Movies, Movies, Movies!

Well, technically, it should probably be "movie, movie, picture" :)

Grandma has been quite demanding lately...she wants more grandkids around here! Here you go, Yaya & Papa. We miss you.

This first video was taken because I was getting such a kick out of watching Thomas eating. He adores the tomatoes from our garden...you can tell by the way he's trying to lick his tray! Turns out, Sammy and Clara got in on the action too. "Camera shy" will never be a title any of my kids hold :)

This next video is of Thomas crawling around and playing. He's so much fun these days :)

And this last shot is one of Thomas getting out of the bath...just last night!

Boy Meets Dog

This one's for you, Mom! I can't imagine a better video to put up for your viewing pleasure than one with a dog AND your grandson :)

So Much To Do, So Little Summer...

We're doing our best around here to soak up as much summer as we can in these last few days. School starts on Monday (sniff!). There's a lot to do yet! Like swing games to play...



Little girl secrets to tell...



Bars to monkey around on...



And new tricks to learn...



And I suppose I shouldn't forget: frogs to scare so badly that they pee all over the place...


He probably saw my Clara coming at him with this big stick. If I saw a giant Clara approaching with a big stick, I'd probably pee too! Here he is, checking out his "gift" (much to Clara's delighted squeals)...

He seems to approve. Mostly though, I'll bet he's trying to figure out if he can somehow hide under the stick. (Note: No frogs were harmed during the production of this summertime event. He was deposited safely in the long grass by the shed where 2 year olds with sticks and bored dogs could not find him.)


There's stuff to do inside too. Like play video games (I console myself with the fact that he at least has to be standing and moving to play this one)...



And eat snacks while charming Mama with a killer dimpled smile...


And when Mama pokes her head out from behind the camera and shouts "BOO!", there is lots of tray banging, giggling, and kicking of legs to do...


I thought I'd better grab this shot of summertime grass with a bit of morning dew on it...something to stare at when all that's outside is dead grass, brown trees, and snow (don't worry, I'm sure I'll still find great stuff to take photos of).

Awww, summer...sweet summer. Must you go so soon?

What To Do With All This Zucchini?!? (Lots Of Ideas At the Bottom Of Post)

Okay, I have a slight problem. It's the zucchini. The zucchini is threatening to take over my garden...yard...kitchen. Every time I turn around there's another one that's mysteriously grown to a crazy size.

So I got busy tonight. I pulled out the food processor, and started shredding it. I saved several reasonable sized zucchini to grill, fry, or steam. The rest all got shredded.

I had help. This beautiful, spunky, sweet, sassy little sweetie was my helper (I dare you to come up with another "s" descriptor! Well, I can think of one, but this is a family blog, gang):

Thomas was there too, but he didn't approve of the activity. He didn't like the sound of the food processor.

Not one...

...Little...

...Bit...

Poor little guy. At least I only had to do something like FIFTEEN rounds! Now come on, he didn't scream the entire time...only while we shredded...he happily munched on his crackers while we measured, scooped, and sealed.

In the end we had all sorts of goodies to put in the freezer:

So what am I going to do with all of this zucchini (and there will be lots more too, I'm sure)?? Here's a run-down on some of the yummy ways I've found to use it so far:

1. Fry it - you cut it into sticks for this, not shredded.

2. Fry it with a tempura batter covering it (my favorite so far).

3. Make really yummy muffins. Go ahead, make a double batch...they freeze great.

4. Sneak the shredded stuff into the baby's food. Along with a little apple sauce or yogurt? He never notices.

5. Make the best zucchini bread on planet Earth. Go see Becky for the recipe :)

6. Make zucchini "cakes"...think crab cakes without the crab. Okay, maybe this is my favorite! I didn't have the seasoning that the recipe calls for, so I used Johnny's Seasoning Salt.

7. Steam - Slice and halve, and steam with some red onion. Be sure you don't over-cook, or it will turn to mush! Sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese, serve.

8. Grill - Slice and halve, put in foil packet along with carrots and onions of similar size. Add some olive oil, parmesan, and Johnny's Seasoning Salt (yes, we use a lot of the stuff around here). Seal up the packet, and put on the grill. YUM!

9. Fry - Slice thinly. Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Toss the zucchini in the pan with some red onion. Stir and heat until cooked through. I like a squeeze of lemon juice thrown in too.

Do you have a favorite zucchini recipe? Share, please! Leave a comment with your favorite way of fixing it...or blog about it, and leave a link in my comments section for me.

I Don't Know What's Growing Faster Around Here...

...The zucchini (look at this thing!):



...Or the babies. My Thomas is going to be a year old NEXT MONTH! I seriously...truly, and honestly...can NOT believe it. I don't know if I want to laugh along with his giggles, or cry at the rate he's growing up. Although hubby is planning a getaway for the two of us to some strange, sandy, sunny place for after I wean my last baby...I guess I'll stick to giggles ;)


We went to a local park the other day. Thomas and Sammy adore the swings...would have stayed on them all night if we'd have let them. Clara likes to help with the little ones, and Ben...he's outa there! He went straight to the monkey bars and got himself a giant blister on his palm. It seems like just yesterday that I was pushing my baby Benjamin in these very swings.



My sweet and spunky Clara Rose spent the night away from us last night for the first time. She stayed at her cousin's house. They live about 40 minutes from us...out on the "ranch". It's not really a ranch, but they do have goats, sheep, and dogs. And most importantly, Clara's favorite cousin...and a POOL.

I half expected to be driving out to get her at midnight, but she was quite the trooper. In fact, I just got off the phone with her and she was begging to stay the rest of the day and another night! I don't know what kind of brainwashing is going on over there, but I don't like it. Not one bit!

Yesterday was quite the day. I think the upcoming STLS "Satan" topic is making life difficult for me. Not to sound too dramatic, but I think that this is what spiritual war feels like. Yesterday I felt physically heavy...waves of fear coming over me at times that literally made me nauseous...tears and frustration for no apparent reason. I wasn't ready for it! But I've been working on putting on my armor this morning.

Bottom line? Satan is real. He's at work. And one of his favorite tricks is to make us believe that he's a fairytale. If we ignore him, we can't very well fight against him, now can we? Let's do some study, folks. Let's learn about him, let's seek the Lord about him, and let's shine some light on the SOB. He's the Prince of Darkness for a reason...he does his best work from the shadows.

I hope you'll join me this weekend to write about what you've learned about Satan, so we can all be educated and encouraged.

Well...I wasn't planning on writing about that today! Can you tell what's been on my mind? :)

To finish up, the grandparents are due for a baby video. Here you go...enjoy!

When In Doubt...

...Put pictures up for the Grandparents! I've been decidedly uninspired to blog lately. Don't know why.

But I thought you might like to see an update on my little Thomas. He's BUSY. He's into everything. He's driving me slightly bonkers, but mostly, it's fun to watch him explore and learn and grow. He's so strong!

These are pictures from yesterday. He sat on the floor in front of the piano for the longest time, just looking at it. I could almost see what he was thinking...could almost see when he realized, "Hey, that's the noisy thing Mommy lets me bang on when I sit on her lap! I gotta get me some of that!"





I love this one...how he has to get up on his toes :)



And then he plopped down on the floor, looked over at me, gave me a killer "Did you SEE that?!" smile, and did it again and again.


He's also into noses lately. Always grabbing, squeezing, poking...and even once, tried to latch on to my nose. I was laughing hysterically and had Thomas drool dripping down my face by the time it was over...no pictures of that though. Sorry, you'll just have to take my word for it.

Oh, and I've lost 15 pounds, gained two bra cup sizes overnight, and suddenly look like a super-model. Again...sorry, you'll just have to take my word on that one ;)

DANCE TIME!!!

I've mentioned before that we do lots of singing and dancing around here. Every time one of my kids hears music playing on the TV, they jump up and yell, "Mommy! Dance time!". I drop what I'm doing, and go dance with them. We like it loud. I grab the remote, crank up the volume, and we boogy around the living room. It's great fun :)

Well, today was no exception. Only it wasn't music on TV, it was on the computer. Clara found this great music on Playhouse Disney...click HERE and then click on "Do Your Own Dance" if you'd like to give it a listen. Consider yourself warned though...this song will be stuck in your brain for days!

To my point...

Thomas LOVES this song! When it gets going, that kid starts kicking and flailing his arms so violently that I can hardly hold him!

Sammy has lots of fun with it too. I love her pretty little dance and how she tries to sing along. Here are some clips:

I Mean Really...Is There Anything Better Than A Freshly Bathed Baby?

Look at this beautiful baby boy! No snot dried or otherwise on his face. No graham crackers mashed in his hair. No glob of slobbery cheerio in his ear.

Just that fresh, soft baby smell. Impossibly soft hair and skin. Bright eyes, and a peaceful look on his face. All bundled in his jammies and ready for night-night.

Does is get any better?

Grandma's 90th Birthday Party

I just realized that I'm headed to Wisconsin again...and I haven't even shown you pictures of the last time I was there! It was one of those "I took so many pictures, that I don't know where to start" problems. So I plucked out a few of my favorites, and am setting this post to publish while I'm on vacation.

The top picture is of my little travelin' buddy, Thomas. It was just the two of us on that trip. It was a bit of a last minute decision to go at all, and two tickets are much easier on the budget than six. Besides, the kids had school stuff going on that we didn't want them to miss. I really enjoyed traveling with just my little one. I had several people comment, "Oh, you're so brave to travel with a baby all by yourself!" I smiled politely...but on the inside I was thinking, "This is a cake walk! Traveling with one is downright leisurely compared to what I'm used to!" :)

See the blanket he's sitting on? That's the blankey I made him in the wee hours of the morning just a day before we were to leave for our trip. Remember? It was my procrastination project! The binding corners are a bit on the round side, but overall, I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Thomas was a good traveler, but a tad cranky. When I noticed this at the airport that day, I finally understood what was going on:


Those are purple gums, folks! They were bruised from his teeth pushing through. He pushed all FOUR of his upper teeth in during that week! Youch!! Poor guy :(

But there was no complaining on anyone's part when Thomas got to see his Yaya and Papa! He is adored and spoiled by them...as he should be! I'm pretty sure they're adored right back.




This is one of my favorite pictures of my mom. I know, you can't even see her face...but I see...HER. Just the way she walks, the way she has her beloved dog with her, and the way she stands...just my mama. BTW, this "an empty" field across the street from their house. Around here "an empty field" means brown rocks, brown weeds, and maybe a tumbleweed or two thrown in. Not lush, flowing fields of grasses and wildflowers. Wisconsin isn't all that bad!


And now for the whole reason of our trip: Grandma's 90th Birthday bash. Here I am with my two younger sisters. That's me on the left, Tiffany in the middle (she is taller than me, but she's much taller than me with 3 inch heels on!), and Megan.

That reminds me, I want to do a post about Tiffany soon. I have some ammo on that gal...yesiree!

Here's the birthday girl (sitting) with a handful of my cousins and aunts standing around:

And here's yours truly with the lady of the hour. Each table had a red geranium as it's centerpiece. I love that. Grandma always...every single solitary year...planted red geraniums in her front yard. I have a big trailing geranium on my front porch, and think of her every day as I water it.

At first glance, this picture might not seem like a good one. It's a bit dark and is blurry in spots. But I really like this one. Look at Grandma...in the center of the shot, being perfectly still while life just seems to swirl all around her. I'll bet that's a bit how life feels when you're 90.

All the commotion got to be a bit much for my babe, so I laid out a blanket and just let him sit and play by himself for a while. I think we both enjoyed the break.

Here are a few more cousins and an uncle. I love the big birthday sign hanging in the background. I'm not sure who made it, but it was really sweet.

Here's Grandma hugging...someone (if that's you, sorry...I don't recognize you from the top of the head). I like this picture because it shows how Grandma hugs. Have you ever noticed how everyone hugs a little differently? Grandma always seems to sneak a hand or two in there to pat your cheek. Her hands are so soft.

I tried in vain to get great shots with my fancy-schmancy new flash with filter and bounce. This is a picture I got of Thomas as I experimented.

Here's Megan with her hubby, Tony. Aren't they a cute couple? I think so.

Here's Grandma with her best friend for...forever! She and Sylvira have known each other since high school, I think. But even if they met when they were 50, that's still a good 6 years longer than I've been alive!

It's inevitable. Every Wisconsin party (at least the ones with my family) always end up like this! Does someone in my gene pool hold major stock in a playing card manufacturer or something? I swear...people carry playing cards around in their back pocket, in their purse, in their bra! I don't think there has ever been a party without some form of cards! It's not a bad thing...just fact.

Whatcha thinking, Grandma? Is she thinking "How is it possible that I'm 90 years old?!" Is she thinking, "When are these people going to go home already?!" Is she thinking, "I'd like some more of that fish!"

I wonder if it strikes her like it does me when we're in a room full of our very large family? Does it strike her that all of those people are there for her...OF her? Does she look around and think about her husband and how it was their love that started all of this? Does she miss him in moments like these?

My Grandma Ruth Stroshane. I know the feel of her hand on my cheek. I know the careful way she chews crunchy foods. I know the way she smiles and laughs. I love the way she laughs. I know how it feels for her to whoop me in cards. I know the way her wedding band looks on her finger. I know the smell of her house, even though she doesn't live there any more. In my mind, I can hear her answer the phone with "Yyyello" :) I know that she's probably wearing a locket right this minute that contains a sweet picture of herself and her husband..."Daddy", as she calls him.

Happy Birthday Grandma. I love you!

Family Resemblance

Hubby and I were chatting the other day, when he said something like "It just goes so fast! I can hardly remember Sammy at Thomas' age."

It was then that I was so happy that I've been such a "picture Nazi" all these years! I have an album for each year that we've been married. Photos are in rough chronological order, and the outside of the album is labeled with the year. I know it's hard to imagine someone so crazed with photo-organization. It drives even me nuts sometimes.

This a good place for a disclaimer...since getting my DSLR, my photo organization has gone totally to the birds. I've been busy taking so dang MANY pictures, I'm just overwhelmed with the idea of sorting and printing and organizing. So they're on my computer. It gives me nightmares sometimes, and I'm not kidding. I know, I need help.

Anyway, I went to the shelf and pulled down the album for 2006 - the year that Sammy was 8 months old. Wow. What a year...for so many good and terrible reasons! I'll stick to telling you about the good for now.

It was so fun to look at my sweet Sammy's first year! Someone once told me that, "With kids the days are long, and the years are short." I couldn't say it better than that!

I pulled down a couple more albums, and scanned in pictures of Ben and Clara too. Just look at how they all resemble one another! These are my kids at 8 months old...every sweet, spunky, drooly, toothy, chubby, smiley one of them! Man I love these children. I just can't believe that God entrusted little ol' me with such precious gifts!

Clockwise from upper left: Benjamin, Clara, Thomas, Samantha

P.S. I'm sure enjoying your input on The Hair Decision Of 2008! I made an appointment for Wednesday...I hope I don't lose my nerve!

A Great Baby Shower Idea

This baby shower idea has become very popular with my group of (very fertile) girlfriends. I can't remember who gets credit for this idea...the first time I did it was as my own baby shower hosted by my sister, Tiffany. But I've done this project at countless other showers too, and it's always a hit.

Supplies: Baby onesies in a variety of sizes, "puffy" fabric paints, a little imagination (if you're short on imagination, you might want to have some children's books on hand for ideas).

Activity: At the shower, have each guest grab a "blank" tshirt or onesie, and use the paints to decorate the onesie.

As you can see from the tshirt my Thomas is wearing, you can get some pretty fun little shirts out of this project for the mommy to be. The shirts below were done by my two oldest kids when I was in the hospital having Thomas. They were so proud of their creations!

Tips:
- You might want to put a piece of waxed paper or foil on the inside of the shirt, in case the paint goes on thick and bleeds.
- Have a place available where you can lay the shirts out flat for about 24 hours while the paint dries.
- Encourage guests to put thier initials somewhere on their shirt so the mom can know who made it (or take pictures of guests with their creations).
- Have some pencils and scratch paper available for people to plan their design and maybe practice using the paints.
- Have a straight pin on hand to clear any clogs in the paints.
- If you're really feeling ambitious, you can use fabric dye to pre-color the shirts before painting for some really unique creations.
- A twist on this idea is to do a tie-dye project with the shirts (instead of painting)...I thought it was a strange idea at first, but it turned out so cute!

Design Ideas:
- Bugs: butterflies, caterpillars, lady bugs, grasshoppers
- Vehicles: trains, airplanes, cars, buses, motorcycles, backhoe, bull dozer
- Sports: baseball, basketball, football
- Symbols: stars, hearts, polka dots, smiley face, cross
- Phrases: "Daddy's Girl", "I Love Grandpa", "Jesus Loves Me", "What Smell?", etc.

The sky's the limit! Have Fun :)





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Thanks for stopping by!

Some Goodies For The Granparents

Greetings from our crazy house...just wanted to put up a video to show Yaya and Papa how our little Thomas is motoring around the house lately.

The video is a bit shaky, jumbled, and confused. It's called Reality around here. Enjoy :)

P.S. He's getting around so well, he surprises me sometimes. Yesterday as I was standing at the sink washing some dishes, he did his little scoot thing right over to me...and bit my ankle. No joke!

On The Road Again...I Know, I've Used This Title Before

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my baby sling? It came in handy on this vacation. Grandma's birthday party was right during the time of Thomas' nap...so I snuggled up with him in his sling, and off he drifted to dream land. It's a life saver.

We're headed back to Idaho this afternoon. I'm praying for smooth skies, on-time flights, and a sleepy baby.

Thomas, Our Happy Little Screecher

See?? He screeches...at everything. Hubby better go get some ear plugs!

P.S. Can't wait to see you, Yaya & Papa :)

At Least All The Important Stuff Is Done

If you know me at all, you could look at my life right now and know that I must have a trip in the near future. Especially if you observed my behavior last night.

I'm not packed. In fact, the laundry isn't even done so I CAN pack. The house is a mess. And to top it off, the season finale of LOST is on tonight...2 hours worth! So I absolutely, positively must be done and ready to go before 8 PM tonight...or risk not being ready and/or exhausted because I had to stay up all night to pack.

But hey...I did get some stuff done. Like a new blanket for Thomas (started and finished that project just yesterday!), a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies (we all know I can't deal with stress without chocolate), and I got my hair cut. I was going to go super short, but chickened out at the last minute and just had her take a couple of inches off. Now it's a very boring medium length.

Oh, and I also made sure all my photos and videos were uploaded to my computer and formatted my memory cards so I have lots of room for all the good stuff I'll shoot at my grandma's birthday party. And of course, I took the time to backup my computer yesterday.

And I went out to buy a lottery ticket, because I'm quite sure that God wants me to become a millionaire this week. I even paid an extra buck for the "power play".

What.

Is.

Wrong.

With.

Me????????????

Thomas is screeching at me. Thomas screeches at everything lately. If he's happy? Screech. If he's hungry? Screech. If he's bored? Screech.

It's cute at first, but then your ear drums start to bleed and it's not so fun anymore. That kid has some lungs! So I'm off to change a diaper/feed/entertain a screeching baby. Wish me luck to get
ready for my trip on time!

P.S. Sammy just came up and said, "Mama, I ont you off a 'pooter and git me my milk" She's so sweet! (In a bossy kinda way)

I'm Up To My Old Tricks Again

I'm such a terrible procrastinator. Thomas and I are getting on an airplane in the wee hours of the morning, this coming Friday...that's roughly 26 hours from now. My house is a wreck. The laundry is backed up. I haven't even started packing. I haven't even really thought about what I need to bring. Have I done this before???

We're headed to Wisconsin for my grandma's 90th birthday bash. Ninety years old! Wow. I wonder if I'll see 90? Let's see, when I'm 90...Benjamin will be 62 years old?! Did I do that math right?? I'm 34 right now, and he's 6. Yes, I think that's right. Hot dog! I might get to see some great-grand kids too!

But I digress...I tend to do quite a bit of digressing when I have a deadline to meet and lots to do.

And hey...at least Thomas will have a nice new blankey to snuggle with on the trip. I'm waiting for my iron to heat right now so that I can press the fabric I bought today. He's a big blankey kid. In fact, he pulls his blankey up to his face and just covers himself up with it. The problem is...it freaks his mommy out. She's neurotic, you know. I'm just so afraid that he's going to suffocate or something (if my sister Tiffany read this, she'd totally roll her eyes). It's at least far too hot under the heavy blankey he uses now. When I dig him out after a nap, he's just sweating. He also has terrible eczema, so that kind of body heat doesn't do his poor skin any favors.

So I'm making him a new blankey! I bought two complimenting flannels and some silky (sateen, I think it's called?) binding. He seems to love that binding on his current baby-suffocating blanket. It should be simple enough to make, and I plan to finish it tonight.

I have, oh, a good 12 hours tomorrow to get ready for my trip.

Oh, good Lord...will you please save me from myself and my procrastinating ways?!

UPDATE: At Least All The Important Stuff Is Done

A Little Slice Of Life At Our House