December...Memory Lane

Merry Christmas one month too late.

December brought holiday cheer, cookie baking, and time with almost all of our family.  We are truly blessed.

Here we are a few days before Christmas.

And here are the kids Christmas day sporting some of their Christmas gifts.

I think we are up to date on blog posts, or as up to date as we are going to get.  Thank you for sticking with us during our sporadic, inconsistent blogging.

Happy New Year!!

November...Memory Lane

My JuJu bean turned 2 this month.  And she is a chatty, passionate, expressive little thing.  Have you ever heard of the Five Love Languages?  Julia is hands down our touch baby.  She is the one I pick up from school, and right when she sees me she yells, "MOMMY!" and comes barreling to me for the biggest of hugs.  When she loves she loves, with everything she is made of.

For her birthday, in our attempt to get back to eating right (lets just say Florida was about a hundred and two steps backwards in our grain-free, refined sugar free lifestyle) we made a Vanilla Bean Cake.    When Derek swung home from lunch the day of Julia's birthday, I had beans cooking on the stove.  A little insight into our conversation.

Me: "Did I tell you I am making Jewels birthday cake from beans?"

Derek looks skeptically into the pot cooking the white northern beans for her cake.

Derek: "Do I need to pick up a real birthday cake on the way home?"

Me: "What do you mean?  This is going to be a real birthday cake, just made of beans."

Derek is looking at me like my head is detached, and I can see him churning his wording around in his head as to what to say without offending me.

Derek:"Yes, but it's her birthday.  Don't we need her to have a real cake to put candles into?"

Me: "It is a real cake, just made of beans.  Do you want me to show you a picture?"

Derek: "yeah."

I show him the picture, and he starts laughing.

Derek: "Oh I see.  I thought you were just going to spread beans on a plate, layer it with cheese and sour cream and put candles in it."

It did look like a real cake, tasted like a real cake, and was devoured by all of us like a real cake.  The frosting was a mess, but it tasted great.

Julia even helped me make her cake.

At the end of the month, at Thanksgiving we attempted to get a cousin shot.  With seven kids ranging from 11 months to 8 years, it is near impossible.  But we gave it a go.  This is the best I got, not sure about the others :)

Cracks me up Julia is talking on a phone.  Cole's eye is a little puffy, because there was a little cousin rough housing, and Cole got an elbow, knee, or head bump to his eye.  We just called him Spot for the next couple of days.

One more month, and then we enter the New Year!  Whoop Whoop!

September/October...Memory Lane

Where were we??  Ahh yes, school pictures.  Would you believe it has taken me this whole time to find them, and that is the reason for the delay? Well either way I am really going to make an effort to keep this up.  2013 here we come!

September came with a Labor Day Parade, and more time together outside.

We ended September by road tripping down to Florida for a week.  It was awesome.  Relaxing.  Perfect.

Here is our week in a few snapshots...

To end October we took the kids trick-or-treating in Derek's old neighborhood, covering the same ground he did as a kid.  

Derek as Shaggy, Cole as Scooby Doo (yes this is the third year Cole has sported this dog costume) and Julia as the cutest little nose picking ladybug I have ever seen!

2 Hours 15 Minutes

Is how long it took me to complete my first half marathon.

13.1 miles.

The weather was perfect.

Mile 11 was terrible.

Crossing the finish line was awesome.

(Derek and I after the race.)

Derek finished in 1 hour and 56 minutes.

Laughing Gas Please

As a kid I was never afraid to go to the dentist.  I was afraid I would have a cavity, then get in trouble for having a cavity.  I would sit there hoping and praying I would hear the words, "Way to go Allison! No cavities."    A lot of times I did, but I did end up with a few cavities.  


The difference between having cavities as a kid and then having them as an adult is the laughing gas.  Recently I went to the dentist, and it was the first time I had been since I was pregnant with Cole.  Shame shame, I know. I ended up with a few cavities, five to be exact, three being on one tooth.  To my benefit, they were as small as cavities can get, and the only way he saw them was with this weird black light contraption.  Anyway, yesterday I went to get two of them filled, or sealed, whatever it is called nowadays. I was not nervous in the least, I remember having to get a cavity filled once as a kid, and it felt like an out of body experience.  The lights on the ceiling were dancing, it felt like I was in outer space.   Now I realize it was the laughing gas.


First they laid me back, no laughing gas in sight, and put some gel in my cheek where the shots were going to go.  Then we waited for it to kick in before giving me the injection.  You know on the movies where they show a large latex covered hand holding this huge needle with medicine dripping off the tip of it?  That is what I saw.  


A little warning would have been nice.  Like, "You might want to close your eyes Allison, unless you want to see this mega needle we about to jab into your mouth." But I did not get a warning.  Right when I saw the needle, I thought I was going to pass out.  I did not.  I ended up with a total of three injections.  Each one hurt.  I just wanted to yell, I promise to take better care of my teeth, I promise!  


Keep in mind I am a nurse.  I start IVs, see people get epidurals and spinals all of the time, and it does not bother me in the least.  I have had IV's, an epidural, and a spinal without a problem.  This was worse.  There is something about a needle coming directly at your face.  When you have your arm stuck out for an IV it seems like it is natural, it is easier to sacrifice your limb to a needle, than your face.


After they drilled, sealed, suctioned, and commented on my amount of saliva, really? (it is really hard to swallow when your mouth is open as far as it can with a bunch of equipment shoved in it, two people above you talking about dogs, and being completely numb on half of your mouth).  They sat me up to bite on this piece of ribbon thing, to check my bite, they asked me how I was doing, I said with a numb mumble, "this sucks." They chuckled. I did not find it funny in the least.   Normally, I am not this rude, but I was so over this.  They laid me back drilled, scraped, did what they do, and then sat me up to bite on another ribbon.  Then laid me back again.  


Finally, it was over.  They asked me how I was doing.  I said, "I would rather have a c-section, than do this again."  They looked at me like I was jumping over the moon.  Then in the silence I added, "But thank you.  See you next week for the other side."


I headed out to the waiting room, waiting for Derek, reading my book, and only occasionally drooled on the pages.  Cannot wait to go back next week, maybe I can ask for laughing gas?

Randomness

We are back to wearing coats, and hats.  Not quite our winter coats, but still.  

Julia is looking super cute in one of the hats I made her back when she was just a wee little one in my belly.  At the time I thought it looked so big.  Now it is just right.

We played outside for a bit today, but the wind was too strong for Julia.  So we headed inside.

When Derek got home I went for a run.  At times it felt like I was just running in place.  The wind was that strong.  

I recently read Sarah's Key.  It was eye opening.  So good. Humbling.  Warning:  Do not read when around others.  You will cry, maybe even blubber.  Just saying.

We are going to Chattanooga this summer.

Julia is the messiest eater ever.

Do not say the word "butt" around Cole.  He will correct you, like he did my mom tonight.  "Don't say that word Nana, it is a bottom."  She apologized.  Funny how kids make you follow your own rules.

Julia loves the word "cow."

We went to the library today.  Then to Lowe's.  We left with mulch, and lost a pacifier.

Nana made the kids blueberry pancakes for dinner.  She rocks.  My kids love her.  Just ask Cole.  

Cole:  Mom?

Me: Yeah?

Cole: I love Nana.

Me: That is great.

I love that my children love.

  

Higher and Faster

The best purchase we made a year ago was a swing set. Already this year the kids have been up and down the slide dozens of times. Recently, they have been digging the glider.

Cole is always asking to go faster, and higher than the trees. This surprises me with his cautious nature, but is so fun to see him get excited on the swing set.

 


  Julia was sans bow when Derek took her outside. Between the wind, and Derek blowing the hair out of her face, we managed.

She loved the glider.


  .
And so did he.

Spring Break

We are outside enjoying the sunshine today, and hope you can too.

 Happy Monday!

The Colester

 Remember Cole?  

He has been growing like a weed!  Derek told me he missed seeing pictures of Cole.  So, without further adue (a do? adoo ?)  anyways, here is my silly firstborn.

 In less than two months Cole is not going to be my three year old anymore.

(his serious face.)

He will be 4.

He is proud to be turning 4, but would be even happier if he was turning 5.  Everything involves the number five.  Everything.

Me:  "Cole what are you doing?"

Him: "Playing with cars.  FIVE cars"

Me:  "Cole, would you like some crackers?"

Him:  "Yeah! Yeah!  FIVE crackers!"

Me:  "Let's make muffins."

Him: "Yeah! FIVE muffins"

Get the picture??

 

Unrestrained

It only took eleven and a half months, but we finally have a family snapshot where we are all looking at the camera, and no one is restrained.

Now if only I can manage one where we are all smiling...

We did it....

48 days ago I committed to running.  A few days later I mailed in Derek and I's registration forms for a 5k on May 28th.  I have NEVER been a runner.  I was that girl in elementary school who walked when the teacher wasn't looking for the presidential mile.  Running just to run had no purpose to me.  I played sports in school, but track and field was not one of them.  My new years resolution was to start running, and as of April 11th I still hadn't started.  But with support from a woman named Krista, and my husband helping to make it possible for me to have time to work on this goal, I started.  

 The first couple of weeks were kind of rough, and my body felt more like a golden girls than a 20 something year old's.  But pretty soon I started looking forward to Derek coming home so I could actually do something just for me.  3 days a week I was guaranteed 45 minutes of doing something for myself, by myself.  I want my kids to live an active lifestyle, and hope we can be examples to them to be healthy.  

After a couple weeks I made it my goal to finish the race in under 34 minutes, but never accomplished that on the treadmill.

Today was the big day.

Here we are before the race.  My mom brought the kids to cheer us on.

About a minute in.  Derek is behind the lady in yellow.  I was all smiles here, and it only lasted about another minute.  Derek left me in the dust right after this. 

Here we are finishing, I really thought I was dying.  When I passed the timer it said 37 minutes and something, and I thought "WHAT?!"

We wore timers on our ankles, to time us.  I turned mine in, and a bit later they had our times posted......

My time was really 32:24!! I met my goals! I was so stoked then. The 10 and 15K people started 5 minutes before us, and that is when the clock started, I didn't realize that until later.  Derek's time was 26:47.  His goal was to finish in under 28 minutes.  Derek and I both want to continue running, and are already setting new goals for ourselves. 

Thank you to those that have supported and encouraged us along the way!!

Embrace the Camera ~ Family Pic

By the time we got around to taking a family picture on Easter, Cole was way past nap time, Julia was exhausted, and my hair had started to look much like a comb-over.  But we plopped down on the same bench we sat on last year, when Julia was just a little peanut in my belly, and Cole needed the same amount of restraint on one of our laps.  This year Cole looks like this is some kind of cruel and unusual punishment, and Julia is zoned out about to fall asleep.  Derek and I just start laughing at the circumstances, and a photo is snapped.

This is our Easter picture of 2011.

Now head over to Emily's blog and embrace the camera.

Embrace the Camera ~ Easter Eggs

The other night we decorated Easter eggs.  I really enjoy festivities, but am bad about being the one to enable them.  The whole time I had to remind myself that this is suppose to be fun, life is about experiences and creating memories, breathe it's okay if some of it spills, he is two, etc.  The whole experience started by me realizing I didn't know how to hard boil eggs. Dumb right?  After asking my mother-in-law, and referring to Betty Crocker, I successfully hard boiled eggs.

Point for me.

Next thing I know I am adding lemon juice to these little tablets, adding water, and dunking the eggs.  Cole was not into having his picture taken, so it looks like he didn't enjoy it, but he did.  I think making a mess, and hearing me gasp when some dye spilled was more fun to him than anything else.  And come to find out Cole really likes to eat hard boiled eggs.  Live and learn.  

This is my favorite picture of the evening. I love this moment between father and son.

And just to prove my mom and Julia were there, here is a picture of them.

Memories were made, eggs were eaten, pictures taken, and besides a few colorful dyed fingers, nothing was ruined :)

Oh, and thank you mom for being there and taking pictures :)

Embrace the Camera ~ Four Generations

For a wedding gift almost six years ago, we received this pretty white frame that says "Four Generations" at the top.  I always thought it was for four generations of women, and have waited for a daughter to fill it.  Every time my gram, mom, Julia, and I get together we either forget to take a picture of the four of us, or one of us doesn't want a picture taken of them because of hair not being done, no make-up, or whatever.  I laugh at this because right now this frame is displayed in my house, in the room we are in the most, with a picture of four women that we don't know.  So instead of just taking a picture of us and putting it in there, we look at four strangers, ha! If I ever ran into one of these people in public, I might think I know them from somewhere :) Pathetic, I know.

And it never fails, when my Gram comes over, she mentions that we need a picture.  So, the other night when we were all together at my brothers amazing senior exhibit (more on that tomorrow), my husband got the burden of having to take our picture. 

We fluffed and primped for a minute, struck a pose, and all said in unison after the click, "Lets see it."   All had a reason not to like it, and took another.  Reviewed the next picture, and had another taken.  All of us kind of said, "Eh, it will do."  The end result is a nice blurry picture of four generations.  Generations that teach, love, and grow with one another.

“Blessed is the generation in which the old listen to the young; and doubly blessed is the generation in which the young listen to the old” 

 The Talmud.

Embrace the Camera

I love that Julia snuggles with me. 

I love the feeling of a completely relaxed baby in my arms. 

I love the expression on her face here.

 

I love how her head fits perfectly in the crook of my neck.

I love that her hair bows work in my hair too! ha!

 

I love and savor these moments!

Oh! And I love the comfort of the shirt I was wearing so much, that I just wiped the spit up off of it and wore it the next day too!

Embrace the Camera

On the nights that I work, Julia is in the bath when I leave for work.  I was on my way out the door when Derek snapped these pictures of me saying good bye to her.

Us Girls.

Last week I told myself I would learn how to use the self-timer on my camera.  MIssion accomplished. I did!  Definitely room for improvement though, ha!

Attempt One.  Cole was sitting so good! Too bad the only part of me in it is my hip!

Attempt Two.

The blur is so bad it almost hurts my eyes! I so wish it were in focus, but better luck next week.

New Beds and Fat Lips

We finally put Cole in a twin bed.  He was looking WAY to big in the toddler bed.  Instead of putting the bed in a frame, we just put the box-spring and mattress right on the ground (less distance to fall if he fell out of bed).  I should also add that we are in the midst of potty training, and Cole has been sporting some cool Cars underwear.  While I was reading stories Cole was a little wound up, and climbed on top of his bed, applied the underwear to his head (covering his eyes and all), jumped, fell off his bed, and bumped his head.  All I heard was a thump, and Cole peaking up from the other side of the bed, still with the underwear on his head, crying.  The poor guy hit the side of his face on his chair.  He must have bit his cheek or tongue because he was bleeding.  After some snuggles he was all better and ready for bed.  Once we realized Cole was alright, Derek and I snickered over the fact that he put the underwear on his head.  The next morning Cole woke up looking like this...

(sorry for the blur)

 

 

The next day we had a discussion on not bouncing on his bed.  Since then he has not jumped on his bed, but he is still putting underwear on his head!  Derek and I get the biggest kick out of him.  He is so funny and animated these days :)

Oh Sweet Smiles!!

My little Julia is such a smiler, until the camera comes out.  I get so many sweet smiles throughout the day.  The poor child smiles and squeals when I sing to her, and I am COMPLETELY tone deaf.  Derek just grins and bears it while I sing.  Unfortunately for him I love to sing along with any music.  That is one of the reasons why I love him though, he does not make fun of me when I do this.  Cole will sing along with me know too :)   Anyway, in order to get a smile from Julia on the camera, I had to focus the camera on her and then look around it, and sing and talk, to get her to smile.  And I was successful!!

First check out these BEAUTIFUL baby blues...

I would say she is growing just fine

I love her smiles

 

  

Embrace the Camera

I realized this morning that I need to learn how to use the self timer button on my camera.  But until then I tried to get some pictures of Julia and I.  She is wonderfully snugly this morning due to a little cold.

I love these moments when she buries her head in my neck...

We both worked all night on our hairdos :)  Go figure she is looking at the camera, and I am looking at her.  I guess I could have smiled. ha!

Better luck next week getting a picture of us both smiling :)

 

I love this girl.