Final Home Study Tonight

A Family Milestone

 

As of today our little Lexi has now lived WITH US longer than she lived AWAY from us. And we can’t imagine life without her! Geoff bought her a cuppy cake to celebrate.  We gave it to her after dinner and she was so funny and just yelled “I love cupcakes!” She ate about thirty cents worth of it … all icing! 

Ever Feel Like This?

“Motherhood”

I took this photo a few weeks ago in town outside of an old car repair shop.  I had been wanting to take this picture for years and finally stopped.  Well, less than 2 weeks after I took it, the sign disappeared.  I wonder if they saw me photographing it?  I thought it was pretty cool and so appropriate for so many things.  This is our life!  LOL!

Finger Lickin’ Chickin’

So what’s a Mommy and Daughter to do when Daddy works late during tax season?  All kinds of things.  Lexi helped me put away dishes today, “fold” clothes, and even cook Daddy some Chicken!  She was so cute rinsing off the chicken, putting the Crushed French’s Onion coating on it and giving a little taste as we went.  Of course, when she and I sat down to eat… she did NOT eat but one bite of her chicken and she only ate that when I gave her some Ranch dressing to dip it in. Her favorite was the green beans (AGAIN!).  After dinner I gave her a bath, brushed teeth and then we read books until Geoff got home.  We read The Way I Feel TWICE, Brush, Brush, Brush TWICE, and If You Give a Pig a Pancake TWICE (and then she read that one again with her Daddy).  Now I think it’s time for Mommy to head to bed too!

Boo-Boos, Band-Aids, and Blankies

The weather was better today!  It warmed up nicely and when we got home my very bossy boss shouted at me “I WANT to go OUTSIDE!!!”  I’m still not used to the complete sentences much less the bossy attitude!  I told Lexi that she was not supposed to talk that way to Mommy and told her that she should say “Mommy, I want to go outside.”  So with encouragement she did.  She even called me Mommy! It didn’t take long though to have our first scrape of Spring. She fell over a root in the backyard and skinned her knee.   It was really not much of anything but you know we have a little Diva.  So we had to go get Band-Aids and true to Lj style a comforting blankie.  As rough and tough as she is, I’m sure this is just the first of many this season!

Taming the Terrible Two’s is Traumatic!

When I think of the term “terrible twos”, I know it’s based on hundreds of thousands of little kids who have done the same things at this stage in their life.  That is comforting…. to a point.  The happiest parts of my day are waking up to Geoff and then Lexi, picking up Lexi from Mom’s , when Geoff comes home and believe it or not putting Lj to bed. I find it so special to say goodnight to the “goodnight” wall, give kisses, hugs, and high fives, then saying prayers and rocking.  It’s all priceless.

Lexi is pretty energetic and happy but then days like today crop up and I wonder who stole my child and when they are bringing her back!  I asked Mom how she did today and Mom said that she was great all day!!  Then afternoon comes and we go home! For lack of a better word, she was just “ill”.  Crying over every little thing (can’t get her shoe on just right, didn’t want to go get a diaper but didn’t want me to either, didn’t want to take off her sweater, got mad because she found a pair of sandals from last summer and they didn’t fit… on and on and on) By the time Geoff got home I was more than READY! 

She landed in time out time after time.  From time out she screamed at us and swung her arm like she was trying to hit us.  Out of the blue she would grab her sippy cup and yell “MINE"!” when we weren’t even looking at her.  She refused to eat anything but green beans but then ended up in time out for smashing them and then throwing them across the table.  By the time bedtime rolled around I realized that I had no picture for the day.  I was just sitting in the chair exhausted from the emotional roller coaster LJ had been on.  And then Geoff asked her if she could please “say cheese” for Mommy.  And low and behold just like the sweetest thing she can be she posed and said “cheese”!  I wasn’t even ready so I had to get her to repeat it.  So amazingly the Terrible Two Monster must have returned our darling before her bedtime.

Now does this look like the face of a child that could possibly do all the things I described above??  She is pointing to her cheeks because that is how she says “cheese”.  The funny thing is when she wants to eat cheese, she makes these motions and asks for real cheese.  It’s too cute.  Same thing with ice… if she wants ice in her cup she points to her eyes and says “eyes”.  It so funny. 

And needless to say… for ME it will be an early to bed night! And my prayers will include that the weather be warmer so we can play outside and have fun and not have anymore TT time tomorrow.  LOL!

Sunday, Sunday…

Aren’t Sunday’s bittersweet?  They are our Lord’s Day, the last day of the weekend, the first day of the week and for us way too short!  This morning Geoff went to work and I took Lexi to church.  She really had a great time in the nursery and I can’t wait for her to be able to move to the 2 year old class next school year.  I had nursery duty so I am well above the changing diapers quota for my day!  I changed 8 in little over an hour.  I HOPE I did a better job with the others than I did on my own child!  On the way to our car, I noticed she was grabbing at her dress and I thought she said “pee pee”.  I was thinking… yea!  Maybe she is getting ready to start telling me she has to go.  NO!  just a few short steps after that her diaper FELL off!  LOL!  The dress she was wearing was long and had no bloomers so off when the diaper and Lexi’s Uncle Richard stepped on it! 

She was so cute in her little dress that I wanted a picture when we got home and boy did she make me work for it!  Yesterday’s cooperative little Lexi was gone!  Instead it was a game. 

Yea… she’s in there you just have to look hard!

Running ….

 

Bribing… (she’s usually not allowed to stand on the bricks of the fireplace)

And finally posing while eating!  No wonder I needed a nap more than she did!!

After her nap, she redressed herself and for once didn’t make me beg to hard to get this shot.  I just wish the bunny bow that Aunt Carolyn bought her showed up better!  Geoff and I took her grocery shopping.  Geoff usually tackles that while I stay home with Lexi.  Just let me say, that’s not a bad idea at all!  She is quite the handful in a store and the more independent she gets the less she will stay in the cart.  Yes, she jumps out and latches on to your neck and giggles like crazy.  Never a dull moment!

Saturday Fun

As usual, Geoff worked today and will tomorrow as well since I asked him to come home a little early to help me with some stuff for the school garden.  Lexi had me up around 8:00 which is not bad really.  We had breakfast and then cuddled up on the couch and watched some Sesame Street and Caillou.  I love how she will now curl up against me and watch tv.  At one point I wondered if she would ever snuggle with me!  Well, after we got up we started with a bath.  A long fun bath with no rushing…NICE!  Then I gave her 3 choices of an outfit to wear.  She picked it out and we finished.  Then we decided to make Daddy some brownies.  This is where it REALLY got interesting.  She wasn’t quite sure what to make of mixing together eggs, oil and water but when I added the brownie mix the fun began and when she was able to taste the batter for the first time she said, “Yuuummmmmmy!”.  She kept dipping back into the bowl so I had quickly transfer it to the dish.  She didn’t even mind getting her hands nasty!  And when I went to take a picture shocked me by saying “cheese” and looking straight at the camera! 

After we finished making the brownies we clipped Lexi’s fingernails and toes.  Then we painted them!  She was again so happy with this that for a second time she smiled at the camera and said “cheese”!  I almost fell over!

 

What a Diva!

After lunch I rocked her to sleep and just marveled at how the little things we do make us so happy.

Once Geoff got home we went to Lowes and then delivered all the stuff I bought to school. So we decided to let Lexi play on the Kindergarten playground.  She had a blast and kicked and screamed like a crazy person when we put her in the car.   Here are some of my favorite shots.

Breathtaking little beauty!

This one was taken from under her!  Yes, I laid on the ground to get this picture but it’s so cute!

And these… reminders that Mommy and Daddy need to begin eating better and dropping some weight!

Language Explosion!!!!! Updated with Pictures

Gracious, where did our Lexi go??  All of a sudden we NEVER know what to expect to come out of Lexi’s mouth.  Yesterday it was a response to my question “ do you want some French Fries?”.  “No, thank you.” was not expected.  We’ve been hearing things like… “come on, I’m waiting!”… “You’re welcome”, “thank you”,

Today as Geoff came home Lexi was anxious as usual to go meet her Daddy.  I unlocked the door and let her out as she proceeded to run to him.  As they walked to the door she said, “ come on in!”.  Just a short while later after she finished dinner and Geoff offered her a yogurt smoothie she replied “shake it up!”

Listening to her speak in complete sentences is just amazing!  Everyday is an adventure!  I was talking to Mom about it tonight and she just said that we were all taking turns not missing a thing.  Geoff and I see it at night and over the weekends and they see it during the day.  Lexi especially teases my dad during the day pretending to be surprised as he teases her back.  It’s just such a joy to see the affect she has on not just US but all of our family.

I will post some pictures from today… but be prepared, they will be of her in her St. Patty’s day dress yet another day!  LOL! She truly loves that dress! But it will get washed tomorrow!!  Needless to say, Mom is making a new one already and this one will have a pocket as a result of Lexi asking her today for a pocket on her dress!  Had I not witnessed it, I would have never believed it.  But she wanted a pocket on her dress!  She likes pockets for her dollar bills that we give her!

 And this mess… happened on DADDY’s watch!  We usually keep the door to the toy room closed and bring out different toys at different times.  Sometimes she plays in the room if one of us (usually Geoff) are on the Mac computer.  Needless to say… it’s a MESS! Could be time for a toy sale!

Recipes As Promised

Garlic Shrimp

~ Source: Adapted from Southern Living 30 years of Our Best Recipes (2000)

1 lb. large fresh shrimp

¼ cup olive oil

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

¼ teaspoon pepper

¼ cup butter, melted

½ cup Fresh Breadcrumbs (homemade), toasted

½ cup fleshly grated Parmesan cheese

• Peel shrimp; devein, if desired. Arrange in a 11x7 inch baking dish; In a small dish combine olive oil, parsley, garlic, red pepper, and pepper. Sprinkle over the shrimp, Cover and bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.
• Turn shrimp over; drizzle with butter, and sprinkle with bread crumbs and cheese. Bake uncovered 5 – 10 minutes more. (Yields 2 servings.

To make the fresh breadcrumbs I purchase a French Baguette. I use a grater to make the small bread crumbs and toast them in a toaster over until lightly brown.

Grill or toast some French bread for sopping up the sauce! YUM!

Garlic Linguine

~ adapted from All Recipes.com

1 (8 oz.) package linguini pasta

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon dried basil

1 Tablespoon dried oregano

1 Teaspoon dried thyme

½ Teaspoon salt

½ Teaspoon pepper

2 Tablespoons butter (optional)

2 cups chopped tomatoes (I use halved grape tomatoes or on the vine Cherry tomatoes)

• Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until done. I add a tiny bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking and I add salt to the water. Drain.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in large saucepan. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Crush herbs, and add to the garlic.
• Add linguine. Heat through, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Fold in tomatoes. Top with fresh shredded Parmesan or Kraft 3 cheese blend of Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano. Serve.

Variations: Usually I use a little less basil, oregano, and thyme than the recipe calls for. I also love to add about ½ teaspoon of crushed red pepper (but add less now since Lexi is eating it).

I also love to sauté fresh asparagus along with the spices. I’ve done this with broccoli too. You can even make this a meal by adding cooked chicken or shrimp to the mixture. Just don’t add it when you are mixing in the spices or it will soak all the spices up and then it makes the meat taste really strong.

St. Patrick’s Day Style Day 2

Okay, it is QUITE possible that we have a replacement favorite dress for the one Angela gave Lexi at Christmas.  I had to work late tonight for PTO and picked Lj up from mom already dressed and ready for bed.  The second she walked in and found her dress from yesterday, she began asking, begging, pleading for me to put it on her.  So I caved and put it on.  She became a very happy Lexi indeed!  I tried to get some more pictures in it since last night I was disappointed in the number of pictures I got in it of her yesterday… well…. she’s just not a good photography subject lately and I didn’t get anything really cute still!  Bummer!

Eating her Viiiittttamin! Why does she just have to give me that “sad” look when I pull out the camera!  I promise she is a happy girl!  Gotta love the pj’s paired with the dress!

 

I did get this picture of her after she stole her Daddy’s Micky-D’s drink.

And helping Daddy get a drink!  Making him laugh as usual!

I got so tickled with her on the way home tonight.  I asked her if she wanted some French fries (secretly hoping it could be dinner for me) and much to my surprise she answered very clearly “no, thank you”.  I thought I must be hearing wrong so I asked again.  Same thing.  “No, thank you!”.  I’m very pleased with our daughters budding politeness.  Then after Geoff got home she was pushing past Sable and said “excuse me”.  Gracious!  Geoff and I must certainly be doing a great job showing her how to be polite!  It’s too cute hearing these words from a 2 year old!

 

St. Patrick’s Day Cuties

Look what I saw this morning! 

It was the best part of my day except the part when I got to leave work and come home to them!

 

And here’s a shot of her wearing the right bow (Daddy did really good though!).  We had to get a shot of her with the bow that Aunt Carolyn made to go with the dress Nana made her.  Never mind the icing from her snack.

Then after for her nap, Lexi put on socks to “match”…. Lj style!

P.S.  I’ll post the recipe tomorrow of last night’s dinner.

Lexi the Sou-Chef!

Today was 2010 Furlough Day #3!  I was glad in the long run because I had a very long night NOT sleeping.  Lexi made sure I was up at a decent hour since she has no problem yelling “Mama! Mama!” We went grocery shopping and she napped.  Eventually I began dinner.  I decided that since I was off I would cook one of Geoff’s favorites.  Its one of those meals that when you do have it, you always say “this is so sinfully good, no wonder we don’t have it often!”.  Of course making homemade bread crumbs, chopping, grating and peeling fresh ingredients are part of it! So this afternoon Lj and I made Garlic shrimp with linguine and toasted French baguettes. 

Lexi helped butter the toast…

Can you tell which ones she “sampled”???

 

As she did her part I worked on mine…

The end result was D*E*L*I*C*0*U*S! Served with Lj’s toast and some linguine…. just let me say it’s sinfully delicious! And Lexi really enjoyed herself!  I look forward to many Mommy-daughter dinners!

 

 

A Daddy’s Love

Gracious!  Look how long she looks!  IS!  I wish I could slow down time.  Our time today was well spent.  I had a furlough day so Lj and I went to have lunch with her Daddy.  It was awesome and the cookies were a hit!

Baking St. Patrick’s Day Cookies and Picking on Daddy!

Children make us appreciate everything anew!  I don’t remember how long it has been since I made St. Patty’s Day cookies but today I decided since I didn’t manage to get cookies to Geoff’s office for Christmas we would try for St. Patrick’s Day. I usually bake Geoff’s secretary her own batch but this year I’m a “new'” mom and she is just going to have to fend for herself with the rest of them.  (sorry Shannon… but I do take bribes… gap or Gymboree cards are a GREAT start! LOL!) I ruined one batch by browning them too long… still taste good though!  During one break in baking today Daddy went to town to get more baking supplies and dinner ingredients and while he was gone I took Lj outside for some fun.  While she played I decided to clean the pollen-dust-spiderweb infested porch!  At one point I put her swing that her sweet Aunt Carolyn bought her last summer on the ground of the porch as I cleaned up the table on the porch.  The next thing I know Lexi is sitting in her swing… THIS was too good to pass up…

Yes, she is eating a cookie and Sable is definitely wanting a bite!  So… I guess IF Lexi’s daddy doesn’t soon get her swing hung up so that she can USE it before she is too old I will have to call upon Melissa’s Trace for some GBI reinforcements!  I’ll even bake him an entire batch of cookies and let HIM hide them from my sweet Melissa!

On another note… as I finished baking a second batch of cookies tonight, Geoff and Lexi began to watch Beauty and the Beast (Geoff’s favorite Disney movie!).  He  was a little disappointed that she was not as smitten with it as she is Snow White!   Perhaps she is an “old soul” like her father…. 1930’s…. and that’s a whole new topic for another time!

But just look how delicious those cookies are… compliments Lj style!

  She really likes the icing much better than the “coo-coo” as she calls it!

 

 

Saint Patrick’s Day Fun

This morning Geoff headed to work and Lj and I slept in.  After a few hours of messing around the house we got ready to go to Savannah and pick him up for the Tybee Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade.  We’ve never been before but his secretary invited us to join her family so we made it a date.  After I got Lexi dressed I tried to get a good picture of Lexi wearing her shirt that Kellie painted for me.  She was not cooperating once again (can someone PLEASE tell me that this stage will pass!). 

 

No amount of begging and pleading got me anywhere!

 

So off to Savannah we went.  Lexi has not really played with Gunner even though we have taken her to their house twice.  It was early in her life with us. But they did do some playing today and sharing of toys.  As soon as the parade started Lexi’s charm captured person after person and as she did, her collection of bead necklaces grew and grew! 

She played high five, low five, slow five with an old man!

Saw a clown close up for the first time.  The look on her face was priceless!

She got her first ticket from the Pokey Police!

Guess why?

 

She liked him very much!

And then we found out why we had such a hard time finding material for a St. Patrick’s Day dress that mom is making for Lexi…

After the parade we walked down to the beach with Shannon, Bucky, Megan, and Gunner.  It was so nice!  I miss the beach!  We had a great time just enjoying the afternoon.  Here are a few favorite pictures. I just love being a Mom again!  It makes me appreciate little things in life so much more!  I don’t even know when the last time was that I went to a St. Patrick’s Day parade.  But today was so much fun.  I can’t wait until one day when we can take her to the parade in Savannah.  But this today was just PERFECT!