home waiting. We took B back to the airport on the 8th.
On Sept. 9th we received word that my dad's mom, my Grandma Louise, had passed away. I spent the next 24 hours trying to figure out where to send the kids as it was to expensive to take them up to New York for the funeral. E had a trip to D.C. already scheduled with my sister, so he spent an additional day at her house while my friend L offered to watch K for me. So, on Sept. 11th my sister J, my brother and I headed to New York to meet up with my parents who had already traveled there.
I really didn't know my grandmother that well. I can only remember a handful of times that we saw her.
October--B had one more pre-arranged trip home, and it fell on the 2nd weekend of October. On the 20th, I celebrated my 30th bday. I worked that evening at church ( I do childcare) and my friend who I work with had decorated the room for me and brought me a gift and some balloons. It was such a sweet and heartfelt gesture. B's birthday was on the 26th and it killed me not being able to be with him and celebrate.
I left that weekend though to go to GA for the last time to spend the weekend with B while the kids stayed with my mom. We headed up to Savannah and even had dinner at Paula Deen's The Lady and Son's restaurant.
November--My trip to GA lasted until the beginning of Nov. B graduated from training on Nov. 3rd and we began the trip home. The trip lasted about 17 hours of driving time. We picked the kids up from my parent's on the 4th, and I was relieved to have my family all back together.
B started his new job on the 6th, and we celebrated my 30th and B's homecoming with friends that weekend.
We also were able to celebrate the adoption of my friend S's baby girl. What a humbling experience.
December--This past month has gone by in a flash. We have slowly started to settle into a routine.
While B was gone for those 28 weeks, I honestly felt that I needed to just survive. We would have arguments because he would say that I should be flourishing, but I felt like I was doing all I could to just survive.
I could not have possibly made it through the time that he was gone without my friends and family. There is a gentleman at church who constantly called asking if I needed help with anything and he helped me with the lawn work and other household things that would pop up and need replacing/fixing. My friends were there for me when I needed them most and listened to me when I needed to talk. And my family. The kids and I spent a lot of time with my family, especially my sister J and I cherish those moments.
Finally my God. I could not have survived without His love and grace. The first month or so that B was gone I had trouble sleeping. Any little noise would disturb me. I went to bed thinking of ways to protect my kids and myself and I woke up thinking of ways to protect my kids and myself.
Let me end this with my life verse:
2 Timothy 1:7 For God did not give me the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of sound mind.
God would place that verse on my heart and in my mind and I can clearly say I have felt His peace through all I have been through.
Friday, December 18, 2009
Gingerbread Houses
We went to a friends house for our annual Gingerbread House decorating day, and this is E & K's masterpiece for 2009. Unfortunately it collapsed on itself later in the evening. Could it be all of the candy piled on top that had something to do with it???Thursday, December 17, 2009
Another post about recipes
I am so proud of myself! I have been trying to make more new recipes since B has been home. I have made at least one or two each week. Some of the things I have made based on recipes I have recently found include potato soup, lazy cabbage rolls, sweet potato fries, and a ridiculous amount of cookies.
One of E's Awana leaders called Tuesday morning to ask if I could bring 3 dozen cookies for their party on Wednesday evening.
I knew that I wanted to bake some for K's class as well and then send any leftovers to work with B.
I also knew that I wanted to make cookies that I don't normally make.
My friend E sent me her recipe for Williams Sonoma peanut butter cookies, so I made a batch of those. I also made a batch of snickerdoodles, andes mint cookies and m&m cookies.
The least time consuming were the m&m cookies--I literally just made the batch up and put it in the oven. The other 3 batches of cookies had to be chilled in the fridge for as long as 2 hours!
When I was putting the last bit of cookies on the pan to bake, K came into the kitchen and was shocked at the counter full of cookies. She started counting them, and said there had to be at least 102 cookies on the counter. I think there were actually more like 150 cookies on the counter.
I did try one of each cookie, but the rest are out of the house!
One of E's Awana leaders called Tuesday morning to ask if I could bring 3 dozen cookies for their party on Wednesday evening.
I knew that I wanted to bake some for K's class as well and then send any leftovers to work with B.
I also knew that I wanted to make cookies that I don't normally make.
My friend E sent me her recipe for Williams Sonoma peanut butter cookies, so I made a batch of those. I also made a batch of snickerdoodles, andes mint cookies and m&m cookies.
The least time consuming were the m&m cookies--I literally just made the batch up and put it in the oven. The other 3 batches of cookies had to be chilled in the fridge for as long as 2 hours!
When I was putting the last bit of cookies on the pan to bake, K came into the kitchen and was shocked at the counter full of cookies. She started counting them, and said there had to be at least 102 cookies on the counter. I think there were actually more like 150 cookies on the counter.
I did try one of each cookie, but the rest are out of the house!
Friday, December 4, 2009
One of my favorite sites
I have several websites that I go to on a daily basis. I am addicted to blogs! One site that I check at least twice daily, if not more, is foodgawker.com
It has a ton of different food dishes that are submitted by different bloggers daily. I love to browse through there and see if there is anything there that I would actually make. Clicking on the picture actually takes you to the blog where they usually give the recipe for that item.
So, on Wednesday I was searching through there and decided to try out two recipes there. One was apple spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting(moderndomestic.com) and the other was roasted chickpeas (askgeorgie.com). While I don't care for chickpeas, I thought B would enjoy them. He takes a salad to work for lunch almost every day and I thought that the chickpeas would add a different dimension to the salad instead of the almonds or walnuts that he usually has in his salad.
Both of these recipes turned out well. I will definitely be making the apple spice cupcakes again. I am not sure if B loved the chickpeas but he did like them--though he has yet to have them on a salad. He tells me that he has just been picking them from the container.
I already have a few other recipes pulled up on foodgawker that I would like to make! I can't wait!
It has a ton of different food dishes that are submitted by different bloggers daily. I love to browse through there and see if there is anything there that I would actually make. Clicking on the picture actually takes you to the blog where they usually give the recipe for that item.
So, on Wednesday I was searching through there and decided to try out two recipes there. One was apple spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting(moderndomestic.com) and the other was roasted chickpeas (askgeorgie.com). While I don't care for chickpeas, I thought B would enjoy them. He takes a salad to work for lunch almost every day and I thought that the chickpeas would add a different dimension to the salad instead of the almonds or walnuts that he usually has in his salad.
Both of these recipes turned out well. I will definitely be making the apple spice cupcakes again. I am not sure if B loved the chickpeas but he did like them--though he has yet to have them on a salad. He tells me that he has just been picking them from the container.
I already have a few other recipes pulled up on foodgawker that I would like to make! I can't wait!
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